3ltl|aca, Kern ^ork BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE JACOB H. SCHIFF ENDOWMENT FOR THE PROMOTIO^ OF STUDIES IN HUMAN CIVILIZATION 1918 ''S Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028833015 1749' -OF- ST. LAWRENCE CO., NEAV YORK. t_^=iWITH^ lllkstralians anil IBiograjpfikal Mfeeklie^ SOME OF ITS PROMINENT MEN AND PIONEERS. IP-CTBLISHEID BIT Xj. H. EVEIiTS & GO., 7X4^-±6 B^ilbert Street, Philadelphia. L. H. EVERTS. J. M. HOLCOMB. ■1878. CONTENTS. ia:iSTOK.io^^.Xj. HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY. PAOE PAGE Town of Hopkinton . . 318 Introductory 8 CHAPTER " Parishville " Gouverneur . 326 . 335 I. — Physical Features 9 " De Kalb 351 11.— Pre-Historic . 20 " Macomb . 363 III. — French Occupation 24 Do Peyster . 365 . 370 . 377 IV.— History of Land Titles . 57 " Morristown v. — Civil Organization 82 " Fowler . VI.— Statistical 99 " Hammond . 383 VII. — St. Lawrence Civil List 106 "" Stockholm . 388 VIII.— The Learned Professions 111 " Louisville . 397 IX. — Educational and Religious 120 " Massena . 401 . 412 X.^-Internal Improvements 129 " Brasher " Lawrence . 419 HISTORY OF THE CITIES A\D TOWNS OF ST. Russell . 426 LAWRENCE COUNTY. " Hermon . 435 Village and City of Ogdensburg ... . . 141 " Edwards . 442 Town of Oswegatohie 198 " Fine . . 446 ' Canton 205 " Pitcairn . 449 ' Potsdam 236 " Clifton . . 452 ' Lisbon 268 " Colton . . . 453 Madrid 277 Waddington . 287 ' ' Norfollc ... 299 MILITARY HISTORY, WITH MUSTER ROLLS . . 456 ' Pierrepont 304 " Rossie .312 PATRONS' RECORD 509 ILLTJSTE.^TIOIsrS. PAGE PAOE Court-House, Jail, and County Clerk's Office, Canton, facing title- Portrait of Edward J. Chapin . facing 189 page. " Preston King . it 190 Outline Map of St. Lawrence County facing 9 D. E. Southwick, M.D. . between 190 191 Section from Geological Map of St. Lawrence County 11 Portraits of Anthony Furness and Wife . 190 191 Plan of Port Levis, on Chimney Island . 35 " G. N. Seymour and Wife facing 190 Fac-simile of Seal of St. Lawrence County 82 Portrait of Bishop Perkins 191 " First Legal Writ issued in St. Lawrence County, " Daniel Judson (steel) between 192 193 facing 87 " David C. Judson (steel) . " 192 193 " Seal of Board of Supervisors 89 " David M. Chapin . 194 View of the County Clerk's Office, built in 1804 93 Jones Block (with portrait, Wm. Jones) . facing 195 " St. Lawrence University facing 124 Portrait of Rev. L. M. Miller, D.D. . 196 First Steamboat on the Great Lakes, 1816 136 First Presbyterian Church and Parsonage facing 196 Fac-simile, Oath of Allegiance of Early Militia Officers, 1806. Residence of W. L. Proctor (with portrait) it 197 facing 456 Portrait of Geo. M. Foster 197 Fac-simile of Commission, 1806 n 457 OSWEGATCHIE. OGDENSBURG. Residence of Joseph Wheater (with portraits) . facing 198 Custom House and Post-Office . facing 141 " Beniah Morrison '* " ti 199 Fac-similes of Indian Signatures . ■ . 143, 144 Portrait of N. T. GifBn tc 200 Office and Residence of Dr. Southwiok facing 158 Portraits of John E. Tallman and Wife . between 200, 201 Residence of George Parker, Esq. between 168, 159 Residence of John E. Tallman " 200, 201 " William E. Furniss, Esq. " 158 159 " John S. Sharp (with portraits) . facing 201 Portrait of " " " " 158 169 Portrait of Benjamin Nevin . . . . 202 Portraits of Ashbel and Elizabeth Sykes facing 159 Portraits of Lewis Northrup and Wife facing 202 Portrait of Stillman Foote, Esq. " 168 Portrait of Anthony Furness . . . . 203 " James Armstrong . between 168, 169 Residence of Walter R. Gray, Heuvelton* facing 204 Residence of " " . . " 168, 169 " C. P. Geer . " 168, 169 CANTON. Portrait of N. N. Child, M.D. . facing 170 Residence of 0. A. Mead .... facing 204 " Dr. S. N. Sherman . tc 171 " B. H. Southworth (with portraits ) ■ 205 Portraits of W. B. Wheelook and Wife i( 178 View of the Poor-House " 208 Portrait of E. B. Allen facing 188 Mill of Lasell & Jewett, and Residence of S. ^W ^ Lasell " 208 " Charles Lyon . between 188 189 Old Home of late Gov. Silas Wright . " 209 " Charles G. Myers . " 188 189 Portraits of Pliny Wright and Wife . it 209 CONTENTS. ixjL"U"st:e?.j^tioits. Residence of R. K. Jackson (with portraits) " Joshua W. Finnimore (with pori PAGE facing 212 traits) double between 212, 213 facing 213 214 216 216 217 218 between 218, 219 " 218, 219 " W. H. Finnimore (with portraits) " Mrs. 0. Norton " N. Sanderson " " Wm. 0. Squires " Portraits of Asa Conkey and Wife . Residence of J. C. Whitney .... Hodskin House Portraits of Nathaniel and Barzillai Hodskin . " " Festus Tracy and Wife ... " 218, 219 Residence of E. J. Tracy " 218, 219 " Harvey Knox .... " 218, 219 Portraits of Harvey Knox and Wife ... " 218, 219 Portrait of Judge W. H. Sawyer ... " 218, 219 " Darius Clark " 218, 219 " John L. Russell .... " 218, 219 Residence of John and Henry Bullis . . . facing 220 Presbyterian Church " 221 Residence of W. D. Boyden "222 " Truman Barnes (with portraits) . between 222, 223 " E. G. Woodbridge ... " 222, 223 " John Malterner (with portraits) . . facing 224 " E, Pickert and Son (with portraits) double page, between 224, 225 " Samuel W. Pitt (with portraits) . . facing 225 Portrait of Leslie W. Russell (steel) ... " 228 Portraits of Aaron Barrow and Wife 232 Portrait of Hon. Silas Wright facing 232 " B. Miner between 232, 233 " Hon. Silas Baldwin .... " 232, 233 " Murray N. Ralph .... " 232, 233 Portraits of William Perry and Wife . " 232, 233 Residence of William Perry .... " 232, 233 Portrait of George Robinson 233 " John Miller 235 POTSDAM. State Normal and Training School . Residence of L. A. Holt " Luther S. Owen (with portrait) " George Pert .... " B. Usher .... " Wm. J. Barnum (with portraits) " Martial L. Wait " *' A. L. Lockwood . " J. F. Goggin .... Photograph Gallery of N. L. Stone . Portraits of Loren, Philena, and N. Ashley an Residence of B. D. Brooks " Seth Benson The French Homestead (with portraits) . Trinity Church Residence of Owen J. Sartwell (with portraits) " Joram Timerman " " A. E. Louokes " " Ellis Benson " " N. L. Benson " " George W. Bonney " Milton Heath • . Portrait of Samuel Partridge (steel) . " Horace Allen " . " William A. Dart " . " Dr. Henry Hewitt " . Residence of Mrs. Emeline Baldwin (with pen " Wm. H. Wright (with portraits) " Lyman H. Dayton " Portrait of Liberty Knowles facing 236 240 241 244 244 245 248 between 248, 249 " 248, 249 " 248, 249 Wife facing 249 " 252 " 252 between 252, 253 facing 253 " 264 255 " 256 between 26R, 257 " 256, 257 facing 257 " 267 " 268 between 260, 261 " 260, 261 facing 262 trait) . " 263 " 264 between 264, 265 " 264, 266 Portraits of Eber Wheeler and Wife . Portrait of Luther E. Wadleigh Residence of Tilness Hawley (with portraits) The Mathews Homestead " Residence of A. T. Hopkins " " John May " LISBON. Residence of H. E. Axtell, with river view " Adam Scott (with portraits). Portraits of Benj. D. Wheater and Wife . MADRID. Residence of Caleb Pierce (with portraits) WADDINGTON. Residence of Jas. Redington " S. J. Dewey .... " George Redington " Calvin Abernethy Portrait of Hon. Geo. Redington (steel) . " Major John T. Rutherford " Mrs. Fanny Pratt . " Walter Wilson .... facing PAGE 265 265 facing 266 between 266, 267 266, 267 facing 267 facing 272 " 273 " 276 facing 286 facing 287 287 " 290 291 " 295 . 298 facing 298 NORFOLK. Residence of Wm. C. Rawson (with portraits) " 0. H. Hale . Portraits of Silas Waldron and Wife Portrait of Dr. Wm. Floyd " Chauncey L. Shepard Residence of " " " H. C. Farwell Portrait of H. D. Carpenter " Perry C. Bixby PIERREPONT. Residence of Stephen A. Crary " J. Ingraham Leonard (with portraits) " M. and L. Bullis (double page) . Dairy Farm of Horace Butterfleld (with portraits) M. L. Howard " Ezra Lobdell " Portrait of Gardner Cox ...... Residence of S. C. Curtis ..... " A. B. Hamilton .... " C. R. Packard (with portraits) Portrait of F. A. Morrison .... Residence of Benjamin Butterfield . " L. Crampton .... facing 300 between 300, 301 300, 301 facing 302 between 302, 303 " 302, 303 " 302, 303 facing 303 . 303 facing 303 " 304 between 304, 305 facing 306 306 " - 307 308 between 308, 309 " 308, 309 facing 309 . 309 facing 310 " 311 ROSSIE. Residence of Robert Markwick .... HOPKINTON. Residence of Royal Lawrence (with portraits) . " Mrs. Aohsa Goodell (with portraits) " Joel Witherell (with portraits) The Hopkins' Residence " Portrait of Joel Goodell .... " Franklin B. Kellogg " Hon. Jonah Sanford Residence of " " (with portrait) " W. E. Eastman (with portraits) Portraits of Jacob Phelps and Wife . Residence of Wm. S. Phelps (with portraits) " T. H. Laughlin " Portraits of C. S. Chittenden and Wife . Residence of Jason Brush Portraits of Eliphalet and Jason C. Brush aoing 311 facing 318' " 319 320 " 321 . 322 facing 322 between 322, 323 " 322, 323 facing 323 between 324, 325 " 324,325 facing 325 " 326 between 326, 327 " 326, 327 CONTENTS. IIjIjTJSTE.^TIOIsrS- Portrait of Artemas Kent Portraits of Joseph and Joseph A. Brush " Dr. Francis Parker and Wife Residence of Joseph A. Brush . Portrait of Parker Converse PAGE between 326, 327 " 326, 327 " 326, 327 " 326, 327 facing 327 PARISHVIIitE. Residence of David Daggett (with portraits) . " D. S. Stevens " Portrait of Ansel S. Smith .... " W. W. Bloss Residence of A. E. Bloss (with portraits) . Portraits of Samuel K. Flanders and Wife Residence of Mrs. Mary G. Willis (with portraits) View of Flanders & Sons' Manufactory Portrait of Parker W. Rose .... Residences of P. W. Rose Residence of Allen Whipple Portrait of Allen Whipple ..... Residence of H. N. Flower (with portraits) GOUVERNEUR. facing 328 between 328, 329 " 328, 329 . 330 facing 331 between 330, 331 facing 330 between 330, 331 . 332 facing 332 " 333 . 333 facing 334 Business Property of C. Anthony, Jas. Brodie, etc. . facing 335 Banking Office of A. Godard & Co " 338 Portraits of A. E. Norton, Wife, and Jessie Ormiston, between 338, 339 Residence of A- E. Norton Gouverneur Wesleyan Seminary Residence of Milton G. Norton . Portrait of Prof. W. F. Sudds . Portraits of E. W. Abbott and Wii " P. V. Abbott and Dr. G. S. Farmer " H. W. Hunt and Wife Portrait of D. A. Johnson . Portraits of Francis M. Holbrook and Family Residence of F. M. Holbrook Portrait of J. A. Bassett . " E. H. Neary . " Rev. N. J. Conklin . " Rev. H. C. Townley . " Peter Van Buren " S, B. Van Duzee Portraits of Harvey D. Smith and Wife DE KALB. Residence of John Hockens " Caroline Smith " Blon G. Gardner . " , Nathan Rundell . Portraits of N. Rundell and Wife " 338, 339 facing 339 " 342 " 346 between 346, 347 " 346, 347 facing 347 " 348 between 348, 349 " 348, 349 . 349 facing 350 " 350 350 350, 351 350, 361 350, 351 between . between 350, 351 facing 351 352 . between 352, 353 " 352, 353 Residence of E. P. Townsley and Wife (with portraits), facing 353 " S. V. R. Hendrick . . . ' . "364 " Daniel 0. Stiles (with portraits) . between 354, 355 Portraits of Pelatiah Stacy and Wife . . " 364, 365 " George P. Gaboon and Wife . . " 354, 356 Residence and Mills of A. C. Hine .... facing 366 Residence of S. W. Hemenway " 367 " James Burnett "358 " H. Godard, Esq between 358, 369 Portraits of H. Godard and Wife .... " 368, 369 Residence of Abner Brees (with portraits) . . facing 369 Portrait of Hon. D. A. Moore (steel) .... " 360 ^ Residence of Andrew Roulston (with portraits) . " 362 MACOMB. Residence of James McFalla " John A. Wilson facing 363 363 DE PEYSTER. Portraits of Otis C. Jillson and Wife facing 368 PAGE Portrait of Russel Warren .... between 368, 369 Portraits of Joel Warren and Wife ... " 368, 369 Portrait of George Ashworth 369 " Bcnj. F. Partridge 370 MORRISTOWN. Portrait of E. W. White facing 374 Portraits of John E. Ingham and Wife . . between 374, 375 Residence of " .... " 374, 375 Farm of Jeremiah Davis (double page), with portraits " 374, 375 Residence of Henry Hooker (with portraits) . . facing 375 Portrait of Augustus Chapman (steel) ... " 376 FOWLER. Residence of Benjamin Cross .... HAMMOND. Residence of Andrew Rodger (with portraits) . " William Cuthbert " " James More " " Michael Forrester . STOCKHOLM. facing 382 facing 386 between 386, 387 386, 387 facing 387 Residence of 0. M. Emei-y " 0. F. Crouch .... " Benjamin Reeve (with portraits) W. T. Phippen . View of the AVest Stockholm Foundry Residence of G. W. Harrington (with portraits) " Jas. B. Pelsue " " Col. Ira Hale " Late Residence of J. L. Mayhew (with portrait) Residence of B. G. Lewis (with portraits) " R. R. Seaver Portraits of Morgan Marsh and Wife Portrait of Harriet Smith .... Portraits of Allen Lyman and Wife . MAS SENA. Portraits of Samuel Tracy and Wife Residence of Hiram Fish (with portraits) " H. N. Robinson " " A. J. Barnhart, Barnhart's Island Portraits of the Barnhart Family BRASHER. Residence of Mahalon Lowell . " J. P. Stafford " Moses Rich (with portraits) . " C. T. Hulburt facing 388 " 388 " 389 " 390 " 391 " 392 "' 393 " 394 " 395 " 396 between 396, 397 " 396, 397 " 396, 397 " 396, 397 facing 401 " 408 409 " 410 " 411 facing 412 412 418 419 LAWRENCE. Portrait of T. H. Ferris facing 420 Portraits of W. S. Taggart and Wife . . between 420, 421 Residence of W. S. Taggart .... " 420, 421 " Hon. 0. F. Shepard ... " 420, 421 Portrait of " " .... " 420, 421 " M. B. Conlin facing 421 Residence of George Berry (with portraits) . . " 424 " A. E. McEuen " " . between 424, 426 Residence and Store of D. L. Merrill (with portraits) " 424, 425 Portrait of R. S. Palmer facing 425 RXJSSELL. Russell Block facing 426 Residence of 0. G. Weston "426 Mills of Hiram Bartlett (with portraits) ... " 427 Residence of Wiers Fordham "... " 428 CONTENTS. ZLLTJSTI^J^TIOIsrS. PAGE Residence of Daniel C. Gray (with poi'traits) . facing 430 HERMON. A. B. Shaw " 431 PAGE J. M. Palmer 432 Business Bloclc of D. S. Lynde facing 436 Calvin H. Knox 433 " Dr. B. G. Seymour 436 Portraits of Hiry Derby and Wife . 434 Portrait of Henry Gale 436 Gerry Knox " ... between 434, 435 Residence of Wm. Scripter (with portraits) " 438 Residence of Harry F. Knox (with portraits) . " 434, 435 " Ferdinand Richardson (with portraits) 440 Ezra Stiles facing 435 Portrait of Thomas Thornhill ..... . 441 Bioa-E..A.i^s:io^iL.. PAOE PAGE William Furniss, Ogdensburg facing 158 Murray N. Ralph, Canton .... between 232, 233 Ashbel and Elizabeth Sykes, Ogdensburg " 169 William Perry, Sr., " . " 232,233 Stillman Foote, " 168 George Robinson, " . 233 James Armstrong, " " 169 John Mai tern er, " . 234 N. N. Child, M.D., " 170 Bphraim Pickert, " . 234 S. N. Sherman, M.D., " 171 Nelson Sanderson, " . 234 W. B. Wheeloek, 178 William 0. Squires, " . 234 Hon. Nathan Ford, " . 188 John Miller, " . 235 B. B. Allen, facing 188 Samuel Partridge, Potsdam . 258 Charles Lyon, " between 188, 189 Aaron T. Hopkins, " . 259 Hon. Chas. G. Myers, " . " 188, 189 Ira T. French, " . 259 Edward J. Chapin, Esq., " facing 189 Hon. Horace Allen, " . 260 Louis Hasbrouck, " . 189 Hon. William A. Dart, " . 260 Dr. J. W. Smith, " . 190 David Mathews, " . 261 Joseph York, " . 190 Owen J. Sartwell, " . 261 Hon. Preston King, " facing 190 Henry Hewitt, M.D., " . 262 Dr. D. B. Southwick, between 190, 191 Hon. Chas. 0. Tappan, " . 262 Anthony Furness, " . " 190, 191 Benjamin G. Baldwin, " . 263 G. N. Seymour, " facing 190 William J. Barnum, " . 264 Bishop Perkins, " . 191 Warren H. Wright, " . 264 Daniel Judson, " 192 Liberty Knowles, *' between 264, 265 David C. Judson, " 192 Eber Wheeler, " facing 265 Hon. Silvester Gilbert, " 193 Luther B. Wadleigh, . 265 David M. Chapin, " 194 Hon. A. X. Parker, " 265 William Jones, " 195 Seth Benson, " . 265 George Parker, " 195 Ellis Benson, " . 266 Rev. L. M. Miller, D.D., 196 Luther S. Owen, " . 266 William L. Proctor, " 197 Martial L. Wait, " . . 266 George M. Foster, " . 197 Andrew E. Louokes, " . 266 N. T. Giffin, Oswegatohie . facing 200 Tilness Hawley, " . 266 John B. Tallman, " 1: etween 200, 201 Joram Timerman, " . 267 Benjamin Nevin, " . 202 Lyman H. Dayton, " . 267 Lewis Northrup, " facing 202 John May, " . 267 Beniah Morrison, " . 203 Adam Scott, Lisbon . . 276 Anthony Furness, " . 203 Benjamin D. Wheater, Lisbon f acing 276 John S. Sharp, " . 204 Dr. Caleb Pierce, Madrid . . 285 Joseph Wheater, " . 204 Hon. James F. Pierce, Madrid . 286 Asa Conkey, Canton facing 217 Hon. George Redington, Waddington . 295 Festus Tracy, " between 218, 219 Hon. James Redington, " . 296 Harvey Knox, " " 218, 219 Major John T. Rutherford, " . 297 Judge W. H. Sawyer, Canton . . " 218, 219 Henry W. Pratt, " . 297 Darius Clark, " " 218, 219 Calvin Abernethy, " . 298 John L. Russell, " " 218, 219 Walter Wilson, " facing 298 Truman Barnes, " facing 222 Silas Waldron, Norfolk .... between 300, 301 Hon. Leslie W. Russell, " . 228 Dr. William Floyd, Norfolk facing 302 Pliny Wright, " . 229 Chaunoey L. Shepard, " between 302, 303 Wm. H. Finnimore, " . 229 Perry C. Bixby, " . 303 Joshua W.Finnimore, " . 230 0. II. Hale, " . 303 Rufus K. Jackson, " . 230 Chandler Rawson, " . 304 Orvillo Norton, " . 231 Hczekiah B. Pierreponl, Pierrepont, . 308 Samuel W. Pitt, " . 231 Moses Leonard, '* . 308 Aaron Barrow, Jr., " . 232 Gardner Cox, " facing 308 Hon. Silas Wright, facing 232 Charles R. Packard, " . 309 B. Miner, " between 232, 233 F. A. Morrison, " ,inn Hon. Silas Baldwin, " " 232, 233 Benjamin Butterflold, " • 310 CONTENTS. :bx(dg-:ei,j^f:e3:xc)j^Xj. I'AQE PAGE Ezra Lobdell, Canton 311 Hon. Darius Moore, De Kalb . 360 Appleton C. Howard, Canton . 311 Hon. Blias P. Townsley, De Kalb . 360 William Markwioli, Rossie . 317 John Hockens, " . 361 Joel Goodell, Hopkinton . . . 322 Elon G. Gardner, . 362 Franklin E. Kellogg, Hopkinton facing 322 Andrew Roulston, " . 362 Hon. Jonah Sanford, " between 322, 323 Stephen W. Hcmenway, " . 362 John Goodell, " . 323 Otis C. Jillson, De Peyster facing 368 Jonah Sanford, " . . 323 Russel Warren, " ... between 368, 369 Captain Wm. E. Eastman, Hopkinton . 324 Joel Warren, " ... . " 368,369 Blias Post, . 324 George Ashworth, " ... . 369 Joel Witherell, " . 324 Benjamin F. Partridge, De Peyster . . 370 Jacob and Wm. S. Phelps, ti between 324, 325 B. W. White, Morristown . facing 374 Eoyal Lawrence, " . 325 John E. Ingham, " . . . between 374, 375 Isaac E. Hopkins, . 325 Henry Hooker, " .... . 375 E. W. Hopkins, ti . 325 Augustus Chapman, " . . . 376 t! H. Laughlin, . 325 Jeremiah Davis, " .... . 376 Dr. H. D. Laughlin, " . 326 The Rodger Family, Hammond . . 386 Clark S. Chittenden, " . 326 Jas. S. More, "... . 387 Eliphalet and Jason 0. Brush, between 326, 327 Michael Forrester, . 388 Artemas Kent, . " 326,327 William Cuthbert, "... . 388 Dr. Francis Parker, . " 326, 327 Col. Ira Hale, Stockholm .... . 394 Joseph Brush, " . " 326,327 John L. Mayhew, " . . 394 Joseph A. Brush, . " 326,327 George W. Harrington, Stockholm . . 395 Parker ConTCrse, it facing 327 Oliver M. Emery, " 395 Ansel S. Smith, Parishville between 328, 329 Benjamin Reeve, " . 395 W. W. Bloss (Autobiography), Parishville . 330 B. G. Lewis, " . 396 Samuel K. Flanders, it between 330, 331 James B. Pelsue, " . 396 David Daggart, it . 331 Allen Lyman, " . . between 396, 397 Hon. Parker W. Rose, it . 332 Samuel Tracy, Massena facing 401 Allen Whipple, " 333 Hiram Fish, " . . . . . 410 Deacon George A. Flower, it . 334 Horatio N. Robinson, Massena . . 410 David S. Stephens, " . 334 Luther H. Robinson, " . 410 Edwin W. Bloss, " . 334 The Barnhart Family, "... . 411 Samuel Willis, it . 336 Mrs. Helen Rich, Brasher . . 418 Prof. W. F. Sudds, Gouverneui facing 346 T. H. Ferris, Lawrence facing 420 B. W. Abbot, " between 346, 347 W. S. Taggart, " .... between 420, 421 Dr. S. S. Farmer, " . " 346, 347 Hon. 0. F. Shepard, Lawrence . 420, 421 Hiram W. Hunt, " facing 347 M. B. Conlin, " facing 421 D. A. Johnson, " 348 R. S. Palmer, " 425 Francis M. Holbrook, " . 348 A. E. MoBuen, " . 425 Milton G. Norton, . ■ . . .349 Dyer L. Merrill, " ... . 425 Prof. J. Anthony Bassett, Gouverneur . 349 George Berry, " ... . 426 A. E. Norton, ti . 349 Julius M. Palmer, Russell .... . 432 Rev. H. C. Townley, it . 350 Wiers C. Fordham, " . . . . . 433 Rev. N. J. Conklin, ti . 350 Calvin H. Knox, " . . . . . 434 Edward H. Neary, " . 350 Harry F. Knox, " . . . 434 Peter Van Buren, it between 350, 351 Hiram Bartlett, " . . . 434 S. B. Van Duzee, it " 360, 351 Abijah B. Shaw, '*,... 434 Harvey D. and Mary H. Smith, it " 350, 351 Capt. Hiry Derby, " . . . facing 434 Nathan Rundell, De Kalb . . " 362, 353 Gerry Knox, " . . . . between 434, 435 Pelatiah Stacy, " . " 364, 355 Ezra Stiles, " . . . 435 George P. Gaboon, " facing 356 Ferdinand Richardson, Hermon . 440 Hon. Harlow Godard, De Kalb between 358, 359 William M. Scripter, " . 440 James Burnett, " . 369 Thomas Thornhill, " . 441 Daniel 0. Stiles, " . 369 Henry Gale, " . 441 Abner Brees, " • . 359 1749 INTRODUCTORY. 18T8 It has been well said that " history is the memory of nations," and the history of a nation is but the aggregation of that of States, counties, towns, and individuals. The story of the early experience of the pioneer is the substruc- ture upon which rests the finished " temple of history." The history of a neighborhood is made up from the recol- lections of those who first cut away the dense forest-growth, and sowed the first grain, and raised the first rude log cabins to shelter their wives and little ones. The history of each school and church begins with the "logging bee," when the scattered neighbors collected together and erected a primitive building covered with bark, or " shakes" from the riven spruce or hemlock, where the half- dozen bronzed and cheaply-clad children sat on slab benches and listened while the " master" explained the tremendous problems of " Pike" and " Davie," or patiently taught the curly-headed youngsters their " A B abs." The primitive church edifice was sometimes raised in a couple of days, and often the early sanctuaries were " God's first temples," the overshadowing forest. The earliest roads and means of communication were the Indian trail and the canoe, or " dug-out," and a score of years elapsed after the first settlement before there were even passable roads for teams. The vast domain of St. Lawrence County comprises 2880 square miles, is in itself equal in area to several of the minor States of the Union, and its history is almost equally important. We have endeavored, in this elaborate and beau- tiful volume, to give all the important facts connected with its various interests : Discovery and early settlement ; the mission of La Presentation; the military and naval operations of the early and later wars ; the history of its numerous land-titles and prominent land-holders ; the planting of its early schools and churches ; its organization into a separate county ; its courts and boards of supervisors ; the founding of its numerous towns and villages ; sketches of its promi- nent citizens, its attorneys and physicians, its political, agricultural, manufacturing, and commercial interests ; its growth and development by decades, with statistics of popu- lation, taxation, and wealth ; its railway and shipping inter- ests ; its geography, geology, etc., and the grand and noble part taken by its people in the terrible struggle for the preservation of the Union. A large amount of valuable information was collected by Dr. Hough when compiling his history of St. Lawrence and Franklin counties, twenty-five years ago, and this work has been the prolific source whence we have drawn liberally in the compilation of the present volume. Every published work bearing in any way upon the history of the county, and available to us, has been examined, and its facts em- bodied, and all portions of the county have been visited, " old settlers" interviewed, and their recollections utilized in the best possible manner. For purposes of convenience the work has been treated by subjects, as far as possible, and arranged with convenient index for easy reference. Among the numerous authorities consulted, we may men- tion the Documentary and Colonial History of New York, Hough's History of St. Lawrence, Franklin, and Jefi'erson Counties, Pouchot's Memoirs (a rare work), the civil list of the State, Parkman's Works, Writings of Champlain, Char- levoix, Mante, Knox, Bancroft, Albach, and other standard authors, various works on the history of the State, legisla- tive manuals. United States and State censuses, court and supervisors' records, libraries, records of county societies and of churches and schools, old newspaper-files, geological works, and the military records of the adjutant-general's office at Albany. In the letter-press and engraving departments, the work will best speak for itself; but it may be proper to say that the publishers flatter themselves that their numerous patrons will, in these respects, find nothing to be desired. The historical corps have everywhere met with kindly consideration, but the number of those who have rendered valuable assistance forbids an individual enumeration. We would, however, acknowledge ourselves under special obli- gations to Dr. F. B. Hough and his son, Mr. F. H. Hough , to county, city, and town officials, the press and clergy, officers and managers of societies and orders, members of the legal and medical fraternities, railway officers. United States customs officials, postmasters, and the various manu- facturers throughout the county. Acknowledgments for assistance rendered in collecting data for the history of the several towns will be found in their proper connections. SAMUEL W. DUE ANT, HENRY B. PEIRCE. Ogdessbckg and Canton, Jan., 1878. COUNTY /A '/Caiier / m m '^% ^@ fe y'-n^ I ' M isuttCTouC ^ I a: ^U, , ,fl/V£WWLE CLARE It 6' U Q. ,, HAREWDOD ,x..^-.'-4vr\^-- ri / ^K- •/) iVh-T-l ^^4r~. \>f- I " "- ' "■""" " \\A^\3. A 'v^-N^.I.i._._i k_ --V_.=r Referenc&i- Nal Great Tnu:t ¥o. Three . MaconJis Purcli ' (3 'S^ Lawrence. Ten Towi T ^os Hirer ) H A M I LTO N COUNTY 'ULfe.. HI8T0EY OF ST. LA"WEENOE COUNTY, NEW YOEK BY S. W. DURANT AND H. B. PEIECE. CHAPTER I. PHYSICAL FEATURES. Geography, Topography, Geology, Mineralogy, and Meteorology. St. Lawrence County, named from the great river on its northern border, is situated in the northern part of the State, and contains, according to the " State Gazetteer" (edited by Franklin B. Hough, A.M., M.D.), 2880 square miles, being the largest in the State. Its northern boun- dary is the national line, in the channel of the St. Law- rence, between the United States and the Dominion of Canada. It is bounded on the south by Hamilton and Herkimer counties, on the east by Franklin county, and on the southwest by Jefferson county. The principal streams are the Indian, Oswcgatchie, Grasse, Racket (Raquelte), and St. Regis rivers, and their branches. The Indian river rises in the east part of Lewis county, and after a very tortuous course, including a pas- sage through Black lake, falls into the Oswegatchie about four miles above Ogdensburg. The Oswegatchie rises in the northern part of Herkimer county, and flowing north- ward passes through Cranberry lake, and thence bearing northwest- makes a curious detour into the eastern border of Jefferson county, and thence flows in a northeasterly course to Heuvelton, where it again bears to the northwest and discharges into the St. Lawrence at Ogdensburg. Grass ( Grasse) river rises in the southeastern part of the county, in the town of Hopkinton, where it drains Pleasant, Massa- wappie, and several smaller lakes and ponds. From its head-waters it flows northwesterly until it enters the town of Russell, where it deflects to the northeast, and flows with a uniform course in that direction to its junction with the St. Lawrence, in the town of Masseua. The Racket river (originally Raquette) has its sources in the northern part of Hamilton county, where it drains numerous lakes, among the most important of which are Emmons', Racket, and Long lakes. From the northeast corner of Hamilton it crosses the southwest corner of Franklin county, where it receives the waters of Dead or Tupper's lake, and flows 2 thence in a general northwesterly direction to the village of Potsdam, where it makes a turn and flows northeasterly and discharges into the St. Lawrence in the northwest cor- ner of Franklin county, on the 45th parallel of north lati- tude. This is the longest stream in northern New York, having a course of about one hundred miles, and draining by an approximate estimate about 1200 square miles. The St. Regis rises in the southern part of Franklin county, its head-waters being formed by the outlets of numerous small lakes and ponds. Its eastern branch heads in the eastern part of Franklin county, where it drains Meacham's and numerous smaller lakes. The west branch takes a north- westerly course, like all the rivers in this region, and flows directly towards the St. Lawrence until it reaches the town of Stockholm, when it turns towards the northeast and flows in that direction to its confluence with the St. Law- rence at the Indian village of St. Regis, on the boundary line between the United States and Canada. The east branch flows in a general northwesterly direction, and unites with the west branch at the hamlet of Helena in the town of Brasher. The Deer river, a branch of the St. Regis, rises in the central part of Franklin county, and unites with the east branch in the south part of the town of Brasher. All these streams have a rapid descent from the highlands, and are broken by numerous falls, cascades, and rapids, which furnish abundant water-power. In the early days they were all more or less used for purposes of navigation, and Black lake is navigable for steam and sailing craft. A natural canal formerly connected the Oswegatchie and Grasse rivers, which was at one time considerably utilized for purposes of navigation by canoes and light bateaux. It is now entirely abandoned, and for a portion of its length (about five miles) is nearly dry. It originally had a de- scent of a few feet towards the Oswegatchie. LAKES. There are several quite extensive lakes in the county, the most important of which are : Black lake, in the western part, which is about twenty miles in length, anS covers an estimated area of about fifteen square miles, or 9600 acres. Its waters are clear, generally deep, and abound in several 9 10 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. varieties of fish. This lake contains numerous islands, and is walled in places by perpendicular masses of Potsdam sandstone, affording in many localities most beautiful scenery. Cranberry lake, in the southeastern part of the county, covers about ten square miles, according to the latest maps, or 6400 acres. It is situated well up in the highlands, in the midst of a great variety of scenery. It also abounds in islands. Tapper's, or Dead lake, lies partly in Franklin and partly in St. Lawrence counties, and is about the size of Cranberry lake, or perhaps somewhat less in area. It is in the midst of a wild forest region and ad- jacent to some of the highest cones of the Adirondacks. Numerous other less important lakes are found in various parts of the county, among which are Trout and Jordan lakes, in Hopkinton ; Silver lake, in Fowler ; Trout and Cedar lakes, in Hermon ; and Yellow lake, in Rossie. THE LAKE OF THE "THOUSAND ISLANDS," in the St. Lawrence, abounds in the most beautiful scenery on the continent, and the grand river itself is unrivaled on the globe for the purity of its deep blue waters, and the ever-changing variety and beauty of its splendid scenery. Its shores abound in points of historic interest, which, to the uneducated traveler, are a constant source of enjoy- ment ; and the isteady flow of its waters, which are never affected by storms, its enormous volume, its grand reaches, where it spreads out like the sea, and its wonderful rapids, all combine to make it one of the most interesting streams to be found on the earth. The following extract is from " Weld's Journal," written in 1799, and published in Dr. Hough's History of Jefferson County, in 1854. In speaking of the Lake of the Thousand Islands, he says, — "About 8 o'clock the next and eighth morning of oar voyage ire entered the last lake before you come to that of Ontario, called the Lake of a Thousand Islands, on account of the multiplicity of them which it contains. Many of these islands are scarcely larger than a bateau, and none of them, except such as are situated at the upper and lower extremities of the lake, appeared to me to contain more than fifteen English acres each. They are all covered with wood, eveir to the very smallest. The trees on these last are stunted in their growth, but the larger islands produce as fine timber as is to be found on the main shores of the lake. Many of these islands are situated so closely together that it would be easy to throw a pebble from one to the other, notwithstanding which circumstance the pas- sage between them is perfectly safe and commodious for bateaux, and between some of them that are even thus close to each other is water sufficient for a frigate. The water is uncommonly clear, as it is in every part of the river from Lake St. Francis upwards; between that lake and the Utawas river downwards it is discolored, as I have be- fore observed, by passing over beds of marl. The shores of all these islands under our notice are rocky; most of thein rise very boldly, and some exhibit perpendicular masses of rock towards the water up- wards of twenty feet high. The scenery presented to view in sailing between these islands is beautiful in the highest degree. Sometimes, after passing through a narrow strait, you find yourself in a basin, land-locked on every side, that appears to have no communication with the lake, except by the passage through which you entered ; you are looking about, perhaps, for an outlet to enable you to proceed, think- ing at last to see some little channel which will just admit your bateiiu, when, on a sudden, an expanded sheet of water opens upon you, whose boundary is the horizon alone ; again in a few minutes you find yourself land-looked, and again a spacious passage as sud- denly presents itself; at other times, when in the middle of one of these basins, between a cluster of islands, a dozen different channels, like so many noble rivers, meet the eye, perhaps equally unexpeet- y edly, and on each side the islands appear regularly retiring till they sink from the sight in the distance. Every minute during the pas- sage of this lake the prospect varies. ... The Lake of a Thousand Islands is twenty-five miles in length, and about six in breadth. The celebrated poet, Thomas Moore, visited the St. Law- rence in the early part of the present century, and the magnificent scenery of the noble river naturally excited the enthusiasm of a temperament delicately sensitive to the beauties of nature, so strikingly reflected in his poems. The boatmen were accustomed to beguile the tedium of rowing by singing, their voices being perfectly attuned and the whole crew joining in the chorus. Of its effect he says, — '• Without the charm which association gives to every little memo- rial of scenes or feelings that are past, the melody may perhaps be thought common and trifling; but I remember when we had entered at sunset upon one of those beautiful lakes into which the St. Law- rence so grandly and unexpectedly opens, I have heard this simple air with a pleasure which the finest compositions of the first masters have never given me; and now there is not a note of it which does not recall to my memory the dips of our oars in the St. Lawrence, the flight of our boat down the rapids, and all those new and fanciful impressions to which my heart was alive during the whole of this interesting voyage." CANADIAN BOAT SONG. " Faintly as tolls the evening chime Our voices keep tune and our oars keep time ; Soon as the woods on the shore look dim, We'll sing at St. Ann's our parting hymn. Row, brothers, row, the stream runs fast, The rapids are near and the daylight's past ! "Why should we yet our sail unfurl ? There is not a breath the blue wave to curl ! But, when the wind blows off the shore, Oh, sweetly we'll rest our weary oar! Blow, breezes, blow, the stream runs fast, The rapids are near and the daylight's past ! " Utawa'3 tide ! this trenlbling moon Shall see us float o'er thy surges soon : Saint of this green isle ! hear our prayers, Oh, grant us cool heavens and favoring airs ! Blow, breezes, blow, the stream runs fast, The rapids are near and the daylight's past !" TOPOGRAPHY. The surface of St. Lawrence County covers so vast an area that it necessarily shows great variety, from the high- lands of the Adirondacks in the southeast to the champaign region lying adjacent and parallel to the St. Lawrence. J The loftiest elevations are about 2000 feet above tide-water at Albany, the general elevation of the southeastern portion being about 1000 feet. The surface in the more even por- tions is broken, more or less, by parallel ridges of primitive and secondary formation ; and the western portions, particu- larly in the towns of Rossie and Macomb, are somewhat hilly. A very peculiar feature of the topography of the county is t^e curious course which its principal inland streams pursue. The Oswegatchie, Grasse, Raquette, and St. Regis rivers, all rising in the highlands, flow for about one-half to two-thirds of their course directly towards the St. Lawrence, when they make sudden and sometimes — as is the case with the Oswegatchie — very acute angles, and flow from HISTOEY OF ST. LAWREiSTCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 11 thence to their union with the great river in courses almost parallel to that stream. The Oswegatchie is an exception, though, in former times it connected by a sort of natural canal with Grasse river, and very possibly at one period poured its waters through that channel to the northeast. The reason of this peculiarity is undoubtedly found in the ridge-like formations before spoken of, which trend gen- erally in a northeast and southwest direction. Tlie Chip- pewa creek, in Morristown and Hammond, curiously enough, flows in a direction exactly contrary to that followed by the St. Lawrence. The middle and western portions of the county are somewhat broken by protruding masses of the Potsdam sandstone. Tlie northern and northea.stern por- tions are generally level or slightly undulating. GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY. The following articles upon these subjects are from Dr. Hough's History of the County. From the accompanying map it will be seen that the stone, etc., which of themselves often become rock forma- tions. The boundaries of the gneiss rock are very nearly as follows. They constitute the Thousand islands, the last of which lie before Morristown, although both shores of the St. Lawrence are here composed of newer rock. A narrow strip of this rock extends from Chippewa bay, up the valley of the creek of tliat name, two or three miles, being bounded on each side by a formation which geologists have named Potsdam sandstone, of which a further account will be given hereafter. The gneiss rock next enters the county from Jefferson, near the line of the military road in Hammond, and its northern margin runs nearly in a direct line to Black lake, and forms all the islands in that water, although the north shore is sandstone. It leaves the lake in De Peyster, and runs across that town, De Kalb, and Canton, leaving the most of these towns underlaid by gneiss, and passes across a small part of Potsdam into Parishville and the southern part of the settlements in Hopkinton, and thence through townships Nos. 7, 8, and 9 op K ST.MWBIMCE COTMTT. v.* 1 mL southern part of the county is underlaid by primary rock, composed of varieties of granite, gneiss, and white or pri- mary limestone, which often show, in the structure and mode of arrangement, that they have been at some period sub- jected to the action of heat. The constituents of these prim- itive rocks are generally quartz, hornblendej and feldspar, arranged in irregular and often very tortuous strata or layers, which are generally highly inclined. This peculiar mixture and arrangement of simple minerals is denominated gneiss rock. When stratification is wanting it becomes sienite, and when mica takes the place of hornblende it is called granite. A great variety of minerals occur in gneiss rock in certain localities, and it is a valuable repository of lead and iron ores. In some places simple minerals occur in large quanti- ties, to the exclusion of everything else, as serpentine, limo- of Franklin county, and the northern edge of Belmont. With small exceptions to bo mentioned, near Somerville, the whole of the country south of this line is primary, and to this region metallic ores, except bog ores, must be neces- sarily limited. At the 'village of Potsdam the same rock comes up to the surface, like an island in the midst of sand- stone, and at other places the same thing is observed. How- ever irregular the strata of gneiss may be, they will gen- erally be found to dip or slope down towards the north, which explains a remark made by Mr. Wright in his early surveys, that the mountains [like all in the southern forest] afford very good land on the north side, and gradually de- scending, but on the south side have high, perpendicular ledges. The extensive forest of northern New York is underlaid 12 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. entirely by primary rock, which seems to have been thrust up through newer formations that surround it. In some places the latter are thrown into an inclined position by this intruded mass. Gneiss rock has but few useful appli- cations. In early times (and still for coarse grinding) it was used for millstones, and in some places it occurs suita- ble for building ; but is generally too hard to be wrought with profit. In the south part of Canton a very fine-grained and durable variety occurs, which has a uniform gray color and close texture that recommends it where permanence is required. Towards the western part of St. Lawrence County white limestone is of common occurrence with this formation, and it has given rise to much discussion whether the limestone be primitive and coeval with the gneiss, or whether it he a later deposit altered by heat. One fact is well established, viz., that the white limestone underlies the sandstone, and many instances of this occur in Rossie, Ant- werp, etc. Examples are also found where this limestone underlies or mingles with the granite, as at Lyndhurst, in Canada. This limestone has been used to some extent as a marble, and mills for sawing it have existed in Rossie and Fbwler ; but its coarse, crystalline texture impairs its value, except for the more massive kinds of architecture. For the manu- facture of lime, however, there is probably nowhere in the world a material that will surpass this. It is generally in this rock, or along the line of junction with the gneiss, that the more splendid varieties of minerals occur that are so eagerly sought by collectors. In agricultural capabilities, the soil underlaid by primary rock varies in quality, and seems to be, in a measure, dependent upon the prevalence of limestone and the nature and amount of the loose drifted materials that overlie it. The northern border of the State, and for a great distance into Canada, is underlaid by rocks of a more recent period, in which lime is an important in- gredient, and these give character to the soil for a con- siderable distance south, which can scarcely be said to diifer from that immediately above them. The surface of the primary is generally more or less broken by ridges of rock, often rising but little above the surface. These ridges have a prevailing direction of north- east and southwest, which gives to the rivers tributary to the St. Lawrence their general course, and occasions the remarkable flexures so strikingly noticed in the OswegatcTiie and Indian rivers, which flow in natural valleys for a con- siderable distance between ridges of gneiss. Towards the southern borders of St. Lawrence County the upheavals be- come of greater altitude, and as we go into the eastern part of this, and southern part of Franklin county, they attain the altitude of mountains, which in Essex reach an altitude of 5400 feet ; being only exceeded, in the region lying east of the MLssissippi river, by the Black mountains of North Carolina and the White mountains of New Hampshire, the former of which reach 6900 feet. These bald and sterile peaks support but a scanty vegetation, and overlook in- numerable ponds and lakes, with fertile intervales ; but thousands of acres will be found wholly unfit for tillage, and of no value beyond the timber on the surface or the iron ores beneath it. These lands form a elevated plateau, liable to liite spring and early autumnal frosts, but adapted to grazing, the uplands afibrding pasturage and the intervales meadows. Of minerals interesting to the collector it has none, but it abounds in iron ores, which will hereafter em- ploy the industry of great numbers, as it unites the three essentials of ore, water-power, and fuel, to which, in a great degree, has been added, in the Northern railroad, an ac- cess to market. From an elevation of 1600 feet the surface uniformly descends to the St. Lawrence, and in Franklin county, from the greater elevation, the descent is more perceptible, so that from almost any prominent point the lower country north may be overlooked to a great extent, and the majestic St. Lawrence, reduced to a silver line in the blue distance, with the Canadian villages dotted here and there, and the obscure outline of northern mountains faintly appearing on the horizon, give a peculiar beauty to the landscape. Lying directly upon the gneiss, or in some instances upon the limestone, is a rock which presents a great variety of structure, called by geologists Potsdam sandstone, from its great abundance above that village, and its remarkable adaptation for building purposes which it there exhibits. Perhaps no material in the world surpasses in cheapness, elegance, and durability the Potsdam sandstone, where it occurs in even-bedded strata, as in the towns of Potsdam, Canton, Stockholm, etc. The sharpness of outline which it preserves in localities where it has been exposed to the weather for centuries indicates its durability. Walls made of this stone never present the mouldy, decaying appear- ance common to walls of limestone in damp situations. It cleaves into slabs three or four inches thick and several feet in length, and when first exposed to the air it readily breaks, when laid over a straight edge, with carefully re- peated blows of a stone hammer, into pieces of any desirable size with the greatest freedom. Exposure to the air hardens it in a little time, and it thenceforth is fitted for any pur- pose of paving, or the walls of building, for which uses it is unsurpassed. Walls laid with alternate courses of broad and narrow stone present a very neat and substantial ap- pearance. The sandstone enters Rossie from Jefferson county, be- tween the Oswegatchie and the iron mines, and runs across that town about two miles into Gouverneur. The south margin of this rock conforms to the course we have traced as the boundary of the gneiss, and it underlies some of the most valuable farming lands of northern New York. A feature will be observed in the district underlaid by the sandstone, which is quite general, and is due to the little liability to disintegration which it exhibits, namely, the absence of gentle swells and sloping declivities. Wherever valleys occur their margins are usually bounded by abrupt precipices of naked rock, and where deep ravines have been wrought by running streams, as at the falls on the Chateau- gay river, the banks present bold projecting and overhang- \ ing cliff's, with intervening spaces, where from frost or running streams portions have been thrown down or swept away, leaving detached and almost isolated masses standing. In Hammond are localities in which outstanding masses of this rock, of the same height as the main body but separa- ted from it, often occur. In texture the sandstone differs greatly, being at times fine-grained and uniformly stratified, HISTOEY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 13 as at all the quarries where it is wrought, and at times made up of angular or rounded masses of various sizes, cemented together, with little symmetry or appearance of stratification. It is among the last of these that several curious instances of structure exist, which indicate in them- selves some of the causes that must have operated when the deposits were going on. Ripple niarles are of common occurrence, proving that they formed the shores of ancient seas, by which the sands were thrown into slight undulating ridges, exactly as is seen on the borders of existing waters. In some places the rock is made up of balls, having a con- centric structure like the coats of an onion, usually with a pebble as a nucleus, as if they had been formed by rolling over the surface, receiving an addition from the adhesion of sand, as we sometimes see snow-balls rolled up by the wind on the surface of snow. In the vicinity of the iron mines of Rossie this spheroidal structure is very common, and makes up the whole rock. They are of all sizes, from a pea to an orange. But perhaps there is no structure, either of this or of any rock, more worthy of study than the remarkable cylindricnl stratification frequently observed in Rossie, Antwerp, Tlieresa, etc. These cylinders are vertical, and of all diameters, from two inches up to twenty feet or more, and their section, .whore exposed to the surface, shows them to be made of concentric strata of sand of dif- ferent colors and degrees of fineness, firmly consolidated and capable of being detached, when they present to the casual observer the appearance of huge logs of wood, which has led to their being called '• petrified logs." This sand- stone contains but few evidences of organic existence, these being limited to obscure fucoids and one or two bivalve shells. At times the ripple marks have been seen much like sea-weeds in their arrangement, and the fracture and cleavage of the stone near Potsdam has at times shown a moss-like ramification, which may be due to manganese. The cylinders at times encroach upon each other, the last formed being perfect, while the older one has its stratifi- cation interrupted by the other. No rational theory has occurred to us by which this wonderful structure could be explained, other than that they were formed by vortices or whirlpools playing upon the surface of water and imparting their gyratory motions to the mobile sands of the bottom, which has since become consolidated and remains. The Potsdam sandstone is bordered, along the St. Law- rence and extending back a few miles, by the culciferons sandstone, which presents at many places near Ogdensbui-g definite fossil remains, which are, however, limited to a few species. Among these are many obscure masses, with a texture that indicates them to have been sponges, or the lower orders of zoophytes, which have never been studied with the view of scientific interest. In an economical point of view this rock is of importance, both as a building stone and as material for lime, for which, however, it is far in- ferior to the white hmestone of the primary region. At Massena and at Waddington water lime has been manu- factured from this rock, but this is not now done. The above enumerated form the principal of our rock formations, but over them all is more or less extensively and very unequally spread a mass of soil, sand, clay, and bowlders of rock, much of which bears evidence of having been drifted, by agencies that have long since ceased, from more northern localities, and deposited in its present form. This has received the name of Drift, and its study forms one of the most instructive departments of practical geology. Evi- dences of its northern origin may be found in our ability to often trace loose masses of rook to the parent source, and especially to the polished and scratched surface of rocks when exposed, which bear testimony to the fact that they have been ground and furrowed by moving masses, which the direction of the scratches certify was from a northerly quarter. The evidence of the grinding of solid bodies moving in water is often observed along streams at the present day. Near Cooper's falls, in De Kalb, may be seen a cavity of several feet in depth which has been worn in this way, but it is at a level far above the present river ; and in the gneiss rock, near the Ox Bow, in the edge of Jetforson county, is another example, which occurs on the face of a clifi' some seventy feet in height, and is of so remarkable a nature as to have attracted general curiosity. The pot- shaped cavity is about 18 feet deep and 10 wide at the largest part. It derives its name from its having been used as a pulpit on several occasions when the settlements were new. In one instance a Methodist quarterly meeting is said to have been held at the foot of this rock. In De Kalb an instance is observed in which the strata of sandstone have been pressed into waves. This locality is mentioned by Prof. Emmons as being eighty rods north of De Kalb vil- lage. At another locality the strata are broken up, which proves that these masses have been subjected to motion since formed and consolidated. Tortuous strata in the gneiss are extremely common, but nowhere can this be studied with better advantage than on the summit of the hill towards Hammond, in the village of Rossie. Accumula- tions of drift are of common occurrence in Rossie, near Sprague's Corners, in Hermon, Pierrepont, Parishville, Hop- kinton, etc. There is above the drift still another formation, consisting of sands and clays, and containing shells unchanged in texture, and of the species now living in the Arctic seas, which skirts the northern border of the two counties, from Ogdens- burg, eastward, to which, from its extensive occurrence in the valley of the St. Lawrence, the term Laurentian deposit- has been proposed. It exists in Canada over a great extent, and also in the valley of Lake Champlain. The railroad cutting east of Ogdenburg was through this, and multitudes of the fossil shells of species named by naturalists Saxicava riiffosa, Tellina groardandica, and a few others occur, and may be gathered in quantities. The clay beds at Eayniond- ville, which have a peculiar columnar structure very much like starch, and no signs of stratification whatever, contain shells of the same species, proving that they belong to a marine formation of a comparatively recent period. These recent fossils occur in ravines throughout a considerable part of the northern border of Franklin county. Of a still more recent period are the bog ores still form- ing in swamps, the deposits of lime from a few springs, and the detritus brought down by rivers and left at their mouths, of which the rvsh led. at the mouth of the Oswegatchic, before the village of Ogdensburg, is an instance. 14 HISTORY OF ST. LAWEENCB COUNTY, NEW YORK. LEAD. Among the remarkable features of the primary are trap dykes (of which many very interesting instances occur in Eossie, especially near Wegatchie) and metallic veins. As it is designed to render this notice of practical utility, many subjects of a theoretical nature will be passed. Of metallic veins, those of lead, copper, and zinc are the principal, and of the first that at Rossie is pre-eminent. Indefinite reports of lead, silver, etc., based upon Indian traditions, were common among the early proprietors, and much effort was made to discover the localities, among which one said to exist near the sources of Grasse river was sought after. At Rossie lead ore occurs in several veins, which descend nearly vertical, and the ores are associated with iron pyrites, calcite, celestine, anglesite, and many other minerals. At the mines on Black lake, at Mineral point, zinc blende oc- curs in considerable quantities, and also, to some extent, with the galena of the St. Lawren.ee company's mines in Macomb. We consider the fact settled beyond a doubt, that lead ore exists in quantities that will possibly render its mining very lucrative in St. Lawrence County, and, from the discoveries that are being made, it is probable that many new and val- uable localities will hereafter be opened. In all cases, so far as observed, this metal exists in true veins, with definite walls, and the geological features of the country are such as experience in other mining districts has shown favorable to the probabilities of ore in profitable quantities. COPPER. An association, styling itself the St. Lawrence Copper Company, was formed under the exertions of H. H. Bigelow, of Boston, in 1846, for the purpose of working mines of copper in northern New York, and mining operations on a small scale were commenced in several places, but more ex- tensively on the farm of Hubbard Clark, near the south line of Canton, where several thousand dollars were ex- pended in the erection of machinery, and in sinking a shaft about sixty feet deep, with short levels. The ore occurs here in white limestone, containing occasional crystals of brown tourmaline, and with the yellow sulphuret of copper. It formed a regular vein of one foot in width in some places, and was associated with calcite, iron pyrites, and occasional stains of the green and blue carbonates of copper. The calcite of this place was at times found in crystals of huge proportions, coated with minute crystals of pearl spar. It is said that some eighty tons of ore had been procui'od when the workings were suspended, and a small mass of native copper was reported to have been found near the locality. A reverberatory furnace was erected at Russell village for working these ores, and others from Wilna, Jefierson county, but never got in operation. Mr. Bigelow subsequently went to California, and afterwards died of cholera in San Francisco. Since the above period, no eff'ort has been made to mine for copper, although in several places specimens of ore occur in such circumstances as to excite the belief that it exists in valuable quantities. IRON. Next after the agricultural and manufacturing facilities of northera New York, her iron mines may be ranked among the elements of her wealth. These ores are of three distinct varieties, differing essentially in geological age, chemical characters, mineral associates, and the qualities of iron which they produce. These are the primitive or m.agnetic, the specular, and the hog ores. The former, although of great abundance, mostly occur in sections yet unsettled, and difficult of access, in Pitoairn, Clifton, Chau- mont, Sherwood, etc. It is this variety of ore that is so largely wrought in Clinton and Essex counties, and that forms the wealth of Sweden. It is known to mineralogists as magnetite, from its being magnetic. Its mineral asso- ciates are few, being quartz, pyrites, and pyroxene ; from its being magnetic, it is readily separated from stone by being crushed and passed under revolving magnets, which pick up the particles of ore. It is sparingly distributed through most of our gneiss rock, and the particles, loosened by disintegration, form the black sand so uniformly seen on the borders of the lakes in the primary region. This sand often troubles the compass of the surveyor, and has led to the belief of mines of iron ore, in localities where nothing but iron sand existed. Specular and bog ores have no effect upon the magnetic needle. Primitive ore is dilBeuk to melt, but makes good iron, and yields about seventy per cent. Some varieties make an iron that is exceedingly hard, as was the case with that wrought in Duane, which led to the belief that edge-tools having the hardness and temper of steel could be cast directly from the furnace. This, about the year 1840, led to much inquiry, and a resolution was passed by the assembly in the session of 1841 calling upon Prof Emmons, the geologist of the second district, em- bracing the northern part of the State, for information re- specting this ore. In the report which this called forth, it was stated that the ore was a mixture of the protoxide and deutoxide of iron, two varieties chemically differing in the amount of oxygen contained, but mechanically mixed in this instance, and that a part of the ore being first reduced, united with the carbon of the fuel, and became true steel, while the other part was melting. Although the edge-tools stood the test of experiment, the opinion was expressed that they would not bear continued use, and this has been fully sustained by experience, which has shown that they will soon crumble and break. In his final report, the geologist expressed his belief that the ores of Duane did not possess properties differing from those of Essex county. The iron from those ores is'very hard, and well suited for those uses that require this property. The specular ores, so called from the splendid lustre of the crystals of Elba and other localities, occur under two varieties, distinct in situation and accompanying minerals. The least important of these is the crystalline variety, oc- curring in gneiss and white limestone, often beautifully crys- tallized in plates, and of variable and uncertain quantities, liable to thin out and again become wide. It has not hitherto been wrought with profit. A mine in Edwards has yielded about eighty tons, which made excellent malleable iron. Quartz, apparently in twelve-sided crystals, formed by join- ing the bases of two six-sided pyramids, but really having a short prism between, is usually found with this ore, and cavities lined with crystalline groups of these minerals form splendid cabinet specimens. HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 15 Between the gneiss and sandstone, and not elsewhere, occurs a red, compact ore, chemically like the last, but so unlike to the eye as not to be classed with it, and this has hitherto been the ore most largely used in St. Lawrence, Jefferson, and Lewis counties, for the manufacture of iron. The oldest of these mines is the Caledonia mine in Rossie, and has been more or less wrought since 1812. A few rods distant on the line of Gouverneur is the Kearney iron mine, which was discovered by Lyman Adams, in 1825, and produced about 50,000 tons of ore of excellent quality up to 1852. It has been manufactured at the Carthage, Louisburg, FuUerville, Freemansburg, Alpina, Redwood, Wegatchie, Sterlingville, Antwerp, and Rossie furnaces. It has been worked as an open pit to the depth of fifty feet, and an area of about a quarter of an acre. At first it ap- peared as a hillock not covered by other rock. The Cale- donia mine is capped by sandstone, and has been wrought into caverns, with huge masses of ore left to support the roof Several very valuable mines of this ore occur along the junction of the primary and sandstone in Jefferson county, and it has been wrought to some extent near the village of Little York, in Fowler, since 1833. A part of this mine was purchased by the owners of Louisburg fur- nace several years since, and the remainder has been wrought at a tribute of from two to fourshillings per ton to the owners. The ore here occurs in a hill of moderate elevation, and lies directly upon the gneiss, which has been uncovered to a considerable extent, although large quantities still exist. These red ores impart their color to whatever comes in con- tact with them, giving a characteristic tinge to every person and object about the premises. They are never crystallized, but occur in every variety of lamellar, slaty, botryoidal, and pulverulent forms, and in some cases cavities are found lined with beautiful and peculiar crystallizations of carbonate of lime, spathic iron, heavy spar, arragonite, quartz, iron pyrites, and more rarely cacoxene or chalcodite, and Mil- lerite, the latter being the rarest and most beautiful of its associates. It occurs in but one of our localities in bril- liant, needle-shaped crystals, radiating from a centre like the fibres of thistle-down, and having the color and bril- liancy of gold. Groups of crystalline specimens of these minerals often form objects of great beauty. This variety of ore is constantly associated with a mineral much like serpentine, named by Prof C. U. Shepard dysynlribite, of which further notice will be given. In some form or other this always makes its appearance in the mines, often in such large masses as to displace the ore, and render necessary an outlay to remove it. It is of every shade of green, yellow, and red, oft«u mixed in the same specimen, and its surfaces are many times grounded and polished, as if it had slipped under great pressure, and before entirely solid. No profit- able locality of red ore occurs east of the town of Gouver- neur, although at the junction of the two formations in Pierrepont a reddish, pulverulent mass occurs, which has been ground and used as a paint. In some localities this ore bears unmistakable evidence of former igneous action, as shown by the contorted, folded, and e,yen fused appearance of the laminae of which it is composed. Should this theory be correct, there must have been a peculiar suscepti- bility of the surface along the line of the two formations. where from its weakness it yielded to the forces from be- low. In Gouverneur, near the Little Bow, is a locality of soft, unctuous, ore-like substance, occurring in white lime- stone. The red ores yield about fifty per cent, in the large way, as shown by our statistics of the Rossie furnace. It has been noticed that castings from this ore shrink a little upon cooling, which requires the patterns to be a little larger than the article to be made, while those from primi- tive ores lose nothing from this, the iron being probably more crystalline. Bog ores are rather rare in the primary district, but more common in swamps in Madrid, Norfolk, Louisville, Bom- bay, Westville, etc., from which supplies for the furnaces at Waddington, Norfolk, and Brasher Iron Works have been derived, and they have supplied several forges. In favorable localities these superficial deposits are renewed after being dug over, and thus successive crops are obtained once in a dozen or twenty years. This ore makes very soft, tenacious iron. A mixture of the primitive, red, and bog ores, in equal parts, was thought to make the best specimen of iron ever produced in northern New York. Bog ores seldom yield more than twenty or twenty-five per cent. MINERALS. St. Lawrence has long enjoyed a deserved celebrity for the variety and beauty of its minerals, which indicates the propriety of giving a notice of the more important of these, as well for a guide to the mineralogist as to convey to the inhabitants themselves a just idea of the mineral wealth of their own neighborhoods, and perhaps serve to awaken a spirit of inquiry and observation, especially among the youth, that will be productive of the best results. A neatly arranged mineral cabinet bespeaks the taste and intelligence of its possessor, and one need not travel beyond the pre- cincts of St. Lawrence County to collect one that shall pos- sess both elegance and value, and be as remarkable for variety as beauty. It is conceded that this county is unri- valed for the variety of its mineral treasures, and this pre-eminence should be known and appreciated by its citi- zens. Agate occurs with chalcedony, near Silver lake, in Fowler. Albite, or white feldspar, is a common constituent of gneiss, in the towns underlaid by that rock, Gouverneur, Rossie, etc. Amethyst, to a limited extent, in Gouverneur and on the banks of Yellow lake, in Rossie. Amphlbole (basaltic hornblende) occurs frequently in bowlders, but not in rock formations. In the town of Rossie it has hitherto been noticed most abundantly. Anglesite (sulphate of lead) occurred sparingly in the lead mines of Rossie, with galena. Anherite (a variety of dolomite, containing iron) has been attributed to the iron mines of Rossie, but it scarcely differs from the spathic iron of that region, and cannot be distinguished from it, if it exists, except by chemical tests. Apatite (phosphate of lime), crystallized in six-sided prisms, occurs at several localities in the white limestone formation in St. Lawrence County. At the Clark hill, in Rossie, small, but very pretty, crystals have been found ; it also occurs near the head of Mile bay, on Black lake, and 16 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. north of Somerville, in Gouverneur ; but tlie finest locality hitherto observed in the county is on the farm of Michael and Charles Harder, in the town of Rossie. Crystals weighing eighteen pounds, and twelve inches in length, have been obtained here, and those of less size, but finely terminated, are more common. It is used in the process of assaying gold and silver ores, and would command a high price for this purpose in the markets. The locality in Rossie was first noticed and wrought by Professor Emmons. Abestus, of a brown color, with fibres interlocking each other in a very intricate manner, occurs in the town of Fowler, between the villages of Little York and FuUer- ville. It does not possess the quality of tenacity, or the property of being easily beaten up into a fibrous mass, which gives value to this mineral in the arts, as a constit- uent of incombustible cloth, or a non-conductor of heat, for the packing of iron safes. Arragonite (needle spar) occurs in the iron mines, near Somerville, in beautiful white globular masses, in cavities of iron ore. When broken these present a silken white radiated structure. The best that have been obtained came from a shaft sunk in the land of Mr. Parish, adjacent to the Kearney mine. From its occurrence with the ores of iron, this mineral is sometimes called flos-fenl, or the flowers of iron. Bahingionite has been said to occur in Gouverneur, coating crystals of feldspar. The locality, if it existed, has been lost. Blende (sulphuret of zinc) was found, associated with galena, at the lead mines at Rossie, at Mineral point, in the town of Macomb, and in the towns of Fowler, Morristown, and De Kalb. , Calcareous tufa, formed by the deposit of carbonate of lime, from springs, is of common occurrence in Rossie, Gouverneur, and other towns. At some localities it is found imitating in form the fibres of moss, of which it is popularly believed to be the petrification. This structure is found to occur where no vegetable matter could have ex- isted to give it the peculiar appearance. Calcite (carbonate of lime) occurs in many localities, and is afforded at almost every mine that has been wrought, but at none with more brilliancy and beauty than at the lead mines at Rossie and Mineral point. Limpid crystals, of great size, often with cavities containing water, occurred here, and the modifications of form and combination of groups of crystals appeared to be infinite. On the right side of the Oswegatchie, two miles above the Kearney bridge, in the town of Gouverneur, in an oven-shaped cavity in limestone rook, and imbedded in clay, are crystals of great size, rough externally, but when broken quite trans- parent. A specimen more than a foot in length, nearly transparent, and weighing seventy-five pounds, was procured by Charles S. Bolton, of Wegatchie, from this locality. Peculiar modifications occur at the locality of pearl spar, in Rossie. Just within the edge of Jefferson county, in the same range with the last locality, on the farm of Mr. Benton, a very interesting locality of calcite occurs. On the left bank of the Oswegatchie, near the natural dam in Gouverneur, large crystals of calcite occur. The iron mines of Eossie afford crystals, usually of the dog-tooth form in cavities of iron ore. The mines of the St. Lawrence Lead Mining Company, in Macomb, have furnished some inter- esting specimens of a smoky hue, and others tinged red. In the town of Pitcairn, calcite, of a sky-blue color, in coarse crystalline masses, occurs on the south road, about two miles from Green's mill. At the copper mine, in Canton, crystals of calcite, nearly limpid, often a great size, and frequently coated with pearl spar, were found. Cdestine (sulphate of strontia), in crystals of a beautiful blue tint, was found in working Coal Hill mine, in Rossie. Chalcedony occurs at a locality in Fowler, in interesting concretionary forms, but destitute of that polished surface which is common with this mineral. Chlorite occasionally occurs in bowlders, but not in rock formation, in the northern part of the State. It is often associated with epidote. Clwndrodite, with its usual associates, spinelle, occurs in the town of Rossie abundantly, about three-fourths of a mile west of the village of Somerville. It is of every shade of yellow, inclining tg orange and brown, and is diffused in grains and small crystalline particles through the white limestone, appearing in relief on the weathered surface. Detached bowlders on the shores of Yellow lake contain the same mineral, and it is said to occur in, situ, near the Clark hill, in Rossie. Dolomite, or magnesian limestone, is of frequent occur- rence, but not in sufiicient quantities to give it geological importance. Rossie, Gouverneur, De Kalb, etc. Dysyntrihite occurs at all localities of red iron ore. Epidote, granular and disseminated, in chlorite is com- mon in bowlders, but not in place. Feldspar occurs abundantly throughout the primitive region, but at only a few localities of sufficient interest to merit notice. On the Clark hill, in Rossie, crystals occur of considerable interest. Fluor Spar. — One of the most celebrated American localities of this mineral was discovered many years since, on Muscalunge lake, in Antwerp, near the borders of St. Lawrence County. Massive cubes, variously grouped, and at times presenting single crystalline faces a foot in extent, were here found. In Gouverneur, two miles north from the GriSith bridge, a limited quantity was also found. Near the Rock island bridge, in the same town, it has recently been found in considerable quantity and of fine quality. This mineral is employed as a flux for separating metals from their ores, and in making fluoric acid, the most corro- sive substance known, and which is used in etching upon • glass, and in the daguerreotype process. Galena (sulphuret of lead) occurs in Rossie and Ma- comb in quantities which will, hereafter render these towns of great importance. Has also been found in Fowler, Pit- caun, etc., but not in such quantities as to repay the cost of workinsr. Garnet is found only in bowlders, and of coarse quality. Graphite (carburet of iron) is a common mineral in the white limestone, although it has not been observed in quan- tities sufiicient for any valuable purpose. Near the Big hill, in Rossie, it forms a vein in the old road, and a quarter of a mile fiirther east it also occurs. The apatite localities all afford scales of graphite. In Canton it - HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 17 Greenstone is common in bowlders, and occurs in dykes in limestone in Rossie. The junction of the rock with the intruded mass often exhibits evidences of the action of heat. Hornblende, either in its proper color and crystalline form, or in its 'varieties, as tremolite, asbestus, pargasite, etc., is one of our most abundant minerals. In Edwards is an in- teresting locality, two miles from the village, on the road to South Edwards, on the right bank of the Oswegatchie. The color is greenish-black, and it is very common to find the peculiar wedge-shaped crystalline form of this mineral in the cavities. It also occurs in the town of Rossie, on the left bank of the Oswegatchie, a short distance above the village of Wegatchie, and in De Kalb, Gouverneur, Pots- dam, Piorrepont, etc. Houghite. — The term has been applied by Prof Shepard, of Amherst College, to a new mineral that occurs on the farm of Stephen Ayres, north of Somervllle, associated with spinelle, serpentine, dolomite, phlogopite, etc. The quantity is abundant at the locality, and it has been found crystallized in octahedrons. Idocrase, in irregular, fluted prisms, occurs in bowlders, and perhaps in rocks in situ, in several localities in Rossie, and probably other towns. At Vrooman's lake, near the Ox Bow, it has been found in crystals which possess ter- minal planes. Iron pi/rites (sulphuret of iron) is common, and will doubtless at a future time possess much economical import- ance for the manufacture of copperas, sulphuric acid, and soda ash. Of the former several hundred tons were formerly made in the town of Canton, but the works have long since been discontinued. Some of the most brilliant specimens ever procured were in the lead mines of Rossie, where it occurred crystallized in cubes, and possessing a brilliant lustre, which was not liable to tarnish. The iron mines of Rossie and those adjacent have furnished many interesting specimens, and often associated with arsenic, known as arseni- cal iron pyrites. For variety of crystalline form, a locality on the farm of John Robertson, in the town of Gouverneur, is worthy of notice. The mineral here occurs with graphite and iron ore, in small crystals, of the form of the cube, octa- hedron, dodecahedron, with every intermediate modifica- tion. Large octahedrons have been obtained in Gouverneur, on the farm of James Morse. The vicinity of the village of Hermon has furnished interesting specimens, and the mines which have been worked for iron, copper, and lead throughout the county contain more or less of this mineral. Labradorite (opalescent feldspar) occurs in bowlders, the best specimens having been found on the banks of the St. Lawrence, in the town of Oswegatchie, three or four miles above Ogdensburg. It takes a beautiful polish, and would form an elegant gem. The play of colors is vivid, and the shades are mostly green and blue. loxoclase occurs in Rossie at the celebrated locality of zircon and apatite, and this is the only hitherto reported locality. It occurs crystallized in the forms usual with feldspar, and when broken presents a delicate bluish opal- escence. Muscovite, a variety of mica, does not occur tVt situ in northern New York, but is found in bowlders. One in Gouverneur, containing large plates of a black variety, was 3 examined by Prof B. Silliman, Jr., of Yale College, and found to have an optical angle of 70° to 70° 30'. Pargasite (green hornblende) occurs wherever apatite has been found in St. Lawrence County. It usually is crys- tallized in hexagonal prisms, sometimes in radiated crystal- line fibres, and at others in crystalline grains of ready cleavage. The finest locality in St. Lawrence County is near the county line, in Rossie, and in a neighborhood called New Connecticut. Pearl spar (crystallized dolomite) occurs in the town of Rossie, on the right bank of the Oswegatchie, opposite the furnace at Wegatchie ; it occurs in crevices of limestone, and is usually planted in clusters of crystals upon large dog- tooth crystals of calcareous spar, and can be obtained in considerable quantities. Phlogopite occurs in numerous localities, and often in great beauty, at the serpentine locality of Gouverneur, near Somerville ; at the hornblende locality of Edwards, and at other places in that town ; in Pine, two miles from South Edwards ; in Russell, De Kalb, Fowler, Hermon, Gouver- neur, and Rossie. Pyroxene in prisms occurs in Rossie, Gouverneur, Her- mon, De Kalb, etc. Near Grasse lake, in the former town, a white variety occurs, in which the crystalline form is well exhibited. In Gouverneur it occurs in the vicinity of the apatite locality. Quartz, the most abundant of the simple minerals, occurs in many interesting varieties. The mines of crystallized specular iron in Gouverneur, Fowler, Edwards, and Her- mon all afford splendid crystals. The iron mine near Chub lake, in Fowler, afibrded beautiful crystals, nearly transpa- rent and quite brilliant. On the farm of Joel Smith, in Gouverneur, similar crystals were found. At the apatite locality at Gouverneur large smoky crystals have been ob- tained, and at that in Rossie similar ones, much resembling hyalite. At the iron mines in Rossie delicate groups of needle-shaped crystals occur in cavities in the ore. Rensselaer ite, of various shades, from white to black, and varying from a finely granular to a coarsely crystalline structure, occurs in limestone and gneiss in many places in the towns of Gouverneur, Rossie, Fowler, Russell, Fine, Pitcairn, and Edwards. In Russell and Edwurds it has been wrought to some extent into inkstands and other small articles, and its softness, toughness, the beautiful gloss which it readily receives, and the diversity of color which it often presents, indicate it as a suitable material for any of the ornamental uses to which alabaster is applied. It can be turned in a lathe without diflBculty. The manufacture from this material was never carried on as a regular business, and has been discontinued for many years. At Wegatchie, between 1836-39, about fifty tons were ground and sold for gypsum. lltitile (titanic acid) has been attributed to Gouverneur, but its locality has been lost. This mineral is valuable, from the use made of it by the manufacturers of artificial teeth, to give a yellowish tinge to the enamel. Satin spar (fibrous calcite) is of frequent occurrence in seams of serpentine and Rensselaerite in Fowler, Rossie, and Edwards. At a locality near Silver lake, in Fowler, beautiful specimens occur. Between the Oswegatchie and 18 HISTOKY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. Yellow lake, opposite Wegutcliie, in the town of Rossie, is a remarkable locality ; it is in vertical seams, while the fibres of the spar run across the vein, and fine specimens are procurable in quantities. It occurs in narrow seams in serpentine, at the Dodge iron mine in Edwards. The quantity is small. Seapolile, in pearly-gray crystals, occurs at the locality of apatite, about a mile southwest of Gouverneur village. It is here abundantly diffused through limestone, and is readily obtained in separate crystals. Serpentine abounds in the town of Rossie, on the island at Wegatchie furnace, in Gouverneur village, and at the Natural dam, two miles below ; in Fowler, Edwards, De Kalb, Hermon, Russell, Pitcairn, Fine, Colton, Canton, etc., it occurs in greater or less quantity, but nowhere in suffi- cient abundance to form a rock of geological importance. On the farm of Stephen Ayres, in Gouverneur, serpentine of a yellowish-green color, and beautifully mottled, occurs. In Edwards, near the village, it occurs of various delicate shades of gi'een and greenish-white, which possess interest. Spathic 'iron (carbonate of iron) occurs in the iron mines of Rossie, in beautiful crystalline groups, lining cavities in the ore. The color is usually bronze, and various shades of brown, and usually very brilliant. It also occurs massive, diffuse4 through the ore, and has been seen more rarely in botryoidal concretions, covering sur- faces of red specular iron. Some of the specimens of this mineral from the Caledonia and Kearney mines possess much beauty, and are highly esteemed by mineral collectors. Sphene is of frequent occurrence in the western part of St. Lawrence County. In Gouverneur and Rossie it is found of a pale red color, and in imperfect ci-ystals. Half a mile north of Gouverneur village, in a wall, black crystals, with the angles rounded, as if by fusion, occur in quartz. Spinelle occurs at the locality of chondrodite, in Rossie, and at the locality of serpentine and mica, on the farm of Stephen Ayres, in Gouverneur. Spinelle, when blue, is the sapphire, and when of a burning red, the ruby. Sulphur, in a native state, occurs in concretions around the iron mines in Rossie, where it is formed by the decom- position of iron pyrites. It is usually more or less mixed with sulphate of iron and other saline substances. Sulphate of harytes is associated with limestone, in Gouverneur, about two miles from the Grifiith bridge. It presents externally a rusty-brown color, the surface being covered by bundles of coarse crystalline fibres. Broken, it presents a pure white color, and is fibrous and laminated. On the farm of James Morse, in the same town, this mineral occurs with a micaceous variety of iron ore, in crystalline plates; and, in the town of Morristown, several tons were procured for manufacture into white paint, a few years since. In the iron mines of Rossie it has been found sparingly. Svlphuret of copper has been procured in quantities which justify the belief that it will be found in such abun- dance as will make it profitable as an ore of copper, in the towns of Macomb, Gouverneur, Canton, Fowler, Edwards Russell, etc. Tourmaline, crystallized, is found in the towns of Rossie, Gouverneur, Hermon, Russell, etc. The quality of this is such that, if it could be obtained of stifficient size, it would form the most excellent plates for examining the properties of polarized light. It occurs two miles southeast of Gouv- erneur village, and also one mile north, on the road leading to Somerville. Tremolite (white hornblende) occurs in the town of Fowler, between Little York and Fullerville, of a delicate rose color ; and, in De Kalb, in white crystalline blades and tufts, on white limestone, usually appearing in relief where- ever the surface has been weathered. In Gouverneur is a very interesting locality, on the farm of Stephen Smith. A mile from this locality, near the Rock Island bridge, and in an open field, beautifully radiated tufts are observed, which, when broken, present a silken gloss. No mineral can surpass, in beauty of lustre or delicacy of fibre, speci- mens from these localities. Zircon, much esteemed by mineralogists for its rarity and its containing zirconium, one of the rarest of the min- eral elements, occurs at the apatite locality in Rossie, in square prisms, of a brownish-red color, and sometimes trans- parent. It occurs also on the farm of Lorenzo Heath, nearer the village than the former, and also on Grasse creek, in the same town, associated with apatite. METEOROLOGICAL NOTES. V Among the more striking of meteorological phenomena are tornadoes, of which several have occurred since the county was settled. In traversing the forests, the tracks of these are often seen in lines of fallen timber, usually denominated windfalls. They generally travel eastward, and the whirl is in the opposite direction with that in which the hands of a watch move. August 21, 1823, a tornado passed across the town of Constable, sweeping everything before it, but fortunately destroying no lives. It entered from Canada, and pursued a southeasterly direction until it passed the village of East Constable, when it turned eastwards towards Chateaugay, and spent its force in the woods. The path was narrow, and for the first few miles it appeared to pass in two lines, which united. Its progress was slowj and the roar which accompanied it warned the inhabitants to seek safety in flight. The whirling of the vortex was excessive, carrying up and throwing out from its borders planks, rails, branches of trees, and whatever lay in its way, and it was said, on respectable authority, that a log chain lying on the ground was carried ten or fifteen rods from its place. This report, so apparently incredible, is scarcely more so than others* well authenticated by evidence, in which the turf has been torn up and carried ofi' and heavy metallic articles swept away by the fury of the tornado. The day on which this occurred had been excessively hot and sultry, and the blackness, roaring, and violence of the phenomenon were said to have been most sublime and terrific. Towards the end of its course it ceased to progress, but moved in spiral paths through a maple forest, many acres of which were prostrated. Perhaps the most extraordinary tornado ever recorded without the tropics occurred in St. Lawrence County, Sept. 20, 1845. It was traced from Upper Canada to Ver- mont. At 3 o'clock it was at Antwerp ; at 5, on the Saranac ; HISTORY OP ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 19 at 6, at Burlington, Vt. ; and at Shoreham, Vt., in the even- ing. Its length could not have been less than 200 miles, and its course nearly east, till it reached Lake Champlain, which it appears to have followed to its head. On Saturday, at noon (Sept. 20, 1845), some gentlemen standing on the wharf at Cobourg, C. W., happening to cast their eyes upon the wa,ter, were struck with the appearance of a strong current setting directly out from shore. It seemed as if the whole lake were going away bodily. It presently returned to a height two feet higher than usual, and continued to, ebb and flow at interyals of eight or ten minutes till night. At Port Hope the steamer " Princess lloyal" could not get into port at all. It was at the time supposed to be the effect of an earthquake, and perhaps was. The work of destruction began a mile east of Ant- werp, and in its course through the forest it swept all before it, leaving a track of desolation from half a mile to a mile and a half wide, in which nothing was left standing. Its appearance was described by those who observed it at a little distance as awfully sublime, it being a cloud of pitchy blackness from which vivid lightnings and deafening thun- der incessantly proceeded, and the air was filled to a great height with materials carried up from the earth, and branches torn from the trees. Torrents of rain and hail fell along the borders of the track, and much damage was done by lightning. It entered the county in Fowler, and crossed that town and Edwards, when it entered the unin- habited forest, and was not further witnessed. In its track on the Pitcairn road, and another passing through Emmer- son's and Streeter's settlements, some two miles apart, were sixteen buildings, — barns, houses, and one school-house, — which were swept away, yet, wonderful to tell, no human lives were lost on the whole route. In the house of a Mr. Leonard were two women and five children, who took refuge in the cellar, and escaped harm, except that one was struck senseless by a piece of timber. In another house was a sick woman with a young child, and a nurse attending them. Frightened by the noise, the latter threw herself upon a bed, when the house was blown down, and one of the logs of which it was built fell across her and held her fast. She was relieved by the superhuman exertions of the invalid. Near this house a man was driving a yoke of oxen attached to a wagon laden with coal. Two trees were brought by the wind and laid across the wagon, which crushed it, without injury to the team or man. A frame school-house in Edwards, in which were several scholars and their teacher, was unroofed without injury to its in- mates. Immediately following the tornado was a storm of hail, some of the stones of which were of great size, which severely lacerated such cattle as were exposed to it. At Union Falls, in Clinton county, where it emerged from the forest, it made a complete wreck of many of the buildings. " Duncan's forge was considerably injured, and a brick school-house in Peru was utterly demolished. Two houses were blown down over the heads of the inmates, and it was miraculous that no lives were lost. Some fifteen or twenty buildings were destroyed or injured in that vicinity by the wind, which committed no further depredations until it reached Burlington, Vt., where it unroofed a house and blew down some barns." At Shoreham, in the evening. was a most majestic display of lightning conceivable. At Clintonville, on the Ausable, the lightning struck a church edifice. Several other buildings were struck, some of which were destroyed by fire. The extent and violence of this storm has seldom been paralleled, and had its track crossed settled country, the loss of life must have been dreadful. The data we possess in regard to our climate is limited to the results of but a few years' observations made under the direction of the regents of the University at four acade- mies subject to their visitation, and to a short period during which they have been reported to the Smithsonian Institu- tion, by several voluntary observers. We possess reports of the Gouverneur Seminary for twelve years, viz. : 1831— 43; of the Ogdensburg Academy for 1838 ; of the acad- emy at Potsdam for twenty-one years, viz- '■ 1828 to 1849, inclusive. A similar series of observations have been made at sixty-two different stations in the State of New York during an aggregate period of about 900 years, and the re- sults embody a mass of facts bearing upon the climate of the State of great practisal value. In 1850 the system first adopted was discontinued, and another, at fewer sta- tions, but with better instruments, was substituted. The first of the following tables is for Potsdam, and the second for Gouverneur, and they show the results of the above observations for the respective periods mentioned. January February.... Mjirch April May Juno July AugnBt S(*ptember .. October November... December... Mfvin 43,66 Thermometer. ^1 19.01 18.8U 20.00 43.73 ny.O-i 03.96 68.38 66.73 57.66 45.U0 33.64 22.09 —34 -32 —38 — 1 20 32 40 34 23 12 —10 —26 Resultant of WINDS. B.78°30'w. S.79 22 w. S.67 45 w. 8.79 17 w. S.61 34 w. 3.58 30 w. S.54 17 w. ,".63 45 w. S.63 68 w B.5S 48 w s.67 OS w 8,85 31 ^: 9,78 ■ 98 8,65 6,60 9,45 16,37 16,27 13,61 12,89 11,85 9,40 7,94 Weather. Mean results. 34 130 S.66 16 w. 34 10.29 14.18 15.26 2.38 47.79 11.65 11.88 13,89 14.50 15,78 16,62 18,02 18.90 15 52 14,09 116,01 9,02 '20,98 10,48 20,62 19.45 16.40 17.11 16.50 15.22 13.38 12,98 12,10 14.48 .ss 1,40 1,06 1,48 1.70 3.03 3,31 4,113 2.81 3,U 3,34 1,93 1.41 z ^ = 2 Cfl 28,15 21,31 29.67 34,13 60,62 60,25 80,70 66,18 62,17 66,87 38.62 28.85 January '19.74 rebruary 18.68 Marcli April May June July August September .. October November... December.... Mean 43. 31.01 44.40 64.89 63.32 68.86 67.50 68.11 47.10 33.37 20.49 —35 —32 —30, 10 22 33 37 32 22 10 —17 —40 S.83 45 V. S.71 32 w. 8.87 64 w. n.71 27 w. 8.73 33 w. R.64 30 w. 8.70 46 w. 8.79 46 w. s.Sl 29 w. 8.82 48 w, n,87 53 w. n,76 20 w. 9.56 9,68 10.30 6.26 10.83 9.71 17.67 8.95 12.21 12,42 9.80 100 —40 140 S.81 29 w. 39 11.26 15.13 15.31. 2.29 18.99 16.17 17.67 15.75 16.62 16.17 17.88 18,02 18.87 15.17 13.08 10.00 11.08 16.83 13.60 12.26 14.38 14.83 12.12 12.08 12.12 14 83 17.92 20,00 19.92 16.83 15.13 17.46 22.00 26.97 21.06 19.93 23.33 28,81 19,49 15,06 The mean temperature was derived from three daily obser- vations, of which one was taken in the morning before sun- rise, another in the warmest part of the afternoon, and the third an hour after sunset. The column headed " Hin-liest degree"' denotes the greatest temperature observed, and the next column the least. The three columns headed " Re- sultant of winds" is the product of much labor, and the first shows the angle or point from which all the winds have blown during the entire period. The column marked ^je;-- 20 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. centage shows the prevalence of the winds in parts of a hun- dred, and that marked days, in that of the whole number of days in the month. To illustrate this, the month of January, at Potsdam, may be taken as an example. The direction of the wind in the forenoon and afternoon was entered in the journal, and at the end of the month these entries were added up. The footings of twenty-one years showed that the average number of days of wind from each of the eight points were as follows, in days and hundredths: N., 2.15 ; N.E., 5.46 ; E., 0.12 ; S.E., 0.59 ; S., 4.35 ; S.W., 9.69 ; W., 3.48; N.W., 5.16; total, 31.00. The columns showing these numbers we have been obliged to omit. Erom these numbers it remained to learn their value and mean direction (supposing the velocity of the wind to have been uniform), precisely as we would ascertain the direction and distance of a ship which would have sailed uniformly in the different courses for the above times, from the starting point. The eight directions were reduced to four by subtracting oppo- site points, these reduced to two by a traverse table, and lastly these two were brought down to one by a trigonom- etrical calculation, and the aid of logarithms. In the in- stance cited, if the whole amount of winds or the whole time be called 100, then 32 of these, or 9.78 days of the 31.00, the wind came from a point S. 78° 30' W., while during the remainder of the time (68 per cent., or 21.22 days) the winds from opposite points balanced each other. The bearing which this inquiry has upon the questions of climate, and especially upon the agricultural and commercial interests of the nation, renders it desirable that these obser- vations should be extended, and measures are now in prog- ress to maintain on an extended scale a minute and judicious system of records. The columns headed clear and cloudy denote the relative periods during which the sky has been clear and overcast, the monthly mean of the rain-gauge in- dicates the average depth of rain in the several months, and the last column the total depth for the whole period, viz., twenty years at Potsdam, and nine at Gouverneur. The headings of the several columns render them sufficiently intelligible. In that marked " Cloudiness," ten represents a sky entirely overcast. In the column next to the last, the corrections for expansion of the mercury and other modify- ing influences are allowed for, so that the numbers represent the actual mean height of the barometer, independent of modifying causes. The following is an abstract of observations made at Ogdensburg by William E. Guest, Esq., during 1851-52. Height above tide, 279 feet. Months. January February March April Ma.v....i June July August tSeplember October November December- Tkmpeiiature. 19.74 22.15 28.59 39.54 53.56 61.51 6r.75 64.22 57.51 47.67 .".1.64 23.17 47 52 67 69 83 94 95 83 88 73 62 58 6.3 6.5 5.3 3.9 4.6 3.8 4.0 4.8 5.1 4.9 7.0 1.85 2.81 3.15 1.89 3.25 2.80 3.19 2.27 2.43 2.65 4.06 4.68 Bauombteh, 49.653 59.702 29.688 29.563 29.671 29.581 29.615 29.740 29.798 29.680 29.654 29.684 1.365 1.032 0.600 1.045 0.947 1.068 703 585 1.113 864 1.305 1.355 To the farmer especially does the study of meteorology com- mend itself, for to no pursuit has it so intimate a relation as this. It is a well-established fact that changes of weather may oflen be predicted several hours before their occurrence by the barometer, and thus, especially in the haying and harvest seasons, a saving would often bo effected sufficient to pay the cost of the instrument. That atmospheric changes are due to causes, none will deny. That these are within the scope of our investigation is probable, although, from the necessity of the case, no amount of probabilities can ever establish an infallible prediction. If every season but one in a thousand had been remarkably cold, or wet, no certainty could be relied upon for the one. The accumula- tion of probabilities may, however, be of eminent practical service. The system observed in these records enables us to form a comparative table of results, of variable value, from the unequal time that they were maintained at each.* The above remarks, made in 1853, have been substanti- ated to a remarkable degree by the system of observations put into practical operation within the past few years, in connection with the U. S. Army. EARTHQUAKES. An earthquake occurred in St. Lawrence County, on the evening of January 22, 1832, at about half-past eleven o'clock. Houses were shaken at Ogdensburg so much as to awaken many from sleep, and the tremulous motion of stoves, crockery, and windows, with a sound like distant thunder beneath the surface of the earth, was distinctly perceived by those who had not yet retired to sleep. At Lowville the sudden and violent agitation of the earth was accompanied by a sound like that of several heavy carriages passing rapidly over frozen ground. It was also perceived very sensibly at Montreal, where the motion was compared to the shaking of a steamboat whose machinery agitates her very much. It continued four seconds, and was accompa- nied with an indistinct noise. Several quite severe shocks of an earthquake were felt about two A.M., Sunday, November 4, 1877, perceptible over a large part of New England, New York, and the Canadas. There were about four distinct shocks within the space of one or two minutes, accompanied by a heavy rumbling, like that produced by a loaded wagon driven over frozen ground, or a cannot-shot rolled along a floor. The vibrations wakened people from sound sleep, and in many places produced a rattling noise in dwellings, like the jar from a steamer's machinery when in motion. CHAPTER IL PKE-HISTOEIO. The Mound-Builders— Mounds and Ancient Remains— Indians- Aboriginal Nomenclature. EaOM all the evidence obtainable upon the subject of a pre-historic race, or one antedating the Indian tribes found occupying the American Continent by the earliest * Hough. HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 21 European discoverers, little doubt remains'of the existence of such a people, who, evidently, in many respects were quite superior to the modern red men. They were more numerous than their barbarous successors, as the remains of extensive fortifications and evidences of important cen- tres of population, found more especially in the valleys of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, clearly indicate ; and that they were much more advanced in the arts which distin- guish an era of civilization is also demonstrated by the superior implements of war, of the chase, and of husbandry still found in great numbers in many portions of the country. Even a casual glance at the fine display of ancient relics made at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition would inevitably lead one to the belief that the pre-historic race, whatever their name or lineage, were a commercial, a war- like, a manufacturing, and an agricultural people. By what great catastrophe they disappeared from the face of the continent — whether destroyed by the red race who suc- ceeded them, by earthquake, flood, or pestilence — wc have nothing but conjecture for an answer. It is not positively certain that they occupied the region of northern New York ; but it is at least probable, as numerous specimens of a handiwork superior to any known among the savages are found scattered over the surface of the country, and in mounds or tumuli, which evidently date beyond the discoveries of Columbus and contempo- raries several centuries. Dr. F. B. Hough, in his History of St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, published in 1853, gives a very interests ing account of the various mounds, trenches, and ancient relics which have from time to time been discovered and examined, and, as very little additional has since been gathered, we give substantially his account : " Nothing is more common than to find along the lands that skirt the fertile bottoms which form the shores of the tributaries of the St. Lawrence the broken remains of rude pottery, seldom sufficiently entire to enable one to determine the original form, and usually im- pressed, while in a plastic state, with various fanciful figures, differ- ing from each other in fragments of different utensils, but possessing a general resemblance. Not unfrequently a rude resemblance to the human face is noticed on these fragments. The material of this terra-cotta is usually clay and coarse sand, generally well tempered and baked. Stone axes, gouges, and chisels, flint arrow-heiid:*, amu- lets and beads of steatite, and other personal ornaments, implements of bone, apparently used as needles and as tools for marking im- pressions upon their pottery, and fragments of bones and broken shells, the remains of ancient feasts, indicate in broken and discon- nected, but still intelligible language, the pursuits of our predecessors upon this soil." Gen. R. W. Judson, of Ogdensburg, has a very fine collection of relics and curiosities, among which are two remarkable stone gouges, 10 J and 11 inches in length, found in the town of Norfolk, on lands owned by Charles Shepherd. They are of green and steel-gray stone, very hard and fine-grained, and are exceedingly well wrought and symmetrically proportioned. A curious implement of light- colored sandstone, 12J^ inches in length, supposed to have been used in preparing hides and skins for tanning, found at Yellow lake, in Rossie, by George Lockie, Esq. ^even chisels, gouges, etc., dug up at Eel weir, on the Oswegatchie river, by Charles W. Hill. A very fine chisel of green stone, found on the farm of Geo. N. Seymour, Esq., in Lisbon. Another, found on Indian point, in Lisbon, by Preston Lawrence, Esq. A very curious one of light-green stone, filled with white quartz pebbles, found by Dr. John Austin in Ogdensburg. A gouge, chisel, several curious amulets and fragments of pottery, together with copper spear-heads, stone pipes, etc., found by Simeon Dillingham, of Lisbon. Also a fine collection of flint arrow-heads, found in the vicinity of Black lake, by Edwin Capron and others, and spear-heads and other implements from the town of Russell. Some of these implements are fashioned with a master-hand, and are as perfect in their forms as the best steel implements of modern manufacturers. A description of some of the more noteworthy localities, where traces of ancient works appear, is herewith given, from materials taken mostly from Dr. Hough's work. " As a general rule those points were chosen which afforded a natural protection upon one or more sides, as the bank of a stream or the brow of a hill, leaving defenses to he erected only on the un- protected sides. The traces observed usually consisted of a mound or bank of earth, surrounded by a ditch of proportionate extent." It is probable that the parapet, or embankment, was originally palisaded or inclosed within strong pickets, as was the case with the towns and fortifications of the Iro- quois confederacy in later years. "In the town of Macomb are found the traces of three trench in- closures, and several places where beds of ashes indicate the site of ancient hearths or fire-places. One of these was on the farm of Wm. Houghton,* on the hank of Birch creek, and formerly Inclosed the premises subsequently used as a mill-yard. It was somewhat in the form of a semiciicle, the two ends resting on the creek, and inclosed about half an acre. All traces of this work were long since obliterated by cultivation, but the line which formed the bank, and the space within and without, occasionally afford fragments of potterj', ashes, shells, and stone implements, pipes, etc. On an adjoining hill, since partly occupied by an orchard, traces of a work once existed, but this also has disappeared under the process of cultivation. In a. pond adjoining this locality was found, many years since, a human skele- ton, said to have been of colossal size. "About half a mile northeast of this is the trace of another in- closure, on the farms of Wm. P. Houghton and Josiah Sweet, but the outlines were so indistinct that they could not be traced with any degree of certainty. From what little remains it would appear to have consisted of a parapet and ditch, the form of which was nn irregular oval, with gateways or draw-bridges at intervals. Its ex- tremities rested upon a small stream, in later years the outlet of a tamarack swamp. This swamp was formerly occupied by beavers, as is indicated by fragments of trees bea.ring the marks of the teeth of these animals, which have been dug from several feet below the surface." Twenty-five years ago the trench and parapet could easily be traced for a distance of about 160 yards, which was ap- parently about half its original circuit. Its longest diame- ter was from N.N.E. to S.S.W. Numerous fire-beds oc- curred within it, and, in one instance, a quantity of ashes and charcoal was found five feet below the surface. In a field near by are evidences of the existence of a village at some remote period. On the premises of the St. Lawrence Lead-Mining Com- pany, and the farm of Robert Wilson, about three-fourths of a mile from the first-described spot, is still another trace, which can be easily made out, as the ground has never been plowed.* In this instance the work was crescent-shaped, » Written in 1853. HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. tlie open side being protected by a low ledge of limestone, and a branch which led down to a small stream, that may have served as a covered way of access to the water. On the farm of Henry E. Holbrook, in the northeastern part of Potsdam, on or near Mile lot No. 10, was a remark- able trench inclosure in early times, but which is now en- tirely destroyed except a very small portion in the public highway. It is on the road between Norfolk village and Raquetteville,* west of the river, and half a mile from the railway bridge at the latter place, and is situated upon an elevated ridge of drift, at a point which affords a fine view of the surrounding country. The form of this work was said to have been semicircular, the open side resting on a swamp to the west, with gateways occurring at intervals. The ditch and parapet inclosed about two acres. When the country was settled pine-trees of four feet diameter were o-rowing upon the embankment. Underneath their roots beds of ashes, mingled with broken pottery, flint arrow- heads, etc., have been found. In and around were found fire-places, with ashes, charcoal, broken pottery, fresh-water shells, bones, etc. On an island in the vicinity graves were found. In the town of Massena, about half a mile west of Rac- quette river bridge, and on the western declivity of a slope near the summit of a dividing ridge which separates this river from Grasse river, in an open field, are plainly to be traced the outlines of a work which differs from any above described, and is by far the best preserved. Its form is irregular, shaped somewhat like an ox-bow, with its open side towards the river, and showing numerous openings in the parapet, especially on the southern side. The open side .was in part protected by a ditch. The summit of the ridge at this place commands a delightful prospect, and the vi- cinity was no doubt a favorite haunt of the rude people who onee made this region their home. Near by, on either side, was a river, abounding in fish, and affording many miles of navigable waters, with an occasional carrying-place, by which they could penetrate into the interior, while a few miles away the mighty St. Lawrence, with its bays and islands, afforded unequaled facilities for obtaining game and fish. If the intervening timber were cleared away, the lo- cality in Potsdam, eighteen or twenty miles distant, could be seen from this place ; and the two may have been occu- pied by parties of the same tribe, who could exchange sig- nals, as fires could be easily distinguished from one point to the other. Immense trees, growing upon the works last described at the date of the earliest settlements, would in- dicate a venerable antiquity. Within the inclosure were several slight eminences, which may at one period have been sufficiently elevated to have overlooked a line of pickets, which probably surrounded the work. In the town of Massena, not far from this work, there was found, several years since, a pipe, formed of whitish steatite, or soapstone, having on its bowl and stem, curiously wrought, the figure of a serpent, with its head rising a little above the level of the bowl. A semicircular parapet and ditch formerly existed in the town of Oswegatchie, near its western border, on lands formerly owned by Benjamin Pope. * Now eoininonly SpelleJ Rackctville. J Its outline may be traced in the spring by the unusual growth of verdure, and similar spots indicate the site of fire- places, both within and without. An unusual abundance of stone and pottery frag^nents were found here in early times. The shores of Black lake, in Morristown, between the village of Hammond and " the Narrows,' contain traces of -paintings of an obscure character, including the figure of a deer, rudely drawn, and seven figures in two groups, evi- dently intended to represent human beings. The block upon which the deer was drawn is preserved in the State collection at Albany. Near the village of Edwardsville, or " the Narrows,' V in Morristown, on a hill a little east of that place, the plow turned up traces of an ancient village, including a row of hearths or fire-places, with burned bones, ashes, charcoal, and shells. They were a few inches below the surface, and extended for a quarter of a mile. The traces of ancient defensive works are found in Canada, in the townships of Augusta, Williamsburg, Osnabruck, etc. INDIAN OCCUPATION. y The region comprised within the present limits of St. Lawrence County seems to have been a kind of debatable ground between the Iroquois confederacy and the Huron- Algonquin nations of Canada; and, from the date of the earliest explorations by Champlain to the era of permanent settlement by the whites, was never continuously occupied, at least for any considerable period, by either. It was common hunting and fishing ground, but extremely danger- ous to either party, for the nations dwelling upon opposite sides of the St. Lawrence were ever at enmity with each other, and bloody encounters were sure to follow the meet- ings of their hunting-parties. The region was nominally claimed by the Oneida nation of the Iroquois confederacy. The only Indians who seem to have made a permanent home in the county since it was known to Europeans were the Oswegatchies, so called, — a collection of families from among the Iroquois nations who were converted to Chris- tianity by the Jesuits, and induced to withdraw from their kindred and settle at La Presentation, now Ogdensburg. The commencement of tlie settlement was in 1749, under the direction of Father Frangois Picquet, a Sulpician, com- monly known as " Abb6 Picquet," of whom a more ex^ tended account will be found in another connection. The Oswegatchies were eventually (about 1807-8) dispersed among the St. Regis, Onondaga, and other Indian^. INDIAN NAMES. The following interesting article upon the nomenclature of the Indians is from Dr. Hough's work : "It is scarcely two centuries since the territory now the United States was an unbrolten wild, traversed only by the rude native, who pursued the bear and the moose, and set his simple snares for such wild game as served to feed or clothe him. The advent of the European was his misfortune, and step by step he has retreated be- fore the march of civilization, leaving nothing but here and there his names of rivers and lakes ; and even these, in too many instanceSj have been, with a most singular injustice and bad taste, exchanged for those of foreign origin, or of no signification of themselves. " The sonorous a,nd peculiarly appropriate names of the aborigines HISTORY OP ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 23 have often been made the subject of commendation by foreigners, and should, in most instances, take the preference of those of modern origin. " In some cases this would he difficult, hut in a new and growing country like ours, in which new sources of industry are daily being developed and new places springing up, might we not, with peculiar propriety, adopt the euphonious and often elegant names of the In- dians instead of such commonplace appellations as ' Smith's Mills,' or ' Hogg's Corners'? — words which convey no association but those of the most common and indifferent chal-acter, and which usually lose all their application after the first generation. *' Let any one compare the splendid names of Saratoga, Niagara, and Ontario with Sacket's Harbor, German Flats, or Lake George, and he will see the contrast between them, and cannot fail to approve the taste that would restore the aboriginar names of places, where it may be found practicable. '* In making his inquiries into the history of the mission at St. Regis, in June, 1852, the author took special pains to obtain not only the Indian names of places in the northern part of the State, and immediately within the territory embraced in tlie work, but also of whatever other localities he might chance to be able, not doubting but that the subject would bo regarded as one of general interest. ** At the Indian village of Caughnawaga, near the Saut St. Louis, the author met an intelligent half-breed, A. Geo. De Lorimier, alias Oronhiatekha, who is well acquainted with the Mohawk and other Indian languages, from whom he also derived some assistance, es- pecially relating to distant and well-known localities. The names derived from this source will be designated by a f prefixed to the word. "Acknowledgments are especially due to the Rev. F. Marcous. of St. Regis, for essential assistance in this and other inquiries. Those names received from this source will be thus marked, J. "RIVERS ANn STREAMS. "Black River. — (fNi-ka-hi^on-ha-ko-wa) 'big river.' Mr. Squier, in a work entitled ' The Aboriginal Monuments of New York,' has given the name of this river as Ka-mar-go. His authority is not cited. "In u map accompanying L. H. Morgan-'s work, entitled 'The League of the Iroquois,* the name given is Ka-bu-a-go, which is a Seueca word. " Chateaugay. — This by some is supposed to be an Indian name, but it is French, meaning, gay castle. The St. Regis call it J 0-sar- he-hon, ' a place so close or difficult that the more one tries to extri- cate himself the worse he is off.' This probably relates to the narrow gorge in the river near th^ village. " Chippewa Greek, — In Hammond (jTsi-o-he-Ti-sen). This name also applies to Indian Hut island. *^ Deer River. — (J Oie-ka-ront-ne)--- 'trout river.' The name also applies to the village of Helena, at its mouth. '^French Greek. — (J A-ten-ha-ra-kweh-ta-re) 'the place where the fence or wall fell down.' The same name applies to the adjoining island. " Gananoqui.^-'Hoi Iroquois, supposed to be Huron, and said to mean /wild potatoes,' Apios tuberoaa ( fKah-non-no-kwen), 'a meadow rising out of the water.* " Grasae River. — (| Ni-kent-si-a-ke) ' full of large fishes,' or ' where the fishes live.' In former times this name was peculiarly applica- ble. Before dams and saw-mills were erected, salmon and other fish not now caught were taken in the greatest abundance, as far up as Russell. Its English name was suggested by the grass meadows near its mouth. On an old map in the clerk's office it is marked Ey-en-saw-ye. The letter y does not occur in the Iroquois language. " Indian River. — On Morgan's map (0-je-qack). The St. Regis name it by the same appellation as Black lake, which see. " Oswegatchie, and the village of Ogdenshurg. — (J Swe-kat-si) gup- posed to be a corrupted Huron word, meaning 'black water.' This river in early times was sometimes called Black river. "Ohio. — (O-hi-on-hi-o) 'handsome river.' The French designa- tion of La Belle Riviere was a translation of the original name. '" Raqttette River. — A French word, meaning a 'snow-shoe.' It is said to have been first so called by a Frenchman named Pariscin, ^^ Also Oh-ga-ka-ron-tie. long before settlements were begun in this quarter, and that the name was suggested by the shape of a marsh near its mouth. The /rogKoys name, J Ni-ha-na-wa-te, or 'rapid river,' is peculiarly ap- plicable. It is said that Col. Louis, the Indian chief, told Benjamin Raymond, when surveying, that its Indian name meant 'noisy river,' for which reason it has been usually written Racket.'\ " As rapids are always noisy, this name would have an application, but we shall retain in the map the original orthography. The St. IS-avQoia name, as obtained by Prof. Emmons, was Mas-le-a-gui. On Morgan's map, above quoted, it is called Ta-na-wa-deh, supposed to be a Seneca word, " St. Laiorence River. — (J Cat-a-ro-qui) said to be French or Huron. Signification unknown. On Morgan's map, Ga-na-wa-ge. " Sf: Regie River and Village. — (J Ak-wis-sas-ne) 'where the par- tridge drains.* "Salmon River. — {% Kent-si-a-ko-wa-no) 'big.fish river.' " Schoharie. — (J lo-hsko-ha-re) ' a natural bridge,' as that formed by timber fl.oating down stream and lodging firmly. "f Tioinata. — A small river, tributary to the St. Lawrence, above Brockville. Signifies 'beyond the point.' " LAKES. " Black Lake. — (X 0-tsi-kwa-ke) ' where the ash-tree grows with large knobs for making clubs.' " Champlain. — {j" Ro-tsi-ich-ni) ' the coward spii'it.' The Iroquois are said to have originally possessed an obscure mythological notion of three supreme beings or spirits, the 'good spii'it,' the 'bad spirit, and the 'coward spirit.' The latter inhabited an island in Lake Champlain, where it died, and from this it derived the name above given. " How far this fable prevailed, or what was its origin, could not be ascertained from the person of whom it was received. " Grasae Lake. — Rossie (J sa-ken-ta-ke), ' grass lake.* " Ontario. — (f 0-non-ta-ri-io) 'handsome lake.' " Tapper's Lake. — (JTsit-kan-i-a-ta-res-ko-wa) 'the biggest lake.' A small lake below Tupper's lake is called j; Tsi-kan-i-on-wa-res-ko- wa, 'long pond.' The name of Tupper's lake, in the dialect of the St. Fran(;oia Indians, as obtained by Prof, Emmons, is Pas-kum-ga- meh, 'a lake going out from the river,' alluding to the peculiar feature which it presents, of the lake lying not in the course of, but by the side of, Raquette river, with which it communicates. "Yellow Lake. — In Rossie (Kat-sen-e-kwa-o), *a lake covered with yellow lilies.' " ISLANnS. " Baruhart'a laland. — (JNi ion-en-hi-a-se-kq-wane) 'big stone.' "Baxter's Island. — Upper Long Saut Isle (:{:Tsi-io-wen-o-kwa-ka- ra-te), 'high island.' " Cornwall laland. — (J Ka-wen-0-ko-wa-nen-ne) ' big island.* "Isle «(t Gallop, and the rapid beside it (JTsi-ia-ko-ten-nit-ser- ron-ti-e-tha), ' where the canoe must he pushed up stream with poles.' "Isle au Rapid Plat. — Opposite Waddington (J Tie-hon-wi-ne- tha), * where a canoe is towed with a rope.' " Lower Long Saut Isle. — (J Ka-ron-kwi.) " Sheik' a laland. — {\ 0-was-ne) ' feather island.' "St. Regis Island. — Same name with river and village. "names of tlaces. "Brasher Falls. — (J Ti-0-hi-on-ho-ken) 'where the river divides.' "Brasher Iron Tl''oWcfi.-r(J Tsit-ka-res-ton-ni) 'where they make iron. " Canada. — (f Ka-na-ta) 'village.' "Cayuga. — (f Koi-ok-wen) 'from the water to the shore,' as the landing of prisoners. "f Cataroqui. — Ancient name of Kingston, 'a bank of clay rising out of the waters.' " Chateaugay. — (Kan-ah-to-he) 'a pot in the ground,' " Hochelaga. — Former name of Montreal, or its vicinity (f 0-ser- a-ke), ' beaver dam.' "Helena. — The same name as Deer river. " Hoganshurg.^ {I TQ-kaa-vfGn-kn-Yo-YQus) 'where they split or saw boards.' f A'"e-Aa hi~an-a-te, " Rough Rapids." 24 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. " Kentucky. — (f Ken-ta-ke) ' among the meadows.' " Malone. — ( J Te-kan-o-ta-ron-we) 'a village crossing a river.' " Mmsena Village. — Same name as Grrasse river. "Masnena Springs. — ({ Kan-a-swa-stak-e-ras) 'where the mud smells bad.' " Moira. — (t Sa-ko-ron-ta-keh-tas) ' where small trees are carried on the shoulder.' "Montreal. — ( J Ti-o-ti-a-ke) 'deep water by the side of shallow.' " New York. — (fKa no-no) signification not known. " Norfolk Village. — (J Kan-a-tas-e-ke) ' new village.' " Lower Falls in Norfolk on Ra(iuette river (Tsit-ri-os-ten-ron-we), ' natural dam.' " The Oxbow, produced by the bend of the Oswegatchie river, (JO non-to-hen) 'a hill with the same river on each side.' " I'utidam. — (fTe-wa-ten-e-ta-ren-ies) 'a place where 'the gravel settles under the feet in dragging up a canoe.' " Qiiehiic. — (JTe-kia-tan-tii-ri-kon) ' twin or double mountains.' " R'lymondville. — (JTsi-ia-ko-on-tie-ta) 'where they leave the canoe.' '* S'tratoga. — (f Sa-ra-ta-ke) 'a place where the track of the heel may be seen,' in allusion to a locality said to be in the neighborhood where depressions like footsteps may be seen on the rock. " Schenectady. — (JSka-na-ta-ti) ' on the other side of the pines.' " Ticonderuga. — (f Tia-on-ta-ro-ken) ' a fork or point between two lakes.' ". Toronto. — (-j- Tho-ron-to-hen) ' timber on the water.' " Waddington. — (ij; Ka-na-ta-ra-ken) ' wet village.' " CHAPTER III. FBBITCH OOCTJPATIOIf. Eirly Voyages and Discoveries by the French — Early Trading-Posts, Missions and Settlements — Isle Oracouehton — Fort Levis — Pou- chot — Father Picquet, The great valley of the St. Lawrence and the adjacent regions was originally discovered and occupied by the French. Before the English colonies had penetrated fifty miles from the Atlantic coast, the priests of the Franciscan and Jesuit orders of the Catholic church, the Couriers des Bois, and the fur-traders of " New France'' had carried, under the lilies of the Bourbon, the rude arms and heavy armor of the 17th century, and the rosary and breviary of the " mother church,'' to the western extremity of Lake Superior, and by the middle of the century had established trading-posts and missions at various points on the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers, and along the three great upper laiies. The indefatigable and self-denying Jesuits even preceded the avaricious fur-traders, and as early as 1615 had celebrated mass on the misty shores of the Georgian bay, which was named by them the "3Ier Douce of the Hurons." The earliest vessels and water craft, of European models that navigated the noble river St. Lawrence and the mighty inland seas of the interior, were constructed by the French. The discovery and occupation of all the region in North America, lying south of the Bay of Fundy, by the English and Spaniards, compelled the French to turn their attention towards the Gulf and river St. Lawrence, and eventually, by these thoroughfares, into the region of the great lakes. A rapid glance at the discoveries and settlements of the St. Lawrence valley seems necessary in this connection, in order to an understanding of the causes which led to the occupation by the French of the region now included in northern New York, and to their subsequent wars with the Iroquois, and, eventually, with the English and their colonies. The navigators of various European nations had made voyages to the coast of North America a long time previous to the permanent settlement of the country. The " North- men" claimed to have visited the continent in the tenth and eleventh centuries, and made settlements, which were, how- ever, soon abandoned ; and it is stated by French writers that one Cousin, of the city of Dieppe, visited the country in 1488. In 1497, John Cabot, a Venetian, in the service of Henry VII., of England, discovered the coast of Labra- dor, which country he named Prima Vista, or " earliest view." Sebastian Cabot, a son of the preceding, made a voyage in 1498, adding new discoveries, and one Caspar Cortereal is sometimes claimed to have been the first dis- coverer of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The Norman, Breton, and Basque fishermen began their voyages to the New- foundland Banks at an early day, some writers say previous to the year 1497. There is undoubted evidence that these fisheries commenced as early as 1504; and in 1517 as many as fifty French, Castilian, and Portuguese vessels were employed. In 1506 one Denis, of Honfleur, explored the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and two years later, Aubert, of Dieppe, followed ; and in 1518 the Baron de L6ry made an attempt to found a settlement on Sable Island. In 1524, John Verrazzano, a Florentine, visited the coast of North America and explored it from Pamlico Sound to Newfound- land. These voyages and those of Columbus, Cabral, and others, created an intense interest among the nations of Europe, and others followed in rapid succession. The next important voyage was con.ducted by Jacques Cartier, a citizen of St. Malo, in France, which port he left on the 20th of April, 1534. He visited the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Newfoundland, and Bay Chaleur, and sailed up the St. Lawrence as far as the island of Anticosti, when the storms of autumn drove him from the forbidding shores, and compelled his return. This voyage, though only par- tially successful, induced Francis I., of France, to dispatch him upon another, and in May, 1535, he again sailed for America in three small ships, which, after encountering se- vere storms, finally reached the coast of Newfoundland late in July. He soon after explored the gulf, to which he gave the name St. Lawrence from having discovered it upon the day of the saint's festival. The name subsequently attached to the river also. Cartier proceeded up the river to a place called Stada- cona, on the spot now occupied by the city of Quebec. To the modern island of Orleans he gave the name Jsk de Bacchus, from the great number of wild vines found upon it. During the autumn he ascended and explored the great river, called by the savages Hochelaga, to a town of the same name on the site now occupied by Montreal. The lofty hill in the rear of the modern city Cartier visited, and, pleased with the magnificent view from its summit, named it Mount Royal, from whence comes the present name, Montreal. Cartier was the first adventurer to winter in the newly- discovered country, which he did by hauling his ships up the little river St. Charles, which discharges into the St. HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 25 Lawrence a short distance below Quebec. In the spring of 1536, with his crews diminished by the ravages of the scurvy, Cartier returned to France. In 1541 he made a third voyage to the St. Lawrence, under the auspices of Jean Frangois de La Roque, Sieur de Roborval, a noble- man of Picardy. During this visit he founded a town some three and a half leagues above Quebec, which he christened Charlesbourg Royale, where he again passed the winter. Roberval himself followed in 15-12 with three ships and two hundred colonists, and at the place where Cartier had commenced his settlement erected shops, mills, and dwellings for a permanent colony; but which, like others, was in a few years abandoned. From this time until 1608 there wns no further attempt to plant colonies on the St. Lawrence, though immense numbers of fishermen frequented the coasts of Newfound- land, and scattered settlements were attempted in what are now called New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, then known under the general name of Norembega. CHAMPLAIN. On the 5th of April, 1608, a French vessel, under the command of one Pontgravd, a merchant of St. Malo, sailed from Honfleur with a cargo of goods for trading with the natives, and on the 13th Samuel de Champlain sailed in a second vessel with men, arms, and stores for a colony. Both these vessels were fitted out by De Monts, a French noble- man, who had obtained from the king a monopoly of the fur trade. Pontgrav6 reached the St. Lawrence before Champlain, and, turning the rocky point at the mouth of the Saguenay river, he found a Basque trading vessel an- chored in the stream, and quietly pursuing the business of fur-trading. Upon Pontgrav6's demand for a withdrawal from the exclusive domain of his employer, the Basques attacked him furiously, killed and wounded some of his men, and took from him his arms and ammunition, prom- ising to give them up when ready to return to Europe. Such was the state of affairs upon Charaplain's arrival with the armed ship on the 3d of June. His appearance changed the aspect of affairs, and the freebooters were glad to give up everything except their vessel and depart in peace. The vessels now proceeded up the river, and during the month of June the city of Quebec was founded, being the first permanent settlement in Canada, and the third in the Atlantic region of North America. In 1611, Champlain established a trading post on the island of Montreal, and remained nearly a permanent resi- dent of New France until his death in 1635. The English held Canada for the period between 1629 and 1632, but it was considered of so little value that it was restored to France in the latter year. The earliest Catholic missionaries were introduced by Champlain in May, 1615, consisting of four friars of the Recoll6t order of the Franciscans, — Denis Jamet, Jean Dol- beau, Joseph Le Caron, and Pacific du Plessis. As early as 1609, Champlain had entered into an alliance, oifensive and defensive, with the Algonquins of Canada, and the same year accompanied a war-party on an expedition up Lake Champlain into the country of the Iroquois; and in the encounter which occurred near Lake George in July of that year thoughtlessly laid the foundation of a never- ceasing war with this powerful people, and thus entailed upon the French colonies in America a century and a half of horrors seldom equaled in the history of the world. THE JESUITS. In 162.5-26 this powerful order first made their ap- pearance in Canada under the patronage of the viceroy, the Due de Ventadour, who was wholly controlled by it, and assisted by every means in his power its establishment in the colonies. The first three representatives of the " So- ciety of Jesus" to arrive in Canada were Charles Lalemant, Enemond Masse, and Jean de Brebeuf The Jesuits soon after entirely supplanted the Franciscans, and from hence- forth controlled the spiritual affairs of the colony. They established missions on all the principal streams and on the borders of the great' lakes, and labored, with a zeal perhaps unexampled in the history of the world, for the conversion of the savages to Christianity, exposing themselves unhesi- tatingly to danger and to death, and suffering untold tor- tures at the hands of the vengeful Iroquois. Prom the days of Champlain to the close of the war of 1755-60, there was a constant endeavor by the governments of England and France to gain the monopoly of the fur trade of the continent, and to this end unceasing efforts were made by both parties to draw the various Indian na- tions under their respective influence. With all the tribes dwelling north of the St. Lawrence and around the lakes the French were eminently successful, but the powerful Iroquois confederacy, which held the balance of power and overawed all the other nations, they could never gain over either by bribes or forces. These haughty people affected to despise both the French and English, and de- clared themselves independent and masters of the continent. In 1673 the French, under the lead of Count Frontenac, then governor-general of Canada, erected Fort Cadaraqui,* on the ground now occupied by the city of Kingston, Ontario. In 1675, Robert Ctivelier de la Salle received a large grant of land at this point from the King, and was invested with the seignory of Fort Cadaraqui, which in the two following years he rebuilt substantially with stone, and named, in honor of the governor-general. Fort Frontenac, which name it continued to bear until it fell under the jurisdiction of England. The following account of Frontenao's voyage up the St. Lawrence on his way to Cadaraqui, in 1673, is a translation from the Paris documents in the oflSoe of Secretary of State, by Dr. E. B. O'Callahan, editor of the " Documentary History of Now York,'' and published in Dr. Hough's History of St. Lawrence County : "The object of this journey was to prerent the ratification of a treaty between Indian tribes, which he conceived would operate in- juriously to the interests of the French. He proposed to effect this by the establishment of a military post on Lake Ontario, and this was the first beginning made at what is now the city of Kingston, 0. W. He could thus prevent intercourse between the south and the north, and monopolize the fur trade of the Indians. He was still further induced to this from the representations of the Jesuit mis- »The orthography of this word is wonderful, — Kadarockqua, Caterocouy, Cataracuoi, Cataraqui, Cadaraqui, Cadarackquai, Coeda- roqua, Caudaroghque, etc. 26 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. sionaries, who had for some time lahored among the Iroquois, and were over anxious that a station should he made in the country of the Indians, as well to promote their religion, as their commercial enterprises. "To impress the natives with a hclicf that cascades and rapids ■were no harrier against the French, Count de Frontenao resolved to take with him two flat hateaux, similar to that M. de Courcelles had two years previous carried to the head of the rapids, and even to mount them with small cannon, to inspiie the savages with awe. With these two boats, built after a particular model, holding sixteen men, and painted unlike anything seen before, and with about one hundred and twenty bark canoes, he at length left Montreal on the 28th of June, having made all necessary arrangements for the govern- ment of the colony in his absence. On the M of July they had reached the islands at the head of Lake St. Francis, where they re- paired their bateaux, which had been injured in the passing of rapids. We will C[uote the words of the journal: " TRANSLATION. " ' On the 4th the route passed through the most delightful country in the world. The entire river was spangled with islands, on which were only oaks and hard wood; the soil is admirable, and the banks of the mainland on the north and south shores are equally handsome, the timber being very clean and lofty, forming a forest equal to the most beautiful in France. Both banks of the river are lined with prairies, full of excellent grass, interspersed with an infinity of beau- tiful flowers; so that it may be asseitcd, there would not be a more lovely country in the world than that from Lake St. Francis to the head of the rapids, were it cleared. "'Made three leagues up to noon, and halted at a spot more de- lightful than any we had yet seen. It was close to the little chan- nel which stretches along the sault on the north side, and opposite the mouth of a river by which people go to the Mohawk.'^=" Sieur Le Moine was sent to examine that which goes to the Mohawks, and re- ported that it formed a large, circular, deep, and pleasant basin be- hind the point where we had halted, and that the IroquoU whom he had found there had informed him that there was five days' easy navigation in that river, and three when the waters were lower. After having dined and rested awhile the march was resumed, and it was resolved to take the south channel, with the design to camp above the Long Saut, and cross over to that side at three-quarters of a league above it, but the rain which supervened obliged Count de Frontenac to cause the entire fleet to come to anchor on the north side, at the place where we intended to traverse, and he had time only to get the bateaux to do this, and to encamp himself with the Three Kivers' brigade and his st.aff on the south shore, opposite the place where the other sections had anchored. We found in the west- ern forest, in the camp, a white flower, as beautiful as can be seen, with an odor similar to that of the lily of the valley, but much finer.f It was sketched through curiosity. " ' The oth, the rain threatening, we'contented ourselves in dispatch- ing the bateaux at the break of day to get them past the rapids of the Long Saut, and the order was sent to the fleet at the north side not to traverse until the weather was settled. " ' Therefore, it having cleared about ten o'clock, the fleet traversed and advanced to the foot of the first rapid of the Long Saut, but one half having passed, a storm sprang up, which obliged the Count to go by land as far as the rapid, to hasten on those who were in the middle, and to prevent the last going farther on; so that four only were able to pass, and these camped half a league above. He sent the others into a cove, after he had remained more than two hours under the rain, without a cloak, very uneasy about the bateaux, which experienced much difficulty in ascending the rapid ; one of them had run adrift in the current, had not the people behind thrown themselves into the stream with incredible promptness and bravery. '"It is impossible to conceive without witnessing the fatigue of those who dragged the bateaux. They were for the most part of the time in the water up to the arm-pits, walking on rock so sharp that many had their feet and legs covered with blood, yet their gayety never failed, and they made such a point of honor of taking these ba- teaux up, that as soon as they arrived in the camp some among them commenced jumping, playing "prison bars" {joucr ana- harree), and other games ot like nature. The night of the 5th and 6th inst. was so wet that the Count could not sleep ; so afraid was he of the biscuit getting wet, that he ordered Sieur de Chambly not to allow the canoes to start until he saw settled weather, and to push on the bateaux with experienced hands in them, as they did not carry any provisions ca- pable of spoiling. He waited till noon to set out, the weather having cleared up with appearances of no more rain; but a league had not been traveled, nor the bateaux overtaken, before a tempest burst so furiously that all thought that the provisions would be wet. With care, however, very little harm happened, and, after halting about three hours, we proceeded un, with some five or six canoes, to find out a place to camp, to give time to the people in the canoes to follow them, with all the troops; and though there were three or four very ugly rajjids to be passed, they did not fail to surmount all these diflicul- ties, and to arrive before sundown at the head of the Long Saut, where ^' Kaquette river ? t Mymphiea odorata? Count de Frontenao had traced out the camp, opposite a little island, at the end of which the northern channel unites with that on the south. " ' The 7th, started the canoes (bateaux ?) very early, with orders to cross from the north side at the place where they should find the river narrower and less rapid; and he left with all the canoes two hours after, and proceeded until eleven o'clock, in better order than during the preceding days, because the navigation was easier. We stopped three or four hours about a quarter of a league from the rapid called the li'apide Plat.% " * The weather appeared the finest in the world. This induced us to determine on passing the rapid, which is very difficult, on account of the trees on the water side tumbling into the river, which obliged the canoes to take outside, and so go into the strongest of the current. He detached six canoes in consequence, which he sent along to take axes to cut all the trees that might obstruct the passage of the bateaux, and took with him the Three Rivers' brigade and his staff to lay out the camp, having left two brigades with the bateaux, and others for a rear-guard. But on landing, at five o'clock in the after- noon, there came a storm, accompanied by thunder and lightning, more furious than all the others that preceded it, so that it was neces- sary to dispatch orders in all haste to the bateaux and to all the fleet to oast anchor wherever they happened to be, which it was very diffi- cult to effect, in consequence of some of the bateaux being in the midst of the rapid. The rain lasted nearly the whole night, during which the Count was extremely uneasy lest precautions may not have been taken to prevent the provisions getting wet. Next morning, at break of day, sent for intelligence, and news was brought, about seven o'clock in the morning, that there was not much harm done, through the care every one took to preserve his provisions, and the bateaux arrived a quarter of an hour afterwards at the camp. As every one had suffered considerably from the fatigue of the night, it was re- solved not to leave the camp before ten or eleven o'clock, in order to collect all the people and give them time to rest. "'The weather was so unsettled that, through fear of rain, they waited until noon, and though a pretty strong southwest wind arose, and the river was very rough, we failed not to make considerable headway, and to camp at the foot of the last rapid. " ' The 9th, we had proceeded scarcely an hour when the Montreal brigade, dispatched by Count Frontenac from our third encampment, by Sieur Lieutenant de la Valtrie, under the direction of Sieur Morel, ensign, to make a second convoy, and carry provisions beyond the rapids, was found in a place which he had been ordered to occupy as a depot. As soon as our fleet was perceived,. he crossed over from the south to the north and came on board the " Admiral." " ' The Count wrote by him to M. Perrot, Governor of Montreal, to whom he sent orders to have new canoes furnished to Lieutenant Lebert, to join this fleet, and endeavor to bring in one voyage what he had at first resolved to have brought in two. In two hours after- wards we arrived at the place Sieur de la Valtrie had selected to build a store-house. It was a point at the head of all the rapids, and at the entrance of the smooth navigation. | " ' The Count strongly approved Sieur de la Valtrie's selection, and resolved to sojourn there the whole day, to allow the troops to refresh, and to have leisure to send a second canoe to Montreal with new orders and to hasten the return of the canoes, which were sent to bring provisions. At six o'clock in the evening two Iroquois canoes arrived, bringing letters from Sieur de la Salle, who, having been sent into their country two months before, advised the count that, after some difficulty, which was founded on the apprehensions the savages entertained of his approach, they had, in fine, resolved to come to assure him of their obedience, and that they awaited him at Kent6,|| to the number of more than two hundred of the most ancient and influential, though they had considerable objection to repair thither, in consequence of the jealousy they felt on seeing Onontio going to KentS, as it implied a preference for that nation to the others. This obliged him to request the Abbgs de Fdnolon^ and D'LfrfJ to go in all haste to KentS, which it had been resolved to visit, having judged by the map, after considerable consultation and different opinions, that it would be a very suitable place on which to erect the proposed establishment. "'Though Count de Frontenao had appointed this interview with the savages only with that view, he did not omit, however, taking advantage of the jealousy they entertained in their minds, and re- X This rapid is on the north side of Ogden's island, at the present village of Waddington, at Madrid. The island was known to the early French voyageurs as the Islo au Rapide Plat, or island at the flat rapid. The river hero is underlaid by a limestone formation of very uniform surface, and has a descent of eleven feet in three miles. I Probably Indian Point, in Lisbon, a short distance above Gallop Rapids. II Present orthography, Quinti. If Ffinelon, the Archbishop of Camhray, and author of the celc- brated allegorical romance entitled Les Adventures de TeUmaque, was from 1667 till 1674 a missionary of the Sulpieian order among the Iroquois, on the north shore of Lake Ontario. Ho was born Aug. 0, 1661 ; early engaged with zeal in ecclesiastical studies; became emi- nent as a missionary, author, and preceptor to the Duke of Bur- gundy, the heir-apparent to the throne of Franco ; was raised to the archbishopric of Cambray in 1697, and died in 1715. HISTOKY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. quested those gentlemen to assure them that ho expected them \a that place only to let them know that he did not pret'or the one to the other, and that he should be always their common father so long as they remained in the obedience and respect they owed the king. "'The 10th, left the camp about five o'clock in the morning j and though Count de Frontonac had determined on the preceding day, and before he received the news of the approach of the Imqitoia, to leave the bateaux with the greater portion of the troops behind, and to take with him only two or three brigades, to reconnoitre as quickly as possible the outlet of the G-reat Lake, and the post he was about to fortify at the mouth of the Katarakoui, he changed his design, and concluded ho ought to proceed with more precaution until he should be better informed of the intention of the Iroquois. '"We therefore proceeded in a body, and in closer column than heretofore. The weather was so serene, and the navigation so smooth, that we made more than ten leagues, and went to camp at a cove about a league and a half from Otondiata, where the eol-flshery begins. AVe had the pleasure on the march to catch a small loon, a bird about as large as a European bustard (Oularde), of the most beautiful plumage, but so difiicult to catch alive, as it plunges con- stantly under water, that it is no small rarity to be able to take one. A cage was made for it, and orders were given to endeavor to raise it, in order to be able to send it to the king. "' The 11th, the weather continuing fine, a good day's journey was made, having passed all that vast group of islands with which the river is spangled, and camped at a point above the river called by the Indians Onuondrtkoui,^' up which many of them go hunting. It has a very considerable channel. Two more loons were caught alive, and a scanoutou, which is a kind of deer, but the head and branches of which are handsomer than that of the deer of France.' " The narrative continues with an account of the stately and regal manner with which the Count do Frontenac entered the lake, and the interviews which he had with the natives. The pomp and ceremony with which he received the deputation of the savages, the glittering armor and polished steel which flashed and gleamed in the sun, the waving banners gayest colors that floated in the gentle breeze, and, above all, the roar of caution and the destructive efl"ect of shot, be- wildered the minis of the simple-hen,rted natives, and impressed them with awe and astonishment. The Count then related to them in glowing colors the grandeur and importance of the king, his master, whose humble servant he 'was, and thus conveyed a vague but overwhelming impression of the omnipotence of the French. "From this time forward the St. Lawrence was frequently trav- ersed by French voyagers, and a post was established at La Galeae (meaning in the French language a cake or nnij/in), which is sup- posed to be near the site of Johnstown, in Canada, a short distance below Prescott, or on Chimney island." In 1682 Count Frontenac was recalled, and Le Fobvre de la Barre succeeded hiin as governor-general of Canada. The new governor managed to make himself somewhat un- popular, and attempted a castigation of the Iroquois in the summer of 1684, when he assembled a large force of French, Canadians, and Indians at Frontenac. At the same time he was industriously endeavoring to cultivate peace with the savages through the mediation of Le Moyne, a vet- eran pioneer of Montreal, and Father Jean de Lamberville, a Jesuit who had long resided among the Indians as a missionary. In endeavoring to play a double game his calculations came to naught, for the savages were sharp enough to understand all his manoeuvres, and to meet him at every point, whether of diplomacy or war, and foil him effectually. While encamped at Frontenac, his army suf- fered terribly for want of provisions and from sickness, of which the wily Indians were well advised, and when, through the efforts of Le Moyne and the Jesuit, a council was finally arranged and assembled on the eastern shore of Lake On- tario, on September 3, the famous Onondaga orator, Garan- ffula, in a remarkable speech, boldly exposed the designs of the French governor, outwitted him at every point, and sent him, chagrined and discomfited, back to Montreal, whence he was soon after recalled by the king, and the » " — * Gannonoqui? from the -ff«ron, Ougli-aeanoto, a deer. — Dr. O'Cal- LAGIIAN. Marquis de Denonville appointed in his place. This ex- pedition of La Barre's, on its way up the river, made La Galettef one of its stopping-places. In the spring of 1687, Denonville assembled a powerful force at Frontenac, consisting of French regular troops, Canadian militia, and a great number of Indians. The army crossed Lake Ontario and rendezvoused at Irondequoit bay, where it was joined by several hundred traders. Courier des Bois, and upper lake Indians. The country of the Seneca nation, or Canton, was invaded and laid waste, but, in the main, very little was accomplished ; and, in 1689, in return for this visit, fifteen hundred Iroquois made an incursion into Canada, and laid waste the island of Mont- real, killing and capturing a large number of the inhabi- tants, and returning, with very little loss, triumphantly to their own country^. In the autumn of 1689, Denonville was recalled, and Count Frontenac was again installed as governor-general of Canada. Upon his arrival, he found the country in the greatest state of alarm, and all the upper lake Indians upon the point of going over in a body to the enemy, as the best ■ means of saving themselves from total destruction, for they had become nearly convinced that the French could not protect them from the dreaded Iroquois. By a series of well-directed operations against the English frontiers, and a firm and vigorous policy towards the Indians, Frontenac succeeded in staying the tide that had so nearly over- whelmed the French colonies in disaster and ruin, and once more resumed the mastery over the western tribes which only terminated with the final subjugation of the French in 1760. The following extract is from Dr. Hough's work : " In 1720-21, Father Charlevoix, a Jesuit, undertook, by command of the King of France, a journey to Canada. His observations, in an epistolary form, addressed to the Duchess de Lesdiguieres, were pub- lished at Paris in 1744; from the fifth volume of which we translate the following extracts from a letter dated ' Catarocoui, 14th May, 1721': "'Above the Buisson the river is a mile wide, and lands on both sides are very good and well wooded. They begin to clear those which arc on the north side, and it would be very easy to make a road from the point which is over against the Island of Montreal to a bay which they call La Calettc. They will shun by this forty leagues of navigation, which the falls render almost impracticable and very tedious. A fort would be much better situated and more necessary at La Calotte than at Catarocoui, because a single canoe cannot pass here without being seen, whereas at Catarocoui they may slip behind the islands without being observed. Moreover, the lands about Ga- lette are very good, and they might in consequence have always pro- visions in plenty, which would save many charges. Besides this, a bark might go in two days with a good wind to Niagara. One of the objects which they had in view in building the fort Catarocoui was the trade with the Iroquois j but these savages would come as will- ingly to La Galette as to Catarocoui. They would have indeed some- thing farther to go, but they would avoid a passage of eight or nine leagues which they must make over the Lake Ontario. In short, a fort at La Galette would cover the whole country which is between the great river of the Outaouais and the river St. Lawrencej for they cannot come into this country on the side of the river St. Lawrence because of the falls, and nothing is more easy than to guard the banks of the river of the Outaouais. I have tljese remarks from a commissary of the marine (M. de Clerambaut d'Aigrcmont), who was sent by the King to visit all the distant posts of Canada. . . . From Coteau du Lac to Lake St. Francois is l)ut a good half league. This lake, which I passed on the fifth, is seven leagues long and three at the widest pla.oo. The land on both sides is low, but appears to be good. The course from Montreal to this is a little to the southwest, and the lake St. Franfois runs west-southwest and east-northeast. I encamped just above it, and in the night was aroused by piercing cries as of persons in distress. I was at first alarmed, but soon re- f A short distance below Ogdcnsburg, on the Canada side. 28 HISTOEY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YOKK. covered myself when they told me they "were hnars, a kind of cormo- rants.'-'- They added that these cries prognosticated winds on the morrow, which proved true. " ' The sixth 1 passed the Chesuaux du Lac, thus called from some channels which form a great number of islands which almost cover the river in this place. I never saw a country more charming, and the lands appear good. The rest of the day was speot in passing the rapids, the principal one of which they call Le Moulinet (The YortexJ : it is frightful to behold, and we had much trouble in passing it. T went, however, that day seven leagues and encamped at the foot of the Long Saut, which is a rapid half a lea.gue long, which canoes cannot ascend with more than half a load. We passed it at seven in the morning, and sailed at three o'clock p.m. ; but the rain obliged us to encamp, and detained us the following day. There fell on the eighth [May] a little snow, and at night it froze as it does iu Prance in the month of January. We were nevertheless under the same parallels as Languedoc. On the ninth wo passed the Rapide Plat [opposite the village of Waddington], distant from the Saut about seven leagues and five from Des (laloti^, which is the last of the rapids. La Galette is a league and a hiilf farther, and we arrived there on the tenlh. I could not sufficiently admire the beauty of the country between this bay and Les Galots, It is impossible to see finer forests, and I especially notice some oaks of extraordinary height. " ' Five or six leagues from La Galette is an island called Tonihata,"!" where the soil appears fertile, and which is about half a league long. An Iroquois, whom they call the Quaker, I know not why, a very sensible man and very affectionate to the French, obtained the do- minion of it from the late Count de Frontenac, and shows his patent of concession to whoever wishes to see it. He has nevertheless sold the lordship for four pots of brandy, but has reserved to himself all other profits of the land, and has assembled here eighteen or twenty fami- lies of his nation. I arrived on the twelfth at his island and paid him, a visit. I found him laboring in his garden, which is not the. custom of savages ; but he affects all the customs of the French. He received me very kindly, and wished to regale me, but the beauty of the weather invited me to prosecute my journey. I took my leave of him, and went to pass the night two leagues from thence in a very fine place. *' * r had still thirteen leagues to Catarocoui : the weather was fine and the night very clear, which induced me to embark at three o'clock .in the morning. We passed through the midst of a kind of archi- pelago, which they call Mille/des [Thousand Isles]. I believe there are about five hundred. When wc had passed these, we had a league and a half lo reach Catarocoui, The river is more open, and at least half a league wide: then we leave upon the right three great bays, very deep, and the fort is built in the third. This fort is square, with four bastions built with stone ; and the ground it occupies is a quarter of a league in circuit, and its situation has really something very delightful. The banks of the river present in every way a varied scenery, and it is the same at the entrance of Lake Ontario, which is but a short league distant: it is studded with islands of different sizes, all well wooded, and nothing bounds the horizon on that side. This lake for some time bore the name of Saint Louis, afterwards that of Frontenac, as well as the fort of Catarocoui, of which the Count -de Frontenac was the founder; but insensibly the lake has gained its ancient name, which is Huron or Iroquois, and the fort that of the place where it is built. The soil from this place to La Galette appears rather barren ; but it is only on the edges, it being very good farther back. Opposite the fort is a very fine island in the midst of the river. They placed some swine upon it, which have multiplied and given it the name of hie des Porca [Hog island, now Grand island]. There are two other islands somewhat smaller, which are lower and half a league apart : one is named Vhle aux Gedres, and the other Vide aux Cerfs [Cedar island and Stag island, neither of which names are now retained]. " ' The bay of Catarocoui is double ; that is to say, that almost, in the midst of it is a point which runs out a great way, under which there is good anchorage for large barks. M. de la Salle, so famous for his discoveries and his misfortunes, who was lord of Catarocoui and governor of the fort, had two or three vessel.s here which were sunk in this place, and remain there still. Behind the fort is a marsh, where a great variety of wild game gives pleasant occupation for the garrison. " * There was formerly a great trade here, especially with the Iro- quois; and it was to entice them to us, as well as to hinder their car- rying their skins to the English and to keep these savages in awe, that the fort was built. But this trade did not last long, and the fort has not hindered the barbarians from doing us a •'reat deal of mischief. They have still some families here on the outskirts of the place; and also some Miesisnguez, an Alffonqnin nation, which still have a village on the west side of Lake Ontario, another at Niagara, and a third at Detroit.' "An English writer (JeffcrsJ has written a book, entitled, 'The French Dominion in America' (London, 1760, folio), in which he has freely quoted without acknowledgment, from Charlevoix and other French writers, statements of facts and descriptions of places of which he evidently had no knowledge beyond what he derived from these works. * Probably loons. t Indian Jlut island. "The following is an extract from this writer (p. 15), which may be compared with the translation from Charlevoix which we have given : *" A fourth rift, two leagues and a half hence, is called therift of St. Francis, from whence to Lake St. Francis you have only half a league. This lake is several leagues in length, and almost three in breadth where broadest. The land on both sides is low, but appears to be of an excellent soil. The route from Montreal hither lies a little towards the southwest, and the Lake St. Francis runs west-southwest and east-northeast. " ' From hence you come to the Ckeanenux du Lac, for thus are CEtlled those channels formed by a cluster of islands, which take up almost the whole breadth of the river at this place. The soil seems here extraordinarily good, and never was prospect move charming than that of the country about it. The most remarkable falls here are that of the Moulinet, which is even frightful to behold,;]: and exceeding difficult to get through, and that called the Long Fall, half a league in length, and passable only to canoes half loaded. " 'The next you come to is called the Flat Rift [Bapide du Plat, opposite Ogden's island and the village of Waddington], about seven leagues above the Long Fall, and five below that called Les Galots, which is the last of the falls. La Galette lies a league farther, and no one can be weary of admiring the extraordinary beauty of the country, and of the noble forests which overspread all the lands about this bay and La Galette, particularly the vast woods of oak of a prodigious height. A fort would perhaps be better situated and much more necessary at La Galette than at Cadarnqui, for this reason, that not so much as a single canoe could pass without being seen ; whereas, at Cadaraqui they may easily sail behind the isles without being per- ceived at all. The lands moreover about La Galette are excellent, whence there would always be plenty of provisions, which would be no small saving. '*' And, besides, a vessel could very well go from La Galette to Niagara in two days, with a fair wind. One motive for building the fort at Cadaraqui was the convonieney of trading with the Iroquois, But those Indians would as willingly go to La Galette as to the other place. Their way, indeed, would be much longer, but then it would save them a traverse of eight or nine leagues on Lake Ontario; not to mention that a fort i.t La Galette would secure all the country lying between the great river of the Outawais and the river St. Law- rence ; for this country is inaccessible on the side of the river, on account of the rifts, and nothing is more jiracticable than to defend the banks of the great river; at least, these are the sentiments of those sent by the court of France to visit all the different posts of Canada. " * One league and a half from La Galette, on the opposite shore, at the mouth of the Oswegatchi river, the French have lately built the fort La Presentation, which commands that river, and keeps open a communication, by land, between-Lake Champlain and this place. *' ' Four leagues above La Presentation is the isle called Tonihata, about half a league in length, and of a very good soil. An Iroquois, called by the French writers, for what reason we are not told, the Quaker, a man of good natural sense, and much attached to the French nation, had, as they say, got the dominion of this island of Count of Frontenac, the patent of which, it seems, he was proud of showing to anybody. " * He sold his lordship for a gallon of brandy, reserving, however, the profits to himself, and taking care to settle eighteen or twenty families of his own nation upon this island. " ' It is ten leagues hence to Cadaraqui, and on your way to this place you pass through a sort of archipel, called the Thousand Islep, and there may possibly be about five hundred. From hence to Ca- daraqui they reckon four leagues. " ' The river here is freer and opener, and the breadth half a league. On the right arc three deep bays, in the third of which stands Fort Cadaraqui or Frontenac* "From the earliest period of their settlement the French appear to have been solicitous to withdraw the Iroquois from the interests of the English, and to establish them near their own borders, as well to secure their religious as their political adherence to their interests. To effect their conversion. Father Ragueneau was sent to Onondaga, in 1657-58; Isaac Jogues to the Moliawlca (among whom he had been a captive previously), in 1646; Frs. Jos. Lemercicr to Onondaga, in 1656-58; Frs. Duperon to Onondaga, in 1657-58 ; Simon Le Moyne to Onondaga, in 1654-, and subsequently to the Mohawks and Sciiecas; and many others, but none with more success than Jacques de Lain- berville, who was among the Mohaioks in 1657-58, subsequently at Onondaga, which place he left in 1686, and again, in 1703 to 1709, he was engaged most zcalgusly in his work of proselyting to his faith the Indians of New York. *' The result of the labors of these missionaries was the emigration of a part of the Mohawk tribe, iu 1675-76, to the Saut St. Louis; in the vicinity of Montreal. Some account of this emigration is given X This is probably what is known at present as the Lost Channel, on the north side of Long Saut island. It has within a year or two been descended by steamers and found safe, although the war of waters is frightful. HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 29 by Charlevoix, which will here be given as a spccimeu of the zealous devotion and religious strain in which the Catholic writers of that period were accustomed to speak and write, rather than for its im- portance as a historical document. "The success of their enterprise was proportioned to the zeal and energy with which it was prosecuted. The room in which Charle- voix dwelt while at this mission of the Saut St. Louis is still pointed out to visitors, and the table on which he wrote forms a part of the furniture of the priest's house at that mission. "Prom 'Charlevoix's Journals of Travels in North America,' vol- ume v. page 258, and subsequently. Letter to the Duchess de Les- diguiercs : "'Saut St. Lours, May 1, 1721. " * Madame, — I have come to this place to spend a part of Easter. It is a period of devotion, and everything in this village is suggest- ive of pious emotions. All the religious exercises are performed in a very edifying manner, and leave an impression of fervor on the minds of the habitants; for it is certain that it has long been the case in Canada that we may witness the brightest examples of heroic virtue with which God has been wont to adorn the growing church. The manner itself in which it has been formed is very marvelous. " ' The missionaries, after having for a long time moistened the cantons of the Iroquoin with their sweat, and some even with their blood, lostj at length, all hope of establishing there the Christian re- ligion upon a solid basis, but not of drawing a great number of sav- ages under the yoke of the faith. They felt that God had among these barbarians his elect, as in all nations, but they were convinced that to nsnure their calling and their election it was necessary to separate them from their compatriots, and they formed the resolution of estab- lishing in the colony all those whom they found disposed to embrace Christianity. Thoy opened their design to the governor-general and the intendant, who carried their views still further, not only ap- proving them, but conceiving that this establishment would be very serviceable to New France, as in fact it has been, as well as another, much like it, which had been established in the isle of Montreal, under the name of La Montague, of which the members of the semi- nary of St. Sulpice have always had the direction. " ' To return to that which served as a model for the others : One of the missionaries of the Iroquoia opened his design to some of the Mohawka. They approved it, and especinlly that Canton which had always most strongly opposed the ministers of the gospel, and where they had often been most cruelly treated. Thus, to the great wonder of French and savages, were seen these inveterate enemies of God, and of our nation, touched with his victorious grace, which thus deigned to triumph in the hardest and most rebellious hearts, aban- doning all that they held most dear in the world to receive nothing, that they may serve the Lord with more freedom. A sacrifice more heroic still for savages than other people, because none arc more at- tached than they to their families and their natal land. The number was much augmented in a short time; in part, from the zeal of the first proselytes who composed this chosen band.' " This measure led to much persecution, and the converts were often tortured to compel them to renounce the faith. Others were confined in miserable dungeons in New York, from which they could be liberated only by abjuring their new religion, or^ at least, by promising to leave the French. M, de Saint Valier thus wrote in 168S: * The ordinary life of all the Christians at this mission has nothing usual, and one would take the whole village to be a monas- tery. As they only left the goods of their country to seek safety, they practice on all sides the most perfect disengagement, and pre- serve among each other so perfect order for their sanctifieation, that it would be difficult to add anything to it.' " These savages, of course, carried with them their language and customs, but the latter gradually became adapted to those of the French, who labored to abolish those national ceremonies, and sub- stitute in their place an observance of the ritual and requirements of the Catholic religion. This measure succeeded so well that, at the present day, the oldest Indians at the missions have lost all recollection of the existence of their ancient customs, and do not preserve the memory of national ceremonies of the olden time." FIRST SETTLEMENT AT OGDENSBURG. The emigration to Canada from among the Indians con- tinued through many years, and at length, in 1749, led to the establishment of a missionary station and fort at the mouth of the river La Presentation (Oswegatohie), by Francis Picquet, a Sulpician. The following account of the early settlement of Ogdens- burg is from the " Documentary History of New York," vol. i. page 277, and is a translation from the Paris docu- ments in the State library at Albany : " A large number of Iroquois savages having declared their willing- ness to embrace Christianity, it has been proposed to establish a mission in the neighborhood of Fort Frontenac. Abb6 Picquet, a. zealous missionary in whom the nations have evinced much confi- dence, has taken charge of it, and of testing, as much as possible, what reliance is to bo placed on the dispositions of the Indians.'^' " Nevertheless, as M. de la Gallisonni&re had remarked, in the month of October, 1748, that too much dependence ought not to be placed on them, M. de la JonquiSre was written to on the 4th of May, 1749, that he should neglect nothing for the formation of this estab- lishment, because, if it at all succeeded, it would not be difiieult to give the Indians to understand that the only means they had to relieve themselves of the pretensions of the English to their lands was the destruction of Chouegucn, which they founded solely with a view to bridle these nations; but it was necessary to be prudent and circum- spect to induce the savages to undertake it. "21st 8ber, 1749. — M. do la Jonquiere sends a plan drawn by Sieur de L6ry of the ground selected by the Abbe Picquet for his mission, and a letter from that abbe, containing a relation of his voyage and the situation of the place. "He says he left the 4th of May of last year, with twenty-five Frenchmen and four //'oiyxois Indians; he arrived the 30th at the River de la Presentation, called Soegatzy.f The land there is the finest in Canada. There is oak timber in abundance, and trees of a prodigious size and height, but it will be necessary, for the de- fense of the settlement, to fell them without permission. Picquet reserved sufficient on the land he had cleared to build a barque. " He then set about building a store-house to secure his efTects ; he next had erected a small fort of pickets, and he will have a small bouse constructed which will serve as a bastion.:|; "Sieur Picquet had a. special interview with the Indians; they were satisfied with all he had done, and assured him they were will- ing to follow his advice, and to immediately establish their village. To accomplish this, they are gone to regulate their affairs, and have promised to return with their provisions. "The situation of this post is very advantageous; it is on the borders of the River de la Presentation, at the head of all the rapids, on the west side of a beautiful basin formed by that river, capable of easily holding forty or fifty barques. " In all parts of it there has been found at least two fathoms and a half of water, and often four fathoms. This basin is so located that no wind scarcely can prevent its being entered. The bank is very low, in a level country, the point of which runs far out. The passage across is hardly a quarter of a league, and all the canoes going up or down cannot pass elsewhere. A fort on this point would be impregnable; it would be impossible to approach, and nothing commands it. The east side is more elevated, and runs, by a gradual inclination, into an amphitheatre. A beautiful town could hereafter be built here. " This post is, moreover, so much the more advantageous, as the English and Iroquois can easily descend to Montreal by the River de la Presentation, which has its source in a lake bordering on the Mo- hawks and Corlar. If they take possession of this river, they will ■* The following extract from Paris Document X. furnishes the date of the Abbe Picquet's departure to establish his colony on the Oswegatchie river: " 30th Sept., 1748. — The Abb6 Picquet departs from Quebec for Fort Frontenac; he is to look in the neighborhood of that fort for a location best adapted for a village for the Iroquois of the Five Nations, who propose to embrace Christianity." f This name is variously spelled, Soegatzy, Souegatzy, Swegatchie, Chougatchie, Seogasti, Swegage, Suegatzi, Swegassie, Oswegatchie, etc. J A tablet of sandstone was placed in the wall of the mission-house erected by Father Picquet, bearing the following inscription: In nomine "j" Dei omnipoteutis Huic hahitationi initia dedit Frans. Picquet 1749. Translated, this reads as follows : "Francis Picquet laid the foun- dations of this habitation, in the name of the Almighty God, in 1749." In 1831, this tablet was found among the ruins by Amos Bacon, and inserted over the door of the State Arsenal. 30 HISTORY OP ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. block the passage to Fort Frontenac, and more easily assist Clioue- guen. Whereas, by means of a fort at the point, it would be easy to have a force there in case of need to dispatch to Choueguen, and to intercept the English and Indians who may want to penetrate into the colony, and the voyage to Missilimakinac could be made in safety. "Moreover, this establishment is only thirty-five leagues from Montreal, twenty-five from Fort Frontenac, and thirty-three from Choueguen,® — a distance sufBoient to remove the Indians from the disorders which the proximity of forts and towns ordinarily engen- ders among them. It is convenient for the reception of the Lake Ontario and more distant Indians. "Abbe Picquet's views are to accustom these Indi.ins to raise cows, hogs, and poultry j there are beautiful prairies, acorns, and wild oats. " On the other hand, it can be so regulated that the bateaux carry- ing goods to the posts may stop at La Presentation. The cost of freight would become smaller ; men could be found to convey those bateaux at fifteen to twenty livres instead of forty-five and fifty livres, which are given for the whole voyage. Other bateaux of La Presentation would convey them farther on, and the first would take in return plank, boards, and other timber, abundant there. This timber would not come to more than twelve or fifteen livres, whilst they are purchased at sixty-eight livres at Montreal, and sometimes more. Eventually this post will be able to supply Fort Frontenac with provisions, which will save the king considerable expense. "TheAbb6 Picquet adds in his letter that he examined in his voyage the nature of the rapids of the Fort Frontenac river, verj' important to secure to us the possession of Lake Ontario, on which the English have an eye. The most dangerous of those ra|)ids, in number fourteen, arc the Trou (the Hole), and the Buisson (the Thicket). Abb6 Picquet points out a mode of rendering this river navigable ; and, to meet the expenses, he proposes a tax of ten livres on each canoe sent up, and nn ecu (fifty cents) on each of the crew, which, according to him, will produce three thousand livres, a sum sutficient for the workmen. "Messrs. de la Jonquiere and Bigot remark that they find this establishment necessary, as well as the erection of a saw-mill, as it will diminish the expense in the purchase of timber ; but, as regards the rapids, they will verify them in order to ascertain if, in fact, the river can be rendered navigable, and they will send an estimate of the works. " They have caused five cannon of two-pound calibre to be sent to the Abbe Picquet for his little fort, so as to give confidence to his Indians and to persuade them that they will be in security there. " M. de la Jonquiere in particular says he will see if the proprietors of bateaux would eontribnte towards the expense necessary to be in- curred for the rapids; but he asks that convicts from the galleys or people out of work {gens inutiles) be sent every year to him to culti- vate the ground. He is in want of men, and the few he has exact high wages. "1st 8ber, 1749. — M. Bigot also sends a special memoir of the expense incurred by Abbd Picquet for improvements (defrichemcns), amounting to three thousand four hundred and eighty-five livres ten sous.f Provisions were also furnished him for himself and workmen and this settlement is only commenced. M. de la Jonquiere cannot dispense with sending an oflioer there and some soldiers. Sieur de la Morandiere, engineer, is to be sent there this winter to draw out » plan of quarters for these soldiers and a store for provisions. If there be not a garrison at that post a considerable foreign trade will be carried on there. "7th 9ber, 1749.— Since all these letters M. de la Jonquiere has written another, in which he states that M. de Longueil informed him that a band of savages, believed to be Mohatolu, had attacked Sieur Picquet's mission on the 26th of October last; that Sieur de Vassau, commandant of Fort Frontenac, had sent a detachment thither, which could not prevent the burning of two vessels, loaded with hay, and the palisades of the fort. Abb6 Picquet's house alone was saved. " The loss by fire is considerable. It would have been greater were «- Ogdensbnrg is 105 miles from Montreal, 60 from Kingston, Can. and about 90 from Oswego. The distances laid down in the text are very accurate, considering the time and the circumstances.— Dr. O'Callaoiian. t Equal to $653.23. it not for four Abenakis, who furnished on this occasion a proof of their fidelity. The man named Perdreaux had half the hand carried away. His arm had to be cut off. One of the Abenakis received the discharge of a gun, the ball of which remained in his blanket. "M. de Longueil has provided everything necessary. M. de la Jonquiere gave him orders to have a detachment of ten soldiers sent there, and he will take measures next spring to secure that post. M. de la JonquiSro adds that the savages were instigated to this attack by the English. The Iroquois, who were on a complimentary visit at Montreal, were surprised at it, and assured M. de Longueil that it could only be Colonel Amson [Johnson ?] who could have induced them. He omitted nothing to persuade those same Iroquois to under- take this expedition and to prevent them going to compliment the governor, having offered them belts, which they refused." Father Picquet, having fortified his po.sition in the year 1751, commenced the erection of a saw-mill for the use of his settlement and the government. In a document entitled, " Titles and Documents relating to the Seignorial Tenure," made to the Legislative Assembly of Canada in 1851, and published at Quebec in 1852, is a copy of the French grant to him. It is taken from pages 299 and 300, and runs as follows : "Le Marquis de la Josqui£re, Etc. " FRAN901S Bigot, Etc. '' On the representation made to us by Monsieur l'Abb6 Piquet, priest, missionary of the Indians of La Presentation, that in virtue of the permission which we gave him last year he is building a saw- mill on the river called La Presentation or Souegatzy, with the view of contributing to the establishment of that new mission; but that for the usefulness of the said mill, it is necessary that there should be attached thereto a tract of land in the neighborhood on which to receive the saw-logs, as well as the boards and other lumber: where- fore he prays that we would grant him a concession en ceusive of one arpent:J; and a half in front on the said river, — that is to say, three- fourths of an arpent on each side of the said mill, by one arpcnt and a half in depth, having regard to the promises. " We, in virtue of the power jointly intrusted to us by His Majesty, have given, granted, and conceded, and by these presents do give, grant, and concede unto the Abb6 Piquet the said extent of land of one arpent and a half in front, by the same depth, as herein above described : to have and to hold the said unto him and his assigns in full property forever, on condition that the said tract of land, and the mill erected thereon, cannot be sold or given to any person holding in mortmain (gens de main morte), in which ease His Majesty shall ve- eater plena jure into the possession of the said tract of land and mill; also, on condition of the yearly payment of five sola of rente and six deniers of cens, payable to His Majesty's domain, on the festival-day of St. Kemy, the first of October each year, the first payment of which shall be due on the 1st October of next year, 1752 ; the said cens bearing profit of lods et venles, saisbie et amende, agreeably to the custom of Paris followed in this country ; and that he shall have these presents confirmed within one year. " In testimony whereof, etc. "At Quebec, the 10th of October, 1751. " Signed La JonqdiSre, and " True Copy. Bigot." Bigot. In a letter to Governor Clinton, dated Aug. 18, 1750, Col. Johnson makes mention of this post in the following terms : "The next thing of conseqence he (an Indian sachem) told me was that ho had heard from several Indians that the Governor had given orders to the Priest, who is now settled below Cadaraqui, to use all means possible to induce the five Nations to settle there, for which end they have a large magazine of all kinds of clothing fitted for the Indians, as also Arms, Ammunition, Provisions, &c., which they dis- tribute very liberally." X An arpent is a hundred porches of land, eighteen feet to the perch, or about three-quarters of an acre. This is an old French land measure. HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 31 The same to the board of health, Aug. 28, 1756 : " The OiiundaguK and Oneidas arc in tho neighborhood of Swe- gatchie, a French settlement on the river St. Lawrence, whither num- bers of those two Nations have of late years been dchauclied and gone to live. Though our Indians do not now resort to those places as frequently and familiarly as they formerly did, yet some among them do occasionally visit there, ivhen tho French, and tho Indians in their interest, poison the minds of ours with stories, not only to tho disadvantage of our good intentions towards them, but endeavor to frighten them with pompous accounts of the superior prowess and martial abilities of the French." The attempt of the French to establish a mission at Os- wegatehie naturally excited the jealousies of the English, whose relations with their Canadian neighbors were every day tending to open hostilities. The industry of the French in founding establishments among the Indian tribes at this period suflSciently evinces the anxiety they felt to secure the interest and influence of the savages to the prejudice of the English colonies. Tho following communication from Lieut. Lindesay to Col. Johnson relates to the station at Swegagc, or La Presentation, shortly before founded : " Oswr.GO, ISIh July, 1751. " This day came here from' Niagra the Bunt and the Black Prince's son, with their fighters. He first gave me an account how it had fared with them: told me he found two forts built by the French since he went out; one at Nigra, carrying place, and the other by John Cair on the river Ohieo. He said he heard a bird sing that a great many Indians from his castle, and others from the five nations, were going to Swegage : all this, he said, grived him, and he saw things going very wrong ; and if a stop was not put to it. the five nations wou'd be ruined soon. He said he was come home, for he lookt on this place as such : that he was both hungry and poor; and hoped, as I represented the Governor and Coll. Johnson here, I would assist him in a little provisions and clothing to his fighters. I told him was sorrey for the loss he had sustained, but was glad to find his thoughts and mine the same as to the French's building forts, and the Indians going to Swegage; and told him how wrong it was in our Indjans going to Cannada, and the consequencess that would at- tend it, in the best light I could. He agreed with me in all I said, and promised to do everything in his power to have things better managed, and likewise promised in the strongest terms to all Coll. Johnson would desire of him. I gave him provisions and cloathing, &c. for his people, to the value of five pounds above what he gave me when he spoke, which was three bevers. " 27th. This day came the Couse, and some other Sinaka sacham, in order to go to Cannada. He came to see me, and told me he was sent by the consent of the five nations to go to the Govn. of Cannada about the building the above said two forts, Ac. I told him the con- sequence of Indjans going there; but as he is intirely French, all I said was to no purpose, though he seeni'd to own the force of what I said, as all the other Indjans did, and I belive all but him might have been stopt ; but as things are, I could do no more. "By all the Indjans that have been here, I find the French army landed at Nigra about the 26th July, in 20 large canoes, to tho num- ber of 250 or 300 French, with 200 Arondaks and Annogongcrs; they are to gather all the Indians as they pase, and allso French, and will at least amount to 1000 or 1200 French and Indjans. Their designs is to drive the English of that are at or near Ohieo, and oblidge the Meomies to come and live whore they shall order them. All the Ind- jans who have been here, say they and all Indians are to join them. While the Bunt was here, I had him always with me, and did all lay in my powar to oblidge him. He showed the greatist sence of it, and said he would allways do what I asked, as he allways had done. He is much inclined to us; and am convinced that if Coll. Johnson sends for him, he will come and take our affairs in hand hertily; and I think he hath it more in his powar then any to bring things to rights, nor is it to be done without him. This is my sentiments, and I hope you will pardon my liberty in giveing them. If you approve of what I have said, and desire me to bring him down with me. He do my indeavours, and he never yet hath refused what^ I asked of him. There are some French here, who mett the army about hundred miles to the west of Nigra. John Lindesay. " To the Honourable Coll. Wm. Johhson."* On June 19, 1754, there assembled at Albany the cele- brated Congress of Representatives from the several Eng- lish colonies to agree upon a. plan of union for the common defense against the encroachments of the French and the hostilities of the Indians, who were incited by them to make inroads upon the back settlements of the English. Among the commissioners from the several colonies ap- peared those who afterwards shone with distinguished repu- tation in the Revolutionary War, and none more so than Benjamin Franklin. The measure which was the great object of this con- gress ultimately failed, from its strong republican tendency, which alarmed the minions of royalty then in power; but several points of interest were discussed, which have a direct relation with our subject. In the representation of the affairs of the colonies, which was agreed upon, were the following statements : " That the Lake Champlain, formerly called Lake Iroquois, and the country southward of it as far as the Dutch or English settle- ments, the Lakes Ontario, Erie, and all the countries adjacent, have, by all ancient authors, French and English, been allowed to belong to the Five Cantons or Nations; and the whole of these countries, long before the treaty of Utrecht, were by said nations put under the protection of the Crown of Great Britain. . . . " That they [the French] arc continually drawing off" the Indians from the British interest, and have lately persuaded one-half of the Onondaga tribe, with many from the other nations along with them, to remove to a place called Oswegatchie, on the river Cadaraqui, where they have built them a church and fort; and many of the Senecas, the most numerous nation, appear wavering, and rather inclined to the French ; and it is a melancholy consideration that not more than one hundred and fifty men of all the several nations have attended this treaty, although they had notice that all the governments would be here by their commissioners, and that a large present would be given."")" Hendrick, the Mohawle\ chief, warrior, and orator, and ever the firm friend of the English, endeavored to dissuade the confederates of New York from joining the settlement at Oswegatchie ; and at a conference of the Indian tribes with Sir William Johnson, held at Mount Johnson, Sept. 24, 1753, he thus addressed them in a speech replete with native eloquence and rhetorical ornament : " It grieves me sorely to find the road hither so grown up with weeds for want of being used, and your fire almost expiring at Onon- daga, where it was agreed by the wisdom of our ancestors that it should never be extinguished. You know it was a saying among them that when the fire was out here you would be no longer a people. " I am now sent by your brother, the governor, to clear the road, and make up the fire with such wood as will never burn out; and I earnestly desire you will take care to keep it up, so as to be found always the same when he shall send among you. — A belt. " I have now renewed the fire, swept and cleared all your rooms with a new white wing, and leave it hanging near the fire-place, that you may use it for cleaning all dust, dirt, etc., which may have been brought in by strangers, no friends to you or us. — A string of wam- pum. « See Doc. Hist. New York, vol. ii. p. 623. f A full account of the proceedings of this congress will be found in the 2d vol. Doc. Hist, of New York, pp. 645-517. { Killed in battle near Lake George in 1755. 32 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. "I am sorry to find, on my arriyal among you, that the fine shady tree which was planted hy your forefathers for your ease and shelter should be now leaning, being almost blown down by northerly winds. I shall now endeavor to set it upright, that it may fiourish as for- merly, while its roots spread abroad, so that when we sit or stand on them, you will feel them shake : should any storm blow, then should you be ready to secure it. — A belt. " Tour fire now burns clearly at the old place. The tree of shelter and protection is set up and flourishes. I must now insist upon your quenching that fire made with brambles at Swegachey, and recall those to their proper home who have deserted thither. I cannot leave dis- suading you from going to Canada ; the French are a delusive people, always endeavoring to divide you as much as they can, nor will they let slip any opportunity of making advantage of it. 'Tis formi- dable news we hear that the French are making a descent upon the Ohio: 'Is it with your consent or leave that they proceed in this extraordinary manner, endeavoring by force of arms to dispossess your own native allies, as well as your own brethren, the English, and establishing themselves?' . . — A largo belt." At a general meeting of the Six Nations, held at Onon- daga, they replied to the foregoing speech and that of the governor, through their speaker. Red Head, as follows : " We acknowledge with equal concern with you that the road between us has been obstructed and almost grown up with weeds ; that our fire is scattered and almost extinct. Wo return you our most hearty thanks for recruiting the fire with such wood as will burn clear and not go out; and we promise that we shall, with the utmost care, dress and keep it up, as we are sensible from what has been said by our forefathers, that the neglect of it would be our ruin. —A belt. " We know very well the use of the white wing you recommended, and are determined to use it to sweep out whatever may hinder the fire from burning with a pure flame. — A string. ''You may depend upon our care in defending the tree which you have replanted from the inclemency of the high winds from Canada. Weare full of acknowledgments for your care and admonitions, and be assured we shall watch every threatening cloud from thence, that wo may be ready to prop it up. — A belt. "We rejoice that we see the fire barn pure where it should doj the tree of shelter look strong and fiourishing. And you may depend upon our quenching that false fire at Swegachey, and doing all we can to recall our brothers, too often seduced that way. Tho' wc did not conceive we had done so much amiss in going thither, when we observe that you white people pray, and we had no nearer place to ,learn to pray, and have our children baptized than that. However, as you insist upon it, we will not go that way nor be any more divided. I must now say it is not with our consent that the French have committed any hostilities in Ohio. We know what you Chris- tians, English and French together, intend. We are so hemmed in by both that we have hardly a hunting-place left. In a little while, if we find a bear in a tree, there will immediately appear an owner of the land to challenge the property and hinder us from killing it, which is our livelihood. We are so perple.-ied between both that we hardly know what to say or think." — A belt. The sentiment expressed at the close of this last address is so true and so melancholy, that it cannot fail to excite our sympathy at the fate of the unfortunate race of which, and by which, it was spoken. The unlettered savages, in the simplicity of artless nature, and prompted by a sentiment of benevolence which has been but illy requited, admitted the European settlers to their lands, and proffered the hand of friendship. When once established, the whites, finding themselves superior to their rude neighbors in the arts of trade, failed not in most instances to avail themselves of this advantage, and overreach them in traffic, corrupt their morals, and impart to them the vices without the benefits of civilization. Under these influences, the presage of the orator just quoted has been soon and sadly realized, and the red man has retreated before the march of that civilization which he could not adopt, and those habits of industry which are at variance with his nature. Like the wild-flower that flour- ishes only in the shade, and withers in the sun as soon as its primitive thicket is gone, the race has vanished, leaving the homes and the graves of their ancestors for the wild- ness of the western forests, whence in a few years they must ao'ain retreat, until the last of the race has disappeared. In an account of a military expedition consisting of a French regiment under De Bearre, which ascended the St. Lawrence in 1755, for the purpose of promoting the mili- tary operations which the French were carrying on at that time along the great lakes and western rivers, we find the following description of the works at La Presentation :* " On the 28th [of July, 1755] ascended the two Galois rapids which are dangerous, doubled the Point 4 Livrogne, and crossed from the north to the south, to encamp under Fort Presentation, which is six (?) leagues from the end of the rapids. This fort consists of four bat- tlements, in the form of bastions, of which the curtains are palisades. It is sufficient to resist s,avagcs, but could be but poorly defended against troops who might attack it, and who could easily succeed. On the 29th, doubled two points, notwithstanding the wind blew with violence against us, and encamped upon Point aux Barils, at three leagues. On the 30th, passed the Thousand Islands, the river Toniata, and camped on an island very poorly adapted for the pur- pose, opposite a small strait a distance of seven leagues. On the 31st, crossed two large bays. Met in the former two canoes coming from Detroit, the conductors of whom said that the English had been defeated on the Ohio." The Abbe Picquet joined this expedition, with thirty- eight of his warriors, on the 12th of September, who de- sired to accompany the expedition to make prisoners at Choueguen. He left on the 16th, and rejoined at the Isle of Tonti. On the 25th his savages brought in two prisoners, having slain three who resisted them. These prisoners informed them that the fort at Oswego had been largely reinforced. Picquet left on the 26th to take his savages and his prisoners to Montreal to M. de Vaudreuil. At the attack upon Port George, which resulted in its capitulation, under Lieutenant-Colonel Munro, Aug. 9, 1757, a company of Iroquois warriors were present, under the command of De Longueil Sabervois. The Abb6 Picquet, Sulpician missionary, is also enumerated as among the French force. In " Pouchot's Memoirs,'' page 38, the writer, in speaking of a reinforcement of troops for Fort Frontenac, says the commander was instructed in case the fort was in the pos- session of the English (which was feared) to occupy and fortify some point at or near La Presentation. This was in 1755. An embassy of the Five Nations held an interview with M. de Montcalm, April 24, 1757, to which measure they were inclined from the successes of the French in the last campaign, which resulted in the capture of Oswego. This council was addressed by orators from each of the Indian tribes, but a passage occurs in the original account of this councilf which is important, as showing the standing of the Oswegatchies among their Indian neighbors at that period ; " There were also in attendance the Iroquoia of La Presentation, * See Paris Documents, vol. x. p. 213. f Paris Documents, vol. xiii. p. 124. HISTORY OP ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 33 who were present at all the deliberations, but spoke not separately and in their own name. The reason was that they had been domi- ciled bi^t a short time; they regarded themselTes still as the 'fag ends' \naUe\ of the Iroquois, who call the village of La Presentation the tail of the Five Nations." In a note to this in the original, this mission is men- tioned as having been founded by the zeal of the Abb6 Picquet, a Sulpician, and as equally important for religion as for the state. In July, 1758, M. du Plessis was ordered to take post at La Presentation with 1800 men, and cover the frontier. Subsequently this officer proceeded to Frontenac. It would appear from the French accounts that Sieur the Chevalier Benoit, a Parisian, was left at La Presentation with a small force. In October, 1758, Du Plessis was ordered by the governor-general, M. de Vaudreuil, to return, and the Che- valier Benoit was oi-dered to proceed to Frontenac, from La Presentation, and take command. At this time the colonies were in a bad condition. The country was almost destitute of provisions, and the Canadian soldiers, who served without pay, were becoming discontented, and even threatened to revolt. At this time M. de Vaudreuil had determined to construct a number of vessels to aid in the defense of the river and Lake Ontario, and Sieur de Cresse, assistant ship-master of Canada, and M. La Force had been sent to Frontenac to take charge of the work. Toronto, which was held by Sieur Donville, had been evacuated and the garrison transported to Niag- ara, where in July following they were surrendered by M. Pouchot, then in command, to Sir William Johnson. As the officers in charge of the ship-building operations could not find the necessary timber iu the vicinity of Frontenac, they proceeded to Point au Baril, situated three French leagues above La Presentation, on the north bank of the river, near the site of the present village of Maitland. The Sieur de Lorimer had been left in command of La Presentation upon the departure of M. Benoit, but bitter complaints were preferred against him, and M. de Vaudreuil removed him and replaced M. Benoit in command of this point and adjacent ones, including Point au Baril. Fron- tenac was abandoned, and all its guns, munitions, and stores taken to Point au Baril and the new fortification on Oraco- nenton island. A strong work was thrown up at Point au Baril ; but, upon the approach of the English army under General Amherst in the summer of 1760, this and La Presentation were abandoned and all the fighting force and material concentrated at Fort Levis. The Abb^ Picquet abandoned his mission and took refuge on a small island near Fort Levis and not far from Galot island, at the head of the upper rapids of the St. Lawrence. The army of Amherst assembled at Oswego, in June, amounted to about ten thousand English and provincial troops, and one thousand Indians under Sir William John- son, said to be the greatest number of savages that had, up to that time, been in the field on the side of the English. The army was well provided with siege artillery and all the necessary appliances for a finishing campaign against what few French troops yet remained in Canada. On the 16th of August the advance had occupied Point au Baril and La Presentation. On the 17th the French vessel " Outaouaise" was captured by armed barges belong- 5 ing to Amherst's army, and on the 18th Fort Levis was completely invested. The English army encamped on Point de Ganataregoin, now Indian point, at Point a L'ivrogne, and on the islands La Cuisse and Magdeleine. Batteries were constructed on Indian point and on the islands, mounting forty-eight guns and mortars, and a fleet of several armed vessels and barges also added their fire to that of the batteries. The nearest batteries were tho&e upon the islands, from' four to six hundred yards distant, and having a raking fire upon the landing and the gorge- wall of the fort. The guns upon Indian point were distant about eight hundred yards.* But we are anticipating, and will now return to a rapid recapitulation of the operations which took place during 1759, and to the time when M. Pouchot assumed command at Fort Levis in March, 1760. Early in May, 1759, M. Pouchot, then in command of Fort Niagara, sent a courier to the Chevalier M. de la Corne, at La Presentation, to notify him of an intended attack by the Iroquois, which, however, did not take place. As heretofore stated, M. Pouchot was compelled, after a vigorous siege, to surrender Niagara in July following. He was sent to the east as a prisoner. In November following, M. Pouchot, with most of the officers and garrison of Niagara, were exchanged, and, after many delays, arrived, via Lake Champlain, at Montreal, on Jan. 1, 1760. E-iily in July, 1759, M. de la Corne, then in command of Frontenac and La Presentation, moved with his whole force, consisting of four or five hundred Canadians and the Indians of the mission of La Presentation, accompanied by the Abb6 Picquet, up the river and across Lake Ontario to Oswego, landing at the same spot occupied by the Mar- quis de Montcalm three years before. Colonel Haldimand was in command of the force at Oswego, consisting of some five hundred men, who were without intrenchments. After considerable delay, caused by the desire of the Abbe Pic- quet to address the Indians and give them absolution, an attack was made, but it proved unsuccessful, and La Corne was obliged to retreat without accomplishing anything. In the hurry of the retreat the abb6 was very near being taken prisoner. In August, 1759, M. de Levis, with about five hundred men, was sent to take post at La Presentation, and erect a fortification sufficient to cover the frontier. Upon a thorouaih examination of the vicinity he determined to fortify the island then called Oraquointon or Oraconenton, situated just above the upper rapids of the St. Lawrence, and some three miles below the mouth of the Oswegatchie river. Here he constructed a strong, compact work, under the su- pervision of M. des Androins, a competent engineer. M. de Levis remained until some time in September, when, finding the work well advanced, he took a part of the force and joined the French army at Quebec under Montcalm, leaving the fort under command of M. des Androins. An interesting picture of the domestic life of the Oswe- * This island, now called Chimney island, is owned by Messrs. Olds and Goodrich, of Ogdensburg. It is (juite a resort in summer. Several heavy guns and the remains of one or two bateaux are sunk near the island. Great quantities of solid shot, shells, and other relics, including a curious sun-dial of lead, have been exhumed. Si HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. QutcMes is given in the Mowing extract from a narrative of a residence among them, vfhich may be found entire in " Drake's Indian Captivities" : " Robert Eastbnrn, a tradesman, while in company with others, on their way to Oswego, in March, 1756, while stopping at Captain Wil- liams' fort, at the carrying-place, near the present village of Rome, was taken captive by the Oswegatchie Indians, and kept for some time at their village near Fort Presentation, the site of Ogdensburg. "The attacking party consisted of four hundred French and three hundred Indians, commanded by one of the principal gentlemen of Quebec, and accompanied by a priest, probably Father Picquet. " The prisoners numbered eighteen or twenty, and their route led through Lewis and Jefferson counties to Lake Ontario, and thence to the post at the mouth of the Oswegatchie. " They were seven days in reaching the lake, and suffered greatly from want of provisions. April 4 they were met by several French bateaux, with a supply of provisions, and having crossed the mouth of a river where it empties into the east end of Lake Ontario, a great part of the company set off on foot towards Oswegatchie, while the rest proceeded by bateaux down the St. Lawrence. The adventures with which the party met are best given in the language of the orig- inal narrative : " ' By reason of had weather, — wind, rain, and snow, — whereby the waters of the lake were troubled, we were obliged to lay by, and haul our bateaux on shore. Here I lay on the cold shore two days. Tues- day, set off and entered the head of St. Lawrence in the afternoon ; came to, late at night, made fires, but did not lie down to sleep. Embarking long before day, and after some miles' progress down the river saw many fires on our right hand, which were made by the men who left us and went by land. "With them we stayed till day, and then embarked in our bateaux. The weather was very bad (it snowed fast all day); near night we arrived at Oswegatchy. I was almost starved to death, but hoped to stay in this Indian town till warm weather; slept in an Indian wigwam ; rose early in the morn- ing (being Thursday), and soon to my grief discovered my disap- pointment. " ' Several of the prisoners had leave to tarry here, but T must go two hundred miles farther down stream, to another Indian town. The morning being extremely cold, I applied to a French merchant or trader for some old rags of clothing, for I was almost naked, but to no purpose. About ten o'clock I was ordered into a boat to go down the river, with eight or nine Indians, one of whom was the man wounded in the skirmish above mentioned,'':'" " * At night we went on shore. The snow being much deeper than before, we cleared it away and made a large fire. Here, when the wounded Indian cast his eyes upon me, his old grudge revived. He took my blanket from me, and commanded me to dance around the fire barefoot and sing the prisoner's song, which I utterly refused. This surprised one of my fellow-prisoners, who told me they would put me to death, for he understood what they said. He therefore tried to persuade me to comply; but I desired him to let me alone, and was through great mercy enabled to reject his importunity with abhorrence. "'This Indian also continued urging, saying, "You shall dance and sing;" but apprehending my compliance sinful, I determined to persist in declining it at all adventures, and leave the issue to the Divine disposal. The Indian, perceiving his orders disobeyed, was fired with indignation, and endeavored to push me into the fire, which I leaped over, and he, being weak with his wounds, and not being assisted by any of his brethren, was obliged to desist. For this gra- cious interposure of Providence, in preserving me both from sin and danger, I desire to bless God while I live. " ' Friday morning I was almost perished with cold. Saturday we proceeded on our way, and soon came in sight of the upper part of the settlements of Canada.' " The party continued their journey towards Canasadosega, and on the route the wounded Indian, assisted by a French inhabitant, en- deavored again to compel Eastburn to dance and sing, but with no better success than before. On arriving at the town, which was thirty miles northwest of Montreal, he was compelled to run the gauntlet, and was saved from destruction only through the interposition of the women. Being assigned to an Indian family at Oswegatchie, in which he was adopted, ho set off on his return, and after a tedious and miserable voyage of several days arrived within three miles of the town, on the opposite side of the river. " ' Here I was to be adopted. My father and mother, whom I had never seen before, were waiting, and ordered me into an Indian house, where w.e were directed to sit down silent for a considerable time. The Indians appeared very sad, and my mother began to cry, and continued to cry aloud for some time, and then dried up her tears and received me for her son and took me over the river to the ® Referring to a portion of the narrative not quoted. Indian town. The next day I was ordered to go to mass with them, but I refused once and again ; yet they continued their importunities several days. Seeing they could not prevail with me, they seemed much displeased with their new son. I was then sent over the river to be employed in hard labor, as a punishment for not going to mass, and not allowed a sight of, or any conversation with, my fellow- prisoners. The old Indian man, with whom I was ordered to work, had a wife and children. He took me into the woods with him and made signs for me to chop, and he soon saw that I could handle the axe. Here I tried to reconcile myself to this employ, that they might have no occasion against me except concerning the law of my God. The old man began to appear kind, and his wife gave me milk and bread when we came home, and when she got fish gave me the gills to cat, out of real kindness ; but perceiving I did not like the m, gave me my own choice, and behaved lovingly. When we had finished our fence, which had employed ns about a week, I showed the old squaw my shirt (having worn it from the time when I was first taken prisoner, which was about seven weeks), all rags, dirt, and vermin. She brought me a new one, with ruffled sleeves, saying, " That is good," which I thankfully accepted. The next day they carried me back to the Indian town, and permitted me to converse with my fellow-prisoners. They told me we were all to bo sent to Montreal, which accordingly came to pass.' "At a grand council held at Montreal, Eastburn mentions a noted priest, called Picquet, 'who understood the Indian tongue well, and did more harm to the English than any other of his order in Canada. His dwelling was at Oswegatchie.' "A plan of operations against Oswego was in progress, and great numbers of soldiers were in motion towards Lake Ontario, wiih bateaux laden with provisions and munitions of war. After a pain- ful journey, Eastburn arrived again at Oswegatchie; having received from his adopted mother the choice of remaining at Montreal or re- turning with her, and having chosen the latter alternative as afford- ing the best chance of escape. While here he daily "saw many bateaux, with provisions and soldiers, passing up to Fort Frontenae; which greatly distressed him for the safety of Oswego, and led him to form apian for notifying the English of the designs of their enemies. " ' To this end I told two of my fellow-prisoners that it was not a time to sleep, and asked them to go with me; to which they heartily agreed. But we had no provisions, and were closely eyed by the enemy, so that we could not lay up a stock out of our allowance. " ' However, at this time M. Picket had concluded to dig a large trench round the town. I therefore went to a negro, the principal manager of this work (who could speak English, French, and Indian well), and asked him if he could get employment for two others and myself, which he soon did. For this service we were to have meat [board] and wages. Here we had a prospect of procuring provision for our flight. This, after some time, I obtained for myself, and then asked my brethren if they were ready. They said "they were not yet, but that Ann Bowman (our fellow-prisoner) had brought $130 from Bull's Fort [when it was destroyed as has been related], and would give them all- they needed." I told them it was not safe to disclose such a secret to her; but they blamed me for entertaining such fears, and applied to her for provisions, letting her know our in- tention. She immediately informed the priest of it. We were forth- with apprehended, the Indians informed of it, and a court called. Four of us were ordered by this court to be confined in a room, under a strong guard within the fort, for several days. From hence another and myself were sent to Cohnewago, under a strong guard of sixty Indians, to prevent my plotting any more against theFi-ench, and to banish all hope of my escape.' " Here he met with unexpected kindness, and lodged at the house of the mother of a French smith, whose name was Mary Harris, and had been taken captive while a child at Dcerfield, in New England. " He soon after went to Montreal, and while there saw the English captives and standards, the trophies of the French victory at Oswego of July 15, 1756, brought into town. Among the prisoners, 1400 in number, he recognized his own son. He remained a prisoner about a year after, and was at length permitted to leave for England with other prisoners, and finally returned home." A German soldier, who was captured or deserted from the French at Oswego, gives an interesting account of the situation of affairs on the frontier, and more particularly at La Presentation and Fort Levis. We make a few extracts from the notes in " Pouchot's Memoirs," translated by Dr. F. B. Hough : " Henry Young was a German, born near the Rhine, and came to America about 1757, in a morohant-ship, accompanied by about twenty other soldiers, who were enlisted in the French service for three years. He remained at Quebec, where'' he first landed, two months, when he was sent to Montreal, where he also remained about HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 35 two months. From the latter place lie was sent to La Galette, in com- pany with others, as a convoy for four bateaux loaded with flour and brandy. A portion of the cargo went to Cadarac[ui. From that time Young served at Oswogatohie until the spring of 1759. The garrison consisted of forty men, who were generally employed in cutting timber for two stone houses building inside the fort, — one for the commandant, and one for the three priests which he said they had there. "Before the snow was q^uite gone in the spring of 1759 ho was sent, with twenty-five of the garrison of La Galette, to work on the Isle Gralot. The fort at La Galette was square, with stockade and four good block-houses. The French had intended to have made additional works there, but had not time. They had •■ thousand barrels of flour and pork at this place, which, upon hearing of the design of the English to advance in this direction, they conveyed to Isle Galot. After remaining there for about three weeks, the pro- visions were re-shipped to Niagara in two vessels. These vessels, and a third which was unfinished when the carpenters were ordered to Quebec, were built at Point Baril, three leagues from La Galette. "The twenty-five men sent from La Galette to Isle Galot* re- mained a month, when they were joined by two hundred more' from Point Baril, and the whole party began constructing a strong work by cutting away the timber, which they formed into a sort of ahatis, and then threw up a parapet or breastwork of logs, filled with earth, twelve feet broad, and mounted with twelve guns, which he thought were twelve-pounders, and two smaller ones. Young left Isle Galot nished with mounts, and three bateaux loaded with provisions also joined him from Isle Galot. At Point Baril there was a breastwork, but La Corue ordered it leveled, and the guns were taken to the fort on Isle Galot. "Young further states that it was understood in case the English should come by way of La Galette all the inferior posts were to be evacuated, and their garrisons were to join that at La Galette. La Corno had ordered a quantity of pitch ready to burn the vessel then on the stocks in case of extremity. At that time the French had a small picket of twelve men on duty at Isle Chevercuil to give alarm if the English should appear. This guard was relieved every eight days from Frontenac. "Very few Smegalchie Indians accompanied La Come on the Oswego expedition. He stated that the cook of M. Celeron told him that after the Oswego affair was over the troops would all return to Ca- rillon or Quebec." SIEGE AND CAPTUKE OP FORT LEVIS, AUGUST, 1760. As the siege and capture of this remarkable fortification forms, probably, the most memorable chapter in the mili- tary history of St. Lawrence County, it seems eminently proper that a thorough description should be given in this work ; and as there are various accounts, French, English, and American, we give copious extracts from the different FORT LEVIS, ON CHIMNEY ISLAND, FOUR MILES BELOW OGDENSBURG. From plan in " Pouchot's Memoirs." June 24, 1759, in company with the Chevalier La Corne, who was on the island eighteen days, during which time he employed all the men in forwarding and strengthening the fortifications. The powder- magazine, the baking-ovens for the use of the garrison, and a dwell- ing-house were constructed of limestone from Oswegatohie. "When La Corne moved with the expedition destined against Oswego he left one hundred men at Isle Galot, three at Oswegatchio, twelve at Point Baril, and a small guard at Frontenac. He left Isle Galotf with twelve hundred men and one hundred and fifteen Indians. He halted a day at Point Baril, where some of his oificers were fur- » Evidently this refers to Isle Oraconenton, now Chimney island, f Oraconenton, now Chimney island. writers, who disagree somewhat in the particulars, but as regards the important facts correspond sufficiently for all practical purposes. The commander of the besieged fort- ress, M. Pouchot, a distinguished engineer and officer of the French army, has given to the world in his memoirs,^ published in Switzerland about 1783, a particular account of the operations in which he was engaged in the years from 1755 to 1760 ; and in justice to this distinguished officer. t Translated by Dr. B. F. Hough, and published in 1866. 36 HISTOKY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. and to assist in getting at the real facts in the ease, we copy from his -work a very fall account of the operations around Fort Levis, commencing at the date of Pouchot's assuming command of the place in March, 1760. This was the last stronghold surrendered by the French in North America, and as such deserves more than ordinary atten- tion "At the beginning of March, MM. De Vaudreuil and De L6vis de- termined to send M. Pouchot upon the ice to take command of Fort Levis, upon the Isle of Orakointon, near La Presentation, and to re- call M. des Androins, an engineer who had remained there since Sep- temher. This engineer was needed for the siege of Quebec," towards which the most active preparations were made as rapidly as possible. M. Pouchot realized all the difficulties of the commission with which he was charged, on account of the scanty resources at his command. But his zeal for the service led him to overlook all these difficulties. He was promised, in the spring, a reinforcement of twelve or fifteen hundred Canadians. " On the 17th of March, in company with the Abbe Pioquet, mis- sionary at La Presentation, and five men, with three sleds, he left Montreal and proceeded to Fort Levis, where he found si.x Canadian officers: M. Bertrand, an officer of artillery ; MM. Colerons, brothers; La Boularderie, De Bleury, and De Poilly, cadets, and one hundred and fifty colonial soldiers. There were also present the captains of the two corvettes, ' La Force' and ' La Broqurie,' and their crews of one hundred and eighty men. " The fort had only been made as a rampart, reveted with sancin- tifme. The barracks, magazines, and officers' quarters, and other structures for use in the fort, were finished of wood, piece upon piece, and covered with planks.f " M. Pouchot, to render this post susceptible of defense, built upon the parapet, which was eighteen feet wide, another of nine feet, of timber, piece upon piece, and filled with earth, which he was obliged to bring from off the island.^ In this parapet he made embrasures. Under this parapet he left a berm, four feet wide on the outside, fur- nished with a frieze. What was left of the first parapet on the inside was u.sed as a banquette. The rampart was thus raised eleven feet from the surrounding level. This additional work was rendered neces- sary for the protection of the interior of the fort, which was com- manded by grounds of twenty-four feet elevation, on the islands La Cuisse and La Magdeleine. " M. Pouchot also caused to he constructed a gallery of pieces of oak, fourteen inches square and ten feet long, which extended along the rampart, and served as a terre-plein, and underneath as case- mates. The batteries were placed upon this gallery or platform, all around the island. He formed an epaulment of earth, four feet in thickness, taken mostly from the bed of the river, the island being only about two feet above the water. An abatis of branches of trees was placed upon the outside of this epaulment, and extended out as far as possible into the water, to prevent boats from landing. At the point of the island, this epaulment was terminated by a redoubt of timbers, one above another, and pierced for five cannon. On both sides of the island there were left two places, formed as quays, so that our boats could land. "All these works fully occupied the little garrison, which was only increased by a hundred militia during the campaign. As most of these militia had been employed only to bring provisions, at least twenty deserted, and returned down the river with the bateaux which were used in bringing articles from the shore, as there was found neither soil, stone,g nor timber upon the island. The ditches, which were five toises wide, had to be only two feet deep to be filled with water. Along a part of the epaulment, the banquette was formed of oak chips made in squaring the timbers. *■ Alluding to the siege by the French in the spring of 1760, which was raised by the arrival of the English fleet. t This description disagrees with Henry Young's account, and also with the present state of the ruins, which show that several of the buildings and magazines were built of stone. J That is, from some other locality, as there was very little on this island. g Meaning, probably, qu.arry-stone, as bowlders were plenty. " The glacis was made of firewood, which Was covered where most- exposed on the side towards Isle de Magdeleine. All the iron whioh( could bo found in the ruins of Fort Frontenae, together with eight old iron guns without trunnions, were brought down, and' the guns were mounted on frames like mortar-carriages, so that they could be' served. " All the Indians at La Presentation, including a famous one called' Kountngeli, visited M. Pouchot upon his arrival at Fort Levis, and on the 30th of March there arrived an Oneida Indian, named Tacana Onenda (Buried Meat), a friend of the English, who made a speech stating that he was employed by the Iroquois to persuade the Christian Indians at La Presentation and the Savt to return to their people. "M. de Vaudreuil having desired M. Pouchot to tend him all news possible concerning the enemy, he hired a chief of La Pre- sentation, named Charles, one of those who accompanied the Abb6 Pioquet to France in 1752, to go to Oswego, as if from a hunting excursion, and get information concerning the English movements and plans. By him M. Pouchot sent a few peltries. He left on the 1st of April. This Indian was capable and cunning, and spoke very good French. He visited Oswego, where he obtained considerable important information. He said the English were apprehensive of trouble from the two French vessels at Fort Levis, and told him they were going to kindle a great fire at Oswego, and when a great army had assembled they would go down to Montreal. They said they knew the French had a fort on an island, but they could pass it as they would a beaver's hut, and laughed at the idea of the French building it. He said the Cmjugas told him they were going to re- main quiet in the contest. A great council was held at the fort, at which it was resolved to send an embassy to the Five Nations. " On the 28th of April two other Indians were sent towards Os- wego, and a party of five Mississac/as were equipped and sent on an expedition. On the 30th three or four chiefs from La Presentation reported that hostile Indians {Onondagaa) were in the vicinity. " On the 4th of May two Mississaga Indians visited the fort, and represented that their people wanted to come and settle on this side of the lake. On the 7th of May two St. Regis Indians arrived from Oswego, where they had remained seven days. They reported that the post-commander had issued orders to get all the bateaux in readiness. The English army was assembling at Fort Stanwix, the eighteen-gun vessel had arrived at Oswego from Niagara, and another was momentarily expected. Sir William Johnson was to hold a great Indian council, and try and persuade the Indians to join the English. " On the 9th of May all the chiefs of La Presentation assembled at the fort to see M. Pouchot. The air was full of rumors of what the English and Indians were going to do. There were rumors that the Ottaicas and other Western Indians would join the English, and the French Indians were in great alarm. On the 14th a Mississaga In- dian arrived from Oswego. He stated that there was a very large army assembled there, and word was sent to the La Presentation Indians that if they did not wish to be destroyed they must remove to the island of l'oniata.\\ The intention of the English was not to stop long at Fort Levis. They were going to plant batteries all around it and batter it until their barges could land on every side and take it. On the 16tb five Mississagas arrived with three Ameri- can prisoners whom they had captured near Oswego. They reported that there were five thousand men at that place. "On the 18th, M. Pouchot held a grand council, at which he en- deavored to persuade the Indians at Chnncgatchie, or La Presentation, to recall the families that had gone to Toniatu island. The Indians finally concluded to let them do as they pleased. " An Iroquois, named Sans-Souci, who came from Oswego, did not wish to attend this council. In the evening he hunted up M. Pou- chot, who was walking around the fort, and the latter reproached him for going to Oswego without notifying him, and for speaking il] of the French. The Indian denied everything. He said that the commandant at Oswego had spoken to him as follows: 'Is it true that the commandant of Niagara is at Orakoniton? He will then die, as he did last year, and this time he will die, together with all the Indians that are with him. In six days the other vessel will arrive from Niagara, and we shall then set out. Our army will con- sist of twelve thousand men, and we will go at once and establish II Grenadier island, at the outlet of Lake Ontario. It is somewhat doubtful what island was meant. HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 37 ourselves at La Presentation. After having surrounded it with our vessels and barges, we will batter his fort by turning all the shores and islands near, and we will hold fast. We will then go on down to Montreal.' " This Indian also reported that the English had at Oswego, lying around the vessel mentioned, more than two hundred bateaux. Ho asked Pouchot why he had not mounted his guns. The latter re- plied that he would not put them in place until he was ready to fight the English, as he did not wish to inform them how many ho had nor where they were placed. " On the 18th, M. Pouchot sent out a party of fourteen Indians. His Indians announced, from the Island of Toniata, the return of their people who had gone to establish themselves there, and that they had given up their "English flag. One of the Indians from Oswego said it was the * Grand Sabre'^J"' who was to command the English army. " On the 27th, La Broquerie, who was to command the barque 'Outauaise,' arrived at the fort. On the 30th, Oratori came from Toniata and informed Pouchot that the Indian called Sans-Souci had gone bacli to Oswego, and that he was paid by the English to come and inspect Fort Levis and learn what the French were doing. He stated that an Iroquois party would arrive in about eight days by way of the South river, not wishing to assemble their canoes, as the English would know they were abroad.f They expected to strike by Oneida lake. The same day an Indian arrived from Oswego, saying the commandant wished to engage the Oiiondaijaa to form a war-party, but they had refused. If those of Chouegatchi should strike, they would raise a band of the Bears and strike St. Regis. " A few days later, KouatagetS arrived at La Presentation, having in tow two bark canoes which he had taken from n party of eight Indians and an Englishman, who had come to strike near the fort. '* On the 4th of June four Mim-iasnga chiefs came to the fort, where they held a council and made speeches, to which M. Pouchot replied. On the 18th the two vessels, with one hundred men on board, were sent by M. Pouchot to cruise in the vicinity of Oswego. They took a month's provisions. About this time there appeared a prodigious quantity of that kind of little millers that come in the night and fly around a candle. They called them Manne, and they fell like snow. They were very annoying by getting into the food, and by night the lights attracted them so that we could hardly write. They appeared for fifteen days, and of different colors, as grey, speckled, yellow, and white. To these succeeded a kind of white midge, very troublesome from their numbers, but they did not sting. The rains killed them, and the earth was covered so that they were two fingers-breadth deep on all the ramparts, and three or four inches in the bateaux, where they decayed and infected the air. We were obliged to shovel them away as we do snow. These midges were nevertheless useful, as those that fell into the river gave nourishment to the fish, which grew to a large size, and the Indians caught them in great quantities, especially eels, in the vicinity of Toniata.J " All the soil of the island, which was very shallow, was covered with thousands of little toads. In the environs wo found plenty of mushrooms, five or six inches apart, and nearly three inches thick at the base, of a most luscious taste. M. de Vaudreuil sent up at this time forty Abeuakia Indians from down the river, to whom M. Pouchot gave the Isle des Galots to plant. "About the 27th of June a party of Soups arrived from a foray with two English prisoners and one scalp. One of the prisoners was a militia captain and the other was his brother. They lived on the Mohawk river. M. Pouchot, when a prisoner, had lodged at their house, and had not been well treated. The Indians had dresssd and painted them like themselves, and compelled them to dance the Ohichicoy, the common dance of their slaves. M. Pouchet recog- nized them, and sent them to lodge with the post-surgeon and to eat at his mess. These prisoners stated that General Amherst com- manded the English army, which consisted of eleven thousand men and a large amount of artillery, then rapidly concentrating at Oswego. " On the 30th of June the Indian, Saoten, arrived. He said that » General Amherst. f This evidently refers to a party in the French interest. J These millers are described by Dr. Asa Fitch, State Entomologist, in a letter to Dr. Hough, as belonging to the ph-yganea group of insects, commonly called eaddia-Jlies and water-moiha. The others he called chironomiia. Both species are very plenty in June. eight days before he had left the Onondaga village, crossing the river near Oneida lake ; that they had heard the strokes of oars along the river for twenty days, and that he had passed eight bands and eight chiefs.^ They were wagoning provisions constantly, and had a great many cannon, mortars, and howitzers. "On the 1st of July, M. Pouchot sent the prisoners, with the news, to Montreal. On the 6th there arrived a detachment and an oflieer whom M. Pouchot had sent to carry provisions to the vessels. They had been as far as Corbeau|| without finding them, because they had been cruising in the lake near Oswego. ■' On the 13th, M. Pouchot sent a detachment to La Presentation, which had been abandoned by the Indians of that mission since winter, to bring some planks and iron work for the use of the fort, and to dismantle and ruin the missions, so they should not serve as a shelter to the enemy." These ruins were disturbed in 1831, when digging for a foundation on which to lay the keel of the steamer " United States," and the tablet bearing the Latin inscription, which was placed in the wall of the mission-house by Father Picquet, was found, and subsequently placed over the south door of the State arsenal building near the water-works. " On the 14th, La Force's canoe arrived with letters giving an ac- count of his recnnnoisaance at Oswego, together with a sketch of the position of the enemy, which agreed substantially with the accounts given by the Indians. The same day at 2 o'clock p.m. there came up a vinlent storm from the northwest, with terrific thunder and attended by a very singular phenomenon. This was a column of fire, which, with a roar and lightning, fell upon the end of the island. The waters rose so that they formed an immense wave, which, after cov- ering both ends of the island, retired. It carried off a dock made for landing, sunk a Jacobite bateau, and filled the others, which were thrown upon the strand. '* On the 16th, M. Pouchot sent back the detachment which he had dispatched with provisions for the vessels, who soon returned having executed their orders. La Force informed M. Pouilly, the lieutenant of the detachment, that from the quantity of barges he had seen in Oswego river he thought that this was the grand army, and from the fact that they had arrived in the interval between bis two visits before Oswego, he judged they would be ready to leave in eight days. M. Pouchot sent these new observations to Montreal by an Indian. " On the 22d, a squaw from La Presentation reported that five In- dians had visited that point, and made many inquiries of her regard- ing the French. They reported Kouataget6 a prisoner with the English, but unharmed, and promised the Indians at La Presentation and Toniata protection if they would remain where they were. " The garrison had about sixty men out daily as a working party. On the 24th there arrived a convoy of provisions from Montreal. They announced that the English were above Richelieu, and that they feared the junction of Amherst and Murray, but they did not know there was another great army at or near St. Frederick.^ "On the 25th, at ten o'clock p.m., the canoe of La Force arrived. He reported that on the 22d he had met near the Galloo islands an English vessel, which was soon joined by another. Our corvette then took flight and came to anchor at Toniata, having lost sight of both during the chase. " On the 27th, seventy women, children, and old Indians departed for Montreal, being driven off by fear. On the 29th there arrived eight canoe-loads of Iroquoia Indians, who had fled from their fishing-ground at Toniata from fear of the English. They reported seeing two large English vessels, and had seen ten bateaux passing the Isle of Cedars filled with troops. On the 30th, more Indians arriving reported the English passing the Thousand Islands. " On the 1st of August, La Force sent his shallop to inform M. Pouchot that his vessel, the * Iroquois,' had struck upon a poulier*'^-" in the middle of the river above Point au Baril. The latter immediately sent some bateaux to get her off. On the 5th the two vessels came to anchor at La Presentation, and the commander. La Force, came down to the fort. The ' Iroquois' made twelve inches of water an g Regiments. || Near Kingston. 1 Crown Point, on Lake Champlain. "■■'■^ A mass of bowlders forming a bar. 38 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. hour, and had flfteeu feet of the forward part of her keel broken. She was repaird in the best manner possible. " On the 8th the captured Indian, Kouatagete, arrived, three days from Oswego, with an Oneida and a Mohawk, as deputies sent by the Five Nations* to engage our Indians to remain neutral. Kouatagete informed M. Pouohot that General Amherst had been fifteen days at Oswego, and that he had seen and spoken with him several times; that their army was about ten or fifteen thousand strong, consisting of eight regiments : a red with blue trimmings, or red and yellow; a Scotch, red with black trimmings; Gage's regiment light infantry, blue and red; and a great many with caps; and that he had counted sixty cannon. " On the 10th a great council was held at the Isle Piquet with the deputies of the Five Nations, at which very flattering speeches were made by the deputies, who endeavored to persuade the French In- dians to withdraw from the contest and let the whites fight it out alone. They presented wampum from General Amherst, saying that he would be at Chouegatchie in six days, when he would fight the French, and that the Master of life only knew what would happen. M. Pouchot made a speech, wherein he accused the Indians of cowardice and of being bought by the brandy of the English. " On the 13th five Indians brought letters from M. de Vaudreuil, informing M. Pouchot that the English were at Three Rivers, from St. Frederic, and only awaiting the arrival of Amherst to march upon Montreal. " On the 15th the ' Iroquois' was repaired. " On the 16th, at seven o'clock in the evening, two Indians return- ing from the chase, announced that the English army was encamped at Point an Baril and the advance-guard at La Presentation. The two Indians had visited La Broquerie, on the * Outaouaise,' who wrote nothing, but fired three signal-guns to notify M. Pouchot of danger. "On the 17th, at three o'clock in the morning, M. Pouchot de- spatched a courier to M. de Vaudreuil to notify him of the arrival of the English army. About seven o'clock, the weather being very calm. General Amherst ordered an attack upon the ' Outaouaise,' which was lying in a place away from the currents, by six barges, called Cai-caaaieres, each carrying thirty men and a twelve-pounder. They surrounded the vessel, and, after a hot contest of three hours, she was forced to surrender."}- ^ " Four shallops armed with swivels were sent upfrom Fort Levis by M. Pouchot to aid the ' Outaouaise,' but arrived too late. The com- mander ofthe fort had hoped she would have run down and anchored under the protection of his guns, but the strong currents prevented.t « They were still called so, although there were then six nations. t David Humphreys, the historical writer, tells some wonderful stories about the exploits of Col. Israel Putnam at this time, but they are altogether too marvelous for belief. . X The account given by Knox (II., p. 404) is as follows : "17th. The ' Outawa' brig attempted to escape up tho river in the morning, but was intercepted by our row-galleya commanded by Col. Williamson, wlio attacked lier vigorously, when, after an obstinate engagement of two hour'3 and upwards, wherein she liad filtoen men killed and wounded, her commander, M. de la Broquerie, thought proper to strike. It has been observed before that four of these galleys curried each a brass twclve-ponnUer and the fifth a how- itzer. This is a remarkable action and does great credit to the colonel, who was a volunteer on the occasion ; for tlie brig mounted one eigliteon-pounder seven twelve-pounders, two eights, with four swivels, and had one hundred men on board, being a topsail of near one hundred and sixty tons. She discharged seventy-two rounds; and the galleys, who had five oiBcera and twenty-five artillerymen only, exclusive of provincial rowers, fired one hundred and eighteen. "The General was highly pleased at this capture, which he testified by his acknowledgments to tho colonel and officers, with a generous reward to the gunners. Sucli was tho service performed by four guns and one howilzer, with the sole loss of one man killed and two wounded." An account given by Knox (II., p. 409) says that the action lasted two hours and a quarter, and that the howitzer only fired twice, as some timbers in that galley gave way. It further adds : "On board of the galleys, independent of the provincials who rowed wore twenty-five of the Koyal Artillery, together with Capt. Starkey, Lieutenants Williamson, Stiindish, Davis, and Conner, six to each vessel ; and Col William son rowed in a small boat from galley to galley, giving directions how to at- tack most efl'cctually and with greatest safety." The general gave the artillerymen twenty-five guineas. The afiair is related by Mante as follows : "On tho 17th the row-galleys, well manned, advanced with the utmost intre- "On the 18th the enemy left La Presentation with a fresh breeze. Their whole army remained about four hours in battle array in their bateaux at the beginning of the rapids,^ forming a very fine spec- tacle. M. Pouohet then thought that they intended to attack with a strong force, and make an entry upon the island. He had accord- ingly placed nine guns to fight up the river, and had placed the others in the epaulement so that they could make eleven rebounds upon the water. The enemy would have lost heavily in attempting to land under this fire. They finally determined to file along the north shore, with considerable intervals between the bateaux, to avoid the fire. They caused the 'Outaouaise,* which they had taken, to ap- proach within half cannon-shot to cover them.j[ **M. Pouchot only sought to retard their passage by four pieces, which he could bring to bear upon them. We fired a hundred and fifty shot with very little damage, in consequence of the winds and currents spoiling the aim. As M. Pouchot knew many of the ofiBcers of this army, several of them bade him good-day in passing, and others thought from our allowing them to pass that they were his friends, but did not stop to pay any compliments. The greater part of the army encamped at Point d'lvrogne.^ They also threw quite a force upon La Cuisso, La Magdelcine, and Les Galots islands. "On the 19th their regiment of artillery left Old Galette, with all their field artillery, and defiled past, as the former had done, to go and encamp at Point d'lvrogne. The vessel kept up the heaviest fire possible to cover them. We fired but little at the bateaux, be- cause it was attended with but little success; but rather directed our attention to the vessel. Of fifty shots that we fired, at least forty- eight went through the body of the vessel, which obliged them to get a little further away. Their captain, named Smul, behaved with tho greatest bravery, walking continually on the deck in his shirt sleeves. He had many men disabled. The two other vessels, one of twenty- two guns, eights and sixes, named the ' Seneca.,' and the other of eighteen pieces of sixes, named the ' Oneida, ''J"-" came in the evening and took position by the side of the former. " On the 20th there was quite a movement of the enemy's army, and a great number of bateaux went and came from their camp at La Presentation. They also encamped two regiments at Point de Gana- taragoin,f-|- who began to throw up earthworks on that side, as also on the islands La Cuisse and La Magdeleine. We fired some volleys of cannon at them to disturb the laborers, but had to be extremely saving of our powder, not having more than five thousand pounds when the enemy arrived. " On the 21st everything remained quiet, as the enemy were work- ing with their full force on their batteries. Their vessels withdrew also beyond cannon range. We fired on the laborers, but without much result, as they were already covered and their ground was some twenty-four feet higher than that of the island. "By noon we discovered their embrasures, and in the evening their bateaux made a general movement, and we counted as many as thirty-six barges, carrying each at least twenty men who threw them- selves into the three vessels, from which we judged they were going to attack the next morning. We consequently worked to make epaule- ments of wood to cover the parties that we thought would be tjie most exposed in the direction of the enemy's batteries. All the artillery was loaded with shot and grape, and every one was ordered to pass the night at his post. " On the 22d, at five in the morning, the three vessels approached to within about two hundred toises of the fort, and occupied the whole range of the river above, from the island La Cuisse to Point Ganataragoin, from which we concluded they intended to cannonade us vigorously from the vessels and land batteries. They formed pidity under a very heavy fire from the enemy, but it did not in theleast damp the ardor of the assailants. Their fire was returned with such resolution and bravery that, after a severe contest of about four hours, the French vessel struck her colors. She mounted ten twolvo-pounders, and had on board one hundred men, twelve of whom wore killed or wounded. Two of Col, William- son's detachment wore killed and three wounded. The general immediately named tho vessel tho ' Williamson,' in honor of the colonel, and to perpetuate the momory of so gallant an action." J Above tho island near Indian Point. II Under Lieut. Sinclair. If On tho north shore, in rear of Isle la Magdelcine. -» These vessels were called by Knox the " Onondaga" and the "Mohawk." tt Now called Indian Point. HISTOEY OF ST. LAWRPJNCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 39 together, a half-circle around the forts. M. Pouchot ordered the artillery officer to collect his pieces, and put them under cover of merlons, so that they should not he dismounted. Ho also masked hia embrasures with the ends of great logs of wood to represent cannon. "We were only clear and in condition to resist from above. "As soon as the vessels were placed, they began a very brisk and continuous fire from twenty-five guns, and, at the same time, un- masked the battery at Ganataragoin, consisting of two twenty-fours and four twelves, as, also, that on the island of La Magdeleine, of two pieces of twenty-four and six of twelve. At the first volley, M. Bertrand, artillery officer, was instantly killed by a cannon-ball through his loins, as he stood pointing out to M. Pouchot the calibre of their guns. " A quarter of an hour later, they began to throw bombs from the island of La Magdeleine, where they had two twelve-inch bomb-mor- tars, six mortars for royal grenades, and two howitzers. On the island La Cuisse six mortars for royal grenades, and on Point Gana- taragoin two twelve-inch mortars, two for royal grenades, and two howitzers, — making, in all, seventy-five mouths of fire. "M. Pouchot received quite a bruise from a, piece of wood ten feet long and fourteen inches square, which a twelve-inch bomb knocked over, injuring his back, but this did not prevent him from being wherever he was needed. " All these batteries were served with the greatest vigor, and with- out ceasing till noon, and made the fort fly into pieces and splin- ters. Our ttien remained under cover, each one at his post, and the sentinels only observed the movements of the enemy. Thinking, from our silence, that we were perhaps disconcerted, they advanced their vessels to within pistol-shot of the fort. Xhey were filled with troopp, even to the rigging, and were supported by the fire of all the land batteries. "Fortunately, they could only come before the fort one by one, from the manner in which the first came up, and which saw as far as to the entrance of the fort, which was also enfiladed by the battery of La Magdeleine. M. Pouchot had in advance covered this with heavy blindages, leaving only a passage sufficient for one man. "He thought that the enemy intended to attack with a heavy force. At least 3000 men, volunteers, grenadiers, and light troops, were embarked in bateaux, and placed behind the point of La Cussie island, from whence they could emerge under the fire of the three vessels and the hind batteries. The movements of the vessels soon induced M. Pouchot to place 150 men and four officers on the side opposite the epaulement. He fought the vessels, one after another, with five guns, the only ones that were mounted, charged with balls and grape, without replying to the land batteries. " Notwithstanding the superiority of the enemy's fire, with our five pieces and our musketry, we forced the 'Outaouaise' and then the ' Oneida' to run aground half a league from the fort, near the Galot islands. One of the two was rendered unfit for service. The * Seneca,' of 32 guns, in trying to come nearer the fort, grounded also, and was so cut to pieces that she struck her flag, having then on board 350 men. The side of the vessel toward the fort was in a very bad condition ; her battery touched the water, and her port-holes made only one opening. The water she had taken in made her lean towards the fort."^- M. Pouchot gave orders to dis- *■ "The 'Mohawk' came down with the other two, who seemed in- clined to follow, and fired briskly, when very near the fort, for a considerable time, but was so roughly handled that she was obliged to cut her cable and bear away, for fear of sinking. By this time, the 'Williamson' came into play, but, receiving a shot in an unlucky place, started a plank, which obliged her to retire to a neighboring island for repairs. The ' Onondaga' at length came down, but not taking the same course, stopped in shallow water pretty near the enemy, who fired every time into her, where she could not help her- self. Though within four hundred yards of one of our own batteries, she struck to the enemy, and sent a bateau to them with four men and Mr. Thornton, the commander's second, who looked at that dis- tance so much like Loring, they thought at the batteries it was him. The same boat rowing back again to the ship with one of her crew, probably to fire her, Capt. Adam Williamson, the engineer, pointed a gun and fired through her, taking both the fellows' arms off, which made her row into shore directly. Perceiving that there was a squabble on board the ' Onondaga,' about what they should do, the general sent an officer's party on board (Lieut. Pennington), who continue the fire, as he wished to save his powder. The second cap- tain and some sailors came to surrender. M. Pouchot retained them as hostages, but could not receive the whole, as they were more numerous than the garrison. "In the intervals between these combats the enemy attempted to land two or throe times to make an attack from the point opposite the Isle la Cuisse, but two guns that were pointed in that direction restrained thom, and made them retire behind the point. It is prob- able that the bad condition in which they found their vessels took away their desire for advancing. This action lasted from five in the morning to half-past seven in the evening, without cessation. We had forty men killed and wounded. We cannot too much praise the firmness which the officers, colonial soldiers, militia, and especially the gunners, who were sailors, displayed on this occasion. Several of the latter could never be rewarded for their address and activity in serving their pieces. The enemy, like ourselves, fired grape and ball constantly. M. Pouchot directed a blacksmith to cut up some old irons, with which he filled sacks, and put into his guns, adding a ball, which did terrible execution upon the vessels, on account of the height of the ramparts, which placed them under our fires, so that we could see upon their decks. " One thing which amused the garrison at the most serious moments of the battle was that the Indians, who were perched upon their trenches and batteries to watch the contest with the vessels, which they regarded as on their side, on account of the names that had been given them, because they carried an Indian painted on their flags, made furious cries at seeing them so maltreated. The English had assured them that with these vessels alone they would make the place surrender. When the Indians saw them drift ofi" and ground they redoubled their cries, and sung out railing names at the English, saying, 'You did not want to kill our father at Niagara. See how you are taking him. If you had listened to us you would not have been here. A Frenchman's fist has made you cringe.' This action had, however, dismantled all the tops of the parapets around half of the fort, thrown down the fascines that were placed on the side of La Cuisse island, and in front of the two demi-bastions. "At night M. Pouchot endeavored to repair with sacks of earth the batteries of the bastion opposite the island so that they could be served. This bastion was ready to tumble down, and we could have walked upon the slope of the earth that had fallen in. The enemy continued through the night to bombard us, and fired volleys of can- non from each battery, loaded with shot and grape, at intervals, to prevent us from making repairs. We had two men killed and several wounded. " On the 23d the enemy continued to bombard and cannonade vig- orously all day, and at night tried the same bombardment and volleys of cannon at intervals as on the night previous.. " On the 24th they unmasked a new battery to break down the wooden redoubt at the end of the island, and to enfilade our intrench- menta on the side opposite the islands. Their batteries continued as violently as on the preceding days, and fires caught in the ruins of the magazine and in the quarters of the commandant, but these were happily extinguished without the enemy observing our difficulty. We had but little trouble to take care of what little powder and balls we had left. Th& enemy's batteries dismounted all the guns of the bastion opposite the islands. The coffers of the parapet were razed down to within two feet of the terreplehi, greatly exposing the powder magazine, which was only made of some large beams. "On the 25th, at daybreak, M. Pouchot fired vigorously with three pieces upon the batteries which troubled us the most, and which were the only ones left on the side attacked. Even one of these three pieces, and the most important one, wanted a third of its length, hoisted the colors again, and saved her for ourselves." — Account quoted hy Knox, "The general ordered Lieut. Sinclair from the ' Williamson' brig and Lieut. Pennington, with two detachments of grenadiers under their command, to take possession of the * Onondaga,' and they obeyed their orders with such undaunted resolution, that the English colors were again hoisted on board her. But the vessel, after all, could not be got off"; and was therefore, abandoned about midnight. The English batteries, however, put a, stop to any attempt of the enemy to board her. Capt. Loring being wounded, was in the* meantime sent ashore.'' — Mante. 40 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. having been broken twice. Notwithstanding its calibre, wo put in two or three small balls. " The activity of our fire put the Bnglish in bad humor, and in the afternoon they redoubled theirs from all their batteries, and iired red-hot balls, fire-pots, and carcasses. This was too much for this miserable fort, which was now only a litter of carpenter's wood and fascines. The hot shot set fire to the eaucissonn of the interior of the revetment of the bastion, but we extinguished it. From this may be seen the condition of the ramparts. Some fire-pots also kindled twice in the debris of the fort, and we also extinguished these flames with water found in the holes made by bursting shells. " This determined M. Pouchot, with the advice of all the ofRoers of the garrison, to write to General Amherst, complaining against this kind of warfare, never used but against rebels, and which should not be practiced against a brave garrison, deserving better treatment. In reply, he sent his aid-de-camp, with a proposition for us to surren- der, coupled with the threat that if we did not accept within half an hour, he would resume hostilities. " M. Pouchot received the officer, and read what Amherst demanded before all the ofHeers of the gai-rison, who made Ihe most urgent en- treaties for him to accept them, in view of the impossibility of escap- ing a general conflagration in case of fire, on account of the small capacity of the fort and the incumbrance of the ruins. There remained at this time on the front attacked only two cannon in con- dition to fire, and no more balls. The outer batteries of the fort were all ruined, as they were commanded by the islands, as were also the epaulements of the intrenchments, which were no cover against an assault. "On the 26th, in tbe morning, when the enemy entered they were greatly surprised a.t seeing only a few soldiers scattered around at their posts, and some sixty militia, in their shirt-pleeves, with hand- kerchiefs on their heads, and with necks bare in the Canadian fashion. They asked itf . Pouchot where was his garrison ? He replied that (hey saw the whole. We had more than sixty men killed and wounded. All the officers were more or less wounded. " The enemy admitted that in their passage to encamp, a carcassiero had been sunk, and that six bateaux were shot through, including the one occupied by General Amherst, who had watched the operations attentively. The general politely reproached M. Pouchot, who an- swered : ^Sir, we only wanted to pay you the honors to which you were entitled.' " The English had 128 men killed and wounded on the ' Oneida,' which was grounded. Upon the ' Mohawk' the captain was wounded, and fifty men disabled. Upon the ' Outaouaise,' which they had taken from us, fifty-four men; and on the dilferent occasions in which they had approached the fort, a hundred more. To these should be added what they lost in their batteries and trenches, which they never would confess.* "The surrender being made, several officers came to conduct M. Pouchet to General Amherst. They showed him a thousand atten- tions. He had seen some of them at Niagara and New York. They feared that the Indians, who were very threatening, and who were disappointed in finding nothing in the fort, which the soldiers had pillaged, might wish to do some harm. He thanked them for their attentions. '* Having landed on the shore, many Indians came to see M. Pouchot, who recognized several of their chiefs. He said to them; 'You have killed your father; if they are not people of courage, so much the worse for you.* They replied: 'Don't be disheartened, father; you will go to the other side of the great lake; we will soon rid ourselves of the English.' They were surprised to see him so cool. " General Amherst held a conversation for an hour with M. Pouchot in private. " He wished information as to what remained to be done in the cam- paign. It may be presumed that the latter did not make him think he had an easy task. He, in common with the whole army, appeared to dread the passage of the rapids. They took among the Canadians thirty-six guides for their bateaux. The garrison and officers wore conducted by way of Oswego to New York. M. Belle-Garde, Sul- pician missionary at La Presentation, who had chosen to be shut up in the fort to serve the wounded, obtained leave to go down to Mon- ~ The English changed the name of the fort to Ftirt William Aiiguttun, and left a garrison of 200 men under Capt. Osborne. treal with two or three women. This priest was very worthy on account of his zeal for religion, which had led him to Canada for the sole purpose of converting the Indians. The English sent him baek to his mission. f The Bnglish army remained about fifteen days making arrangements to go down the river, but notwithstanding their guides, of whom some perhaps sought the worst channels, they lost eighty bateaux and their carcasaieres at Coteau du Lac." Fort Levis was the last stronghold of the French in North America. They had possessed the whole vast region lyino- north of the St. Lawrence, except a small tract in the vicinity of Hudson's Bay, and with the exception of three years, — from 1629 to 1632, — from their first discoveries, made by Jacques Cartier, Roberval, and Champlain, begin- ning in 1535, until 1760, a period of two hundred and twenty-five years, during which their posts and missions were established from the mouth of the great river to the western borders of the great lakes. At times the able com- manders which France sent over had threatened the very existence of the English colonies, but from the year 1758, when Fort Frontenac was destroyed by Bradstreet, fortune had gradually deserted them, and with the death of the Marquis de Montcalm and the fall of Quebec all hopes of a successful defense against the overwhelming armies of the English had departed ; nevertheless, a most gallant defense was made, and there was no loss of honor to the arms of France when the last feeble garrison surrendered, and the flag of France was furled to wave no more over the noble St. Lawrence forever. According to Knox, the total efifective force of Canada at the time of the surrender, including militia, was 20,433. About 3000 soldiers and sailors were sent to France. In concluding the history of the siege of Fort Levis, we insei't the following items from the English accounts, which vary somewhat from that of the French commander. Per- haps a fair estimate would be arrived at by adopting a mean between the two extremes. It would seem that the fitting out of war-parties from La Presentation, which proved so harassing to the Bnglish settlements along the Mohawk during the years 1758-9, had determined the English authorities to send an expedition to put a stop to their depredations, and Brigadier-General Gage was instructed to take post at La Galette, and cany out this important project ; but for some reason this was never done, and the place remained undisturbed until the advance of General Amherst's army in 1760. The French fortress at Quebec was reduced by the English army under the command of General Wolfe in 1759. The various French posts in the interior still remained, and to complete the conquest three expeditions were fitted out early in the season of 1760. One of these ascended the St. Lawrence from Quebec, another proceeded towards Montreal by way of Lake Champlain, and the third, under Sir Jeffrey Amherst, proceeded by way of Oswego, and down the St, Lawrence, encountering in its way the strong fortress on Isle Royal, which he reduced. The details of t There were two priests named La Garde in Canada at this time! Joan Pierre Bosson do la Garde arrived in 1760, and died April H, 1790. Pierre Paul Frs de la Garde arrived in 1765, and died at Mon- treal, April 4, l1U.-Li,te 01,,-onologique. The latter was with Pouchot at the siege.— JVofe hi Dr. Hough's Trauslation HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 41 this event, as related by Mante, a historian of that war, are here given : " The necessary preparations having been matie to bring the whole power of the British forces in North America against Montreal, in order to finish by its reduction the war in this part of the world ; and the season being sufficiently advanced to enable Sir Jeffrey Amherst, the commander-in-chief, to commence his part of the operations, he embarked at New York on the 3d 'of May, and proceeded to Sche- nectady. From thence, with a part of his array, he pursued his route to Oswego, where he encamped on the 9th of July. The remainder he ordered to follow with the greatest diligence, under the command of Brigadier G-age.- On the Nth two vessels hove in sight on Lake Ontario, which proving to be those that had been fitted out at Ni- agara, under the command of Captain Loring, boats wore immedi- ately dispatched to him, with orders t6 look out for and attack the Ercneh vessels cruising on the lake. On the 20th two more vessels appeared, and proving to be the French vessels which had escaped Captain Loring's vigilance, a small boat was immediately dispatched to cruise for him, with an account of this discovery ; and at thesame time to prevent his bein^ obliged to return to Oswego for want of provisions, the general ordered Captain Willyamoz, with a detach- ment of one hundred and thirty men, in twelve boats, to take post on the Isle-Aux-Iroquois, and supply Captain Loring with everything he might want. On the 22d, Brigadier Gage arrived with the rear of the army; as did Sir William Johnson on the 23d, with a party of Indians. " On the 24:th the general received intelligence that tiie French ves- sels had escaped into the river St. Lawrence, and tliat Captain Loring was returning with the 'Onondaga' and the ' Mohawk,' of eighteen six-pounders. ■ " On the 5th of August the igeneral ordered the army to be in readi- ness to embark. It cbnsisted of the following troops : The fi-rst and Second battalion of Royal Highlanders, 42d regiment, 44th, 46th, 55th, fourth battalion of the 60th, Royal Americans, eight companies of the 77th, five of the 80th, five hundred and ninety-seven grenadiers, one hundred and "forty-six rangers, Gage's Light Infantry, three battalions of the New York regiment, Colonel Le Roux, New Jersey regiment. Colonel Schuyler, and four battalions of the Connecticut regiment, and one hundred and forty-seven of the Royal Artillery, under Colonel Williamson,- amounting in tlie whole to ten thousand one hundred and forty-two effective men, oflScers included. Among the American officers were Colonels Schuyler, Wooster, Lyman, Fitch, Whiting, and probably Israel Putnam. " The Indians, under Sir William Johnson, were seven hundred and six. "On the 7th, Captain Loring sailed with his two vessels, and imme- diately after thfe first battalion of Royal Highlanders, the grenadiers Of the army, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Massey, with Captain Campbell, of the 42d, to assist him as major, the light infantry, com- manded by Lieutenant-Colonel Amherst, with Captain Delancey as major to assist him, with Ogden's and Whyte's companies of rangers, the whole under the command of Colonel Haldiman, embarked and sailed to take post at the entrance of the river St. Lawrence. "On the 10th the general himself embarked with the Royal Artillery, the regulars, Sir William Johnson, and a part of his Indians, in boats and whale-boats; but the wind being very high and the water of the lake very rough, they were forced to make for a small creek, at whose entrance there isa very dangerous bar, on which one of the artillery boats was lost. The next day, the weather being a little more mod- erate, the general at noon proceeded for the river De la Motte, and on the 12th was joined by Brigadier Gage, with the provincials, in a bay, where the enemy had lately encamped. On the 13th the whole embarked, and that very day encamped with Colonel Haldiman, at the -post which he had taken at the head of the river St. Lawrence. Captain Loring, with his two vessels, having mistaken the channel from the lake to the river. St. Lawrence, the arniy passed him while he was endeavoring to extricate himself. On the 13th the whole army gained Point de Baril, in the neighborhood of the post called La Gallettd, which Brigadier Gage was ordered to destroy the pre- ceding year. Here the enemy had a very good dock, in which they built their vessels. " The grenadiers and light infantry, with the row-galleys, took post that day without halting at Oswegatchie/a few miles below Point au BaTil. - ■ . 6 " All this while one of the enemy's vessels kept hovering about the nrniy, and, as Captain Loring had not yet got into the right channel, it became necessary, for the safety of the army, cither to compel this vessel to retire or to take her. "The general was therefore obliged to order Colonel Williamson, with the row-galleys well manned, to do one or the other. On the 17th the galleys advanced with the utmost intrepidity, under a heavy fire from the enemy, but it did not in the least dampen the ardor of the assailants; their fire was retiit'ned with such resolution and bravery that after a severe contest of almost four hotirs the French vessel struck her colors. She mounted ten twblve-pounders, and had on board one hundred men, twelve of whom were killed or wounded. The general immediately named the vcsSel the 'Williamson,' in honor of the colonel, and to perpetuate the memory of so gallant an action. The same day the army proceeded to Oswegatchie, from whence it was necessary to I'econnoitre Isle Royal, so that it was noon the next day before the army could proceed. " Fort Levis stood on this island, which was otherwise strongly for- tified. Though the reduction of Fort Levis could be of little service merely as a fort, yet it was certainly of too much eonseqacnce to bp left in the rear of an array; besides, the number of pilots perfectly acquainted with the navigation of the river St. Lawrence, which the making of the garrison prisoners would afford, was alone a sufficient motive for attacking it. It was therefore invested that very evening. Whilst the English were passing the point the French kept up a very smart cannonade upon them, and destroyed one of the row-galleys and a few boats, and killed two or three men; but, notwithstanding this fire, and an uninterrupted continuance of it, the fort was so completely invested by the 20th, by the masterly disposition of the troops, as to make it impossible for the garrison to escape. " Captain Loring had arrived the day before, with his two vessels and the 'Williamson' brig, and the batteries being now ready, the general, on the 23d, determined to assault the fort, that as little time as possible might be wasted on it. lie therefore ordered the vessels to fall down the stream, post themselves as close to the fort as possi- ble, and man their tops well, in order to fall upon the enemy and prevent their making use of their guns; whilst the grenadiers rowed in with their broadswords and tomahawks, fascines and scaling-lad- ders, under cover of three hundred of the light infantry, who were to fire into the embrasures. '' The grenadiers received their orders with a cheerfulness that might be regarded as a sure omen of success; and, with their usual alacrity, prepared for the attack, waiting in their shirts till the ships could take their proper stations. "This the 'Williamson' brig, commanded by Lieutenant Sinclair, and the * Mohawk,' by Lieutenant Phipps, soon did; and both sus- tained and returned a, very heavy fire. But the ' Onondaga,' in which was Captain Loring, by some extraordinary blunder, ran aground. The enemy, discovering his distress, plied her with such unceasing showers of great and small arms that Captain Loring thought proper to strike his colors, and sent Thornton, his master, on shore to the enemy, who endeavored to take possession of the vessel; but by Colonel Williamson's observing it, he turned upon them a battery, which obliged them to desist from the undertaking. The general then ordered Lieutenant Sinclair from the ' \Yilliamson' brig, and Lieutenant Pennington, with two detachments of grenadiers under their command, to take possession of the 'Onondaga,' and they obeyed their orders with such undaunted resolution that the English colors were again hoisted on board of her. But the vessel after all could not be got off, and was therefore abandoned about midnight. The English batteries, however, put a stop to any further attempt of the enemy to board her. Captain Loring being wounded, was in the mean time sent ashore. This accident of the 'Onondaga's* running aground, obliged the general to defer for the present his plan of assault; but this delay proved rather a fortunate event, as it ^aved a good deal of blood, for on the 25th, M. Pouchot, the commandant, beat a parley, demanding what terms he might expect; to which no answer was returned, but that the fort must be immediately given up, and the garrison surrendered prisoners of war, and but ten minutes were given for a reply.* -This is a preposterous statement. Any one who has seen the St. Lawrence at this point knows that no boat could go and return in ten minutes from the fort to the hcadqLuarters of the English commander. The half-hour given by Pouchot is undoubtedly nearer the truth. 42 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. " These terms were received wilhin the ten minutes; and Lieutenant- Colonel Massey with the grenadiers, immediately took possession of the place. " The loss of the English before it was twenty-one killed and nine- teen wounded.* " The first shot from the English battery killed the French officer of artillery. Eleven more were killed afterwards, and about forty wounded. The garrison, and all of the pilots, for the sake of whom chiefly the place had been attacked, were sent to New York; and the general named the fort Fokt William AuGUSTUS-f " On the surrender of Fort Levis, the Indians following the English army prepared, agreeably to their bloody custom when at war, to enter the fort in order to tomahawk and massacre the garrison. But General Amherst, being apprised of their intentions, immediately sent orders to Sir William Johnson to persuade them, if possible, to desist, declaring at the same time that, if they offered to enter the fort, he would compel them to retire. The stores be promised should be delivered to them, as his army was not in want of what few blankets might be found there. This message had its desired etfect. The Indians, though with great apparent reluctance and ill humor, were prevailed on to return to their camp ; however, their resentment increased to such a degree, that Sir William Johnson informed the general he was apprehensive they would quit the army, and return to their respective villages and castles. The general replied: 'That he believed his army fully sufficient for the service he was going upon, without their assistance; that, though he wished to preserve their friendship, he could not prevail on himself to purchase it at the ex- pense of countenancing the horrid barbarities they wanted to perpe- trate; and added, that, if they quitted the army, and on their return should commit any acts of cruelty, he should assuredly chastise them.' Upon this most of these creatures, who amounted to about seven hundred, abandoned Sir William Johnson and returned to their re- spective villages and castles, but without committing the least vio- leoce; the faithful few, in number about one hundred and seventy, who continued with the army, were afterwards distinguished by medals which the general gave them, that they might be known at the Eng- lish posts, and receive the civil treatment their humanity and their affection for the English entitled them to. " If the French plan of policy had admitted of similar exertions of *This statement of the English loss is evidently as much below the fact as Pouchot's is above, and the number given as wounded in proportion to the killed, is not reasonable. f The surrender of Isle Royal was announced by the following proclamation of Governor Golden : " By the Hon. Oadwallader Gulden, Esquire, President of his Majesty's Council, [L.9.] and Commander-in-chief of the Province of New York, and the terri- tories depending thereon in Americii, "A PEOCLAMATION. " Wftereas, His Majesty's forces, under the immediate command of His Excel- lency Geiieriil Amherst, have late-ly reduced the fortress and works erected by tlie enemy on an island in the St, Lawrence, called by the French Isle Eoyal, a few miles below Oswegatcliie, an Indian settlement with a block-house fort, which the enemy had before aliandoned, from whence the inhabitants of this province, situated on the Mohawk river, have been so much annoyed l)y parties sent to harass and disturb them that they were kept in constant alarm, and many, under strong apprehensions of theirdangcT, abandoned theirsettlements. And whereas, liy this important acqni>,ilion, the people alongthe Mohawk river will for tlie futurs lemain quiet in their possc8>ions, and as the improvement of the settlements there, and the cultivation of the adjacent uncleared country, cannot but prove of the greatest advantage to the province, the general, by his letter to me, dated lielow, the Isle Eoyale, the 2Clh ultimo, hath recom- mended that I would invito the inhabitants thereto, and assure them of a peaceable abode in their habitation. I have heretofore thought fit with the advice of liis majesty's council to issue this proclamation, hereby inviting the persons who, through fear of the incursions of the enemy on that side, Itave left their settlements, to return to tlieir fanns, where they may now reap the fruit of their industry, in the utmost security ; and, as a further encouragement to otliers to become settlers in that part of tlio country, I do promise his majesty's grant of any of the vacant lands there to sucli pcrs6n8 as fhall apply for the same, on the usual terms, and on condition of immediate settlemenls of the tiucts that shall bo so appropriated. "Given under my hand and seal at arms, in Fort George, in the city of Now York, the fourth day of September, 1760, in the thirty-foui th year of the reign of our sovereign. Lord George the Second, by tlte grace of Gud'of Great Britain Franco and Ireland, king, defender of the faith, and so forth. ' " Cadwa],lader Colden. "By His Honor's command, G. W. Banyab, D. Sec'y. " God Save the iiiNG." humanity towards their prisoners, there is no doubt but they might thereby have equally prevented the commission of acts which, even had they conquered, would have been sufficient to sully the glory of their greatest achievements. " Till the 3flth, the army was emph>yed in leveling the batteries and repairing boats and rafts for the artillery, which was now embarked with the necessary stores ; and on the 31st the general, with the first division of the army, consisting of the artillery, the grenadiers, and the light infantry, the 44th and 56th regiments, the 4th battalion of Royal Americans, and three regiments of provincials, embarked about noon, and in the evening reached the Isle-Aux-Chats [opposite Louisville landing], having passed the first rapids. On the 1st of September, they proceeded about ten miles farther, and encamped. On the 2d, Brigadier Gage, with the other division, joined the gen- eral, having lost three Highlanders in going over the falls. The whole now proceeded together, entered Lake St. Francis, and that very evening reached Pointe-Aux-Boudets, where, the weather being extremely bad, the general halted. ' ' On the 3d, a prisoner was brought in, who gave intelligence that Colonel Haviland had taken possession of the Isle-Aux-Noix, the enemy having abandoned it on his approach. " The navigation of the river St. Lawrence is in this place, perhaps, the most intricate and dangerous of any actually used in North America, without the assistance of pilots accustomed to the force and direction of its various eddies. Though the French have been con- stantly going up and down the river ever since their possession of Canada, General Amherst's attempt to navigate it in the manner he did was judged impracticable. No doubt the route by Lake George and Lake Champlain might have been the easiest to penetrate by into Canada ; but this by the Mohawk river, Oswego, and the river • St. Lawrence opened a passage which had as yet been unexplored by the English, and effectually deprived the French of the opportunity of carrying on the war another campaign by retreating to their un- conquered posts at Detroit and elsewhere to the south. Those who declared the river impracticable to the English, grounded their opinion on the unsuccessfulness of the attempt made on La Galette the pre- ceding year by General Gage; not considering the difference between a feeble, irresolute effort, and a strong, determined stroke. " The pilots taken at Fort Levis contributed much to the safety of the army in this navigation, or it would have been equally tedious. ** The chief art of getting through these rapids with a number of boats consists in the making them keep a proper distance. Without the greatest attention to this precaution the lives of those who pass the Cedar Falls, especially, must be in the utmost danger. " It must be confessed that the appearance of broken rocks and in- accessible islands, interspersed in the current of a rapid river, and the foaming surges rebounding from them, without a direct channel to discharge itself by, presents a scene of horror unknown in Europe; yet the mind by degrees soon loses the sensation of terror, and he- comes free enough to direct the actions of the body. " On the 4th of September the general put the army in motion, and it soon cleared the Lake St. Francis and entered a country lately well inhabited, but now a mere desert. About noon the van of the army entered the Cedar Falls. " This, as we have already hinted, is by far tho most dangerous part of the whole river, and had tho boats crowded too close upon each other most of them must have perished. •' Accordingly, for the want of sufficient precaution, twenty-nine boats belonging to the regiments, seventeen whale-boats, seventeen artillery- boats, and one row-galley were dashed to pieces, with tho loss of eighty-eight men ; and this too before, on account of the night'a approaching, the whole of the army could get through ; what did encamped on tho Isle-Perrot. On the 5th, in the morning, the re- mainder, taking care to preserve a proper distance, passed tho rapid with ease. During tho stay tho general was obliged to make to repoir. the damaged boats the inhabitants came flocking in, and took the oath of allegiance to his Britannic Majesty. " Humanity and clemency ever attended on the victories of tho Romans ; the princes and tho people who submitted to their arms were sure of protection ; and those who dared to oppose them were made to feel the weight of their greatness and power. " True policy might alone be thought sufficient, especially after snob an illustrious example, to make the generals of every nation adopt such conciliating measures. It would have been justly a matter of surprise if, from the natural feelings of his own heart, independent HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 43 of any other motiye, General Amherst had neglected to stretch forth the hand of ooiumiseratiou to the number of trembling, despairing wretches who now appeared before him. The blood that had been shed in the wantonness of cruelty had expunged from their breasts every hope of meroy; and they advanced like culprits approaching a, judge to receive the sentence due to their crimes. " Full as they were of conscious guilt, how great must have been their joy to find themselves forgiven, restored to their possessions and to their families ; to be received as friends, and have every neces- sary provided for them as such, and to crown all, to know for certain that they might securely depend on a continuance, or rather an in- crease, of these blessings." PICQUET AND POUCHOT. Two personages connected with the history of La Pre- sentation and Fort Levis deserve particular mention here from their prominence, and the fact that one was the original founder of the mission where now stands the flour- ishing city of Ogdensburg, and the other the gallant com- mander of the last fortress held by the French in America. These are Father Picquet and M. Pouchot. We will begin with the latter. The facts are from his memoirs, translated by Dr. F. B. Hough. M. Pouchot was born at Grenoble, in 1712. His wor- thy father died when he was young, and his mother soon married again. The young Pouchot entered the military service as a volunteer engineer in 1733. The next year he was transferred to the famous regiment of Beam, in which he continued to study the art of Cohorn and Vauban. His genius attracted the attention of M. de Blaillebois, who assisted him, and was instrumental in placing him under the direction of M. Bourcet, who employed him upon the intrenehments of Borgo-Forte and of Mount Baldo, two strong posts in Corsica, then at war with the Genoese. M. Pouchot served with distinction in the various campaigns of the French army in Italy, Flanders, and Germany. In 1744 he was charged by the government with examining the route into the Tyrol, and in preparing a map, which he accompanied with a memoir. He had subsequently the charge of the intrenched camp at Tournai, under the orders of M. de Villemur. These services obtained him the rank of captain by brevet and the cross of St. Louis. Upon the breaking out of the war in America M. Pouchot was sent with his regiment to the St. Lawrence. His services in America were many and remarkable. His first work was upon the fort at Frontenac, which he thoroughly refitted and made almost impregnable. In October, 1755, he was put in command of the post at Niagara, which he also re- built in the best manner during the winter of 175.5-50. He was present at the siege and capture of Oswego by the Marquis Montcalm,* in August, 1756, and the result of the expedition was in no small degree owing to his superior placing and handling of the French batteries after the death of M. Descombles, the chief engineer. After the capture of Oswego M, Pouchot was employed by Montcalm to open a road from La Prairie towards Lake Champlain, and subsequently in working upon the fortifi- cations of Fort Carrillon, now known as Ticonderoga. In September of that year (1756) he returned with a portion of his regiment to Niagara, where he labored diligently to complete a strong work. During the succeeding winter he * Louis Joseph, Marquis dcMontcilm dc Saint Veron, born lfl2. was employed in strengthening the works. At this post he was very successful in gaining the confidence of the Indians, and in attaching them to the French interests. In August, 1757, Montcalm captured Fort William Henry, at the southern extremity of Lake George, which event spread consternation far and wide among the English colonies, and led to most determined efforts on the part of the English government to drive back the French from their strongholds upon Lake Champlain and along the northern frontier. In October M. Pouchot was relieved from the command of Niagara, and returned to Montreal. On the 7th of July, 1758, he joined Montcalm at Fort Carillon, and took part in the great battle fought on the 8th, between the French army, consisting of about 3000 men in their intrenehments, and the Anglo-American army, amounting, according to English accounts, to 15,391 men, but estimated by the French at 22,000. The French regiments which fought in this action were those of B^arn, Sarre, Languedoc, Berri, Guienne, the Queen's, and the Royal Roussillon. The English were de- feated with terrible loss, and retreated with the greatest precipitation. This battle ruined the reputation of Sir Ralph Abercrombie, the commander of the English army, while it correspondingly added to that of the Marquis de Montcalm, undoubtedly the ablest commander the French ever had in America. In the fall of 1758, M. Pouchot was employed, along with the Chevalier de Levis, in selecting the best points for erecting fortifications for tlie defense of Canada, which the English were threatening. In March, 1759, M. Pouchot was again ordered to take command of Niagara, where, in July following, he sustained a memorable siege by Sir Wil- liam Johnson during fifteen days, defending the place until it was completely ruined and untenable, when he was forced to surrender, as the defeat of M. d' Aubrey, who was ap- proaching for the relief of the place, destroyed all hope of succor. During the operations the garrison, which origi- nally consisted of 525 men, including laborers, had 109 men killed and wounded. In November, M. Pouchot was exchanged, and arrived in Montreal on New Year's eve. He had met General Amherst at Saratoga, on his way north, and the English commander had intrusted letters in his care to the French commander in Canada. In March, 1760, just one year from the time he had taken command of Niagara, he was placed in command of the new Fort Levis on Oraconenton island, where he sus- tained another and most remarkable siege, in August fol- lowing, defending his post to the last, and only surrendering when further resistance was useless. Upon his return to France after the surrender of Canada, he experienced the fate of many a brave defender of his country, through the misrepresentations and calumnies of insidious enemies, who envied him the honors and emoluments that were justly his due. Charges were preferred against the gallant soldier, and he was ordered to be thrown into the Bastile. Upon hearing of these proceedings he presented himself at once to the minister of war, and said, " I have come from Canada, where I have a thousand times exposed my life for the in- 44 HISTOKY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. terests of my country. Her enemies offered me employ- ment, money, and an advantageous position, but I rejected their offers. The loss of my patrimony is all the fruit left me for my labors and my services. What do you want ? Of V7hat do they accuse me?" After the battle of Carillon the Marquis Montcalm recommended him for a brevet lieutenant- colonel's position, but instead he only received a very moderate pension. " The man so distinguished in that memorable combat, and who afterwards defended with such valor Forts Niagara and Levis, could not break down the barriers which separated the employed subalterns from the superior grades, an ob- stacle over which intrigue would triumph without difficulty." He soon after returned to Grenoble, and, when the difficul- ties broke out in Corsica, entered the service of the govern- ment, and was killed on a reconnoitering expedition May 8, 1769, in his fifty-seventh year, a gallant soldier to the last. PATHEK PICQTJET. The memoirs of Father Picquet have been written by M. de la Lande, a celebrated astronomer of the Academie des Sciences, and are published in the fourteenth volume of a work entitled, " Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses'' (Lyons edition, 1819, p. 262, et seq.), from which an abridged translation is published in the Documentary History of New York, from which, and from the original esssay, we derive the following : " A missionary, remarkable for his zeal, and the services which he has rendered to the church and the state, born in the same village as myself, and with whom I have enjoyed terms of particular intimacy, has given to me a relation of his labors, and I have thought that this notice deserved to find a place in the Lettres Edifiantes, having exactly the same object as the other articles in that collection, and I flatter myself that I shall be able to render au honorable testimony to the memory of a compatriot, and of a friend so amiable as M. I'Abbe Picquet. " Frangois Picquet, doctor of the Sorbonne, King's Mis- sionary and Prefect Apostolic to Canada, was born at Bourg, in Bresse, on the 6th Dec, 1708. The ceremonials of the church, from his infancy, were to him so engaging, that they seemed to announce his vocation. " The good instruction which he received from an estima- ble father, seconded by a happy disposition, enabled him to accomplish his earlier studies with the approbation of all his superiors and of his professors, although, in the dissipa- tion and folly of youth, he was relieved by occupations al- together foreign to his studies. M. Picquet, in fact, loved to test his abilities in various ways, and in this he suc- ceeded ; but his first pastimes had announced his first pref- erences, and the church was his principal delight. " As early as the seventeenth year of his age, he suc- cessfully commenced the functions of a missionary in his country, and at twenty years, the Bishop of Sinope, Suffra- gan of the diocese of Lyons, gave him, by a flattering ex- ception, permission to preach in all the parishes of Bresse and Franche-Comte which depended on his diocese. The enthusiasm of his new state rendered him desirous to go to Rome, but the Archbishop of Lyons advised him to study theology at Paris. He followed this advice, and entered the congregation of St. Sulpioe. The direction of the new converts was soon proposed to him; but the-activity of his zeal induced him to seek a wider field, and led him beyond the seas, in 1733, to the missions of North America, where he remained thirty years, and where his constitution, invig- orated by labor, acquired a force and vigor which secured for him a robust health to the end of his life. " After having for some time labored at Montreal, in common with other missionaries, he desired to undertake some new enterprise, by which France might profit by re- storing peace to our vast colonies. " About 1740, he established himself at the Lake of Two Mountains,* to the north of Montreal, to draw the Algon- quins, the JVipissings, and the savages of the Lake Temis- caming to the head of the colony, and upon the route of all the nations of the north, which descend by the great river of Michilimakina, to Lake Huron. " There had been an ancient mission upon the Lake of Two Mountains, but it had been abandoned. M. Picquet took advantage of the peace which the country then enjoyed, in constructing a stone fort. This fort commanded the vil- lages of the four nations, which composed the mission of the lake. He next caused a palisade to be built around each of the villages, of cedar posts, flanked by good re- doubts. The king defrayed half of this expense; the missionaries incurred the rest by labor. " He there fixed the two nomadic nations of the Algon- quins and the Nipissings, and caused them to build a fine village, and to sow and reap, a thing before regarded as next to impossible. These two nations, in the event, were first to give succor to the French. The pleasure which they experienced in this establishment attached them to France and the king, in whose name M. Picquet procured them assistance in money, in provisions, and all that the wants of these two nations required. " He there erected a Calvary, which was the finest monu- ment of religion in Canada, by the grandeur of the crosses which were planted upon the summit of one of the two mountains, by the different chapels and the different oratories, all alike built of stone, arched, ornamented with pictures, and distributed in stations for the space of threer quarters of a league. " He here endeavored to gain an exact understanding with all the northern tribes, by means of the Algonqidns and the Nipisdngs, and with those of the south and west, by means of the Iroquois and the Ilurons. His negotia^. tions resulted so well that he annually, at the feast of the Passover and the Pentecost, baptized to the faith thirty to forty adults. " When the savage hunters had passed eight months in the woods, they remained a month in the village, which made it a kind of mission, receiving many each day with the two catechisms, and with spiritual conferences. He ^ taught them the prayers and the chants of the church, and he imposed penances upon those who created any disorder A portion were settled and domiciled. " Li short, he succeeded beyond all hope in persuading these nations to submit entirely to the king, and to render * About thirtj-si.v miles northwest of Montreal. HISTOKY OF ST. LA WHENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 45 him the master of their national assemblies, with full liberty to make known his intentions and to nominate all their chiefs. From the commencement of the War of 1742 his savages showed their attachment to France and to the king, whose paternal character M. Picquet had announced to them, and who was regarded as the beloYed and the idol of the nation. ■ " M. Picquet was among the first to foresee the war which sprang up about 1742 between the English and the French. He prepared himself for it a long time beforehand. He began by drawing to his mission (at the Lake of the Two Mountains) all the , French scattered in the vicinity, to strengthen themselves and afford more liberty to the savages. These furnished all the necessary detachments ; they were continually on the frontiers to spy the enemy's movements. M. Picquet learned by one of these detachments that the English were making preparations at Sarasto [Saratoga?], and were pushing their settlements up to Lake St. Sacra- ment.* He informed the general of the circumstance, and proposed to him to send a body of troops there, at least to intimidate the enemy if we could do no more. The expe- dition was formed. M. Picquet accompanied M. Marin, who commanded this detachment. They burnt the fort, the Lydius establishments,'}" several saw-mills, the phmks, boards, and other building timber, the stock of supplies, provisions, the herds of cattle along nearly fifteen leagues of settlement, and made one hundred and forty-five prisoners, without having lost a sitigle, Frenchman or without having any even wounded.J This expedition alone prevented tlie English undertaking anything at that side during the war. " Peace having been re-established in 1748, our mission- ary occupied himself with the means of remedying, for the future, the inconveniences which he had witnessed. The road he saw taken by the savages and other parties of the enemy sent by the English against us, caused him to select a post which could hereafter intercept the passage of the English. He proposed to M. de la Galissoni^re § to make a settlement of the mission of La Presentation, near Lake Ontario, an ' establishment which succeeded beyond his hopes, and has been the most useful of all those of Canada. " M. Rouille, minister of the marine, wrote on the 4th of May, 1749; " ' A large number of Iroquoia having declared that they were de- .sirous of embracing Christianity, it has been proposed to establish a mission towards Fort Frontenac, in order to attract the greatest num- ber possible thither. It is Abbe Picquet, a zealous missionary, and in whom' these'nations seem to have confidence, who has been in- trusted with this negotiation. He was to have gone last year to select * " I am building a fort at this lake, which the French call Lake St. Sacrament, but I have given it the name of Lake (leorgo, not only in honor to his Majesty, but to ascertain his undoubted domin- ion here." — Si7' Wm. Johnaoii to the Board of Trade, Sept. 3, 1775. Zond, Doc. xxxii., 178. f Now Fort Edward, Washington county. . i"I received an account on the 19th inst., by express from Al- "bany, that a party of French and their Indians had cut off a settlement in this province called Saraghtoge, about fifty miles from Albany, and that about twenty houses with a fort (which the public would not re- pair) were burned to ashes, thirty persons killed and scalped, and about sixty takenprisoners." — Gov. Giinion to the Board, 30(/t Nov., \1ib. Loud. Doe. xxvii., 187, 235. ^ This officer commanded the French force which captured tho Island of Minorca from the English in June, 1766. a suitable site for the establishment of tho mission, and verify as pre- cisely as was possible what can be depended upon relative to the dis,- positions of these same nations. In a letter of the 6th of October last, Mi de la GalisonnlSre stated that, though an entire confidence cannot bo placed in those they have domesticated, it Is, notwithstand- ing, of much importance to succeed in dividing them; that nothing must be neglected that can contribute to it. It is for this reason that his majesty desires you shall prosecute the design of the proposed settle- ment. If it could attain a certain success, it would not be difficult then to make the savages understand that the only means of extricating themselves from the pretensions of the English to them and their lands is to destroy Choueguen,|| so as to deprive them thereby of a post which they established chiefly with a view to control their tribes. This destruction is of such great importance, both as regards our possessions and the attachment of the savages and their trade, that it is proper to use every means to engage the Iroquoia to undertake it. This -is actually the only means that can be employed, but you must feel that it requires much prudence and circumspection.' " M. Picquet eminently possessed the qualities requisite to effect the removal of the English from our neighbor- hood. Therefore, the general, the intendant, and the bishop deferred absolutely to him in the selection of the settle- ment for this new mission ; and, despite the efforts of those who had opposite interests, he was intrusted with the un- dertaking. " The fort of La Presentation is situated at 302° 40' longitude,^ and at 44° 50' latitude, on the Presentation river, which the . Indians named Soegasti; thirty leagues above Mont-Real ; fifteen leagues from Lake Ontario or Lake Frontenac, which, with Lake Champlain, gives rise to the river St. Lawrence ; fifteen leagues west of the source of the river Hudson, which tails into the sea at New York. Fort Frontenac had been built near there in 1671 [1673] to arrest the incursions of the English and the Iroquois j the bay served as a port for the mercantile and military marine which had been formed there on that sort of sea, where the tempests are as frequent and as dangerous as on the ocean. But the post of La Presentation appeared still more important, because the harbor is very good, the river freezes there rarely, the barks can leave with northern, east- ern, and southern winds, the lands are excellent, and that quarter can be fortified most advantageously. " Besides, that mission was adapted by its situation to reconcile to us the Iroquois savages of the Five Nations, who inhabit between Virginia and Lake Ontario. The Marquis of Beauharnois, and afterwards M. de la Jon- quiere, governor-general of New France, were very de- sirous that we should occupy it, especially at a time when English jealousy, irritated by a war of many years, sought to alienate from us the tribes of Canada. " This establishment was as if the key of the colony, be- cause the English, French, and Upper Canada savages could not pass elsewhere than under the cannon of Fort Presen- tation when coming down from the south ; the Iroquois to the south and the Mississngues to the north were within its reach. Thus it eventually succeeded in collecting them together from over a distance of one hundred leagues. The officers, interpreters, and tradei's, notwithstanding, then re- garded that establishment as chimerical. Envy and oppo- sition had (affected its failure had it not been for the firm- II OsVego. •[ There is some mistake in these figures. The longitude of this place is 75° 30' west from Greenwich, and latitude 41° W north. 46 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. ness of the Abbe Picquet, supported by that of the admin- istration. This establishment served to protect, aid, and comfort the posts already erected on Lake Ontario. The barks and canoes for the transportation of the king's effects could be constructed there at a third less expense than else- where, because timber is in greater quantity and more ac- cessible, especially when M. Picquet had had a saw-mill erected there for preparing and manufacturing the timber. In fine, he could establish a very important settlement for the French colonists, and a point of reunion for Europeans and savages, where they would find themselves very conve- nient to the hunting and fishing ■ in the upper part of Canada. " M. Picquet left with a detachment of soldiers, me- chanics, and some savages. He placed himself at first in as great security as possible against the insults of the enemy, which availed him ever since. On the 20th of Oc- tober, 1749, he had built a fort of palisades, a house, a barn, a stable, a redoubt, and an oven. He had lands cleared for the savages. His improvements were estimated at thirty to forty thousand livres, but he introduced as much judgment as economy. He animated the workmen, and they labored from three o'clock in the morning until nine at night. As for himself, his disinterestedness was extreme. He received at that time neither allowance nor presents ; he supported himself by his industry and credit. From the king he had but one ration of two pounds of bread and one half pound of pork, which made the savages say, when they brought him a buck and some partridges, ' We doubt not, father, but that there have been disagree- able expostulations in your stomach, because you have had nothing but pork to eat. Here's something to put your affairs in order.' The hunters furnished him wherewithal to support the Frenchmen and to treat the generals occa- sionally. The savages brought him trout weighing as many as eighty pounds. " When the court had granted him a pension he em- ployed it only for the benefit of his establishment. At first he had six heads of families in 1749, eighty-seven the year following, and three hundred and ninety-six in 1751. All these were of the most ancient and most influential fami- lies, so that this mission was, from that time, sufficiently powerful to attach the Five Nations to us, amounting to twenty-five thousand inhabitants, and he reckoned as many as three thousand in his colony. By attaching the Iroquois cantons to France, and establishing them fully in our in- terest, we were certain of having nothing to fear from the other savage tribes, and thus a limit could be put to the ambition of the English. M. Picquet took considerable advantage of the peace to increase that settlement, and he carried it in less than four years to the most desirable per- fection, despite of the contradictions that he had to combat against, the obstacles he had to surmount, the jibes and un- becoming jokes which he was obliged to bear; but his happiness and glory suffered nothing therefrom. People saw with astonishment several villages start up almost at once ; a convenient, habitable, and pleasantly-situated fort ; vast clearances, covered almost at the same time with the finest maize. More than five hundred families, still all in- fidels, who congregated there, soon rendered this settlement the most beautiful, the most charming, and the most abun^ dant of the colony. Depending on it were La Presentation, La Galettc, Suegatzi, L'isle au Galop, and L'isle Picquet in the river St. Lawrence. There were in the fort seven small stone guns and eleven four- to six-pounders. " The most distinguished of the Iroquois families were distributed at La Presentation in three villages. That which adjoined the French fort contained, in 1754, forty-nine bark cabins, some of which were from sixty to eighty feet long, and accommodated three to four families. The place pleased them on account of the abundance of hunting and fishing. This mission could no doubt be increased, but cleared land sufiicient to allow all the families to plant and to aid them to subsist would be necessary, and each tribe should have a separate location. " M. Picquet had desired that, in order to draw a large number, they should clear during a certain time a hun- dred arpents of land each year, and build permanent cabins, and to surround their village with a palisade ; that they should construct a church and a house for seven, or eight missionaries. The nations desired it, and it was an effect- ual means to establish them permanently. All this he could do with fifteen thousand livres a year, and he pro- posed to assign them a benefice, as tending to promote re- ligion. Meanwhile our missionary applied himself to the instruction of the savages, and baptized great numbers. " The bishop of Quebec, wishing to witness and assure himself personally of the wonders related to him of the establishment at La Presentation, went thither in 1749, accompanied by some officers, royal interpreters, priests from other missions, and several other clergymen, and spent ten days examining and causing the catechumens to be ex- amined. He himself baptized one hundred and thirty-two, and did not cease, during his sojourn, blessing heaven for the progress of religion among these infidels. " Scarcely where they baptized when M. Picquet de- termined to give them a form of government. He es- tablished a council of twelve ancients ; chose the most influential among the Five Nations ; brought them to Mont- Real, where, at the hands of the Marquis du Quesne, they took the oath of allegiance to the king, to the great astonish- ment of the whole colony, where no person dared to hope for such an event. " Attentive as well to the good of the administration as to the cause of religion, M. Picquet notified the chiefs of the colony of the abuses which he witnessed. He made, for example, a remonstrance against the establishment of traders who had come to locate at the Long Saut and at Carillon, to hold traffic and commerce, who cheated the savages, and sold them worthless things, at a dear price, and hindered them from coming to the mission, where they were undeceived, instructed in religion, and attached to France. " In the month of June, 1751, M. Picquet made a voyage around Lake Ontario, with a king's canoe and one of bark, in which he had five trusty savages, with the design of at- tracting some Indian families to the new settlement of La Presentation. There is a memoir among his papers on the subject, from which it is proposed to give an extract. " He visited Fort Frontenac or Caim-ocoMi, situated^welve HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 47 leagues west of La Presentation. He found no Indians there, though it was formerly the rendezvous of the Five Nations. The bread and milk there were bad ; they had not even brandy there to staunch a wound. Arrived at a point of Lake Ontario called Kaoi, he found a negro fugitive from Virginia. He assured him on this occasion that there would be no difficulty to obtain a great part of the negroes of New England, who were received well in Canada, and supported the first year, and that lands were conceded to them as to habitants. The savages served them voluntarily as guides. " The negroes would be the most terrible enemies of the English, because they have no hope of pardon if the Eng- lish become masters of Canada, and they contribute much to build up this colony by their labor. The same is the case with natives of Flanders, Lorraine, and Switzerland, who have followed their example, because they were ill at ease with the English, who loved them not. " At the Bay of Quinte, he visited the site of the ancient mission which M. Dollieres de Kleus and Abbe D'Urf^, priests of the Saint Sulpice seminary, had established there. The quarter is beautiful, but the land is not good. He visited Fort Toronto, seventy leagues from Fort Frontenac, at the west end of Lake Ontario. He found good bread and good wine there, and everything requisite for the trade, whilst they were in want of these at all the other posts. He found Mississagues there, who flocked around him ; they spoke first of the happiness their young people, the women and children, would feel, if the king would be as good to them as to the Iroqvois, fur whom lie procured missionaries. They complained that instead of building a church, they had constructed only a canton for them. M. Picquet did not allow them to finish, and answered them that they had been treated according to their fancy ; that they had never evinced the least zeal for religiofi ; that their conduct was much opposed to it ; that the Iroquois, on the contrary, had manifested their love to Christianity ; but, as he had no order/to attract them to his mission, he avoided a more lengthy explanation. " He passed thence to Niagara. He examined the situa- tion of that fort, not having any savages to whom he could speak. It is well located for defense, not being commanded from any point. The view extends to a great distance ; they have the advantage of the landing of all the canoes and barks which laud, and are in safety there ; but the rain was washing the soil away by degrees, notwithstanding the vast expense which the king incurred to sustain it. M. Picquet was of opinion that the space between the land and the wharf might be filled in so as to support it and make a glacis there. This place was important as a trading- post, and as securing possession of the carrying-place of Niagara and Lake Ontario. " From Niagara M. Picquet went to the carrying-place, which is six leagues from that post. He visited on the same day the famous Fall of Niagara, by which the four great Canada lakes discharge themselves into Lake Ontario. This cascade is as prodigious by its height and the quantity of water which falls there as by the variety of its falls, which are to the number of six principal ones divided by a small island, leaving three to the north and three to the south. They produce of themselves a singular symmetry and wonderful efiect. He measured the height of one of those falls from the south side, and he found it about one hundred and forty feet.* The establishment at this carry- ing-place, the most important in a commercial point of view, was the worst stocked. The Indians, who came there in great numbers, were in the best disposition to trade ; but not finding what they wanted, they went to Choueguen or Choeguenn [Oswego], at the mouth of the river of the same name. M. Picquet counted there as many as fifty canoes. There was, notwithstanding, at Niagara, a trading house, where the commandant and trader lodged ; but it was too small, and the king's property wa.s not safe there. " M. Picquet negotiated with the Scnecas, who promised to repair to his mission, and gave him twelve children as hostages, saying to him that their parents had nothing dearer to thorn, and followed him immediately, as well as the chief of the Little Rapid, with all his family. " The young Indians who accompanied Picquet had spoken of this old man as a veritable apostle. M. Picquet withdrew with him to say his breviary ; and the savages and the Sonnotoans, without losing time, assembled them- selves to hold council with M. de Touraine, who addressed them for some time at length, and said : "'You savages and the Sonnotoans know your firmnes.s in your rcsoIutioDSj and know that you have designed to pass by Choeguen [Oswego] in returning. Let me request you at once that you attempt to do nothing. They are informed of the bad disposition of the Eng- lish, whom you regard as the formidable enemy of their colony, and as the one that has done them the most harm. They are disposed to destroy themselves, rather than that you should suffer the least harm ; but all this amounts to nothing, and the savages will always lose by the approaches of this people, who hate you. As for myself,' added M. de Touraine, ' I entreat you earnestly not to pass that way. The Indians have told me nothing more.' " M. Picquet immediately replied, — ' Ethonciaouin' (that is, ' As you desire, my children'). " He set out with all those savages to return to Fort Ni- agara. M. Chabert de Joncaire would not abandon him. At each place where they encountered camps, cabins, and entrepSts, they were saluted with musketry by the In- dians, who never ceased testifying their consideration for the missionary. M. Picquet took the lead with the sav- ages of the hills, Messrs. Joncaire and Rigouille following with the recruits. He embarked with thirty-nine savages in his large canoe, and was received on arriving at the fort with the greatest ceremony, even with the discharge of cannon, which greatly pleased the Indians. On the mor- row he assembled the Senecas, for the first time, in the chapel of the fort, for religious services. " M. Picquet returned along the south coast of Lake Ontario. Alongside of Choeguen, a young Seneca met her uncle, who was coming from his village with his wife and children. This young girl spoke so well to her uncle, though she had but little knowledge of religion, that he promised to repair to La Presentation early the following spring, and that ho hoped to gain over also seven other cabins of Senecas of which he was chief. Twenty-five ^'''" These are French feet. The falls on the American side are 164 feet high. — Burr's Atlas Introd., p. 31. 48 HISTOKY OF ST: LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. leagues from Niagara he visited the river Gascouchagou,* where he met a number of rattlesnakes. The young In- dians jumped into the midst of them, and killed forty-two without having been bitten by any. " He next visited the falls of this river. The first which appear in sight in ascending resemble much the great cas- cade at St. Cloud, except that they have not been orna- mented and do not seem so high, but they possess natural beauties which render them very curious. The second, a quarter of a mile higher, are less considerable, yet are re- markable. The third, also a quarter of a league higher, has beauties truly admirable by its curtains and falls, which form also, as at Niagara, a charming proportion and variety. They may be one hundred and some feet high.f In the intervals between the falls there are a hundred little cascades, which present likewise a ctirious spectacle ; and if the altitudes of each chute were joined together, and they made but one as at Niagara, the height would, perhaps, be four hundred feet ; but there is four times less water than at the Niagara Fall, which will cause the latter to pass, forever, as a wonder per- haps unique in the world. "The English, to throw disorder into this new levy, sent a good deal of brandy. Some savages did, in fact, get drunk, whom M. Picquet could not bring along. He therefore desired much that Choeguen were destroyed and the English prevented rebuilding it ; and in order that we should be absolutely masters of the south side of Lake On- tario, he proposed erecting a fort near there at the bay of the CayugaSjJ which would make a very good harbor and furnish very fine anchorage. No place is better adapted for a fort. " He examined attentively the fort of Choeguen, a post the most pernicious to France that the English could erect. It was commanded almost from all sides, and could be very easily approached in time of war. It was a two-gtory very low building, decked like a ship, and surmounted on the top by a gallery ; the whole was sarrounded by a stone wall, flanked only with two bastions at the side towards the nearest hill. Two batteries, each of three twelve-pounders, would have been more than sufficient to reduce that estab- lishment to ashes. It was prejudicial to us by the facility it afforded the English of communicating with all the tribes of Canada, still more than by the trade carried on there as well by the Fi-euch of the colony as by the savages ; for Choeguen was supplied with merchandise adapted only to the French at least as much as with what suited to the savages, a circumstance that indicated an illicit trade. Had the minister's orders been executed, the Choeguen trade, at least with the savages of Upper Canada, would be almost ruined. But it was necessary to supply Niagara, especially the Portage, rather than Toronto. The difference between the two first of these posts and the last is, that three or four hundred canoes could come loaded with furs to the Portage, and that no canoes could go to Toronto, except « The GoTieseo river. In Belin's map of P^^rtie Occidcntale de la Non^elU, Frauce,Mii (No. 992, V. C. State Lib.), it U described as =^^^ River unknown to Geographers, filled with Rapids and Water-. t The highest fall on the river is 105 feet. X Sodus bay. | those which cannot pass before Niagara and to Port Pronte-- nae, such as the Otaois of the head of the lake (Fond du Lac) and the Mississagues ; so that Toronto could not but diminish the trade of these two ancient posts, which would have been sufficient to stop all the savages had the stores been furnished with goods to their liking. There was a wish to. imitate the English in the trifles they sold the savages,tsuch as silver bracelets, etc. The Indians compared and weighed: them, as the storekeeper at Niagara stated, and the Choe- guen bracelets, which were found as heavy, of a piirer silver, and more elegant, did not cost them two beavers, whilst those at the king's posts wanted to sell them for ten beavers. Thus we were discredited, and this silver- ware remained a pure- loss in the king's stores. French brandy was preferred to the English, but that did not prevent the Indians going tO' Choeguen. To destroy the trade the king's posts ought to have been supplied with the same goods as Cho^guen| and at the same price. The French ought also have been for.^ bidden to send the domiciliated Indians thither; but that ' would have been very difficult. " M. Picquet next returned to FrOnteaac. Never was s, reception more imposing. The Nipissings and Algonquins, who were going to war with M. de Bellestre, drew up in a line of their own accord above Fort Froriteuac, where three standards were hoisted. They fired several volleys of mus-- ketry and cheered incessantly. They were answered in the same style from all the little craft of bark. M. de Verchere and M. de la Valtrie caused the guns of the fort to be dis- charged at the same time, and the Indians, transported with' joy at the honors paid them, also kept up a continual fire, with shouts and acclamations which made every one rejoice. The commandants and officers received our missionary at the landing. No sooner had he debarked than all the Algon- quins and Nipissings of the lake came to embrace him,' saying that they had be'en told that the English had af-- rested him, and had that news been confirmed they would soon have themselves relieved him. Finally, when he re- turned to La Presentation, he was received "with thataffection,' that tenderness which children would experience in recover- ing a father whom they had lost. "In 1753, M. Picquet repaired to France to render an: account of his labors, and solicit assistance for the benefit of the colony. He took with him three natives, the ap- pearance of whom might create an interest in the success of his establishments, and who, in the quality of hostages, might serve to control the mission during his absence.' The nations there assembled consented to it, and even ap- peared to desire it, as well as the chiefs of the colony. He conducted his savages to Paris, and to the court, where they were received with so much kindness and attention that they said, without ceasing, that could their nations know as well as themselves the character and the goodness of the French, they would not fail to be otherwise than of the same heart and interests with that of France. " While M. Picquet was in Paris in 1754, M. Rouill6,: then minister of the marine, caused him to draw up sundiy- memoirs, especially a general memoir upon Canada,' in which he suggested infallible means for preserving this colony to France. He also made observations upon the disturbances which certain inquiet spirits, rash and bolsters HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 49 ous, had occasioned in Canada. The minister highly ap- proved of them, and assured him that he would write to the general to prevent in future the recurrence of like dis- orders, which could not fail to be pernicious in a colony still weak, and too distant from succors should they be necessary. " The minister wished to give him a pension of a thou- sand crowns, but M. de Laport, the first steward, conferred it upon the Abbe Maillard. The minister was displeased, while M. Prcquet had only the pleasure of receiving a thou- sand crowns, of which in truth the ordinance was conceived in terms the most honorable. The king presented him some hooks, and when he took his leave the minister said to him, ' His majesty still gives you new marks of his pleasure.' "The king always evinced the same sentiments towards him whenever he took occasion to mention him at Ver- sailles or at Bellevue. " Meanwhile, M. de Laporte was displeased with this journey of the Abbe Picquet, because it was leaving the other ecclesiastic jealous of the impression which this abb6 was making with the court and the city. He restrained him from continually exhibiting his savages, and attempted to justify himself in what he had done. " At length he departed, at the close of April, 1754, and returned to La Presentation with two missionaries. " The sojourn of the three natives in France produced a very good eifect among the nations of Canada. " War was no sooner declared in 1754, than the new children of God, of the king, and of M. Picquet, thought only of giving fresh proofs of their fidelity and valor, as those of the Lake of the Two Mountains had done in the war preceding. The generals were indebted to M. Picquet for the destruction of all the forts as well on the river Cor- lae (Corlear) as on that of Cboeguen. His Indians dis- tinguished themselves especially at Fort George and on Lake Ontario, where the warriors of La Presentation alone, with their hark canoes, destroyed the English fleet, com- manded by Capt. Beccan, who was made prisoner with a number, of others, and that in sight of the French army, commanded by M. de Villiers, who was at the Isle Galop. The war-parties, which departed and returned continually, filled the mission with so many prisoners that their numbers frequently surpassed that of the warriors, rendering it necessary to empty the villages and send them to headquar- ters. In fine, a number of other expeditions of which M. Picquet was the principal author have procured the promo- tion of several ofiicers ; notwithstanding some have declared that there were neither honors, nor pensions, nor favors, nor promotions, nor marks of distinction, conferred by the king upon those who had served in Canada, who were prevented from receiving these by M. Picquet. " M; du Quesne, on the occasion of the march of General Braddock, recommended him to send as large a detachment of savages as was possible, and gave him on this occasion iull powers. In fact, the exhortations which M. Picquet made them to give an example of zeal and courage for the king their father, and the instructions which he gave them, produced the entire defeat of this general of the enemy in the summer of 1755, near Fort du Quesne, upon the Ohio.* '^'This is ajUogethoi- problematical. — (Kd.) ■" This event, which conferred more honor upon the arms of the king than all the rest of the war, is due principally to the care which M. Picquet bestowed upon the execution of , the commands of M. the Marquis du Quesne in this expe-' dition, and by the choice which he made of warriors equally faithful and intrepid. " He frequently found himself in the vanguard when the king's troops were ordered to attack the enemy. He dis- tinguished himself particularly in the expeditions of Sarasto (Saratoga), Lake Champlain, Pointe a la Cheveleure (Crown Point), the Cascades, Carillon (Ticonderoga), Choeguen (Oswego), River Corlac (Mohawk), Isle au Galop, etc. The posts he established for the king protected the colony pend- ing the entire war. M. du Quesne said that the Abb6 Picquet was worth more than ten regiments. " He wrote to him on the 23d September, 1754 : ' I shall never forget — as a good citizen, I shall remember as long as I live — the proofs which you have given me of your gene- rosity, and of your unquenchable zeal for all that concerns the public good.' " On the 9th of June, 1755, M. du Quesne, upon the point of departing, sent word to him that the English thought of abandoning Niagara. He added : 'The precautions to be taken muse all emanate from your zeal, prudence, and foresight.' " The English then endeavored, as well by menaces as by promises, to gain the savages, especially after the lesson which Du Quesne had given them at the Belle Riviere (the Ohio). " In the month of May, 1756, M. de Vaudreuil got M. Picquet to depute the chiefs of his mission to the Five Nations of Senecas, Cayugas, Oiiontaques, Tuscaroras, and OneiJas, to attach them more and more to the French. The English had surprised and killed their nephews in the three villages of the Loups (Delawares ?). M. de Vaudreuil re- quested him to form parties, which could succeed each other in disquieting and harassing the English. He asked of him his projects in forming a camp ; he prayed him to give a free expression to his ideas, and exhibited on his side the greatest confidence, and made him a part of all the opera- tions which he proposed to undertake ; and declared that the success of his measures was the work of M. Picquet. " The letters of M. de Vaudreuil from 1756 to 1759, which are among the papers of our missionary, are filled with these evidences of his confidence and satisfaction ; but as those of M. Picquet are not to be found, it would be diffi- cult wherewith to make a history of these events, of which alone M. Picquet has the greatest part. " In proportion as our circumstances became more 'em- barrassing, the zeal of M. Picquet became more precious and more active. " In 1758 he destroyed the English forts on the banks of Corlac, but at length the battle of the 13th of Sept., 1759, in which the Marquis of Montcalm was killed, brought ruin on Quebec, and that of Canada followed. When he saw all thus lost, M. Picquet terminated his long and labo- rious career by his retreat on the 8th of May, 1760, with the advice and consent of the general, the bishop and in- tendant, in order not to fall into the hands of the English. " The esteem which he had gained by his merit, the 50 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. praises which in an especial manner he had received, might have induced him to remain there, but he had resolved never to swear allegiance to another power. Inducements were held out as motives by many French, by missionaries, and by the savages themselves, who proposed to engage him, and labored to make him see the advantages that would result. " He still hoped to take with him in his retreat the gren- adiers of each battalion, according to the advice of M. the Marquis de Levis, to thus preserve the colors and the honor of their corps, but of this he was not the master. " He had the materials of subsistence abundantly, but was obliged to content himself with twenty-five Frenchmen, who accompanied him as far as Louisiana ; and he thus escaped with them from the English, although he had been the most exposed during the war, and although he did not receive the least help in so long a journey; but he had with him two little detachments of savages, one of which pre- ceded him several leagues and the other accompanied him, who were successively relieved by similar detachments, as he passed through different tribes. " Those whom he left he sent each to his own nation, and advised them as a father. Everywhere they received him admirably, notwithstanding the deplorable circumstances in which he was in ; everywhere he found the natives with the best dispositions, and he received their protestations of zeal and inviolable attachment to the king their father. " He passed to Michilimackinac, between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, but the savages, consisting of Iroquois or Algonquins, here left him, that M. Picquet might not be embarrassed from this cause ;* proceeded thus by way of Upper Canada to the Illinois country and Louisiana, and sojourned twenty-two months- at New Orleans. " Here he occupied himself in recovering his spirits, in quelling a sort of civil war which had sprung up between the governor and the inhabitants, and in preaching peace, both in public" and in private. " He had the satisfaction of seeing this happily restored during his sojourn. " General Amherst, on taking possession of Canada, imme- diately informed himself of the place where M. Picquet had taken refuge, and upon the assurance which was given him that he had departed on his return to France by the west he said, haughtily, 'I am mistaken in him, if this abb6 had not been as faithful to the King of England, had he taken the oath of allegiance to him, as he had been to the King of France. We would then have given him all our confidence, and gained him to ourselves.' " This general was mistaken. M. Picquet had an ardent love for his country, and he could not have adopted another. " Soon the English would have finished by proscribing him and offering a reward for his head, as a dangerous enemy. " Meanwhile the English themselves have contributed to establish the glory and the services of this useful mission- » I have much desired to find in his papers his memoirs upon the customs of Canada; but I have heard M. Pioijuet say that this subject was well treated of in the works of Father Lafitau, who had dwelt five years at the Saut St. Louis, near Montreal.— ivr<,(e in the Oi-igiual. ary ; we read in one of their gazettes : ' The Jesuit of the west has detached all the nations from us, and placed them in the interests of France.^ They called him a Jesuit be- cause they had not then seen his girdle, nor the buttons of his cassock, as M. de Galissoniere wrote to him jocosely, in sending him the extract of their gazette ; or, to speak se- riously, the zeal of the Jesuits, so well known in the new world, makes them believe that out of so great a number of missionaries there can be none but Jesuits. They are rep- resented as the authors of all the losses of the English, and the advantages which the French have gained over them. Some even insinuate that they possess supernatural powers. In short, our enemies believed themselves lost when they were in the army, on account of the horde of savages that always attended them. " They spoke of nothing but of Picquet, and of his good luck; and this became even a proverb throughout the colony. " An English ofiScer, having wished to make himself conspicuous, once offered a bounty for his head, whereupon the savages conspired to seize this English chief; he was led into their presence, and they danced around him with their tomahawks, awaiting the signal of the missionary, who made it not, in his courtesy to an enemy. " Thus did he endeavor, by eVery possible means, to act neutral, at least between the English and the French. " They had recourse to the mediation of the savages, and offered to allow him freely to preach the Catholic faith to the nations, and even to domiciliated Europeans; to pay him two thousand crowns pension, with all the assistance, necessary for establishing himself; to ratify the concession of Lake Ganenta and its environs, a charming place which the six cantons of the Iroquois had presented to M. Pic- quet in a most illustrious council which they had held at the Chateau of Quebec. The belts, which are the contracts of these nations, were deposited at his ancient mission, the Lake of Two Mountains, but he constantly declared that he preferred the stipend which the king gave him, and that all the overtures that could be made and all the advantages that could be offered by a foreign power were vain ; that the idea of neutrality, under the circumstances, was idle, and an outrage upon his fidelity ; in a word, that the thought itself was horrible. That he could make his for- tunes without them, and that his character was very re- mote from this species of cupidity. The services, the fidelity, and the disinterestedness of Father Picquet merited for him a higher destiny. " Likewise the generals, commandants, and the troops failed not by military honors to evince their esteem and their respect for him in a decisive manner and worthy of the nature of his services. He received these honors as well from the army as at Quebec, Montreal, Three Rivers, and at all the forts which he passed, and even at the Cedars, notwithstanding the jealousy of certain menial subjects, such as M. de , who had sought to tarnish the glory of the: missionary ; but he had been too vindictive in his assaults to effect his object. " We have seen him at Bourg even, a long time after, receive tokens of veneration and regard from the ofiicers of regiments who had seen him in Canada. HISTORY OP ST. LAWEENCE COUNTY, NEW YOKK. 51 " We see rendered in many letters of the ministers simi- lar testimonials rendered to his zeal and success. They give him the more credit because they saw his anxieties of heart under the obstacles he had to surmount and upon the ancient hostility of these nations, who had been almost perpetually at war, but their experience with the English had led them to bestow their attachment upon the French, in proof of which the conduct of these people for a long time after the war was cited. " We see in the work of T. Raynal (vol. vii. p. 292) that the savages had a marked predilection for the French ; that the missionaries were the principal cause of this ; and that he says that this fact is especially applicable to the Abb6 Picquet. " To give probability to what he says of his services, allow me to quote the testimony which he rendered in 1769 to the governor-general after his return to France and the loss of Canada : " ' We, Marquis du Quesne, commander of the royal and military order of Saint Louis, chief of the squadron of the naval arm, ancient lieutenant-general, commandant of New France and the governments of Louisburgh and Louisiana : " ' Certify, that upon the favorable testimony which we have re- ceived in Canada of the services of the Abbe Picquet, missionary of the king among savage nations; upon the confidence which our pre- decessors in this colony have bestowed upon him j and the great rep- utation which he has acquired by the fine establishments which he has formed for the king, the numerous and supernatural conversions of infidels, which he has attached not less to the state than to reli- gion, by his zeal, his disinterestedness, his talents, and his activity, for the good of the service of His Majesty ; that we have employed him on different objects of' the same service during the whole period of our administration as governor-general, and that he has always acted equal to our expectations, and ever beyond our hope. " ' He has equally served religion and the state, with incredible success, during nearly thirty years. " ' He had directly rendered the king absolute master o the na- tional assemblies of four nations who composed his first mission to the Lake of Two Mountains, with liberty to nominate all their chiefs at his will. He had caused all the chiefs of the nations which com- posed his last mission, at La Presentation, to swear allegiance and fidelity to His Majesty; and at these places he created most admira- ble establishments ; in a word, he has rendered himself so much more worthy of our notice, that he would rather return to Canada and continue his labors than to live in his country and recover the heritage of his parents, who have disowned him^ as we have learned, for his not wishing to live in France, ten years since, when he was accompanied by three savages. " ' We would detail the important services which this abb6 has rendered, if his Majesty or his ministers require it, and render jus- tice lo whom it is due, to obtain of the king those marks of approba- tion which are deserved ; in the faith of which we have signed the present certificate and sealed it with our arms. " ' Signed " ' The Marquis du Quesni:.' " M. de Vaudreuil, governor and lieutenant-general for the king in all of New France, certified the same in 1765, that M. Picquet had served nearly thirty years in this colony, with all the zeal and distinction possible, as well in relation to the direct interests of the state as, relatively, to those of religion ; that his talents for gaining the good will of the savages, his resources in critical moments, and his activity, have uniformly entitled him to the praises and the confidence of the governors and the bishops ; that, above all, he had proved useful by his services in the late war, by sundry negotiations with the Iroquois and the domiciliated nations ; by the establishments which he had formed, and which had been of great service, by the indefatigable and incessant care which he had taken to keep the savages for- tified in their attachment to the French, and at the same time confirmed in their Christianity. -"M. de Bougainville, celebrated by his maritime expe- ditions, and who participated in the first acts of the war in Canada, certified, in 1760, that M. Picquet, king's mission- ary, known by the establishments which he had made alike serviceable to religion and the state, in all the campaigns in which he had been with him, had contributed by his zeal, his activity, and his talents to the good of the service of the king and to the glory of his arms ; and his standing among savage tribes and his personal services had been of the greatest service, as well in military as political affairs. " All those who had returned from Canada labored to make appreciated the services so long and so constantly rendered to France during nearly thirty years, and to make known the merit of a citizen who had expatriated himself to gratify the inclinations of his heart ; who had sacrificed his youth, his heritage, and all the flattering hopes of France ; who had exposed a thousand and a thousand times his life, preserving often the subjects of the king and the glory of his arms, and who could himself say that he had nothing in his actions but the glory of France during his residence in Canada, in which he had spent much of his life. " His services had not the same result in the last war for the preservation of Canada, but the brilliant and almost incredible actions by which he contributed to it have not the less preserved, with the savages, the notion and the high idea of French valor, and, possibly, this feeling may hereafter result to our advantage. " I would wish to be able to report all of the letters of ministers, governors-general, and private persons, of bishops, of intendants, and of other persons in authority, who wit- nessed with surprise the projects, the negotiations, and the operations of which this missionary had the charge, the congratulations which he received on his successes, as prompt as they were inspiring, upon his resources, upon the expedients which he suggested, his zeal and his expe- rience in critical situations, and which his activity always put into execution. " I have often asked him to make a history of them, that should be alike curious and honorable for France. " We find a part of these letters among his papers ; I have there seen, among others, those of M. de Montcalm, who called him, 'M?/ dear and very wortliy patriarch of the Five Nations.^ " M. the Marquis de L6vis desired especially to make known the labors and the successes of M. Picquet, of which he had been a witness, and which he had admired both for their disinterestedness, as well for regard to France as against the English, after the conquest of Canada ; and I have witnessed the solicitations which M. de L6vis made to excite his ambition; or direct towards some important place, a zeal which was worthy of a bishopric. " The evidence of his ecclesiastical superiors was not less favorable to the zeal of our missionary. The bishop of Quebec, in 1760, departing for Europe after having visited the new mission T^^hich M. Picquet had founded among the 52 HISTORY OF ST. LAWEENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. Iroquois, and where he had baptized more than a hundred adults, enjoined upon all the priests of his diocese to aid him as much as they might be able ; he conferred upon him all his powers, even those of approving the other priests, and of absolving from censures, reserved to the sovereign Pontiff. " M. Picquet, after returning to France, passed several years in Paris, but a portion of his time was engaged in exercising the ministry of all the suburbs, where the arch- bishop of Paris deemed that he could be most useful. His alacrity for labor fixed him a long time at Mount Valerian, where he erected a parish church. " He had been compelled to make a journey to sell books which the king had presented hitn in 1754, which had sur- vived the treatment he had experienced in Canada, and, although he was ledueed to a very small patrin)ony, he failed to employ his activity in obtaining the recompense he had so well merited. " Meanwhile, the general assembly of the clergy of 1765 oifered him a gratuity of twelve hundred livres, and charged M. the archbishop of Rheims and M. the archbishop of Aries to solicit for hini a recompense from the king. "The assembly next ensuing, in 1770, gave him also a similar gi'atuity, but his departure frortt Paris interrupted the success of the hopes which his friends had entertained of the recompenses from the court. " In 1772 he wished to retire to Bresse, whete a numer- ous family desired it, and urged it with much earnestness. " He afterwards went to Verjon, where he caused to be built a house, with the view of making an establishment for the education of young people. He preached, he catechised, he confessed, and his zeal was never so much manifested. " The cTiapter of Bourg decreed him the title of honorary canon. The ladies De la Visitation asked him to become their director, and they thus attracted him to the capital of the province. " In 1777 he made a journey to Rome, whore his repu- tation preceded him, and where the Holy Father received him as a. missionary worthy of being held dear by the church, and presented him with a gratuity of five thousand livres for his journey. " They there made the ineiFectual endeavors to detain him. He returned to Bresse, and carried thither relics, which he displayed, for the veneration of the faithful, in the collegiate church at Bourg. " The reputation of the Abbey of Cluny, and the friend- ship which M. Picquet felt towards one of his nephews, established at Cluny, brought him to this habitation so cele- brated in Christianity. He purchased for himself, about 1779, a house and plat of land, which he wished to improve, but in 1781 he repaired with a sister to Verjon, for the settlement of affairs, where he was repeatedly attacked by an obstinate cold and by a hemorrhage, which reduced him considerably, and also by a kind of dropsy ; lastly, a hernia, which had existed a long time, became aggravated, and caused his death on the 15th of July, 1781. " M. Picquet had a very prepossessing and commanding figure, and a countenance open and engaging. He pos- sessed a gay and cheerful humor. Notwithstanding the austerity of his manners, he exhibited nothing but gayety which he turned to account in his designs. He was a theo- logian, an orator, and a poet ; he sung and composed songi in French as well as in Iroquois, with which he interested and amused the savages. He was a child with one and a hero with others. His mechanical ingenuity was often ad- mired by the natives. In short, he resorted to every means to attract proselytes and to attach them to him, and he ac- cordingly had all the success which can reward industry, talents, and zeal. " It is thus I have thought best to make known a com- patriot and a friend worthy of being offered as an example to incite those who are burning with zeal for religion and for their country." Picquet was as much an object of abhorrence by the English as he was of esteem by the French, — a very natural result from the active partisan spirit which he evinced, and the zeal and success with which he prosecuted his plans for the aggrandizement of his faith and his allegiance, which appear to have been equally the objects of his ambition and the aim and end of his life. Having given in the above biographical notice his memoirs drawn up in that florid style of panegyric so common with the people and the age in which it was written, we will quote from an English his- torian of the French war. (Thos. Mante, in a work entitled "The History of the Late War in America," London, 1772, quarto, page 231.) It is probably as much biased by "prejudice as the other by partiality. "As to the Abbe Picquet, who distinguished himself so much by his brutal zeal, as he did not expose himself to any danger, he re- ceived no injury, and he yet lives, justly despised to such a degree by every one who knows anything of his past conduct in America, that scarce any officer will admit him to his table. "However repugnant it must be to every idea of honor and hu- manity not to give quarter to an enemy when subdued, it must be infinitely more so not to spare women and children. Yet such had often been the objects of the Abb6 Picquet's cruel advice, enforced by the most barbarous examples, especially in the English settlements on the back of Virginia and Pennsylvania." A French writer, whose initials only are given (S de C ), has left a memoir upon the war in Canada, and the affairs of that province from 1749 till 1760, which was published under the direction of the Literary and Histori- cal Society of Quebec in 1835, and which makes frequent mention of the post at Oswegatchie. From this work we will translate a few extracts. The rancor with which he assails Picquet almost leads us to believe that he was actuated by a personal enmity, although it appears not have been limited to this mission- ary, but to have been directed towards the religious estab- lishments of the country in general. We shall endeavor to preserve the spirit of the original in our translation. We are thus furnished with two ver- sions of the conduct of Picquet, and prevented from being misled by an ex-parte narrative, like that which Lalande the astronomer has given us. " Thus M. de la JonquiSro, persuaded that peace could not long continue, labored to inspire the savages with a hatred to the English, and especially endeavored to attach the Five Nations or Irofiim- These people had been always distinguished by their bravery; 'he French had waged with them long and cruel wars, and the i'nhab- itanta had been compelled to labor arms in hand, as we see in the history of Charlevoix, a Jesuit, who has written an ecolesiasticul history of this country. HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 53 '"this nation is divided into five branches, named the OnoTitagu6a, the Ooj/oguina, the Stonnontowana [Senecae]., the Anniert [Moliawlcs], and the domiciliated tribes. " The Onotidagas dwell upon a lake, at no great distance from the Mohawk river, in a fertile country, and the English pretend that it belongs to them. The Goyoguiua and the Stonnonionana arc a little beyond in the same direction, and approaching Niagara. The jdii- iii'ei-8 dwell upon the river Mohawk, not far from a dwelling belong- ing to Mr. Johnson, an English otBcer, who understands the Indian language, and has been very active during this war. The others reside at the Saut St. Louis, three leagues from Montreal, some at a place called La Presentation, and some at the Lake of Two Mountains. " The general can well rely upon the fidelity of those who dwell near him, but it is not so of the others. Their Cantons, situated as we have seen above, furnish, in one way and another, difficulties not easy to surmount. " M. theAbbfi Picquet, priest of the Seminary of St. Sulpice, was to this Canton what the AbbS de la Loutre was to Acadia. He had as much ambition as he had, but he turned it to a different account.* He understood the Iroqnoia language, and this gave him a great ad- vantage, and enabled him to put on foot the negotiations which he wished with the Five Nations to draw them to our cause, and engage them to come and dwell with us. This abb^, who could not endure the restraint of the seminary, was very willing to seize an occasion like that which offered of freeing himself, and of forming a commu- nity over which he might rule and reign. He labored to decoy the Five Nations, and to form upon the Uiver Cataraqui, or Frontcnac, above the rapids, a village. '* The place which ~he selected for his establishment announced his little genius,- and caused the fort which he had built to be called Picquet's Folly j as for himself, he called it La Presentation. *' When the Abbg Picquet had assembled some families, he talked of building a fort, under the pretext of protecting them, and they sent him a commandant and a magazine guard, and enjoined it upon the commandant to have much regard for the abb6, and placed him, so to speak, under his tutelage, aud gave full permission to this priest to conduct and administer the magazines ; in short, everything was under his orders. " This priest, meanwhile, did not prosper much, and it was felt that there was great difficulty in inducing the Iroqiioia to leave a fat and fertile country- to come and iix themselves upon an uncultivated tract, and to beg for their life of a priest. It was for this reason that De la Jonquiere the elder was sent to go and "remain among them, and in the village which he might deem the most convenient for his negotiations, and they gave him a brevet of captain, without a com- pany, to the end that he might not be disturbed in his residence, on account of his services. '* There could not have been chosen a more suitable person to re- main with them. He understood their language perfectly, and for a long time had lived among them as one of their number, and, al- though he had been married in Canada, he had among the Iroqnoia many children ; and, in short, he had been, as it were, adopted among them, and was regarded as one of their nation. • "He had his cabin. His instructions were to second the Abbfi Picquet in his project, and, above all, to induce the Mtthawhe to leave entirely the vicinity of the English, and to offer them such induce- ments and advantages as they desired tu make them abandon their settlements and come and live with us. If, indeed, he had been able to succeed in this, there can be no doubt that the remainder of the Five Nations would have followed their e.\ample. They alone were directly attached to the English, who had all along preserved in them a hostility to our nation. But Mr. Johnson, who was not ignorant of the designs of the French, labored, on the contrary, to maintain them in the alliance of his nation. "The Jesuits, who had always sought their own aggrandizement nnder the pious pretext of instructing the people, had not failed to seek to establish themselves in Canada. "Wishing tO remain the 80I0 masters, they crossed, as much as possible, the R^oUets in their projects of returning to the country, after the English had restored Canada [in the treaty of St. Germain in 1632]. ■ From the earliest times that these fathers (the Jesuits) * Hooquart has given him the title of the Apoatle of the Iroquoia, and the English called him the Jeatiit of the Weat. — {Note in the ■original.) were established in the country they detached some of their number to go and preach the gospel to the savages. They followed them in their marches ; but, wearied with their wandering life, which agreed not with their designs which they had to accumulate large proper- ties, they took great care to endeavor to establish their neophytes, without embarrassing themselves by those whom they abandoned. " They made great account of their zeal at the court, and showed large numbers of converts ; and, under the specious pretext of uniting them, to civilize them,f they demanded concessions of lands and pensions. The court, persuaded of the justice of their demands, accorded both the one and the other. " It was thus that they acquired the seigniories of Charlesbourg, New and Old Lorette, Rastican, and the Prairie de la Magdelcine, and others, which are very well established, and of considerable re- pute. These concessions were given them under the titles of seigneurie et ventes {loda et vejitea)." , . . To adopt either of these as a true account of the charac- ter of Picquet would be equally unjust. Now that the times and circumstances in which he lived have both passed away, and even the consequences resulting from his actions have ceased to exist, we may perhaps, from the data before us, in view of the times and the circumstances in which he acted, deduce the following conclusion : That he was actuated by a controlling belief of the im- portance and the truth of the religion which he labored with such zeal to establish, and that this was the ruling passion of his life. That his energy and ability for the promotion of this object at times led him to disregard the common claims of humanity, and to the performance of acts derogatory to our nature and abhorred by civilized man. That he evinced a capacity for the transaction of busi- ness and the promotion of the interests of his government highly creditable to his character, and such as to entitle him to the esteem in which he was held by those in authority ; and that especially in the selection of a location for a new settlement, which was the great act of his life, he proved himself the possessor of a sound mind, and a capa- city for judiciously combining and comparing the probable effects of causes, which must have made a prominent station of the post he selected. The prophecy that a beautiful town might hereafter be built on the elevated plain opposite his fort has been fully realized in the present village of Ogdensburg, which the combination of favorable causes now existing is destined soon to give a rank second to but few on our inland waters. The portrait of Picquet is preserved at the Sulpician mission of the Lake of Two Mountains, the scene of his early labors and first success as a missionary. Picquet was succeeded in the mission of La Presentation by Pierre Paul, Frs. de la Garde, who came to Canada in 1755, and died at Montreal, April 4, 1784. (See note, ante.) EVENTS SUBSEQUENT TO THE CONQUEST OP CANADA. With the fall of the fortress of Isle Royal ceased the French dominion in 8t. Lawrence County.J It was sub- f The author in the MSS. neither renders justice to the motives nor the conduct of the Jesuits. — {Note in the original.) J Antoine St. Martin, a Frenchman, said to have inhabited the country since its occupation by the French, in 1760, died at an ex- treme age (supposed to exceed by several years a century), on the ith of March, 1849, at Ogdensburg. In his latter years he attracted some attention from his being made the personage of "■ romance, written and published at Potsdam, by C. Boynton. His longevity appears to have been to him, as much as it was to others, a wonder. 54 HISTORY OF ST. LAWEENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. sequently occupied by a small guard of British troops, and held till surrendered, in accordance with the stipulations of Jay's treaty, in the summer of 1796, to Judge Ford, who leceived it for the proprietors. The remains of a cemetery still exist on the west side of the Oswegatchie, and several head-stones mark the place where British soldiers were buried. The history of this station, so far as our knowl- edge extends, from the time of the English conquest to the surrender under the treaty, is nearly or quite lost. Such data as have fallen under our notice will here be given : In the summer of 1776 the following minute was for- warded from Oswego by Lieutenant Edward McMichael (see "American Archives," fifth series, vol. i. page 815) : " Was informed at Oswego that three regiments of Ministerial troops had arrived at Oswegatchie, at which place they were joined by a number of Tories and Indians under the command of Colonel Johnson, and were to embark immediately on board two armed ves- sels, bateaux, and canoes, and proceed to Oswego, at which place they were to be joined by Colonel Butler, with nil the Indians under his command, and likewise by Colonel Caldwell, with what regulars could be spared from Niagara. " They intended repairing Oswego Fort as soon as possible, in order that they might hold a treaty with the Indians, and be able to defend themselves against any attack." In April, 1779, Lieutenants McClellan and Harden- burgh, of the Revolutionary army, were dispatched from Fort Schuyler on an expedition, at the head of a body of Indians, against the British garrison at Oswegatchie, in- tending to steal upon it and take it by surprise, but falling in with some straggling Indians, several shots were impru- dently exchanged, which alarmed the garrison. They then attempted to draw the enemy from the fort by stratagem, and partly succeeded, but could not draw them to a suffi- cient distance to cut oif their retreat, and on approaching the fort themselves, the assailants were so warmly received, that they were compelled to retreat without unnecessary de- lay. The only service performed was to send a Cauglma- waga Indian into Canada with a letter in French by a French general, probably the Marquis de Lafayette, and addressed to the Canadians, and written the preceding autumn. The expedition was dispatched from Fort Schuyler on the day before Colonel Van Schaiok moved upon Onondaga ; and from a letter addressed by General Clinton six weeks afterwards to General Sullivan, there is reason to believe one object was to get clear of the Oneida Indians, then in the fort, until Colonel Van Schaick should have proceeded so far upon his expedition that they or their people should not be able to give the Onondagas notice of his approach. All the Indians still remaining in Fort Schuyler on the 18th were detained expressly for that purpose. Although pro- fessedly friendly, and reliable as scouts, they could not be trusted in expeditions against their fellows. The expedition of Lieutenants McClellan and Harden- burgh returned to Fort Schuyler without having efiected their purpose on the 30th of April. An incident happened in a military expedition from Fort Schuyler to Oswegatchie, during the Revolutionary and he would at times weep, and lament that "God had forgotten him." With him perished the last survivor of the French period of our history, and it is much to be regretted that his narrative and recollections were not preserved. war, and probably in the one just described, which shows in an amiable light the finer feelings of the Indian charac- ter, and will serve as an ofiset for some of the darker phases of Indian warfare. The subject of the adventure after- wards for several years resided in St. Lawrence County, and often related the incident to the one from whose lips the account is written. Belonging to the military party that was proceeding through the forest was a little boy, about twelve years old, who served as a fifer to the company. Light-hearted and innocent, he tripped along, sometimes running in advance to gather flowers, and at others lingering behind to listen to the music of the birds, which made the forest vocal with their songs. Seeing the unguarded deportment of the lad, his captain cautioned him again.st wandering from the company, for fear that some hostile Indian, who might be lurking in the thicket, should take him ofiF. The warn- ing was heeded for some time, but ere long forgot, and he found himself many rods in advance of the party, culling the wild-flowers which were scattered in his path and in- haling the fragrance which the morning air, with its exhil- arating freshness, inspired him, when he was suddenly startled by a rude grasp upon the shoulder, which, upon • looking around, he saw was that of a sturdy Indian, who had been secreted behind a rock, and had darted from his concealment upon the unsuspecting victim, who had wan- dered from his protectors. He attempted to scream, but fear paralyzed his tongue, and he saw the glittering tomahawk brandished over his head, which the next moment would terminate with a blow his existence ; but the savage, seeing the unarmed and terror-stricken child, with no warlike implement but his fife, and doubtless touched with the innocence and terror of his trembling prisoner, relaxed his grasp, took the fife from under his arm, and having playfully blowed in its end he returned it to its owner, and bounded ofi' into the forest. No further caution was needed to keep him within the ranks, and they the next day reached their destination, which was Fort Oswegatchie. In after-years, when age had made him infirm, in re- lating this incident, he would weep with emotion at this perilous adventure, and always ended with the heartfelt ac- knowledgment " that God had always protected him, and guarded him from dangers seen and unseen, and from childhood to old age.'' Isaac Weld, Jr., published in London, in 1799, in two 12mo volumes, a journal of travels in the States of North America, and the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, in the years 1795-97, which describes, among other inter- esting subjects, the condition and appearance of our fron- tier, and the fort at the mouth of the Oswegatchie, which we will quote. [ Vol. il p. 38, et seq.] The voyage was undertaken in the month of August, 1796 : — "The Indians not only retain possession of the different islands, but likewise of the whole of the southeast shore of the St. Lawrence, situated within the bounds of the United States; they likewise have considerable strips of land on the opposite shore, within the British dominions, bordering upon the river; these they have reserved to themselves, for hunting. The Iroquois Indians have a village upon the Isle of St. Regis, and another also upon the mainland, on the southeast shore; as wo passed, several of the inhabitants put off in HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 55 canoes, and exchanged unripe heads of Indian corn with the men for bread; they also brought with them some very fine wild duck and fish, which they disposed of to us on very moderate terms. " On the fourth night of our voyage we encamped, as usual, on the mainland, opposite the island of St. Regis, and the excellent viands which we hnd procured from the Indians having been cooked, we sat down to supper before a large fire, materials for which are never wanting in this woody country. The night was uncommonly serene, and we were induced to remain to a late hour in front of our tent talking of the various occurrences in the course of the day ; but we had scarcely retired to rest when the sky became overcast, a dreadful storm arose, and by daybreak the next morning we found ourselves, and everything belonging to us, drenched with rain. *< Our situation now was by no means agreeable. Torrents still came pouring downj neither our tent nor the woods aff'orded us any shelter, and, the wind being very strong and as averse as it could blow, there was no prospect of our being enabled speedily to get into better quarters. In this state we had remained for a considerable time, when one of the party, who had been rambling about in order to discover what sort of a neighborhood we were in, returned with the pleasing intelligence that there was a house at no great distance, and that the owner had invited us to it. It waa the house of an old Provincial ofiicer, who had received a grant of land in this part of the country for his past services. We gladly proceeded to it, and met with a most cordial welcome from the captain and his fair daughters, who had provided a plenteous breakfast, and spared no pains to make their habitation during our stay as pleasing to us as possible. " We felt great satisfaction at the idea that it would be in our power to spend the remainder of the day with these worthy and hospitable people, but, alas ! we had all formed an erroneous opinion of the weather: the wind veered suddenly about, the sun broke through the thick clouds, the conductor gave the parting order, and in a few min- utes we found ourselves once more seated in our bateau. From hence upwards for a distance of forty miles the current of the river is exceedingly strong, and numberless rapids are to be encountered, which, though not so tremendous to appearance as those at the Cas- cades and le Coteau du Lac, are yet both more dangerous and more difficult to pass. The great danger consists, however, in going down them. It arises from the shallowness of the water and the great number of sharp rocks, in the midst of which the vessels are hurried along with such impetuosity that if they unfortunately get into a wrong channel nothing can save them from being dashed to pieces, but so intimately are the people employed on this river acquainted with the difi'erent channels that an accident of the sort is scarcely ever heard of. *Le Long Saut,' the Long Fall, or Rapid, situate about thirty miles above Lake St. Francis, is the most dangerous of any on the river, and so difficult a matter is it to pass it that it re- quires not less than six men on shore to haul a single bateau against the current. "There is a third canal, with locks, at this place, in order to avoid a point which it would be wholly impracticable to weather in the ordi- nary way. These diflferent canals and locks have been made at the expense of government, and the profits arising from the tolls paid by each bateau that passes through them are placed in the public treasury. At these rapids, and at several of the others, there are very extensive flour- and saw-mills. " On the fifth night we arrived at a small farm-house at the top of the Long Saut, wet from head to foot, in consequence of having been obliged to walk past the rapids through woods and bushes still drip- ping after the heavy rain that had fallen in the morning. The woods in this neighborhood are far more majestic than on any other part of the St. Lawrence J the pines, in particular, are uncommonly tall, and seem to wave their tops in the very clouds. In Canada pines grow on the richest soils, but in the United States they grow mostly on poor ground; a tract of land covered with lofty pines is there gen- erally denominated 'a pine barren,* on account of its great poverty. " During a considerable part of the next day we also proceeded on foot, in order to escape the tedious passage of the Rapide Plat, and some of the other dangerous rapids in this part of the river. As we passed along we had an excellent diversion in shooting pigeons, several large flights of which we met with in the woods. The wild pigeons of Canada are not unlike the common English wood-pigeon, except that they are of a much smaller size ; their flesh is very well flavored. During particular years these birds come down from the northern regions in flights that are marvelous to tell. A gentleman of the town of Niagara assured me that once as he was embarking there on board a, ship for Toronto, a flight of them was observed coming from that quarter; that as he sailed over Lake Ontario to Toronto, forty-five miles distant from Niagara, pigeons were seen flying overhead the whole way in a contrary direction to that from which the ship was proceeding, and that on arriving at the place of his destination the birds were still observed coming down from the north in as large bodies as had been noticed at any one time during the whole voyage. Supposing, therefore, that the pigeons moved no faster than the vessel, the flight, according to this gentleman's account, must at least have extended eighty miles. "Many persons may think this story surpassing belief; for my own part, however, I do not hesitate to give credit to it, knowing as I do the respectability of the gentleman who related it and the accuracy of his observation. When these birds appear in such great numbers they often light on the borders of rivers and lakes, and in the neigh- borhood of farm-houses, at which time they are so unwary that a man with a short stick might easily knock them down by hundreds. "It is not oftener than once in seven or eight years, perhaps, that such large flocks of these birds are seen in the country. The years in which they appear are denominated 'pigeon years,' " There are also ' bear years' and ' squirrel years.* This was both a bear and a squirrel year. The former, like the pigeons, come down from the northern regions, and were most numerous in the neighbor- hoods of Lakes Erie and Ontario, and along the upper part of the river St, Lawrence. On arriving at the borders of these lakes, or of the river, if the opposite shore were in sight, they generally took to the water and endeavored to reach it by swimming. Prodigious numbers of them are killed in crossing the St. Lawrence by the In- dians, who had hunting encampments at short distances from each other the whole way along the bank of the river from the island of St. Regis to Lake Ontario. One bear of very large size boldly entered the river in the face of our bateau, and was killed by one of our men while swimming from the mainland to one of the islands. . . . " The squirrels this year, contrary to the bears, migrated from the south, from the territory of the United States. Like the bears, they took to the water on arriving at it, but as if conscious of their ina- bility to cross a very wide piece of water, they bent their course towards Niagara river, above the falls, and at its narrowest and most tranquil part crossed over into the British territory. It was calculated that upwards of fifty thousand of them crossed the river in the course of two or three days, and such great depredations did they commit on arriving at the settlements on the opposite side, that in one part of the country the farmery deemed themselves very fortunate where they got in as much as one-third of their crops of corn. These squirrels were all of the black kind, said to be peculiar to the conti- nent of America. "On the sixth evening of our voyage we stopped nearly opposite to Point aux Iroquois, so named from a French family having been cruelly massacred there by the 'Iroquois Indians in the early ages of the colony. T-he ground being still extremely wet here, in conse- quence of the heavy rain of the preceding day, we did not much relish the thoughts of passing the night in our tent; yet there seemed to be no alternative, as the only house in sight was crowded with people, and not capable of affording us any accommodation. Luckily, how- ever, as we were searching about for the driest spot to pitch our tent upon, one of the partj' espied a barn, at a little distance, belonging to the man of the adjoining house, of whom we procured the key ; it was well stored with straw, and having mounted to the top of the mow, we laid ourselves down to rest, and slept soundly there, till awakened in the morning by the crowing of some cocks that were perched on the beams over our heads. " At an early hour we pursued our voyage, and before noon passed the last rapid, about three miles below the mouth of the Oswegatchie river, the most considerable of these within the limit of the United States which fall into the St. Lawrence; it consists of three- branches that unite about fifteen'^-" miles above its mouth, the most western of which issues from a lake twenty miles in length and eight in breadth.* "Another of the branches issues from a small lake or pond, only about four miles distant from the west branch of the Hudson river, that flows past New York. Both the Hudson and the Oswegatchie are said to be capable of being made navigable for light bateaux as "^■" The writer makes some very erroneous statements. 56 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. far as this spot, where they approach within so short a distance of each other, except only at a few places, so that the portages will be but very trifling. This, however, is a mere conjecture, for Oswe- gatchie river is but very imperfectly known, the country it passes through being quite uninhabited ; but should it be found at a future period that these rivers are indeed capable of being rendered navi- gable so far up the country, it will probably be through this channel that the greatest of the trade that there may happen to be between New York and the country bordering upon Lake Ontario will be carried on.'' The small lake referred to bj the author was -doubtless Raquette lake, in Hamilton county, which is even nearer the head-waters of the Hudson than above stated, but it lies at the source of the Raquette river, instead of the Os- wegatchie. " The trade is at present carried on between that city and the lake by means of Hudson river as far as Albany, and from thence by means of the Mohawks' river, "Wood creek, Lake Ontario, and Oswego river, which falls into Lake Ontario. The harbor at the mouth of Oswego river is very bad; on account of the sand-banks none but flat-bottomed vessels can approach with safety nearer to it than two miles, nor is there any good harbor on the south side of Lake Onta- rio, in the neighborhood of any large rivers. Sharp-built vessels, however, of a considerable size can approach with safety to the mouth of Oswegatchie river. The 'Seneca,' a British vessel of war of twenty- six guns, used to ply constantly formerly between Fort de la Galette, situated at the mouth of that river,* and the fort at Niagara; and the British fur ships on the lakes used also at that time to discharge the cargoes there, brought down from the upper country. - " As, therefore, the harbor at the mouth of Oswegatchie is so much better than that at the mouth of the Oswego river, and as they are nearly an equal distance from New York, there is reason to suppose that if the river navigation should prove equally good, the trade between the lakes and New York will be for the most part, if not wholly, carried on by means of Oswegatchie river, rather than Oswego river. With a fair wind the passage from Oswegatchie river to Niagara is accom- plished in two days, a voyage only one day longer than from Oswego to Niagara. " Fort de la Galette was erected by the French, and though not built till long after Fort Frontenac, now Kingston, yet they esteemed it by f.ir the most important military post on the St. Lawrence, in the upper country, as it was impossible for any boat, or vessel, to pass up or down that river without being observed, whereas theyeasily escape uuseen behind the many islands opposite to Kingston. Since the close of the American war Fort de la Galette has been dismantled, as it was within the territories of the United States/-- nor would any ad- vantage have arisen from its retention, for it was never of any im- portance to us but as a trading-post, and as such, Kingston, which is in our own territory, is far more eligibly situated in every point of view; it has a more safe and commodious harbor ; the fur ships coming down from Niagara by stopping there are saved a voyage of sixty miles up and down the St. Lawrence, which was often found to be more tedious than the voyage from Niagara to Kingston. In the neighborhood of La Galette, on the Oswegatchie river, there is a vil- vage of the Oatoefjatahie Indians, whose numbers arc estimated at one hundred warriors. " The current of the St. Lawrence, from Oswegatchie upwards, is much more gentle than in any other part between Montreal and Lake Ontario, except only where the river is considerably dilated, as at Lakes St. Louis and St. Franf ois ; however, notwithstanding its being so gentle, we did not advance more than twenty-five miles in the course of the day, owing to the numerous stops that we made, more from motives of pleasure than necessity. The evening was uncom- monly fine, and towards sunset, a brisk gale springing up, the con- ductor judged it advisable to take advantage of it and to continue the voyage all night, in order to make up for the time we had lost during the day. We accordingly proceeded, but townrds midnight the wind died away; this circumstance, however, did not alter the determination of the conductor. The men were ordered to the oars » Fort de la Galette was below the Oswegatchie, on the Canada side. and, notwithstanding that they had labored hard during the preceding day and had had no rest, yet they were kept closely at work until daybreak, except for one hour, during, which they were allowed to stop to cook their proyisions. Where there is a gentle icurrent, as in this part of the river, the Canadians will work at the oar for many hours without intermission. They seemed to think it no hardship to be kept employed in this instance the whole njght; on the contrary, they plied as vigorously as if tbey had but just set out, singing merrily the whole time. The French Canadians have in general a good ear for music, and sing duets with tolerable accuracy. They have one very favorite duet amongst them, called the ' rowing duet,' which, as they sing, they mark time to, with each stroke of the oar; indeed, when rowing in, smooth water, they mark time the, most of the airs they sing in the same manner. . . . The Lake of a Thousand Islands is twenty ^five miles in length, and about six in breadth. From its upper end to Kingston, at which place we arrived early in the evening, the distance is fifteen miles. " The length of time required to ascend the river St. Lawrence, from Montreal to Kingston, is commonly found to be about se-ven days. If the wind should be strong and very, favorable the passage may be performed in a less time;. but should it, on the contrary, be adverse, and blow very strong, the passage, will ,be protracted somewhat longer; an adverse or favorable wind, however,- seldom" makes a difference of more than three days in, the length of- passage upwards, as in each case it is necessary to work the bateaux -along by means of poles for the greater part of the wa,y. The passage down- wards is performed in two or three days, according to the wind. The; current is so strong that a contrary wind seldom lengthens the pas- sage in that direction more than a day." The English are believed to have maintained the fort,at Oswegatchie as a protection to their fur trade, and this was made the cover of a pretension to justify their retaining it after the peace which followed the Revolution. The Oswe- gatchies continued to reside in the vicinity after the Bag- lish conquest, adopted the new allegiance, and as usual became corrupted in morals by their vicinity to the garri- son. They are believed to have acted with the British iri the War of the Revolution. In the enumeration of Indian tribes made by Sir Wm. Johnson, in 1763,"j" the tribe is represented as numbering eighty warriors, at peace with the English. In the same enumeration the Gauglmawagas are reported at three hundred men, emigrants from the Mohawks,. nxxA with a colony at Aghquissasne (St. Regis), which was the seat of a mission. The latter had been founded but three years previously. A portion of the Mohawk emigration had settled at the mission of the Lake of Two Mountains. The English were careful not to molest them in their religious observances,, which remain to this day the same as when first estab- lished among them. The Oswegatchles, at the time when the present class of settlers came on, were occupying a village of twenty-three houses, on Indian Point, in Lisbon, about three miles below Ogdensburg. Spafford, in his " Gazetteer," published in 1813, thus mentions them : "This village was built' by the British government after the Revo- lution, and when, of course, that government had no title to the land. The Indians remained here several years after the settlement of the country by the present proprietors, and wore removed by order, of the government of New York, on the complaint of the inhabitants. These Indians, driven from Now Johnstown, in Upper Canada, re- ceived this spot, with improvements, in exchange, from which driven_ by our government, they became destitute of a local habitation and tt' name, and the Oswegatchie tribe no longer exists, although a few indi- viduals remain, scattered among the surrounding tribes." t Documcritary History of New York, vol. i. page 2,7. . -,; HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTS!", NEW YORK. 57 This dispersion took place about 1806 or 1807, and the remnants of the tribe, or their descendants, are found at St. Regis, Onondaga, and elsewhere. While in Lisbon, they were under the direction of one Joseph Reoain, a Frenchman, who spoke their dialect of the Iroquois lan- guage, and is said to have been a chief, and to have married an Indian woman. They planted coi'n on Galloo island, and elsewhere in the vicinity. Their village is described by one who saw it in 1802 as consisting of a street, running parallel with the river, with the houses ranged in a regular manner on each side of it, all uniformly built, with their ends to the street, sharp roofed, shingled with pointed shingles, and with glass windows. Every house was built for two families, had two doors in front, and a double fire-plaee and single chimney in the centre, with a partition equally dividing the interior. In 1802 there were about twenty-four families. These Indians were accustomed to spend most of their summers on Black lake, in hunting and fishing, returning to their cabins for the winter. They used bark canoes, which they carried around rapids and across portages with perfect ease. As many as forty Indians at a time were often seen in the settlement when new. Directly opposite to the site of the Indian village of the Oswegatchies is the island that was fortified by the French, and taken by the English under Lord Amherst in 1760.* The ruins of the fortress upon it are still to be seen, although mostly obliterated, and have given it the name of Chimaay island. This island is low, and in shape irregular. It is on the American side of the channel, and has an area of six acres. There are said to be still seen on an island opposite this, under the Canada shore, the traces of works erected by the English to assist in its reduction. A great number of iron shot and other metallic relics have been found on this- island and the adjoining shores, as tomahawks, hoes, axes, picks, the hangings of gates, and other relics of the French and Indian occupation of the place. Like many other places having associations connected with the olden time. Chimney islandf has been the scene of money-digging, on a somewhat extensive scale, by those who were weak enough to be led astray by tlie pretended indications of the divining-rod or the impositions of for- tune-tellers. As uniformly happens, there has been money lost instead of gained in these operations, and if stories are to be believed, certain of these adventurers have lost somewhat of credit and standing in the community by these speculations. CHAPTER IV. HISTOKY OP LABTD TITLES. Indian Titles, Treaties, and Cession of Lands— Land Titles Proper : Macomb's and Other Purchases — Early Settlements. This subject has been exhaustively treated by Dr. Hough in his History of St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, from which we take the following accounts, with revisions and corrections by the doctor. It involves more or less the ' Oraconenton island. f Its present name.. history of the various Indian reservations and missions in this region. We give it in as condensed a form as is pos- sible, and preserve the meaning and connections : INDIAN TITLES. ST. REGIS. " The sovereignty of the soil of the northern part of the State was anciently vested in the Mohawks, who, from the earliest period of authentic history, exercised jurisdiction over it. Upon the emigration of a part of this people to Canada, they claimed to carry with them the title from whence the villagers of St. Regis asserted their claim to the northern part of the State in common with the other MohawJc nations of Canada. " The Mohawks, it is well known, espoused the royal cause in the Revolution, through the influence of the Johnson family, and emigrated to Grand River, in Upper Canada, where they still reside on lands given them by government. Whatever title to the land remained with them was surrendered by the following treaty, held at Albany, March 29, 1795 : " ' At a treaty, held under the authority of the United States, with the Mohaiak nation of Indians, residing in the province of Upper Canada, within the dominions of the King of Great Britain. Present, the Hon. Is.aac Smith, commissioner appointed by the United States to hold this treaty, Abram Ten Broeck, Egbert Benson, and Ezra L'Hommedieu, agents for the State of New York, Capt. Joseph Brant and Capt. John Deserontyon, two of the said Indians, and deputies to represent the said nation at this treaty. " ' The said agents having in the presence, and with the approba- tion of the said commissioners, proposed to and adjusted with the said deputies the compensation, as hereinafter mentioned, to be made to the said n.ition for their claim, to be extinguished by this treaty, to all lands within the said State. It is thereupon finally agreed and done betwen the said nations and the said deputies as follows: that is to say, the said agents do agree to pay to the said deputies the sum of One thousand dollars for the use of the said nation, to be by the said deputies paid over to and distributed among the persons and families of the said nation, according to their usages, the sum of five hundred dollars for the expenses of the said deputies during the time they have attended this treaty, and the sum of one hundred dollars for their expenses in returning and for carrying the said sum of one thousand dollars to where the said nation resides. And the said agents do accordingly, for and in 'the name of the People of the State of New York, pay the said three several sums to the deputies in the presence of the said commissioners. And the said deputies do agree to cede and release, and these present witness that they ac- cordingly do, for and in the name of the said nation, in consideration of the said compensation, cede and release to the people of the State of New York, forever, all the right or title of the said nation to lands within the said State, and the claim of the said nation to lands within the said State is hereby wholly and finally extinguished. " ' In testimony whereof, the said commissioner, the said agents, and the said deputies have hereunto, and to two other acts of the same tenor and date, one to remain with the United States, one to re- main with the said State, and one delivered to the said deputies, to remain with the said nation, set their hands and seals at the city of Albany, in the said State, the twenty-ninth day of March, in the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-five.' " Signed, sealed, and acknowledged. "{Copied from a MSS. volume entitled 'Indian Deede and Treaties, 1712-1810,' ill the office of Secretary of State, at Albany. Page 187.) " Treaties with the Indians for their lands were, by a pro- vision of the first constitution of the State, adopted April 20, 1777, reserved to the legislature. It was therein ordained "' That no purchases or contracts for the sale of lands made since the 14th day of Oct., 1775, or which may hereafter be made with pr 58 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. of the said Indians -within the limits of this State, shall he binding on the said Indians, or deemed valid, uflless made under the author- ity and with the consent of the legislature of the State.' (Lawe of New Yorh, vol. i. p. 16, 1813.) " By an act passed April 4, 1801, it was provided : " ' That if any person should, without the authority and consent of the legislature, in any manner or form, or on any terms whatsoever, purchase any lands within this State of any Indian or Indians re- siding therein, or make any contract with any Indian or Indians for the sale of any lands within this State, or shall in any manner give, sell, demise, convey, or otherwise dispose of any such lands or any interest therein, or offer to do so, or shall enter on, or take possession of, or to settle on any such lands by pretext or color of any right or interest in the same, in consequence of any such purchase or con- tract made since the 14th day of Oct., 1775, and not with the au- thority and consent of the legislature of this State, every such person shall in every such case be deemed guilty of a public offense, and shall, on conviction thereof before any court having cognizance of the same, forfeit and pay to the people of this State two hundred and fifty dollars, and be further punished by fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court.' " The State being accordingly the only party whom the Indians could recognize, to them they applied for the settle- ment of their claims to lands in the northern part of the State. These claims were based upon ancient and primitive occupation, and especially upon the rights which they con- ceived they had for compensation for services which some of them, particularly Col. Louis Cook, their head chief, had rendered in the war. The nature and amount of these services we will give in our notice of that chief. " In 1789 he applied for a confirmation of a tract of land in the present town of Massena, which he claimed was his own individual right, and this was subsequently confirmed to him by the legislature. In 1792, the Caugh- nawaga and St. Regis tribes, claiming to represent the Seven Nations of Canada, sent a deputation to the governor of the State of New York to assert their claims, but this embassy produced no action in their favor. " As we shall have frequent occasion to allude to these Seven Nations, it would be well to understand who and what they were ; but here our knowledge is less definite than might be desired, especially in relation to the origin of the term and of the league or combination of tribes of which it consisted. They appear to have been made up of several of the detached settlements of Iroquois emi- grants from New York, and of Algonquins, etc., whom the Catholic missionaries had domiciliated and settled in vil- lages. " The St. Regis branch did not originally form, it is said, one of the seven, which consisted, according to the Rev. P. Marooux, of an Iroquois, an Algonquin, and a Nippissing nation at the Lake of Two Mountains ; an Iroquois tribe at Caughnawaga ; the Oswegatchie tribe of Iroquois at La Pre- sentation ; a colony of Hurons at Lorette, nine miles north of Quebec ; and a settlement of Ahenalds at St. Francois, below Monti'eal, near the Sorel. " After the breaking up of the French at La Presentation and the partial dispersion of the Oswegatchies, tradition relates that a grand council was held, and it was therein resolved that the St. Regis, who had formed a part of the Caughnawagas at the formation of the league, should take the place of the scattered tribe, and they thenceforth repre- sented them in the assemblies. According to the gentlemen above mentioned, the tribes which represented, the Seven Nations have at present the following numbers (June, 1852) : " At tlie Lake of Two Mountains, of Iroquois, 250 ; at the Lake of Two Mountains, of Algonquins and Nippissing, together, 250 ; at Caughnawaga, of Iroquois, 1300 ; at St. Regis, 1100; at Lorette, of Hurons, a very few; at St. Frangois, of AbenaJcis, a few only. The numbers of the two latter were not known. " Failing in their first negotiation with the State, the Si. Regis people prosecuted their claims, and in 1793 again appeared, by their deputies, at Albany, and laid their case before the governor, but without success. ' The following credentials are without date, but are believed to have been those furnished these Indians on this occasion : " ' The Chiefs at CaJc-ne-wa-ge^ head of the Seven Nations, " * To our brother. Commander, and Governor, Ni-haron-ta-go-iua, George Clinton, at the State of New York. Brother, this is what we agreed upon : that we should have councils and conversations to- gether of peace and unity. " ' Now, brother, we beg that you will pay attention, that you can take the matter into good consideration betwixt you and us. We have sent the bearers, which will give you to understand our real minds and meaning, which is : " ' Thomas Aragrente, Thomas Thaeagwanegen, Lumen Tiatoharongiven, William Gray, Attuinatok. "* All the chiefs' compliments to you, and beg you will not let the bearers want for victuals or drink, as much as may be for their good. " ' Tegannitasen, Onasateben, Onatritsiawanb, .Onwanienteni, Sganawate, Thanaha, Tehasen, Sgahentowarone, Thaiaiakge, Sinohese, Thahentehtha, Saiegisagene, Garoniaragon, Garomiatsigowa." (Signed by their marks.) " This negotiation also failed in its object, and the deputies returned home in disappointment. " In the winter of 1793-94, Colonel Louis, with three other warriors, again repaired to Albany, to get, if possible, some specific time designated when the State would meet with them for their claim. They held an interview with the governor, but he declined at that time any negotiations with them on the subject without referring their case to the legislature. "The journal of the assembly for 1794 (page 106) cod- tains the following record in relation to the St. Regis In- dians : '"Mr. Havens, in behalf of Mr. Foote, from the committee ap- pointed to take into consideration the communication made to this house by His Excelleney the Governor, relative to the St. liegii tn- dians, reported that they have inquired into the several circumstances connected with the claim of the said Indians to certain lands within the jurisdiction of this Slate, and arc of the opinion that it will b^ necessary to appoint commissioners to treat with the said Indians, and to authorize them, by law, to extinguish the said claim, or to take such measures relative to the said business as shall be most beneficial to the State and to tho United States.' " The following was the message of the governor above alluded to. It was reported on the 21st of February of that year : HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 59 "'Gentlemen, — You will receive with this message the oonolasion of my conference with the Oneida Indians, and u. copy of an addi- tional speech of the Cayiigas, and my answer thereto. " ' I also transmit to you a speech made to me by Colonel Louis, of St, Regis, who, with three other warriors, arrived here some days ago, as a deputation from the chiefs of the Seven Nations of Lower Canada. You will perceive by my answer to thorn that I have, for the reasons therein mentioned, declined entering into conference with them on the subject of their deputation, other than that of receiving their communication, which is now submitted to the consideration of the legislature. "'Geo. Clinton.' " So far as we have been able to learn, the course advised by the committee was not adopted, and no encouragement was given the deputies further than the indefinite and un- satisfactory assurance that their claim should be examined at as early a day as might be consistent. " What the probable result would be might, perhaps, be surmised, when we consider that the State had already patented to Macomb and his associates the territory claimed by these Indians, reserving only a tract equal to six miles square, near the Indian village. It is very probable that the Indians did not know of this sale, and still honestly believed themselves entitled to a large tract in the north part of the State. " In December, 1794, they again appeared at Albany to urge their claim. The governor appears to have been absent, and a communication intended for him was deliv- ered to John Taylor, of Albany, who addressed the gov- ernor the following letter, inclosing that which he had received from the Indians : " * Albany, 10th January, 1795. " ' Sir, — The inclosed message was delivered me by one of the men who came down last winter. Col,- Louis, and attended the legislature at this place on the subject of their lands. He says he was deputed by the Seven Nations for that purpose, and h.ad directions to proceed to New York if I could not do the business. As a journey to New York would have been attended by expense to the State and trouble tu you, I promised to transmit the message, and recommended him to return home. I am your Excellency's " ' Most obedient servant, '"John Taylor.' " The letter referred to in the foregoing was as follows : " • Albany, Decemljer, 1791. " ' Newataghsa Lewey. " ' Brother, — The Seven Nations of Upper Canada are still of the same mind as they were when you spoke with them last winter, but they expected you would have met them this summer on the business that they came about to your great council last winter. They sup- pose that the business of the war, which was expected, prevented your meeting of them. They hope you will attend to the business, and meet them, as you promised, as early as possible next summer, as they are still of the same mind they were when they spoke to you, and expect you are so likewise,' " The governor accordingly appointed Samuel Jones, Ezra IHommedieu, N. Lawrence, Richard Varick, Egbert Ben- son, John Lansing, Jr., and James Watson, commissioners, io hold an interview with the Indians to settle some pre- liminaries with them, but without the power to treat defi- nitely with them on the subject. The following is the result of their -negotiations, which was addressed to Governor Clinton : " ' New York, G March, 1795. "' Sin, — In consequence of your Excellency's appointment of us to that trust, we have this morning had an interview with the eleven Indians now in the city, from the nation or tribe distinguished as the St. lieijii Indians, or the Indians of the Seven Nations of Can- ada, and Colonel Louis, one of their number, as their speaker, made a speech to us, purporting that during the last winter they had come to Albany, while the legislature was sitting there, and made known their desire that a future meeting might be appointed, in order to treat, and finally conclude and settle, with them respecting their right and claim to lands within the limits of this State; that they had returned home with what they received as assurances that such future meeting would have been appointed ; that they had waited in e.ipectation of it during the whole of the last season ; that they are not authorized to treat or conclude therefor; that the only object of their present journey is again to propose such meeting, when all the chiefs will attend, so that whatever may then be agreed upon should be binding on all the tribes. " ' To this speech we have deferred giving an answer, supposing it most fit that we should previously be informed of the sense of the legislature on the subject, it being most probably the interest of both houses that the act of the 5th instant should be limited to an agree- ment or an arrangement to be made at this time, and with the Indians who are now present. " ' We have the honor to be, sir, with due respect, your most obe- dient, humble servants, /"Samdel Jones, Kichahd Vaeick, Ezra L'HoKjtEDiEu, Egbert Benson, N. Lawuence, John Lansing, Jr., James Watson. " ' His Excellency, Governor Clinton.' " The foregoing communication of the agents was trans- mitted to the legislature on March 7, 1795, by the gov- ernor, in the following message : " ' Gentlemen, — With this message you will receive a communica- tion from the agents appointed to confer with the representatives of the Si. Regit Indians, which will necessarily require your immediate attention. " ' It must readily occur to you that no legislative direction exists with respect to the greater part of the expense incident to this occasion. '"The concurrent resolution of the 3d instant only refers to the accommodation of the Indians while in the city, and neither pro- vides for the customary gratuities, nor the expenses arising from their journey here and their return, " ' I also transmit a letter from some of the chiefs of the Onondaga nation, respecting the agreement made with them in 1793 by the commissioners appointed for the purpose. " ' Geo, Clinton. ' GttEENWicir, 9 March, 1795.' "In pursuance of this advice the following resolution was introduced in the Senate, and passed : "' Resolved, That his Excellency the Governor be requested to di- rect that suitable accommodations be provided for twelve St. Regis Indians, who are expected in town this afternoon on business relative to the claims on the State, and that the legislature will make pro- vision for defraying the expense,' "On the 9th of March, 1795, the resolution of the Senate was referred to the Assembly, and the following record appears on their journal : " 'Resolved, as the sense of both houses of the legislature, That it is advisable a future meeting should be appointed by his Excellency the Governor to be held with the Indians generally known and dis- tinguished as the Indians of St, Regis, in order to treat, and finally to agree, with the said Indians touching any right or claim which they may have to any lands within the limits of this State; and further, that his Excellency the Governor, in addition to the request contained in the concurrent resolution of both houses of the third instant, be also requested to cause the twelve Indians mentioned in said concur- rent resolution to bo furnished with such sum of money as may be requisite to defray the expenses of their journey to this city and on their return home; and also that his Excellency the Governor be re- quested to cause such presents or gratuities as he shall deem proper to "be given to the said Indians, in behalf of this State, and that the Legislature will make the requisite provision for carrying these reso- lutions into effect. CO HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. " ' Ordered, That the consideration of the said resolutions be post- poned until to-raorrow.' "The agents appointed by the governor held another interview with the Indians, and the speeches that were ex- changed on the occasion are preserved, and were as follows : "'speech op the agents for the state of new YORK TO COLONEL LOUIS AND OTHER ST. REGIS INDIANS. " ' Brothers : When we met you, a few days ago, on your arrival in this city, we told you our chief the Governor was sick, and that he had appointed us to meet you in his stead. "'Brothers; We then also bid you welcome, and which we now repeat to you. " * Brothers ; Ton then told us that you had come to see us, and only to propose that there should be another meeting between us and you, when all your chiefs would attend, and treat and settle with us about land which is within our State, and which you say belongs to you. " ' Brothers ; This was the substance of what you then told us, and we have told it to our chief the Governor, and our council the Legis- lature, and they have listened to it, and have directed us to tell you that they very willingly assent to what you have proposed, and that a message will be sent to you during the next summer to inform you of the time and place, when and where, we will meet you on the busi- ness; and we can now only promise that the place will be as near where you live as conveniently may be, so as to save you the trouble Of a long journey, and that the time will not be later in the next fall than when the traveling is good. '''Brothers : We wish you in the mean time to possess your minds in peace, for it is as much our wish as it is yours that the business should be talked over and settled between you and us in friendship and integrity, as between brothers ; for as we do not desire any land which belongs to you without paying you for it, so we hope you do not desire we should pay you for that which does not belong to you. "'Brothers: We now bid you farewell for the present, and wish you a safe journey home, and that we may meet each other again in peace and in health at the intended future meeting.' " To this speech of the commissioners the St. Regis Indians, through Colonel Louis, their speaker, replied as follows : '"Brothers ; It is usual when brothers meet, if it is even the next day, to thank Providence for preserving each of them so as to meet again. " ' Brothers : We are very thankful that you have taken so much pity on your brothers, who have come so great a distance to see you that they were almost barefooted and uncovered; and you, at our first arrival in the city, gave us a pair of shoes and a hat each, for which we are thankful. '"Brothers : When we first arrived hero we told you the business we had come upon, and which we had come upon several seasons be- fore, and particularly last winter. You then promised that you would meet us, but you have not done it. We have business at home as well as you, brothers, and for that reason we request you to consider about the matter deliberately. "' Brothers, — We think it is a long time hence that you have fixed upon. We told you when we came that we had other business with the king, who also is on our lands. _ All the other nations to the west- ward are concerned in that business, and I expect I have that to see to, as they depend on my council. If that should take place at the same time as yours it will be inconvenient ; we therefore wish to have our business with you first settled before we settle with the kin». " ' Brothers, — We were at Albany when you received the speech of the king; I then told you the minds of our chiefs upon that subject, for I know it. '"You told us then your minds wore to do us justice, and that made our breasts cool. We returned home and told the king to perform the promise he had made to us.' [Here Col. Louis produced a printed proclamation, in parchment, by the late Sir William Johnson.] ' For this reason we expect our matters with you first settled. For the king told us that about midsummer he would come and settle with us for the lands of ours which he had possessed and improved. " •■ Then, brothers, we shall be able to come and inform you how we have settled with him.' " The Legislature, by an act passed March 5, 1785, pro- vided : " ' That it shall and may be lawful for the person administering the government of this State, either by himself or by such agent or agents as he shall thereunto appoint, to make such agreement and arrange- ments with the Indians of St. Regis, or with the representatives of the said Indians, respecting their claims to any lands within this State, or any part or parts thereof, as shall tend to insure their good- will and friendship to the people of the United States, and to extin- guish any and every such claim, nnd in such manner as he or such agents so to be appointed may think proper ; but no such agreement or arrangement by such agents shall be valid unless ratified and con- firmed by the person administering the government of this State, any thing in the "act relative to Indians residentwithin the State," passed the 27th of March, 1794, to the contrary hereof notwithstanding.' " The act here referred to was a law relative to the In- dians residentwithin the State, which appointed the gover- nor, with William North, John Taylor, Abraham Van Vechten, Abraham Ten Broek, Peter Gansevoort, Jr., and Simeon Dewitt, trustees for the Indians within the State, and for each and every tribe of them, with full power to make such agreements and arrangements with the tribes of central New York, respecting their lands, as shall tend to produce an annual income to the said Indians, and to insure their good-will and friendship to the people of the United States. " Commissioners were again appointed, who met the deputies at Fort George, at the south end of Lake George, in September, 1795, where an interview was held, but without arriving at satisfactory results, or an agreement between the parties. We have not been able to procure the speeches that were made on this occasion, or what tran- spired between them, further than the intimations contained in the following pages. " The results were communicated by the agents of the State to Governor Jay, who, in the month of January, transmitted the following message to the legislature : "'Gentlemen, — I have now the honor of laying before you the proceedings af a treaty with the Indians, denominated the Seven Nations of Canada, comprising those usually denominated the St. Regis Indians, held at the south end of Lake George, in this State, on the 26th day of September last, with a letter of the 2d instant, from the agents who were appointed to attend it on the part of the State. "'It appears from the above-mentioned letter that the expenses in- cident to the said treaty have been paid, and the accounts duly audited and passed, except the allowance usually made by the United States to the commissioners whom they employ for holding treaties with Indians. "'The compensation due to the said agents for their services still remains to be ascertained and ordered by the legislature. " 'John Jay.' "'New York, January 23, 1796. " March 26, 1796, the governor transmitted to the legis- lature a message, accompanying a letter from the department of war, dated the 19th inst., together with the report of the secretary of state on the subject of claims made by the Indians called the Seven Nations of Canada to lands within the State. "This message, with the accompanying papers, was re- ferred to the committee of the whole, and subsequently to a joint committee of the two houses, who reported, on the 1st of April, as follows : " ' That although the several matters stated by the agents of this State to the said Indians at the late treaty held with Ihem at Lake HISTOKY OF ST. LAWEENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 61 George are to bo relied on as true, and to be considered as sufficient to prevent the supposition that the said Indians have a right to lands claimed by them, and that although these matters both in respect to fact and inference remain unanswered by the said Indians, yet that it ■ffill be proper whenever a treaty shall be held for the purpose by the United States with the said Indians that Agents for this State should again attend, in order further to examine and discuss the said claim, and, if they shall deem it eligible, then also further to propose and adjust with the said Indians the compensation to bo made by this State for the said claim.' " This resolution met with the concurrence of the house. " In pursuance of this concurrent resolution of the sen- ate and assembly, the governor appointed Egbert Benson, Richard Varick, and Jas. Watson agents on the part of the State to meet the deputies of the St. Regis and Caugli- nawaga tribes, who then claimed, and have since been recognized by the State, to be the representatives of the Seven Nations of Canada, to negotiate, in the presence of a commissioner appointed by the government of the United States, for the extinguishment of the Indian title to lands in the northern part of the State. The following is an account of the proceedings at this treaty, which we derive from the original manuscript in> the office of the secretary of state at Albany : " * At a treaty held at the city of New York by the United, States with the nations of Indians denominating themselves the seven nations of Canada, Abraham Ogden, commissioner for the United States, appointed to hold the treaty, Obnawiio, alias Good Stream, a chief of the CaugknawagaSf Oteatohatongwan, alias Colonel Louis Cook, a chief of the St. Regis Indians, Teholagwanegen, alias Thomas Williams, a chief of the CanghtiawagaSj and William Gray, deputies authorized to represent these nations or tribes at the treaty, and Mr. Gray also serving as interpreter. " * Egbert Bensen, Richard Varick, and James Watson, agents for the State of New York. "^ May 23, 1796. "*The deputy, Thomas Williams, being confined to his lodging in this city by sickness, was unable to be present; the other three dep- uties proposed, nevertheless, to proceed to the business of the treaty. The commissioner thereupon informed them generally that he was appointed to hold the treaty ; that the sole object of it was to enable the State of New York to extinguish by purchase the claim or right of these nations or tribes of Indians to lands within the limits of the State ; and that, agreeably to his instructions from the president, he would take care that the negotiations for that purpose between the agents for the State and the Indians should be conducted with candor and fairness/ " After a great amount of negotiating, and many long speeches on both sides, continued through a period of eight days, the deputies on behalf of the Indians accepted the terms of the commissioners on the last day of May, as appears from the following : •^'31st May, 1796. "'The deputies having declared their acceptance of the compensa- tion, as proposed to them by the agents, three acts of the same tenor and date, one to remain with the United States, another to remain with the said Seven Nations or tribes, and another to remain with the State, were thereupon this day executed by the commissioners for the United States, the deputies for the Indians,, the agents for the State, and Daniel McCormick and William Constable for themselves and their associates' purchase under Alexander Macomb, containing a cession, release, and quitclaim from the Seven Nations or tribes of Indians of all lands within the State, and a covenant for the State for the payment of the said compensation, and also certain reserva- tions of land, to be applied to the use of the Indians of the village of St, Regis, as by the said acts, reference being had to either of them, more fully may appear. " ' Signed, Abram Ogden. "The following is a copy of this treaty : " ' The People of the State of New York, by the grace of God free and inde- pendent. To all to whom these presents shall come, greeting. Know ye that we having inspected the records remaining in our Secretary's ofBce, do find there filed a certain instrument in the words following, to wit: "*At a treaty held in the city of New York with the nation or tribe of Indians denominating themselves the Seven Nations of Canada, Abraham Ogden, commissioner appointed under the authority of the United States to hold the treaty, Ohnaweio, alias Good Stream, Teharagwanegen, alias Thos. "Williams, two chiefs of the Caugfinawaga^f Atiatoharongwan, (iliae Colonel Louis Cook, a chief of the St. Regis Indians, and 'William Gray, deputies authorized to represent these Seven Nations or tribes of Indians at the treaty, and Mr. Gray serving also as interpreter, Egbert Benson, Richard Varick, and James Watson, agents for the State of New York, Wm, Constable and Daniel McCor- mick, purchasers under Alex. Macomb. The agents for the State having in the presence and with the approbation of the commissioners proposed to the deputies for the Indians the compensation hereinafter mentioned for the ex- tinguishment of their claim to all lands within the States, and the said deputies being willing to accept the same, it is thereupon granted, agreed, and concluded between the said deputies and the said agents as follows: The said deputies do for and in the name of the said Seven Nations or tribes of Indians cede, re- lease, and quitclaim to the people of the State of New York, forever, all the claim, right, or title of them, the said Seven Nations or tribes of Indians, to lands within the said State; provided, nevertheless, that the tract equal to six miles square reserved in the sale made by the commissioners of the land-office of the said State to Alexander Macomb, to be applied to the use of the Indians of the village of St. Regis, shall still remain so reserved. Tlie' said agents do for and in the name of the people of the State of New York grant to the said Seven Nations or tribes of Indians that the people of the State of New York shall pay to them at the mouth of the river Chazy, on Lake Champlain, on the third Monday of August next, the sum of one thousand two hundred and three pounds, six shillings, and eightpence, lawful money of the said State; and on the tliird Monday in August, yearly, forever thereafter, the further sum of two hundred and thirteen pounds, six shiUinga, and eightpence of the said State. Provided, nevertheless, that the people of the State of New York shall not be held tu pay the said sums unless, in respect to the two sums to be paid on the third Monday in August next, at least twenty, and in respect to the said yearly sum to be paid thereafter, at least five, of the principal men of the said Seven Nations or tribes of Indians shall attend as deputies to receive and to give re- ceipts for the same. The said deputies having suggested that the Indians of St. Regis have built a mill on Salmon river and another on Grass river, and that the meadows on Gi'ass river are necessary for hay, in order, therefore, to secure to the Indians of the said village the use of the said mills and meadows, in case they should hereafter appear not to be included in the above tract, so as to remain reserved, it- is therefore also agreed and concluded between the said deputies and tlie said agents and the said William Constable and Daniel McCormick, for themselves and their associates, purchasers under the said Alexander Macomb of the adjacent lands, that there shall be reserved to be applied to the use of the Indians of the said village of St. Regis, in like manner as the said tract is to remain reserved, a tract of one mile square at each of the said mills, and the meadows on both sides of the said Grass river, from the said mills thereon to its confluence with the river St. Lawrence. " ' In testimony whereof, the said Commissioners, the said deputies, the said agents, and the said William Constable and Diiniel McCormick, have hereunto, and to two other acts of the same tenor and date, one to remnin with the United States, another to remain with the State of New York, and another to remain with the Seven Nations or tribes of Indians, set their hands and seals in the city of New York, the thirty-first day of May, in the twentieth year of the Independence of the United States, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six. Abraham Ogden (L.S.), Ohnaweio, alius Good Stream (mark L.S.), Otiatoha- rongwan, alias Colonel Louis Cook (mark L.S.), Wm. Gray (L.S.), Teharagwa- negen, alias Thos. Williams (mark L.S.), Egbert Benson (L.S.), Richard Varick (L.S.), James Watson (L.S.), "Wm. Constable (L.S.), Daniel McCormick (L.S.). "'Signed, sealed, and delivered in the presence of Samuel Jones, recorder of the city of New York; John Taylor, recorder of the city of Albany ; Jo's Ogden Hoffmann, attorney-general of the State of New York. " ' May 30, 1797. Acknowledged before John Sloss Hobart, justice of supreme court of judicature, " ^ "*Feb. 28, 1800, Exemplified, signed, and sealed by the Governor, John Jay.' ** The above treaty is engrossed upon a large-sized sheet, of parchment, to which is affixed a large waxen seal, having on one side the State arms and inscription, ' The great seal of the State,' and on the other the device of waves beating against a rock, and the word ' Frustra,' ' 1798.' The back and margins are covered with receipts. *' This and other treaties which have been held between the St. Regis Indians and the State of New York are carefully preserved by the clerk of the American party at St. Regis. " The agreements made at this treaty were confirmed by 62 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK; an act passed April 4, 1801. The act allows of a treaty for the purchase of the mill site at Masseaa, St. Lawrence County. " This treaty had previously received the sanction of the general government, as appears from the following : " On the 20th of February, 1797, the governor sent to the Senate the following message : "'G-ENTLEMEN, — I have the honor of laying before you a letter of the 18th ult., from the Secretary of the United States, for the depart- ment of war, inclosing a copy of the resolution of the Senate advising and consenting to the ratification of the treaty concluded on behalf of the State with the Indians calling themselves the Seven Nations of Canada. "'JohsJay.' " In the negotiations between these Indians and the State the name of Brant, the celebrated partisan half-breed Indian, was used in connection with proceedings which the Mohawks had held with the State, in the cession of tlieir lands, in such a manner as to awaken a controversy between him and the deputy superintendent, which ultimately became embittered by mutual allegations of pecuniary delinquency. The Six Nations had bargained with Colonel Livingston, in 1787. as we have previously stated, for a large tract of land, which the Caughnawaga and St. Regis Indians insisted was fraudulent. " As Brant was a witness to the treaty, and was one of the most prominent of those by whom it was made, this denial of their right amounted to little else than a charge that those who made it had pocketed the avails for their own benefit. This charge Brant indignantly repelled, denying that the Caughnawagas had a right to a foot of the lands which had been sold to Livingston, and demand- ing of them their authority for their charges against him and tlie Grand River Indians. They replied that their information was derived from the representations of the officers of the State of New York, at. Albany. To ascer- tain the ground there might be for this he addressed a letter to Governor Clinton, which received the following reply : " ' Greenwich, Dec. 1, 1799. - '"Deab Sir, — On my return from the country, about a month ago, I was favored with your letter of the 4th of September. I am much gratified by the determination you express of furnishing Doctor Miller with the information he requested of you, and I hope, as the work for which it is wanted is progressing, you will find leisure to do it soon. I am confident he will make a fair and honorable use of it- and, as far as he shall be enabled, correct the erroneous representa- tions of former authors respecting your nations. " ' I am surprised to find that you have not received my letter of the llth of January last. It was inclosed and forwarded as re- quested, to Mr. Peter W. Yates, of Albany. Had it reached you, I presume you will find, from the copy I now inclose, it would have been satisfactory ; but as a particular detail of what passed between the Canuhnawfitjat and me respecting their lands may be more agreeable, I will now repeat it to you as far as my recollection will enable me. " ' In the winrer of 1792-93, our legislature being in session in Al- bany, u. committee from the Seven Nations or tribes of Lower Canada attended there, with whom I had several conferences. They complained that some of our people had settled on their lands near Lake Champlain and on the river St. Lawrence, and requested that commissioners might be appointed to inquire into the matter and treat with them on the subject. In my answer to their speeches I answered that it was difficult to define their rights and their bounda- ries, and that it was to be presumed that the Indian rights to a con- siderable part of the lands on the borders of the lake had boon extinguished by the French government before the conquest of Canada, as those lands, or a greater part of them, had been granted to individuals by that government before that period. In their reply they, described their southern boundary as commencing at a creek or run of water between Forts Edward and George, which emptieS'into South Bay, and from thence extending on a direct line to a large meadow or swamp where the Canada creek, which empties into the Mohawk opposite Fort Hendrick, the Black and Oswegatchie rivers have their sources. . Upon which I observed to them that this line would interfere with lands patented by the British government pre- vious to the Revolution, and particularly mentioned Totten and Crossfield's purchase and Jessup's patent; but I mentioned at the same time that I was neither authorized or disposed to controvert their claims; that I would submit to the legislature, who, I could not doubt, would pay due attention to them and adopt proper measures to eEfect a settlement with them upon fair and liberal terms. This I accordingly did, and some time after commissioners were appointed to treat with them in the presence of an agent of the United States^ the result of which I find-you are informed of. " ' I believe you will readily agree that no inference could be drawn from anything that passed on the above occasion to countenance the charge made against your nations. The mentioning and interference of their boundaries, as above stated, with tracts patented under the British government could certainly have no allusion to the cessions made by the Six Nations or either of them to the State, especially .as (if I recollect right) those cessions are of the territory of the respect- ive nations, by whom they were made without defining them by any particular boundaries, and subject only to the reservations described in the deed. "'I wish it was in my power to transmit to you copies of their speeches and my answer at full length ; but it is not,for the reasons mentioned in my former letter. Should they, however, be deemed necessary to you, I will endeavor to procure and forward them; in the mean time you may rest assured that what I have related is the substance of them. " * I am, with great regard and esteem, *' ^ Your most obedient servant, '"Col. JosBi'H Brant. "'Geo. CliSton.' " This correspondence, and that which ensued with Gov- ernor Jay, did not satisfy Brant, and he accordingly caused a deputation of his tribe to repair to Albany, at the head of which was his adopted nephew, John Norton, to meet a similar deputation of the Caughnawagas face to face, and require his accusers connected with the government of the State of New York either to substantiate their charges or acquit him in the presence of both delegations. " The result of this double mission is not known, save that the chiefs were not satisfied with it. "In July of the same year (1799) Brant proceeded to the Caughnawaga country in person, accompanied by a body of chiefs of several of the tribes, for the purpose of a thorough investigation in general council. Such a council was convened, and the difficulties, from the reports of speeches preserved in writing by Captain Bnint, were fully discussed ; and that, too, in a most amicable manner. From several inti- mations in these speeches, it appears that the whole of these difficulties had been caused by ' chattering birds,' and by the machinations against Captain Brant of the old Oneida sachem, Colonel Louis.* The council fire was kindled on the 8th of July; on the 9th, Captain Brant was satisfied by the explanation given, and remarked, 'that he had pulled up a pine and planted down beneath it the small bird tliat tells stories.' "OnthelOththe Cuii^'/iHawajra chief replied: 'Brothers, we return you thanks ; we also join with you to put the » We quote the language of Stone in bis "Life of Brant." This author was mistaken in supposing Col. I^ouis an Oneida Indian. HISTORY OP ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 63 chattering bird under ground from where the pine was taken up, there being a swift stream into which it will fall beneath that will take it to the big sea, from whence it never can return.', (^See Stone's Life of Brant, vol. ii.p. 410, 414.) " The evident partiality of the writer of the ' Life of Brant' has, perhaps, prevented him from giving to the Canada Indians their due in discussing, their claims to the lands in the northern part of the State. " The St. Regis people having decided the question of the amount of land they were to receive, were desirous of having the boundaries known. To settle definitely, however, their rights, they addressed the following letter to the governor : " ' To our Great Brother, John Jay, Governor of the State of New York. " * Brother, — We, the chiefs and chief warriors at St. Regis, have sent the Bearers, Louis Cook, Sag Shaketlay, Loren Tarbell, and William Gray, our interpreters, to inquire of you, Brother, how wo are to know the distance of our E-cserve, equal to six miles square, reserved to us by a treaty held at the city of New York, the 30th of May, 1796, with our deputies Louis Cook, Ohnaweio, Good Stream, Thomas Williams, and William Gray, and another reserve of one mile square on Salmon Creek, twelve miles below St. Regis, at a saw- mill belonging to us chiefs. " ' Brother, — The reason of our sending the Bearers to you is, that some time in the latter part of last fall, some of your children, our brothers of this State, were marking and running lines within what we expect is our reserved lands, and we know no other way but to come and inform you that we might know what to do, and we beg that you will inform the Bearers that they, as soon as is convenient to you, may return home and inform us what to do. " ' We hope you will-not let the Bearers want for victuals and drink, what will be for their good. We wish you health and happiness with your family. From your Brothers, the chiefs of St. Regis. Chiefs. " ' For the Chiefs at " ' Tio-na-to-gena, St. Regis, William Gray. Tha-ros-ia-he-.\e, Ta-te-ga-ies-tos, to-ta-ro-wa-ne.' " This petition led to the passage, on the 30th of March, 1799, of the following act : " * The surveyor-general "be, and he is hereby directed in his proper person, to lay out and survey, in such manner as the chiefs of the St. Regis Indians shall deem satisfactory, all the lands, reserved to the said Indians by the treaty held at the city of New York, and conformable thereto, the twenty-third day of May, in the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six ; and the treasurer is hereby required to pay him, out of any money in the treasury, four hun- dred dollars to defray the expense thereof, which sum the surveyor- general shall account for with the comptroller.' " The surveyor-general performed this duty, and reported as follows : ■"'Sir — Pursuant to the act of the legislature, directing the sur- •veyorrgeneral to lay out and survey the lands .reserved to the Indians reaidiD" at St. Regis, I have surveyed in a manner satisfactory to the chiefs of that tribe the tract, equal to six miles square, reserved to them at their village ; as also the two tracts of one mile square each at the mills on Salmon river and Grass river. Maps descriptive of the bonndaj-ies of these I have the, honor herewith to deliver. " ' When I was about to commence the survey of the meadows re- served to the use of these Indians on Grass river, they informed me in council that they considered themselves entitled to a tract of half a mile on each aide of the river, from its mouth up to the mill, and that they had caused it to be run out in that manner for their meadow reservation, and intimated a desire that my survey should be made in a corresponding manner. I was obliged to inform them that I had no guide but their treaty, and consequently could regard no sur- vey made without authority, and that nothing but the meadows barely, along that river, was pointed out as their property. They then, poiatedly desired me to make no marks on that ground, observ- ing at the same time that as a deputation from their nation would have to repair to Albany on other business, during the sitting of the Legislature, they wished by that opportunity to obtain an explana- tion of what they considered to be a misapprehension between the parties of the treaty, " ' Not being permitted to make a survey of the meadows, I availed myself of the opportunity of going up and down the river, of mak- ing an estimate of them, with a view to report the same as an article of information that might be serviceable in case a compromise re- specting them should be contemplated. " ' These meadows consist of narrow strips along the margin of the river, where inundations have prevented the growth of timber. They lie in a number of patches, of from half a chain to three or four chains in width, making in the whole extent, which is about .«ix miles, not exceeding sixty acres altogether, as nearly as I could judge.'^"" " ' The grass on them, with small exceptions, is all wild grass. Their value, though of no very great consideration as an appendage to the adjoining lands, is however esteemed as almost inestimable by In- dians, who consider the clearing of land as a matter entirely beyond their power to accomplish. It will be impossible, moreover, that the Indians should ever inclose the meadows with fences so as to prevent their destruction by the cattle of the white inhabitants, who soon will settle thick in their neighborhood, and this will inevitably become the cause of disagreeable differences. " ' It is proper for me to observe that the ground on which these meadows are situated as well as the mile square at the mill on Grass river, has been patented in tracts distinct from Macomb's purchase ; and therefore the sanction which the proprietors of that purchase gave to the treaty will' not exonerate the State from the duty of compensating the owners of the lands from whjch these parts of the reservation are taken. [The remainder of the report relates to other subjects.] " ' Simeon De Witt.' '"Albanv, January 14, 1800. " The troubles from trespass anticipated in the above were soon realized ; for the particulars of these the reader is referred to our account of Massena. " On February 20, 1800, there was received in as- sembly, from the senate, a resolution : " * That the commissioners of the land oflBce be directed to settle with the St. Regis Indians for such tracts of land, included in the lands confirmed to them by the late treaty, and before located by in- dividuals, and granted by this State, by making compensation for the lands so granted, or by satisfying the individuals owning such lands in such manner as they shall judge most advantageous to the State, and the Legislature will make provision for carrying into effect any agreement which may be made by the commissioners for extinguishing the claims of the said Indians, or of the individual proprietors aforesaid.' " This resolution was postponed by the assembly, nor is it known what was the final action of the legislature upon it. " On the 9th of April, 1801, a law was passed making it lawful for the governor to cause a treaty to be holden with the St. Regis Indians, for the purpose of extinguishing their right to a tract of a mile square at the mill on Grass river, and for that purpose to appoint an agent on the part of the State, and procure the appointment of a commissioner on the part of the United States, to attend the holding of such treaty. Provided, that the consideration to be paid the said Indians for the said tract shall not exceed a permanent annuity of $200. A sum not exceeding $500 was appro- priated to defray the expense of holding this treaty. " The surveyor-general was directed to cause the meadows reserved to the use of the said Indians upon Grass river, and which had been disposed of by the State, to be sur- » When surveyed in 1845, they were found to contain 210 4-10 acres.. .. . '. 64 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. veyed, and the quantity ascertained, and to report the same to the legislature at the next session. It was further made lawful for the agent to extinguish the right of ferriage be- longing to the said Indians over the river St. Lawrence, adjoining their reservation, for such reasonable annuity as they may deem proper. " The -future payments of the annuity stipulated with the said Indians was directed to be made at the town of Plattsburgh, in the county of Clinton. The act referred to makes a provision for the patenting by the State to William Gray of two hundred and fifty-seven acres of land, including the mill on Salmon river. " The president of the United States, by a message making sundry noininations, and addressed to the senate, February 2, 1802, recommended the nomination of John Taylor, of New York, to be a commissioner to hold a treaty between the State of New York and the St. Regis Indians. " He was led to this, from having received a communi- cation from the governor of New York, purporting that the St. Regis Indians had proposed ceding one mile square, in- cluding the ferry, to the State of New York, and requesting a commissioner to be appointed on the part of the United States to sanction the business, which it was proposed should be accomplished during the ensuing winter at Albany.* " In 1802 agents were appointed to treat with the St. Regis Indians for the sale of their mile square and meadows. The following communication, made to the assembly by Governor Clinton, March 15, 1802, contains the results of their negotiations. It was first reported to the senate : " * Gentlemkn, — I now submit to the legislature the report of the agents appointed to treat with the St. Regin Indians for the extin- guishment of the mile square and the meadows on Grass river. I also present to you a petition from those Indians praying, among other things, for legislative provisions to enable them to lease a part of their lands to establish a ferry across the St. Regis river, and to apply the income to the support of a school for the instruction of their children. It may be proper to observe that, as the petitioners have uniformly evinced a warm attachment to the State, and have made uncommon advances towards civilization, they have a claim to the attention of the legislature, arising as well from principles of policy as benevolence. They discover an anxiety to return home as soon as possible, but at the same time are unwilling to leave this city until the result of their application to the legislature is known. '"Geo. Cli.nton.' " The report of the agents referred to in his Excellency's said message, and the petition of the St. Regis Indians, ■were also severally read, and together with the message referred to the committee of the house. The petition was as follows : "'to our great and honorable brother, JOHN JAY, GOVERNOR OP THE STATE OP NEW YORK; "'Brother, — We, the chiefs and warriors of the village of St. Regis, have sent the bearers, Colonel Louis Cook, Jacob Francis, Peter Tarbell, as deputies, and William Gray as interpreter, to act and settle all business for us that may concern this State, or us, the above-mentioned village, or any individual belonging to this State. " ' Firsily, we beg you, brother, to order means to have our meadows on Grass river surveyed, and the number of acres contained there, to have as many acres cleared near our village, within the reservation made to us by this State, and then to have the use of the meadows on Grass river till such time as those lands will be fit to mow grass on. * "American State Papers," Indian Affairs, vol. i. p. 565. " ' Secondly, brother, we wish to inform you that, at the west end of our meadows on Grass river, we have one square mile of land, like- wise reserved to us by the State, with a saw-mill in the centre of the mile square, for which Amable Foshee is bound to pay us the sum of two hundred dollars per year as long as he keeps it in his custody, and we are not satisfied with his usage to us. " ' Thirdly, brother, there is a route that leads from Plattsburgh, on Lake Champlain, crosses the Chateaugay river, and comes straight to the village of St. Regis, where there ought to be a ferry kept up for the accommodation of the public, and the use of this ferry is like to create quarrels and disputes. '"Now, brother, in order to prevent all these disagreeable conten- tions, we wish to propose to you for to take one hundred acres, and the privilege of the ferry, and where there may be a good potash works erected for those people who wish to give us two hundred and fifty dollars as a yearly rent. '"i^oMri/i^y, brother, we wish to inform you that there are nine miles between houses, however the route runs through our reserva- tion, and we mean to rent a part of our lands in order to make it convenient for travelers, and as some benefit to ourselves and chil- dren who may follow us, and we began to inform all our brothers who may see fit to rent the lands of us, that we expect they will pay their rents according to contract, as you have law and justice in your power, and we are not acquainted with our brother white people's laws. " ' Fifthly, brother, there is a request from your sisters of the vil- lage of St. Regis, the women of families, which is that you pity them, and send them a school-master to learn their children to read and write. " ' Brother, your compliance to these requests will cause us ever to pray youi welfare and happiness, who remain your brothers, chiefs, and their wives in the St. Regis, " ' Te-ha-ton-wen-heon-gatha, Tl-E-HEN-NE, Te-ga-ri-a-ta-ro-gen, On-w A- ri-en-te, Ori-wa-ge-te, To-ta-to-wa-ne, At-ti-ax-to-tie. "' Witness, William Gray. " Accordingly, two laws were enacted relating to these people at the ensuing session of the legislature. The first was passed March 8, 1802, which provided, 'that it shall and may be lawful for his Excellency the Governor, and the surveyor-general, to treat with the St. Regis Indians for the extinguishment of their claim to the mile square, and the meadows on Grass river, ceded to them in 1796, on such terms as they shall deem most conducive to the interests of the State, or to purchase the same from the individuals to whom it has been granted by the State before it was ceded to the said Jndians, in case the latter purchase can be made on more favorable terms than the extinguishment of the Indian claim.' " The meadows were subsequently purchased of the pat- entees for the Indians. During the same session an act was passed relating to the St. Regis Indians, March 26, 1802, as follows: " ' J3e it enacted by the people of the State of New York, in Senate and Assembly, That William Gray, Louis Cook, and Loren Tarbell, be- longing to the tribe of the St. Regis Indians, be and they are hereby appointed trustees for the said tribe, for the purpose of leasing the ferry over St. Regis river, with one hundred acres of land adjoining, and also one mile square of land on Grass river, within their reserva- tion within this State, for such term of time as they shall judge proper, not exceeding ten years, and it shall and may be lawful for the said trustees to apply the rents and profits of the said ferry and lands for the support of a school for the instruction of the children of the said tribe (of which the said trustees shall have the superintend- ence) and for such other purposes as the said trustees shall judge most conducive to the interests of the said tribe, and the powers HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 65 hereafter veated in the said trustees may be exercised by them or any two of them. " ' And be it further enacted, That it shall and may be lawful for the said St. Hegis Indians, on the first Tuesday of May next, and on the iirst Tuesday of May in every year thereafter, to hold a town-meeting on their said reservation within the State, and by a majority of male Indians, above twenty-one years of age, to choose a clerk, who shall keep Order in such meeting, and enter in a book, to bo provided by him for that purpose, the proceedings of the said meetings. " * And be it further enacted, That it shall be made lawful for the said tribe, at any such meeting aforesaid, to make such rules, orders, and regulations respecting the improvement of any other of their lands in the said reservation as they shall judge necessary, and to choose trustees for carrying the same into execution, if they shall judge suoh trustees to he necessary. " ' And be it further enacted, That it shall and may be lawful for the said William Gray, Louis Cook, and Loren Tarbell to procure a bell for the church belonging to the said tribe, to be paid for out of their annuity. '^ ' And be it further enacted, That it shall and may be lawful for the person administering the government of this State to cause to be sent to the said tribe, at the place where their annuity is paid, two suits of silk colors, one with the arms of the United States, and the arms of this State as a gratuity, and to draw a warrant on the treas- ury for the expenses of the same.' " On the approach of the war the situation of St. Regis, on the national boundary; placed these people in a peculiar and delicate position. Up to this period, although residing in both governments,4hey had been as one, and in their internal afiFairs were governed by twelve chiefs, who were elected by the tribe, and held their offices for life. " The annuities and presents of both governments were equally divided among them, and in the cultivation of their lands, and the division of the rents and profits arising from leases, they knew no distinction of party. " The war operated with peculiar severity against them, from the terror of Indian massacre, which the recollections and .traditions of former wars had generally inspired the inhabitants. " So great was the terror which these poor people excited that they could not travel, even where acquainted, without procuring a pass, which they were accustomed to obtain from any of the principal inhabitants whose names were publicly known. A paper stating that the bearer was a quiet and peaceable Indian, with or without a signature, they were accustomed to solicit, and this they would hold up in sight, when still at a distance, that those who might meet them should not be alarmed. They were likewise accustomed to require persons traveling across their reserva- tion to have, if strangers, a pass purporting the peaceable nature of their business. The chiefs, it is said, appointed certain persons to grant these passes, among whom was Captain Polley, of Massena Springs. As few of them could read, it became necessary to agree upon some emblem by which the signification could be known, and the following device was adopted: If a person were going through to French Mills, a bow was drawn on the paper, but if its bearer was designing to visit St. Regis village, an. arrow was added. " Thus cut off from their usual means of subsistence, they were reduced to a wretched extremity, to obtain relief from which Col. Louis repaired to Ogdensburg and sent the following letter to frov. Tompkins ; * I address you. 9 these lines, for the purpose of expressing the sit- uation of my nation, and of giving you assurances of our constantly cherishing good-will and friendship towards the United States, and of our determination not to intermeddle with the war which has broken out between them and the English, and which has placed us in so critical a situation. Our young men being prevented from hunting, and obtaining a subsistence for their families, are in want of provisions, and I address myself in their behalf, to the justice and liberality of the governor of this State, to obtain a supply of beef, pork, and flour, to be delivered to us at St. Regis, during the time that we are compelled to give up our accustomed pursuits, which it seems, if continued, would give alarm to our white brethren. I have come myself to this place to communicate the distressed situation of our nation to Col. Benedict, who has promised to submit the same to you, and in hopes of soon receiving a favorable answer to my request I subscribe myself, with much attachment, your afiectionato brother and friend. big (Signed) " ' Louis >< Cook, mark. " ' One of the chiefs of the nation of the St. Jiet/i« Indians, and a It.-cot. in the service of the United States of America.' " In consequence of the foregoing letter, orders were issued that the St. Regis Indians should be supplied with rations during the war at French Mills. They accordingly received during the war about 500 rations daily at the hands of Wareham Hastings, the agent for the government. " The Indians, while drawing their rations, begged some for their priest, from the best of motives, which the latter received as a kindness from them ; but this circumstance gave him more trouble than it conferred benefit, for it was with the greatest difficulty that lie was able to justify or explain this course with the British and ecclesiastical au- thorities. He narrowly escaped imprisonment on suspicion of receiving bribes from the American government. It will be remembered that the priests house is on the Cana- dian side of the boundary. " In 1812 it was agreed between a British and an Ameri- can commissioner that the natives should remain neutral in the approaching contest. ' " It is said that in the month of June, Isaac Le Clare, a Frenchman, then and still living at St. Regis, being down at Montreal with a raft of wood, was met by an uncle, who suggested an interview with the governor, which resulted in his receiving a lieutenant's commission, on the recom- mendation of Col. De Salaberry. " Before his return the British company stationed at St. Regis was captured as below stated, and Lieut. Le Clare succeeded to the pay but not to the rank of captain, in place of Montigney. He raised a company of about 80 Indian warriors, and crossed to Cornwall. These Indians partici- pated in several engagements during the ensuing war. At the taking of Little York they were posted at Kingston. At the attack upon Sacket's Harbor twenty British St. Regis Indians were present under Lieut. St. Germain, and at Ogdensburg, in February, 1813, about thirty of the same, under Capt. Le Clare, crossed to the town. At the battle of Chrysler's Field they were at Cornwall, and pre- vented by Col. McLean, of the British army, from engaging in the battle. " Chevalier Lorimier, an agent of the British govern- ment, in 1813 came up from Montreal with the customary presents to the Indians, and offered them on condition of their crossing the river and taking up arms against the Americans. They would not do this, and he returned with 66 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. his presents. This was after Capt. Le Clare had raised his company, or about the time. " During the fall of 1812, Capt. Montigney, with a small company of British troops, in violation of the previous agreement, arrived and took post at St. Regis. Maj. Guil- ford Dudley Young, of the Troy militia, stationed at French Mills, receiving an account of this, resolved to surprise and if possible capture this party, considering himself justified in entering upon neutral ground, as the enemy had first broken their agreement. He accordingly, about the first of October, 1812, proceeded quietly through the woods by an obscure path, guided by William Gray, the Indian inter- preter ; but on arriving opposite the village of St. Regis he found it impossible to cross, and was compelled to return. " Having allowed the alarm which his attempt had ex- cited to subside, he resolved to make another descent be- fore the enemy should be reinforced, and for this purpose he marched a detachment, at eleven o'clock at night on the 21st of October, crossed the St. Regis river at Gray's Mills (now Hogansburg) on a rafl of boards, and arrived about five o'clock in the morning within half a mile of the vil- lage, without attracting the notice of the enemy. Here the major made such a judicious disposition of his men that the enemy were entirely surrounded, and, after a few discharges, surrendered themselves, with the loss of five killed, among whom was Captain Rothalte. The fruits of this capture were forty prisoners, with their arms and equipments, and one stand of colors, two bateaux, etc. They returned to French Mills by eleven o'clock the next morning, without the loss_of a man, and the prisoners were sent forward to Plattsburg. Ex-Governor Wm. L. Marcy held a subor- dinate office in this affair. " This was the first stand of colors taken by the Amer- icans during the war, and these were received at Albany with great ceremony. An account of the reception of the colors is taken from the Albany Gazette of January, 1813 : - " ' On Thursday, the 5th inst., at one o'clock, a detachment of the volunteer militia of Troy entered this city with the British colors taken at St. Regis. The detachment, with two superb eagles in the centre and the British colors in the rear, paraded to the music of Yankee Doodle and York Fusileers, through Market and State streets to the capitol, the officers and colors in the centre. The remainder of the vestibule, and the grand btaircase leading to the hall of justice and the galleries of the senate and assembly chambers, were crowded with spectators^, His excellency the governor, from illness, being absent, his aids. Cols. Lamb and Lush, advanced from the council chamber to receive the standards. Upon which. Major Young, in a truly military and gallant style, and with an appropriate address, presented it to the people of New York ; to which Col. Lush, on the part of the State, replied in a highly complimentary speech, and the standard was deposited in (he council room, amid the loud huzzas of the citizens and military salutes. Subsequently to this achievement Major Young was appointed a colonel in the United States army.' " This officer was a native of Lebanon, Connecticut. "'After the war he entered the patriot service under Gen. Mina and lost his life in the struggle for Mexican independence in 1817. The patriots, 269 in number, bad possession of a small fort, which was invested by a royalist force of 3600 men. The supplies of pro- visions and water being out off, the sufferings of the garrison and women and children in the fort became intolerable; many of the soldiers deserted, so that not more than 150 effective men remained. Col. Young, however, knowing the perfidy of the enemy, determined to defend the fort to the last. After having bravely defeated the enemy in a number of endeavors to carry the fort by storm Col- Young was killed by a cannon-shot from the battery raised against the fort. On the enemy's last retreat, the colonel, anxious to observe all their movements, fearlessly exposed his person by stepping on a large stone on the ramparts; and while conversing with Dr. Hennes- say on the successes of the day and on the dastardly conduct of the enemy, the last shot that was fired from their battery carried off his head. Col. Young was an officer whom, next to Mina, the American part of the division had been accustomed to respect and admire. In every action he had been conspicuous for his daring courage and skill. Mina reposed unbounded confidence in him. In the hour of danger he was collected, gave his orders with precision, and, sword in hand, was always in the hottest of the combat. Honor and firmness marked all his actions. He was generous in the extreme, and en- dured privations with a cheerfulness superior to that of any other officer of the division. He has been in the United States service as lieutenant-colonel of the Twenty-ninth Eegiment of Infantry. His body was interred by the few Americans who could be spared from duty with every possible mark of honor and respect, and the general gloom which pervaded the division on this occasion was the sin- ■ cerest tribute that could be offered by them to the memory of their brave chief.' "^ " In the affair at St. Regis the Catholic priest was made prisoner, and this surprisal and attack soon after led to a retaliatory visit from the enemy, who captured the company of militia under Capt. Tilden, stationed at French Mills, a short time after. Those who were taken in this affair were mostly the identical troops who had been the ag- gressors at St. Regis, and for these they were subsequently exchanged. " During the war considerable quantities of pork, flour, and cattle, from the State of New York, it is said, were brought by night to. St. Regis, and secretly conveyed across the river for the subsistence of the British army. These supplies were purchased by emissaries under a variety of pretexts, and by offering the highest prices. " An Indian of the British party at St. Regis was lately living who was employed as a secret messenger to carry in- telligence, and was very successful in avoiding suspicions and in accomplishing his errands. " It is a well-known fact that there were American citi- zens who secretly countenanced these movements, and who openly denounced the war and its abettors ; who hailed a British victory as a national blessing, and who mourned over the success of the American arms with a pathos that proved their sincerity. Impartial truth would require their names to be held up to the execration of honest men through all coming time, but charity bids us pass them unnoticed, that they may perish with their memories. " By virtue of powers supposed to be vested in them by the law of 1802, the trustees of these Indians had leased considerable tracts of the reservation in the vicinity of Sal- mon river, which had thus become settled and cleared up ;t but this measure was found to produce jars and discords, which led to the passage of a general enactment, passed June 19, 1812: That it shall be unlawful for any person or persons other than Indians to settle or reside upon any lands belonging to any nation or tribe of Indians within this State; and if any person shall settle or reside upon any such lands, contrary to this act, he or she shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, on conviction, be pun- ished by fine not less than twenty-five dollars, nor more than five * Sec Barber's "Hist., Coll., and Antiquities of Ct." t This was done under the direction of John Hansden, their clerk, who was an Irishman, and possessed much influence over them. HISTORY OP ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 67 hundred doUara, or be imprisoned not less than one month, nor more than six months, in the discretion of the court having cognizance thereof; and it shall be the duty of the courts of oyer and terminer and general sessions of the peace in the several counties of this State, in whieh any part of said lands are or may be situated, to charge the grand juries of their respective counties specially to indict all offend- ers against the provisions of this section.' " Meanwhile many persons had in good faith expended considerable sums in improvements, whieh it was desirable should be secured to them by a more reliable tenure than Indian leases, which led, in 1816, to the passage of a law : " ' That in ease the St. Regie Indians may be desirous of selling the mile square of land reserved by them at or near the village of French Mills, in the town of Constable, in the county of Franklin, or any other lands lying within the State, to which the St. Regis Indians have any title or claim, the person administering the government of *the State shall be and is hereby authorized to purchase the said lands from the said Indians in behalf of this State, and that the treasurer be and is hereby authorized on the warrant of the comptroller to pay to the order of the governor such sum of money to defray the expense of completing the said purchase as the governor may think reason- able to give for the said lands.' " The following treaty was accordingly held March 15, 1816: "'A treaty made and executed between Daniel D. Tompkins, gov- ernor of the State of New York, in behalf of the people of the said State, of the one part, and Peter Tarbell, Jacob Francis, and Thomas Williams, for and in behalf of the nation or tribe of Indians known and called the St. Regis Indians, of the second part (at the city of Albany, this fifteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixteen), witnesseth. " ^Article 1. The said tribe or nation of St. Regis Indians do hereby sell and convey to the people of the State of New York, for the con- sideration hereinafter mentioned, a certain piece or parcel of their reservation, called the one mile square, situated in the county of Franklin, on Salmon river, to have and to hold the same, to the said people of the State of New York and their assigns forever j and also a separate and additional tract of land of their said reservation, situate in the county aforesaid,, containing five thousand acres of the easterly part of their said reservation, adjoining their aforesaid mile square of land, within the territorial limits of the State of New York, to be measured from the east boundary line of said reservation, so as to make the said west boundary line of said five thousand acres to run due north and south ; to have and to hold the said five thousand acres of land, to the said people of the State of New York, and their assigns forever. " ' Article 2. The said Daniel D. Tompkins, governor, as aforesaid, for and in behalf of the people of the State of New York, covenants and agrees with the St. Regis nation of Indians that the said people, for the said several tracts of one mile square of land and of five thousand acres of land hereinbefore granted and conveyed, shall pay to the said nation annually forever hereafter the sum of one thousand three hundred dollars, at French Mills, on said premises; the first payment of the said annuity to be paid on the first Tuesday of August next, and the whole annuity to be paid on the first Tuesday of August in each year thereafter. "^ Article Z. The said St. Regis irihe or nation of Indians also covenant and agree to depute and authorize three of the chiefs or principal men of their tribe to attend at the times and the places aforesaid to receive the said annuity. And that the receipt of the said chiefs or principal men so deputed shall be considered a full and satisfactory discharge of the people of the State of New York from the annuities which may be so received.' " Signed, sealed, witnessed, acknowledged and recorded. '* In consequence of the great distress among the St. Regis and other Indian tribes of the State from the short crops in the cold summer of 1816, the legislature, at the recommendation of the governor, by an act passed February 12, 1817, authorized the payment of annuities to be antici- pated for that year for the purchase of the necessaries of life. " The concessions of the last treaty being found not to cover the territory that had been leased, another treaty was held on the 20th of February, 1818, as follows: "'At a treaty held at the city of Albany the 20th day of Febru- ary, in theyoar of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighteen, between his excellency De Witt Clinton, governor of the State of New York, on behalf of the people of the said State, and Loren Tar- bell, Peter Tarbell, Jacob Francis, and Thomas Williams on behalf of the nation or tribe of Indians known and called the St. Regie In- dians, it is covenanted, agreed, and concluded as follows, to wit: " ' The Siiid St. Regis Indians sell and convey to the people of the State of New York two thousand acres out of the lands reserved by the said Indians, to be bounded as follows, to wit: On the north and south by the north and south bounds of said reservation; on the east by the lands ceded by said Indians to the people of the said State by a treaty dated 16th March, 1816; and on the west by a lino run- ning parallel thereto, and at such a distance therefrom as to contain the said two thousand acres ; also four rods wide of land through the whole length of their reservation for a public road, to the west bounds thereof, together with four rods wide of land for the same purpose, commencing at the boundary-line near the village of St. Regis, to run in a direction so as to intersect the aforementioned road a little westerly of the place where it shall cross the St. Regis river, which will be about one mile and three-quarters in length. On con- dition that both the said roads be laid out by Michael Hogan, with the assistance of Loren Tarbell, and such other person as his excel- lency the governor of the said State shall appoint; and further, that in case a turnpike gate or gates shall be established on said road, all the Indians of the said tribe shall be allowed to pass free of toll, and on th: further condition that those on the lands they have now and heretofore sold shall be compelled, before the State gives them or any other person title thereto, to pay up tho arrearages of rent due on the lands occupied by the said settlers. "'In consideration of which cession or grant it is hereby cove- nanted, on the part of the said people, to pay to the said Indians an- nually forever hereafter, on the first Tuesday of August, at Platts- burgh, an annuity of two hundred dollars. And it is further cove- nanted by and between the said parties that the annuities payable to the said Indians, in consequence of the former treaties between them and the said State, shall hereafter be paid them on the said first Tuesday of August at Plattsburgh, instead of the places where they are made payable by such treaties. In testimony whereof the said governor, on the part of the people of the said State, and the said Loren Tarbell, Peter Tarbell, Jacob Fraucis, and Thomas Williams, have hereunto set their bands and seals the day and year first above mentioned.' " Signed, sealed, acknowledged, and recorded. " The lands ceded by the treaty of 1818 were by an act of April 20 oF that year directed to be laid out into lots and farms and sold. The report of the commissioners appointed by the governor to perform this duty will be given in our account of Fort Covington. The following memorial explains itself, and indicates the necessity of the course which was subsequently to be pursued : "'Albany, February 16, 1818. " ' To his ExceUency Governor Clinton, of the State of Kew York: "'The chiefs of the St. Regis Indians, by their petition, most re- spectfully approach your excellency, to show that in March, 1802, u. law was passed for the benefit of our tribe, appointing the trustees, namely, AVilliam Gray, Louis Cook, and Loren Tarbell, to manage and improve their affairs. From that period until the late war they continued happy amongst themselves, but the war having produced u, feeling of opposite interests in the tribe, they became divided almost equally in number of young men, having your old chiefs with their adherents steady in the cause and interests of the United States. In the course of the war their trustee William Gray was taken prisoner at St. Regis, and carried to Quebec, where he died a 68 HISTORY OP ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. prisoner of war. Their other trustee, Colonel Louis Cook, after being actively engaged with General Brown near BufTalo, died at that place. Since his death, your excellency's petitioner, Loren Tarbell, the surviving trustee, taking to his private council Peter Tarbell and Jacob Francis, old chiefs, in whom the tribe have full faith, has con- tinued to act as for the whole, and has the satisfaction of assuring your excellency that the trust reposed in him has been discharged conscientiously, and with full regard to justice. " ' Now, your excellency's petitioner growing old, and desirous to be relieved in part from the responsibility which he has felt in the discharge of his duties, humbly prays your excellency to get a law passed appointing the above-mentioned Peter Tarbell and Jacob Francis to his aid, to fill the vacancies occasioned by the death of the former trustees, and confirming the acts of your petitioner done in conjunction with the latter since the death of the former trustees. " ' And your petitioner will, as in duty bound, ever pray, etc. "'Lobes Tarbell. (Signed by his mark.) " ' WiLLiAJi L. Gray, Interpreter.' " In consequence of the foregoing petition and memorial, an act was passed on the 3d of April, 1818, appointing Peter Tarbell and Jacob Francis, chiefs of the said tribe, to be trustees in place of Colonel Louis and William Gray, deceased, and to act with the surviving trustee, Loren Tar- bell. " Much difficulty arose between the Indians and their former tenants in relation to their arrearages of rent, con- cerning which they memorialized the legislature, and on the 10th of March, 1824, procured an act directing the comp- troller to draw his warrant on the treasury for the payment of any sum not exceeding $735.07 in favor of Asa Hascall, district attorney for the county of Franklin, upon his cer- tificate or certificates of the amount of rents due to the said St. Reg-is Indians from the settlers on certain lands ceded to them by the people of this State, by treaty dated Feb. 29, 1818, and it was made the duty of the said dis- trict attorney on receiving the said money to pay it over to the Indians as a full satisfaction and discharge of their claims. " On the 10th of April, 1824, the foregoing act was ex- tended to include the lands ceded March 15, 1816. " The mill on Grass river and one mile square reserva- tion continued to be the property of these people until March 16, 1824, when, at a treaty held at Albany between Joseph C. Yates, governor, and Thomas Williams, Mitchel Cook, Lewis Doublehouse, and Peter Tarbell, they sold and conveyed for the sum of $1920 this property. " The following is a copy of the power of attorney under which the deputies of the foregoing treaty acted : "'-fiTnom all men by these presents, That we, the undersigned chief warriors of the tribe called St. Hegii Indians, constitute and appoint Thomas Williams, Lewis Doublehouse, and Peter Tarbell as our true and lawful attorneys, to go to Albany and sell such a quantity of our lands to the people of this State as they may think proper, and to transact aU other business which shall be thought best for the welfare of our nation, and whatsoever our attorneys shall lawfully act or do we will ratify and confirm. Done at St. Regis in general council this eighth day of March, 1821. «"'Eleazer Skarestogowa, Charles Sagaiiawita, Peter Trewesti, Iouace Gareweas, LoRAN Cook, Joseph Bern, Charles AVilliam.s, Eyreb Gagagen, Thomas Tcbble, Baptiste Satchweies, Lewey Sabonrani.' (Signed mostly by their marks.) «Rev. Eleazer Wij " The appointment made by the legisiature in 1818, of trustees to fill the vacancy made by the death of Cook and Gray, appears to have been unsatisfactory to the tribe, as is seen from the following petition that was signed by the same parties as those who furnished the credentials of the deputies at the previous treaty : " ' To the honorable the Legislature of the State of New York, in senate and a/isenibli/ convened : "'We the undersigned, chiefs and warriors of the St. Regis tribe of Indians, humbly represent to your honorable body that our old chiefs that were appointed as trustees are all dead, except one, who is old and unable to transact public business. We therefore earnestly pray that your honorable body will appoint Thomas Williams, Mitchel Cook, Lewis Doublehouse, and Peter Tarbell as trustees to oversee and control the affairs of the St. Regis Indians. "'Done in general council at St. Regis, this ninth day of March 1824.' '• " The following memorial was also prepared to be for- warded to the legislature : " ' At a, public council or town-meeting of the chiefs, head men and warriors of that part of the St. Regis nation, or tribe of Indians which claim the protection and countenance of the State of New York, and which receive annuities from and held lands nnder the authority of the said State, assembled on this 31st day of May, 1824, on their reservation lands in the said State, it is unanimously resolved that, in order to put an end to all quarrels for power, we will not henceforth encourage any other individuals to be chiefs, or trus- tees, except Thomas Williams, Mitchel Cook, Lewis Doublehouse, Peter Tarbell, and Charles Cook ; and we do hereby fully authorize and empower them to transact for and on behalf of our said tribe of American St. Regis Indians all manner of business which they may deem for the general good. " ' We authorize them, especially, to receive all annuities payable to us by virtue of any bargains or treaties made, or to be made, by the State of New York, or of individuals under the sanction of law, and others, and to distribute all money or property, as received amongst the said tribe of American St. Regis Indians, according to our claims. We also authorize and require them to execute to the governor of the said State, or other proper authority, all necessary grants, conveyances, releases, or receipts which may be required, in consequence of any bargain or treaty heretofore made, or hereafter in their discretion to be made on our behalf, and for our benefit, with the governor of the said State. "'We do further authorize and require them to endeavor to make such a bargain with the governor as that all the moneys which we are now, or shall be entitled unto, shall in future be paid on our reser- vation lands, to our said chiefs and trustees, and not elsewhere. We also authorize them to make such arrangements with the governor that some individual in whom the governor, as well as our said chiefs, can place confidence, may hereafter be considered the only proper channel of mutual communication between the governor and our said chiefs on behalf of our said tribe, excepting all occasions in which our said chiefs may be at Albany. We fully approve all that was done by our deputies and chiefs, Thomas Williams, Mitchel Cook, Louis Doublehouse, and Peter Tarbell, in the bargain or treaty made at Albany on the 16th March last. We earnestly request that the governor will bear in mind these resolutions of the American 5/. Regis Indians ; and, that our minds may be known, we have each of us caused our several names and seals to be affixed to this paper and another like it, and ordered one copy to be delivered to the governor and one to be kept by our said chiefs. "'(Signed by about sixty Indians.) " ' Copied from the duplicate at St. Regis.' " As a further evidence of authenticity, the foregoing was accompanied by a declaration of allegiance, a copy of which is here given : Know all whom it mat/ concern. That we, whoso names are hereto annexed, do solemnly declare ourselves to belong to the American HISTORY OF ST. LAWEENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 69 tribe of St.,liegia Indians; that wo owe no fealty to the British gov- ernment, nor receive any annuities or benefits from the same; that we wore friendly to the United States during the late war, and have continued to be so since; and that it is our fixed determination to establish and continue our residence within the limits pf the said United States, the protection and countenance, and especially of the State of New York, we hereby claim for said tribe. In witness of all which we have hereto caused our names and seals to be affixed this 31st day of May, in the year 1824, within our reservation lands in the State of New York, done in duplicate, one copy to be kept by our chiefs, and one copy to be delivered to the governor of the State of New York. '"(Signed by about sixty Indians).' " The author has been unable to ascertain what action, if any, was taken on this subject by the legislature, further than that in a treaty , held on the 29th of June, 1824, between Governor Yates, and Thomas Williams, Mitchel Cook, Louis Doublehouse, Peter Tarbell, and Charles Cook, the latter are recognized as trustees. " By this treaty they ceded, in consideration of seventeen hundred and fifty dollars down, and an annuity of sixty dollars, payable on the first Tuesday in August, at the vil- lage of Plattsburg, to the said chiefs and trustees, a tract of one thousand acres of land, bounded as follows : *' ' On the northeast, by a line commencing on the easterly side of St. Regis river, at the termination of the roll-way, so called, about four or five chains northerly from the mast road, and running thence southeast to the south bounds of the said reserved lands; on the south by the said south bounds; on the northwest by the said St. Kegis river and the land leased by the said Indians to Michael Hogan; and on the southwest by a line to be run southeast from the said St. Regis river to the south bounds of said reserved lands.' " On the 14th of December, 1824, the same Indians, who are styled ' principal chiefs and head men,' confirmed to the people of the State of New York, for a payment of one dollar and an annuity of $305, a certain tract of land which their predecessors had in ' two certain indentures of lease, or instruments in writing, under seal, bearing date respectively on the 20th and 23d days of October, in the year of our Lord 1817, and made and executed by and be- tween their predecessors in office and Michael Hogan, and subsequently confirmed by an act of the legislature.' " The grass meadows on Grasse river, in the town of Mas- sena, were purchased from the St. Regis Indians by the commissioners of the land-office, in pursuance of powers vested in them by the legislature, pn the 21st of February, 1845. " The amount purchased was, according to Lay's Map of 1801, two hundred and ten acres, at three dollars per acre. It was stipulated, that if the amount of land should be found to overrun, the excess should be paid for at the same rates. "The Indian meadows on Grasse river were surveyed by John W. Tate, in 1845, and patented in small lots in the years 1846, '47, '48, '49, and 1851." These transactions are believed to cover all pertaining to or concerning St. Lawrence County. The history of the St. Regis Indians more properly belongs to Franklin county, and is not deemed of sufficient importance to be given in this work. A very full account of the community is fur- nished in Dr. Hough's History of St. Lawrence and Frank- lin Counties, published in 1853, together with biographical notices of many of the most prominent individuals connected with it. LAND TITLES PROPER. " The title of lands, by an established law recognized by all civilized nations, is naturally vested in the primitive occupants, and cannot be taken from them justly, without their consent. ' The law of occupancy, or the taking pos- session of those things which belong to nobody,' says Blackstone,* ' is the true ground and foundation of all property, or of holding those things in severalty which, by the law of nature, unqualified by that of society, were common to all mankind. But when once it was agreed that everything capable of ownership should have an owner, natural reason suggested that he who should first declare his intention of appropriating anything to his own use, and in consequence of such intention actually took it into possession, should thereby gain the absolute property of it.' " The manner in which the primitive title to soil was ex- tinguished is detailed in the first part of this chapter. '' Soon after the Revolution, there began to be evinced a strong tendency for the extension of the settlements, to which the newly-acquired freedom gave an impulse before unknown. As a natural consequence, this led to a series of speculations on a scale proportionate to the progressive movement ; and it will be noticed that many of those who engaged in these operations had been associated in the camp, and had thus acquired, by frequent contact, that familiarity with each other's character, and that degree of mutual confidence, which led to the exercise of trust and reliance upon honor, in many of the negotiations which they carried on, to an extent unknown at the present day. " But little was known of the country, at the time of purchase, beyond that which lay on the border of the St. Lawrence river. Previous to the Revolutionary War an extensive portion of the State on the Hudson and Mohawk rivers, and to a great distance on each side of these, had been granted in patents by the English crown, and surveyed. The most northern of these was ' Totten's and Crossfield's purchase,' which forms the southern boundary of our two counties. This was purchased at the request and expense of Joseph Totten and Stephen Cross- field and others, from the Mohawk and Canajoharie tribes of Indians, at Johnson's Hall, in Tryon county, in the month of July, 1773. It was described as lying on the west side of Hudson river, and contained by estimation about 800,000 acres of land.f This is believed to have been subsequently confirmed by a royal grant. The sur- veyors employed in running out the tract found it a rugged and inhospitable wilderness, and the farther north they went the worse they found it, from which it was inferred that the whole northern country was of the same character.^ " In a map of Canada and the north part of Louisiana, in Jeffery's 'French Dominions in America,' the country north of this tract is described as the ' deer-lmnting grounds of the Iroquois.' Map No. 74, in Delisle's Atlas * Commentaries on the Laws of England. Book 2, chap. xvi. t See MSS., Council Minutes, vol. 31, p. 31. X On the authority of Henry E. Pierrepont, Esq., of Brooklyn. 70 HISTOKY OF ST. LAWEENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. of 1785 (State library), names it and the north of Ver- mont ' Irocoisia' or the land of the Iroquois ; and in an old map, republished in the fourth volume of the Docu- mentary History of the State, it is called ' Gouglisagrage,^ or the beaver-hunting country of the Six Nations. Across our two counties is written the following sentence : *" Through this tract of land runs a chain of mountains which, from Lake Champlain on One side and the river St. Lawrence on the other side, show their tops always white with snow, but although this one unfavorable circumstance has hitherto secured it from the claws of the harpy land-jobbers, yet no doubt it is as fertile as the land on the east side of the lake, and will in future furnish a comfortable retreat for many industrious families.* " A desire to promote the settlement of the State led the legislature to take early measures for bringing into market the unpatented lands. An act was passed. May 5, 1786, entitled ' an act for the speedy sale of the unappropriated lands of the State,' creating land commissioners and em- powering them to dispose of such unsold lands as they might see proper, within the limits of the State. The out- lines of the tracts were first to be run into townships of 64,000 acres, as nearly square as circumstances would per- mit. Each township was to be subdivided into mile square lots, to be numbered in arithmetical progression, from first to last, and on every fourth township to be written ' to be sold hy single lots' The maps so numbered and lotted were to be filed in the secretary's oiEce, and the original thereof in the surveyor-general's oflSce : '"And the said secretary and surveyor-general respectively shall cause maps so to be filed, to be put up in some conspicuous part of their respective oiBces, and shall permit any person whatever freely to inspect such maps, between the hours of nine and twelve in the morning and three and six in the afternoon in every day, Sundays only excepted, paying for inspecting in morning sixpence, and the like in the afternoon.' " Advertisement for the sale of these lands at public ven- due was to be duly given. The surveyor-general was to put up, as nearly as might be, one-quarter part of the unappro- priated and unreserved lands in every township, in lots con- tiguous to each other, and sell them to' the highest bidder; reserving five acres out of every hundred for roads, but not selling any land for a less price than one shilling an acre. " The first, and every fourth township, was to be sold in single lots. One-fourth of the purchase-money was to be paid down, and the remainder was due within sixty days. " In every township the surveyor-general was directed to mark one lot ' gospel and schools,' and another 'for pro- moting literature,' which lots were to be as nearly central as may be. The former was reserved for the support of the gospel and schools of the town, but the latter was reserved for promoting literature within the State. " The land commissioners were directed to designate each township which they might lay out by such name as they might deem proper, and such name was to be respectively mentioned in the letters patent for granting a township or part of a township. " It was made a condition that there should be an actual settlement made for every six hundred and forty acres which may be granted to any person or persons, within seven years from the first day of January next, after the date of the patent by which such lands shall be granted • in failure of which the lands would revert to the people of the State. " Accordingly, in pursuance of powers vested in them, the board above created, on the 25th of May, 1787, passed the following resolution : " ' Reenhed, That the surveyor-general be, and he is hereby required and directed, to lay down, on a map, two ranges of townships for sale, each township to contain as nearly as may be sixty-four thousand acres, and as nearly in a square as local circumstances will permit, and to subdivide each township into lots, as nearly square as may be, and each lot to contain six hundred and forty acres, as nearly as may be. *' * That each range contain five townships adjoining each other, and one of the said ranges to be bounded on the river St. Lawrence, and the said ten townships to be laid out within the following limits and bounds, to wit : '"Between a line to be run S. 28° E., from a point or place on the southern bank of the river St. Lawrence, bearing S. 28° E.,*from the N. W. end of the Isle au Long Saut, and a line parallel with the said first line, and also to run from the south bank of the said river, and the said parallel lines to be distant fifty miles from each other; and that the said surveyor-general advertise the said townships, and pro- ceed to the sale thereof, agreeably to law, and that two of the said townships be sold in single lots.*- " The value of this tract was then but little known, and of the position and courses of lakes and streams there was scarcely more knowledge than we now possess of Central Africa. The shores of the river were well known, and served as a guide in the. laying out of the ten towns. " Accordingly, in pursuance of the statute, the following advertisement appeared in the papers. We copy from the Albany Gazette of June 7, 1787 : "'By virtue of an act of the Legislature entitled "An act for the speedy sale of the unappropriated lands within this State, and for other purposes therein mentioned," passed the 5th of May, 1786, and pursuant to a resolution of the Honorable the Commissioners of the Land Office : — TEN TOlVNSniPS OF UNAPPROPniATED LANDS, On the southeast side of the River St. Lawrekce, will bo sold at Public Vendue, at the Coffee House in the City of New York. The sale to commence on Tuesday, the 10th of July next, at XL o'clock, in the forenoon. Maps are filed for inspection in the offices ot the Secretary of the State, and Surveyor GeneraL "'The fourth and eighth Townships will be sold by single Lota, the rest by Quarters of Townships. " ' Such securities as are made receivable by law on the sales of for- feited lands, will be received in payment. The one Quarter of the Purchase Money on the day of sale, and the remainder within sixty days after. " ' Simeon De Witt, " ' June, 1787. « < Surmyor General: "The names of the ten towniships were established by a formal resolution of the commissioners of the land-office, Sept. 10, 1787, and with their corresponding numbers were as follows : "1, Louisville; 2, Stockholm; 3, Potsdam; 4, Madrid; 5, Lisbon; 6, Canton; 7, De Kalb; 8, Oswegatchie; 9, Hague; 10, Cambray. " They have been known by these names exclusively, and not by their numbers. All but the last two are still re- tained. No. 9 was changed to Morristown, and No. 10 to Gouverneur. Four new towns have since been formed from these, viz. : Macomb, from Gouverneur and Morris- town ; De Peyster, from De Kalb and Oswegatchie ; Nor- folk, from Stockholm and Louisville; and Waddington, * Land-Oflice Minutes, vol. i. p. 256. HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 71 from Madrid. A part of Hague has also been attached to Hammond, and of De Kalb to Hermon. " In accordance with the law, and pievious advertisement, an auction sale took place at the Merchants' coffee-house, in the city of New York, at the time advertised, at which the ten towns were offered for sale, in quarters, except Os- wegatchie and Madrid, which were sold in mile squares. " The obvious intention of the law in causing these lands to be offered in small parcels was to afford an opportunity for those of limited means to compete at the sales ; but this intention was defeated by a previous agreement, it is said, among the purchasers, in which they delegated one of their number to bid, and agreed to not compete in the sale. "The principal purchaser was Alexander Macomb, who subsequently acted a distinguished part in the northern land purchases. Gen. Philip Schuyler owned a one-fourteenth interest in these ' ten towns,' or, as they were sometimes called, the ' Canada towns.' His share equaled 49,860 acres, which were patented in Macomb's name. Watts owned one-fifteenth of tracts Nos. 1 , 2, and 3 Great Pur- chase. " Mr. Macomb had, for many years, resided in Detroit, and is said to have been a fur-trader. In the course of his business he had often passed up and down the St. Law- rence, and thus became acquainted with the general aspect and probable value of the lands, and better qualified to en- gage in these purchases than most of his associates. Alex- ander Macomb was the father of Gen. Alexander Macomb, commander of the United States army. " To cover the private agreement certain persons were employed to bid for Macomb, and the lots so sold were sub- sequently conveyed to him before patenting. In this man- ner lots Nos. 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20, and 21, in Madrid, were bid off by Michael Connolly ; lots Nos. 47, 56, and 57, in the same town, by John Meyers ; lots Nos. 48 and 49, in the same town, by Daniel McCormick ; lots Nos. 18 and 19, in O.swegatchie, by John Meyers; and lot No. 23, in the same, by Thomas McFarren, and afterwards made over to Macomb. " The ten townships were sold as follows to the original patentees. Lots Nos. 55 and 56 were not included in the first patents, but were sold long after. " Reference is made to the volume and page of patents in the office of the Secretary of State, where they are re- corded. The quarters were numbered as follows: No. 1, the northeast ; No. 2, the southeast ; No. 3, the southwest ; and No. 4, the northwest quarters. The gospel and school lot (No. 55) usually came out of No. 3, and the literature lot (No. 56) out of No. 2. As these towns were designated to be each ten miles square, the full quarters (1 and 4) would contain 16,000 acres, and the smaller quarters (2 and 3) 15,360 acres. " 1. Louisville, patented in quarters, to Alexander Ma- comb, on the 17th of Dec, 1787 (b. 20, p. 64). The literature lot was patented to Erastus Hall, Jan. 18, 1833 (b. 32, p. 10). A tier of lots, numbered from 1 to 12, along the St. Lawrence, sold June 4, 1788, to John Taylor (b. 20, p. 311, 322). These contained five hundred acres each. " 2. Stoelcholm, was patented in quarters, to Alexander Macomb, Dec. 17, 1787 (b. 20, p. 68-70). The literature lot was sold to Henry Foster, Sept. 25, 1834 (b. 32, p. 265). " 3. Potsdam was patented in quarters, to Alexander Macomb, Dec. 17, 1787 (b. 50, p. 72, 75). " 4. Madrid was sold in lots of 640 acres, or one mile square each, as follows: Nos. 1 to 6, to Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, June 4, 1788 (b. 20, p. 332). Nos. 7 to 49, to Alexander Macomb, but on different dates, viz. : Nos. 7 to 18, Dec. 17, 1787 (b. 20, p. 96-99); No. 11, April 19, 1788 (b. 20, p. 267) ; No. 12, Dec. 17, 1787 (b. 20, p. 100) ; Nos. 13—14, April 19, 1788 (b. 20, p. 268-69) ; No. 15, Dec. 17, 1787 (b. 20, p. 101) ; No. 16, April 19, 1788 (b. 20, p. 270); Nos. 17—18, April 19, 1788 (b. 20, p. 271-72) ; No. 19, Dec. 17, 1787 (b. 20, p. 101) ; Nos. 20—21, April 19, 1788 (b. 20, p. 273-74) ; Nos. 22 to 30, Dec. 17, 1797 (b. 20, p. 104-112) ; Nos. 31 to 46, Dec. 20, 1787 (b. 20, p. 112-127) ; Nos. 47 to 49, April 19, 1787 (b. 20, p. 275-277). No. 51, literature lot, sold to Thomas Peacock, March 24, 1837 (b. 33, p. 226). Nos. 52 to 95, to Alexander Macomb, but at dif- ferent times as follows : Nos. 52 to 55, Dec. 20, 1787 (b. 20, p. 128-131) ; Nos. 56—57, April 19, 1788 (b. 20, p. 278-79) ; Nos. 58 to 86, Dec. 20, 1787 (b. 20, p. 132- 160); Nos. 87 to 95, Dec. 22, 1787 (b. 20, p. 161-169). The river lots, of 500 acres each, numbered from 12 to 17, sold to John Taylor, June 4, 1788 (b. 20, p. 322). " 6. Canton was patented in quarters, to Alexander Ma- comb, Dec. 16, 1787 (b. 20, p. 80, 83). The literature lot was conveyed to the trustees of Lowville Academy, Nov. 20, 1818 (b. 26, p. 678). " 7. De Kalb was patented in quarters, to Macomb, Dec. 17, 1787 (b. 20, p. 84, 87). The gospel and school lot was subdivided and sold in small lots to individuals between 1829 and 1836. The literature lot was subdivided and sold in small parcels to individuals between 1829 and 1834. " 8. Oswegatchie was patented in mile squares, as fol- lows : Nos. 1 to 9, to Alexander Macomb, Dec. 22, 1787 (b. 20, p. 170, 175) ; No. 10, to Henry Remsen, Jr., Oct. 15, 1787 (b. 20, p. 55) ; Nos. 11 to 12 (the latter of 1160 acres) to John Taylor, June 4, 1788 (b. 20, p. 328) ; No. 13, to Henry Remsen, Jr., Oct. 15, 1787 (b. 20, p. 56); 500 acres at the mouth of Oswegatchie river, to John Tay- lor, April 22, 1789 (b. 21, p. 178) ; Nos. 14 to 15 (1700 acres) to John Taylor, June 4, 1788 (b. 20, p. 329) ; Nos. 16 to 17, to Henry Remsen, Jr., Oct. 15, 1787 (b. 20, p. 54, 58) ; Nos. 18 to 53, to Alexander Macomb, Dec. 22, 1787 (b. 20, p. 180, 201) ; No. 54, to Alexander Macomb, Dec. 24, 1787 (b. 20, p. 210) ; Nos. 57 to 100, to Alex- ander Macomb, Dec. 24, 1787 (b. 20, p. 211, 244); 500 acres to John Taylor, April 22, 1789 (b. 21, p. 178). " 9. Hague was patented in quarters to Macomb, Dec. 17, 1787 (b. 20, p. 88, 91). The greater part of the gos- pel and school lots of this town came in Black Lake. " 10. Canibray was patented in quarters to Alexander Macomb, Dec. 17, 1787 (b. 20, p. 92). "July 4, 1788, Jeremiah Van Rensselaer conveyed to Macomb, for £275, lots Nos. 1 to 6, in Madrid, and 10 and 72 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. n, inLisboD. (See's office. Deeds, b. 2, 4, p. 305.) On the same date Taylor sold his lands to Macomb, containing 10,830 acres, for £580. These were lots Nos. 1 to 11, in Louisville, containing 5500 acres ; No. 12, in Madrid and Louisville, of 500 acres ; Nos. 13 to 17, in Madrid, con- taining 2500 acres; and Nos. 11 to 15, in Oswegatchie, containing 2330 acres. (B. 24, p. 307.) April 5, 1788, Henry Remsen conveyed to Macomb, for £120, the four lots he had bid off in Oswegatchie. " Macomb thus became the nominal owner of nearly the whole of the ten towns. April 16, 1791, he appointed Gronverneur Morris, then in Prance, his attorney to sell any portions of the ten towns which he might deem proper, ex- cepting a tract in Lisbon previously sold.* So far as our information extends, no sales were made by virtue of this power. "By an instrument executed May 3, 1792, Macomb conveyed to Samuel Ogden, in trust for himself, Gen. Henry Knox, Robert Morris, and Gouverneur Morris, four of his associates, for the consideration of £3200, the four town- ships of Hague, Cambray, Oswegatchie, and De Kalb, with the stipulation that Ogden should convey to H. Knox 44,114 acres; to R. Morris, 60,641 acres; and to Gouv- erneur Morris, 60,641 acres of this tract.f In 1792, Ma- comb became involved by transaction with Wm, Duer, Isaac Whippo, and others of New York, J by which he was com- pelled to assign his interest in a tract of land of 1,920,000 acres, for the benefit of his creditors, to William Edgar and Daniel McCormick. On the same date with the foregoing he sold to William Constable, for £1500, the towns of Madrid, Potsdam, and the west half of Stockholm, and Louisville, and to William Edgar, for £12,000, the towns of Lisbon and Canton, excepting a tract in the former, pre- viously sold to John Tibbets. The towns of Potsdam and Canton appear to have been at first included in this con- veyance, which Edgar, in an instrument dated Oct. 24, 1793,§ acknowledged to have been a deed of trust, and ob- ligated himself to reconvey the same to Macomb when required. " The failure of Macomb was in some way connected with a bank which it was attempted to get established, as a rival of the Bank of New York, in 1792. The shares of this bank were to have been $500 each, and 2000 in number. He was very much blamed for the course he took in the matter, and on his failure was lodged in the debtors' prison. It is said that even in this retreat he was assailed by a rabble, and owed his preservation only to the strength of the building. Macomb's failure prevented the sale of northern lands to the celebrated ' Holland Land Company,' who afterwards made the ' Genesee Purchase.' At the time this embarrassment occurred, Macomb was largely in- debted to Alexander Ellice, and others of London. To satisfy this debt, he had conveyed, June 6, 1792, the towns of Lisbon, Canton, Madrid, and Potsdam, with the west half of Louisville and Stockholm, but Ellice dis- * See Deeds, b. 23, p. 146. Secretary's office, t lb., b. 2i, p. 309. X Recital in a conveyance of Oct. 10, 1792. Deeds, b. 24, p. 437, See's office. I lb., b. 26, p. 42. claimed this transfer, and quitclaimed his title to the con- veyance. " The following is a brief summary of the transfers of the several towns of the first purchases, so far as we have been able to obtain it : " Louisville. — We have shown how Constable became the owner of the west half of this town. James Constable, John McVickar, and Hezekiah B. Pierrepont, executors of William Constable, on Dec. 15, 1803, conveyed 2854 acres in a square at the southwest corner to Gouverneur Morris, excepting parts previously sold.|| G. Morris, Jr., received the above by will from his father, and this is called the Morris tract, at the village of Norfolk. At one period it was owned by Le Ray, and a part was afterwards purchased by Russel Attwater. The remainder of the west half of the town was conveyed by Wm. C. to Eweretta Constable, Jan. 3, 1803.^ James McVickar and Eweretta, his wife, con- veyed the above to Wm. Stewart, Dec. 4, 1807, who recon-, veyed it to McVickar, Dec. 5, 1807.** The latter, Aug. 16; 1816, deeded lots 58, 59, 60, 68, 69, 70, 78, 79, 80, 88, 89, 90, to Henry McVickar,f'j' who by will conveyed it to Edward McVickar. The remainder of the west half of Louisville became the property of the McVickar families. The southern half of Nos. 16, 17, and the whole of 26, 27, 36, 37, became the property of John Jay, who married a daughter of William Constable. This is called the Jai/ tract. " The east half of Louisville and Stockholm were con- veyed, June 2, 1792, by Macomb to Wm. Edgar, Wm. Laight, and John Lamb, in trust, to be divided as follows: to Edgar, 30,618 acres ; to Laight, 11,127 acres ; to Lamb, 22,255 acres. JJ Edgar sold his share April 3, 1795, to Nicholas Low, John Delafield, and Josiah Ogden Hoffman, for $30,61 8. The latter, July 15, 1797, sold 5103 acres to Elkanah Watson. " To divide their lands, the proprietors entered into a contract in August, 1798, with Amos Lay, to survey it and subdivide the lots by three qualities. Macomb also agreed with him for a similar survey of the west half The sur- vey having been made, and a deficiency being found, this was proportionally divided among the several proprietors, and they drew by lot for their tracts Feb. 18, 1799. Mr. Lay received, for his survey and maps of Louisville, the sum of $500, and a further sum of $70 for cutting a road through the town. " In a communication of E. Watson to the proprietois, ■ accompanying the survey, was the remark that a road from Louisville to St. Regis was expected to be completed in May or June, 1799. " Stockholm.— The west half of this town was sold by • : William Constable to John Constable, Jan. 3, 1803,§§ and the latter conveyed the same to Hezekiah B. Pierre- pont Sept. 28, 1809.IIII This was a deed in trust for- Pierrepont to settle and sell the lands to raise $45,000 to pay Constable. The lands remaining unsold to be divided equally between them. By an agreement dated II n., b. 2, p. 149. -f-f lb., b. 4, p. 306. 1 lb., b. 1, p. 86. jj u., b. 24, p. 280, See's Office. «* lb., b. 1, p. 322, 323. 12 lb., b. 1, p. 85. nil lb., b. 2, p. 390. HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 73 April 10, 1813,* C. withdraws the 4th quarter of the town, which agreement P. signs. P. conveys to D. McCor- mick the 3d quarter of town, April 14, 181 3.f McC. con- veys back the same April 15, 1813. By a subsequent deed, John Constable, as heir of Wm. Constable,| deceased, releases with the other heirs of Wm. C. all their interest to H. B. Pierrepont. This half of the town has mostly been settled under agents of Hezekiah B. Pierrepont and his heirs. Henry E. Pierrepont, Esq., of Brooklyn, has at present the management of this estate, and of other exten- sive tracts in Franklin, St. Lawrence, Jefferson, Lewis, and Oswego counties, which form a part of the Macomb pur- chases. " Of the eastern half of this town we have been unable to obtain the chain of title. Edward W. Laight, Samuel Reynolds, Wm. Onderdonk, Richard Gouverneur, Nicholas Low and others, were concerned in the early transfers. " Potsdam. — Macomb, by way of Edgar to Constable, as above. The latter by deed, dated Nov. 18, 1802,§ Con- veyed to Garret Yan Home, David M. Clarkson, and their associates, as 'joint tenants, and not as tenants in common,' the town, except two miles wide on the northwest side. G. Van Home conveyed the above by deed of trust, on the 9th of April, 1821, || excepting parts previously sold to Matthew Clarkson, to be conveyed to the following proprie- tors, in separate parcels, and by separate deeds, viz. : Levinus Clarkson, Hermon Le Roy, Nicholas Fish, John C. Clarkson, Garret Van Home, Wm. Bayard, the executors of Jas. McEvers, deceased, Thos. S. Clarkson, Levinus Clarkson, and G. Van Home. April 10, 1821, M. Clarkson, as such trustee, executes conveyances of separate lots and parts of lots, in said town, to said persons. " All subsequent titles in this town (except the two-mile strip) have been derived from the foregoing proprietors. " The strip by the side of Madrid was divided into two tracts, of which the western is called the Ogden Tract, and the eastern the Le Roiix Tract. The latter was sold to Charles Le Roux,by Constable, April 30, 1802. Le Roux died in 1810, and in his will directed that this should be sold by his executors (John Doughty, Charles L. Ogden, and Thomas L. Ogden) as expeditiously as found convenient. " These executors deeded it June 26, 1811,T[ to David A. and Gouverneur Ogden, as joint tenants in fee-simple. The latter, by deed, Oct. 2, 1823,** conveyed to Joshua Wad- dington and Thomas L. Ogden, who, Nov. 1, 1824,ff con- veyed to Waddington. " We have not the title of the western tract. " Madrid. — Macomb to Edgar, Oct. 24, 1793, as above. Edgar, by a conveyance dated June 12, 1794, sold to Wm. Constable the towns of Madrid and Potsdam, for five shil- lings, N. Y. currency.|J " Constable sold to Abraham Ogden, Josiah Ogden Hoff- man, David A. Ogden, and Thomas L. Ogden, this town, June 6, 1796, for $60,000.§§ This was further confirmed « Clerk's Office, b. 3, p. 488. || Ih., b. 7, p. 61, 76. t Ih., b. .3, p. 490, 902. II lb., b. 3, p. 293, 6. J Wm. Constable died May 3, 1803. »» lb., b. 7, p. 442, etc. § Clerk's Office, b. 1, p. 46. ft lb., b. 8, p. 17, etc. X% Secretary's Office, deeds, b. 26, p. 41. II lb., deeds, b. 28, p. 391. 10 by a deed from Thomas Cooper, master in chancery, June 30, 1801, to John McVickar,|||| who, by deed dated July 10, 1801,T[T[ conveyed to David A. and Thomas L. Ogden, as tenants in common. These brothers, April, 1803,*** deeded an undivided third of the town to Joshua Wad- dington. June 29, 1811, these parties executed partition deeds of lands previously contracted and mortgaged.fff " Canton and Lisbon. — Macomb to Edgar, as above. Edgar to Alexander Von Pfister, by deed, June 12, 1794, for five shillings. This was doubtlass in trust. In this was excepted a tract of nine thousand six hundred acres, sold by Macomb to John Tibbets, of Troy, Nov. 20, 1789, for £960.JIt " Von Pfister conveyed, March 3, 1795, to Stephen Van Rensselaer, Josiah Ogden Hoffman, and Richard Harrison, for £5068 16s.§§§ This is said to have been conveyed to them in payment for money loaned. On the 21st of Jan- uary, 1805, Hoffman, by deed, released to Van Rensselaer his interest in the two towns. " By an agreement between the parties, Harrison retained one-third of the eastern part of the tract (about 39,460 acres), and Van Rensselaer the remainder (78,932 acres). |||||| Stephen Van Rensselaer, by deed dated Sept. 13, 1836, ■ conveyed all his estate in these towns to his son, Henry Van Rensselaer,T[TfTf in whom the title of unsold portions is still vested. " De Kalb. — Macomb to Ogden, as above. The subse- quent transfers we have not obtained. Wm. Cooper, of Cooperstown, subsequently purchased the town and com- menced its first settlement. After his death it was divided up into a number of tracts among his heirs. "OswEGATCHiE was patented by ninety-eight patents, as above stated. Macomb to S. Ogden, May 3, 1792, with three other towns. Col. Ogden purchased the share of Robert Morris, as appears in a deed recorded in the Secre- tary's office, January, 1793, and conveyed to the others their shares in the townships of Hague and Cambray. On the 29th of Feb., 1808, S. Ogden conveyed by quitclaim this town to his son, David B. Ogden.**** On the 21st of Jan- uary, 1847, the latter quitclaimed to David C. Judson, Esq., of Ogdensburg.fttt " Nathan Ford and others purchased large tracts in this town. By a deed of Aug. 17, 1798, Ogden conveyed to Ford|J;|:J an undivided half of three certain tracts, one of which contained 10,000 acres, and lay south of the outlet of Black lake. " The lot of 500 acres on which stood the original village of Ogdensburg was sold by John' Taylor, the patentee, June 13, 1789, to Alexander Macomb, for £25.§§§§ " Hague and Cambkat. — To S. Ogden, as above. May 3, 1792, indorsed in a release from Robert Morris for his proportion, and an acknowledgment, signed by General §J§ Secretary's Office. IJIIII Clerk's Office, b. 1, p. 111. 1[1f1| lb., deeds, b. 25, p. 486, etc. :!.■■:-:■:•» /j.^ deeds, b. 2, p. 132. Ill Clerk's Office, b. 1, p. 17. Iff lb., b. 1, p. 20. «-» lb., b. 1, p. 78. ttt lb; b. 3, p. 191. XXX lb., deeds, b. 3, p. 100. tttt lb; B. a. 39, p. 676, etc. Mr. Judson died in 1875. jjii: Oneida Clerk's Office, book B, No. 7, of deeds, p. 49, ■^m Secretary's Office, deeds, b. 24, p. 308. 74 HISTOKY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. Knox, of the receipt of his conveyance, dated May 23, and June 26, 1792. " The portion of the above which came to the share of General Knox lay along the west side of Hague and Cam- bray, extending from the river to the rear line, and was two miles, forty-six chains, and twenty-one links wide. This is known among early purchases as the Knox Tract, conveyed May 23, 24, 1792. It was supposed to contain 32,994 acres, but was afterwards found to embrace only 32,748 acres. To make up^ the deficiency of his 44,114 acres, lands in Oswegatchie were conveyed to General Knox. " Henry Knox conveyed the above to Benjamin Walker, June 8, 1792, by warranty deed. Walker, March 3, 1794, executed an agi-eement for the sale and exchange of lands with Samuel Ogden, including the Knox tract, for the con- sideration of ?1 6,497. Deeded as promised Dec. 2, 1794. A strip three chains forty-one links in width, bounded on the northeast corner of the 60,641 acre tract, was con- veyed by S. Ogden to David Ford, May 27, 1800. Ford exchanged lands Sept. 19, 1808, with Morris, by which the former received a tract on the east border of the town. S. Ogden, March 4, 1795, conveyed 20,000 to John Delafield, for £6000. This tract lay near the west border of the town. Feb. 12, 1796, D. sold to J. 0. Hoffman, for $10, one-sixth of this 20,000 acre strip. This strip was subsequently owned by Messrs. Nicholas Low, John Delafield,* and Benjamin Seixas, and the tract was still further divided by lines running from the St. Lawrence to the rear. Of these the first on the west was subsequently conveyed to Philip Kearney. It was 64 chains 71 links wide, and embraced 10,000 acres. A portion of this, adjoining the town of Rossie, was sold to Mr. Parish. The next strip, 42 chains 75 links wide, was purchased by Nicholas Low. It embraced 6666.66 acres. A tract 18 chains 71 links wide, next east of this, embracing half the above number of acres, became the property of Nicholas Gouverneur. A strip 52 chains 80 links wide, embracing 8000 acres, was sold to Hoffman and Ogden ; and about 5000 acres, or a strip 26 chains 52 links wide, constituting the remainder of the Knox tract, was conveyed to Colonel Samuel Ogden. Adjoining the Knox tract, and embracing 20,000 acres, was sold by Samuel Ogden to William Constable, for £1000, on the 24th of February, 1794. {Secretary's office, I. mortgages ■i&, p. Ml, ete.) " William Constable to Gouverneur Morris. Deed of the same 20,000 acre strip, Nov. 17, 1798. {aeries office, b. No. 1, p. 39.) Gouverneur Morris acquired of Samuel Ogden, by purchase, a second tract, adjoining the last, embracing 60,641 acres. May 13, 1799. {Clerk's office, b. No. 2, p. 401.) About 9500 acres remained in these two towns, which Samuel Ogden and wife conveyed to David B. Ogden,t Feb. 29, 1808. {Clerk's office, b. No. 2, p. 132-33.) David B. Ogden conveyed to Gouverneur Mor- ris, July 1, 1808, all that was conveyed to him by Samuel Ogden. {Clerk's office, b. No. 2, p. 151.) Gouverneur Morris' title was subsequently sold to Edwin Dodge, » Delafield was a great operator in financial matters, but was ulti mately unfortunate in his speculations. Seixas was a Jew, and lived in New York. f A son of Samuel Ogden. David C. Judson, Augustus Chapman, Abraham Cooper, and others. "THE GOSPEL AND SCHOOL LOTS were located near the centre of the town, and were usually Nos. 55 and 56. The former have since been sold by the authority of the legislature, who, on April 21, 1825, passed an act authorizing the freeholders and inhabitants of the several towns, at their annual town-meeting, to vote direct- ing the whole of the income of the gospel and school lots to be appropriated to the schools in town. " The money received for the sale of these lands has in most or all cases been invested, and the interest arisin" therefrom applied for the annual expenses of schools. " The literature lot in Canton was given to the Lowville academy, in Lewis county, and that of Potsdam to the St. Lawrence academy in that town. " The literatuie lots of Stockholm, Louisville, Lisbon, Oswegatchie, Hague, and Cambray were sold by the sur- veyor-general, in pursuance of an act of the legislature, in 1832, and the avails placed in the general literature fund of the State, for the common benefit of the academies and colleges under the direction of the Regents of the Univer- sity. " By an act passed March 23, 1823, the literature lot in Madrid was appropriated to Middlebury academy, in the county of Genesee ; and to settle the boundaries a law was passed on the 17th of March, 1824, by which the east, north, and west bounds, as surveyed in 1797, were declared the bounds of the mile square, and the southern line so ran as to make six hundred and forty acres. Upon receiving a fee simple conveyance of this from the proprietors, the State released to them their claim to the remainder of the township. " By an act of March 4, 1830, the inhabitants of any of the towns of St. Lawrence County having gospel and school lots therein were authorized to apply the rents and profits to the gospel and schools, or either, as the people assembled in town-meeting might direct. The part applied to schools was to be paid to the school commissioners, and that to the gospel was to be distributed to the different Christian orders in the ratio of resident members in full communion with any regularly organized church. It is believed that in no instance were the funds applied to the latter use. "old military tract in CLINTON AND FRANKLIN CODNTIES. " By the same act under which the ' Ten Townships' were sold (passed May 5, 1786), a provision was made for the laying out of a tract of land to pay for military services rendered by persons in the Revolutionary War. " Pour of the ten townships so set apart constitute the present towns of Burke, Chateaugay, Belmont, and Frank- lin, in Franklin county. "By a resolution of the land commissioners, of June 19, 1786, the surveyor-general was directed to lay out the tract as indicated in the act.J This was accordingly done, but no part of the tract was ever patented to military claimants, X Laud-ofBoe Minutes, vol. i. p. 182. HISTOKY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 75 being sold like the other lands by the commissioners. Townships Nos. 6 and 7, the former now in Clinton and the latter in Franklin counties, were patented by the State to James Caldwell, of Albany, on Feb. 25, 1785, with the usual conditions of patents. On March 6, 1785, Caldwell sold to Colin McGregor, of New York, for £500, currency, the above townships. On Dec. 19, 1795, Colin McGregor sold to John Lamb, William Bell, George Bowne, Joseph Pearsall, Henry Haydock, and Edmund Prior, merchants of New York, as tenants in common, but in different pro- portions, of the lands in townships Nos. 6 and 7. The tract was to be divided into lots, for which the purchasers agreed to ballot, according to their respective interests therein. The following is the list of the lots that fell to the share of each, so far as relates to No. 7, or the present towns of Chateau- gay, Burke, and a small part of Belmont. Colin Mc- Gregor drew Nos. 1, 2, 6 to 12, 14 to 21, 23 to 27, 30, 33, 35, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 44, 50, 53, 54, 56 to 59, 61 to 65, 68, 69, 70, 72, 75, 78 to 81, 84 to 87, and 90. John Lamb drew Nos. 76, 71, 3, 13, 22, 55, 82, 77. William Bell drew Nos. 43, 32, 66, 20, 75, 36, 52, 60, 313, 89. George Bowne drew Nos. 473 and 33. Joseph Pearsall drew Nos. 34 and 40. Henry Haydock drew No. 88. Edmund Prior drew No. 5. Thomas H. Branting- ham, who owned a part of each of these townships, drew lots Nos. 51, 28, and 67, which were conveyed to Colin McGregor. " These lots subsequently passed through various hands, and township number seven at present forms almost the entire settled portion of the military tract in Franklin county. " No. 8 was patented to Colin McGregor Feb. 25, 1795, who sold to several parties, and the latter divided* it by ballot, as follows : William Bell, Nos. 3, 4, 5, 7, 13, 14, 18, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 87, 88, 93, 94, 99, 43, 71, 72, 20, 26, 28 ; in all 25 lots. B. Swartwout, Nos. 2, 12, 16, 30, 53, 57, 66, 69, 78, 80, 92; in all 11 lots. R. L. Bowne, Nos. 1, 2, 9, 33, 70, 90, 91, 96 ; in all 7 lots. Leonard Gansevoort, Nos. 17, 21, 22, 45, 55, 56, 59, 60, 73, 79, 84; in all 11 lots. Sir W. Poultney, Nos. 9, 15, 27, 41, 44, 46, 52, 58, 64, 68, 81, 82, 97, 98, 100 ; in all 15 lots. His first agent was Col. R. Troop ; present agent, Joseph Fellows, of Geneva. Edmund Prior, Nos. 62, 67, 74, 86; in all 4 lots. Wm. Rhodes, Nos. 36, 51, 54, 76, 85; in all 5 lots. Wm. Haydock, Nos. 32, 47; in all 2 lots. Barent Staats, 20 lots, which he sold to the following individuals: P. Van Rensselaer, Nos. 48, 49, 50, 61, 63, 65, 75, 77, 83, 82, 95 ; in all 11 lots. P. Van Loon and J. P. Douw, Nos. 6, 8, 11 ; in all 3 lots. A. Van Schaak, No. 25. J. Plush, Nos. 10, 23, 31 ; in all 3 lots. M. Gregory, No. 19. J. Benson and D. B. Slingerland, No. 24. A considerable number of the above lots have been sold for taxes, and many of the present owners hold their titles in this way from the State. " Township No. 9 was patented by the State as follows ; Lots Nos. 1 to 48, to Gerrit Smith, Aug. 10, 1849 ; b. 34, p. 505. Lot No. 51, to Guy Meigs and Samuel C. Wead, June 20, 1849 ; b. 36, p. 291. Lots Nos. 61 to 87, to * Secretary's office, patents, b. 23, p. 393. Gerrit Smith, Aug. 10, 1849 ; b. 34, p. 505. Lots 91 to 113, also 116 to 126, also 129 to 180, also 182 to 201, also 202, and 205 to 215, 217 to 228, 231 to 270, 272, 275 to 287, 290 to 292, 295 to 304, 321 to 323, 325 to 329, 331, 334 to 342, 355 to 360, to the same, at the same date as the other purchases. Portions of the remainder have been sold to individuals, and a part is still owned by the State. "Township No. 10 was surveyed by John Richards in 1813, and sold in part to individuals between 1827 and the present time. A large part was sold to Gerrit Smith, August 10, 1849, and some lots are still owned by the State. " Massena. — This town was mostly granted in small and separate patents to Jeremiah Van Rensselaer and others. The first of these grants was made Oct. 23, 1788, adjoining the present reservation, and at the mile square. These tracts were designated by letters, and extended to the letter N. " Colonel Louis, the Indian chief to whom a tract in this town was conditionally granted in 1789, did not receive a patent. He, however, drew lots Nos. 72 and 98, of 600 acres each, and 55, 11, and 34, of 500 acres each, in Junius, N. Y., for his military services. " macomb's great purchase. " The legislature of the State of New York, at their ses- sion in 1791, in order to promote the settlement of their lands, passed a law authorizing the commissioners of the land-office to dispose of any of the waste and unappropriated lands of the State, in such quantities and on such terms and in such manner as they should judge most conducive to the interest of the public. " The extraordinary powers granted by this law have been rightly pronounced, in the language of a report made not long since to the legislature on another subject, ' too great to be intrusted to mortal hands.' " Governor Clinton, in his annual message of 1792, com- municated a report of the land commissioners, in which they said that they had during the year sold 5,542,170 acres, in less than forty parcels, for £412,173 16s. 8d., and that they had endeavored to serve the public interests therein. '' In a list of applications that had been received for the tract was one from Macomb in April, for all the vacant lands between Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence, for 8d. per acre, in 6 years, without interest, which was rejected on account of its extent, ' and because it contained lands joining old patents, and fronts too great a proportion of water communication.' " On May 2 he applied as before, and it was accepted, the quantity being reduced. " Wm. Henderson had applied for all the military land at 9d. per acre, which was rejected. Macomb had no com- petitors in his purchase. " This report being in order, Mr. Talbott, of Mont- gomery, moved a series of resolutions, in which, after enu- merating the several acts which had been passed relative to the waste lands, and declaring that the spirit and design of these had been to afford to those of small means the ability 76 HISTOKY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW^ YORK. to purchase, and to prevent the accumulation of large landed estates in the hands of a few, he directly intimated that the commissioners had violated the trust reposed in them. It appeared a mystery to him that this immense tract had been sold for 8c^.,' while adjoining tracts had been sold to the Roosevelts for 3s. Id., to Adgate for 2s., to Caldwell, McGregor, and Henderson at Is. Sd. per acre. " The sale, without interest and privilege of discount by paying down, was severely censured. " These resolutions were warmly discussed but not passed. They were evidently designed as the foundation for an im- peachment, but failed in their purpose. Colonel Burr, not having attended the meetings of the board, was not included in the charges, as he appears to have been absent on official business. " The discussion continued till a late hour, when the house adjourned, without decision, until the next day. On the 10th of April, 1792, Mr. Melancthon Smith moved the following resolution, with a preamble, as a substitute for those formerly offered : " ' Reaohed, That this house do highly approve of th«- conduct of the commissioners of the land-oflBce in the judicious sales hy them as aforesaid, which have been productive of the before-mentioned bene- ficial effects.' " This resolution was adopted by a vote of 35 to 20. The following is a copy of the application of Macomb, which was received by the commissioners : " ' At a meeting of the commissioners of the land-ofBce of the State of New York, held at the city hall, in the city of New York, on Wed- nesday, the 22d day of June, 1791. "'Present — His Excellency George Clinton, Esquire, governor j Lewis A. Scott, Esquire, secretary; Gerard Bancker, Esquire, treasurer; Peter T. Curtenius, Esq., auditor, " ' The application of Alexander Macomb, for the purchase of the following tract of land, was read, and is in the following words, to wit: " 'To the commissionei's of tlie land-ofiice of the State of New York. " 'Gentlemen, — I take the liberty of requesting to withdraw my application to your honorable board of April last, and to substitute the following proposal for the purchase of the waste and unappropriated lands comprised wilbin the bounds hereinafter mentioned, and all the islands belonging to this State in front of said lands, viz.: Beginning at the northwest corner of the township called Hague, on the river St Lawrence, and thence extending southerly along the westerly bounds of the said township, and the township called Cambray, to the inoet southerly corner of the latter ; thence extending easterly, north- erly, and southerly along the lines of the said township of Cambray, and of the townships of De Kalb, Canton, and Potsdam and Stockholm to the eastermost corner of the latter; thence northwesterly along the line of the said township of Stockholm, and the township of Louis YiUe, to the river St. Lawrence- thence along the shore thereof to the line, run for the north line of this State in the 45th degree of north latitude; thence east along the same to the west bounds of the tract formerly set apart as bounty lands for the troops of this State serving in the army of the United States; thence southerly along the same to the north bounds of the tract known by the nanicbf Totten and Cross- field's purchase ; thence westerly along the north bounds of the tract last men- tioned to the westermost corner thereof; thence southerly along the westerly bounds thereof to the most westerly corner of township No. 5 in the said tract; thence westerly on a direct line to the northwestermost corner of the tracts granted to Oothoudt; thence westerly on a direct line to the mouth of Salmon river, where it empties itself into Lake Ontario; thence northeasterly along theshore of thesaid lake and the river St. Lawrence to thoplacc beginning including all the islands belonging to this State fronting the said tract in Lake Ontario and the river St. Lawrence, five per cent, to be deducted for highways, and all lakes whose area exceeds one thousand acres to be also deducted ■ for which, after the above deductions, I will give eight pence per acre, to be paid in the following manner, to wit: One-sixth part of the purchase-money at the end of one year from the day on which this proposal shall be accepted, and the residue in five equal annual installments on the same day in the five next suc- ceeding years. The first payment to be secured by bond to the satisfaction of your honorable board ; and, if paid on the time limited, and new bonds to the satisfaction of the board executed for another sixth of the purchase-money, then I shall be entitled to a patent for one-sixth part of said tract, to be set off in a square in one of the corners thereof, and the same rule to be observed as to the payments and securities and grants or patents until the contract shall be fully completed. But if at any time I shall think fit t» anticipate the payments, in whole or in part, in that case I am to have a deduction on the sum so paid of an interest at the rate of six per cent, per annum for the time I shall have paid any such sura before the time hereinbefore stipulated. " ' I have the honor to be, gentlemen, " ' With great respect, your most obedieut servant, "'Alexander Macomb. " ' New York, May 2, 1791. " ' I do hereby consent and agree that the islands called Caleton's or Buck's islands, in the entrance of Lake Ontario, and the Isle An Long Saut, in the river St. Lawrence, and a tract equal to six miles square in the vicinity of the village of St. Regis, be excepted out of the above ct ntract, and to remain the property of the State: Provided always. That if the said tract shall not be hereafter applied for the use of the Indians of the said village, that then the same shall be considered as included in this contract, and that 1 shall be enti- tied to a grant for the same on my performance of the stipulations aforesaid. " ' Alexander Macomb.' " The board, by a resolution, accepted this proposition, and directed the surveyor-general to survey the said tract, at the expense of Macomb, and requiring him to secure the payment of the first-sixth part of the purchase-money. (^Land-Office Minutes, vol. ii. p. 192.) " On Jan. 10, 1792, the surveyor-general having made a return of the survey above directed, and the'security re- quired having been deposited for the payment of the southern half of the tract, containing 1,920,000 acres, the secretary was directed to issue letters patent accordingly,* which was done Jan. 10, 1792.f This portion was tracts Nos. 4, 5, 6, situated in Jefferson, Lewis, and Oswego counties. " In the returns of the survey made under the direction of the surveyor-general the lands were laid out into six tracts, of which No. 1 lies entirely in Franklin county, and Nos. 2 and 3 in St, Lawrence County, " These were subsequently subdivided into townships named and numbered as follows, with the origin of each so far as is known :\ " Number One embraced twenty-seven townships. Macomb, from Alexander Macomb. Coi-machus,^ from Daniel McCor- mick. Constable, from Wm. Constable. Moira, from a place in Ireland. Sangor, from a town in Wales. Malone, from a name in the family of K. Harrison. Annaetown, from a daughter of Constable. St. Patrick, from the Irish saint. Shelah, from a place in Ireland. WiUiamsviUe, from a son of Con- stable. Westerly. Bwcrettmillc, from a daughter of Constable. Dnytmi, from Jonathan Dayton. Emiis. 15. Fowler, from Theodosius Fowler. 16. JoJinsmanor, from a son of Con- stable. 17. Gilchrist, from Jonathan Gilchris't 18. Brighton, from a town in Plngland. 19. Cheltenham, from a town in Eng- land. 20. Margate, from a town in England. 21. Hai-rietstown, from a daughter of Constable. 22. Zoc/tncaj///, from a lake in Ireland. 23. Kitlarney, from a lake in Ireland. 24. JBanijmore, fi'om a place in Ire- land. 25. Jilount Mmris. 26. Cove mil. 27. Tiiypei-arif, from a county in Xi"^ laud. "These were numbered from west to east, and from north to south. * Land-offioo Minutes, vol. ii, p, 232, ■ t See Office Patents, b, 23, p, 160; see recital in patent to MoCor- miok, ib., b, 18, p, 198, etc. t In obtaining the origin of these names the author has been assisted by A, 0, Brodie, of N, Y,, and Henry B. Pierrepont, of Brooklyn, ? Or MoCormiok. This word is but a play upon the name. HISTO]?.Y OF ST. LAWKENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 77 "Number Two embraced eighteen townships, in the eastern part of St. Lawrence County, and south of the ten towns, viz. : "1. Sherwood. 2. Oakham. 3. Mortlake. 4. Harewood. 5. Janestown, from a daughter of Constable. 6. PiercefieJd. 7. GruTish-ucJc. 8. Hollywood. 9. Kildare. 10. Malifdavale. 11. Wick. 12. JRiveradale. 13. Cookham. 14. CathaHnevUle. 15. Islington. 16. Chesfrjield. 17. Granf^e. 18. OrMjnacft. " This tract was numbered from west to east, commencing at the southwest corner, and ending at the north. " Number Three was divided into fifteen townships, "1. Hammond^ from Abijali Ham mond. , 2. Somerville, from a town in New Jersey. *^3. Dewitt^ from the surveyor-general. V 4. Filz WiUiam. 5. Ballyheen^ from McCormick's. na- tive place. \A. Clare, from a county in Ireland. jr. Killarwyj from a county in Ire- land. k9. lull. ^. 43. 14. 15. Edwards^ from a brother of D. McCormick. Sarah shv/}'g, Clifton, from a town in England. Portafernj, from a town in Ire- land. Scriba, from George Scriba. (?) Chamtifmt, from the name of J. D. Le Kay. Bloomjleld. EmilyviUe, from a danghter of Constable. " The numbering of this tract began at the northwest, and ran irregularly from west to east. Most of the others have been discarded, or are used only in designating tracts of land. " Macomb, soon after his purchase, appointed William Constable to go to Europe and sell lands, which he did ; but as they are not within our proposed limits, the details of these transactions will not be given. The report of this sale naturally spread through the State, and put a stop to further applications, which led the commissioners to direct the surveyor-general (Oct. 11, 1791) to advertise in all the papers in the State that the Old Military tract, and large tracts lying on the east and south of this, were still for sale. " This was accordingly done.* The failure of Macomb interrupted the sale and prevented him from receiving the patents. On June 6, 1792, he released to William Con- stable his interest in tracts 1, 2, and 3.f " As many of the transfers that ensued were confidential, it would be tedious to follow them, if our space allowed. William Constable and Daniel McCormick were the leadins o negotiators in this business, and after the death of the former, in May, 1803, James Constable, John McVickar, and Hezekiah B. Pierrepont, as his executors, assumed the settlement of the estate and sale of lands. Macomb's in- terest in the three tracts was sold June 22, 1791, to William S. Smith, Abijah Hammond, and Kichard Harrison, but the patents for these tracts were not issued till several years afterwards. "On March 3, 1795, the commissioners of the land- office directed the secretary of state to prepare letters patent to Daniel McCormick for the third tract of 640,000 acres, ® Land-office records, p. 220. t See's office, patents, b. 23, p. 160. the latter, who was an original proprietor with Macomb, having paid the sum required into the treasury. This was accordingly done.J " On July 10, following, McCormick satisfied the claims of Smith, Hammond, and Harrison by deeding one-fifteenth part of the third tract, and two undivided tenths remaining after deducting the said one-fifteenth part, and also one-third part of the remainder.§ " May 14, 1798, McCormick applied for patents for the first and second tracts of Macomb'& purchase, which were ordered, and on the day following approved and Aug. 17 passed by the commissioners. || The first embraced 821,879 acres, and the second 553,020 acres. "The fees charged for issuing a patent for 1,374,839 acres, granted to McCormick, amounted to $820, of which half was paid into the treasury, and the rest the land com- missioners divided between them, by virtue of an act of Feb. 25, 1789, establishing the fees, which were a certain rate per township,^ and of course proportioned to the mag- nitude of the sales. "On June 21, 1797, the surveyor-general was directed by the land commissioners to finish and return a sun'ey of the lands contracted and sold to Macomb, and to employ none but competent and trusty surveyors on this duty. If difficulty arose in finding the starting-point, he was to at- tend personally to the matter.** " McCormick, by deed to Constable, Sept. 20, 1793, con- veyed an undivided third of great lot No. 2,fj' and Dec. 19, 1800, a partition deed between Macomb and McCormick to Constable was executed. Theodosius Fowler, Jonathan Dayton, and Robert Gilqhrist, having become interested in the tract, a partition deed was executed Jan. 19, 1802, in which Hammond, Harrison, Fowler, Gilchrist, and Dayton released to McCormick, Constable, and Macomb. In July, 1804, James D. Le Ray, by purchase from Constable, be- came interested in the townships of tracts Nos. 1, 2, and 3. He appointed Gouverneur Morris as his attorney. " We have prepared a detailed statement of the shares received by each in these transfers, but our space will not admit of its insertion. The following statement shows the names of those to whom the difierent townships were as- signed. It is taken from a copy of an original map, kindly furnished to the author by P. S. Stewart, Esq., of Carthage, the agent of Mr. Le Ray. " To condense the statement, the following abbreviations will be used : L. — Le Ray de Chaumont ; M. — Alexander Macomb ; M. C. — Daniel McCormick ; W. C. — Wni. Con- stable ; F, — Theodosius Fowler ; G. F. — Gilchrist Fowler ; R. H. — Richard Harrison ; H. — Abijah Hammond ; P.^ — • David Parish. " Great Tract No. 1, including twenty-seven townships. 1, M. ; 2, W. C. ; 3, W. C. ; 4, G. F. ; 5, M. C; 6, R. H. ; 7, W. C. ; 8, H. ; 9, N. i W. C, middle i H., S. J M. C. ; 10, W. C. ; 11, R. H. ; 12, W. C. ; 13, N. W. \ \ Seo.'s office, patents, \>. 23, p. 394. J Scc.'s office, deeds, 29, p. 157. II Land-office records, iii. p. 60. Patents, b. 18, pp. 198, 394, seo.'s office. If lb , iii. p. 5?. »■» lb., iii., page 18. ff Deeds, secretary's office, b. 32. 78 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW, YORK. R. H., E. i not marked ; 14, not marked ; 15, N. W. i G. P., N. E. i M. C, south part not marked ; 16, W. C. ; 17, N. i R. H., middle i M. C, S. i W. C. ; 18, H. ; 19, F. ; 20, G. F. ; 21, L. ; 22, M. C. ; 23, M. C. ; 24, N. W. i H., N. E. i G. F., S. E. i R. H., S. W. J M. C. ; 25, 5. i G. F., the rest not marked ; 26, M. C. ; 27, N. W. i M. C, the remainder L. " Great Tract No. 2, including eighteen townships. 1, N. W. i M. C, N. E. i L., S. E. i M. C, S. W. i G. F. ; 2, N. W. i M., S. W. i G. F., E. i L. ; 3, W. C. ; 4, N. W. i L., N. E. i H., S. E. i M. C, S. W. J C. ; 5, M. ; 6, S. i M. C, N. i M. C, R. H , H., G. F., and L. ; 7, M. C. ; 8, N. J R. M., S. J M. C. ; 9, R. H. ; 10, W. C. ; 11, W. C. ; 12, N. W. i P., N. E. i R. H., S. E. } H., S. W. i M. ; 13, P. ; 14, P. and M. ; 15, H. ; 16, R. H. ; 17, E. part M. C, middle part L., W. part G. F. ; 18, not marked. " Great Tract No. 3, including fifteen townships. 1, H. ; 2, not marked ; 3, not marked ; 4, E. part H., middle part M. C, W. part S. (Madame de Stael ?) ; 5, M. C. ; 6, E. i L., W.i8.; 7, G. F. ; 8, M. C. ; 9, M. ; 10, N. W. i M., N. B. i L. ; S. E. i R. H., S. W. i H. ; 11, M. C. ; 12, M. C. ; 13, L. ; 14, not marked; 15, N. E. i M. C, N. W. i G. F., S. J L. ; 15, N. E. i L., N. W. i M. L., S. E. i M. C, S. W. i G. F. "THE ISLANDS IN THE ST. LAWRENCE were not patented with the lands opposite which they lay, nor included in the jurisdiction of any of the towns, al- though embraced in the contract of Macomb, with two ex- ceptions. It was not deemed advisable to patent any of these until the national boundary was decided. By an act passed March 17, 1815, they were declared to be a part of the respective towns opposite which they lay, and this ex- tended to the islands in Lakes Erie and Ontario, and the Niagara river. " The islands were patented as follows : All the islands which lie within this State, between a line drawn at right angles to the river, fiom the village of Morristown, situated on the shore of the river, and a meridian drawn throuo-h the western point of Grindstone island, in the county of Jefferson, containing 15,402/^ acres, were granted to Elisha Camp, Feb. 15, 1823. In the above grant is included Grindstone island, containing 5291 acres; Wells' island, containing 8068 acres ; Indian Hut island, containing 369 acres ; and some small islands without names. " Lindy's island, 7.92 acres, to Elisha Camp, Dec. 9, 1823 ; nine small islands, 178.8 acres; Isle du Gallop, 492.5 acres; Tick island, 11 acres; Tibbits island, 17.5 acres; Chimney island,* 6.2 acres ; other small islands, 3 acres' to Hezekiah B. Pierrepont, Oct. 21, 1824. " Rapid Plat, 9763 acres. January 28, 1814, the com- missioners of the land-office recognized the right of Daniel McCormick to this island. He conveyed it, on the 13th of March, 1815, to David A. Ogden. On the 15th of De- cember, 1823, the following, with the number of acres in each, were patented to McCormick. (The title is recorded in book 25, p. 480, of patents, at Albany.) « Oraooneaton island, occupied by Fort Levis. "Smugglers' island and Johnson's island, 17.72. An island near Johnson's island, between that and the United States shore, 2.46 ; Sny island, 55.20 ; Chat island, 95.20 ; Chrystler's island, 52.80 ; Hog island, 5.29 ; Goose Neck island, 405.87 ; Upper Long Saut island, 868.80 ; C island, 3.1 ; D island, 2.5 ; Haynes' island, 134.56. " The Isle au Long Saut was reserved by the State in the original sale, from its supposed importance in a military point of view, and sold to individuals by the surveyor- general, in pursuance of statute, between May 5, 1832, and the present time, at the land-office in Albany. " Barnhart's island, 1692.95 acres ; two-thirds to David A. Ogden and one-third to Gouverneur Ogden, Dec. 15, 1815. " This island, near St. Regis, lies very near the Canadian shore, and a considerable part of it north of the line of 45° N. latitude. It was accordingly regarded as British terri- tory, and in 1795 it was leased of the St. Regis Indians by George Barnhart, for a term of 999 years, at an annual rent of $30. The British government had made a practice of granting patents upon the issue of similar leases, and would doubtless have done so in this instance had applica- tion been duly made. " In 1806, a saw-mill was built, and arrangements were made for the erection of a grist-mill, when the Indians be- came dissatisfied and insisted upon a renewal of the lease, at an increased rent. Accordingly a lease was given for 999 years, at $60 annual rent. Deeds had been granted by Barnhart, who, with all the other inhabitants of the i.sland, were treated as British subjects, until upon running the line between the two nations, after the treaty of Ghent, the commissioners assigned the island to the United States, as an offset for the half of Grand island, at the outlet of Lake Ontario, which in justice would have been divided. In 1823, D. A. Ogden and G. Ogden purchased the islands in St. Lawrence County, and with them Barnhart's island. The settlers not complying with the offers made, were ejected by the State, and they in 1849 applied for redress at the State legislature. By an act passed April 10, 1850, Bishop Perkins, George Rediugton, and John Fine were appointed commissjoners to examine these claims, and awarded to the petitioners the aggregate of $6597, which was confirmed by an act passed at the following session of the legislature. The claimants received as follows : Wm. Geo. Barnhart, $1475; Jacob Barnhart, $3284; Geo. Robertson, $1127; Geo. Gallinger, $402; and Geo. Snet- zinger, $309. " The State, in disposing of its lands, conveys them by an instrument called a patent, in which there appears no consideration of payment, and which purports to be a gift, and to be executed by but one party. As reference is often made to the reservations of the patent, the form of one is here inserted : " ' THE PEOPLE OP THE STATE OF NEW YORK, By the grace of GOD, free and independent. TO ALL to whom these Presents shall come greeting : KNOW YE, That WE HAVE aiven, Granted, and ConBrmed, and by these Presents DO GIVE, Grant, and Con- firm unto [here follows name, bounds of lands, Ac], TOGETHER with all and singular the Rights, Hereditaments, and Appurtenances for the same belonging, or in any wise appertaining : EXCEPTING and RESERVING to ourselves all Gold and Silver Mines, and five HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 79 Acves of every Hundred Acres of the said Tract of Laod for High- ways : TO HAVE AND TO HOLD the above described and granted Premises unto the said . . ., Heirs and Assigns, as & good and indefeasible Estate of Inheritance forever. '"ON CONDITION, NEVERTHELESS, That within the Term of Seven Years, to be computed from the . . . Date hereof, there shall be one family actually settled on the said Tract of Land hereby Granted for every six hundred and forty acres thereof, otherwise these our Letters Patent and Estate hereby Granted shall cease, de- termine, and become void: IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, AVE have caused these our Letters to be made Patent, and the great Seal of our said State to be hereunto affixed : WITNESS our trusty and well be- loved [George Clinton] Esquire Governor of our State, General and Commander-in-Chief of all the Militia, and Admiral of the Navy of the same.' " These instruments are made out by the Secretary of State, on the order of the land commissioners, and bear the signature of the Governor and the great seal of the State, which, in former times, was a large waxen disk, with paper on each side, bearing the arms of the State on the face, and an impression on the back, which was styled the ' re- verse.' " 'Tax sales' have caused large tracts of land in the rear townships of the great purchase to change hands, and many of the present owners hold their titles from this source. In March, 1834, 116, 873^ acres were sold in St. Lawrence, and 28,323 acres in Franklin counties, amounting, in the latter, to $841.73 only. At this sale Peter Smith bid off large amounts in these and other counties. In 1839, 43,164 acres in St. Lawrence, and 65,881 acres in Franklin coun- ties were sold. In 1843, 93,690 acres in the former, and 45,457 acres in the latter. These sales, which formerly took place at Albany, have, by a recent act of the legis- lature, been very judiciously transferred to the county- seats. " These lands have usually been sold at prices scarcely nominal. The following are examples : 17,140 acres, $185.09; 20,568 acres, $263.02; 21,165 acres, $671.03. The State is said to own considerable tracts which have been forfeited for taxes. " ' Landholders' Reserves' have very frequently been made in the northern counties, and generally apply to mines and minerals. In some deeds those reserves embrace certain specific ores or minerals, and in others the reserva- tions are extended to mill seats and mill privileges. A clause is commonly inserted by which it is stipulated that all damages arising from entering upon the premises, in pursuance of the conditions of the reservation, shall be paid. '• This has undoubtedly, in some cases, operated as a drawback upon the mining interests, as the occupant, having no claims upon ores that might exist upon his premises, would feel no solicitude about their discovery ; and even would take pains to conceal their existence, pre- ferring the undisturbed enjoyment of his farm to the an- noyance and disturbance that might arise from mineral explorations. " These reservations of ores are superfluous in sections underlaid by Potsdam sandstone, or any of the sedimentary series of rock that overlay this formation, as none have hitherto been discovered or suspected to exist in any of these rocks. " It is only in primitive rock, or along the borders of this and sedimentary or stratified rocks, that useful ores have hitherto been discovered in this section of the State. " THE ORIGINAL SURVEY OF MACOMB's PURCHASE. " The following account of these surveys was obtained from Mr. Gurdon Smith, a pioneer settler and one of the surveyors who run out the great purchase. The north line of Totten and Crossfield's purchase was run during the Revolutionary War by Jacob Chambers, and forms the southern boundary of the great tract. " The ten towns had been supposed to be surveyed pre- vious to 1799, but some of the lines, if ever marked, could not then be found, and a part of them were run out, under the direction of Benjamin Wright, of Rome, in 1799. " The outlines of the great tract had been surveyed by Medad Mitchell and Tupper, — the former from New York, — who laid out the great tracts Nos. 1, 2, and 3, but did not subdivide it into townships. On finishing their work they were at the extreme southeast corner of Franklin county, from whence they proceeded through the woods towards Rome, but bearing too far to the north, they crossed Black river below the High Falls, and when they first recognized their situation were in the town of Redfield, Oswego county, where one of them had previously surveyed. '' When they reached Rome they were nearly famished, having been several days on close allowance, and for a short time entirely destitute. From one of these surveyors Tup- per's lake, on the south border of the county, derives its name.. In the winter of 1798-99, Benjamin Wright, originally from Connecticut, but then a young man, residing in Rome, and by profession a surveyor, obtained from the proprietors in New York a contract for surveying the three _ great tracts of Macomb's purchase into townships. He had been engaged from 1795 till 1798, in company with his cousin Moses Wright, in surveying large tracts, and, among others, the Black river tract in Jefferson, Lewis, and Oswego counties. '' From his excellent reputation as a surveyor he was em- ployed as a suitable person to superintend the survey of the great northern purchase. " Early in June, Mr. Wright, with a party of about twenty men, started by way of Oneida lake and the St. Lawrence river, with a six-handed bateau, to commence their operations at St. Regis. They left arrangements for three of their number, G. Smith, Moses Wright, and Eben- ezer Wright, with eight other men, to come through the woods to meet them at Penet's bay, now the village French Creek. The latter party started on the 11th of June, 1799, having been prevented by the absence of one of their number* from getting off till several days after the main part of the company had left ; and arrived after a march of about four days at the point designated, but, instead of finding their companions, they found a letter stating that, after waiting in vain several days, they had gone down the river. With the exception of a small supply left for their support, they were destitute of provisions ; but, making a virtue of the necessity, they divided their little stock equally between them, and pulling down the little log cabin which * Gurdon Smith. 80 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. had served for their shelter, and which was then the only tenement in the country, they made of its timber a raft, and, following on, came to where some Canadian timber- thieves were at work on the American shore, near the head of Chippewa bay. " Here they found provisions for supplying their most pressing hunger, and from hence they were taken in a boat to where Brookville now is, then a small settlement. " From this they proceeded to Oswegatchie, where they overtook the others, and being assembled, they descended to St. Regis to commence their operations at that place. At the head of the Long Saut two of the number, intimi- dated by the swiftness of the current, sUpped out of the company and attempted to gain St. Regis by land ; but, on arriving at the mouth of Grasse river, they were obliged to hire some Indians who were passing to convey them to Cornwall, from whence they proceeded to St. Regis. A small party, under the direction of G. Smith, was put on shore to proceed by land from the Long Saut to St. Regis, to make a traverse of the river, who arrived two or three days later than those who proceeded by water. " The arrival of so many men upon their lands at first greatly alarmed the Indians, who .suspected evil designs upon their persons or their property, and they assembled in arms to repel them ; but at length, being satisfied that their designs were altogether peaceable, they were received and treated with much kindness. The names of those assem- bled at this place for surveying were as follows : " Benjamin Wright (principal surveyor), Gurdon Smith, Moses Wright, and Ebenezer Wright (the latter cousins of B. Wright), Clark Putnam, E. Hammond, Benjamin Ray- mond, surveyors at the head of parties, and each having his lines assigned him. Each had two axe-men to mark the lines, and two chain-men. B. Wright superintended the ope- rations of the others, and had the direction of supplying the several parties with provisions at cariips that were estab- lished at different points. He had his headquarters at the mouth of Raquette.river. " One of the first duties to be done was to explore the Raquette river, and ascertain how far that stream was navi- gable, and at what points it was most eligible to establish camps. To G. Smith was assigned this duty, and ho with two men followed the shore as far up as the present village of Potsdam, and, in consequence of this and other explora- tions, a camp was established at the present site of Norfolk village, at the foot of the rapids on the west side ; another near Coxe's mills in Pierrepont ; another at the Canton high falls ; and another at Cooper's falls, in De Kalb, and at each of these a man was left to take charge of provisions. " In commencing operations, Mr. Wright found it a matter of the first importance to ascertain the point where the line formerly run between the great lots of Macomb's purchase intersected the south line on the southern border of the county. "To determine this Mr. Hammond was dispatched to find the point of intersection, but not only failed in this but also was detained so long by various causes that his absence became a serious source of uneasiness with those who were left. He at length came in nearly famished, having failed to accomplish his object. " Still in hopes of ascertaining these important data, Mr. Smith was next sent, with directions to make the most careful examinations and not return until, if possible, they were found. After traveling nearly as far as was necessary to reach the point, the party camped near a river to spend the night, in hopes of being so fortunate as to find the object of their search the following day. Next morning one of their party related a curious dream which he had dreamed during the night, in which he related- that they seemed to be traveling along and carefully examining every object for land-marks, when they came to a bog meadow, with scarcely any vegetation but moss, and that on a solitary bush which grew apart from all others might be found the mark. This dream was treated with derision ; but they had scarcely proceeded a quarter of a mile when they came to a marsh which the dreamer declared was like that which had appeared in his vision, and on careful examination he detected the bush and the mark, much to the surprise of all. " The manner in which this anecdote was related leaves no doubt of its truth, and it remains a subject for the speculation of the p.sychologist to offer a solution. He might have heard it related casually, and years before, that such a mark had been made in such a place, and this, from its trifiing nature, might have made no impression at the time and was forgotten, but when it became an object of solicitude to ascertain it, the busy thoughts flitting through the mind in dreams, without the control of the will, and following each other in a succession of which we know no law or order, might have brought, unbidden, the welcome fact long forgotten, and which no effort of memory in the waking state could have recalled. In no other rational manner can this singular instance of apparent revelation be satisfactorily explained. " These different surveying parties spent the summer in running some of the principal lines of the great purchase, meeting at times with great hardships, from exposure to the elements, want of provisions, and misunderstanding of in- structions, from the imperfect knowledge possessed of the different lakes, streams,, and rivers in the country. " Towards fall the several parties proceeded back to Rome, where they all resided, some by water, and two parties (Smith's and Raymond's) through the forest. " An incident occurred in Mr. Smith's party worthy of record. He had procured a supply of provisions, about twenty-five miles below Tupper's lake, of a party who had been sent by Mr. Wright for this purpose, and thence, in pursuance of instructions, he had turned back to the south line, and had proceeded on this to the extreme southwestern corner of St. Lawrence County, where they camped for the night. In the morning, it being foggy and misty, two of his men had conceived that the coui-se he proposed to take, in order to reach the High falls on Black river (S. 25° W.), was not in the direction of their homes, notwith- standing the evidence of the compass, and peremptorily re- fused to accompany him. The course they proposed to take was back on the south line towards Lake Champlain, and no argument or expostulation could convince them that they were in error. " Mr. Smith endeavored to remonstrate by showing that HISTOKY OF ST. LAWEENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 81 the line was obscure, and would soon be lost, and that they must then wander at random and perish in the forest, which had then no limits but the St. Lawrence, Black, and Mo- hawk rivers. But finding entreaties vain, he divided his provisions equally between them, and they shouldered their knapsacks and started. At this trying moment those that remained, tortured with fear that tlie missing men would be lost, and that their blood would be required at their hands, resolved to remain in the place they were a short time, in hopes that the deluded men would lose their course and call for assistance before they had got beyond hailing distance; and so it providentially proved, for their receding forms had scarcely disappeared in the distance than, from the very anxiety they felt to keep their line, they became confused and perplexed, and a faint shout in the distance conveyed back to those who remained the joyful news that the misguided men had discovered their folly in time to be saved. " Mr. Smith, who had been listening intently to learn whether such would not be the result, instantly sprang upon his feet, and bidding his men remain in the place they were, he darted oiF in the direction of the cry, and at length overtook them, much to the relief of all parties. " Being by this time convinced of their error, and willing to trust that most reliable guide the compass, they willingly consented to follow the others, thankful for having dis- covered their folly in season. Had not the others remained where they were, the two parties would have been beyond hailing distance, and the consequences must have been fatal. The company on the third day arrived at the High falls, having struck the road, then newly cut from that place to Brown's tract, at a point seven miles from the falls. -' In May, 1800, Mr. B. Wright, Mr. M. Wright, G. Smith, and B. Raymond returned with men by way of Lake Ontario, and finished during that season the survey of their contract, embracing the first three great lots of Macomb's purchase. The headquarters during this summer was also at St. Regis, but nothing worthy of notice oc- curred. In the latter part of the summer they returned home with their work finished." EARLY SETTLEMENTS. The posts and missions established by the French were abandoned at the close of the war in 1760, and the occu- pants and those connected with La Presentation wore scat- tered in various directions, mostly going into Canada and to the Indian settlement at St. Regis. The earliest settlements succeeding the French occupa- tion were made under the patronage and direction of the various landholders, corporate and individual, who had purchased tracts in the region now occupied by St. Law- rence County. The very earliest settlement seems to have been made in the town of Madrid, in 1793. Following this were others at Ogdensburg, 1796; Massena, 1798; Louisville and Can- ton, 1800; Lawrence, 1801; Stockholm, Hopkinton, and De Peyster, 1802 ; De Kalb and Potsdam in 1803, and in various parts of the county from that time until about 1812, when nearly every town had been settled more or 11 less. The latest settlements were made in Fine in 1823 and Pitoairn in 1824. A large number of the early settlers were from New England, and principally from Vermont, whose hardy sons filled the valleys of the St. Lawrence and Black river very rapidly in the beginning of the present century. Many were also from the older settled counties of the State of New York, and there were a few from New Hamp- shire, Miis.sachusetts, Connecticut, and New Jersey. Quite a colony of Scotch settled dming the years 1818-19-21 in the town of Hammond, and a few Canadians have at va- rious times made their homes in the county. " The proprietors seldom made their tracts their homes, but their agents were generally from the eastern States, and men of influence in their own localities, and we find that the first settlers in the several towns were often from the same neighborhoods. " Winter was usually selected for moving, as the streams and swamps were then bridged by ice, and routes became passable which at other times would be wholly impractica- ble. A few of the first settlers entered with their families by the tedious and expensive navigation of the Mohawk river to Fort Stanwix, and thence, by the canal at that place, through Wood creek, Oneida lake and river, Oswego river. Lake Ontario, and the St. Lawrence to their desti- nation, and others by the equally toilsome and more dan- gerous water route from Lake Champlain and up the St. Lawrence. '' Had any accidental circumstances thrown the fortunes of the War of 1758-1760 into the opposite scale, giving to the French the ascendency, this district might have con- tinued as it began, inhabited by a French population, and exhibiting that stationary and neglected aspect still seen in their settlements below Montreal ; unless, perhaps, the com- mercial wants of the country might have called forth the expenditure of extraneous capital in the opening of lines of communication. Thus the events of a remote historical period have modified the character of till that follow, and with those who take a pleasure in watching the relations of cause and effect there can be nothing more instructive than observing how necessarily dependent upon the past are the events of the future. " The claims of history upon the attention of those who seek probabilities in precedents is, therefore, direct, ^nd of an importance proportionate to the proximity of time and place rather than the magnitude of the events. The mighty changes in nations and empires, and the records of the vir- tues and vices of mankind which adorn or disgrace the pages of ancient history, are instructive as showing the lights and shades of human character, but they have, to a great degree, lost their practical bearing from their dissimilarity to ex- isting conditions: Their consequences remain, but so inter- woven in the fabric of our civilization as to be inseparable. The nearer we approach the present the more obvious are the effects of causes, and there are few prominent events of American history which have not left their operation upon existing conditions, and between which may be traced the direct relation of cause and consequence. " In pursuing the history of any district, nothing is more obvious than the fact that causes apparently the most trivial HISTOEY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YOEK. often produce the most lasting eiFects ; and hence the minor details of a settlement may possess in reality more impor- tance than was attached to them at the time of their occur- rence. To borrow the figure of Macaulay, ' the sources of the noblest rivers that spread fertility over continents, and bear richly-laden fleets to the sea, are to be sought in wild and barren mountain tracts, incorrectly laid down in maps and rarely visited by travelers.' To extend this figure, we may add that the slightest causes may give direction to the mountain rill, and thus influence the course of the river and tlie consequent fertility of the country which it irri- gates. The origin of our various institutions, literary, civil, religious, and social, are especially susceptible of receiving their future direction from causes operating at the time of origin ; and hence arises the importance of knowing these data, to be able to appreciate in its various bearings existing relations and agencies." A particular account of the settlements will be found in the histories of the several towns and villages which consti- tute another department of this work. CHAPTER V. CIVIL OEGAWIZATION. The Colony under Dutch and English Rule — First Formation of Coun- ties—Boundaries of Albany, Tryon, Montgomery, Clinton — Act of Erection of St. Lawrence — Boundaries of 1813 — Erection of Towns — The Law Courts — Their Derivation — Colonial Courts — Courts of St. Lawrence County — Present Tribunals — Board of Supervisors — Public Buildings — Court-Houses and Jails — Poor- Houses — Asylums — Children's Home. A GLANCE backward from the stand-point of to-day shows civil government was first established, in what is now the State of New York, by the Dutch, in 1621. In 1664 their colony passed under the English rule, where it re- mained until the Revolution, except for a brief interval in 1673-74, when the Dutch regained a temporary supremacy. Under the Dutch the only civil divisions were the city and towns. In 1665 a district or shrievalty, called York- shire, was erected, comprising Long island, Staten island, and a part of the present county of Westchester. For judicial purposes it was divided into the east, west, and north ridings. Counties were first erected by the Colonial Assembly in April, 1683, and were twelve in number, as follows : Albany, Cornwall, Dukes, Dutchess, Kings, New York, Orange, Queen's, Richmond, Suffolk, Ulster, and Westchester. In 1766 Cumberland county was erected and Gloucester county in 1770, and Tryon and Charlotte counties were erected in 1772. Cornwall was in the present State of Maine, and Dukes in Massachusetts, and were re- ceded to the latter colony, so that at the time of the Revo- lution there were fourteen counties in the State or rather province, of New York. Since then Gloucester, Cumberland, and a part of Charlotte counties have been ceded to Vermont. The county of Albany, as originally erected, contained within its boundaries the present area of St. Lawrence, and was thus limited in the act of erection : " To conteyne the towne of Albany, the colony of Rensselaerswyck, Sehonec" tade, and all the villages, neigborhoods, and Christian habi- tacons on the east of Hudson's river, from Roeleffe Jausen's creek, and on the west from Sawyer's creek to the Saraagh- tooga." Tryon county, so named in honor of the governor of the province at the date of its erection (1772), was taken from Albany (the latter named in honor of the Duke of Albany, one of the younger scions of the royal family, in 1665), and its boundaries comprised the country west of a north and south line extending from St. Regis to the west bounds of the township of Schenectady ; thence running, irregularly, southwest to the head of the Mohawk branch of the Delaware river, and along the same to the southeast bounds of the present county of Broome ; thence in a north- westerly direction to Fort Bull, on Wood creek, near the present village of Rome ; all west of that last-named line being Indian territory. On the adoption of the Constitution, in 1777, the four- teen counties, into which the State was divided as above named, were recognized and continued. On April 2, 1784, Tryon county was subdivided, and several counties erected from its territory, and its own name lost in that of Mont- gomery. The boundaries of the latter county were defined, in 1788, as follows : " Bounded easterly by Albany, Ulster, Washington, and Clinton counties ; southerly, by the State of Pennsylvania ; and west and north, by the bounds of the State in those directions." March 7, 1788, Clinton county was erected from Washington, and, in 1801, an act rede- fining the boundaries of the counties in the State thus limited Clinton : " To contain all that part of the State bounded southerly by the county of Essex and the north line of Totten and Crossfield's purchase ; east, by the east bounds of the State ; north, by the north bounds of the State; and west, by the west bounds of the State; and the division line between great tracts Nos. 3 and 4 of Macomb's purchase continued to the west bounds of the State." March 6, 1801, the ten towns so called had been formed into a town called Lisbon and annexed to Clinton county, and the act redefining the boundaries of the counties at- tached to Lisbon all the balance of the present area of St. Lawrence. The next important movement was the erection of the county of St. Lawrence, and concerning that act we quote from the excellent history of the county compiled by Dr. Franklin B. Hough, of Lowville, in 1852. " The causes which led to the organization of St. Law- rence County are set forth in the following interesting docu- ment, which is the original petition for its erection, and is preserved among the archives of the State, and possesses much value, from its being said to contain the signatures of nearly all the citizens then living in the county. The original is written in a remarkably neat and elegant hand, and the signatures arc in every instance in the autograph of the signers.* ■•* The original petition ia in the handwriting of John King, father of Hon. Preston King. HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 83 "* To the Honorahle the Senate and Aaaemhly of the State of Neto York : "'The petition of the inhabitants, residing within the ten town- ships upon the river St. Lawrence, beg leave humbly to represent the great inconvenience and hardships they labor under, by the ten town- ships being formed into one town, and annexing the same to the county of Clinton. The principal inconvenience your petitioners labor under is the very remote distance they are placed from Platts- burgh, which is the county town of the county of Clinton. Not any of your petitioners are less than one hundred and twenty miles from Plattsburgh, and a great majority of them ai-e from one hundred and thirty to forty miles. "'Between the ton townships and Plattsburgh much of the way there is no road, and the remainder of the way is a very bad onej this, together with the great inconvenience and expense which neces- sarily must arise to those whose private business (as plaintiffs and defendants) lead them into the county courts, is such as to almost place your petitioners without the reach of that justice which the laws of our country so happily provide for. This is a melancholy fact, which several of your petitioners have already experienced, and to which all are equally exposed, and when we add to this the extreme difl&oulty, troubles, and expenses jurors and witnesses must be sub- jected to, in attending at such a distance, -together with the attend- ance at Plattsburgh, for arranging and returning the town business, increases the burttien and expense beyond the ability of your peti- tioners to bear. Your petitioners forbear to mention many other in- conveniences, though sensibly felt. Your petitioners presume they will naturally occur to the minds of every individual member of your honorable body. Some of your petitioners presented a petition to your honorable body, at their last session, praying for the formation of the town and annexing it as it now is, but they did not then (neither could they) anticipate the inconvenience and expense they find upon experiment attaches to their being so connected. *■ * Your petitioners therefore beg leave humbly to state that much less hardship and expense would arise to them by having a county set off, upon the river St. Lawrence, and your petitionei-s humbly pray that a county may be set off upon the aforesaid river, in such manner as your honorable body shall deem most proper; and your petitioners would beg leave further to shew that one of the old stone buildings at the old Oswegatchie fort (which the proprietors are will- ing to appropriate until the county is able to build a court-house) may, at a small expense, be repaired, and which, when so repaired, will make good accommodations not only for the purpose of holding courts, but also for a gaol, and your petitioners pray that place may be assigned for the above purpose. "'Your petitioners would beg leave further to state that Platts- burgh is totally out of their route to the city of Albany, which is the place to which they must resort for their commercial business. Plattsburgh being as far distant from Albany as the ten towns, con- sequently your petitioners are turned out of their way the whole dis- tance, between the ten towns and Plattsburgh, which is not less than one hundred land thirty miles from the centre of the townships. " ' The peculiar inconvenience and hardships your petitioners labor under is such that your petitioners doubt not that relief will be cheer- fully granted by your honorable body, and your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. " ' Nathan Ford, John Tibbets, EHsha Tibbetts, Joseph Edsall, Alex. J. Turner, John Tibbits, Jr., Alex. Bough, Jacob Redington, Benjamin Stewart, Joel Burns, Janies G. Stewart, Ashael Kent,* Challis Fay, Joseph Gilderslieve, Elias Demmick, Ephraim Smith Ray- mond, Moses Patterson, Henry Allen, Edward Lawrence, Jonathan Allen,* James Pennock, Asa Freeman, Truman Wheeler, Coney Rice, Andrew Rutherford, "Walter Rutherford, Richard Rutherford, Thomas Rutherford, Isaac Parll,* Jonathan Ingraham, Joseph Thurber, John Thurber, Thomas J, Davies, Reuben Hurd, Aaron Welton, Jacob Flemmen, •John Lyon, Daniel Barker, Jr., Jacob Morris, Samuel Fairchild, Alexander Leyers, Daniel Sharp,* Festus Tracy, Septy Tracy, John Armstrong, Martin Easterly, Alexander Brush, James Harrison, Stillman Foot, Alex. Armstrong, Jacob Cerner, Jr.,* Christian Cerner,* Jonathan Tuttle, Benj. Bacon, Sr., Benj. Bacon, Jr., Oliver Linsley, Henry Erwin, Nathan Shaw, Caleb Pumroy, Capt. Eben Arthur, William Scott, Jacob Pohlman, David Rose, John Stewert, Samuel Thacher, John Sharp, John Armstrong, David Linsley, Jacobus Bouge,^* David Giffin, William Peck, James Sweeny, George Foot, Ashbel Sikes, John Farwell, Jr., Joseph Erwin, Moses McConnel, Benjamin Campbell, Godfrey Myers, Seth Gates, James Kilborn, James Ferguson, Solomon Linsley, Sr., Isaac Bartholomew, Solomon Linsley, Jr., Nathan Smith, Jacob Cerner, Sr.,* AVilliam Sweet, William Morrison, Daniel Barker, Samuel Avens, Elisha Johnes, John Smith, Benjamin Walker, David Layton, John Pecor, Peter Woodcok, John Barnard, Benj. Nichols, Seth Ranney, Lazar Laryers,* Titus Sikes, 3d, William Lyttle, William Lyttle, Jr., William Osborn, Hira Pain, Joseph Orcut, * Uncertain. George Davies, Rial Dickonson,* Major Watson, Thomas Le Gard,* Benj. Mollis,* Elijah Carley, Adam Williams, David Carter, William Sharp, John King, Thomas Kingsbury, Peter Sharp, James Salisbury, Zina B. Hawley,-' John Lyttle, Ezekiel Palmer, Jeduthan Baker, Kelsey Thurber, John Cook, James Harrington, Joel Harrington, Samuel Umberston, Stephen Foot, Jeremiah Corastock, Daniel Mackneel, Robert Sanford, Justin Hitchcock, Jeduthan Farrell, Holden Farnsworth,* Richard Harris, James Higgins, Samuel Steel, Eliphalet Blsworth, RolDert Sample, Isaac Cogswell, Reuben Field, Henry Reve,* Asa Fenton, Joshua Fenton, Jason Fenton, Joseph Freeman, Josiah Page, Peter Dudley, Ahab Harrington, Calvin Hubbard, Amos Lay, David ,* John Storring.' "This petition was received in the assembly on the 8th of Feb- ruary, 1802, read and referred to a committee consisting of the following gentlemen : Mr. Dirck Ten Broek, of Albany county ,- Mr. Solomon Martin, of Otsego county; Mr. Archibald Mclntyre, of Montgomery county; Mr. William Bailey, of Clinton county; Mr. Abel French, of Denmark, then Oneida county. " The bill passed the house of assembly on the 18th of that month, and subsequently resulted in the passage of the following: "'an act to euect part op this state into a countv, bv the name OF the county of ST. LAWRENCE. Passed March 3, 1802, " 'I. Be it enacted bj/ the people of the State of New York, repreaeiited in Sennfe and Assenibli/, That all that tract of land beginning in the line of the river St. Lawrence, which divides the United States from the dominions of the king of Great Britain, where the same is in- tersected by a continuation of the division-Une of great lots numbers three and four of Macomb's purchase; thence running southeasterly along the said line until it comes opposite to the westerly corner of the township of Cambray ;f then in a straight line to the said corner of Cambray ; then along the rear lines of the said township of Cam- bray, and the townships of De Kalb, Canton, Potsdam, and Stock- holm, distinguished on the map of the said township, and filed in the secretary's office by the surveyor-general; then by a line to be continued in a direct course from the line of the said township of Stockholm, until the same intersects the division-line of the great lots numbers one and two in Macomb's purchase; thence northerly along the same to the lands reserved by the St. Regis Indians; then westerly along the bounds thereof to the dominions of the king of Great Britain ; thence along the same to the place of beginning, shall be, and is hereby erected into a separate county, and shall be called and known by the name of St. Lawrence. ** ' II. And be it further enacted, That all that part of the said county lying westward of the boundary lines of the townships of Lisbon and Canton, as distinguished on the map aforesaid, shall be, and hereby is erected into a town by the name of Oswegatchie; and the first town-meeting in the said town shall be held at the house of Nathan Ford; imd the said townships of Lisbon and Canton shall continue and remain one town by the name of Lisbon. And that all that part of the said county known and distinguished in the map aforesaid by the townships of Madrid and Potsdam, shall be, and hereby is erected into a town by the name of Madrid; and the first town-meeting in the said town shall be held at the house of Joseph Edsall. And that all the remaining part of the said county shall be, and hereby is, erected into a town by the name of Massena; and that the first town-meeting in the said town shall be held at the house of Amos Lay. "' \11. And he it further enacted. That the freeholders and inhab- itants of the several towns erected or continued by this act shall be, and are hereby empowered to hold town-meetings, and elect such town-officei's as the freeholders and inhabitants of any town in this State may do by law ; and that the freeholders and inhabitants of the several towns, and the town-ofiicers to be by them elected respec- tively, shall have the like powers and privileges as the freeholders, inhabitants, and town-officers of any town in this State. "'IV. And be it farther enacted, That there shall be held, in and for the said county of St. Lawrence, a court of common pleas and general sessions of the peace, and that there shall be two terms of the same courts in every year, to commence and end as follows, — that is to say : The first term of the said court shall begin on the first Tuesday in June, in every year, and may continue to be held until the Saturday following, inclusive; and the second term of the said court shall begin on the second Tuesday of November, in every year, and may continue to be held until the Saturday following, in- clusive; and the said courts of common pleas and general sessions of the peace, shall have the same jurisdiction, powers, and authorities, in the same county, as the courts of common picas and general ses- sions of the peace in the other counties of this State have in their respective counties. Provided always, That nothing in this act con- tained shall be construed to affect any suit or action already com- menced, or that shall be commenced, before the first Tuesday in Juno next, so as to work a wrong or prejudice to any of the parties therein, or to affect any criminal or other proceedings on the part of f Gouverneur, 8-i HISTOKY OF ST. LAWEENCE COUNTY, NEW YOKK. the people of this State; but all such civil and criminal proceedings shall and may be prosecuted to trial, judgment, and execution, as if this act had never been passed. '"V. And he it further enacted, Thut until legislative provision be made in the premises the said court of common pleas and general sessions of the peace shall be held in the old barracks, so called, in the said town of Oswegatchie, which shall be deemed in law the court-house and jail of the said county of St. Lawrence. '"VI. And be it further enacted, That the freeholders and inhabi- tants of the said county shall have and enjoy, within the same, all and every of the said rights, powers, and privileges, as the free- holders and inhabitants of any county in this State are by law en- titled to have and enjoy. " ' VII. And be it further enacted. That it shall not be the duty of the supreme court to hold a circuit court in every year in the said county, unless, in their judgment, they shall deem it proper and necessary ; any law to the contrary notwithstanding. *" VIII. ^)irf he it further enacted. That the said county of St. Lawrence .'hall be considered as part of the western district of this "'IX. And be it further enacted, That all the residue of the tract of land lying between the division lines aforesaid, of great lots numbers three and four, and of great lots numbers one and two, in Macomb's purchase, and the north bounds in Totten and Crossfield's purchase, shall, until further legislative provision in the premises, be considered as part of the town of Massena, in the said county of St. Lawrence J and all that part of Macomb's purchase included in great division number one, and the Indian reservation at the St. Regis village, shall be annexed to, and form part of, the town of Chateaugay, in the county of Clinton. " ' X. And he it further enacted. That the .=aid county of St. Law- rence shall be annexed to, and become part of the district now com- posed of the counties of Herkimer, Otsego, Oneida, and Chenango, as it respects all proceedings under the act entitled, "An 'act rela- tive to district attorneys." " ' XI. And be it further enacted. That until other provision he made by law, the inspectors of election in the several towns in the said county of St. Lawrence, shall return the votes taken at any election for governor, lieutenant-governor, senators, members of the assembly, and members of Congress, to the clerk of the county of Oneida, to be by him estimated as a part of the aggregate number of votes given at such election, in the county of Oneida.' " By refeniEg to the first section of the act above recited, it will be seen that the boundaries there given of St. Law- rence County include but a small portion of territory aside from that included in the limits of the ten towns so called ; the' balance of the present area of the county being, by sec- tion IX., annexed temporarily to the town of Massena. In the revision of the statutes of the State, in 1813, the act dividing the State into counties, passed April 26 of that year, redefined the boundaries of St. Lawrence County as follows : " Beginning at a place in the St. Lawrence river, where a continuation of the division line between great lots num- bers three and four of Macomb's purchase intersects the line dividing the United States and the dominions of the king of Great Britain ; thence southeasterly along said line between said great lots three and four to the northwest corner of Totten and Crossfield's purchase; thence alono- the north bounds thereof easterly to the division line be- tween great lots numbers one and two of Macomb's pur- chase ; thence northerly along said division line to lands re- served to the St. Regis Indians ; thence along the west bounds of said reservation to the dominions of the king of Great Britain ; thence westwardly along the line of said dominions to the place of beginning."* The boundaries thus defined have obtained ever sincei unchanged in any particular. Down to 1849 towns were erected by the legislature at which date power was given to the several boards of super- visors (except in New York county), by a vote of two- thirds of the members elected, to divide or alter the bounds of any town, or erect' new ones, when such division does not ' Revised Statutes, 1813, vol. ii. page 37. place parts of the same town in more than one assembly district. (See Laws of 1849, chap. 194, p. 293.) The towns of St. Lawrence County were erected as follows : Lisbon (including the ten towns), March 6, 1801. Oswegatchie, from Lisbon, March 3, 1802. Madrid, from Lisbon, March 3, 1802. Massena, from territory attached to Lisbon, March 3, 1802. Canton, from Lisbon, March 28, 1805. Hopkinton, from Massena, March 2, 1805. DeKalb, from Oswegatchie, Feb. 21, 1806. Potsdam, from Madrid, Feb. 21, 1806. Stockholm, from Massena, Feb. 21, 1806. Russell, from Hopkinton, March 27, 1807. Gouvemeur, from Oswegatchie, April 5, 1810. Louisville, from Massena, April 5, 1810. Rossie, from Russell, Jan. 27, 1813. Parishville, from Hopkinton, March 18, 1814. Fowler, from Rossie and Russell, April 15, 1816. Pierrepont, from Russell and Potsdam, April 15, 1818. Morristown, from Oswegatchie, March 27, 1821. Norfolk, from Louisville and Stockholm, April 9, 1823. Brasher, from Massena, April 21, 1825. De Peyster, from Oswegatchie and De Kalb, March 24, 1825. Edwards, from Fowler, April 7, 1827. Hammond, from Roissie and Morristown, March 30, 1827. Lawrence, from Hopkinton and Brasher, April 21, 1828. Hermonf from Edwards and De Kalb, April 17, 1830. Pitcairn, from Fowler, March 29, 1836. Macomb, from Gouvemeur and Morri,stown, April 3, 1841. Colton, from Parishville, April 12, 1843. Fine, from Russell and Pierrepont, March 27, 1844. Waddington, from Madrid, Nov. 22, 1859. Clifton, from Pierrepont, April 21, 1868. City of Ogdensburg (three wards), April 27, 1868. City of Ogdensburg (fourth ward), 1873. City of Ogdensburg first incorporated as a village, April 15, 1817. Canton village first incorporated May 14, 1845. Gouvemeur village first incorporated April 19, 1868. Potsdam village first incorporated March 31, 1831. Norwood J village first incorporated 1872. Waddington village first incorporated April 26, 1825. THE LAW COURTS. The line of descent of the judicial system of New York can be traced backward, by those curious to do so, through colonial times to Magna Charta, and beyond into the the days of the Saxon Heptarchy in England. The great instrument wrested by the barons from the king at Runny- mede, a.d. 1215, was but a regathering of the rights and privileges of which John and his Norman predecessors had despoiled the order of nobles of the realm. A comparison of the charters of liberties, drawn up by the colonial i;sseni- t As Depoau; changed to Hcrmon Feb. 28, 1834. \ As Potsdam Junction. HISTOEY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 85 blies of 1683 and 1691, and the bill of rights adopted by the State in 1787, with the great charter, will disclose many provisions of like import. But the courts were first introduced into what is now the State of New York, by the Dutch, at the institution of their rule in 1621, the director-general and his council being a trinity of legislative, executive, and judicial au- thority. In 1641-42 the " Nine Men" held a weekly court, and in 1653 the Burgomasters and Schepens of New Am- sterdam (New York) and Fort Orange (Albany) were created, and held courts corresponding to the present Mayor and Aldermen's courts to which the Dutch tribunal was changed on the accession of the English, in 1664. The Dutch Knickerbocker, Killian Van Rensselaer, held a Patroon's court, in his manor of Rensselaerswyck (now Troy), where he dispensed justice (?) after the manner of feudal times, and practically made his tribunal a court of last resort, by rendering nugatory all rights of appeal there- from by a pledge exacted from his tenants in advance to forego their privilege in that respect, as a condition pre- cedent to occupancy of his estates. The director-general and council held the Orphan court as their prerogative, the Burgomasters being, on their creation, ex-officio orphan masters, until, on their own application, they were relieved of the burden, and special orphan masters appointed. The first English court established in the colony was the court of assizes, created by the code known as the " Duke's Laws," promulgated by an assembly at Hempstead, L. I., in 1665. Courts of sessions and town courts were also provided by this code, and a commission for a court of oyer and terminer,' for the trial of capital offenses, when the information was filed in the court of sessions more than two months before the sitting of the assizes. These courts were abolished by the assembly of 1683, which passed an act "to settle courts of justice,'' under which courts of sessions, oyer and terminer, town and justices' courts were re-established with increased jurisdiction, and a court of chancery created. The assembly of 1691 repealed all legis- lation of the former assembly, and of the governor and council, and established, as a temporary expedient, the courts of sessions, confining their jurisdiction to criminal matters ; courts of common pleas, with civil jurisdiction ; justices' courts in the towns, the court of chancery, and a supreme court of judicature. These courts were enacted in 1691, 1693, and 1695, and ceased in 1698, by Umita- tion. The court of oyer and terminer was not continued in 1691 as a separate tribunal, but its name was retained to distinguish the criminal circuit of the supreme court. On the 15th of May, 1699, the governor (Earl Bellomont), and council, by an ordinance continued the courts of the assembly of 1691, with the exception of the court of chancery, which last, however, was revived August 28, 1701, by Lieutenant-Governor Nanfan, who declared him- self the chancellor thereof; but Lord Cornbury, then gov- ernor, on the 13th of June, 1703, suspended the tribunal. On the preparation by the chief and second judges of the province of a fee-bill and code of practice for the same, Cornbury finally, Nov. 7, 1704, re-established the court, and revived the cases pending therein at the date of his suspension of it. All of the above tribunals, continued or revived by the ordinances before named, were held by that authority alone until the English rule was abrogated by the Revolution for American Independence. A court of appeals, for the correction of errors only, was established in 1691, but appeals in certain cases would lie from it to the king in privy council. It was composed of the governor and his council, who sat in the fort when con- vened in that capacity. The prerogative court (court of probates) was held by the governor during the colonial period by virtue of the instructions received by that official from the crown ; the granting of probates being a part of the royal prerogative retained by the king. The courts of common pleas, in remote counties, were authorized to take the proof of wills, and transmit the papers for record in the ofiice at New York. Surrogates, with limited powers, were appointed previous to 1750 also in other counties. A court of admiralty was held by the governor and council under the Dutch rule ; and under the English, it was at first held by the governor's special commissions until 1678, when authority was given to appoint a judge and other ofiicers ; it event- ually, however, depended from the lords of the admiralty in England. The constitution of 1777, of New York, provided for a court for " the trial of impeachments, and the correction of errors," the same being the president of the senate for the time being, the senators, chancellor, and judges of the supreme court, or a majority of them. This court re- mained the same under the constitution of 1821, with some change in its composition, and ceased with the adop- tion of the constitution of 1846, after nearly seventy years' existence. The court of Chancery was recognized by the first con- stitution, and a chancellor appointed for it by the governor. It was reorganized in 1788, and ceased its existence pur- suant to the constitution of 1846, on the first Monday of July, 1847. The supreme court of judicature was recognized by the first constitution, as the tribunal then existed, and was reorganized in 1778, the judges being appointed by the council of appointment. The court of exchequer was a branch of the supreme court, the same as during the colo- nial period, and was reorganized in 1786, " for the better levying and accounting for fines, forfeitures, issues, and amercements, and debts due to the people of the State." It was abolished by the general repealing act of December 10, 1828. Circuit courts were established April 19, 1786, to bo held by justices of the supreme court in the respective counties. Under the second constitution, the circuit courts were held by circuit judges, appointed by the governor, there being eight circuits in the State. The constitution of 1846 abolished the circuits as then established, and pro- vided for the holding the circuit court by the justices of the supreme court. Courts of oyer and terminer were provided by an act passed February 22, 1788, to be held by the justice of the supreme court at the same time with the circuit. Two or more of the judges and assistant judges of the court of common pleas, in the respective counties, were to sit in the oyer and terminer with the justice. Under the constitu- tion of 1821 the oyer and terminer was held by the circuit 86 HISTOEY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. judge. Any justice of the supreme court could, however, hold a circuit or preside at an oyer and terminer. The court of admiralty existed but a short time under the State government, the court ceasing at the adoption of the Federal Constitution in 1789 ; that instrument vesting admiralty jurisdiction solely in the federal courts. The court of probates vras created in 1778, by the act to " organize the government of the State," passed March 16, in that year. This act divested the governor of the powers he possessed in the colonial period in the prerogative and probate courts, and transferred them to the judge of the court of probates, except in the appointment of surrogates. In 1787 surrogates were empowered to be appointed. The judge of the court of probates held his office at New York until 1797, when an act was passed, March 10, requiring the court to be held in Albany, and the records to be removed and kept there. The court had appellate jurisdic- tion over the surrogates' courts, and was abolished March 21, 1823, its jurisdiction transferred to the chancellor, and its records deposited in the office of the clerk of the court of appeals in Albany. Surrogates were appointed under the first constitution for an unlimited period by the council of appointment, and an appeal lay from their decisions to the judge of the court of probates of the State, as before stated. Under the second constitution they were appointed by the governor and sen- ate for four years, and appeals lay to the chancellor. Un- der the constitution of 1846, the office was abolished, except in counties having more than 40,000 population, in which counties surrogates may be elected, the term being first for four years, but by an amendment adopted in 1869, the term was extended to six years. Appeals lie to the supreme court. In counties of less population than 40,000, the county judge performs the duties of surrogate. The court of common pleas was continued from the col- onial period by the first constitution, and under that instru- ment had a large number of judges, as high as twelve being on the bench at the same time, in some counties. By an act passed March 27, 1818, the office of assistant justice was abolished, and the number of judges limited to five, including the first judge. The court was continued with- out material change, by the second constitution, and expired with that instrument in 1 847. The constitution of 1846 provided for the following courts : A court of impeachments, to take the place of the former tribunal of that nature, and composed of the presi- dent of the senate, the senators, and judges of the court of appeals, or a majority of them. A court of appeals, organ- ized at first with eight judges, four chosen by the people for eight-year terms, and four selected from the class of justices of the supreme court having the shortest time to serve. By the article in relation to the judiciary, framed by the convention of 1867-68, and adopted by the people Novem- ber, 1869, the court of appeals was reorganized. In ac- cordance with the provisions of this article, the court is now composed of a chief judge and six associate judges, " who hold their office for the term of fourteen years, from and including the first day of January after their election.'' The first election of judges was in the year 1870. This court has full power to correct or reverse the decisions of the supreme court, five judges constituting a quorum, four of whom must concur to pronounce a judgment. In case of non-concurrence, two rehearings may be had, and if the non-concurrence still obtains, the judgment of the court be- low stands affirmed. The clerk of the court is appointed by the court, and holds his office during its pleasure. The supreme court, as it existed in 1846, was abolished, and a new one established, having general jurisdiction in law and equity. The State is divided into eight judicial districts, in each of which four justices are elected, except the first (comprising the city of New York), where there are five. The terra of office, as originally established, was eight years, but the amended judiciary article provided that, on the expiration of the terms of justices then in office, their successors shall be elected for fourteen years. They are so classified that the term of one justice expires every two years. The court possesses the powers and exer- cises the jurisdiction of the preceding supreme court, court of chancery, and circuit court, consistent with the constitu- tion of 1846, and the act concerning the judiciary, of May, 1847. The legislature abolished, April 27, 1870, the gen- eral terms of the court then existing, and divided the State into four departments, and provided for general terms to be held in each of them. The governor designates a presid- ing justice and two associate justices for each department, the former holding his office during his official term, and the latter for five years, if their terms do not sooner expire. Two terms at least, of the circuit court and court of oyer and terminer are held annually in each county, and as many special terms as the justices in each judicial department may deem proper. A convention, composed of the general term justices, the chief judges of the superior courts of cities, the chief judge of the court of common pleas of New York city, and of the city court of Brooklyn, appoint the times and places of holding the terms of the supreme and circuit courts, and the oyer and terminer, which appoint- ment continues for two years. The county clerks and clerks of the court of appeals are clerks of the supreme court. THE COUNTY COURTS. The constitution of 1846 provided for the election in each of the counties of the State, except the city and county of New York, of one county judge, who should hold the county court, and should have such jurisdiction in cases arising in justices' courts and in special cases as the legis- lature might provide; but should have no original civil jurisdiction, except in such special cases. The legislature, in pursuance of these provisions, has given the county judge jurisdiction in actions of debt, assumpsit, and cove- nant in sums not exceeding $2000 ; in cases of trespass and personal injury not to exceed $500 ; and in replevin, $1000. The county court has also equity jurisdiction for the fore- closure of mortgages, the sale of real estate of infants, partition of lands, assignment of dower, satisfaction of judgments, whenever $75 is due on an unsatisfied ex- ecution, and the care and custody of lunatics and habitual drunkards. The new judiciary article (1869) continued this jurisdiction, and gave the courts original jurisdiction in all cases where the defendants reside in the county, and in which the damages claimed shall not exceed $1000. The term of o ao 3 O o M u z u It I- Q u 3 to CO 1- E s I- (0 ^>- HI8T0KY OF ST. LAWKENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 87 office of the county judge, originally four years, was then extended to six years, upon the election of successors to the incumbents then in office, the new tenure beginning Jan 1, 1871. COURTS OF SESSIONS. Two justices of the peace, to be designated by law, were associated with the county judge, by the constitution of 1846, to hold courts of sessions, with such criminal juris- diction as the legislature shall prescribe. Special judges are elected in counties, to discharge the duties of county judge when required, by provision of the legislature on application of the board of supervisors. THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS of St. Lawrence County, as will be seen by the act of erection of the county, was to be held on the first Tuesday in June, 1802. Accordingly, on that day, the same being the first day of the montli. Judge Nathan Ford appeared at the old barracks in Oswegatohie, with the sheriff and clerk, ready for business ; but no associate judges appearing, the court was adjourned until five o'clock on Wednesday. Pursuant to adjournment the same officials came together and adjourned twenty-four hours longer for the same reason, and so again on Thursday and on Friday, until ten o'clock Saturday morning, when a full bench appeared, as follows : Nathan Ford, first judge ; Alexander I. Turner, judge; Stillman Foote and John Tibbitts, Jr., assistant justices. Mathew Perkins, Esq., was admitted to the prac- tice of the law before the court, and the court adjourned to the next court in course. Louis Hasbrouck signing the record as clerk. The second term of the court was held Nov. 9, 1802, with the same presence, except Joseph Edsall appeared as assistant justice in place of Esquire Foote. The court ad- journed till the afternoon, and then until the next morn- ing, for want of business, when a judgment was taken by confession against one of the members of the court for $400 debt and $9.42 costs in favor of Chas. B. & Geo. W. Webster. Another cognovit was entered up against Jacob Pohlman, at the suit of John B. Finncane, for $281.84 debt, and $9.54 costs ; and Benjamin Skinner was admitted to practice before the court, and then the court adjourned till June, 1803. This term was held by Judges Turner and Edsall with Justices Tibbitts and Foote. Andrew McCoUum and Morris S. Miller were admitted as attorneys to practice, and the court adjourned till November, when all of the before-named judges and justices were present. A jury brought in a verdict for $110.60 debt, and six cents cost, in favor of Jonathan Scott against another mem- ber of the court; and the clerk was ordered to assess the damages in another case against another member of the court, which resulted in a judgment of $67.84, and then the court, not caring probably to monopolize the docket, adjourned till November. This term, — November, 1804, — was held in the court- house, all of the other terms being held in the old barracks. Mr. Perkins entered up judgments at this term amounting to $138.98 ; McCollum, the same, to $80.79 ; and there was one jury trial. In June, 1805, there were judgments amounting to $2507.86, entered by confession and default mostly. At the November term, 1805, Amos Lane was admitted to the bar, having been granted an examination " speciali gratia," as the record says. A license was granted John Fulton to run a ferry across the St. Lawrence, between his house on lot No. 21 in Massena and the house of George Barnhart in Canada, and also to run a ferry across Grasse river. An insolvent debtor was discharged from the im- portunities of his creditors, on his assignment of his prop- erty to Thomas J. Davies and Andrew McCollum for the benefit of said creditors, under the bankrupt act of 1801. At the June term, 1806, the clerk got a little mixed on the sheriff's returns of certain papers, expressing it thus, "tunc pro nunc" "then for now;" when it probably was intended for " now for then." The October term, 1806, opened with one senior judge, three judges, three assistant justices, and one justice of the peace on the bench, and the June term previous had two judges, three associate justices, and five justices of the peace present. Mathew Perkins, the first attorney, died in 1808. GENERAL SESSIONS OF THE PEACE. The first term of this court was convened June 1, 1802, at the old barracks in Oswegatchie, and, like the common pleas, adjourned from day to day till Saturday the 5th, when Judges Ford and Turner and Assistant Justices Foote and Tibbitts, and Thomas J. Davies and John Reed, justices of the peace, proceeded to hold the sessions. The court was duly opened by proclamation, and the sheriff, Elisha Tibbitts, returned his venire with the following panel of grand jurors : Benj. Stewart, foreman, James Akin, Andrew O'Neil, Uri Barber, Reuben Turner, John Delance, Benj. Gallo- way, John Sharp, Henry Erwin, Jonathan Tuttle, Robert Huggins, Samuel Allen, John Lyttle, Wm. Lyttle, John Farewell, Jr., Jacob Redington, John Lyon, Adam Mil- yers, George Davis, Joseph Thurber, David Giffin, Benj. Wilson, George Morris, Thomas Lee. The jury was sworn and charged by the senior judge, and withdrew for consultation, and in the afternoon re- turned into court and reported no presentments, and the court adjourned till November. The November sessions were held by the same judges, and Alexander Brush was the foreman of the grand jury, which found five indictments, — two for grand larceny, and three for coining and passing counterfeit money. John Erooker, indicted for grand larceny, was convicted on one indictment and sentenced to pay a fine of $40 and costs, and to stand committed till same was paid, and recognized to the next oyer and terminer on the other. The court estreated four forfeited recognizances, and recognized two witnesses to the next oyer and terminer, and then adjourned till the next term. There were no presentments at the June term, 1803, and the June sessions, 1805, was held by a bench of two judges, three assistant justices, and seven justices of the peace. T. Skinner being present as district attorney-general, at the June term, 1806, the first sentence to state's prison was passed, the same being on Elijah Hor, — two years for perjury. HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. At the June term, 1809, of the common pleas, the first alien was admitted to citizenship in the county courts, the same being James Thomson, who was born in Ulster, Ire- land, and emigrated to New York in 1801. CIRCUIT COURT AND COURT OF OYER AND TERMINER. The first record we find of this court is of the June term, 1810, which began the 29th day of that month, with the following presence on the bench : Hon. Ambrose Spencer, one of the judges of the supreme court ; Nathan Ford, first judge; Russell Attwater, Benj. Raymond, Joseph Edsall, and Alexander I. Turner, judges; Daniel W. Church and Stillman Foote, assistant justices. Wm. Groat and Richard Van Arnam were committed to jail on an indictment found by the general sessions, and on their trial the former received ten years in the penitentiary, and the latter was found " not guilty." Judge Van Ness held the June oyer and terminer, 1811, whereat Reuben R. Seely, indicted for petit larceny, was sentenced three months to the county jail, " to be fed on bread and water, unless the sherifi' shall think his health required other food." An indictment for rape procured a home for life in the state's prison for the miscreant charged with the crime. At the July term, 1816, Louis Gerteau was convicted of the murder of his wife, and sentenced to be hung on July 12, just nine days after his sentence. The county court was convened for the first time October 5, 1847, Hon. Edwin Dodge, county judge, presiding, and Joseph Barnes, justice of the sessions. Smith Stillwell was the foreman of the grand jury. THE surrogate's COURT was first convened April 27, 1805, by Mathew Perkins, surrogate, the following business being done : The last will and testament of Ezekiel Colburn was proven by Elisha W. Barber and David White, witnesses, and admitted. The next court was held August 24, the same year, when the will of John Harris was admitted to record. The first intestate estate was presented to the court and administra- tion granted thereon in 1806, the same being the estate of Royal Chapman, of Madrid, Stephen Eldridge being appointed administrator. Mathew Perkins, the first surrogate, died, and his estate was administered upon by his successor, Andrew McCoUom. The first letters of guardianship were granted June 21, 1813, by Gouverneur Ogden, surrogate, Luther Abernethy, aged seventeen years, being the infant. The first inventory filed in the court was that of the estate of Allen Barber, deceased, of Madrid, which was filed November 23, 1806. The appraisal footed up $148.29. A term of the supreme court was held in Canton, Oct. 13, 1847 — Judge David Cady presiding — for equity business. The tribunals which exercise legal jurisdiction over the people of St. Lawrence County at the present time, and the constitution of the courts, are as follows : THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES. Appointed. Morrison R. Waite, Ohio, Chief Justice {4th circuit) 1874 Nathan Clifford, Maine, Associate Justice (1st circuit) 1858 Appointed, ce f2d circuit) 1873 1870 , 1870 1862 1877 1862 1862 Ward Hunt, N. Y., Associate Just: •Wm. Strong,Penn., " " (3d " ).. Joseph P. Bradley, N. J., " " (5th " )., Noah H. Swayne, Ohio, " " (6th James M. Harlan, Kentuclty, " " (7th Samuel F. Miller, Iowa, " " (8th Stephen J. Field, Cal., " " (9th D. Wesley Middleton, Washington, Clerlt. Wm. T. Otto, Indiana, Reporter. John G. Nicolay, Illinois, Marshal. The court holds one general term annually at Washing- ton, D.C., commencing on the second Monday in October. THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES for the second circuit (including New York, Vermont, and Connecticut) : Ward Hunt, Associate Justice Supreme Court. Alexander S. Johnson, Circuit Judge. William J. Wallace, District Judge. Terms in the northern district (which includes St. Law- rence County), Albany, second Tuesday in October ; Canan- daigua, third Tuesday in June ; also adjourned term, for civil business only, at Albany, third Tuesday in January, and at Utica, third Tuesday in March. Charles Mason, clerk of northern division ; office, Utica. THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES for the northern district of New York : William J. Wallace, Syracuse, Judge. Richard Crowley, Lockport, Attorney. Winfleld Robbins, Buffalo, Clerk. Isaac F. Quinby, Rochester, Marshal. Terms. — Albany, third Tuesday in January ; Utica, third Tuesday in March ; Rochester, second Tuesday in May ; Buffalo, third Tuesday in August ; Auburn, third Tuesday in November. A special term by appointment at Oswego, Plattsburgh, or Watertown, and a special session in ad- miralty at BuiFalo, on Tuesday of each week. THE COURT OF APPEALS. Term Expires. Sanford E. Church, Chief Judge, Albion Deo. 31, William F. Allen, Associate Judge, Oswego N. Y. City.. Syracuse.... Geneva Hudson Herkimer., i8S4 .878 .884 1884 Charles A. Rapallo Charles Andrews, " '.' Charles J. Folger, " " Theodore Miller, " " Robert Earl, " " Edwin 0. Perrin, Clerk, Jamaica. F. Stanton Perrin, Deputy Clerk, Albany Hiram B. Sickels, Reporter, " Amos Dodge, Crier, " Andrew J. Chester, Attendant, " Jeremiah Cooper, " Lenox. THE SUPREME COURT — GENERAL TERMS — for the third department, consisting of the third, fourth, and sixth judicial districts. William L. Learned, Presiding Justice. Augustus Bockes, Associate Justice. Douglass Boardman, " " CIRCUIT COURT OF OYER AND TERMINER and special terms of the supreme court for the fourth judi- cial district, comprising the counties of Clinton, Essex, HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 89 Franklin, Fulton, Montgomery, Saratoga, St. Lawrence, Schenectady, Warren, and Washington. Term Expires. Charles 0. Tappan, Potsdam, Justice Supreme Court.... Dec. 31, 1891 Joseph Potter, Whitehall, " " .... " 1885 Judson S. Landon, Schenectady, Justice Sup. Court " 1887 Augustus Bookes, Saratoga Springs, " " .... " 1888 Murray N. Ralph, Canton, Clerk. John R. Brinokerhoff, Norfolk, District Attorney. Orson 0. Wheeler, Canton, Sheriff. THE COUNTY COURT. Leslie W. Russell, Canton, County Judge, term expires Dec. 31) 1883. Murray N. Ralph, Canton, Clerk . Orson 0. Wheeler, Canton, Sheriff. GENERAL SESSIONS OP THE PEACE. Leslie W. Russell, County Judge. Cornelius Carter, Justice Sessions. George Backus, Justice Sessions. Murray N. Ralph, Canton, Clerk. John R. Brinokerhoff, Norfolk, District Attorney. Orson 0. Wheeler, Canton, Sheriff. THE SURROGATE COURT. Dexter A. Johnson, Gouverneur, Surrogate, term expires Dec. 31, 1883. Joseph T. Chapin, Ogdensburg, Special Surrogate. THE JUSTICES OF THE PEACE of the several towns and city of Ogdensburg. THE BOARD OP SUPERVISORS. The board of supervisors, as the fiscal manager of the county, has come down from the " good old colony times, when we lived under the king," and dates its beginning in an act of the colonial assembly of New York, passed in April, 1691.* By this act it was provided that the free- holders of the colony should elect two assessors and one supervisor in their respec- tive towns ; the former to assess and establish the rates on each freeholder and inhabitant, and deliver the list to the supervisor, who took it up to a general meeting of the supervisors of the county, who ordered the same collected by the constables or collectors of the several towns. The super- visors as a board also elected a county treasurer, who re- ceived and disbursed the funds for county charges. This act was repealed October 18, 1701, and courts of general or special sessions, held by the justices of the peace of the county, or any five of them, were created, to make the necessary levies of taxes and audit claims, and certify the same to two assessors and a collector in each town for col- lection pro rata. This court also appointed the county treasurer. On June 10, 1703, the supervisors were restored again and put in charge of the strong box of the treasury, and the courts of sessions relieved of the care of the finan- * Bradford's Ed. Coloniul Laws. cial interests of the county, and the supervisors required to meet as a board at the county town, annually, on the first Tuesday in October, and at such other times as they might deem proper for the transaction of their business. The board received back again, also, the power of appointment of county treasurer, who was allowed a sixpence on the pound for his fees, the collectors getting ninepence for their fees of collection. The system of the supervisors has been continued under the several constitutions of the State to the present time. The records of the board of supervisors of St. Lawrence County previous to 1814 were lost in a fire at Ogdensburg in the spring of 1839, and consequently no abstract of the early business of the board can be obtained. The first board is said to have been composed as follows : Nathan Ford, of Oswegatchie ; Alexander J. Turner, of Lisbon ; Joseph Edsall, of Madrid ; Mathew Perkins, of Massena. In 1814 the board was composed of the following super- visors : Canton, Daniel Walker; De Kalb, Issac Burnham j Gouverneur, Richard Townsend;- Hopkinton, Roswell Hopkins; Louisville, Tim- othy W. Osborn ; Madrid, Joseph Freeman ; Massena, Willard Seaton ; Parishville, Daniel W. Church; Potsdam, Benjamin Raymond; Os- wegatcbie^ Louis Hasbrouck; Rossie, Reuben .Streeter; Russell, Reuben Ashman ; Stockholm, Nathaniel F. Winslow; Lisbon, Geo. C. Conant. Roswell Hopkins was unanimously chosen chairman, and Geo. C. Conrad clerk, pro tern. . This meeting was the annual one, and convened on the first Tuesday in October, at the court-house in Oswegatchie. On motion of Benjamin Raymond, seconded by a fellow- member, it was " Resolved, that the sherifi' be directed to cause a brick frame work to be built under the iron stove in the court room, and as many brick flues to be built on the top thereof as the stove will contain ; also to cause to be repaired the damage done the court-house by the enemy. "f The board then adjourned until the last Tuesday in the month, when they met again and continued business. A bounty of ten dollars was laid on wolves' heads, the possessors of which were full grown, and five dollars on " whelps of sufficient age to see or travel abroad" provided always if these same animals were not slaughtered by an Indian. Five hundred dollars were appropriated to pay the bounties. The following town accounts were audited : Canton, roads, $250 ; wolf bounties, $40 ; sundries, $100.22; total, $390.22. De Kalb, roads, $250 ; schools, $30 ; the poor, 8150 ; total, $430. Gouverneur, roads, $250 ; sundries, $104.46; total, $354.46. Hopkinton, roads, $250 ; schools, $24.72 ; the poor, $150 ; wolf bounties, $100 ; sundries, $157.13; total, $681.85. Lisbon, schools, $60; sundries, $177.98 ; total, $237.98. Louisville, roads, $250 ; schools, $16.72 ; sundries, $50.68 ; total, $316.95. Madrid, roads, $250 ; schools, $150 ; the poor, $200 ; sundries, $236.81 ; total, $836.81. Massena, roads, $250; schools, $66.76; sundries, $96.61 ; total, $413.37. Oswegatchie, sundries, $62.50; total, $62.50. Parishville, schools, $21.66; sun- dries, $142.51 ; total, $164.17. Potsdam, sundries, $90.75 ; total, $90.75. Rossie, roads, $250 ; sundries, $153.37 ; t The British in 1812-13. 12 90 HISTOKY OF ST. LAWKENCE COUNTY, NEW YOEK. total, $403.37. Kussell, roads, $250; schools, $40.98; the poor, $250; sundries, $56; total, $596.98. Stock- holm, roads, $250 ; schools, $31.92; sundries, $51.11 ; total, $333.03. Tbtofe.— Roads, $2500 ; schools, $442.31 ; the poor, $750 ; wolf bounties, $140 ; sundries, $1480.13; total, $5312.44. The county accounts allowed amounted to $739.40 ; and the towns were allowed for money already expended on bridges, $693.51. Besides the above-named sums, a general appropriation, levied on the county at large for the build- ing of bridges, was made to the amount of $1000. A committee, consisting of Supervisors Hopkins, Raymond, and Hasbrouck, appointed at the January meeting in 1814, reported on previous appropriations for bridges, by which it appears that one of $1225 was made in 1805. The county treasurer reported that he had received from the comptroller all arrears due the county on taxes and in- terest to June 14, 1814, amounting to $6495.34, which amount paid all the indebtedness against the county up to the meeting of the board in annual session, and left a bal- ance of $3600 in the treasurer's hands. The balances reported as due the towns for bridge building was directed to be paid to the proper authorities from this balance of $3600. The tax-list for the year aggregated $8943.73. In 1815 another appropriation for bridges was made of $1000, and distributed to the towns where the most im- portant structures were needed, — Oswegatchie getting $450, De Kalb $200, and Gouverneur $350. In 1816 the first equalization of assessment of real estate was effected. At the annual meeting a committee, consisting of Supervisors Hasbrouck, Winslow, and Ray- mond wa-s appointed, and reported that, owing to the im- perfectness of the returns from some of the towns, equali- zation was impracticable, and recommended all of the assessment rolls to be returned to the assessors for re-assess- ment of real estate, on the following basis : Tracts of 1000 acres and upwards, at $1.50 per acre; in parts of the town- ship of Hammond, Somerville, and Kilkenny, in the town of Rossie, and Crumach and Grange in Massena, from 50 cents to $1 per acre ; in Russell, Parishville, and Hopkin- ton, from 10 cents to $1.50 per acre; other towns, not ex- ceeding 75 cents per acre. Small tracts for farms, from 25 to 50 per cent, more, beside improvements. This report was adopted, and the assessment retaken accordingly, and returned to an adjourned meeting convened November 16 following. At this meeting Messrs. Raymond, Hasbrouck, and Barber were appointed a committee on equalization, and they recommended the following additions and deduc- tions to the assessment of real estate, which were made : Additions: Potsdam, $7831.57; Parishville, $358.25; Lisbon, $5207.33; Massena, $12,082.50 ; Rossie, $3543.06; De Kalb, $18,735.91 ; total additions, $47,758.62. Deductions :' Hopkinton, $2353.25 ; Madrid, $43,514.12 ; Russell, $663.50; Canton, $1227.75; total deductions' $47,758.62. ' Mr. Hasbrouck was appointed to assist the clerk in the equalizing of the assessment and casting the taxes. A tax of twenty cents per acre was levied on all lands situated within one mile of the roads laid out by the com- missioners appointed by the act of April 15, 1810 and eight cents per acre on all lands more than one mile, and less than two, distant. In 1817 the town of Fowler appeared on the board for the first time, in the person of its first supervisor, Theodo- sius 0. Fowler. The United States authorities valued the lands of the county in 1814; and the supervisors deeming the valuation put upon it too high, disregarded the instruc- tions of the comptroller to assess the same on the basis of the said valuation, and petitioned the legislature for relief. The report of the county treasurer showed receipts fi'om Feb. 1, 1814, to Nov. 5, 1817, amounting to $20,501.92, all of which had been properly disbursed, except a balance of $111.40. The taxes of Fowler for the first year of its sovereignty were, for State and county purposes, $167.66; for town purposes, $106.96 ; total, $274.62. In 1818, Chester Gurney was clerk pro tern, of the board. In after-years Mr. Gurney was a noted lawyer in Michigan, and one of the original Liberty men of St. Jo- seph county, in that State. In 1819 Pierrepont sent its first supervisor to the county board, and for the privilege of self-government paid tribute as follows : To the State, $58.17 ; to the county, $123.90 ; for its own poor, $200 ; for schools, $18.09 ; and for sun- dry expenses and appropriations, $125.98; total, $526.14, the collector getting in addition $26.30 for his fees. A pauper family from Rutland, Jefferson Co., having been transported into St. Lawrence County, and thence through the same to Malone, by easy stages, whereby St. Lawrence had incurred expense, Jefferson county was applied to to liquidate the cost of the transit. The first panther bounty was paid this year. In 1820 the number of taxable inhabitants in the county was returned at 2798, the total assessment being $747,704, as returned by the assessors, and the supervisors increased it to $757,000, and levied a tax of $14,335.56 for all pur- poses on it. From Nov. 8, 1817, to Oct. 3, 1820, the treasurer received $31,409.29, from which he disbursed for roads and bridges $19,913.67, and for wolf bounties $2307.50. In 1821 Morristown appeared on the board in the per- son of its first supervisor, David Ford, the first assessment and taxation being as follows: Taxable inhabitants, 161 ; value of personal property, $1816; value of real estate, $35,391 ; total valuation, $37,207. Taxes, State, $101.93 ; county, $360.78 ; town, $150.96 ; collectors' fees, $32.28; total taxes, $665.02. M. B. Hitchcock, county clerk, pre- sented a bill ibr $149.99 for ofiice rent, which, after many ballotings, was rejected. The first vote to reject had but one vote against the proposition, when the motion was re^ considered, and a motion to allow $100 had. three support- ers, a motion to allow $50 had but two friends, and the final rejection was carried nine to five. Mr. Hitchcock presented his bill again in 1822, and it met the same fate again ; and so to in 1823. In 1822, Samuel Partridge, of Potsdam, was appointed sealer of weights and measures, and $50 appropriated to buy standards. In 1823 Norfolk's first supervisor, Christopher G. Stow, appeared on the board. The tax-list of the town made the following exhibit: Taxable inhabitants, 108 ; value of real estate, $62,770 (no personal property returned) ; State tax, HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 91 $62.77 ; county tax, $89.77 ; town taxes, $248.70 ; total, $401.24. Resident wild lands wore assessed at $1.90 per acre ; improved lands, $4.75 ; non-resident lands, wild, from .50 and .75 to $1.00 per acre ; barns, $75. In 1825 De Peyster and Brasher appeared before the board, the former by Smith Stillwell, supervisor, and the latter by Benjamin Nevin, but Mr. Nevin, being an alien, could not take his seat. The tax-lists of the new towns were as follows : I)e Pey- ster — taxable inhabitants, 130 ; personal property, $2415 ; real estate, $71,227 ; total assessment, $73,642 ; taxes. State and county, $210.66 ; town, $273 ; total, $483.66. Brasher — taxable inhabitants, 87 ; real estate assessment, $60,342; taxes. State and county, $175; town, $222; total, $397. Martin Brombling killed a panther and brought the cor- pus entire before the board and received his bounty, and kept the skin of the animal unmutilated. The board voted that a bank was necessary in Ogdensburg, in order to place the inhabitants of St. Lawrence County on an equality with other citizens of the State in relation to good money. The board adopted a seal, a representation of which is appended to this history of the board. In 1826 two claimants appeared before the board for the seat of Brasher, — Jehiel Stevens and David McMurphy. McMurphy, as town clerk, declared himself elected, while Stevens, as justice of the peace, presiding at the election, received the largest number of votes, and was seated. In 1827 the towns of Hammond and Edwards were first represented on the board by Sylvester Buttrick and Orra Shed, respectively. The tax-lists of the new towns made the following exhibit : Hammond — taxable inhabitants, 137; personal property, $2066 ; real estate, $60,417 ; total assessment, $62,483. Taxes, county, $191.38 ; town, $213.25 ; total, $430.85. Edwards — taxable inhabitants, 129; personal property, $1845; real estate, $51,114; total assessment, $52,959. County tax, $161.91 ; town, $402.89; total taxes, $604.21. In 1829 Lawrence was first represented on the board by Carlton McEwen, supervisor. The town had 216 taxable inhabitants listed, the valuation of property being, for per- sonal, $235 ; real estate, $43,198 ; total, $43,433. County tax, $158.36; town tax, $417.69; total taxes, $714.34. The annual meeting of 1830 was the first one held in Canton, and at this meeting Hermon (under the name of De Peau) first came to the board in the person of William Teal, supervisor. The valuation and taxes of Hermon were as follows : taxable inhabitants, 134 ; personal property, $550 ; real estate, $34,641 ; total valuation, $35,191. County tax, $134.26 ; town, $349.81 ; total taxes, $538.54. The appropriations for the year amounted to $10,524.22, divided as follows: Jurors, two years, $1600; constables and justices, two years, $1326 ; superintendents of the poor, $3000 ; supervisors, $870 ; court-house, $600 ; wolf boun- ties, $470 ; miscellaneous accounts, $1242.84. In 1832 the expenses of the town boards of health, ren- dered necessary by the prevalence of the cholera, amounted to $1351.45. Hon. Preston King was chairman of the committee on the audit of the same, and also of the com- mittee on the superintendents of the poor and their doings. In 1836 the first assessment of incorporated companies was specifically returned, and contained two companies only : Ogdensburg bank, real estate, $4200 ; taxable stock, $93,691 ; total, $97,891. Tax, $675.02. Ontario and St. Lawrence steamboat company, taxable stock, $36,000 ; tax, $248.24. In 1837 the companies had increased so that the assess- ment amounted to $191,191, and the taxes to $1807.21. This year, too, Pitcairn was first represented on the board by John Sloper. The tax list contained the names of 44 taxable inhabitants ; its valuation for assessment was $13,137 ; county taxes, $56.72 ; town taxes, $73.96 ; total, $137.35. In 1838 the supervisor from Morristown offered a reso- lution prefaced by a preamble of many " whereases," which set forth that information, believed to be reliable and authentic, having been received that the Patriots had made " a noble stand" at Windmill Point, in Canada, and had had a severe engagement with the " advocates and minions of British tyranny and oppression," and that the Patriots needed reinforcements to prevent being captured by the aforesaid " minions," and " so meet with defeat, and sacri- fice their lives in contending against the aforesaid cruel and merciless foe ;" and that as the board of supervisors of St. Lawrence " felt a deep interest and intense anxiety in the success of the patriotic struggle, which would spread the light of liberty abroad throughout the land," therefore, for the preservation of the lives of those patriots " who are contending for the rights of men born free, and for the republican principles for which our venerated forefathers shed their blood, " Jlesolocd, That the board adjourn to meet again on the last Mon- day of November instant, in order to enable the members thereof to return to their respective homos to devise ways and means to rescue that Spartan band of patriotic friends, and preserve their lives from the hands of their enemies, the tyrants and advocates of the British crown.'' The board, however, having a wholesome regard for the proclamation of neutrality issued by the Federal govern- ment, extinguished the resolution by laying the same on the table indefinitely, by yeas and nays, the record of which vote does not appear spread upon the proceedings of the session. In 1841, Macomb entered the list of representative towns, and sent David Day (2d) up to the county board as supervisor. Its value and taxes were as follows : Taxable in- habitants, 144 ; personal property, $450 ; real estate, $43,438; total, $43,888. County tax, $223.75; town, $361.81; total, $670.04. In 1844 the town of Fine sent its first supervisor to the board, Amos J. Brown being the man, who was accom- panied by Payne Converse, the first supervisor from Colton. The valuations and taxes of the new towns were as follows : Colton— total valuation, $27,121 ; State tax, $29.86 ; county tax, $120.73 ; town, $129.47 ; total, $429.92. Fine— total valuation, $49,157 ; State tax, $54.07 ; county tax, $218.58 ; town, $358.54 ; non-resident road tax, $456.72 ; total, $1127.73. In 1849 the first laws were enacted under the increased powers granted the board in 1847 by the legislature, the same being a law for wolf bounties, ^nd auother for the 92 HISTOEY OP ST. LAWEENCE COUNTY, NEW YOEK. preservation of deer. A part of the town of Hermon, the south end of E. i of township No. 4 of great tract 3, of Macomh's purchase, being sub-division lots 32 to 37 inclu- sive, was annexed to Edwards. In 1851 the board recommended the formation of a county agricultural society by the farmers of St. Lawrence County. In 1852, at the annual meeting, the resignation of Bishop Perkins, clerk of the board from 1819 continuously to that date, thirty-two years, was received, Mr. Perkins having been elected to congress. The board passed some very complimentary resolutions on the matter, and elected Mar- tin Thatcher to the vacancy. The board offered twenty dollars for a bounty on wolf scalps, and telegraphed the offer to the Franklin board, and asked them to do likewise. In 1855 there were 4776 persons returned liable to mil- itary tax in the county, and the levy on them amounted to $2493. The legislature was invoked by the board to ap- propriate $10,000 for the improvement of the east branch of the St. Eegis river. In 1859, at the annual meeting, the town of Madrid was divided on the five-mile line, and the northern half created the new town of Waddington, and in 1860 the new town sent its first supervisor to the board, the same being Walter Wilson. The State equalization of property in the year 1860 fixed St. Lawrence valuation at $15,633,359, the State tax being $59,928. William Eomaine, supervisor from Lawrence, died while the board was in session, eight days after he first took his seat at the annual meeting, and the resolutions spread upon the records relating to his decease were touching, tender, and modest. The assessment and taxes of Waddington for 1860 were as follows : Acres, 32,713 ; value of real estate, $560,605 ; personal property, $44,805 ; total, $605,455 ; State tax, $320,895 ; county tax, $1800.74; town tax, $996.24; military tax, $77; total tax, $5082.93. In 1861, at the annual meeting, resolutions of support of the war measures of the government were passed, and a law enacted prohibiting the hounding of deer in the county. In 1862, resolutions of support to volunteers then in the field, were passed. In 1864, there were several special meetings held, to devise ways and means for paying volunteer bounties to encourage enlistments in the Union armies for the sup- pression of the southern Eebellion. The first one, in July, passed resolutions appropriating $500,000 for the purpose. Another meeting, held Aug. 23, reconsidered the former action, and offered bounties of $700, $800, and $900, to one, two, and three years' men respectively, in addition to State and national bounties, and appropriated $1,200,000 for the payment of the same. In September the quota of the county was full, under the call of July 18, for 500,000 men. At the annual meeting of 1865, the death of Hon. Preston King was announced, and the board passed appro- priate resolutions and adjourned for the day. In 1868, Clifton appeared in the person of her first su- pervisor, Charles C. Snell, and the city of Ogdensburg sent three supervisors, as follows : 1st Ward, Calvin W. Gibbs • 2d Ward, Wm. C. Alden ; 3d Ward, Zina B. Bridges! The assessment and tax-list of Clifton for the year 1868 was as follows : acres, 62,425 ; valuation, $60,783 ; State tax, $372.27 ; county tax, $892.01 ; town tax, $28.50 ; non-resident road tax, $151.90 ; total tax, $1480.75. The tax-roll of Ogdensburg was included in that of the town of Oswegatchie. In 1873, the 4th ward of the city of Ogdensburg was erected, and Thomas Callahan elected supervisor ; but he did not attend the board, and in 1874 Wm. D. Britton appeared as the supervisor of the ward. The present board of supervisors (1877) is constituted as follows : Brasher, George Kingston. Canton, Leslie W. Russell. Clifton, James Sheridan. Cotton, Charles B. Fisher. De Kalb, Thomas M. Wells. De Peyster, William Newcomb. Edwards, Cornelius Carter. Fine, Alexander Muir. Fowler, A. H. Johnson. Gouverneur, Newton Aldrich. Hammond, James S. More. Hermon, A. A. Matteson. Hopkinton, Jonah Sanford. Lawrence, Sumner Sweet. Lisbon, Samuel Wells. Louisville, William Bradford. Macomb, Warren Hastings. Madrid, John H. Robinson. Massena, H. B. AVhite. Morristown, Charles Richardson. Norfolk, E. A. Atwater. Oswegatchie, Harvey L. Jones. Ogdensburg, 1st Ward, J. Y. Chapin. " 2d Ward, C. Mar- ceau. 3d Ward, S. F. Pal- mer. " -Ith Ward, H. S. Lighthall. Parishville, Edward H. Abrom. Pierrepont, Lorenzo Northrup. Pitcairn, Lorenzo D. Geer. Potsdam, Erastus D. Brooks. Rossie, A. E. Helmer. Russell, Wm. H. Lewis. Stockholm, Ebenezer S. Crapser. Waddington, Jno. T. Rutherford. The board met on Tuesday, Nov. 13, in annual session, and organized for business by re-electing Newton Aldrich, of Gouverneur, chairman. The session was an interesting one, lasting through sixteen days, with several night ses- sions. A considerable portion of the time was spent in a vigorous discussion of the ever troublesome question of the equalization of assessment of real estate, arising from con- flicting interests ; but on the tenth day, the report of the committee on that matter, after a recommittal, was finally adopted, and was as will be seen in the next chapter (VI.), by a reference to the tabular statement of supervisors' esti- mates for 1877-78. The present board of supervisors compares, favorably with its predecessors in point of ability and watchfulness, and the interests of the county at large, as well as the constitu- ent towns, seem to be as jealously guarded as in any year of the history of the board, its labors being materially aided by the efiiciency of its clerk, Stillman Foote, Esq., now in. his seventeenth year of service as such. Liberal use has been made of the legislative powers granted boards of supervisors by the legislature, by the St. Lawrence County Board since 1847, and its increased pow- ers given in 1875, and its enactments are passed with the formality of the State legislature, and are engrossed and published. The laws passed by the board have, thus far, been confined to the destruction of noxious animals, preser- vation of wild game, enabling acts for the raising, by town levies, moneys for town purposes, the erection of new towns, etc. The chairmen of the board of supervisors have been as follows, since 1814 : HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 93 1814-18— Eoswell Hopkins. 1819 — Louis Hiisbrouck. 1820 — Benjamin Raymond. 1821 — Louis Hasbrouck. 1822 — Jason Fenton. 1823 — Louis Hasbrouck. 1824— William Allen. 1825 — Phineas Attwater. 1826-28— Smith Stillwell. 1829— Phineas Attwater. 1830— William Allen. 1831— Baron S. Doty. 1832— Geo. C. Conant. 1833-34— Zenas Clark. 1836-37- Wm. Allen. 1838 — Almon Z. Madison. 1839— Ansel Bailey. 1840— Geo. Redington. 1841— Jehiel Stevens. 1842— N. Sackrider. 1843-45— Asa Sprague. 1846 — Solomon Pratt. 1847— Silas Williams. 1848— Geo. F. Winslow. 1849-50— Orrin M. Fisk. 1851 — Charles Anthony. 1852-53— Asaph Green. 1854— RoUin C. Jackson. 1855 — Erasmus D. Brooks. 1856— Aaron T. Hopkins. 1857— P. W. Rose. 1858— C. C. Montgomery. 1859— Wm. P. Smith. I860— C. T. Hulburd. 1861- Ela A. Merriam. 1862— Edward W. Foster. 1853— Emory W. Abbott. 1864-65— Edward W. Foster. 1866-67— C. C. Montgomery. 1868-69— Tiras H. Ferris. 1870-71— C. C. Montgomery. 1872-74— S. H. Palmer. 1875— E. W. Foster. 1876-77— Newton Aldrich. The clerks of the board have been, from its first organi- zation, in 1802, to the present time, as follows: 1802-10- Louis Hasbrouck. 1810-19— William W. Bowen. 1819 — Chester G\irBey,pro tern. 1819-52— Bishop Perkins. 1852-57— Martin Thatcher. 1857-61— Edward A. Merritt. 1861 to the present time, Still- man Foote. COURT-HOUSES AND JAILS. In accordance with the law erecting the county, one of the stone buildings west of the Oswegatchie was fitted up as a court-house, and a bomb-proof magazine on the jpre- mises as a jail, in 1802. Here the first courts were held and first delinquents confined until the completion of the court-house, in 1803, under the provisions of a clause in an act passed April 2, 1803, which provided as follows : "And be it further enacted^ That it shall be lawful for the super- visors of the county of St. Lawrence, and they are hereby authorized, to receive the moneys subscribed by the inhabitants of the said county, for building a court-house and gaol, on the east side of the mouth of the Oswegatchie river, opposite to the old barracks, and to apply such moneys for building the said court-house and gaol, in such manner as they or the majority of them shall judge most for the interest of the said county; and shall account for the expenditures of the said money with the judges of the court of common pleas for the said county. " And he it further enacted^ That as soon as the said supervisor;;, or a majority of them, shall, by writing under their hands, certify to the sheriff of the said county, that the gaol hereby authorized to be built is fit for the reception of prisoners, it shall and may be lawful for the said sherifT, after filing the said certificate in the office of the clerk of the said county, to remove the prisoners into the said gaol, which gaol thereafter shall be the gaol of the said county j and that as soon as the said court-house is finished sufficiently, so as to be comfortable for holding court, and a certificate thereof by the said supervisors, or a majority of them, delivered to the judges of the said court, and filed in the clerk's office, shall thereafter be the court-house for the said county, to all intents and purposes. "And te it further enacted, That until further order of the legisla- ture, it shall not be necessary for the sheriff of the said county to give bonds to the people of this State, for a larger sum than four thousand dollars, and six sureties of five hundred dollars each." An act of Feb. 12, 1813, required the board of super- visors to raise a tax of $900, for the purpose of erecting a fire- proof clerk's ofiice. Previous to the completion of this, the records were kept in the office of Louis Hasbrouck, the clerk. The date of the first record in the office is May 29, 1802. The house in which the clerk's office was kept for several of the first years is represented in the accompanying en- graving, which possesses an additional interest, from its having been one of the first dwellings erected in Ogdens- burg. It was completed in 1804. The lot on which it stood was sold to Mr. Hasbrouck for a guinea. Its central location has rendered it worth several thousand dollars. This venerable dwelling was unfortunately consumed in a destructive fire that occurred in the autumn of 1852, together with a modern block of stores represented in the cut, and much valuable property on the opposite side of the street. The following resolutions in relation to the act author- izing the erection of a new clerk's office, were passed by the board of supervisors in October, 1821 : " Moved that the sum of $600 be raised and levied for the purpose of building a fire-proof clerk's office. "Action postponed for the present. " It was proposed to amend this by inserting $500, and this amend- ment was passed. " Voted that the building should be erected in the village of Ogdens- burg. Louis Hasbrouck, David C. Judson, and Bishop Perkins were appointed a committee to determine the size and plan, and to super- intend its erection and finishing. It was further resolved, that, "* Whereas, by an act of the legislature, passed Feb. 12, 1813, authorizing the board of supervisors of the county of St. Lawrence to raise money to build a fire-proof clerk's office in said county ; and whereas, it is considered probable that a division of the county may take place, and in such case a location at Ogdensburg would not bene- fit such new county, — it was therefore resolved that, in case of such a division, such sum as may be assessed on the territory so set off into a new county should be refunded to such new county.' " In pursuance of the foregoing resolution, a stone build- ing was erected on the corner of Ford and Green streets, in the village of Ogdensburg. It was for several years the land office of the Hon. Henry Van Rensselaer. The proprietors and settlers of the central and southern sections of the county were never entirely satisfied with the location of the public buildings at Ogdensburg, and, by re- ferring to the letter of Judge Ford to S. Ogden, dated Jan. 11, 1805, it will be seen that secret jealousies were entertained on this subject. In 1818 the first direct effort was made to effect a removal, which was defeated through the efforts of persons residing in Ogdensburg. Among the arguments then adduced in favor of the 94 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. measure were the exposed situation of the frontier and liability to hostile incursions in case of war, the incon- venience of the public buildings and insecurity of the jail, and especially the distance from the centre of the county and the southern settlements. The petition for the appointment of commissioners to select a new site for public buildings had 700 signatures, and the remonstrance 762. The inhabitants of Potsdam also petitioned for the removal of the public buildings to their village. Against the removal of the county-seat it was urged that the condition of the buildings at Ogdensburg did not call for a change ; that a large amount of money was about to be expended upon roads, which would make that place easily accessible ; that the county buildings, worth $2000, would become forfeited by reversion to the proprietor ; that the taxable inhabitants, then numbering 2000, were then thinly scattered, and an uncertainty still existed where the weight of population would ultimately preponderate. A plan was at this time proposed for dividing the county by a line running between Lisbon and Canton on the west, and Madrid and Potsdam on the east, to extend in a direct line to the southern bounds of the county. The new county was to have been named Fayette. An estimate made at the time is interesting, denoting the number of taxpayers in the several towns, and is as follows : Westei-n Division. — Oswegatchie, 193; Gouverneur, 89; De Kalb, 126; Russell, 119; Fowler, 28; Rossie, 62; Lisbon, 115 ; Canton, 202. Total, 934. Eastern Division. — Madrid, 260 ; Potsdam, 302 ; Parish- ville, 133 ; Stockholm, 99 ; Hopkinton, 81 ; Louisville, 106 ; Massena, 85. Total, 1066. The subject of removal to a central location again came up for legislative action in the session of 1827, but was permitted to lie over till the next session, for the purpose of obtaining a more distinct expression of the popular wish on the measure ; and under these circumstances it became a test question in the election of members of assembly in that year. Party considerations wore dropped for the time, and it was expected that the canvass would decide the prefer- ences of tlie electors of the county upon the subject of removal. It resulted as follows : FOE KEMOVAL. Moses Rowley 2364. Jabez Willes 2178. AGAINST REMOVAL. Jason Fenton 2069 Phineas Attwater 1688 The members elected were nominated by a convention representing the portion desirous of a change of site, and with a distinct understanding that they would labor to effect that object. The records of many of the towns show that an expres- sion of opinion was taken on this subject at their town meetings in 1828. The petition upon which the law, authorizing a chano'e and appointing disinterested commissioners to designate a new site, was not numerously signed, but embraced the names of those who possessed much weight and influence in the county. It was dated December, 1827, and received in the senate Jan. 18, 1828. This led, after the most active opposition from many of those interested in Ogdensburg, to the passage of the fol- lowing law : " All Act establishing .the location of Gourt-Houae and other Public Buildings iu St, Lawrence County. " Passed Jan. 28, 1828. " I. Joseph Grant, George Brayton, and John B. Hinman, of the county of Oneida, be, and they are, hereby appointed commissioners to examine, determine, and fix upon the proper site for the erection of a new court-house, gaol, and cleric's office, in and for the county of St. Lawrence, whose duty it shall be to go into the said county to examine the situation of the same, with respect to its population, its territory, its roads, and the means of communication between the several towns and settlements in the said county, together with the immediate prospect of settlements, and all other things which they shall think it necessary to examine and inquire into, the better to enable them to form a correct determination as to the site of a court- house, gaol, and cleric's office for the said county, which shall best accommodate the population of the. said county in reference to its present territory. " II. The said commissioners, after having made such inquiries and examinations as aforesaid, and as to them shall be satisfactory, shall, on or after the fifteenth day of August next, fix upon and establish the site for the buildings aforesaid, and shall put their determination in writing, under theif hands and seals, or the hands and seals of any two of them, and shall iile the same in the office of the clerk of the said county, whose duty it shall be to receive and file the said paper without any compensation for so doing ; and the determination of the said commissioners, or any two of them, being so made and filed as aforesaid, shall be final and conclusive in the premises." Section III. provides for the compensation of the commissioners, — three dollars per day, and fifteen cents per mile traveling fees. "IV. That Ansel Bailey, David C. Judson, and Asa Sprague, Jr., be, and they are, hereby appointed commissioners to superintend the building of a court-house, gaol, and clerk's office, in and for the said county of St. Lawrence, upon the site to be fixed upon and established by the commissioners appointed in and by the first section of this act. '•■ V. The commissioners appointed in and by the last preceding section of this act, or a majority of them, are hereby authorized and empowered to purchase materials, contract with workmen, and do all other things necessary to the building of the said court-house, gaol, and clerk's office j to direct the size, shape, and arrangement of the said buildings, and the materials of which the same shall be con- structed, and that the said clerk's office shall be built of such mate- rials and be so constructed as to be fire-proof. "VI. The commissioners last mentioned shall be, and they arc, hereby authorized to draw upon the treasurer of the said county of St. Lawrence, from time to time, for such sum or sums of money as shall come into the treasury of the said county, to be appropriated for the erection of the said buildings ; and it shall be the duty of the said treasurer to pay on the order of the said commissioners, or a majority of them, any sums of money in his hands appropriated to the erection of the said buildings. " VII. The said commissioners appointed to superintend the erec- tion of the said buildings shall, before they enter upon the duties of their office, give bonds in the penal sum of $5000, with approved sureties, to the supervisors of the said county, conditioned that they will faithfully discharge the duties of the said commission, and the moneys which shall come into their hands as such commissioners, and that they will punctually and honestly account to the said super- visors for all such moneys; and the said commissioners shall be enti- tled to receive each the Sum of two dollars per day for each day they be necessarily employed in the discharge of their duties under this act, to be audited, levied, and collected as the other contingent charges of the said county are audited, levied, and collected." VIII. A tax of $2500 to be levied on the county for the building. IX. The board of supervisors to sell the old court-house, gaol, and clerk's office, and apply the proceeds towards the new building, etc. X. Supervisors to procure a deed in fee simple of the new site. XI. The site to be paid for out of the proceeds of the old buildings. XII. The supervisors to levy a sum in 1829, not to exceed $2500, to finish the new buildings. XIII. Commissioners to give notice to the judges of the county court of the completion of the buildino-s. XIV. The judges to meet and fix upon the gaol liberties. XV. The sherifi'to remove prisoners to the new gaol when directed by the judges of the courts. XVI. The sheriff alone liable for escape of prisoners on removal. XVII. The clerk to remove records when directed by judges. XVIII. After the above, the new buildings shall be deemed the county court-house, gaol, and clerk's office to all legal intents. XIX. Vacancies among first commissioners to be filled by governor. XX. Vacancies in building commissioners to be filled by county Judges. HISTORY OP ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 95 The sum designated by the foregoing act being found in- adequate to complete the buildings, an act was passed April 16, 1830, authorizing the supervisors to raise $600 more for that purpose. The first record made at the clerk's office after its removal was on the 8th of Jan., 1830, on which day it was opened. The old court-house lot at Ogdensburg was sold to Bishop Perkins for $1000, and the clerk's office for $600 to Gov- ernor Ogden. The following extract from the report to the supervisors of the commissioners appointed to erect the cgunty build- ings at Canton, describes their original construction : " Each building is of stone. The court-house is two stories in height, 44 feet by 40. The lower story is divided into four rooms, besides passages and stairways, 4'iz., u. grand-jury room, a room for constables and witnesses attending the grand-jury, and two rooms for petit jurors. The upper story is devoted entirely to a court-room, 41 feet in length by 37 in breadth. ** The clerk's oflBce is of the same height and size of the private clerk's office, and differing in its construction only in making the front room smaller and the rear one larger. . . . ** The gaol is 36 by 40, with the basement story rising about five feet out of the ground, and a story and a half above. About 12 feet of the easterly end of all the stories is appropriated to prison rooms, except a small room in the lower story for a sheriff's office, where the stove is placed, intended to give warmth to all the criminal rooms in the upper story, as well as the debtor's room immediately back on the same story. " The plan of the criminal rooms has been entirely changed since the report made at the last meeting of the board. " It was then contemplated to take the Jefferson county gaol as a model in the construction of ours, the strength of which consisted in the size and even surface of the stone of which the walls are con- structed. The difiioulty of obtaining stone of sufficient size and evenness of surface to admit of dowaling induced them to abandon that plan. " The criminals' rooms are a block of cells five in number, con- structed of wood and iron, placed in the second story, within and three feet distant from the outside walls. " The light is admitted into the cells through gratings in the upper part of the doors (which are to be wholly of iron), opening into the hall in the easterly end of the building, into which the light is admitted through four strong grated windows. " The cells are, with the exception of one, intended for the ac- commodation of single prisoners only. " The plan, though novel as applied to county gaols, was suggested to the consideration of the committee by an examination of the con- struction of the State prison recently erected; and it appears to them to possess the same advantages for a county prison, which has given to those establishments a character for usefulness in the pre- vention of crime, by the reformation of the criminal, in the measure of punishment that has revived the hope of the philanthropist in the success of the penitentiary system, that from the world and from the contaminating influence of the society of his fellow-prisoners, who may he more hardened in vice, and left to his own solitary reflections, if there is any chance for reformation by punishment it is under such circumstances. The safety of the arrangement strongly recommended itself to the consideration of the committee. " Confined singly, there can be no joint efforts. " Communication from the outside, except as to one cell, is believed to be impracticable, and difficult as to that;/and should an escape from a cell be effected, the outside wall or grating would still remain to be forced." The cost of the new court-house, jail, and clerk's office was about $6800. The jail was enlarged in 1836. The accommodation of the court-house being deemed in- sufficient for the wants of the county, the subject of repair- ing and enlarging the building was brought before the board of supervisors, at their session in 1850, and it was resolved, "That a committee of five persons be appointed by the board, whose duty it shall be to examine the present building, and the cost and expense of an addition of twenty-four feet, of the same materials as the present building, and of the same height, including the ex- pense of remodeling the inside in a convenient and suitable manner, and to receive proposals for the erection and completion of said ad- dition." This committee was authorized to contract for the erec- tion of said addition to the court-house, provided such ad- dition shall be found practicable, for the sum of sixteen hundred dollars. Two days afterwards this vote was reconsidered, on a vote of eleven to ten, and three members of the board were appointed a committee to examine and determine what repairs and alterations in the court-house were neces- sary. If, in the judgment of the committee, repairs and alterations should be made, and they might contract for the same, for a sum not exceeding two thousand dollars, the committee were to file a certificate to this effect with the clerk of the board, and they then might borrow on the credit of the county, at par, such sums for seven per cent, annual interest, which they were authorized to expend in repairs and alterations of the court-house. The committee were to give their official bond for money so borrowed, not exceeding two thousand dollars in the ag- gregate, which was to be entered by the clerk of the board in his minutes, and certified by him, bearing seven per cent, interest, payable annually. In case the committee should determine to make such repairs and alterations, they were to cause such alterations and repairs to be contracted for and made under their inspection and direction. A further amendment, which required that the commit- tee in no case should have authority to contract for the completion of the addition of twenty-four feet on the east end of the court-house, unless the same could be done for two thousand dollars, was adopted. Messrs. Picket, Anthony, Cogswell, Foster, and Hazelton were appointed to select a committee to carry the foregoing resolutions into effect, and they reported the names of Messrs. Pisk, Thatcher, and Cogswell, who were duly ap- pointed. The additions contemplated were effected during the year 1851. Thus far in the history of the public buildings the com- piler has quoted from Dr. Hough's " History of St. Law- rence County." In 1858 a bill was passed providing for the building of a new jail, not to exceed the cost of twelve thousand dol- lars. Parker W. Rose, Benjamin Squires, and George Robinson were appointed commissioners in charge of the work, and to dispose of the old jail and fixtures. The building was completed in 1860, and cost, including site, fixtures, furniture, and interest, thirteen thousand six hun- dred and thirty-seven dollars and thirty-one cents. It was built of Potsdam sandstone, from the Cox's mills quarries, of a dark-red, color, and has two stories and an attic, forty- four by seventy-two feet on the ground. It contains twenty-four cells, four debtors' rooms, and one parlor, chamber, and two sleeping rooms for the sheriff's family. In 1877 an addition of wood was erected on the north side of the jail, inclosing the prison court, and fronting west 96 HISTOEY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. forty-seven feet, and running to the east sixty-seven feet, including the wood house. This addition is two stories, and furnishes four good rooms for the sheriff and his family. Mr. Wheeler, the present very efficient officer, superintended the building of the new addition, and also extensive repairs on the jail proper, and renovated the court-room, putting in ventilating flues, and painting and papering the same, wainscoting the halls and offices, during the summer of 1877. The court-room at the present writing presents a clean and tasty appearance, and is convenient and comfort- able. The cost of the new building and the repairs on the jail and court-room amounted to six thousand two hundred dollars. The county clerk's office becoming too contracted for the accommodation of the rapidly increasing business of the county, in 1870 a committee recommended the erection of a new and more extensive one, and reported that no repairs could be made to advantage on the old one. No further action was taken in the matter until the annual meeting of the board of supervisors in 1876, when resolutions offered by supervisor Leslie W. Russell, of Canton, declaring the time had come when new and better accommodations for the preservation of the public records were imperatively re- quired, were adopted, and a committee, consisting of super- visors Russell, Hermann, Foster, Wells, and Crapser, was appointed to report plans for a building and estimates of the cost thereof. This committee reported at a special meeting in January, 1877, plans and specifications of a building, which were adopted by the board. A building committee, consisting of Mr. Russell, Robert Dalzell, and E. S. Crapser, was appointed, and authorized to contract for the erection of the building in accordance with the plans, at a cost not exceeding fifteen thousand dollars. A contract was made with Messrs. Moore & Fields, of Canton, for fourteen thou- sand five hundred dollars, and some changes made in the plan as the work has proceeded will bring the cost up to about fifteen thousand five hundred dollars, exclusive of fix- tures and furniture. Work was commenced on the foun- dation. May 17, 1877, and the building at the present writing (December, 1877) is rapidly approaching comple- tion. The whole structure is most thoroughly and solidly built. The foundation or trench walls are laid with granite five feet in thickness, of large blocks, and the wall above that to the surface of the ground, ten feet, is of the same material. From the surface of the ground the wall, inclu- ding the water table, is of the black limestone of the Nor- wood quarries, as are also the corners, window trimmino's cornice, and coping. The body of the building is of the light grayish granite of Gouverneur, and the two colors present a unique and beautiful appearance. The main building is thirty by forty-eight feet on the ground, wkh a projection of five feet constituting the entrance, and two stories in height, the lower one twelve and the upper one eleven feet in the clear. A hall ten feet wide passes through the centre, on either side of which ai;e four rooms above and below, seventeen by twenty feet. An annex thirty-six by forty feet, of one story, of fourteen feet be- tween joints, is built at the rear of the main buildino- con- necting therewith by two passages, secured by iron doors at both ends. The annex is intended to be fire-proof for the storing of the records. The floor is tiled with marble, and supported by three heavily-built arches of brick. The roof is of copper, and heavy limestone coping protects and ornaments the same. The basement is light and dry, and is to be fitted up with a Boynton furnace for heating pur- poses. Solid granite pillars support the beams of the first floor of the main building, and give a sense of strength and durability satisfactory and pleasing. The roof of the main building is slate, and is surmounted by a very neat and proportionate cupola. The architect of the building is Aiken, of Brasher. It is expected the building will be ready for occupancy some time during the winter of 1878. When it is completed, it will be an honor to the county in point of architectural beauty and excellence, as well as eco- nomical construction. The "jail liberties,"* established in 1814, included one hundred and fifty acres, bounded as follows : Beginning at a post standing at the most southwesterly corner of the wharf belonging to David Parish ; thence north, 45^ east, two chains to the bank of the St. Lawrence river ; thence along the water's edge thereof, to where the southerly line of Morris street intersects the river , thence south, 44J° east, thirty-one chains and fifty links to a stake ; thence south, 45 J° west, forty chains to a stake ; thence north, 44J° west, forty-one chains to beginning. The present liberties were laid off in 1873 by order of the county court, and contain 455 acres, the limits of which are marked by stone monu- ments planted at the corners of the same, and the intersec- tion of the same with the streets of the village of Canton. The " liberties' ' are rectangular, with the jail centrally located therein, and includes the entire business portion of the vil- lage on both sides of the river and the railroad depot, giving the debtors who give bail for their presence thereon a good and pleasant ramble. POOR-HOUSES AND ASYLUMS. The first compulsory charity within the limits of the present " Empire State," was that which the act of the colo- nial assembly of April, 1691, provided for, whereby the towns of the colony were required to support their own poor, and whereby, also, safeguards were thrown around the system to prevent imposition upon the authorities. The assembly of 1 683 may have also provided for such support, and so, also, may have the Dutch burghers before that, but the first laws we find recorded on the subject are those re- ported in Bradford's edition of the Colonial Laws from 1691 to 1773, published in London, which gives the first act as passed in April of the former year. The legislature in 1778 provided for the support of the poor by towns and cities, and later on for the building of poor-houses by towns and counties. Previous to the adop- tion of the poor-house system by St. Lawrence County each town in the county supported its own poor. '■■' The liberties arc certain prescribed limits contiguous to the jail, in which persons Imprisoned for debt may have their liberty to range at pleasure, upon giving security that they will not leave the limits without authority from the court. Imprisonment for debt was abolished in 1831, except for fraud, or attempting to remove, or conceal property from creditors, and the " code" of 1847 continues the same exceptions. HISTORY 0P ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 97 The first action taken by the board of supervisors in re- gard to a poor-house for the county was at the annual meeting in 1825, when a vote was carried through by eleven yeas to seven nays to purchase a farm and build a house, and a certificate to that effect filed with the county clerk. The sum of $2400 was voted for the purpose above named, to be raised in three equal annual installments. Smith Still- well, Josiah Sanford, and Chauncey Pettibone were ap- pointed commissioners to locate the site and make the pur- chase. At an adjourned meeting held in January, 1826, several attempts were mkde to agree upon a site for the poor-house, but without success, and the commissioners previously appointed were discharged from further duty, and subsequently new commissioners were appointed, viz., John C. Perkins, Samuel Northrup, and Reuben Streeter, with power to purchase a site. This appointment was re- considered, and a lot of eighty acres, known as the " Nathan Walker lot," situated one mile west of Canton village, on the De Kalb road, was purchased of David C. Johnson for §1250. An appropriation of $500 was made to repair the buildings and stock the farm. A board of seven superin- tendents of the poor-house was appointed, viz. : Asa Sprague, Jr., Daniel Walker, Smith Stillwell, Samuel Par- tridge, Silas Wright, Jr., Joseph Barnes, and Ephraim S. Raymond. In 1827 $500 additional were raised to erect another building at the poor-house. In 1832 the distinction between the town and county poor was abolished. In 1842 fifty acres of land were added to the farm at a cost of $1066, and new buildings erected and other improvements added. In 1846 an addi- tion was made to the poor-house, constructed of stone. In 1861 a resolution looking to the erection of a new poor- house was passed by the board of supervisors, and A. B. James and Edw. W. Foster were appointed a committee on plans, but no further action was taken in the matter until 1865, when the board voted, at the annual meeting in No- vember, to purchase the Herriman farm, containing 330 acres, at $50 per acre, situated two and a half miles north of Canton village, and to build a poor-house thereon not to exceed in cost $40,000. The farm was accordingly pur- chased, and a building committee appointed, viz., M. D. Packard, Seth G. Pope, and T. S. Clarkson (2d), who advertised for proposals for the erection of the buildings in accordance with the plans adopted, but received none bringing the cost of the building within the appropriation of $40,000. The committee then proceeded to the making of brick, quarrying stone, and cutting timber for the building on the farm, and at the annual meeting in 1867 the appropriation was increased to $50,000. The building was completed by the committee in 1869, and ac- cepted by the board of supervisors in November of that year. The cost of the buildings amounted to $48,788.58 ; of the barn and repairs on other outbuildings, $2348.05 ; of the farm, $16,500; total expenditure, $67,626.63. The old poor farm sold for $6500. In 1872 twenty wards were fitted up for the confinement of the insane poor, at a cost of $1400. The manner in which the indigent of the county are cared for speaks volumes for the humanity and benevo- lence of the people of the wealthy county of St. Lawrence. The farm is well tilled and fairly productive, and the un- 13 fortunates committed to the care of those immediately in charge of them are cared for humanely and as comfortably as is possible with such a class of dependents. The actual cost of keeping the fifty-six paupers who were provided for the first year of the operation of the poor-house system was $1055.53, 869 weeks of board being furnished. The second year, 1329 weeks' board were fur- nished, costing $2731.87. There were furnished during the year ending Nov. 1, 1877, 8046 weeks of board at a cost less than $1 per week, or $8021.54. In 1859 the products of the farm amounted to $1247, and the live stock was valued at $860, and utensils, furni- ture, etc., at $1700. In 1868 the products of the poor farm were valued at $3563, which left a net profit of $106 on its management, inclusive of interest on its cost. In 1870 cheese was made which sold for $752. In 1874 the products of the farm amounted to $4485.08. The report of the superintendents for the year ending Nov. 1, 1877, makes the following exhibit : The products of the farm were valued at $4285, the implements on hand, at $1231 ; the furniture in the house, at $1659 ; the improvements made on the farm during the year, at $190 ; and sundries on hand, at $1143 ; 155 persons were received during the year, and 146 discharged; 11 absconded, 22 died, and there were 8 births in the house ; 4 children were bound out, and 141 remained in the house and asylum at the date of the report, 70 males and 71 females. Of these unfortu- nates, 25 were insane, 5 were blind, 19 were idiotic, and 3 were deaf mutes. The temporary relief supplied by the superintendents in the several towns amounted to $35,167.68, which, together with the expenses of the poor- house ($8021.54, and children's home $2984.24), made $46,173.46 expended for sweet charity's sake, besides the appropriations for the State charities. In 1842 the increasing expense of the pauper relief af- forded called out a letter from the board of supervisors to the superintendents of the poor-house, calling attention to what the letter characterized as the exorbitant charges al- lowed by the superintendents in their auditing capacity, and asking for a closer scrutiny of the personal services of the overseers of the poor, " which, many times, exceeded the amount of relief granted," and physicians' bills, and thought " the latter should not make the misfortunes of the public a source of profit." The board recommended that hence- forth the superintendents, before they granted temporary relief, "should ascertain whether or not the applicants therefor could not relieve themselves by work, and if so, to apply the Scripture rule, ' If there be any among you that will not work, neither shall he eat.' " The amount of appropriations made for the relief of the poor in St. Lawrence County by the board of supervisors since the adoption of the poor-house system is as follows, exclusive of amounts paid for farm and buildings : Inside Poor- Outsule Poor- Tntni Year. House. House. ■^°™'- 1827 $1,918.51 $1,918.51 1828 2,731.87 2,731.87 1829 1,649.23 1,649.23 1830 673.26 S661.50 1,134.76 18.31 2,877.62 3,160.00 6,037.62 1832 2,019.26 2,000.00 4,019.26 1833 2,683.12 3,881.94 6,566.06 1834 2,477.00 3,290.34 5,767.34 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. Inside Poor- Outside Poor- Total. Year. House. House. 1835 $2,166.15 $2,660.63 $4,726.78 1836 2,649.19 2,836.01 6,485.20 1837 ■ 2,493.03 6,081.70 8,674.73 1838 2,600.00 6,677.00 9,177.00 1839 ; 5,049.84 6,017.74 11,067.68 1840 3,711.58 4,947.20 8,668.78 1841 3,494.69 5,709.98 9,204.67 1842 3,014.46 6,.334.83 9,349.29 1843 .. ,3,.625.43 5,278.62 8,803.95 1844" 3,839.15 5,182.09 9,021.24 1845 3,000.00 5,641.53 8,641.63 1846 2,784.03 4,926.42 7,710.45 1847 3,630.61 6,311.75 9,942.26 1848..; ^ 4,756.38 7,641.54 12,397.92 1849 4,332.35 8,2.37.26 12,569.61 1850 4,357.03 7,846.62 12,203.55 1851 5,471.18 8,626.00 13,997.18 1862 6,166.04 9,119.25 16,286.29 1863 8,497.18 8,431.11 16,928.29 1854 5,517.99 11,127.62 16,645.61 1855 6,987.35 11,557.67 18,644.92 1856 4,927.25 11,630.12 16,567..37 1867 6,231.98 12,766.73 18,997.71 1858 : 7,696.43 13,944.38 21,640.81 1859 6,358.81 15,141.84 21.500.65 I860 8,246.36 16,884.59 26,130.95 1861 8,4,38.96 17,6.35.76 26,074.72 1862 8,859.62 20,259.20 29,118.72 1863 8,466.39 27,012.62 35,479.01 1864 7,765.58 31,043.86 38,809.44 1865 9,440.36 35,542.49 44,982.85 1866 13,461.14 31,312.04 44,773.18 1867 13,076.00 31,360.07 44,436.07 1868 8,623.19 32,396.90 41.020.09 1869 10,627.66 34,056.59 44,684.15 1870 12,293.16, 28,781.43 41,074.59 1871 12,143.25 31,389.93 43,533.18 1872 9,027.35 30,039.89 39,067-24 1873 8,339.23 27,615.35 36,954.58 1874 6,615,16 27,682.26 34,197.42 1875 7,624.83 27,700.62 35,325.46 1876 7,263.15 28,012.49 35,266.64 1877 8,021.64 35,167.68 43,189.22 Total for 51 years, $205,942.54 $689,960.93 $795,903.47 Add to these figures the amounts expended for that other charity, to give homeless waifs the comforts of a temporary abiding-place, — $5451.91, — and the grand aggregate of the county's charities to the unfortunate in its own borders for the last half-century reaches the munificent sum of $801,355. Besides this enormous expenditure, for many years past appropriations have been made yearly for the State charities, those for the year to come amounting to $693.31. Who shall say, in the face of the figures and facts, that St. Lawrence County is a " soulless corporation?" The cost of disbursing the charities of the county for the year 1877 was $1529.71, which sum was allowed the superintendents of the poor-house for their services and traveling fees. THE SUPERINTENDENTS OP THE POOR were first appointed by the board of supervisors, and this method obtained in St. Lawrence County until the office was made an elective one. The position has been filled as follows : 1825. — Asa Sprague, Jr., Daniel "Walker, Smith Stillwell, Samuel Partridge, Silas Wright, Jr., Joseph Barnes, and Ephraim S. Ray- mond. 1826.— Silas Wright, Jr., Geo. N. Seymour, Daniel Stone, Joseph Ames (2d), Jabez Welles. 1827.— Smith Stillwell, Joseph Ames, Benjamin Squires, Silas Baldwin, Jr., Daniel Stone. 1828.— Samuel Partridge, Marcus Allen, John MoCall, Daniel Stone, Simoon D. Moody. 1829.— Simeon D. Moody, George Guest, Aaron Atwood, Jabez Welles, Christopher G. Stowe. 1830.— Aaron Atwood, C. G. Stone, Jabez Welles, ErastusVilaa, S. D. Moody. 1831. — The satne as last, except Aloy Smith in place of Atwood. 1832-33. — Stowe, Vilas, Moody, A. Z. Madison, Ansel Bailey. 1834. — Royal Vilas vice Brastus Vilas. 1836. — Gideon Sprague and Rodolphus D. Searle vice Vilas and Bailey. 1836.— -Josiah Waid vice Sprague. 1837-39. — Calvin T. Hulburd vice Madison. 1840. — Ebenezer Miner vice Moody. 1841-42. — Frederick Sprague vice Hulburd. 1843. — Norman Sackruler vice Moody. 1844. — Myron G. Peck vice Sprague. 1845-46. — N. Sackruler, B. Miner, and Luke Baldwin. 1847-50. — Sackruler, Baldwin, Joseph Barnes, A. Burt, Hiram Hurlbut. 1861-63.— Luke Baldwin, P. Converse, S. P. Oliver. 1864-65. — L. Chamberlain vice Oliver. 1856-70. — P. Caldwell vice Converse. 1861-77. — David Fields vice Baldwin, deceased. 1862-66. — Levi E. Waterbury vice Chamberlain, resigned. 1866-67. — Julius Judson vice Waterbury. 1870-77. — Geo. Robinson vice Caldwell. 1871-77.- Fred. P. Baloh vice Judson. THE children's HOME was established in the early part of the year 1876 by the superintendents of the poor-house, under the direction of the board. It is situated in the village of Canton, on the west side of the river, in a pleasant and healthy location, the present building being rented for the purpose at a rental of the interest on $2500 per annum. It will accom- modate fifty children, though no more than thirty-six have so far been in the house at one time. The expenses for the first year of its management amounted to $2334.35, in- cluding $850 for repairs and furniture. Forty-seven chil- dren, from two to twelve years of age, were admitted the first year ; eleven found homes, five absconded, and thirty remained in the institution at the date of the first report of the superintendents. The ladies of Canton assisted in get-' ting bedding, etc., and rendered a helping hand generally. The visiting committee appointed at the annual meeting of the supervisors, in 1876, reported as follows: " Taking into consideration the fact that this is our first year, and that the building occupied is only a rented one, — not originally designed for its present use, — we were well satisfied with all that came under our observation. It is evident a new building, specially arranged for the purpose, is needed to make its management wholesome and economical. We be- lieve that in establishing this institution a long step has been taken in the right direction towards diminishing pauperism, and is in entire harmony with the spirit which at the present time, in our State and the country at large, is so bravely and generously stimulating and supporting every movement calculated to relieve distress, and help the unfortunate ones whom misfortune has rendered helpless. We bespeak for the Children's Home the interest and good- will of our citizens, for we can think of nothing more hopeless and discouraging than the dreary childhood of a homeless orphan." The committee were E. W. Foster, Wm. Bradford, and E. R. Turner. Geo. Robinson, the superintendent of the poor, under whose immediate super- vision and management the home was established and managed, in making his report thereon at the end of the first year, invited the board of supervisors to visit the home, saying, " You will find some happy little faces to greet you, who will in after-years thank and bless you for what you HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 99 do for them now." Several of the supervisors availed themselves of the opportunity and visited the home with the committee, and expressed themselves well satisfied with the success of the experiment thus far. The following is a summary of the report of the super- intendent for the second year, ending Nov. 1, 1877 : Thirty children were admitted to the home during the year, and twenty-three settled in comfortable homes. A school was taught in the home for thirty-eight weeks, and a Sunday-school, organized at the establishment of the home by the young gentlemen and ladies of the Presby- terian church of Canton, has been maintained successfully to the present time, and has been a factor of worth in the good work of the institution. The expenses of the home for the year amounted to the sum of $3117.56, which in- cludes rent, insurance, teaching, medical attendance, food, and clothing; 2236 weeks of board being supplied at an average of f 1.40 per week, which, under the circumstances, does not appear to the visiting and auditing committee to be an unreasonable expense. The manager of the home, Geo. Robinson, one of the superintendents of the poor- house, and also the committee of the board of supervisors, strongly recommended in their reports the erection of suit- able buildings as an economical and sanitary measure. The matron of the home since its organization is Mrs. Howard, who is assisted in her duties by Miss Buck. CHAPTER VI. STATISTICAL. Population — Elections — Industry and Wealth — Agricultural Societies - — -Dairymen's Association — Board of Trade — Valuations and Tax- ation — The Taxes of Sixty-eight Tears ; " There's Millions in It" — State Loan — U. S. Deposit Fund — Wolf Bounties. The following table exhibits the population of the sev- eral towns in the county, as shown by the censuses : TOWNS. 1810. 1820. 1825. 1830. 1836. 1840. 1845. 401 1,898 828 2,440 939 2,412 2,118 3,466 2,218 699 1,337 4,035 Colton. 466 DeKalb 541 709 766 787 1,060 814 633 1,200 788 739 1,531 1,074 956 1,723 Be Peyster 1,138 1,064 Fine 243 Fowler 605 765 1,671 1,267 1,447 1,552 767 688 827 1,097 1,891 1,076 J, 671 1,796 1,327 870 910 1,241 2,411 1,316 1,762 2,538 1,845 1,271 1,147 1,845 3,508 1,693 1,840 227 2,600 Hammond.. 1,911 1,580 372 581 884 1,435 2,066 Lisbon 820 930 831 1,474 864 4,376 Louisville 1,970 1,113 1,420 955 1,930 944 837 2,639 1,701 1,723 665 3,133 959 558 3,469 2,070 1,618 1,039 3,924 1,479 749 4,069 2,288 2,339 1,373 4,656 1,667 922 4,611 2,726 2,809 1,728 5,719 2,260 1,430 396 4,473 1,653 1,373 2,995 4,376 2,798 Morristown 2,328 Norfolk 1,644 1,245 1,661 594 235 6,414 Parishville 2,090 1,450 563 Potsdam 928 1,911 869 486 822 3,112 1,074 480 1,449 .3,650 660 669 1,944 3,810 666 722 2,047 4,856 Rossie 1,386 Russell 394 307 1,499 3,293 Total 7,885 16,037 27,506 36,361 42,047 56,706 62,354 Brasher Canton Clifton Colton DeKalb De Peyster Edwards Fine Fowler Gouverneur Hammond Ilerraon Hopkinton r Lawrence Lisbon Louisville Macomb Madrid Massena Morristown Norfolk Ogdensburg City 1st Ward 2d Ward 3d Ward Oswegatchie Parishville Pierrepont Pitcairn Potsdam Rossie Russell Stockholm Waddington In asylums, penal institu- tions, etc 1850. 2,548 4,685 Total 68,617 74,997 83,689 606 2,389 906 1,023 293 1,813 2,783 1,819 1,690 1,470 2,209 5,209 2,054 1,197 4,856 2,915 2,274 1,753 2,668 4,995 7,766 2,131 1,469 503 5,349 1,471 1,808 3,661 1,040 2,676 1,163 1,180 316 1,620 2,856 1,875 1,648 1,664 2,365 5,109 2,120 1,< 4,862 2,701 2,111 1,804 3,377 6,379 10,060 2,114 1,834 531 6,631 1,480 2,108 3,790 1,400 3,182 1,249 1,287 519 1,808 .3,201 1,968 1,690 1,990 2,828 6,640 2,310 1,816 1,978 2,926 2,284 2,329 3,348 5,964 10,821 2,296 2,267 577 6,737 1,609 2,380 4,074 2,768 1,481 3,102 1,187 1,180 487 1,748 2,915 1,819 1,667 1,941 2,719 6,078 2,237 1,788 2,109 2,741 1,881 1,876 18Y5. 11,091 2,319 2,423 668 6,441 1,8.36 2,625 3,770 2,663 3,342 6,014 221 1,719 3,11 1,138 1,076 603 1,785 3,539 1,767 1,792 1,907 2,677 4,475 2,132 1,673 2,071 2,560 1,964 2,441 10,076 3,203 2,889 3,984 3,018 3,241 2,391 667 7,774 1,661 2,688 3,819 2,699 ),994| 84,826 84,124 3,486 6,018 86 1,686 3,044 1,221 1,094 760 1,633 3,830 1,815 1,806 1,956 2,641 4,211 2,039 1,760 1,968 2,709 1,849 2,476 >13,204 2,043 2,310 868 7,417 1,765 2,417 ,3,550 2,516 47 The total population of the State in 1875 was 4,704,394. In 1810 there were 14,638 slaves in the State, 5 in the county, and they had increased to 8 in the county in 1820 ; but in 1830 all the people of the State were free. In 1850 the population was divided among the sexes as follows:, 34,996 were males, and 33,582 were females ; 39 were col- ored, the females of the latter being in the majority by one. 4,358 were native born Americans, outside of the State ; 13,713 were foreign born, and the remainder, 43,546, were born in the State. These people constituted 11,914 fami- lies, who dwelt in 11,704 houses. In 1870 there were resident in the county 42,007 males and 42,819 females, of all ages. From 5 to 18 years there were 13,088 boys and 12,932 girls ; from 18 to 45 years, the males numbered 12,932 and the females 15,034. Of males of 21 years and upwards there were 20,806, and of male citizens there were 17,612. Of the native born popula- tion there were 66,607, whose nativity was as follows : New York, 59,403 ; Massachusetts, 884 ; Connecticut, 275 ; Vermont, 4572; Pennsylvania, 78 ; New Jersey, 71. Of the foreign born there were 18,219, whose nativity was as follows : British America, 10,067 ; England and Wales, 1367; Ireland, 5688; Scotland, 891; Germany, 108; France, 36 ; Sweden and Norway, 8. Eight of the abo- riginal lords proprietary of the country, or their descendants rather, — Indians, — were returned as part of the population of the county. In 1875 there were 19,266 voters in the county, 14,925 being native born and 4341 naturalized aliens. There were *■ City of Ogdensburg included in this number. 100 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YOEK. of this class of citizens in the State 1,138,661, of whom 743,298 were natives and 395,363 foreign born and natur- alized. ELECTIONS. The first election by the people in what is now the State of New York, was that of the "Twelve Men," in 1641, held under the Dutch rule. The first election under the English was that of the assembly of 1665, for the promul- gation of the " Duke's Laws." The first election under the authority of the people themselves, was that one held in March, 1775, to elect deputies to the provincial convention, which met in New York, the 20th of April following, to choose delegates to the Continental Congress, which assem- bled at Philadelphia, on May 10, 1775. Down to the adoption of the State constitution in 1777, elections were held before the sherifiFs by a poU or viva voce vote. The constitution provided for the ballot system to be tried, after the war then waging had ceased, as an " experiment," guarding the same, however, with a provision, that " if the experiment proved unsatisfactory, the former method," or some other, should be returned to. In pursuance of this provision, a law was passed March 27, 1778, authorizing the use of the ballot in elections for governor and lieutenant-gov- ernor, but retaining the viva voce system for members of the legislature ; but in 1787, Feb. 3, the restriction was done away, and the ballot system introduced generally. The in- spector system was introduced at this time (1787), and, with some changes, still obtains. Local boards in each election dis- trict at first canvassed the returns ; the result was recorded by the town clerk, who forwarded the same to the county clerk, who recorded it in his office, and forwarded it to the secretary of state, who also recorded it, when the votes were canvassed by a. State board, consisting of the secretary of •state, comptroller, and treasurer, on or before the 8tli of June, and who published the result. By the act of 1787, general elections were held on the last Tuesday in April, and might be held five days. By the act of April 17, 1822, a board of county canvassers was instituted, consisting of one inspector of elections from each town, and the attorney- general and surveyor-general were added to the State can- vassers. The general election day was changed to the first Monday in November, and could be held by adjournment from place to place in each town or ward, for three days. In 1842, the date of holding general elections was changed to the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday in November, and the balloting confined to one day. By this last act the supervisors of the respective counties were constituted the boards of county canvassers, which system is in vogue at the present time. ELECTORS. Under the assembly of 1691, electors were required to be residents of the electoral district at least three months prior to the issue of the writ, and to be possessed of a free- hold worth £40. " Freemen" of the corporations paying a rental of 40s. per annum, were also admitted to the rin-ht of sufl!rage. Catholics were not allowed to vote, nor to be elected, and Quakers and Moravians were at first virtually disfranchised, and remained so until they were allowed to affirm. Under the first constitution, electors were required to have a residence of six months, and such as were free- holders of estates of £20 in the county, or paid a rental of 40s. per annum, and actually paid taxes, could vote for rep- resentatives to the legislature. Freemen of New York and Albany also were voters, for these and inferior officials, with- out the property qualifications ; but to cast a ballot for governor, lieutenant-governor, and senators, required the possession of a freehold worth £100 over and above all debts charged thereon. In 1811 these values were changed to corresponding sums in the Federal currency, viz., $250, 850, and $5. No discrimination was made against blacks and mulattoes, except that they were required to produce au- thenticated certificates of freemen. The constitution of 1821 extended the elective franchise to every male citizen of the age of twenty-one years, being a resident of the State one year preceding any election, and of the town or county where he offered to vote six months, provided he had paid taxes, or was exempt from taxation, or had per- formed military duty, or was a fireman ; and also to every such citizen being a resident of the State three years, and of the county one year, who had performed highway labor, or paid an equivalent therefor during the year. Colored persons were not voters unless possessed of a freehold of $250 value, were residents of State three years, and had paid taxes on the full value of their estates, above incum- brances thereon. In 1826, the elective franchise was made free to all white male citizens, without property qualifications of any kind ; that qualification, however, was retained for colored citizens. In 1845, the property qualification re- quired for the holding of office under the constitutions of the State up to that date, was abrogated by the people. In 1846, and again in 1860, propositions for equal suffrage to colored persons were rejected by the people by heavy ma- jorities. By the amendment to the constitution adopted by the people Nov. 3, 1874, " Every male citizen of the age of twenty-one years, who shall have been a citizen for ten days, and an inhabitant of the State one year next pre- ceding an election, and for the last four months a resident of the county, and for the last thirty days a resident in the election district in which he may offer his vote," is entitled to vote at such election. Elective officers under the first constitution were limited to the governor, lieutenant-gov- ernor, senators, and assemblymen, and the town officers, loan officers, county treasurers, and clerks of supervisors, were appointed as the legislature provided. All other civil and military officers were to be appointed by the council of ap- pointment, unless otherwise designated in the constitution. Under the second constitution, the list of elective officers was greatly extended, and the power of appointment of those not elective conferred on the governor. In 1846, two hundred and eighty-nine officers were thus appointed. The list of appointive officers is very limited at the present time. The political sentiments of the people of St. Lawrence County will be shown by the following tabulated statement of the votes cast at gubernatorial elections from 1810 to 1826, and those at presidential elections from 1828 to 1876, inclusive. An election for senators, in 1808, was the firet election of which returns arc recorded in the county records, so far as ascertained, and the vote stood as follows : For Hopkins, McNiol, Forman, and Henry, 258; for Blood- HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 101 good, Rich, Martin, and Halsey, 236. The first town- meeting was held in 1801, being that of Lisbon, while a part of Clinton county. FOB GOVERNOR. 1810. Jonas Piatt 676 1813. Stephen Van Rens- sellaer 631 1816. Kufas King 530 1820. Be Witt Clinton 803 1812. Joteph C. Yates 1653 1824. be Witt Clinton 1732 1826. Be Witt Clinton.... 1761 D. D. Tomplcine., 301 D. S. Tompkins 238 B. D. Tompkins 461 D. D. Tompkins 431 Scattering 7 Samuel Young 1123 Wm. B. Rochester 1337 Total. 877 869 991 1234 1660 2855 3098 Those in italics were elected. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS. 1828. Whig, 2,647; Democratic, 2,575. 1832. " 2,784; " 3,318. 1836. " 2,235; " 3,089 1840. " 4,803; " 4.751 1844. " 4,672; " 6,008 ; Abolition, 468 1848. " 3,667; " 614 ; Free-Soil, 6,023 1852. " 4,570; " 5,584; Abolition, 1,014 ; Democratic, 1,950; American, 1,332. 11,324; Opposition, 4,056 10,864; Democratic, 4,048 11,888; " 3,941 11,331; " 4,395 13,465; " 5,784 1856. Republican, 9,i I860. 1864. 1868. 1872. 1876. The vote of 1876, by towns, was as follows : Brasher Canton Clifton Colton DeKalb De Peyster... Edwards Fine Fowler Grouverneur.. Hammond.... Harmon Hayes. 350 926 16 305 602 250 182 144 270 669 320 297 Hopkinton 389 Lawrence 416 Louisville 269 Lisbon 903 Macomb 284 Madrid 353 Massena 389 Morristown 396 Norfolk 289 Oswegatchie 1460 Parishville 439 Pierrepont 442 Pitcairn 151 Potsdam ~. 1268 Rossie 229 Russell 375 Stockholm 677 Waddington 416 Til den. 308 534 6 103 110 41 90 48 133 257 108 158 71 138 178 201 119 145 185 ni 215 1123 78 116 42 438 134 210 179 206 Total. 5,222 6,102 5,324 9,654 11,148 10,304 11,168 12,980 15,380 14,912 15,829 15,726 19,249 Total. 658 1460 22 408 712 291 272 192 403 926 428 455 460 554 437 1104 403 498 674 607 504 2583 517 558 193 1706 363 686 856 620 Popular questions submitted to the people, have been disposed of by the electors of St. Lawrence County as follows : 1821 — For the amended constitution Against the same 1826 — For the election of justices of the peace and extend- ing the right of suffrage 2,392 Against the same 34 1845 — For convention to revise constitution 5,611 Against the same 328 For the abrogation of property qualitication for office 5,254 Against the same 5 1846 — For the adoption of the amended constitution 6,824 Against the same 235 For equal suffrage to colored persons 2,585 Against the same 4,867 1849— For free-school law 4,997 Against the same 2,546 1850— For repeal of free-school law 4,628 Against the same 3,550 1860 — For equal suffrage to colored citizens 8,899 Against the same 4,413 1864— For soldiers voting 7,116 Against the same 190 1866 — For act to create state debt to pay bounties 8,205 Against the same 646 1866 — For convention to amend constitution 10,156 Against the same 829 1869 — For the adoption of amended constitution 6,639 Against the same 2,670 For the judiciary article 1,083 Against the same 7,289 For uniform rule of assessment and taxation 5,082 Against the same 3,577 For property qualification for colored persons 2,359 Against the same 7,215 1870 — For an act to fund canal debt 2,261 Against the same 10,420 1872 — For amendment in relation to court of appeals 7,194 Against the same 34 For act to create State debt for general fund deficiencies 7,528 Against the same 109 1873 — For appointment of judges 982 Against the same 5,617 1874 — On eleven proposed amendments to the constitution submitted, the average vote on each stood as follows : For their adoption 7,154 Against the same 1,718 1876 — For abolition of canal commissioners and appoint- ment of superintendent of public works, and the abolition of inspectors of State's prisons and ap- pointment of a superintendent of State's prisons.... 10,942 Against the same 1,009 INDUSTRY AND WEALTH. In 1810 St. Lawrence County had 247 looms, making 19,047 yards woolen, 36,000 of linen, and 1,926 of mixed cloth ; 5 fulling-mills, dressing 14,000 yards ; 2 carding- maehines, using 10,500 lbs. wool ; 12 tanneries, using 1767 hides ; 2 distilleries, making 25,000 gallons spirits, worth 80 cents per gallon, and 1 trip hammer. The State census of 1835 gives the following statistics of the industry and wealth of St. Lawrence County at that date : There were 151,483 acres of improved lands in the county, 54,581 head of neat cattle, 10,040 horses, 81,789 sheep, and 32,437 swine. There were in operation 41 grist-mills, 110 saw-mills, 1 oil-mill, 27 fulling-mills, 24 carding-machines, 3 woolen factories, 8 iron works, 8 trip hammers and forges, 4 distilleries, 45 asheries, 1 paper- mill, 1 brewery, and 25 tanneries, which used and manu- factured raw materials to the value of $485,897, and the value of the manufactured product of the same was re- turned at $690,772. There were manufactured 68,677 yards of fulled cloth, 82,549 yards of flannels and such like goods, 64,369 yards of cotton, linen, and other thin fabrics, in 1834. The census of 1840 gave the following exhibits: 16 iron furnaces, 6 blooms and forges, 4 lead smelting works, em- ployed 687 men, and a capital of $322,000, and produced 2462 tons of cast-iron, 185 tons bar-iron, and 270,000 pounds of lead. The iron works consumed 3971 tons of fuel. The total capital employed in manufactures aggregated $815,000, and the value of the product was placed at $553,000. There were 158 houses engaged in trade, employing 238 men, and a capital of $561,000. The agricultural exhibit was as follows: 11,088 horses, 61,455 neat cattle, 125,821 sheep, 41,889 hogs, and 12,510 bipeds of the poultry species. There were produced the year previous (1830) 278,007 bushels wheat, 24,018 bushels of barley, 334,009 bushels of oats, 23,571 bushels of rye, 34,312 bushels of buck- wheat, 204,824 bushels of corn, 236,863 pounds of wool, 3560 pounds of hops, 547 pounds of beeswax, 1,412,272 102 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. bushels of potatoes, 99,813 tons of hay, 25 tons of flax and hemp, 10 tons of silk cocoons, 848.132 pounds maple sugar, and 16,468 cords of wood were sold. The product of the dairy was valued at ^260,509, and the orchard product at the sum of $14,823. The women's work on home-made goods amounted to the sum of 1136,635, and their market gardens produced $40,136 worth of vegetables and small fruits. Lumber to the value of $14,690 was manufactured, and 897 tons of pot and pearl ashes found a market from the forests of the county. Skins and furs to the value of $3316 were taken from the forest likewise by 85 men who were thus employed. There were employed in the county at the time of taking the census 88 persons in mining, 12,190 in agricultural pursuits, 238 in commerce, 2141 in manufactures and the trades, 15 in navigating the high seas, 95 in navigation of the lakes, canals, and rivers, 193 in the learned professions, and 117 were pensioners for military services rendered by themselves or husbands. In 1850 the census revealed the followino: interesting; facts, as ascertained by the U. S. marshals. There were 6124 farms, containing 377,086 acres of improved lands ; and there were 262,627 acres of unimproved lands returned besides in the county, and this real estate, together with the improvements and implements thereon, were valued at $9,900,053. There were in the coilnty 13,811 horses and mules, 74,361 neat cattle, 89,910 sheep, and 18,423 swine. In 1849 there were produced in the county 289,956 bushels of wheat, 380,757 bushels of rye and oats, 244,690 bushels of corn, 476,934 bushels of potatoes, 56,319 bushels of peas and beans, 16,520 bushels of barley, 19,227 bushels of buckwheat, 4,473,368 pounds of butter and cheese, 122,688 tons of hay, 101,855 pounds of hops, 2806 bushels clover and other grass-seeds, 149 bushels flax-seed, 3045 pounds of flax, 1,236,504 pounds of maple sugar, 80 gal- lons of molasses, 100 pounds of tobacco, 287,900 pounds of wool, and 23,013 pounds of honey and beeswax. The value of animals slaughtered was returned at $284,571, and the market-gardens produced $4468 worth of " truck," and the orchards $29,955 ; 10 gallons of wine were also made by some one " for sickness," probably. There were killed in the county during 1849-50, 3500 deer, valued at $3 per head. The manufacturing establishments carried an investment of $1,141,370, employed 1516 hands (counting two for one), and produced goods of various kinds valued at $1,783,617. Domestic goods to the value of $82,812 were manufactured by families within their own doors. The census of 1860 contained the following exhibit of the county's industry and wealth : There were returned as improved 571,973 acres of land, and 278,130 acres unim- proved, and the cash value of farms wasplaced at $22,442,701 and the value of farming implements and machinery at $942,808. The live-stock was valued at $3,994,406, and consisted of 19,915 horses, 4 mules, 68,734 milch cows, 4232 working oxen, 35.273 other cattle, 56,522 sheep, and 27,149 swine. The products of the farm and dairy were as follows: 579,810 bushels of wheat, 41,532 bushels of rye, 263,562 bushels of corn, 828,007 bushels of oats, 25 pounds of tobacco, 204,490 pounds of wool, 92,260 bushels of peas and beans, 1,094,718 bushels of potatoes, 175 I bushels of sweet potatoes, 57,150 bushels of barley, 31,118 bushels of buckwheat; $35,023, value of orchard products 316 gallons of wine; $15,872, value of products of market- gardens, 7,193,597 pounds of butter, 2,353,887 pounds of cheese, 165,634 tons of hay, 25 bushels of clover-seed 4433 bushels grass-seed, 99,833 pounds of hops, 809 pounds of flax, 26 bushels flax-seed, 1,378,142 pounds of maple sugar, 2740 gallons of molasses, 2578 pounds of beeswax, 44,351 pounds of honey; $47,483 in value of home-made manufactures, and the animals slaughtered were valued at $494,513. There were 367 manufacturing establishments in the county, of various kinds, with an invested capital of $1,094,061, which gave employment to 1206 males and 78 females, to whom they paid $353,073 for wages ; the cost of the raw materials used was placed at $1,197,260, and the value of the manufactured product was returned at $1,950,184. The census of 1870 contained the following returns of agricultural statistics : 664,823 acres of improved lands were returned, and the value of farms placed at $57,661,214 and the value of all farm productions, including better- ments and additions to stock, was estimated at $9,598,071 for the year previous. Live-stock was valued at $8,739,900, and consisted of 24,126 horses, 87,293, milch cows, 1612 working oxen, 62,632 sheep, and 16,981 swine. The products of the farm and dairy for the year 1869 were as follows: Spring wheat, 257,623 bushels; winter wheat, 12,078 bushels; rye, 35,295 bushels; corn, 174,840 bushels; oats, 1,077,345 bushels; barley, 196,421 bushels; buckwheat, 57,078 bushels ; wool, 281,962 pounds; pota- toes, 1,217,809 bushels; butter, 8,419,695 pounds; cheese, 1,710,082 pounds. There were 687 manufacturing estab- lishments of various kinds, 36 of which were operated by steam, and 563 by water-power, giving employment to 2922 persons, of whom 2,672 were males above the age of six- teen years, 150 were females above the age of fifteen years, and 100 were youths. The capital invested in these estab- lishments amounted to $3,631,081 ; the wages paid, to $821,429 ; the materials used, $3,697,952 ; and the man- ufactured product was valued at $3,831,776. The census of 1875, taken by the State authority, has not, at this writing, been published, and the returns, except on population, have been without the reach of the com- pilers of this work, and hence are not given. However, there has been a large increase in the dairy product of the county, which at the present time forms the prominent fea- ture of the agricultural productions of the county. There are about eighty cheese-factories in the county, and from ten to fifteen butter-factories. Nearly 100,000 cows are milked in the county, and the gross income per head is es- timated at $50. The first cheese-factory built in the county was one at South Canton, in 1861. AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES. In the act of April 7, 1819, for encouraging these, St. Lawrence received $100 for two years. A soci'ety entitled " The St. Lawrence County Society for promoting agricul- ture and domestic manufactures" was formed in 1822. Membership, fifty cents annually. A meeting was to be HISTOEY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 103 held on the last Wednesday of Pebraary, for the election of officers, and on the third Tuesday and Wednesday of October, for a fair, which was to be held at Canton, Pots- dam, and Madrid, alternately. This society was abandoned in one or two years. On Feb. 4, 1834, a second society was formed at Ogdens- burg, named the " St. Lawrence County Agricultural So- ciety." Membership, one dollar annually. Not less than two fairs were to be held annua.lly at Ogdensburg. Upon the last day of the first fair in each year the officers were to be elected. Its first officers were George Parish, president; H. Van Rensselaer, Silas Wright, Jr., and J. C. Clarkson, vice-presidents; Smith Stillwell, secretary; Wm. Bacon, Smith Stillwell, Sylvester Gilbert, David C. Judson, U. H. Orvis, G. Ogden, and Henry M. Fine, managers. This also subsisted about two years, and at its first fair distrib- uted 1227 among thiity-seven competitors, principally on stock. The general law of May 5, 1841, allowed this county f 170 annually, for five years, and led to the formation of a third society, of which R.. N. Harrison was president, and a vice-president was appointed to each town, an executive committee of seven, and a treasurer and two secretaries. Their first feir (Oct. 7, 1841) distributed $361 in sixty-six premiums. Their second (Sept. 14, 1842), $171 in fifty- eight premiums. Nine years next ensued without an agri- cultural society, when the board of supervisors, in 1851, passed a resolution strongly in favor of another attempt, and designated the Thursday evening following for a pre- liminary meeting, to take measures for an organization. Subsequent meetings were held, and on April 3, 1852, a convention was held at the court-house, and a constitution adopted. Henry Van Rensselaer was chosen president ; Uriel H. Orvis, Jonah Sanford, and Hiram Johnson, vice- presidents ; Henry G. Foote, secretary ; and Ebenezer Miner, treasurer. A corresponding secretary was appointed in each town. Elections are held on the second Tuesday in June, at the court-house, when the president, vice-presi- dents, secretary, and treasurer are chosen, and the executive committee (who are the above officers) determine the time in September and place for holding the annual fair, decide upon tiie prizes, appoint judges or committees, and take such action as may promote the objects of the society. Membership, one dollar annually, and none but members allowed to compete, for premiums. The fiscal year com- mences with October. The constitution was signed by fifty delegates who attended the convention. The first fair of this society was held at Canton, Sept. 16, 17, 1852, on premises finely adapted for the purpose, in the lower part of the village, and near Grasse river. The grounds had been leased for a term of five years, and inclosed by a close board fence. Both days were delight- fully pleasant, and the crowds of intelligent farmers with their families who attended bespoke the general interest that was felt, and augured well of the future ; which augury ' has been well fulfilled in the subsequent success of the so- ciety. There were 396 articles offered for premiums, very many of which were highly creditable to the county. The receipts of the first fair were $1274.81, and the premiums ofl'ered amounted to f 299. In 1856 additional lands were leased of J. F. Ames, adjoining the first tract leased, and the track extended, and the whole grounds fenced. In 1858 the lands before leased were purchased for the society by E. Miner and L. E. B. Winslow, and the grounds now contain 38 acres, on which permanent and substantial buildings have been erected, consisting of floral, dining, vegetable, and mechanical halls, with sheds for stock, and a grand stand with a seating capacity for 3000 persons. The grounds are well watered, and graded with walks and drive-ways, are beautifully shaded with trees on the sloping front towards the river, and have a fine track for the trial or speeding of horses. The cost of the fair-grounds, with the present improvements, is not less than $15,000. The society held its twenty-sixth annual fair on the 12th, 13th, and 14th of September, 1877, at which there were 2011 entries for exhibition, competing for $3500 in pre- miums, and the total receipts were about $5000. The show of blooded stock in the county, which began at fifteen or twenty animals in 1852, has increased to from two hundred or three'hundred fine animals. The value of the society is shown also in other departments, in the largely-increased number of exhibitors, and in the increasing interest taken in the growing of roots and the different kinds of grasses, and other measures for the improvement of the soil and the herds for dairying purposes. The pres- ent officers of the society are as follows : President, Gen. N. M. Curtis, Ogdensburg; Treasurer, R. B. Ellsworth, Canton ; Superintendent, Worth Chamberlain, Canton ; Secretary, A. T. Martyn, Canton. " The St. Lawrence County Dairymen's Association" was organized January 9, 1872, by the dairymen of the county, for the purpose of promoting the dairying interest. The first election was held at that time, and a constitution adopted, and monthly meetings have been since that time to the present on the first Tuesday of each month, except during the heated term, when they are suspended. At these monthly meetings discussions of various topics touching on the dairying interest are had, and a general annual conven- tion is held on the first Tuesday in January, at which papers are read by the ablest agriculturists and dairymen to be had in the country, besides addresses from local speakers. The association has been an efficient educator in its particu- lar province, and has stimulated the dairymen of the county to more intelligent practice and led them to improve their herds by the introduction of better blood, as well as provid- ing better care, food, and protection for them, thereby in- creasing the flow of milk, and adding to its quality. The first officers of the association were as follows : President, E. H. Southworth ; a vice-president in each town in the county ; Treasurer, H. J. Cook ; Secretary, A. T. Martyn (from whom the facts were obtained as recited herein) ; Corresponding Secretary, H. B. Parmer; Directors, C. H. Brown, John May, Albert Langdon, C. N. Conkey. and Lucius Crampton, who remain unchanged to the present, Orson Wallace being added to the board December, 1877. Dr. G. P. Cole, of Potsdam, has been president 1873-76 ; G. M. Gleason, 1877 ; W. L. Rutherford, of Waddington, 1878; A. T. Martyn is still the secretary, and E. P. Tup- per has been the treasurer since the first year. The membership numbers from one hundred to one huu- 104 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. dred and fifty annually, and is composed of the leading dairymen of the county, who have taken and still continue a great interest in the association and its work. THE ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY DAIRYMBN's BOARD OF TRADE. This organization is an outgrowth of the dairymen's association, and was organized and designed to be mutual in its tendency, co-operative in its workings, and beneficial in its results, and thus far has fairly met the expectations of its founders. It is purely an organization for the combina- tion of individual efforts, which, from a business point of view, are in themselves, singly, incompetent to produce a system by which each individual shall receive the benefits of the combined whole. November 9, 1875, a meeting was held at the court-house in Canton, where the subject of holding market-days was discussed, which resulted in the appointment of a com- mittee to locate and make the necessary arrangements for such a market-day in St. Lawrence County the following season. The committee were, M. D. Packard, of Canton C. H. Brown, of Russell ; John May. of Potsdam ; Andrew Tuch, of Lisbon ; Hon. Geo. M. Gleason, of Gouverneur Lucius Crampton, Pierrepont ; Gen. N. M. Curtis, Ogdens- burg; Marvin Holt, De Kalb ; and H. L. Sweet, Madrid and they were to report at the January meeting of the Dairymen's Association. On January 5, 1876, Mr. Tuch, as chairman, presented to the association the unanimous report of the committee, recommending the establishment of a board of trade in St. Lawrence County, and also recommended the following list of officers for the organiza- tion for the first year: President, Hon. Geo. M. Gleason, of Gouverneur ; Vice-President, Horace W. Hale, of Canton ; Secretary, Marvin R. Wait, of Canton ; Treasurer, Albert Langdon, of Canton; Directors, L. Crampton, Pierrepont; H. 0. Sweet, Madrid ; 0. H. Hale, Norfolk ; 0. C. Jillson, De Peyster ; Thomas Mayne, Heuvelton ; John Thompson, Stockholm ; and Geo. H. Rowland, Morristown. The com- mittee also recommended Messrs. Gleason, H. W. Hale, Wait, Langdon, and Packard, as a committee to draft a constitution and code of by-laws, and located the market at Canton. The recommendations of the committee were concurred in, and a constitution or articles of association and rules of government reported subsequently by the committee in charge of the same, were adopted. The name of the orga- nization was adopted as it appears at the head of this sketch and the membership fee placed at one dollar per annum the members only being entitled to a voice in the counsels of the board. Butter- or cheese-factories are admitted to the privileges of the board and of the salesroom on the pay- ment of five dollars per annum. Fifty cents will admit non-members to the privileges of the salesroom for a sino-le day, except voting. The buyer and his agent being admit- ted on one ticket. Visitors are admitted by courtesy, with- out privilege of buying or selling. The market-day was established on Friday of each week, from the second week in May to the first in December. The first market-day was held May 12, 1876, and con- tinued on Friday of each week until and including Octo- ber 27 of that year. On each of these days a telegram was received from the Associated Press, of New York, giv- ing the price of cheese in Liverpool, and of butter, cheese, and gold in New York, and the tone of the market. The largest number of cheese-factories offering in one day dur- ing the first year was twenty-three, and the heaviest offer- ing was 6251 boxes. The membership was 121, including 32 factories, the fees amounting to $233. There were registered ofi"erings of 54,2.47 boxes of cheese, aggregating 3,254,820 pounds, and thousands of boxes were offered at different times, which were not registered, for some reason unknown. Besides these oflferings, there were heavy sales by others than members of the board. The prices ranged from nine to eleven and five-eighths cents per pound. The fall cheese was not sold until the last of November, after the board closed, and brought twelve and a half and thirteen cents. The actual trans- actions on the board in cheese amounted to $325,482. There were offered and bought also on the board 609 tons, or 1,218,440 pounds of butter, costing $335,073, with the price ranging from fifteen to forty cents per pound, averag- ing between twenty-seven and twenty-eight cents. The actual and open transactions of the board in both butter and cheese aggregated the sum $660,555. There were twenty different buyers on the market during the season, with an average attendance on each day of from seven to ten, and the salesmen were from seventeen different towns. The transactions of 1877 are not closed at this writing, so that an exact statement of the year's business cannot be made, but the factory representation has been better for the present season than the past one of 1876, and the offer- ings and sales have been steadier. The greatest number of factories offering in one day the present season, as registered, was twenty-five, and the offerings have ranged from one thousand to eight thousand boxes. Judging from the trans- actions to date, and those likely to be made before the board closes, the offerings of 1877 will reach eighty thou- sand boxes of cheese, and the butter oflferings will also show a large increase over the first year's transactions, which demonstrates the usefulness of the board, and warrants the indulgence of hopeful prophecies of its future continued success. There are in the county between seventy and eighty cheese-factories. The officers of 1877 are Andrew Tuch, of Lisbon, presi- dent; Charles N. Conkey, Canton, vice-president; Mar- vin R. Wait, of Canton, secretary (to whom we are in- debted for the facts contained in this account); Albert Langdon, Canton, treasurer. The directors remain un- changed. VALUATIONS AND TAXATION. Public moneys were first raised in the colony of New York, June 1, 1665, by warrant issued by the governor, Colonel Nicholls, to the sheriff and collectors.* It would appear that antecedent to this time the towns and counties raised moneys for their own use, but the precise mode is not known. A tax called a " benevolence" was raised on the inhabitants, as appears from a letter from Governor Andrass, and Smith observes " this proceeding was a badge * Smith's History of New York, p. 31. HISTORY OP ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 105 of bad times."* In 1683, the first regular system of taxa- tion by law was adopted. The wars of England with European nations, especially with the French, plunged the colony into an enormous debt, most burdensome to the inhabitants. From 1691 to 1709 the sum of £61,861 was raised by the colonists for building forts, raising and paying troops, and for other war purposes, besides the excise tax of a penny in the pound for the ordinary and incidental charges of the colony. Before 1776 the colonists were obliged to pay nearly £1,000,000 sterling. In 1788 the first regular system of taxation was adopted by the State. The valuations and taxation of St. Lawrence by periods of five years since 1815 are given in the following table. The school taxes, down to and including the year 1850, were raised by the towns, and are included in the amount of town taxes. The amount of school taxes from and including 1855, are included in the State levies. Year. Acres of Laad. Assessed Value of Heal Estate. Assessed Value of Personal Prop, Aggregate Valuation. state Taxes. County Taxes. Town Taxes. School Taxes. Aggregate of Taxes. 1815 $4,895.18 1,765.68 1,369.47 $2,498.95 3,537.61 5,704.04 10,461.37 12,092.81 16,619.95 20,541.29 31,635.48 43,806.43 48.853.60 178,094,81 180,664.76 145,535.18 $3,602.51 7,864.50 12,263.13 15,093.69 15,248.22 22,198.19 24,879.02 23,797.93 21,358.06 29,425.95 206,241.65 79,991.47 70,077.63 $643.24 906.03 .3,216.40 3,616.00 3,770.00 7,338.49 9,735.61 6,823.16 9,238.77 11,725.00 11,483.07 20,066.76 20,055.43 $11,639.88 14 335 fift 1820 $704,878 2,738,856 2,561,370 2,691,197 3,132,751 3,296,689 4,772,884 14,947,814 14,769,718 14,728,780 15,115,177 14,757,316 $12,826 119,941 180,925 238,027 160,682 337,619 304,293 1,533,903 1,653,965 1,703,877 1,036,942 1,082,522 $757,000 2,858,797 2,742,295 2,929,224 3,29.3,433 3,634,308 5,077,177 16,481,722 16,425,715 16,432,657 14,152,119 15,839,838 1825 19,336.61 1830 1835 28,880.83 42,41 ; .38 1840 1845 2,180.58 2,538.59 20,602.15 59,927.88 71,386.40 116,243.80 96,266.06 1850 60,066.04 89 119 90 1855 1,667,629 1,659,160 1,652,405 1,663,335 1,654,820 1860 143,168.54 1865 451,449 23 1870 378,336.93 322,699.25 1875 The following table exhibits the valuations and taxation for the county, as made and estimated by the board of super- visors for 1877-78 : Acres. A.ssessed Value of Eeal Estate. Equalized Value of Real Estate. Value of Pei-sonal Property. Aggregate Assessment. State tax. County Tax. Town Taxes. Dog Tax. Total Taxes. 64,629 63,547 61,733 218,422 50,868 27,309 31,778 104,873 34,129 40,981 35,820 32.686 178,922 28,156 66,774 33,424 a7,295 29,876 30,684 27,633 .34,980 39,733 59.182 67^129 36,021 69,025 22,788 68,723 54,608 32,836 $1,118,930 960,800 31,026 214,410 1,358,660 702,346 142,620 62,320 206,610 672,480 286,950 211,063 264,450 357,220 742,290 281,1110 426,280 353.620 349,165 316,830 229,900 2,(]83,477 644,060 258,690 47,305 1,377,795 191, .540 248,840 601,840 353,490 $430,142 1,206,764 29,638 246,382 688,424 330,804 164,402 66,334 259,760 826,042 ' 375,339 246,036 319,634 448,668 932,316 348,048 217,683 447,961 426,679 398,319 305,043 2,600,909 310,799 290,168 34,707 1,606,643 204,000 312,513 636,992 477,897 $.50,600 6^,980 4,000 7,930 16,020 17,600 12,550 $400,742 1,269,744 33,638 253,312 604,444 384,304 176,962 65,334 267,790 893,842 388,789 256,060 352,734 496,628 941,266 350,998 218,083 465,941 461,624 422.920 309,843 2,921,019 358,339 298,578 80,437 1,777,083 206,650 319,543 660,732 394,077 $2,013,50 6,031,66 149,17 1,12.J,76 2,680.86 1,514.81 784 82 289.76 • 1,187,71 3,964,42 1,724,36 1,135,69 1,564,46 2,197,78 4,174,76 1,656.76 967.16 2,066,59 2,047,43 1,876.78 1,374.22 12,956,41 1,589,61 1,324,75 161 ,66 7,881.51 912.10 1,417,24 2,067.14 2,191,33 $2,839.90 7,826,37 207,33 1,561,36 3,726.64 2,146.86 1,090.69 402,71 1,660,69 6,500,41 2,396.39 1,678,29 2,174,16 3,054,21 6,081,72 2,163,46 1,344.21 2,871 96 2,845.33 2,606.83 1,909.79 18,004.41 2,208.71 1,840,36 224,58 10,957,18 1,267.68 1,969.67 4,109.,57 3,045.37 $4,167.35 3,089.16 334,65 1,884,82 1,012,63 544,91 673.31 1,239.82 992.29 6,996 87 5,306,38 2,200,00 627.39 1,40J,55 902,02 1,263,40 646,14 481.59 1,269,74 2,110,93 1,063.90 10,383,81 528,63 1,805.72 472.30 8,438.46 973,60 1.230.62 714,92 611.03 $217.60 302.00 6.00 80.60 173,50 78,00 62.00 26.00 87,00 181.60 89.50 93.00 63.00 60.00 288.50 124.00 172.00 109.00 172.92 92,00 180,00 202,00 73,00 108,60 42,00 288,50 76,00 127.50 136.00 123,50 $3,833.60 $9,026.00 16,684,30 693 07 Colton 4,682.84 De Kalb 7,396.03 4,265,01 2,456,16 1,939,72 8,040 68,800 13,460 10,025 33,200 46,860 8,950 2,960 500 17,900 35,915 24,010 3,900 420,050 47,540 8,420 1,730 171,040 1,050 7,000 30,740 16,180 3,810.90 16,.566.46 9,469.21 4,910.21 4,296.10 6,637.03 10,899.66 4,989.89 2,954.56 Madrid 6,421.67 8,143.30 . 6,580.73 Norfolk 4,356.37 - 41,619.75 ParlBhville 4,373.69 6,013.09 868.71 27,314.26 3,157.24 4,627.03 7,813.66 6,869.84 Totals '.. 1,664,373 $14,984,806 $14,984,806 $1,131,160 $16,116,955 $71,478.49 $99,334,63 $63,148.62 $234,717.27 The county tax was levied to cover the following appro- priations made by the supervisors at the annual session of 1877: Bonds due on loan for county clerk's office and interest Extras on clerk's offices Salaries of county officers Charities. — Lunatic" asylums ; $8,000.00 Institutions for blind, deaf mutes, and insane criminals 693.26 Por superintendents of the poor 44,988.16 Poor-house and superintendent's services 1,529.71 $6,007.00 606.10 6,600.00 55,211.13 * Smith's History of New York, p. 34. Court expenses, including stenographer $8,725.00 Sheriff's and jailer's accounts 5,458.30 Constables and justices 2,678.64 County clerli's accounts 1,089.51 Jail library 50.00 18,001.45 Printing 2,629.40 Excise accounts 666.00 School commissioners' services (cast as a school- tax on the several towns) 600.00 Non-resident taxes 860.00 Refunding 33.00 Miscellaneous accounts 3,274.15 Total $94,428.23 The county treasurer's report for the year ending Nov. 1, 1877, shows the following receipts of revenue for the year in his office : 14 106 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. On hand November 1, 1876 $17,361.51 Received from bondsmen of former treasurer 40,464.58 " " town collectors (taxes 1876) 115,148.88 *' " comptroller, school moneys 64,783.81 " excise moneys, from towns 2,502.00 " from board of State paupers $254.57 " " individuals for care of persons in county house 432.00 686.57 Received fines from district attorney 325.00 " on bond and mortgage on old poor-farm. 237.00 Miscellaneous receipts 945.13 Resident and non-resident taxes received 435.33 Non-resident taxes from comptroller 6,636.54 Total receipts, exclusive of balance on hand Nov. 1, 1876 $192,164.84 Balance on hand Nov. 1, 1877 $16,459.74 The total amount of taxes levied by the board of super- visors from the year 1814 to 1877, both years inclusive, is as follows : 1814 to 1825 $179,875.58 1826 to 1835 273,805.38 1836 to 1845 416,300.68 1846 to 1855 588,269.68 1856 to 1865 1,913,230.34 1866 to 1877 4,038,823.28 57,410,304.94 These amounts are exclusive of the school district taxes levied by the school authorities of the respective towns. There were issued, by the authority of the board of supervisors, war bonds of the county, in 1864 and 1865, to encourage enlistments into the army for the suppression of the Rebellion, to the amount of $1,008,350, on which the sum of $357,000 or thereabouts, in interest, has been paid, and the entire amount of principal, with the exception of one bond of $100, which is not due until 1880, and the holder of which, a widow lady, declines to receive the prin- cipal tUl the same is due. The State, in 1865, refunded, on bounties paid under the call of Dec. 9, 1864, the sum $242,500. The history of the bond unpaid, just mentioned, is interesting. The present holder gave her two sons, her only children, to the service of the country, and when the county committee solicited subscriptions for the war loan she sent one hundred dollars, all the money she had, and asked for a bond, the time of payment of which should be deferred to the farthest authorized limit, which was accord- ingly done, and the patriotic mother still holds the bond and draws the annual interest thereon. THE STATE LOAN. On April 18, 1786, bills of credit to the amount of £200,000 (New York currency) were emitted by the State for the relief of the people in the way of a circulating me- dium, and loaned to the different counties according to their population, and loan commissioners appointed in each county to manage and loan the same on real estate security at five per cent, per annum, the loan to run fourteen years and limited to £300 to any one person. These bills of credit were counterfeited, and in February, 1788, new bills were printed for those in circulation and the old ones retired and death pronounced on all counterfeiters of the new issue. In 1796 another loan was made to the new counties, and in 1807-8 still another loan was made by the creation of a debt by the State, bonds being issued therefor and sold, and the funds arising therefrom distributed pro rata among the counties on the basis of population, and commissioners ap- pointed as before to handle the funds in each county. The amount received by St. Lawrence County was $4473, which was kept at interest as a separate fund, until 1850, when it was consolidated with the UNITED STATES DEPOSIT EUND, the principal of which was deposited in the county in 1837 and amounted to $103,501, and separate and distinct com- missioners appointed to loan the same. This deposit fund was the portion awarded to St. Lawrence County from the surplus moneys in the United States treasury deposited with the several States by act of Congress, of June 23, 1836 and the amount deposited with New York was, by act of the legislature of April 4, 1837, distributed among the sev- eral counties according to their population. The loans from this fund are limited between $200 and $2000 to a single individual, except in New York, where the limits are $500 and $5000. The interest is charged at seven per cent., and the same paid into the State treasury, less fees and expenses of collection, and by the comptroller distributed among the counties for the support of schools and academies. The loan and deposit funds were both diminished by reason of defaults in payment of loans, and consequent sale of mortgaged lands, which were bid in by the State, and payments to the State on account of the principal, until, in 1850, when the funds were consolidated, the amount of the same was $85,367.43. The last report of the commissioners shows the amount of the fund to be over $82,000 now on loan on real estate. WOLF BOUNTIES. The board of supervisors offered bounties from time to time for the destruction of wolves and panthers, ranging from $10 to $20 for full grown animals of the former species, and $5 to $10 for the whelp; and from $5 to $15 for panthers, the former being more destructive among the sheep of the farmers than the latter. Bounties were paid from 1814 to 1850, as follows : 1815, $270 ; 1816, $1230; 1817, $480; 1818, $707; 1819, $455; 1820, $1225; 1821, $1465; 1822, $405; 1823, $245; 1824, $340; 1825, $510 ; 1826, $760 ; 1827, $670 ; 1828, $980 ; 1829, $640 ; 1830, $470 ; 1831, $740 ; 1832, $390 ; 1833, $895 ; 1834, $605 ; 1835, $510 ; 1836, $435 ; 1837, $1005 ; 1838, $950 ; 1839, $705 ; 1840, $205 ; 1841, $110 ; 1842, $365 ; 1843, $260 ; 1844, $365 ; 1845, $205 ; 1846, $160 ; 1847, $120; 1848, $80; 1849, $125; 1850, $60,— total, $19,142. Bounties are still offered for the destruction of these ani- mals, but few scalps, however, are taken annually. CHAPTER VIL THE ST. LAWEEKCE CIVIL LIST. Officers of the Nation, the State, the Judiciary, the Senate, the Assembly, and the County. The fame of the county of St. Lawrence is coextensive with the nation of which it is an integral part. Its citizens have maintained its reputation and upheld its honor in the HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 107 senate, in the lower house of Congress, in the governor's mansion, on the bench of the State, and in the legislature. Their counsels have prevailed in the halls of national and State legislation, and wherever the stars and stripes float in all of our broad Union the names of her sons, Wright and King, are known and honored. In the nation the county has been thus represented : UNITED STATES SENATORS. Appointed by joint session of the State legislature. Term, six years: Silas Wright, Canton, Feb. 7, 1837; re-elected Feb. 7, 184.3; re- signed November, 1844. Preston King, Ogdensburg, Feb. 6, 1857 ; served one term. CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS. The Federal Constitution directs that a census be taken every ten years, and after each enumeration Congress appor- tions the representation among the several States. As soon as practicable, after each apportionment, the legislature di- vides the State into congressional districts. The apportionment of New York has been as follows since the adoption of the constitution in 1788 : Years. Batio. Kepreseutatives. 1789 30,000 6 1792 33,000 10 1802 33,000 17 '1811 25,000 27 1822 40,000 34 1832 47,000 40 1842 70,680 34 1852 93,433 33 1861 127,000 31 1872 137,800 33 The districts which have included St. Lawrence in their bounds have been as follows : Under act of March 23, 1797, district 7, composed of Clinton, Essex (1799), Saratoga, and Washington. Act of March 30, 1802, district 15, Herkimer, Oneida, and St. Lawrence. Act of March 20, 1804, Jefferson and Lewis were added on their erection in 1805. Act of March 8, 1808, district 10, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence. Act of June 10, 1812, district 18, Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence. Act of April 17, 1822, district 20 (entitled to two mem- bers), Jefferson, Lewis, Oswego, and St. Lawrence. Act of June 29, 1832, district 14, Franklin and St. Lawrence. Act of Sept. 6, 1842, district 18, Lewis and St. Law- rence. Act of July 19, 1851, district 17, Herkimer and St. Lawrence. Act of April 23, 1862, district 17, St. Lawrence and Franklin. Act of June 18, 1873, simply changed the number of the district to 19, leaving its area the same as last consti- tuted. REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. Elected for terms of two years, by districts. David A. Ogden, Madrid (now Waddington), 1817-19, 15th Con- gress. Silas Wright, Canton, 1827-29, 20th and 21st Congresses. Jonah Sandford, Hopkinton, 1829-31, 2l5t Congress. Ransom H. GiUett, Ogdensburg, 183.3-37, 23d and 24th Congresses. John Fine, Ogdensburg, 1839-41, 26th Congress. Henry Van Rensselaer, Ogdensburg, 1841-43, 27th Congress. Preston King, Ogdensburg, 1843-47, 28th and 29th Congresses ; 1849-53, 31st and 32d Congresses. Bishop Perkins, Ogdensburg, 1853-56, 33d Congress. Socrates N. Sherman, Ogdensburg, 1861-63, 37th Congress. Calvin T. Hulburd, Brasher, 1863-69, 38th, 39th, and 40tb Con- gresses. Amaziah B. James, Ogdensburg, 1877-79, 45th Congress. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS. Appointed by the legislatures down to 1825, when the district system was adopted by the people, but acted under for one election only, that of 1828, when by an act passed April 15, 1829, the legislature adopted the general ticket system as now in use. In making up the general ticket one person is selected from each congressional district, and two to represent the State at large. In 1872 there were three electors at large, one for a congressman at large given the State before redistricting. 1808, Russell Atwater; 1828, Augustus Chapman; 1836, David C. Judson; 1856, Smith Stilwell; 1864, Preston King (at large) ; 1872, Henry R. James ; 1876, William J. Averill. In the years of the presidential elections not given in the above, the electors were from other portions of the district. Attorneys of the United States. — Appointed by the president, by and with the consent of the senate : — William A. Dart, for the northern district of New York, appointed March 27, 1861 ; and reappointed March 10, 1865. Consul- General of the United States at Montreal. — William A. Dart, now in office. Surveyor of the Fort of New York. — General Edwin A. Merritt, under President Grant, and recently appointed by President Hayes, and now occupying the position. In the State, the county has been thus represented : Governor. — Silas Wright, elected in 1844, receiving 241,090 votes, to 231,057 oast for Millard Fillmore, and 15,136 for Alvan Stewart. Stajff' of the Governor, as commander-in-chief of the militia and admiral of the navy. Appointed by the governor, at his pleasure. General Edwin A. Merritt, quartermaster-general, appointed January 2, 1865. Comptroller. — The office of auditor-general was created by the pro- vincial convention of 1776, for the purpose of settling certain public accounts. In 1797 the office was abolished, and that of comptroller was substituted therefor, which was continued by extensions of two and three years until February 28, 1812, when it was permanently organized. Under the first and second constitutions, the office was an appointive one, but under the present organic law it is elective, — term, two years. The comptroller is the financial officer of the State. Silas Wright, Jr., of Canton, was appointed to the office January 27, 1829, and held the same until February 11, 1834. Attorney-General. — The law officer of the State, whose duties have been substantially the same since the creation of the office under the colony. Appointed under the first constitution, chosen by joint bal- lot of legislature under the second, and elected by the people under the present regime biennially, each odd year. Charles G. Myers, Ogdensburg, 1860-61. Canal Appraiser. — Appointed by governor and senate ; term, three years. Charles G. Meyers, appointed .January 24, 1873. Inspector of State's Prisons.^' — Elective under present constitution ; term, three years. Dr. Darius Chirk, Canton, 1850 to 1855 inclusive. Comniisaioners of Public Charities, — Organized 1867, under name * Abolished 1876, and office of Superintendent of State's Prisons created instead. 108 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. of Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities. Consisted of eight commissioners, one in each judicial district, appointed by the governor, with consent of senate. In 187.S the name was changed to the State Board of Charities. It has the power of visitation of nil charitable institutions, public or private, and also all eleemosynary, correctional, and reformatory institutions except State's prisons. The term of office is eight years. Edward W. Foster, Potsdam, appointed for the fourth district June 17, 1867, and re-appointed for the third district May 28, 1873. New Capitnl Commissioners. — Designated first by the act providing for the construction of a new capitol, and subsequently appointed by the governor. Edwin A. Merritt, Potsdam, appointed April 7, 1871. THE JUDICIARY. SUPREME COURT. The justices of the supreme court under the constitu- tion of 1846 were originally elected for a term of eight years, by districts, but under the amended judiciary article, adopted in 1869, the term is fourteen years. Justices of the Foui-th Judicial District. — Amaziah B. James, Og- densburg, two terms, from January 1, 1853, to December 31, 1869; William H. Sawyer, Canton, appointed to fill vacancy December 26, 1876, and term expired December 31, 1877 ; Charles 0. Tappan, Pots- dam, term began_ January 1, 1878, and expires December 31, 1891. JUDGES OF THE COURTS OP COMMON PLEAS AND GEN- ERAL SESSIONS. Appointed by the council of appointment under first constitution, and by the governor under the second one. First Judges.— 'Siaihan Ford, 1802 to 1820; David A. Ogden, 1820 -1824, and 1826-1828; John Pine, 1826, and 1829-1838: Horace Allen, 1838-1843 ; John Fine, 1843, till the Court of Common Pleas was abolished by the new constitution. Judges (with years of first and last appointment). — Alexander J. Turner, 1802; Joseph Edsall, 1802-1808; Russell Atwater, 1808- 1818; Benjamin Raymond, 1808-1814; Alexander Richards, 1808- 1818; Roswell Hopkins, 1810-,1814; Robert Livingston, 1811-1828; David A. Ogden, 1811-1814; Thomas J. Davies, 1815-1818; N. P. Winslow, 1815; Jason Fenton, 1818-1828; Amasa Haokley, Jr., 1823; Ansel Bailey, 1823-1828; Smith Stilwell, 1823-1828; David C. Judson, JabezWilles, Asa Sprague, Jr., Chauncey Pettibone, 1829; Minet Jenison, 1832-1837; Zenas Clark, 183."); Edwin Dodge, George Kedington, Phineas Attwater, 1846. Besides those above named, James Averill, Anthony C. Brown, and Isaac R. Hopkins have also acted under appointment as judges. The list here given is necessarily imperfect, from the defective manner in which the records of appoint- ments were formerly kept. Assistant Justices. — By appointment, Stillman Foote, John Tib- bits, Jr., March 10, 1802; Luke McCracken, Robert Livingston, Daniel W. Church, March 6, 1806; Daniel W. Church, Stillman^ Foote, April 8, 1808 ; John Tibbits, Jr., Luke McCracken, Charles Cox, Daniel W. Church, Stillman Foote, David Ford, David Robin- son, Reuben Ashman, March 6, 1811 ; Charles Cox, June 6, 1812 • Daniel "W. Church, John Tibbits, Jr., Stillman Foote, David Ford Daniel Robinson, Reuben Ashman, April 6, 1814; Eeuben Ashman, Jason Fenton, D. W. Church, Richard Townscnd, Zephaniah French Timothy Pope, John Polley, Charl«s Hill, Caleb Hough, Jr., April 16, 1816; Caleb Hough, Moses A. Bunnell, John Lyttle, Reuben Streeter, N. P. Winslow, March 16, 1818. At this last date the office was abolished. COUNTY JUDGES. Elected under the present constitution at first for four years, but since the adoption of the amended judiciary article, in 1869, for six years. Edwin Dodge, .June, 1847, to December 31, 1855 ; William C. Brown, January 1, 1866, to December 31, 1863 ; Henry L. Knowles, January 1, 1864, to December 31, 1871; Charles 0. Tappan, November, 1871, to December 31, 1877; Leslie W. Russell, November, 1877; term expires December 31, 1883. JUSTICES OF SESSIONS. Designated yearly from among the Justices of the Peace of the county. 1847, Joseph Barnes, James C. Barter; 1849, Joseph Barnes, Chil- Icab Billing; 1860, Joseph Barnes, Silas Baldwin; 1851 and 1862, Joseph H. Beard, Silas Baldwin [for 1853-54r-56 we are unable to complete the list]; 1857-68, Harlow Godard, Joseph Barnes; 1859, Silas Baldwin, Joseph Barnes ; 1860, Silas Baldwin, Roswell Hop- kins; 1861, 0. D. Edgerton, Harlow Godard; 1862-64, Edgerton and Baldwin ; 1866, Baldwin and W. E. Tanner; 1866, Tanner and God- ard ; 1867-68, Baldwin and Geo. G. Simons ; 1869-70, Baldwin and A. S. Tucker; 1871-72, Baldwin and James Miller; 1873-76, Baldwin and W. P. Smith; 1876, A. S. Tucker and Rufus K. Jackson; 1877, Cornelius Carter and Tucker; 1878, Carter and Geo. Backus. SPECIAL COUNTY JUDGES. Elected for terms of three years. William H. Wallace, 1854-66; Wm. H. Sawyer, 1866-57; Edward Crary, 1858; Harvey D. Smith, 1858-59; Edward H. Neary, 1860; Edward Crary, 1861-63; Samuel B. M. Beckwith, 1864^66; Edward H. Neary, 1867-75; Vasco P. Abbott, 1876-79. SURROGATES. Appointed under first and second constitutions ; elected under present one ; at first for terms of four years, and since 1869 for six years. Mathew Perkins, 1802-08 (till his death) ; Andrew McCollom, 1809 -13 ; Gouverneur Ogden, 1813-20 ; Silas Wright, Jr., 1821-23 ; Horace Allen, 1824-40; James Redington, 1840-44; Charles 6. Myers, 1844^47; Benjamin G. Baldwin, 1847-65; James Redington, 1856- 59; Harvey D. Smith, 1860-63; Stillman Foote, 1864-77; D. A. Johnson, 1878; term expires 1883. SPECIAL SURROGATES. Elam R. Paige, 1867-68; Heber Sykes, 1869-71; Horace B. Ells- worth, 1872-74; Worth Chamberlain, 1875-77. LEGISLATIVE. THE SENATE. Under the first constitution this body consisted of twenty- four members, apportioned among four great districts, — Eastern, Southern, Middle, and Western. After the first election they were divided by lot into four classes, so that the terms of six should expire each year. This representa- tion was increased whenever a septennial census revealed an increase of one twenty-fourth in the number of electors, until the number should reach one hundred. In 1795 the number was forty-three. In 1801 the number of senators was fixed at thirty-two permanently, and has since remained unchanged to the present. The State was divided into eight senatorial districts by the constitution of 1821, each one being entitled to four senators, one to be elected each year for a term of four years. The constitution of 1846 changed the time of election of senators to each odd year, and reduced the term to two years, and created thirty-two districts. Senatorial Districts. — St. Lawrence was a part of the Western district from the erection of the county to April 7, 1815, when it was made a part of the Eastern district, HISTOKY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 109 and so remained until the second constitution was in force. That instrument formed the Fourth district of Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Montgomery, St. Lawrence, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties. In May, 1836, Herkimer was added, and Fulton in April, 1838. The constitution of 1846 formed St. Lawrence and Frank- lin the Fifteenth district; the act of April 13, 1857, changed the number to the Seventeenth, which number and territory has since remained unchanged. Senators. — Russell Atwater, RussoU, 1813-16, Eastern district. David C. Judson, Ogdensburg, 1822, 4th district. Silas Wright, Canton, 1824-27, 4th district. Louis Hasbrouok, Ogdensburg, 1833-34, 4th district. Jabez Willes, Potsdam, 1835-38, 4th district. James G. Hopkins, Ogdensburg, 1840-43, 4th district. John Fine, Ogdensburg, 1848-49, 15th district. William A. Dart, Potsdam, 1850-51, 15th district. Zenas Clark, Potsdam, 1854- 57, loth district. Bloomfield Usher, Potsdam, 1858, 15th district. Charles C. Montgomery, Waddington, 1860-63, 17th district. Abel Godard, De Kalb, 1866-67, 17th district. Abraham X. Parker, Potsdam, 1868-71, 17th district. Darius A. Moore, De Kalb, 1876-77, 17th district. Dolphus S. Lynde, Hermon, elected for 1878-79, 17th district. THE ASSEMBLT. The first representative assembly that convened in what is now the State of New York was " The Twelve Men," under the Dutch rule, who were elected in Manhattan (New York city), Brooklyn, and Pavonia (Jersey City), to suggest means to punish the Indians for a murder they had committed. The first representative assembly under Eng- lish rule met at Hempstead, Long Island, March, 1655, but this could not be called a legislative assembly, as it simply promulgated laws — " the Duke's Laws" — prepared for such purpose. The first legislative assembly was that of 1683, which was afterwards abrogated, and all the laws it had enacted ; and that one of 1691 created, which continued through the colonial period. Under the State authority the assembly has always been chosen annually. It con- sisted at first of seventy members, with the power to increase one with every seventieth increase of the number of electors, until it contained three hundred members. When the con- stitution was amended in 1801 the number had reached one hundred and eight, when it was reduced to one hun- dred, with a provision that it should be increased after each census at the rate of two annually until the number reached one hundred and fifty. The constitution of 1821 fixed the number permanently at one hundred and twenty-eight, and members were elected on a general ticket. The constitution of 1846 required the boards of super- visors of the several counties to meet on the first Tuesday in January succeeding the adoption of that instrument, and divide the counties into districts of the number ap- portioned to them, of convenient and contiguous territory, and of as nearly equal population as possible. After each State census the legislature is to re-apportion the members, and to direct the time when the supervisors shall meet for the purpose of re-districting the county. Pursuant to this provision, the boards met in June, 1857, and in June, 1866. Hamilton and Fulton counties together elect one member, and every other county one or more. Asseinhly Apportionment of St. Lawrence County — First Constitution.— ¥vom March 3, 1802, to March 28, 1805, the county was represented with Oneida county. From March 28, 1805, to April 1, 1808, St. Lawrence, Jefi'er- son, and Lewis formed one district, entitled to one mem- ber. From the latter date to April 18, 1826, St. Law- rence comprised one district, having one member. From the last-named date to the adoption of the constitution of 1846 this county had two members, from which time forward to the present there have been three members sent from the county, which was divided into as many districts. Assemhly Districts. — By the districting of 1847, the first district was composed of the towns of De Kalb, De Peys- tor, Fowler, Gouverneur, Hammond, Macomb, Morris- town, Oswegatchie, Pitcairn, and Rossie. The second district was composed of the towns of Canton, Edwards, Fine, Hermon, Lisbon, Madrid, Norfolk, Pierrepont, and Russell. The third district was composed of the towns of Brasher, Colton, Hopkinton, Lawrence, Louisville, Massena, Parishville, Potsdam, and Stockholm. By the districting of 1857 and 1866 the first district remained unchanged, with exception of the transfer of the town of Fine from the second district; the second was composed of the towns of Canton, Clifton (from April 21, 1868), Colton, Edwards, Hermon, Lisbon, and Madrid, Norfolk, Pierrepont, Russell, and Waddington (from No- vember 12, 1859). The third district remained un- changed, with the exception of the transfer of Colton to the second district. 1808-9. Alexander Richards. U3. jyij!ii>. William Allen. 1810-13. Roswell Hopkins 1833. William Allen, 1814. Louis Hasbrouck Sylvester Butrick. 1815. David A. Ogden. 1834. Jabez Willes, 1816-17. Wm. W. Bowen. Sylvester Butrick. 1818. David C. Judson. 1835-37. Preston King, 1819-21. Joseph York. Wm. S. Paddock. 1822. Wm. H. Vining. 1838. Preston King, 1823-24. Nathaniel F. Win slow. Myron G. Peck. 1825. J. A. Vanden Heuvel. 1839. Myron G. Peck, 1826. Baron S. Doty. Asa Sprague. 1827. Baron S. Doty, 1840. Asa Sprague, Sylvester Gilbert. Zenas Clark. 1828. Jabez Willes, 1841. Zenas Clark, Moses Rowley. Solomon Pratt. 1829. Jonah Sanford, 1842-44 Calvin T. Hiilburd, Harvey D. Smith Geo. Redington. 1830. Jonah Sanford. 1845. Asa L. Hazelton, Asa Sprague, Jr. John L. Russell. 1831. Asa Sprague, Jr., 1846. Asa L. Hazelton, Joseph Freeman. Bishop Perkins. 1832. Edwin Dodge, Ist District. 2 d District. 3d District. 1847..Bishop Perkins, Phine 13 Atwater, Henry Barber. 1848..Cha3. G. Myers, John 3. Chipman, Benj. Holmes. 1849.. Harlow Godard, Justus B. Pickit , Noble S. Elderkin. 1850.. " John Eorton, It tt 1851..Smith Stilwell, ti tt tt tt 1852.. " " Benja rain Smith , Parker W. Rose. 1853..Barnabaa Hall, " It tt tt 1854.. Silas Baldwin, Levi Miller. 1855..A3aph Green, " (( tt tt 1856..Emory W. Abbott, Benj. Squire, Daniel P. Rose, Jr 1857.. " " ti ti Erasmus D. Brook no HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 1858, 1859. 1860, 1861. 3862.. 1863., 1864.. 1865.. 1866.. 1867.. 1868.. 1869.. 1870.. 1871.. 1872.. 1873.. 1874. 1875. ]876. 1877., 1878., Ist Diatrict. .Harlow Godard, it i{ .Charles KichardsoD, ti It Elias P. Townsley, Geo. Parker, i< It Geo. M. Gleason, 2d District. 3d District. William Briggs, Oscar F. Shepard. tt tt it tt Edwin A. Merritt, Clark S. Chittenden. It It tt tt James Kedington, Calvin T. Hulburd. " " Abraham X. Parker, tt ft tt tt " '* Daniel Shaw. W. R. Chamberlain, " " " " Richmond Bicknell. Julius M. Palmer, A. H. Andrews. .Darius A. Moore, tt tt .Seth Q. Pope, it tt David McFalls, tt tt Geo. F. Rowland, Dolphus S. Lynde, A. Barton Hepburn; Wm. Bradford. It It Parker W. Rose. Jonah Sanford. It tt Lewis C. Lang. tt tt Rufus S. Palmer. COUNTY OFnCERS. District Attorneys. — The original appellation of this office was that of assistant attorney-general, and the districts were seven in number, and embraced several counties each. The office was filled by the council of appointment, at pleasure, under the first constitution, and by the courts of sessions under the second one. Under the present constitution the oflice is an elective one, for terms of three years. The name of the office was changed to its present appellation in 1801. Down to 1818 St. Lawrence County formed a part of the district comprising Lewis and Jefferson counties also, and no district attorney resided in this county. Since that date the office has been filled as follows : John Scott was the first one, and he was succeeded by Bishop Perkins. John W. Grant in 1840, and William A. Dart in 1845, were the other incumbents up to the date of the first election of an - attorney, who was Charles G. Myers, who served two terms, 1847-1853. The succession has been as follows : Thomas V. Russell, 1854-60 ; B. H. Vary, 1861-69 ; Leslie W. Russell, 1870-72 ; John R. Brinckerhoff, 1873-78. County Clerics. — By appointment until 1847 ; and by election since, for terms of three years. Louis Hasbrouck, March, 1802, to June, 1811. Alexander Richards, June, 1811, to March, 1813. Louis Hasbrouck, March, 181.3, to March, 1817. Myrtle B. Hitchcock, March, 1817, to July, 1819. Joseph York, July, 1819, to February, 1821. ■ Myrtle B. Hitchcock, February, 1821, to Dec. 31, 1825. James G. Hopkins, 1826-31. William A. Root, 1832 (six months). A. C. Low, June, 1832, to July 8, 1843 (time of decease). John Leslie Russell, July, 1843, to Deo. 31, 1843. Martin Thatcher, 1844-49. George S. Winslow, 1850-55. Benjamin G. Baldwin, 1856-58. Mark W. Spanlding, 1859-61. James F. Pierce, 1862-64. Moses Rich, 1865-67. John Miller, 1868-70. Tiras H. Ferris, 1871-76. Murray N. Ralph, 1877-79. Sheriffs. — Under the first constitution the sheriffs were appointed annually by the council of appointment, and no person could serve more than four successive years. Under the second constitution they were elected for terms of three years, and were ineligible for the next succeeding term, and that disability still continues. Under the Dutch, the sheriff was termed the School Fiscal. 1802 - 1803-6 - 1807-10- 1811-13- 1814-17- 1818-25- 1826-28- 1829-31- 1832-34- 1835-37- 1838-40- 1841-43- -Elisha Tibbetts. -Thomas J. Davies. -John Boyd. -Thomas J. Davies. -Joseph York. -David C. Judson. -Levi Lockwood. -Minet Jenison. -Lemuel Buck. -Jonathan Hoyt. ■Luman Moody. ■Benjamin Squire. 1844-46— Noble S. Elderkin. 1847-49— Josiah Waid. 1850-52— Henry Barber. 1853-55— Reuben Nott. 1856-58— Paine Converse. 1859-61— Shubael R. Gurley. 1862-64 — Lorenzo Chamberlain. 1865-67— Edward J. Chapin. 1868-70— William E. Tanner. 1871-73— Wm. H. Walling. 1874-76— Edward J. Chapin. 1877-79— Orson 0. Wheeler. County Treasurers. — Appointed by board of supervisors until the adoption of present constitution ; since then elected for terms of three years. Owing to the loss of the early records of the board of supervisors, we cannot obtain a complete list of the county treasurers. The list begins with 1816-20— John Tibbitts. 1821-33— John Fine. 1833-54 — John Leslie Russell. 1855-58— Barzillai Hodskin. 1859-75— Harvey N. Redway. 1876-78— Milton D. Packard. Coroners. — Seth Ranney, William Shaw, Feb. 29, 1804; S. Ranney, Wm. Staples, Nicholas Reynolds, March 5, 1805; John Lyon, Wil- liam Staples, Nicholas Reynolds, April 8, 1808 ; Benjamin Willard, Kelsey J. Thurber, John Boyd, Stephen Langworthy, March 6, 1811; Wm. S. Guest, Wm. Perry, Winslow Whitcomb, Clement Tattle, June 15, 1812; Joshua Dewey, Stephen Slawsou, Caleb Hough, Jr., March 3, 1813 ; John Herrick, Enoch Story, John Pierce, Levi Green, John Williams, Dyer Burnham, Kirtland Griffin, Jeremiah Matherson, March 2, 1814; J. Dewey, C. Hough, B. Willard, J. Boyd, K. J. Thurber, April 15, 1815; J. Dewey, C. Hough, B. Willard, J. Boyd, K. J. Thurber, March 16, 1816; Reuben Atwater, N. F. Winslow, C. Hough, Elijah Baker, John Lyttle, Ira Ransom, K. J. Thurber, March 16, 1818; R. Atwater, Elijah Baker, Ira Ransom, Joseph York, John Lyttle, Enos C. Eastman, April 8, 1819; R. Atwater, E. Baker, J. Lytle, J. York, E. C. Eastman, Wm. S. Guest, Charles Whalan, Hazen Rolf, and Jabez Willes, 1820; Wm. S. Guest, Peter Pollard, Ira Collins, Thomas Bingham, Hazen Rolf, Zoraster Culver Caleb Hough, Henry C. Green, Thomas D. Clin, Nathaniel Ives, Feb. 28, 1821. In 1822 the same, with the addition of Thomas Hill. [Wo are not able to procure six years.] John E. Perkins, Henry Foot, Samuel C. Barter, S. Pratt, 1828 ; Darius Clark, Wm. S. Paddock, Justus Pickit, Michael S. Daniels, 1831; Abijah Rowley, Allen McLeod, Jr., Gideon Sprague, Almond Z. Madison, 1834; S. Pratt, D. Clark, John Stone, Rudolphus Searle, 1837; D. Clark, Joseph H. Ripley, Royal Vilas, Smith Low, 1840; D. Clark, Charles N. L. Sprague, Luther Lamphear, R.Vilas, 1843; D. Clark, Henry D. Laughlin, Wm. S. Paddock, Hemau W. Tucker, 1846; Wm. S. Pad- dock, re-elected, 1847; H. D. Laughlin, Cyrus Abernethy, 1849; L. Lamphear, Wm. S. Paddock, 1851 ; T. 0. Benjamin, Alexander B. Gregor, John C. Preston, 1852. [We are unable to give the list for 1863-55.] B.F.Sherman, 1856-61; Ephraim Whitney, 1867; Dr. S. C. Wait and Wilson, 1858-61; F. P. Sprague, 1862; John R. Furniss, Samuel C. Wait, 1863-64; Ephraim Whitney, 1865-68; John R. Furniss, Dr. Swan, 1866; Dr. C. B. Fisher, 1867-76; David McFalls, Dr. Robert Morris, 1869; Ephraim Whitney, 1871-74; David McFalls, John R. Furniss, 1872-75 ; Blisha Bridges, 1874; C. C. Bartholomew, Ephraim Whitney, 1877; D. McFalls, 1878. Deputy Superintendents of Schools, appointed by the supervisors.— Sylvester Ford, 1841, for the section east of Lisbon, Canton, and Russell, and Jos. Hopkins for these and all the towns west. In 1843, George S. Winslow, for the whole county. ]\Ir. Winslow resigned his office in 1844, HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. Ill and Charles Rich was appointed to the western, and Fred- erick P. Sprague to the eastern sections. In 1845, Sprague resigned, and Mr. Rich was appointed for the whole county for the ensuing year. In 1846, Luke Carton was appointed, and held the office till it was abolished. In 1857 the office was restored, under the name of " School Commissioner." and made elective, with terms of three years. Since that date the succession has been as follows : 1st Assembly District. 2d District. 3d District, 1857... .....Allen Wight, M. W. Spaulding, Tiras H. Ferris. 1858-59... " " C. C. Church, 1860 " " " " W. W. Bloss. 1861-62. ..T. H. Laughlin, " " " " 1863 " " Clark Baker, " " 1864-66... " " " " B. C. Whitney. 1867-69... " " " " " " 1870-71... " '■ W. G. Brown, " " 1872 " " A. Barton Hepburn, " " 1873-75.. .D. S. Giffin, " " " 1876-78. ..Erwin S. Barnes, Albert L. Cole, L. L. Goodale. Loan Commissioners, appointed by the governor : 1810-17, Russell Atwater and Alexander Richards ; 1818-20, Alex- ander Richards and Roswell Hopkins ; 1821-40, Joseph W. Smith, Smith Stilwell, Jason Fenton, Alvin C. Low. U. S. Deposit Fund : 18S7-39, Joseph Ames (2d), Geo. Ranney ; 1840-42, John L. Barnes, Wm. Blake; 1843-44, John Horton, Harlow Godard; 1845-48, Elihu Phelps, Z. N. Ellis; 1849-60, M. P. Jackson, Isaac R. Hopkins. Con- solidated Funds: 1851-53, M. P. Jackson, Isaac R. Hopkins; 1853- 55, H. M. Childs and F. P. Sprague; 1855-57, Stillman Foote and Jason Brush; 1857-59, Stillman Foote and Thomas H. Conkey; 1860, T. H. Conkey, S. N. Sherman; 1861-64, Conkey and H. W. Hale; 1856-67, H. W. Hale and Jason Brush; 1867-69, G. C. Packard; 1873-77, Geo. S. Wright, Truman Barnes. Excise Commissioners, appointed by the governor, under the act of 1857, regulating the sale of spirituous liquors : 1857-60, Geo. Hurlbut, Chas. H. Allen, Stephen Vanduzee; 1861, H. J. Cook vice Allen; 1862, Darius Clark vice Cook; 1863, Smith Stilwell vice Hurlbut; 1865, Dan. H. Davis vice Vanduzee; 1867, Rufus K. Jackson vice Clark; 1868-70, Charles Richardson vice Stilwell. The office was abolished in 1870, and town commissioners are elected. CHAPTER VIIL THE LEAENED PBOFESSIOBTS. The Bar— The Medical Profession— Medical Societies— The Clergy — The Professors — The Press. THE BAR. The bar of St. Lawrence County has numbered in its roll of attorneys names renowned in the annals of the State and nation, not only in the practice of one of the most hon- orable of professions, but on the bench and in the halls of legislation. Its members, too, have been distinguished not only in the civic arena, but they have gained imperish- able honors on the gory fields of war. In the second war of American Independence, and in the terrible carnage of the great Rebellion, St. Lawrence had her legal sons who bore her honor untarnished on many a blood-stained field. The following list of attorneys, resident in the county at the date of their' admission to practice in the courts, has been compiled from the records of the courts of the county, where they have appeared more or less frequently in the conduct of cases before those tribunals. This list has also been revised by one of the oldest practicing attorneys in the county, and the dates given are those of the admission of the respective attorneys, or their first appearance before the court, as appears by the records, as near as could be ascertained. We trust it is substantially free from errors. 1802. Matthew Perkins, the first lawyer, was admitted to the practice of his profession in St. Lawrence County, at the first term of the court of common pleas, held June 5, 1802, Judge Nathan Ford presiding, and which also was the first court held in the county. Mr. Perkins was also the first surrogate of the county, and died in 1808. The same year (1802), in November, Benjamin Skinner, Jr., was ad- mitted. He died in 1873. 1803. Andrew McCoUum, Morris L. Miller. 1805. Adriel Peabody. 1806. Samuel Chipman. 1807. J. P. Warford. 1808. Samuel Warford. 1809. W. W. Bowen, Liberty Knowles (see biography in history of Potsdam), Matthew Myers. (Fourteen of the above-named attorneys swore allegiance to the State of New York, "as a free and independent sovereignty," Jan. 11, 1809.) 1810. George Boyd, George C. Conant, Lewis M. Ogden, Samuel Livermore, Palmer Cleveland, Gouverneur Ogden, Wm. S. RadolifF, R. M. Popham, Wm. D. Ford, John Scott (first resident district attorney in the county, 1818). 1811. Henry C. Martindale, Louis Hasbrouck (first county clerk), Samuel Rockwell. 1815. Bishop Perkins (see biography in history of Ogdensburg). 1816. Horace Allen (see biography in history of Pots- dam), H. Wm. Channing. 1817. John Fine (see biography at close of this list), Wm. H. Vining, John Cook, Alfred Lathrop, Theo. M. Atwater, Alexander Richards, Jr. 1819. Silas Wright, Jr. (see biography in history of Canton). 1821. L. C. Hubbell, Jas. Edwards, M. M. Terry, Aaron Hackley, Jr., Halsey Townsend. 1822. Jacob A. Van den Heuvel, Jacob J. Ford, A. C. Brown. 1823. George Redington (see biography in history of Waddington). 1824. Ransom H. Gillett. 1825. E. Fowler, J. G. Hopkins, Edmund A. Graham. i827. John W. Grant. 1828. Silas Baldwin, Jr. (see biography in history of Canton), Thomas Dewey, Charles E. Beardsley. 1829. Edwin Dodge, Jeremiah Bailey. 1830. Preston King (see biography in history of Og- densburg), John Leslie Russell (sec biography in history of Canton), Cephas L. Rockwood. 1831. James Redington (see biography in history of Waddington), Benjamin G. Baldwin. 1832. Julius C. Abel, A. Hayward, Charles G. Myers, N. F. Hoyer, Samuel H. Piatt, Calvin T. Hulburd. 112 HISTOKY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 1833. Elam Rust, David M. Chapin, Levi Smith, Gr. W. Gardner. 1837. A. B. James, Baron S. Doty, S. B. Seeley. 1838. Stephen G. Dodge, R. W. Judson (see history of Ogdensburg, and military history), Edward Elderkin, Henry L. Knowles, Wm. A. Dart (see biography in history of Potsdam), Thomas V. Russell, Britten A. Hill. 1840. James D. McLaren, Wm. C. Brown, Cyrus W. Baldwin, Charles Anthony, Simeon Smith. 1841. Joseph M. Doty, Stillman Foote (see biography in history of Ogdensburg). 1843. Wm. C. Cooke, H. G. Foote. 1844. W. L. Knowles. 1845. Jos. R. Flanders, C. B. Wright, Amos Reed, Wm. B. Hickok. 1846. Cornelius A. Parker, Charles A. Eldredge. 1849. W. T. Barker, D. S. Pride, Edwin Clarke, Ed- ward Crary, W. H. Wallace. 1850. J. MoNaugbton, Chas. T. Pooler, C. L King, B. H. Vary, Wm. C. Chipman, C. R. McClelland, Geo. Morris. 1851. E. E. Cooley, W. B. Goodrich, W. H. Andrews, Samuel B. Gordon, Jno. Powell, Jr., M. Field, C. 0. Tap- pan (see biography in history of Potsdam). 1852. W. H. Sawyer (see biography in history of Can- ton), Chas. Rich, C. C. Montgomery. 1853. Aikens Foster, G. F. Havens. 1854. D. Magone, Jr., J. C. Spencer. 1855. Edwin Coan, Nathan Crary. 1856. Edw. H. Neary (see biography in history of Gouverneur), 0. F. Partridge, James F. Pierce (see biog- raphy in history of Madrid), J. R. Brinckerhoff, John Doud, G. P. Chapin. 1857. E. H. Nickerson. 1858. Chas. B. Westbrook, Samuel S. Edick, E. R. Page, F. A. Bacon. 1860. Mark White, Richmond Bicknell, N. Wells, C. A. Boynton, W. R. Chamberlain, H. F. Grain, Cyrus G. Stafford. 1861. H. D. Ellsworth, A. X. Parker (see biography in history of Potsdam), Alvin M. Lamb, S. B. M. Beck- with, John Gunning, Jr., Dan. S. Giffin, L. Hasbrouck, Jr., Nathaniel P. Hays, John Magone, Thomas McGivern, Paraclete Sheldon, James Nowlan. 1862. Leslie W. Russell (see biography in history of Canton), R. L. Wilcox, R. B. Lowry, Geo. G. Simons, S. H. Palmer, Edwin C. James, Lucius L. Bridges, T. H. Brosnan. 1863. A. E. Smith, John F. Havens. 1864. J. A. Vance. 1866. Watson J. Ferry, Horace Russell. 1867. Geo. Z. Erwin, Geo. B. Stacy, Geo. A. Kingston, J. G. Mclntyre. 1868. J. Y. Chapin, John F. Bugbee, D. McCurdy. 1869. L. C. Lang, Heber Sykes, Luther E. Wadleigh (see biography in history of Potsdam), J. B. Preston, Chas. N. Bixby. 1870. John Miller (see biography in history of Canton), John S. Miller, Wm. G. Brown, A. Z. Squii-e, Thomas Spratt, L. M. Soper, W. S. Lansing, A. E. Kilby, C. E. Chamberlain, L. K. Soper, L. Z. Remington, Silas W. Wil- son, D. M. Robertson, Jno. W. Stone, E. M. Holbrook. 1871. V. P. Abbott (see biography in history of Canton) D. A. Johnson (see biography in history of Gouverneur). 1872. A. Barton Hepburn. 1874. Charles Anstead, E. B. White, Worth Chamber- lain, H. J. Moore, Charles G. Idler, Garrett S. Conger. 1875. H. W. Day, Theo. H. Swift, C. E. Sanford, T. N. Murphy, J. M. Kellogg, F. J. M. Daly. 1876. W. M. Hawkins, A. B. Shepard, J. C. Keeler. 1877. Geo. Fowler, W. A. Poste, 0. H. Feathers. THE BAR OF THE PRESENT. Gouverneur. — Charles Anthony, D. A. Johnson, Geo. Fowler, Abel Godard, C. A. Parker, C. Arthur Parker, G. S. Conger, E. H. Neary, Wm. H. Andrews, J. B. Preston, V. P. Abbott. ffermon.—K B. White, H. W. Day, Wm. G. Brown. Canton. — Silas Baldwin, Wm. C. Cooke, Leslie W. Rus- sell, W. H. Sawyer, D. M. Robertson, Thomas V. Russell, H. D. Ellsworth, Jno. F. Bugbee, John Miller, Worth Chamberlain, C. E. Chamberlain, A. Z. Squires, W. A. Poste, 0. H. Feathers. Potsdam. — Chas. 0. Tappan, H. L. Knowles, Wm. A. Dart, Geo. Z. Erwin, A. X. Parker, H. L. Knowles, W. H. Wallace, Edward Crary, Jno. G. Mclntyre, John A. Vance, L. E. Wadleigh, W. H. Hawkins, W. H. Faulkner, T. H. Swift, C. E. Sanford. Ogdensburg. — Stillman Foote, Chas. G. Myers, R. W. Judson, A. B. James, E. C. James, D. Magone, D. M. Chapin, J. Y. Chapin, L. K. Soper, L. M. Soper, J. M. Kellogg, E. M. Holbrook, J. McNaughton, R. E. Water- man, Geo. B. Shepard, A. B. Shepard, Geo. Morris, Geo. Morris, Jr., Louis Hasbrouck, Louis Hasbrouck, Jr., C. G. Idler, A. E. Smith, R. B. Lowry, Frank Sherman, Thomas Spratt, B. H. Vary, J. W. Stone, N. Wells, Joseph Ray, D. McCurdy, C. G. Egert, 0. F. Partridge, C. A. Burton, Stephen G. Dodge, W. J. Averill, C. R. Westbrook. Heuveltoii. — D. S. Griffin. Norfolk.— 3. R. Brinckerhoff. Norwood. — C. N. Bixby, Sylvester Judd, T. M. Murphy. Madrid.~G. R. McClelland, Geo. G. Simons. Waddington. — C. C. Montgomery, James Redington. Brasher. — C. T. Hulburd, Lewis C. Lang. North Lawrence. — N. P. Hoyer. Nicholville. — Geo. B, Stacy. Colton. — A. B. Hepburn, Charles Anstead, M. D. Beck- with, Aikens Foster. Fine. — George A. Kingston. THE ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION was organized in May, 1876, for the chief objects of organ- izing the bar, and aiding and assisting in proper legislation, and to obtain and maintain a library for the use of the bench and bar of the county. It is auxiliary to the State bar association, and is in furtherance of the same objects. Its annual meetings are held in May, at Canton, and stated meetings are also held at each term of the supreme and county courts. The officers of the present are the same as at the first HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 113 organization of the association, viz. : Hon. Chas. 0. Tappan, president ; Edwin M. Holbrook, corresponding secretary ; Delos McCurdy, secretary; V. P. Abbott, treasurer. Be- sides these, is a list of vice-presidents and the usual com- mittees. The association has a fair library, and is constantly adding new works, valuable and necessary for its use. It is kept in the district attorney's office in the court-house, and con- tains thirteen legal text-books, fourteen volumes digests, the session laws of the State, from 1802 to date, complete, with a few exceptions, eleven volumes of U. S. laws, three hundred and twenty-four volumes of reports, and other miscellaneous volumes. There are, doubtless, many reminiscences of the early bar which would be entertaining to recount would space permit, but we are /oj-eclosed, to use a legal phrase, and cannot even enter a demurrer or take an exception to the ruling. However, we insert a sentence of one of the early lawyers named above, whose duties were more frequently those of the magistrate than of the advocate. A culprit had been brought before him for some infrac- tion of the law, and having been tried, the court pronounced the judgment of banishment " from the face of God's earth to Canada !" The record does not state whether the sentence was executed or not. Another of the early lawyers went, in after-years, to Michigan, and located in St. Joseph county, and became a leading magistrate at the county-seat. He was a dry joker, and one day, in trying a case before a brother magistrate in an adjoining town, objected to the jurisdiction of the court. and moved a dismissal of the case. The opposing counsel could not see that the point was well taken, as the towns were adjoining ones, and, by the Michigan laws, the juris- diction of justices extended into such situated towns. But the objector insisted upon his point, and proceeded to de- monstrate that the two towns did not join. Taking up a couple of books which lay on the table, he placed them parallel to each, about six inches apart, and said to the court, who, by the way, had a very exalted opinion of his brother magistrate's legal acumen, " Now, 'squire, when these two towns were originally laid out they did join, but a few years ago, you know, the highway commissioners of the towns laid out a road on the town-line the whole six miles, and now (pointing to the books) you see they don't join by four rods.'" The justice scratched his head, re- adjusted his spectacles, and, before the attorney for the prose- cution recovered from his laughter at what he considered a good joke, the court decided he had no jurisdiction, and nonsuited the plaintifiF. We give in this connection the biography of one of the most eminent, so far as legal ability was concerned, of the early members of the bar, and who ranked in his long years of practice with the foremost attorneys of his district. We allude to Hon. John Fine, of Ogdensburg, now deceased. " He was born in New York, August 26, 1794, and was prepared for college by Andrew Smith, a Scotchman, a well- known and severe teacher. He entered Columbia college in 1805, and graduated in 1809, at the age of fifteen, re- ceiving the second honor, the English salutatory, Among his college classmates were Bishops B. T. Onderdopk aad J. 15 Kemper, Rev. Dr. W. B. Wyatt, Revs. C. R. Duffee and J. Brady; Drs. J. W. Francis and E. N. Bibby, and the Hon. Murray Hoffman. Mr. Fine studied law four years with P. W. Radclift', one year with Gr. W. Strong, and attended a course of law lectures of one year under Judges Reeve and Gould, at Litchfield, Conn. He removed to St. Lawrence County in 1815, and formed a law partnership with Louis Hasbrouck, which continued until the death of the latter in 1834. In 1824 he was appointed first judge of the county, and was continued in this office by reap- pointment till March, 1839. In the fall of 1838 he was elected to Congress, and in the latter of the two years was on the committee on foreign affairs. In 1844 he was reap- pointed first judge, and held that office until the adoption of the new constitution in 1847. During his service of over eighteen years on the bench, three only of his de- cisions were reversed. In 1848 he was elected to the State senate and served one term, during which period he in- troduced and aided in carrying into a law the bill to punish criminally the seduction of females, and also the bill to protect the property of married women. The latter lias made a great change in the common law, and raises the female sex from a menial and dependent condition, as regards the control of their property, to an equality with man. The refinements of civilized society, and the spirit of the Christian religion, justify the law which has been incorporated into our code, and, from the favor with which it has been received by the public, there is a probability it will never be repealed. Judge Fine received the degree of Master of Arts from Columbia college, in 1812, and that of Doctor of Laws, from Hamilton college, in 1850. In 1847 and 1849 he was nominated for judge of the supreme court, but on each occasion was unsuccessful, the venerable Daniel Cady, of Johnstown, being elected. From 1821 to 1833 he held the office of county treasurer, and upon resigning, the board of supervisors passed resolutions expressive of their confidence in his integrity and ability. In 1852 he published a volume of lectures on law, for the use of his sons, of which Judge Cady has said, ' I do not believe there is another work in the English language which con- tains so much legal information in so few words. All I read and hear of the lectures strengthens my convictions that they should be in the hands of every student who wishes to ■ acquire in the shortest time a knowledge of the laws of his country.' The high station and distinguished attainments of the one by whom this opinion was given confer great value upon it. In the various benevolent movements of the day, and especially in the founding and support of the county Bible society. Judge Fine has been foremost, and he will long be regarded as the efficient supporter of this and other benevolent societies, as a distinguished lawyer, an able jurist, and as one who in every respect has adorned and elevated the society in which he has lived.''* THE MEDICAL PROFESSION. The science of medicine enlists the best powers and deepest thought of its votaries. Ministering to the " thou- sand shocks which flesh is heir to," whether of the body or ' Rouglt's IJistor^ of Frapklir) ii^d St. Lawrence Counties, 114 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. of " a mind diseased," a skillful physician and surgeon is one who loves his profession, not for what personal gain there may he in its prosecution, hut for the ever-expanding thought, the ever-increasing knowledge of the mysterious mechanism by which the human being is made to live, and the consequent power he acquires to counteract and eradi- cate disease. As a body the St. Lawrence medical pro- fession stands second to none of its class in the interior of the State. THE ST. LAWRENCE MEDICAL SOCIETY was organized October 14, 1807, on the passage of the law authorizing the formation of medical societies in the State. At the first meeting Joseph W. Smith was chosen presi- dent ; I. W. Pier, vice-president, W. Noble, secretary ; B. Holmes, treasurer; John Seeley, Powell Davis, and B. Holmes, censors. A seal, having for its device a lancet within the words "St. Lawrence Medical Society," was adopted July, 1811. The society held its annual meetings for the most part of the time to the year 185G, at which many able papers on the diagnosis and treatment of disease have been read by its members, which have included all, or nearly so, of the regular school, or allopathic, as commonly called, physi- cians who have been residents of the county. The presidents of the society have been as follows : Joseph W. Smith, 1807 to 1814, 1818-19, 1828-29, and 1833; Robert McChesney, 1815 to 1817, 1821, and 1841; Gideon Sprague, 1820, 1835, and 1843; B. Holmes, 1825 ; E. Baker, 1826-27, 1832, 1845, and 1848 ; Francis Parker, 1840; S. H. McChesney, 1830-31,1834, 1844, and 1852 ; Socrates N. Sherman, 1836, 1842, and 1847 ; J. A. Mott, 1837 ; S. Ford, 1838 ; W. S. Paddock, 1839 ; M. S. Parker, 1864-65; Louis Stowers, 1865-66; Z. B. Bridges, 1866-67 ; C. C. Bates, 1867-68 ; B. P. Sherman, 1868-69; S. L. Parmelee, 1869-70; Jesse Reynolds, 1870-71 ; Robert Morris, 1871-72 ; D. McFalls, 1872-73; A. R. Gregor, 1873-74 ; E. H. Bridges, 1874-75 ; H. A. Roland, 1875-76 ; L. E. Felton, 1876-77. Some time about 1856 the society suspended its workings, and the records previous to that time have been lost, and what we have produced of the history previous to 1852 has been taken from Dr. Hough's History of St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties. On January 19, 1864, several of the members of the old society met and reorganized it, electing the following board of officers : Dr. Martin S. Parker, president ; Dr. S. L. Parmelee, vice-president ; Dr. R. R. Sherman, secretary ; Dr. Jesse Reynolds, treasurer; Drs. N. L. Buck, F. P. Sprague, and H. B. Boland, censors. The present officers of the society are, Dr. C. C. Bar- tholomew, of Ogdensburg, president ; Dr. J. A. Wilbur, vice-president ; Dr. L. E. Felton, of Potsdam, secretary ; Dr. Fred. Geer, treasurer ; Drs. Robert Morris, of Ogdens- burg, E. H. Bridges, and J. Reynolds, censors ; Drs. Z. B. Bridges, S. L. Parmelee, and A. N. Thomson, delegates to the State medical society ; Drs. J. Reynolds, Z. B. Bridges, D. McFalls, C. C. Bartholomew, and Frederick Geer, dele- gates to the American medical association. The following list of physicians have been members of the society, the dates being those of their admission thereto : 1807. Powell Davis, B. Holmes, Ira W. Pier, John Seeley, J. W. Smith. 1808. Pierce Shepard. 1809. Elijah Baker, John Spencer. 1 811. Robert McChesney, Myron Orton, Daniel Brainerd. 1812. Reuben Phillips, James A. Mott. 1814. Philip Scott, Ira Smith, Gideon Sprague. 1815. John Archibald. 1816. F. W. Judson, W. S. Paddock, Royal Sikes, Silas Spencer. 1817. Wm. A. Canfield, John S. Carpenter. 1820. Thomas Harrington, Solomon Sherwood. 1821. Wm. Atwater, W. Hatch, John McChesney, Na- thaniel K. Olmstead, Francis Parker (see biography in history of Parishville), Jason Winslow. 1822. Levi Crane, Rufus Newton, C. Skidmore, Alvah Squire. 1823. J. W. Floyd (see biography in history of Norfolk), Ira Gibson, Caleb Pierce (see biography in history of Madrid). 1824. Darius Clark (see biography in history of Canton), Elkanah French. 1826. Roswell Nash, T. Van Sickler, Lewis Stowers, Seymour Thatcher. 1827. Reuben Ashley, Alanson Ray, Socrates N. Sher- man (see biography in history of Ogdensburg), R. -B. Webb. 1828. G. W. Barker, Joseph Brayton, Sylvester Ford, Woolcott Griffin, H. D. Laughlin (see biography in history of Hopkinton), John S. Morgan, Hiram Murdock, C. H. Pierce, J. W. Ripley, L. Samburn, Lorenzo Sheldon, Albert Tyler. 1829. Oliver Brewster, Wooster Carpenter, J. H. Chand- ler, John Marsh, James S. Munson, Orra Rice, Jr. 1830. Giles F. Catlin, J. S. Cochran, D. L. Collamer, Hiram Goodrich, D. L. Shaw. 1831. Alvan Ames, Jacob Clark. 1832. R. M. Rigdon, Benj. P. Smith, J. A. Chambers. 1833. H. 0. Chipman, Wood. 1834. J. H. Ripley, E. Whiting. 1835. Calvin S. Millington. 1836. Wm. Bass, I. B. Crawe, H. Mazuzan, Charles Orvis, S. C. Wait. 1838. D. 8. Olin, G. F. Cole. 1840. Mason G. Sherman. 1841. Ezra Parmelee. 1842. R. Burns, J. H. Dunton, Geo. Green, Henry Hewitt (see biography in history of Potsdam), B. F. Sherman, C. A. J. Sprague, W. H. Sprague, William Witherell. 1843. M. L. Burnham, Thomas Dunton, 0. H. May- hew, T. R. Pangburn, A. B. Sherman. 1844. A. Ames, J. S. Conkey, C. F. Ide, W. J. Manley. 1845. B. F. Ames. 1846. R. L. Clark. 1847. W. F. Galloway, J. H. Grennell, Samuel Marsh. 1848. D. A. Raymond. 1852. R. Davidson, J. H. Hyer, G. R. Lowe, 0. F. Parker, J. C. Preston, Jesse Reynolds, F. P. Sprague, G S. Sutherland. HISTOEY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 115 1864 to 1866. Cornelius H. Buck, John Pierce, C. C. Bates, R. R. Sherman, Zina B. Bridges, Benj. M. Ames, H. A. Boland, Joseph H. Gibbons, S. L. Parmelee, James S. Gale, G. B. Seymour, A. R. Gregor, A. C. Taylor, J. H. Benton, W. H. Cruikshank, Hiram D. Smith, Charles N. Hewitt, Thos. Murdock, Ira H. Darling, S. Holman, N. L. Buck, A. H. Thompson, E. Whitney, M. S. Parker, 0. G. Ross, 0. McFadden, J. A. Wilbur. 1866. Stuart Chrichton, E. M. Curtis, E. A. Hutchins, J. H. Jackson, S. H. Rolfe, Robert Morris, F. A. Cutler. 1867. C. B. Barber, E. H. Bridges, William P. Stone, G. W. Reynolds, D. McFalls, E. C. Walsh, Benjamin F. Drury. 1869. T. A. Pease. 1870. A. P. Grinnell, W. C. Wood, Isaac Drake, C. C. Bartholomew. 1871. L. E. Felton, C. M. Wilson. 1873. R. I. O'Connell, James A. Phillips, W. H. Car- penter, Frederick Greer. 1874. H. L. Stiles, James Garvin, E. J. Bowen, J. Morrison, D. R. Freeman. 1875. A. R. Turner, A. B. Goodenough, G. H. Holmes, D. M. Seeley, Louis B. Chagnon, C. B. Hawley, S. H. Foster. 1876. B. S. Manley, H. T. Hammond, L. B. Baker, Frank R. Sherman, Albert L. Morgan, 0. J. Hutchins. 1877. F. A. Anderson. Besides these the following have practiced the profession of medicine in the county, principally in the early days of its settlement: 1800, Dr. Hosea Brooks; 1801, El'isha M. Barber; 1802, Allen Barber (drowned in 1806); 1805, William Noble, Richard Townsend (practiced only in emer- gentcases) ; 1806, Stephen Langworthy ; 1807, Daniel Camp- bell, Pliny Godard; 1811, Lemuel Winslow; 1820, John Bean; 1830, B. L. Beardsley, Elihu Gillis; 1828, John Inman ; 1843, J. Addison Brown ; 1846, Franklin B. Hough ; 1850, D. McLaren; 1862, William Wilson; 1861, P. P. McMonagle; 1860, B. 0. Cook; dates unknown, Drs. Bow- man, Goss, Barrows, Slade, Blaokman, Joseph Boynton, Solomon P. Sherwood, and Derby; 1875 and at present, L. M. Giffin, Luther Hawkins, L. J. W. Miller, J. S. Howard, David F. Dayton, Dr. Hall. THE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION OF NORTHERN NEW YORK is composed of physicians of the old school practicing in that portion of the State, as indicated by the title of the society ; but members are admitted from any part of the State, provided they are at the time of application members of the county association where they reside. Physicians of the Dominion of Canada may also become members on presentation of a diploma of some regularly incorporated and organized medical school. Its annual meetings have been usually held in Malone, Franklin Co. The members of the association residing in St. Lawrence County are as follows ; Ogdenshurg. Zina B. Bridges, Elisha H. Bridges, C. C. Bartholomew, Frederick Gears, Robert Morris, Benjamin F. Sherman, Frank R. Sherman. Potsdam. Gideon C. Cole, David F. Dayton, L. E. Felton, John Pierce, Jesse Reynolds. Lawrencevilk. H. A. Boland, J. H. Jackson. Lisbon. W. H. Cruikshank. Stockholm. Isaac Drake, Thomas Dunton. Norfolk. Sylvester Ford, A. H. Thompson. Gouverneur. David McFalls. Heuvelton. Lewis Samburn. Norwood: J. A. Wilbur. The following are the officers for 1877 : President, Dr Robert Morris, Ogdensburg, N. Y. ; Vice-President, Dr, George B. Dunham, Plattsburg, N. Y. ; Secretary, Dr. Sid ney P. Bates, Malone, N. Y. ; Treasurer, Dr. Calvin Skin ner, Malone, N. Y. ; Committee of Intelligence, Dr. B. F Sherman, Ogdensburg, N. Y. ; Dr. Theodore Gay, Malone, N. Y. ; Dr. L. E. Felton ; Committee of Publication, Dr. Elisha H. Bridges, Ogdensburg, N. Y. ; Dr. Calvin Skinner, Malone, N. Y. ; Dr. Renno E. Hyde, Chazy, N. Y. ; Dr, Sidney P. Bates, Malone, N. Y. ; Committee of Arrange- ments, Dr. J. S. Phillips, Malone, N. Y. ; Dr. S. S. Went- worth, Malone, N. Y. ; Dr. A. M. Phelps, Chateaugay, N. Y. ; Microscopist, Dr. Elisha H. Bridges, Ogdensburg, N. Y. THE ST. LAWRENCE HOM(EOPATHI0 MEDICAL SOCIETY. This society was organized Oct. 4, 1871, with the follow- ing officers: Dr. D. E. Southwick, of Ogdensburg, president; Dr. Ezra Parmelee, of Morley, vice-president ; Dr. H. D. Brown, of Potsdam, secretary; Dr. N. N. Child, of Ogdens- burg, treasurer ; Dr. E. R. Belding, of Malone, Sanford Hoag, of Canton, and J. M. Dow, of De Kalb, censors. A constitution and by-laws similar to those of the Albany Homoeopathic society were adopted. The presidents of the society from its organization to the present time have been as follows: 1871, D. E. Southwick; 1872-73, E. Parmelee; 1874, E. R. Belding; 1875, J. M. Dow ; 1876, D. E. Southwick. The society has its annual meeting on the second Tuesday in June, and its semi-annual meeting the same day in De- cember, at which essays on the diagnosis and treatment of disease, on the principle of " similia similibus curantur," are delivered by the members. The president. Dr. Southwick, in his annual address in 1872, gave the history of the rise and progress of homoe- opathy in St. Lawrence County, from which we learn that the first physician to practice medicine after the system of Hahnemann therein was Dr. Ezra Parmelee, an old-school physician up to 1856, when he began to practice homoeo- pathioally at Morley, where he still resides and practices. In 1857, Dr. Austin began the practice at Canton, and Dr. Southwick in Ogdensburg. In 1860, Dr. Johnson changed his practice in De Peyster from the old to the new school, and is now a practitioner in Morrison, Illinois. About the same time. Dr. Swan began at Riohville, and Dr. Willard at Potsdam. The latter was succeeded by Dr. Brown. E. R. Belding was a student of Dr. Willard, and located at Malone, Franklin, where he is still in practice. Dr. Austin died in Canton, but some time previous to his death sur- rendered his practice to Dr. Reno, who gave way to Dr. Fisher. Dr. Daygart and Dr. Hoag were also of Canton. Dr. George Dart succeeded Dr. Johnson in De Peyster in 1864, and located in De Kalb in 1870, and Dr. Fisher 116 HISTORY OF ST. LAWKENCE COUNTY, NEW YOKK. went to Gouverneur in 1870. Dr. N. N. Child located in Ogdensburg in 1863. The present officers of the society are as follows : President, Dr. Southwick ; Vice-President, George Dart ; Treasurer, N. N. Child ; Secretary, S. Hoag ; Censors, E. R. Belding, Charles W. Radway, H. D. Brown ; Delegate to American Institute of Homoeopathy, D. E. Southwick ; to State society, Sanford Hoag. The members of the society and the dates of their ad- mission are as follows : 1871. E. Parmelee, D. E. Southwick, H. D. Brown, N. N. Child, E. R. Belding, S. Hoag, J. M. Dow, E. E. Fisher, George Dart. 1874. W. C. Doy, Waddington ; G. E. Baldwin, Gouver- neur; E. C. Low, Plattshurg. 1875. George W. Randall, Rensselaer Falls ; A. B. Cole, Hermon ; G. S. Farmer, Gouverneur. 1877. C. W. Radway, Canton ; Jason Turner, Heuvel- ton, A. L. Greene, Stockholm. The clerical profession will be found noticed in connection with the history of the churches, and the instructors are enumerated in the history of colleges, academies, and schools in the general history of the county and the town histories. THE PRESS. The first paper published in St. Lawrence County was the Palladium, by John C. Kipp and Timothy C. Strong, of Middlebury, Vt., who were furnished by David Parish and Daniel W. Church with money to purchase a press and erect a building for the purpose of printing a paper in 1810. The enterprise was started in December of that year. The printers had a small quantity of type; Mr. Church built the office and sent for the press, while Mr. Parish furnished the money with which to begin business. Strong continued in the concern less than a year, when his partner took the office alone, and sold, in the fall of 1812, to John P. Sheldon. The first paper was printed on a sheet 11 by 17 J inches, and had but two pages. Sheldon enlarged it to a folio, but difficulties being experienced in getting regular supplies of paper, many of the numbers were issued on a common foolscap sheet. It was printed on an old- fashioned wooden press, published weekly, and distributed through the county by a foot-post, an old Swiss about sixty years of age acting as carrier. Sheldon discontinued his paper about 1814. From several numbers of this paper before us, it is learned that it was Federal in politics, and denounced the war. For a time it had but three columns and two pages of 7 by 11 inches, exclusive of margin. David R. Strachan and Piatt B. Fairchild purchased a Ramage press of James Bogart, of the Geneva Gazette, and commenced in December, 1815, a weekly paper under the title of the St. Lawrence Gazette, a small folio sheet 20 by 25 inches, fire columns to the page, at two dollars per annum. Fairchild subsequently withdrew, and the paper was continued by the remaining publisher until April 12, 1826, when Dan Spafford and James C. Barter purchased the office, and continued the paper without change of name or size till December, 1829, when Spaffijrd became pub- lisher, and continued it till about the 1st of Jan. 1830. He then sold it to Preston King, who had also purchased the St. Laurence RepiibUcan, previously issued at Potsdam. The Gazette thus ceased to exist, and the press on which it had been printed was laid away, and finally destroyed in the great fire of 1839. It espoused the cause of Mr. Adams, after his election in 1824, and advocated his re- election in 1828. Its politics were changed to Republican on its union with the other paper. The Northern Light, an anti-Masonic paper, was begun at Ogdensburg, July 7, 1831 (20 by 26 inches), by W. B. Rogers, and in October, 1831, was assumed by A. Tyler and A. B. James, who published it about a year, when the latter became its editor. On the 10th of April, 1834, its name was changed to The Times, and at the end of the fourth volume it was enlarged to six columns, and its title changed to the Ogdensburg Times. In July, 1837, Dr. Tyler again became associated with Mr. James, and the name was again changed to the Times and Advertiser. In July, 1838, Dr. Albert Tyler became its sole publisher, and con- tinued until March, 1844, when it was transferred to Foote & Seeley, and it became the Frontier Sentinel. It has continued till the present time under the following names : The Frontier Sentinel,\ie.gwa April 2, 1844, by Foote & Seeley (six columns folio), at one dollar per annum. Mr. Stephen B. Seeley, of the above firm, died Aug. 17, 1844, and the paper was thenceforth continued by Henry G. Foote. On the 8th of June, 1847, the name was changed to the Ogdensburg Sentinel, under which it continued to the 1st of Oct., 1858, when it was discontinued. The subscrip- tion list was transferred to the liepidilican, and the press and most of the type eventually went into the Advance office. In 1847, when its name was changed, it was enlarged to eight columns. On the 27th of Nov., 1847, this paper was transferred to Stillman Foote, by whom it was continued, as before stated, until October, 1858. It was printed, subse- quent to 1847, on an Adams power press. The Laify Sentinel was the first attempt to establish a daily paper in St. Lawrence County. It was started April 14, 1848, by Stillman Foote, at one cent per number, and continued until September 14 of the same year. Its pages were nearly square, and three columns in width. It was made up from the matter prepared for the weekly sheet, with a few advertisements. The St. Lawrence Bvdget, a very small advertising sheet, in the interests of the St. Lawrence Insurance Company, was issued from the press of the Sentinel, semi-monthly, for about two years, in 1850-51. The Meteorological Register was the title of a monthly quarto commenced January 1, 1839, by J. H. Coffin, then principal of the academy, and now of Fayette college, Easton, Pennsylvania. It was devoted to scientific in- quiries, and continued but four numbers. It was issued by one of the printing-offices in the village. This highly meritorious publication is believed not to have received the patronage which rendered its continuance practicable, although conducted with an ability very creditable to its editor. The Ogdensburg Forum was commenced April 24, 1848, by A. Tyler, to support the Whig party and the interests of General Taylor. It was a. small-sized folio, in small HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 117 type, and at first issued tri-weekly and weekly, at $1.50 and 50 cents per annum. When first started it was issued in the quarto form, with four pages to the sheet, but at the end of six months the tri-weekly was discontinued, and after the first year the folio form was adopted. It was dis- continued in February, 1851. The ofiice from which this paper was issued had been supplied with new furniture complete, and was at first designed for a job oflSce only, and it was the first attempt to establish an ofiice of this kind in St. Lawrence County. After the paper was stopped it continued to do job work until 1852, when it was sold and removed to Gouverneur. The first attempt to establish a daily paper in St. Law- rence County of a character comparable with the daily press of the cities was made in March, 1852, by William N. Oswell, a former editor of the St. Lawrence Republican, assisted by Mr. Fayette Robinson in the editorial depart- ment. It was entitled the Daily Morning News, pro- fessed neutrality in politics, and was conducted with an ability and enterprise which entitled it to a liberal support. The presses, type, and furniture of this ofiice were new. In September, 1852, was commenced the issue, from the press of the Daily News, a large sheet, neutral in politics, and devoted to literary and general intelligence, by the name of the Weekly News, by William N. Oswell. The latter paper soon after was temporarily suspended, but again issued in a smaller sheet, and continued as a daily paper for a short time, and discontinued. The Ogdenshurg Daily Times, a second daily paper, was begun October 18, 1852, by William Yeaton and Warren Dow, and was printed at the Republican office. It proposed to act independent in politics, and the first number was a small folio, five columns to the page, and appeared to be edited with ability, but the publication was arrested by a disastrous fire after one or two issues. The St. Lawrence Republican was commenced in Pots- dam in the fall of 1826, or early in the following year, by William H. Lyman, on a super-royal press. It was after- wards published, in company with Jonathan Wallace, as a Republican paper, in opposition to the St. Lawrence Gazette, and was the first Democratic paper in the county. It was 20 by 29 inches, weekly, and distributed by post. In the summer of 1827 it went into the hands of Mr. Wallace, and in the winter of 1828 Lyman became the proprietor. In 1827 it was removed to Canton, and printed awhile as the Canton Advertiser and St. Lawrence Republican. In 1830, Preston King purchased it and took it to Ogdens- hurg. On the first day of January, 1830, he issued num- ber one of volume one of the St. Lawrence Republican, and continued its publication till January, 1833, when Samuel Hoard purchased it. Up to this time it was printed on a Ramage press, bought for f40 in New York city in 1826. This press had a stone bed, which, having broken, was re- placed with a wooden plank. In May, 1833, Mr. Hoard brought from Fort Covington, Franklin county, an iron Smith press, and enlarged the paper to 21 J by 32 inches. In 1834 he took into partnership F. D. Flanders, of Malone. In December, 1834, Matthew M. and John M. Tillotson became the proprietors. They published it two years, when the former withdrew, and it was continued by J. M. Tillotson till the fall of 1841. In April, 1839, the establishment was consumed by fire, but early in the sum- mer its publication was resumed, and the paper enlarged to 23J by 36 inches, and with seven columns to the page, and printed on a Washington press manufactured by Hoe & Co., New York. In the fall of 1841, Franklin B. Hitchcock and Henry M. Smith purchased the office, and continued the publication of the paper .until July 16, 1848, when Hitchcock sold his interest to William N. Oswell, and went gold-seeking to California. Smith & Oswell published the paper until December 3, 1851, when Hitchcock returned and re-purchased his interest. Smith & Hitchcock con- ducted the business till March 17, 1852. Mr. Smith's health then failing, he sold his share to M. W. Tillotson, a former proprietor. July 10, 1849, the paper was enlarged to double-medium. Hitchcock &■ Tillotson continued the pubUcation till May 22, 1855, when John A. Haddock purchased one-third of the establishment. On the first of April, 1856, Mr. Haddock sold his third to I. G. Stil- well. On November 30, 1858, H. R. James and James W. Hopkins purchased the whole establishment, and in December, 1860, Mr. James became the sole proprietor. In 1856, Henry R. James, James W. Hopkins, and Charles R. Foster consolidated two amateur boys' printing establishments, and started a daily paper under the title of The Boys' Journal. A short time later they purchased a Guernsey press and started the Weekly Journal. In the summer of 1857 Foster sold his interest. James & Hop- kins continued the publication of both papers till they purchased the St. Lawrence Republican. The weekly was merged in the St. Lawrence Republican, and the " Boys' " dropped and " Daily" substituted in the title of the daily paper. This was the first successful daily newspaper ven- ture in Ogdensburg and the county. For fourteen years Mr. James continued the publication of both daily and weekly papers under their present titles, to wit, The Og- densburg Journal, daily, and St. Lawrence Republican and Journal, weekly. On the first of January, 1874, S. P. Remington and S. H. Palmer each purchased a one-third interest in the estab- ^ lishment. It has since been conducted by Messrs. James, Remington & Palmer. From the time the Republican came under the control of Mr. King till 1855 it was the organ of the Democratic party in St. Lawrence County. Upon the organization of the Republican party, in 1855, it espoused the Republican cause, and has since been a de- fender and exponent of that political faith. The St. Law^ rence Republican has twice been burned down, but has each time arisen from its ashes enlarged and improved, and with new vigor. One of these fires, as before stated, occurred in April, 1839, and the other in October, 1852. The appointments of the office have increased with the demands of the public, and its increase of subscribers has kept up with the increase of population in the county. The old Ramage press has given place to one Taylor cylin- der, one Hoe cylinder, one Adams book press, one Camp- bell cylinder, one Degner jobber, one Ruggles card press, and one Washington hand press, while the subscription list has risen from a few hundred to exactly 4512 copies. On Wednesday, the 14th day of November, 1877, it entered 118 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. upon its 48th volume. It has names on its subscription books which were placed there upon the issue of the first number in 1 830. The Ogdensburg Advance and St. Latorence Weekly Democrat was 'started in Ogdensburg, in March, 1861, by James W. Hopkins. It was called the Advance, and there were a daily and a weekly. In December, 1862, it passed into the hands of the Democracy, at which time Mr. O'Brien, of the St. Lawrence Democrat, published at Canton, formed a partnership with Amos S. Partridge, when the Advance and Democrat were united and pub- lished by O'Brien & Partridge. The name of the daily was continued, but that of the weekly was changed into the St. Lawrence Weekly Democrat. May 31, 1863, Mr. O'Brien retired and was succeeded by E. M. Holbrook, and the paper was published by Holbrook & Partridge until October 24, 1864, when it passed under the control of Ranson Skeels, who discontinued the daily and reduced the size of the weekly. In April, 1867, the office was pur- chased by Charles J. Hynes, who soon after refurnished it, put in new presses and type, enlarged the paper, and in- creased its circulation. Mr. Hynes owned the paper till May 23, 1877, when it was purchased by Messrs. D. T. Elmer & G. F. Darrow, the present proprietors. The form of the publication has been changed to an eight-page paper, and is one of the most complete county papers in the State. In politics it is unfalteringly Democratic, and in spite of the discouragements of strong adverse political sentiments in the section, it has grown to be a power in northern New York. It is the only Democratic paper published in the county, and has an extensive circulation. POTSDAM. Tlie Potsdam Gazette was begun January 13, 1816 (neutral in politics), by Frederick Powell, 18 by 22 inches, from a screw press made by J. Ouram, in Philadelphia, and bought in New York for 8150. It was discontinued in April, 1823. It was issued weekly, and contained four columns to the page. Zena Clark was connected with it a few months. In January, 1824, Mr. Powell commenced issuing from the same press a neutral paper, 20 by 24 inches, four columns folio, entitled the Potsdam American, which was afterwards published by Powell & Redington, and discontinued in April, 1829. In May, 1829, Elias Williams issued from this press, and of the same size as the last, an anti-Masonic weekly, entitled The Herald, but which continued only till August of the same year. In April, 1830, William Hughes printed on the same press an anti-Masonic weekly, called the Patriot. It was 20 by 26 inches, five columns to the page, and was stopped early in 1831, when the press was removed to Ogdensburg by W. B. Rogers, and used in publishing the Northern Light. This was afterwards sold to Judge Buell, of Brookville, for $25, and used for job work, and its place supplied in 1834 by an iron No. 3 Smith press. On the 11th of April, 1844, Mr. Boynton commenced issuing The Enquirer and Tariff Advocate, a campaicn paper devoted to the Whig party, and continued only till the November following. It was a small folio, terms fifty cents, and issued from the same press as the Cabinet. In consequence of this the Cabinet became unpopular with the Democratic party, and it was removed at the end of the second year to Potsdam, and continued weekly, on the same plan as before, one year, when it was changed to folio. The literary matter of this folio was issued on a semi-monthly octavo, in covers, double columns, with title and index, one year, under the name of The Repository, which was commenced July 20, 1846. At the end of the fourth vol- ume the Cabinet was sold to William L. Knowles, and thenceforth issued under the name of The St. Lawrence Mercury. Mr. Knowles continued its publication two years, when he sold to William H. Wallace, who continued to publish it about two years longer under the same name, when he sold, in June, 1851, the establishment to H. C. Pay, who changed the name to The St. Lawrence Journal, and continued its issue till July, 1852, when it was united with The Potsdam Courier. It professed to be neutral in politics. The Potsdam Courier was commenced by Vernon Har- rington, in fall of 1851, and continued till July, 1852, when it was combined with the Journal. It was issued from the same press which had been previously used at Grouverneur. It was neutral in politics. The Potsdam Courier and Journal, formed in July, 1852, by the union of the Courier and Journal, and published by Harrington & Fay, was the only paper published in Potsdam in 1852. It professed to be neutral in politics. Terms, one dollar per year. In 1853, H. C. Fay was the sole publisher. In 1858, or thereabouts, the Northern Freeman was be- gun by Doty & Greenleaf in Canton ; afterwards Greenleaf was succeeded by Baker and the paper removed to Potsdam, where it was published by 0. D. Baker. In 1861 the two papers then published in Potsdam united, under the joint name of the Courier and Freeman, and were published by Fay, Baker & Co. In 1862, Baker & Pay succeeded, and they in turn gave way, in 1865, to Elliott & Fay. Since 1873 the paper has been published by Fay & Sweet to the present time. The Courier and Freeman is 28 by 43 inches, 36 columns folio, Republican in politics, and is edited ably and spicily. Its weekly circulation is about 26C0 copies. The office is equipped with four steam-power presses and material for a first-class job-office. It is the only paper in the third assembly district, and is well sus- tained. The Philomathean, a literary magazine, conducted by the Philomathean Society of the St. Lawrence academy, was started in the spring of 1849, and continued several numbers. It was made of selected productions of the members of the society. It was proposed to be issued at the end of each academic term, or three numbers in a year, at a subscription price of 37 J cents. CANTON. In 1827, while Mr. Wallace was publishing the St. Lawrence Republican, he issued a semi-monthly folio, 13 by 20 inches, called the Day Star. It was a Universalist paper, and continued six months, when it was united with the Gospel Advocate, of Utica. While this paper was being published the press was removed to Canton. In July, 1832, C. C. Bill started a Whig paper in Can- HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 119 ton, called the Northern Telegraph, and after printing it a time sold liis interest to Orlando Squires, -who commenced publishing a Democratic paper on the same press, which was called the Canton Democrat, who continued it a short time. A paper called the Luminary of the North was published here in July, 1834. The St. Lawrence Demo- crat, a Whig paper, owned by several individuals, and published by Edgar A. Barber, was commenced in Septem- ber, 1840, and its publication finally ceased in April, 1842. It was printed on a No. 3 Washington press. The North- ern Cabinet and Literary Repository, a neutral and literary paper, was begun at Canton Jan. 2, 1843, by Charles Boynton, in the quarto form, semi-monthly, at $1 per annum. The press and materials were the same as those which had been used in Mr. Barber's paper. Mr. Wilson commenced May 28, 1850, publishing at Columbia village (Madrid), with the press and type formerly used by the Theresa Chronicle, The Trne Democrat. It was a small-sized folio, and professed to support the Democratic party. At the end of ten months it was purchased by 0. L. Ray, and its politics changed from Democratic to neutral. At the end of a year its name was changed to the Columbian Independent, and continued a year longer under the same title, when it was removed to Canton, and the name again changed to the Canton Independent, under which -it was published for a time, and discontinued. The Canton Weekly Citizen was the title of a very small folio, attempted to be published at Canton, commenced with the 1st of January, 1852, by J. S. Sargent. It continued four weeks. The St. Lawrence Plaindealer was started as a Repub- lican campaign paper, in July, 1856, by William B. Good- rich, then a lawyer of Canton village, and S. P. Reming- ton, as the junior partner, placing against Mr. Goodrich's capital his practical knowledge of the business of printing. The material of an establishment that had some time be- fore failed, known as the St. Lawrence Democrat, was used, and the paper was printed on an exceedingly ancient hand-press. As the campaign demonstrated that the busi- ness could be made a reasonably paying one, an entire new outfit was purchased, and the paper was issued as a pei;,^ manent enterprise of Canton. At the end of a few months, Colonel Goodrich disposed of his interest in the concern to the junior of the firm, and the paper was con- tinued from that time till 1862, under the editorship and management of S. P. Remington. Having entered the military service, Mr. Remington at that time sold the office to J. Van Slyke, who owned and controlled it until repur- chased by the former proprietor in 1867, by whom it was conducted until Aug. 1, 1873, when it was purchased by Gilbert B. Manley, the present proprietor. Colonel Rem- ington soon after became connected with the Ogdensburg Journal and Republican, on whose editorial pages the traces of his vigorous pen are daily manifest. The material of the Plaindealer office was twice con- sumed by fire, — once on the 14th of Aug., 1869, and again on the 4th of Aug,, 1870. A clean sweep was made by each of these fires, nothing having survived them except one small job-press, so that all the office material was of necessity purchased new aftei' the fire of 1870. With com- mendable enterprise, after each of these fires, Colonel Rem- ington continued to issue the paper regularly, on small sheets at first, but in a few weeks restored to its usual size and fully on its feet again. The history of the Plaindealer is as full of stirring events as could have well occurred to a paper published in a country village. Colonel Goodrich, one of its founders, fell in command of the 60th Regiment early in the Rebel- lion, and now lies buried in Canton village, while Colonel Remington, dropping the pen to wield the sword, took an active part in the stirring events of that time. His record appears in the military history of the county. The Plaindealer, during the changes of proprietorship which have occurred, has always adhered to the Republican party, and without being accused of attaching undue im- portance to what has appeared in its columns, it is believed that its career justifies the claim that it has exercised a political influence which time has shown to have been good. The Plaindealer is a folio sheet of thirty-two columns, 26 by 40 inches in size. Its office contains a newspaper- and a job-press, a " Eureka" steam-engine, and is well fur- nished with type and material. It has long maintained the reputation of turning out a superior quality and style of job-work. George T. Manley is foreman of the office. The Commercial Advertiser, a weekly Democratic news- paper, an eight-column folio, 40 by 26 inches, is published by Hall & Tracey, at Canton. It was first published by the present proprietors at Norwood, St. Lawrence Co., Nov. 3, 1873, and removed to Canton in May, 1877, the first number being issued in the latter place on the- 31st of that month. The Advertiser office is equipped with two steam-presses and other machinery and material for a complete newspaper and job-office. GOUVERNEUR. The first successful attempt to start a newspaper in Gouv- erneur was made, in 1849, by W. M. Goodrich and M. F. Wilson, who procured a press from Carthage, and, on the 19th of April, in that year, issued the first number of a small folio weekly sheet, which they named The Northern/ New Yorker. It was not a pecuniary success, and at the end of its first volume it passed into the hands of Nelson J. Bruett & Co., who slightly enlarged it ; but at the end of about three months it was reduced to less than its origi- nal size, and was finally discontinued in 1851. The St. Lawrence Advertiser, a very small sheet, was continued about five weeks longer, and the office was then moved to Potsdam. A paper called The Laborer was established here, in 1852, by Martin Mitchell, of Fowler, the first number having been issued July 20. It was afterwards enlarged, and named The Free Press, and a Mr. Mason became con- cerned in its management. He was succeeded by H. Mitchell, and the name of the sheet was changed to Tlie St. Lawrence Free Press. Its affairs became involved, and about 1854, Mr. J. J. Eames, of Hammond, assumed con- trol, and attempted to place it on a sound basis. In this he was assisted by small subscriptions among the citizens to secure the continuance of the paper ; but all was to no pur- 120 HISTOEY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. pose. Mr. Eames lost considerably in the enterprise, and the publication of the paper was abandoned. Gouverneur now had no newspaper until July, 1864, when Mr. F. E. Merritt, editor and proprietor of The Sandy Creeh Times, at Sandy Creek, Oswego Co., removed that paper to this place, and commenced its issue here as The Gouverneur Times. Its publication in Gouverneur has now continued for more than thirteen years under the same editor and proprietor. The New Yorh Recorder was commenced at Gouverneur, in 1866, by Miss M. M. Smith, editress, and existed until 1873. The Gouverneur Herald, a twenty-eight-column weekly, was established April 10, 1873. During the first few weeks of its existence it experienced several changes of ownership, but was finally purchased by H. G. Reynolds, who continued sole manager and proprietor until Nov. 12, 1874, when Frank L. Cox purchased a half-interest, and the firm became Reynolds & Cox, as at present. The paper has since been increased from twenty-eight to thirty-six columns folio. In politics it is Republican. This and the l\mes are the two papers of the village at the present time. HEBMON. The Hermon Union was a neat twenty-eight-column weekly newspaper, established Oct. 27, 1874, by T. A. Farnsworth, proprietor, and D. C. Carter, editor. Its suc- cess seemed assured, when the office was destroyed in the extensive fire that visited the village April 27, 1875, and no publication of the Union followed that disaster, save one issue detailing the conflagration, which issue was printed at Canton. The Hermon Advertiser, an 8 by 12 inch sheet, issuing semi-monthly, was founded by Charles Pliny Earle, a youno- man who learned " the art preservative" in the office of the Union. It is devoted to the business interests of Hermon and its circulation is gratuitous. It contains a summary of local news, and 500 copies are distributed every other week. A good job-office is connected with the establishment. WADDINGTON. The Waddington Pioneer is a late venture in the field of journalism. It is an eight-column folio weekly, and was begun in the spring of 1877. CHAPTER IX. EDUCATIONAL AND EELIGIOUS. Early Schools—" Literature Lotteries" — Commissioners, Trustees and Superintendents— Stnte Normal and Training School— County Teachers' Association — St. Lawrence University Etc. The earliest schools in the State of New York were of a private nature, and small academies were probably in existence previous to the Revolution. In his first messao-e to the State legislature after the adoption of the constitution of 1787, Gov. George Clinton uses the following languao-e : " Neglect of the education of youth is one of the evils consequent upon war. Perhaps there is scarce anything more worthy your attention than the revival and encourage- ment of seminaries of learning ; and nothing by which we can more satisfactorily express our gratitude to the Supreme Being for his past. favors, since purity and virtue are gen- erally the offspring of an enlightened understanding." During that session an act was passed incorporating the regents of the university, who reported to the legislature the numerous advantages which would accrue to the citi- zens generally from the establishment of common schools. In 1789 an act was passed requiring the surveyor-general to set apart two lots in each township for gospel and school purposes. At the session of 1795, Gov. Clinton recom- mended, in the following language, the organization of a common school system : " While it is evident that the general establishment and liberal endowment of academies are highly to be commended, and are attended with the most beneficent consequences, yet it cannot be denied that they are principally confined to the children of the opulent, and that a great portion of the com- munity is excluded from their immediate advantage. The establishment of common schools throughout the State is happily calculated to remedy this inconvenience, and will, therefore, engage your early and decided consideration." An act was passed appropriating f 50,000 annually for five years for encouraging and maintaining schools to be instructed in the common Elnglish branches. The amount was apportioned among the several counties, and the supervisors were required to raise by tax on each town a sum equal to half that received from the State. Provision was made for the supervision of the schools, and the apportionment of the moneys among the several dis- tricts and for making annual reports. This was the origin of the present school system. The appropriation made in 1795 expired in 1800. In 1801 an act was passed directing the sum of $100,000 to be raised by means of four successive lotteries, |12,500 to be paid to the regents of the university, and the re- maining 187,500 to be paid into the treasury for the use of common schools, under direction of the State legisla- ture. These " literature lotteries" were in existence until after the constitution of 1821 was adopted, which prohib- ited them, and the comptroller was directed to invest the proceeds remaining in real estate. An act was passed in April, 1805, providing that the net proceeds of 500,000 acres of the vacant and unappropriated lands owned by the State should be appropriated as a per- manent fund for the support of common schools, the avails to be safely invested until the interest should amount to $50,000, when an annual distribution of that amount should be made among the schools of the State. In 1811 an act was passed empowering the governor (Tompkins) to appoint a committee of five to report a system for the establishment of common schools. The committee reported in February, 1812, and submitted the draft of a bill which contained, with one exception, the main features of the school system as it existed up to 1840. As originally passed, this act authorized the electors of each town to determine whether they would accept their share of the public money and raise an amount equal thereto on HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 121 their taxable property. The act was afterwards amended, making it obligatory. The outlines of the plan submitted by the commissioners were, briefly, as follows : The several towns of the State to be divided into school districts by three commissioners, elected by the citizens. Three trustees to be elected in each district, who should superintend the schools; the interest on the school fund to be divided among the differ- ent counties, according to population, the proportion for each town to be divided according to the number of chil- dren between the ages of five and fifteen years. Each town to raise by tax as much money as should be received from this fund. The gross amount of money raised by the State and by the towns to be appropriated to the payment of teachers exclusively. The whole system to be placed under the superintendence of an ofiicer appointed by the council of appointment. Gideon Hawley, of Albany, was the first superintendent appointed by the governor and council, Jan. 14, 1813.* The apportionment of moneys received from the State in 1814 was as follows : Louisville, $4.50; Madrid, $20.46; Massena, $9.46; Stockholm, $4.43 ; Potsdam, $13.38 ; Gouverneur, $3.21 ; Oswegatchie, $17.94; Lisbon, $11.82. This was an ex- cess of the State appropriation of 1813 paid to the towns of De Kalb and Hopkinton, and refunded by them. In 1827 the annual sum distributed to the several dis- tricts of the Stat€ was increased to $100,000. During the administration of Secretary John A. Dix, the foundation of the school district library was laid. In 1838 the legislature passed an act adding $160,000 from the revenue of the U. S. deposit fund to the amount annually apportioned to the schools, making in all $275,000, one-fifth to be appropriated annually for the purchase of books, the remainder to be applied in the payment of teachers. An equal amount was required to be levied on the taxable property for the same purpose. In Feb., 1839, John C. Spencer began his administration as secretary of state, during which an act was passed creating the office of county superintendent of schools. Samuel Young was the next secretary of state, com- mencing Feb. 7, 1842. In 1843 the offices of town com- missioner and inspector were abolished, and a town super- intendent substituted. Teachers' institutes were first held in this year. The normal school at Albany was established in 1844. Nathaniel S. Benton succeeded Samuel Young in 1845. At a special session of the legislature, in Nov., 1847, an act was passed abolishing the office of county superintendent. Jan. 1, 1848, Chi-istopher Morgan became secretary of state, during whose administration a deputy superintendent was appointed, Alex. G. Johnson being the first. The act establishing " free schools" was passed on the 26th of March, 1849. A controversy followed, and in 1851 the free school law was repealed, and a State tax of $800,000 levied. In 1850, S. S. Randall was appointed deputy superin- * Welcome Esleeck Buooeeded Mr. Hawley, but soon after the secretary of state was made ex. officio superintendent of schools. John Van Ness succeeded Mr. Esleeck. 16 tendent. In 1852, Henry W. Johnson was appointed deputy State superintendent, and was succeeded, in 1854, by S. S. Randall. In the last-named year the legislature created a department of public instruction, with Victor M. Rice as superintendent. The incumbents of the office since have been Henry H. Van Dyck, Emerson W. Keys, Vic- tor M. Rice, Abram B. Weaver, and Neil Gilmour. The general school law was revised in 1864. The legis- lature of 1856 substituted for the $800,000 State tax a levy of three-fourths of a mill upon every dollar of the value of real and personal property. By the act of 1867 a tax of one and one-fourth mills was directed to be raised. The rate bill was repealed, and the schools became finally free in 1867. The number of school districts in the towns of the State was reported in 1875 as 11,291. Union graded schools have been adopted in many of the larger towns. EARLY SCHOOLS. The earliest schools in St. Lawrence County were estab- lished during the first decade of the present century, the earliest in Ogdensburg being opened in 1809. Academies were opened at an early date, the first being at Potsdam, called the "St. Lawrence academy,'' in 1812. Another was opened at Gouverneur in 1826, called the " Gouverneur Wesleyan seminary," and a third at Canton, under the name of " Canton academy," in 1831. The "Ogdensburg academy" was opened in 1834. A history of these insti- tutions is given in connection with that of their respective towns. According to the State superintendent's report for 1875 the number of school districts in the county, including the city of Ogdensburg, was 508. The number of school build- ings was 495, of which 9 were in the city. Of these, 401 were frame buildings, 57 brick, and 21 stone, with a total valuation of $300,143. The total number of children of school age was 30,563, and the total attendance 21,440, of which 728 were from other districts. The total amount of money received from all sources was $155,009.13. There weie in addition 56 private schools, with 2574 pupils in attend- ance. The number of licensed teachers employed for 28 weeks or more was 544, and the total number licensed in the county for the year was 1005, of which 194 were males and 811 females. The number of volumes in libraries was 21,565, valued at $10,853. The school commissioners are Erwin S. Barnes, of Gouverneur, Albert L. Cole, of Her- mon, and Lucius L. Goodale, of Potsdam. The State tax for 1876 was $25,393, and the amount received from the State, for the same date, was $78,381. THE STATE NORMAL AND TRAINING SCHOOL. By an act of the legislature passed April 7, 1866, the governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, comptroller, treasurer, attorney-general, and superintendent of public instruction were constituted a commission to select locations for four new normal schools, and in making such selections were directed to consider the offers of land, buildings, or money, which counties, towns, villages, and existing insti- tutions of learning were thereby authorized to make. It being understood that one of the new schools was to 122 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. be in northern New York, tlie long existence and wide re- nown of St. Lawrence academy at once drew attention to Potsdam as the proper place for the intended institution, and earnest efforts were made to secure its location there. The trustees of the academy unanimously voted to surren- der their land and buildings to the normal school ; the su- pervisors of St. Lawrence County made an appropriation of $25,000 to aid in the erection of new buildings. The village of Potsdam added $10,000 more, and the town of Potsdam, at a special meeting, held Dec. 1, 1866, voted to increase the amount by $15,000 more. This made a total of $50,000, but the State commission decided that they would not accept less than $70,000, besides the land and other property of St. Lawrence acad- emy, as a condition of locating the new institution at Pots- 'dam. This amount was estimated to be sufficient to build the required edifice for the school, besides purchasing the ground and building occupied by the Presbyterian church of Potsdam, which was between the two lots and buildings owned by the academy. On Dec. 23, 1866, another special meeting of the voters of the town of Potsdam was held, and, after an earnest debate, it was decided by a large ma- jority that the town should give $20,000 more for the nor- mal scbool, thus making up the $70,000 required. In January, 1867, the legislature passed an act accepting the various offers above mentioned, directing the levying of taxes in accordance with them, and appointing a commission to erect the proposed building. It consisted of Erasmus D. Brooks, President, T. Streatfield Clarkson (2d), Treasurer, Hiram H. Peek, Henry Watkins, and Charles Cox. There was still another difficulty, however. The Presbyterian church asked $10,000 for its land and building, and the su- perintendent of public instruction, who had control over this item, would not allow but $8000 out of the funds already contributed. But the village of Potsdam added $2000 to its former gift, and thus this difficulty was obviated. In August, 1867, the first " local board" was appointed by the superintendent of public instruction ; such board being designated by law as the governing power of the in- stitution, under the superintendent. The first board con- sisted of Henry Watkins, President ; Charles 0. Tappan, Secretary ; Noble S. Elderkin, Aaron N. Deering, Jesse Reynolds, and A. X. Parker, of Potsdam; Ebenezer Fisher, of Canton; Roswell Pettibone, of Ogdensburg; and John I. Gilbert, of Malone. In November, 1867, the commis- sion to erect the buildings let the contract therefor to Joseph Greene. In the spring of 1868, the work commenced. The old academy buildings were torn down and removed, the foun- dation walls of the new edifice were constructed, and on the 14th day of Juno, 1868, the corner-stone of the " State Normal and Training school" was laid with imposing cere- monies by the jMasonic fraternity ; a specially constituted grand lodge and eleven subordinate lodges being present, besides an immense assemblage of other citizens, ean-er to testify their good-will towards the new institution. In the course of less than a year the buildino- was erected. The body of the old Presbyterian church (brick) was incorporated into it, but all the rest was of Potsdam sandstone, laid up in the style known as rough ashlar. In- cluding the Mansard roof, it comprised three stories besides the basement. It presented a total front of two hundred and twenty-four feet toward the eastern side of the public square of Potsdam, but the depth was jaaade irregular to facilitate the lighting and ventilation. It was fitted up to accommodate 250 normal students, 180 academic, 180 inter- mediate, and 250 primary. In the winter of 1868-69, John H. French was nomi- nated by the local board, and confirmed by the superintend- dent of public instruction, as principal of the school and president of the faculty, but having resigned before the school opened, Malcolm MacVicar, Ph.D., LL.D., was appointed in his place. The building was completed April 25, 1869, and the school was opened on the 27th of the same month. It had been understood, when St. Lawrence academy surrendered its property, and when the people of the locality poured forth their means so liberally in behalf of the new school, that the latter should affiard free instruction to other than strictly normal students. Accordingly, it was divided into four departments : normal, academic, intermediate, and primary. When it opened it had but twenty-five normal students, together with thirty-eight in the academic depart- ment, ninety-seven in the intermediate, and ninety-nine in the primary. By the fall term the number of normal stu- dents had increased to a hundred and thirty-four. The State has appropriated $18,000 a year for the sup- port of the school ever since it was opened. Besides this it expended $32,000 in 1870 to put ten furnaces into the building, and make other improvements. In 1871 $3000 extra were appropriated for improving the grounds, fencing, etc. In 1876 an appropriation of $17,000 was granted by the legislature, and in the course of that year a still more important improvement was made. The old brick church, which had been made to do duty as the centre of the normal school building, was removed, and the whole edifice was harmonized and completed by a central structure of Potsdam sandstone, forty-five feet front by a hundred and thirty feet deep. This, it will be under- stood, leaves the total frontage two hundred and twenty-four feet as before. The whole is surmounted by a cupola, reach- ing a hundred feet from the ground. This lofty, extensive, and strongly-built edifice, of a rich, dark-brown color, forms a most appropriate home for the arts and sciences, and is certainly a great advance on the little frame " academy" built, a few rods distant, by Benja- min Raymond, sixty-seven years ago. Yet that action of Mr. Raymond is doubtless the principal reason why this baronial-looking structure now overlooks the busy village of Potsdam and the valley of the rushing Raquette. The normal and academic departments are now com- bined under the general head of the normal department, there being a hundred and seventy-four normal and forty- eight academic students. In the intermediate department there are a hundred pupils, and in the primary department eighty. The faculty consists of Malcolm MacVicar, Ph.D., LL.D., principal and teacher of intellectual and moral philosophy and school economy; Henry L. Harter, A.M., vice-principal and teacher of ancient languages ; Amelia Morey, precep- HISTOEY OP ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YOKK. 123 tress and teacher of methods in grammar ; Warren Mann, A.M., teacher of natural sciences ; Eugene S. Loomis, Frank E. Hathorne, Charles C. Townsend, A.B., Mary L. Wood, Amelia A. McPadden, Mary M. Kyle, and Carrie M. Grifford, teachers of other branches ; Helen D. Austin, principal of the intermediate department ; and Frances A. Parmeter, principal of the primary department. The local board now consists (December, 1877) of Henry Watkins, A.M., president; Hon. Charles 0. Tappan, sec- retary; Jesse Reynolds, M.D., treasurer; Eben Fisher, D.D., Rpswell Pettibone, A.M., Hon. John I. Gilbert, A.M., Hon. A. X. Parker, and Gen. E. A. Merritt ; Wil- liam Wallace, Esq., who had been a member since a short time after the organization of the board, having died within the past summer. To gain admission to the normal department, applicants must be at least sixteen years of age, of good health, good moral character, and average abilities. They are appointed to the school by the State superintendent of , public instruc- tion, on the recommendation of school commissioners and city superintendents. They must pass a fair examination in reading, spelling, geography, and arithmetic as far as the square root, and be able to analyze and parse simple sen- tences. All pupils must also, on entering, sign a declaration that their purpose in attending is to prepare themselves to teach, and that it is their present intention to teach in the public schools of this State for a reasonable length of time. In the judgment of the State superintendent, a " reasonable length of time" is a period as long as that during which the student has attended the normal school. There are three courses in the normal department : the elementary English, the advanced English, and the class- ical. The elementary English course occupies two years ; the first is devoted to arithmetic, grammar, and other studies of the same grade ; the second, or strictly normal, year, to the history and philosophy of education, school economy, school law, methods of giving object-lessons, teaching in school of practice, and other exercises intended to fit the students for their profession as teachers. The intermediate and primary departments furnish the schools of practice, where the normal students acquire the art of teaching by giving actual instruction under the eye of their own supervisors. To enter the advanced Engli.sh course, students must pass a satisfactory examination in all the studies of the first year in the elementary English course. The first year in the advanced is devoted to algebra, geometry, English lit- erature, and corresponding studies, while the second, or normal, year is nearly the same as in the elementary Eng- lish course. The classical course embraces three years. The first is employed on the higher English studies and Latin; the second, on Latin, Greek, and a few other branches ; the third, on Latin, Greek, professional studies, and teaching in the school of practice. Students who satisfactorily complete either of these courses receive diplomas, which serve as licenses to teach in all the public schools of the State. Notwithstanding the division of the courses into years, students are allowed to advance as slowly as their health, attainments, or other circumstances may require, or as rapidly as those circum- stances will permit. There are three flourishing literary societies connected with the school, — the " Roger Baconian" and the " Francis Baconian" being sustained by the young men, and the " Alpha" by the young women. The school year is divided into two terms of twenty weeks each, — ^the fall term beginning on the first Wednesday in September, and the spring term on the second Wednesday in February. The intermediate and primary departments open two weeks later in the fall, and one week later in the spring, than the normal. The State places students from a distance on an equality with those in the vicinity, so far as practicable, by refunding the fare necessarily paid on public conveyances, in coming to the school, to those who remain a full term. We have reserved to the last the most important subject connected with the normal school, — the method of instruc- tion. This is the same as that employed in the other nor- mal schools of this State, but is materially different from that in common use in other schools, academies, and col- leges. This method is frequently called " object-teaching," but that name is repudiated by all the normal school teachers, as involving the idea of holding up toy-like "objects" before the pupils. This is considered well enough for small children, but the system must reach a much more advanced stage of development before it is available for young men and women. Mr. Sheldon, principal of the Oswego normal school, calls the system in use the objective mode of teach- ing, while Mr. Mac Vicar, of the Potsdam school, terms it the scientific method. Under either name, the idea is to teach known realities in the most direct manner possible. As the lawyer always objects to " hearsay evidence," so these gentlemen object to hearsay teaching or studying. If a material object is to be described it must if possible be inspected, measured, weighed, tested in every possible manner, by actual observation. If this is not practicable, then the pictured or sculptured representation is to be used. When a complete " concept," or representation of the object, has been formed in the brain, then it is considered proper to read about it, for then the words bring up the concept before the mind, which other- wise they would not do. In mathematics the same rule is applied ; constantly familiarizing the mind with the idea that numbers represent actual objects ; studying actual cubes instead of representa- tions of cubes on the blackboard, and in all things working on the solid basis of reality. In mental and moral philosophy a similar course is to be observed. The pupils are first to study not what Herbert Spencer says, or Dugald Stewart, or Sir William Hamilton, but what they themselves feel. They are to observe closely their own emotions, passions, reasoning powers, and learn all they can in that way of mental and moral phenomena ; then it will be time enough to extend their knowledge by finding out what other people have to say on the subject. It is not our province to pass judgment upon these ideas, but as the normal schools are designed to teach the 121 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. teachers, it is evident that the views promulgated and the methods employed at those institutions are likely to have a marked effect on the whole educational system, and we have therefore deemed it necessary to furnish our readers with a slight sketch of the mode of procedure in the prin- cipal school of St. Lawrence County. The first nominations for normal school in St. Lawrence County were made hy the supervisors in 1846, and were as follows : Rollin Dart, George Ellis, James Forsythe, Sidney R. Smith, and Miss Susan Richardson. THE COUNTY TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION. The St. Lawrence County Teachers' Association was or- ganized in the court-house at Canton, in October, 1858. Mr. W. Spaulding, Esq., the school commissioner of the second assembly district, was the first president. He, and his fellow-commissioners of the county, and James Cruik- shanks, Esq., then of Lisbon (who was engaged in pro- moting the general interests of education in the State), suc- ceeded in awakening sufficient interest among the teachers of the county to induce a respectable number to assemble at that time, form an association, and discuss the details of school- work and the general principles of education. From that time to this, nineteen years, the association has held annual meetings, and some years semi-annual meetings. In July, 1859, the session was held in Ogdensburg, when essays were read and discussed, practical questions intro- duced and answered, methods of education, chiefly drawn from the experience of the teaclier, presented and com- posed, and addresses delivered. On this occasion the closing address, on " The Dignity of the Teacher's Office,'' was given by Prof. J. S. Lee, who had recently come from Woodstock, Vermont, to take charge of the collegiEte de- partment of the St. Lawrence university. The sessions have been held in Pot.sdam, Madrid, Gouverneur, Richville, Heuvelton, Rensselaer Falls, Lawrenceville, Norwood, Og- densburg, and Canton. The people of these places took a commendable interest in the gatherings, attended the meet- ings, generously entertained the teachers in their houses, and thus made it pleasant for them. The meetings usually continued from two to three days. At first the sessions were held in summer and autumn, but it soon became apparent that the teachers could be better accommodated by holding them during the brief recess be- tween Christmas and New Year's. This afforded an oppor- tunity for a large number of teachers to be present. Every session has been well attended, and sometimes a large crowd has assembled. Generally from 200 to 300 teachers have been present, and a goodly number of these taken part in the exercises. A sparsely-attended or a poor meeting has not been held from the first organization. At several of the first sessions, no regular programme was presented before the association met, or only the barest outline of exercises, and few or no speakers were selected. The members came together and discussed subjects presented by any member suggested by the occasion, or drawn up in order by a com- mittee appointed after the association met. This plan, or want of plan rather, did not work well, and a committee was appointed at each session, to draw up and present an order of exercises to be followed at the next session and the speakers selected. This programme was printed and distributed at the commencement of the session. Still, some whose names appeared on this programme failed to perform the parts assigned them. Then more care was taken to select speakers and essayists who would give the assurance that, unforeseen contingencies excepted, they would perform the duty assigned them. The result has been most satis- factory. Only very few have failed to appear whose names were on the programme. This has contributed much to the success of the association. The officers have not been frequently changed. The names of the presidents are : C. C. Church, commissioner of the second district, 1858-61 ; Rev. Dr. J. S. Lee, professor in St. Lawrence university, 1862-68 ; L. L. Goodale, present commissioner of the third district, 1869- 73 ; Barney Whitney, principal of Lawrence academy, 1874-78. The names of the secretaries, so far as they have been ascertained, are L. L. Goodale, E. D. Blakeslee, and H. L. Horter, professor and vice-principal of Potsdam normal school. The present officers are Barney Whitney, president ; J. S. Lee, vice-president ; H. L. Horter, secre- tary ; J. A. Hoig, treasurer. ST. LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY. This institution was founded by, and is under the control of, the Universalist church. It is the only college in the State north of the Central railroad. The original design of the founders was to establish a divinity school. The uni- versity is the result of an amplification of their plans. Prior to 1845 no attempt had been made to put into sys- tematic operation a theological seminary in the Universalist denomination. In September of that year Thomas J. Saw- yer, D.D., then principal of the Liberal Institute at Clinton, opened a theological department in that school, and, entirely unaided by the denomination at large, maintained the same for several years. While thus engaged he continued to urge upon clergy and laity, through the denominational press and from the pulpit, the necessity of a Universllist college and theological school. In his efforts he was ably seconded by the Rev. W. S. Balch. Tuft's college, at Coi^. lege Hill, Mass., was the first and immediate result of the movement thus begun. The need of a divinity school still existed, and at a meet- ing of the Ne,w York State convention of Univer«ili»ts, held at Hudson, in 1852, the " New York Education So- ciety" was formed, and this appears to be substantially the first step towards the institution at Canton. The constitu-- tion of this society declared its object to be " to promote the cause of education in connection with the Universalist denomination, and to aid in the education of young men of good reputation and promise who are desirous of entering the ministry." A board of sixteen trustees was chosen, who organized by electing Rev. T. J. Sawyer president, Rev. E. Francis ti-easurer, and Geoige E. Baker secretary. Solicitors of subscriptions were put into the field. By common consent it was understood that the school should be located in that part of the State which should offer the greatest pecuniary and other inducements. Various locali- ties in central New York were proposed. During the year 1854 subscriptions amounting to upwards of $20,000 were HISTOKY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 125 secured, but no definite steps were taken as to selecting a site. Martin Thatcher, Esq., of the city of New York, but formerly resident at Canton, was the first to propose Canton as the place for the school. In the spring of the year 1855 he broached the proposition to Theodore Caldwell, Levi B. Storrs, and Barzillai Hodskin, three prominent business men of Canton. These gentlemen held their first meeting to consider the question at a hotel in New York city, during the month of April, 1855. At first Messrs. Storrs, Hods- kin, and Caldwell had little faith in the feasibility of the project, and felt that their section of the State would be unable to compete with wealthier and more central localities. Inspired, however, by Mr. Thatcher's energy and hopeful- ness, they returned home and immediately entered upon a thorough canvass of the county. Their eiforts were en- couraged to such an extent that thoy felt warranted in pledging their personal responsibility for the raising the sum of $15,000 for the school. The committee to whom was intrusted the selection of locality for the school met in August, 1855. Messrs. Caldwell, Thatcher, Hodskin, and Storrs placed in the hands of this committee their joint and several bond, conditioned for the payment of the sum of $15,000 towards the purchase of a site and erection of a building, in case the school should be located at Canton. After careful consideration it appeared to the satisfaction of the committee that the ofi'er from Canton was the most advantageous of the several submitted to them, and Jan. 5, 1856, it was decided to locate the school at Canton. Messrs. Thatcher, Storrs, Caldwell, and Hodskin imme- diately organized themselves as a general committee for soliciting subscriptions and putting up a building. Some- thing over $20,000 was subscribed in northern New York, payable according to the terms of the subscription, — not at once, but in four equal annual instalments. Notwithstand- ing their thus limited resources, the committee purchased twenty acres of land, near the village of Canton, and began the erection of a brick building one hundred feet long by fifty wide. The need of a college in northern New York had long been felt. As soon as it was decided to locate the theologi- cal school at Canton, the proposition was made that a col- lege be established in connection with it, or rather that a university be established, of which a college of letters and science and the theological school should be departments. The project was received with much favor by the leading men of the county, not alone of the Universalist, but of other denominations. The late Hons. Preston King, John Leslie Russell, and David C. Judson were outspoken friends of the proposed university, and very earnestly recommended its establishment. The idea thus well received was promptly acted upon, and by an act of the legislature of the State of New York, passed April 3, 1856, "Jacob Harsen, Preston King, John Leslie Russell, Sidney Lawrence, George C. Sherman, Francis Seger, Martin Thatcher, Barzillai Hods- kin, Levi B. Storrs, Theodore Caldwell, James Stirling, F. C. Havemeyer, Caleb Barstow, Thomas Wallace, Josiah Barber, Norman Van Nostrand, George E. Baker, P. S. Bitley, H. W. Barton, A. C. Moore, Thomas J. Sawyer, William S. Balch, John M. Austin, L. C. Brown, George W. Montgomery, and such other persons as are or may be associated with them, and their successors'' were chosen " a body corporate, by the name of the St. Lawrence Univer- sity, for the purpose of establishing, maintaining, and con- ducting a college in the town of Canton, St. Lawrence Co., for the promotion of general education, and to cultivate and advance literature, science, and the arts ; and also to estab- lish and maintain a theological school and department in Canton aforesaid." It was further enacted that the funds of the two departments should be kept separate. The building committee proceeded with their work. The cor- ner-stone of the main building was laid June 18, 1856. The proceeds of the subscriptions made as before stated proved inadequate to the work, and the committee were often at their wits' ends to carry on the work continuously. Levi B. Storrs was the financial agent of the enterprise. Mr. Caldwell worked actively in the field, while Messrs. Thatcher and Hodskin left no stone unturned to assist their colleagues. At hardly any time from the first was the committee able to proceed without pledging their personal responsibility. Especially did Messrs. Storrs and Thatcher raise money in this manner. At one time their individual notes to the amount of several thousand dollars were put into the New York market for funds. These strenuous efforts were successful. The building was ready for occu- pation in April, 1857. Meanwhile the legislature had been petitioned for an appropriation for the new university, and on April 18, 1857, an act was passed giving it the sum of $25,000, on condition that the same sum be raised by its friends in addition to all amounts previously secured. Of this sum, $19,000 were raised by subscription, and Messrs. Caldwell, Hodskin, Storrs, and Thatcher became responsible for $6000, and the appropriation was secured. April 15, 1858, the theological school was formally opened, with Rev. Eben Fisher at its head. The college department was opened in April, 1858, Rev. John S. Lee being inducted into the principalship. The first theological class, consisting of five, was gradu- ated in 1861. This department has in all one hundred graduates, while nearly two hundred besides have followed special courses under its instruction. The Rev. Dr. Fisher is still at its head. Through his energy the school has been made a great power in the Universalist church. Its funds have been largely increased by his efforts. On sev- eral occasions of pressing necessity he has entered the field for funds, and never without large success. Dr. Fisher is a man of great force of character, honest, manly piety, large learning in his special field, and wide experience with men. Under his training, the best in his students is developed. No man in the denomination is more aptly and thoroughly fitted to his work than Dr. Fisher. Rev. Massena Goodrich, M. A., occupied the chair of Biblical Languages and Literature from 1861 to 1863. He was succeeded by Rev. Orello Cone, M.A., who still is the incumbent. Prof. Cone is a gentle- man of remarkable attainment in many fields of learning. His knowledge of the ancient and modern languages enables him to stand abreast with the ablest writers and the best thinkers on questions of biblical and theological interpreta- tion. Since 1869, Dr. John S. Lee has filled the professor- ship of Ecclesiastical History and Biblical Archaeology. 126 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. We shall speak of him further in connection with the Col- lege of Letters and Science. The regular course of the theological department covers three years, and embraces instruction in moral philosophy, logic, ecclesiastical history, homiletics, evidences of Christianity, intellectual philoso- phy, exegesis, natural theology, systematic theology, bibli- cal archaeology, and the Greek and Hebrew languages. There is also a post-graduate course, to be completed in one year. The degree of Bachelor of Divinity is conferred on those completing the post-gi-aduate course. Those com- pleting the three years' course receive diplomas. Applicants for admission to the theological school must bring satisfac- tory testimonials as to their moral and religious character. They must also sustain a satisfactory examination in the English branches. They must be believers in the Holy Scriptures, must accept the Winchester confession of faith, and have a fixed determination to devote their lives to the Christian ministry. Prior to the opening of the collegiate department of the university, there had been very little instruction in the classics in northern New York. Potsdam academy, a fit- ting school for Middlebury college, was the only institution in the section which provided satisfactory training prepara- tory for college. As a consequence, there was very little of the classical spirit in the region in which the new insti- tution was to look for students. Professor Lee found it necessary to organize a preparatory school in connection with the collie, for the purpose of fitting students for the college itself. The fitting school was continued until 1864, and then given up. The first class was graduated from the college in 1865. Since then the classes have followed each other in regular succession, gradually, on the whole, in- creasing in the number of their members. For the best interests of the new college Professor Lee worked ably, tirelessly, and successfiiUy. His zeal never flagged, even under great discouragements. He gave the best years of his early prime to the work, until, worn out by care and drudg- ery, he was obliged to seek rest in travel. After his return from a tour of the Old World, in 1869, he was called to and accepted the chair he now holds in the theological department. Rev. Richmond Fisk, Jr., D.D., succeeded him as the head of the college, with the title of president. Dr. Fisk instituted a policy which brought the college more prominently and favorably before the public, and increased its usefulness in many directions. Under his administra- tion, there grew up more of the college spirit than had been before felt. Through his efibrts, and by the aid of an efficient corps of professors, the courses of instruction be- came more definitely fixed ; methods were systematized, lectureships instituted, prize funds established, and, in general, the best characteristics of college training began to be developed. Under President Fisk, in 1869, a school of law was instituted in connection with the university, with William C. Cooke, Esq., professor of practice, pleadings, and evidence ; Hon. Leslie W. Russell, professor of per- sonal property, criminal and commercial law, and real es- tate ; and Hon. Stillman Foote, professor of domestic re- lations, personal rights, wills, and contracts. After grad- uating two classes this department was discontinued, owino- to a curtailing of its privileges by the effect of new rules of the court of appeals regulating admission to the bar. Daring its continuance the school flourished greatly. The eminent legal gentlemen named gave its students excellent courses of lectures, and, at considerable sacrifice on their own part, were rapidly building up a law school second to none, when, by reason of the rather invidious rules spoken of, the enterprise had to be abandoned. Dr. Fisk was also largely instrumental in securing the erection of the Herring library hall, which was built in 1869—70, and stands on the college campus, northwest of the main building. This hall is a fire-proof structure, and the depository of the Herring library of some ten thousand volumes, named after Silas C. Herring, of New York city, to whose liberality the univer- sity is indebted for the same. This library is very valuable, and comprises several collections, the principal one being that of the late Dr. E. K. Credner, of the university of Giessen, Germany. Dr. Fisk resigned the presidency of the college in 1872, and was succeeded by Rev. Absalom G. Gaines, D.D., who is still president. The improvements and reforms begun under Dr. Fisk have been in general carried through by Dr. Gaines, and many others inaugurated. Eminent thor- oughness in every direction is the characteristic of the administration of President Gaines. He is satisfied with nothing short of the very best effort of every student. He is a man of the strongest personality and profoundest scholarship. He is very popular with the students. He pervades, it may be said, every phase of the college, and has established a standard of scholarship and character throughout the same which has heretofore never been at- tained there. He is assisted by an efiScient faculty, con- sisting of the following teachers : A. Z. Squire, M.A., pro- fessor of mathematics; Bernhard Pink, professor of the German and French languages ; Walter B. Gunnison, B.A., professor of the Latin language and literature ; Charles K. Gaines, B.A.. professor of the Greek language and litera- ture ; James Henry Chapin, M.A., professor of geology and mineralogy ; and C. Weaver, B.A., instructor in Latin and Greek. Two courses of study are followed in the college, the classical and scientific. Each is in every respect as comprehensive and adequate as the corresponding courses in the best colleges. Each course stands for no more on the catalogue than in the class-room. In no institution are the various courses of study, as marked out, more conscienti- ously followed. Women are admitted to all classes and courses upon ex- actly the same terms with men. The usual degrees are conferred upon those who fulfill the requisites of graduation. The governing board of the university is the board of trustees, of which Jonas S. Conkey, M.D., is president, and Levi B. Storrs, recorder and treasurer. The alumni of the university are represented upon its governing body, and will soon have much influence in shaping the general policy of the institution. Among the principal benefactors of the university may be named John Craig, Esq., late of Rochester, deceased, by whose gift it received the sum of 850,000 ; A. C. Moore, Esq., of Buffalo, the donor of $25,000 ; and Alvinza Hay- ward, Esq., of California, who gave the sum of $30,000 to the college. This last benefaction was secured by the HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 127 able efforts of Dr. J. S. Conkey, president of the board of trustees, a life-long friend of Mr. Hayward. In closing this sketch of the history of St. Lawrence uni- versity, it is but proper to say that while, like most similar institutions, it is under the control of a religious denom- ination, and has for one of its departments a theological school, its general policy .is exceedingly liberal, and the college proper is entirely unsectarian. Dr. Gaines encour- ages the utmost freedom of thought and opinion consistent with morality, reason, and true character. All are encour- aged to be religious, but none are dictated to as to what they shall believe or how they shall worship. The institution is to be commended in all respects. To those who are desirous of securing a liberal education, but are poor, an opportunity is here offered for obtaining the same economically. Those having daughters to educate can find here the most liberal and solid training for them. On the whole, we may say that the institution is broad, liberal, and catholic, and in every respect thorough in its policy and administration. It is rapidly becoming a power in the northern part of the State. Under its influence a literary spirit is developing which promises the most happy results. Its alumni are becoming numerous and influential, and in due time the university will become, if it is not already, a powerful factor for good in advancing the interests of the county and section. RELIGIOUS. The first attempt at planting the Christian religion in St. Lawrence County was undoubtedly made by Rev. Father Francis Picquet, a Catholic of the order of Sulpicians, in the year 1749, who established a mission, and gathered several thousand Indians of the Five Nations, and others, around the mouth of the Oswegatchie. This mission was successfully maintained for about ten years, but upon the approach of the English army under Gen. Amherst, in the summer of 1760, it was abandoned, and probably never renewed. The converted Indians scattered in various directions. It is possible that the rites and ceremonies of the church were retained under the English rule, but we have no au- thentic information upon this point. The English had a small garrison either at Oswegatchie or Oraconenton island for some time after the conquest of Canada, and it is possible that clergymen of the English Church may have officiated ; but subsequent to 1760 there was no permanent religious organization in the county until about 1804, when churches began to spring up, at first feeble in numbers and in means, but gradually, as the country became settled, they grew in importance, and have since kept pace with the growth of the country. THE PRESBYTERIANS were among the earliest to organize, commencing in 1804 in Lisbon, and in Ogdensburg the succeeding year. Synods. — The formation of the different synods in the State have been as follows : The synod of New York, " New Side," in 1741 : the synod of New York and New Jersey in 1785 ; the synod of Albany in 1803 ; the synod of Geneva in 1812 ; the synod of Utica in 1829; synod of Susquehanna in 1853 ; synod of Buffalo in 1843 ; synod of Susquehanna in 1855 ; synod of Onondaga in 1855. Presbyteries. — Presbytery of Dutchess county, 1763 ; presbytery of Albany, 1791 ; presbytery of Oneida, 1803; presbytery of Geneva in 1805 ; presbytery of Onondaga, 1810. In 1816 the presbytery of St. Lawrence was formed, including that portion of St. Lawrence County not included in the presbytery of Champlain and Jefferson and Lewis counties. The name of this presbytery was changed to Watertown in 1828. In 1821 the portion of St. Lawrence County before occupied by the presbytery of Champlain was made the new presbytery of Ogdensburg. In 1830 the name was changed to St. Lawrence presbytery. At the disruption of 1838, the old school ministers and churches of the presbytery of St. Lawrence were organized into the presbytery of Ogdensburg. At the reconstruction of the Judicatories of the Church, in 1870, the General Assembly directed that the presbyteries should be defined " by geographical lines, or by convenient lines of travel.'' At present the counties of St. Lawrence and Jefferson constitute the presbytery of St. Lawrence, which includes the old presbyteries of Ogdensburg and Watertown. The present number of churches of this denomination in St. Lawrence County is eleven, located as follows: 1st Oswegatchie church, in Ogdensburg; 2d Oswegatchie, at Black Lake; Heuvelton, Canton, Waddington, Potsdam, Morristown, Gouverneur, Brasher Falls, Hammond, and Rossie. The membership, as given in Dr. Fowler's "Pres- byterianism in Central New York," published in 1877, is 1915. According to the United States census report for 1870, there were twenty-one organizations of all denominations of Presbyterians in the county, with church sittings for 8080. METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. The Methodist Episcopal denomination was one of the first to organize in St. Lawrence County. It is claimed that ministers of this sect preached to the British garrison of Oswegatchie as early as 1793. At an early day the whole of northern New York was included in various dis- tricts and conferences, which were changed from time to time, as circumstances required. In 1803^ the " Black River circuit" was formed from the Genesee district. Among its earliest circuit riders were Barzillai Willey and John Husselkus. In 1804 it had 90 members. The " St. Lawrence circuit" was formed in 1811, with 84 members, and Isaac Puffer was the first circuit preacher. In 1820 the Black River district was formed as a part of Oneida conference, including both of our counties up to the period of the division. St. Lawrence circuit was supplied by the following preachers : 1812, Isaac Puffer, 144 mem- bers ; 1813, Benj. G. Paddock, 160 ; 1814, Joseph Hick- cox and Robert Menshall, 230 ; 1815, 262 ; 1816, Wyat Chamberlin and John Dempster, 251 ; 1817, Andrew Prindle and Thomas McGee, 231 ; 1818, Thomas Good- win and Calvin N. Flint, 290 ; 1819, Timothy Goodwin and Thomas Demorest, 332 ; 1829, W. W. Rundall and Josiah Kies, 349 ; 1821, Ezra Healy and Orrin Foot, 398 ; 1822, Truman Dixon, Squire Chase, and Roswell Parker, 343; 1823, Isaac Smith and R. Parker, 383; 1824, 128 HISTOKY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. Gardner Baker, 315 ; 1825, do., 243 ; 1826, James Brown, 255; 1827, Andrew Prindle, 230; 1828, 152. In this year this circuit was divided into several. Indian River circuit, embracing a part of St. Lawrence County, was formed in 1821. Potsdam circuit was formed in 1823, with Warren Bannister first preacher. Subsequently other circuits were formed, as follows: Ogdensburg, 1826; Par- ishville, Waddington, Canton, and Grouverneur, 1828 ; Heuvelton, 1829 ; Port Covington, 1830 ; Hammond and Chateaugay, 1832 ; Hopkinton and De Kalb, 1833 ; Lisbon, Louisville, Massena, and Bangor, 1835 ; Bombay and Stock- holm, 1836 ; Westville, 1837 ; Russell mission, 1838 ; Ros- sie mission, Matildaville, and Pierrepont mission, 18-10 ; South Canton, Sprague's Corners, Norfolk, Buck's Bridge, and Brasher mission, 1841 ; Macomb mission, 1842 ; Ra- quette River and West Stockholm, 1843 ; Edwards mission and Morristown, 1846 ; St. Regis mission, 1849; St. Law- rence, French mission, Duane mission, and Moira circuit, 1850. Presiding Elders. — Black River district : 1820, Eenaldo M. Everts; 1823, Dan. Barnes ; 1826, Goodwin Stoddard ; 1827, Nathaniel Salisbury. Potsdam district : formed in 1828, and embraced the two counties and a portion of Jef- ferson ; 1828, B.G. Paddock; 1831, Squire Chase; 1834, Silas Comfort; 1836, G. Loveys ; 1837, W. S. Bowdish ; 1839, Lewis Whitcomb ; the district discontinued in 1840, and merged in Ogdensburg district ; renewed in 1842 ; 1842, A. Adams; 1845, Isaac L. Hunt; 1849, Geo. C. Woodruff; Ogdensburg district: formed in 1852 ; 1852, Hiram Shep- ard. Gouverneur district: formed in 1839 ; discontinued in 1844; 1839, W. S. Bowdish; 1841, Lewis Whitcomb; 1842, Nathaniel Salisbury. The " Black River conference" was formed in 1836, and incorporated in 1841. It included a large number of coun- ties in northern New York, and its first board of trustees consisted of George Gary, Jehu Dempsey, Nathaniel Salis- bury, Gardner Baker, Wm. S. Bowdish, Isaac Stone, and Lewis Whitcomb. Its original charter restricted it to the holding of property which should produce an annual income not exceeding $10,000, but by the new charter of 1873 its jurisdiction was enlarged, so that itnow may possess prop- erty having an annual income of $15,000. In 1868 the area of the conference was reduced to four counties, — Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence, and Franklin. In 1872 its title was changed to " Northern New York con- ference." It was subsequently enlarged, and now embraces Oneida, Oswego, Jefierson, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Franklin, and a part of Madison, and is subdivided into six districts, to wit: Herkimer, Utioa, Oswego, Adams, Watertown, and St. Lawrence. At present St. Lawrence County is in- cluded partly in Watertown and partly in St. Lawrence districts. From the minutes of the Northern New York confer- ence for its fourth session,— 1876,— we glean the foUowino- statistics : Number of circuits a,nd stations, 30, viz., Gouverneur, Ilcrmon, De Kalb, Rensselaer Falls, Heuvelton, De Peyster, Hammond, Edwlrds and Fine, Macomb, Potsdam, Potsdam Junction, Canton, Ogdens- burg, Morristown, Lisbon, Waddington, Madrid, Buck's Bridge" lius- sell, Clare, South Canton and Pierrepont, Colton, Pari8hvil°e,' West Stockholm, Norfolk, Louisville, Massena, Brasher, Lawrence, and Nioholville. Total number of communicants in full membership, 3963. Twenty-nine Sabbath-schools are reported, with 635 officers and teachers, and an attendance of 4380 scholars, and 19 libraries, containing 3892 volumes of books. The estimated value of church property was $181,850, and the amount of salaries allowed to regu- lar ministers, not including presiding elders, was $21,075. The ap- proximate value of parsonages was $29,000. The conference includes within its jurisdiction four prominent institutions of learning, — the Syracuse university, the Wesleyan university, and the Ives and Drew theological seminaries, all in a flourishing condition. In connection it has also a historical society, Rev. I. S. Bingham, president; a life insurance association, a board of church extension, a missionary so- ciety, a freedman's -aid society, and a ladies' and pastors' Christian union. Conference Ofieern. — Bishop E. G. Andrews, D.D. (Des Moines, Iowa), president; S. 0. Barnes, Lowville, N. Y., secretary; B. S. Cheeseman, assistant secretary ; J. C. Stewart, journalist; Wm. Wat- son, statistician; M. R. Webster, Daniel Marvin, Jr., James Coote, assistant statisticians. CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES. The advent of this denomination in St. Lawrence was coeval with Presbyterianisni, and, in fact, the two bodies were mingled together more or less during the first years of the early settlements. The St. Lawrence consociation and the Black River association, established in 1810, occupied northern New York. The " St. Lawrence Consociation,'' embracing the lay element, was formed at Madrid, Feb. 9, 1825. The "St. Lawrence Association,'' formed of the clergy, was organized at Madrid, Sept. 14, 1844, with seventeen members. According to our best information, the churches of this denomination in St. Lawrence County are now included in the " Black River Association." The number of organizations in the county, as shown by the United States census for 1870, was fourteen, with sit- tings for 4350. BAPTISTS. This denomination was very early in the county, having organized a society in Ogdensburg in 1809. The Baptists are somewhat peculiar in their system of church govern- ment, each separate society being " a law unto itself," and acknowledging no higher authority. Associations of various kinds are formed for the transaction of general business, but they have no more than advisory power over the churches, and there are no higher ofiicers than those of each individual church. The " St. Lawrence Baptist Association'' was organized in the fall of 1813, in Stockholm, in a log house on the St. Regis river owned by Zephaniah French, by Elder Haseall, founder of Hamilton seminary. Elder Starkweather, from Vermont, and a few others. This organization still con- tinues, and embraces St. Lawrence and Franklin counties. The " Baptist Missionary Convention" was organized in 1827, as auxiliary to the " Baptist Missionary Convention of the State of New York." As its name indicates, its work is within the State, though it formerly labored in other States and in Canada. The " St. Lawrence County Bible Society," organized in Sept., 1836, is not now in existence, having been merged in a general county Bible society composed of all Protestant denominations except Episcopalians. The number of churches at present included in the St. Lawrence Baptist association within the county is seventeen, HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 129 located at Canton, Colton, Edwards, Fine, Gouverneur, Hermon, Lawreneeville, Madrid, Massena, Monterey, Nichol- ville, Ogdensburg, Parishville, Pitcairn, Potsdam, Richville, and Russell, with a total membership, by their last report (1877), of 1447. The total valuation of church property, from the same authority, is about |91,000. The " St. Lawrence Sunday-School Convention" was or- ganized about 1856, and has'continued until the present time. The present officers of the convention are J. E. Fisk, president, and C. E. Bascom, secretary. Schools are reported at Gouverneur, Hermon (2), Lawreneeville, Madrid, Monterey, Massena, Nioholville, Ogdensburg, Par- ishville, Potsdam, Richville, and Russell, with a total mem- bership of 1162, and libraries containing in the aggregate 2074 volumes. CATHOLIC CHURCHES. The Catholics were first to occupy the ground where Ogdensburg now stands, under the lead of Father Picquet, in 1749, and this was the establishment of Christianity in St. Lawrence County. From 1760 to about 1830, there were no stated services of this church in the county. About the last-mentioned date missionaries began to visit the scattered Catholics within the county, soon after which a small stone chapel was erected in Ogdensburg, near where St. Mary's cathedral now stands. The Catholic population is now quite large in the county, being probably about 4500 in Ogdensburg alone, and the denominations are well estab- lished at various points in the county. According to the census of 1870, there were eight or- ganizations, with sittings for 4264; but these figures are doubtless much below the present facts, as the sittings in Ogdensburg will accommodate nearly 3000. The denomi- nation have two convents and several schools attached to their societies in Ogdensburg. PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL. The Church of England may possibly have had represen- tatives within the present bounds of St. Lawrence County during the occupation by the English, from 1760 to about 1796, but we have no record of them. Probably the first church organized was the one at Waddington, then a part of Madrid, about 1817. From that date to 1868 all the Episcopal churches of northern New York belonged to the diocese of New York. In that year all the northeastern portions of the State were set off, and constituted the dio- cese of Albany, which is subdivided into four convocations, — St. Lawrence, Franklin, Clinton, and Essex, and in- cluded under the general title of " Convocation of Ogdens- burg." The Right Rev. William Roswell Doane, S.T.D., the present bishop of the diocese, resides at Albany. The present archdeacon of the Ogdensburg convocation is Rev. George C. Pennell, who resides at Rouse's Point, in Clinton county. This denomination has erected the finest church edifice in northern New York at Ogdensburg, for an account of which see history of that organization. The number of organizations in the county at the present time is eleven, and the number of communicants about three thousand. There are other churches of various denominations, the history of which will be found in their respective towns. 17 CHAPTER X. IBrTBHETAL IMPBOVEMElirTS. Turnpike and Plank Roads — Canals — Railways — Steam Navigation — Telegraph Lines — Customs. The earliest means of transportation in St. Lawrence County were bridle-paths and the primitive canoe and bateau. The former led into the county from various di- rections : from Rome and Utioa vici Oswego and JeiFerson counties and down the Black river valley, and thence from Carthage, or the Long Falls, and Watertown northward across the country lying between the waters of Black river and the Oswegatchie and Indian rivers to the various set- tlements. Another route was from the lower waters of Lake Champlain westward through the wilderness, crossing the Chateaugay, St. Regis, Raquette, and Grasse rivers. A favorite water route from New England was down the Sorel or St. John's from Lake Champlain to the St. Law- rence, and thence up the latter stream by the laborious route over the various rapids. Canoes and bateaux were used on the St. Lawrence and all the interior streams, wherever a few miles of water navigation relieved the toil- some labor of the bridle-paths and early roads. Following these, at a very early date, came the Stat« roads and turnpikes ; later still plank-roads and projects for various canals ; and, lastly, railways and steam navigation on the water routes. This chapter includes Dr. Hough's account of the various means of locomotion and transporta- sion down to 1853, from which date it has been brought forward through the diifercnt changes and improvements to the year 1877, and made as complete as possible. EARLY STATE ROADS. Attention was early directed towards opening a southern route from St. Lawrence County, and a law of April 1, 1808, made provision for this by taxing the lands through which it passed for a road from Canton to Chester, in Essex county, and by several acts of 1810 to 1814, a further sum was appropriated for this purpose, and the road was opened under the direction of Russell Atwater, but was little traveled, and soon fell into disuse. June 19, 1812, a road was directed to be opened from near the foot of sloop navi- gation of the St. Lawrence to Albany, and again, in 1815, a further tax was laid, with which a road was opened by Mr. Atwater from Russell southwards and made passable for teams, but, like the other, soon fell into decay. Previous to 1810 the land proprietors had, by subscription, built a bridge over the Saranac, which was swept away by a flood, and commenced opening a road to Hopkinton, to aid which a law of April 5, 1810, imposed a tax on the adjacent lands, and appointed two commissioners to repair and construct a road from the northwest bay to Hopkinton. In 1812, '16, and '24 a further tax was laid. The several towns were to be taxed four years for its support, and it was then to be assumed as a highway.* A road was constructed and for » Prom August, 1819, to July, 1821, $20,883.62 were paid by the State to commissioners of State roads in St. Lawrence County, and for several years, from 1814 forward, $10,000 per annum were appro- 130 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YOEK. some time traveled, but had so fallen into decay as to be scarcely passable. The several towns, about 1850-53, undertook to reopen it as a highway, and considerable sums were expended. In April, 1816, commissioners were appointed to lay out a road from Ogdensburg by way of Hamilton to Massena, from Massena through Potsdam to Eussell, and from Rus- sell through Columbia village to Hamilton, at the expense of the adjacent lands. April 16, 1827, John Richards, Ezra Thuber, and Jonah Sanford were directed to survey and level a route for a road from Lake Champlain to Hop- kinton, and in 1829 $25,836 was applied for its construc- tion. When done the governor was to appoint three com- missioners to erect toll-gates and take charge of the road, which was soon after completed, and in 1833 a line of stages started between Port Kent and Hopkinton. This road is still used, the gates having for many years been taken down, and it has been and is of essential benefit to the country. An act of April 18, 1828, directed a road to be opened from Canton to Antwerp, at the expense of the adjacent lands. Several other special provisions have been made for roads in the two counties. The first turnpike was made by the "St. Lawrence Turnpike Company," incorporated April 5, 1810, and consisting of the principal land-owners. It was designed to run from Carthage to Malone, and was opened by Russell Atwater, as agent for the company. In 1813 it was relieved from the obligation of finishing it beyond the line of Bangor east, or the Oswegatchie State road west. After the war the road lost its importance, and in 1829 was divided into road districts. It still bears the name of the Russell turnpike. The " Ogdensburg Turnpike Com- pany" was formed June 8, 1812, when D. Parish, L. Has- brouck, N. Ford, J. Rosseel, Charles Hill, Ebenezer Legro, and their associates, were incorporated with $50,000 capi- tal, and soon after built what is since mostly a plank-road from Wilna to Ogdensburg, by way of Rossie. In April, 1826, the road was abandoned to the public. The " Par- ishville Turnpike Company" was incorporated February 5, 1813, when D. Parish, N. Ford, L. Hasbrouck, J. Tibbetts, Jr., B. Raymond, and Daniel Hoard were empowered to build, with a capital of $50,000, the present direct road from Ogdensburg through Canton and Potsdam to Parish- ville. In March, 1827, this road was given up to the towns through which it passed, and in April, 1831, the part be- tween Ogdensburg and Canton was directed to be improved by a tax upon the three towns of $500 for two years, to be expended by a commissioner named in each town. With this sum and tolls collected for its support an excellent road was kept up. In 1850 the route was directed to be planked, and a sum not exceeding $10,000 was allowed to be borrowed on six years' time, upon the credit of the tolls, and incidentally upon the credit of Ogdensburg village, Lisbon, and Canton. This has mostly been done. PLANK-EOADS. This class of roads has gone out of use mostly after priated for bridges by tbe supervisors and levied on tbe county but distributed to tbose towns having the most important structures. Large amounts were also paid by the towns for similar purposes. having had a brief existence, during which they served a very useful purpose. In districts where timber is abun- dant and labor cheap, they will probably continue in use until the increase in population and scarcity of timber make it necessary to construct something more permanent and durable. In St. Lawrence County we believe plank- roads have ceased to exist, but as a part of the history of the past, a short account of them is deemed of sufficient importance for insertion in this work. The following items are from Dr. Hough's work. Most of the old plank-road beds have been adopted for turnpike and common roads, and considerable portions of them graveled and otherwise improved. Several of the graveled turnpikes are toll roads. A road from Ogdensburg to Heuvelton, having been in- corporated by a special act, was opened in September, 1849. Capital, $5000, with privilege of increasing to $20,000. Its earnings have been about $2000 annually.* The " Gouverneur, Somerville and Antwerp Company," like the following, was formed under the general law. It was or- ganized December 30, 1848, and finished September, 1850. Length, 12 miles 124 rods; capital, $13,000. Six miles of this road are in Jefferson county. First Directors, C. P. Egbert, S. B. Van Duzee, Gilbert Wait, Nathaniel L. Gill ; Treasurer, Martin Thatcher ; Secretary, Charles An- thony. The " Gouverneur, Richville and Canton Plank- Road" company's road extends from the village of Gouv- erneur to the line of Canton. Formed July 6, 1849 ; length, 16 miles; capital, $16,000. Its first officers were Wm. E. Sterling, S. B. Van Duzee, John Smith, J. Bur- nett, E. Miner, T. Caldwell, directors ; E. Miner, president ; Wm. E. Sterling, treasurer; C. A. Parker, secretary. The " Canton Plank-Road," a continuation of the latter road, extending from the village of Canton to the town-line of De Kalb, was built under a special act, passed March 24, 1849, which authorized a tax in the town of Canton, of $6000 for the first year and $1500 annually for three successive years afterwards, for constructing the road, which was to be owned by the town. Hiram S. Johnson, James P. Cummings, and Benjamin Squire were named as com- missioners to locate the road. The net earnings, after keep- ing the road in repair and repaying money borrowed for its construction, were to be applied to the support of roads and bridges in town. Luman Moody, Theodore Caldwell, and Joseph J. Herriman were appointed commissioners to build the road and superintend it after its completion. The " Canton, Morley and Madrid Plank-Road Com- pany," formed January, 1851 ; road finished August, 1851 ; length Hi miles. Silas H. Clark, Alfred Goss, H. Hods- kin, J. C. Harrison, E. Miner, R. Harrison, A. S. Robinson, first directors. The " Potsdam Plank-Road Company" was formed Oct. 17, 1850 ; length, 5 miles 154 rods, from Potsdam village to the Northern railroad ; cost, $6439.43 ; finished Oct. 8, 1851 ; divided 8 per cent. ; dividend, July 1, 1852. First directors, John McCall, Robert McGill, John Bur- roughs, Jr., Stephen Given, Jr., Benjamin G. Baldwin. The " Hammonton, Rossie and Antwerp Plank-Road Company," formed Jan. 23, 1850 ; completed in December '■'' Now a toll turnpike. HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 131 Mowing; length, 20 miles; capital, $35,000; 7 miles are in Jefferson county. Directors, Ira Hinsdale, E. Brainerd, Z. Gates, A. P. Morse, and D. W. Baldwin. The " Morristown and Hammond Plank-Road Company," a continuation of the former, was laid along the route of the former road, and through a country which offered but few obstacles to its construction. President and Treasurer, Moses Birdsall; Secretary, Henry Hooker. Length, lOJ miles; capital, $10,000, in 200 shares of $50 each ; organ- ized in July, 1851 ; completed in May, 1852. This, with the preceding, forms a continuous plank-road communica- tion with routes leading to Utica, Rome, Watertown, etc., and terminating on the St. Lawrence river, in the village of Morristown. The " Heuvelton and Canton Falls (now Rensselaer Falls) Plank-Road Company," as originally organized, had a length of about 10 miles. It has been continued to the road from Canton to Hermon by the same company, and twelve chains on that road to meet a plank-road, since con- structed, from the town-line of Canton, through the village of Hermon. The first directors were Henry Van Rensse- laer (president), Elijah B. Allen, E. N. Fairchild, D. Simp- son, and John ShuU, Jr. The office of the company is in Ogdensburg, at the land-office of Mr. Van Rensselaer, who is the principal owner of the road. Through a part of the distance it was laid through unsettled lands, which have thus been brought directly into market and opened for settlement. The " Hermon Plank-Road Company" was formed March 1, 1851. David W. Weeks, Seymour Thatcher, Edward Maddock, L. H. Sheldon, Noah C. Williams, were the first directors. Capital, $4000, in shares of $50 each, and the length of the road is 4J miles. It extends from the village of Marshville to the town-line of Canton, where it connects with the Canton Falls plank-road to Ogdensburg. The road was finished about July 1, 1852. It has been proposed to extend this road on to Edwards, and thence through to Carthage, in Jefferson county. The " Heuvelton and De Kalb Plank-Road Company" was organized Feb. 6, 1849, and extended to intersect the Gouverneur and Canton plank-road at a point three miles east of Richville. Its length is about 1 3 miles. The first directors were William H. Cleghorn, William Thurston, John Pickens, R. W. Judson, Pelatiah Stacey, Andrew Roulston, Lewis Sanford. The " Norfolk, Raymondville and Massena Plank-Road Company" was organized Feb. 14, 1851, to be completed in 1852. Length, 10 miles 44 chains ; capital, $8500, in 170 shares of $50 each. It is a continuation of the Pots- dam road. It forms a direct communication between the railroad and several thriving villages. Uriah H. Orvis, G. J. Hall, N. F. Reals, C. Sackrider, B. G. Baldwin, E. D. Ransom, Hiram Atwater, Justus Webber, and Marcus Robins were first directors; U. H. Orvis, president; G. J. Hall, secretary. 'THE OLD TDRNPIKE. " We hear no more the clanging hoof, And the stage-coach rattling by, For the sten,m-king rules the traveled world, ' And the old' pike's left to die ! The grass creeps o'er the flinty path, And the stealthy daisies steal Where once the stage^ horse, day by day, Lifted his iron heel. " No more the weary stager dreads The toil of the coming morn ; No more the bustling landlord runs At the Bound of the echoing horn ; And the dust lies still upon the road, And bright-eyed children play Where once the clattering hoof and wheel Rattled along the way. " No more we hear the cracking whip, And the strong wheel's rumbling sound; But, ah ! the water drives us on, And an iron horse is found ! The coach stands rusting in the yard, The horse has sought the plow , We have spanned the world with an iron rail, And the steam-king rules us now ! " The old turnpike is a pike no more, Wide open stands the gate ; We have made a road for our horse to stride, And we ride at a flying rate. We have filled the valleys and leveled the hills And tunneled the mountain's side, And round the rough crag's dizzy verge Fearless now we ride. " Go — on — on — with a hearty front ! A puflF, a shriek, and a bound, While the tardy echoes wake too late To echo back the sound. And the old pike-road is left alone, And stagers seek the plow ; We have circled the earth with an iron rail, And the steam-king rules us now !" WATER COMMUNICATION — CANAL PROJECTS. From an early period attempts were made to improve the navigation of the St. Lawrence, and in an act of April 1, 1808, J. Waddington, D. A. and T. L. Ogden, were au- thorized to build a canal and locks at Hamilton, and to col- lect toll, at the rate of twenty-five cents per ton, on all boats passing. Locks to be fifty feet long, ten feet wide, and deep enough to receive boats having two feet draught. Under this act tolls were authorized to be collected at the rate of twenty-five cents per ton for large boats, and double that rate for all boats under two tons capacity. The im- provements were to be completed within three years. A wooden look was first attempted, but before being com- pleted its foundations were undermined and it was aban- doned. In 1811 and 1815, the act was extended, and finally a stone lock was built in the line of the stone dam, which proved of little use, as its dimensions only allowed the passage of Durham boats. The era of steamboats fol- lowed, and the Canadian government assuming the task of building locks and canals around the principal rapids, work on the American side was given up. An effort was made to secure the advantages of a portion of the trade by con- structing a canal to Grasse river, but it was never carried out. The north shore has always been chosen by voyageurs^ and the difficulty of crossing over to these looks would have rendered their use limited. On the 5th of April, 1809, means were provided for carrying into effect a concurrent 132 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. resolution of March 27, directing the surveyor-general to authorize some competent person to survey the St. Law- rence, and report. By an act of April 9, 1811, Russell Atwater and Roswell Hopkins were appointed to expend $600 on the American shore from St. Regis to the Indian village in Lisbon. It is believed that a towing-path was made along the shore in places, at an early day, and proba- bly with this appropriation. In 1833, the subject of cutting a canal from the head of Long Saut to Grasse river was pressed upon the legislature, and a subscription raised to pro- cure a survey. Grasse river was considered navigable to within three miles of Jlassena village, and there intervened a ravine and low land, which it was found required a canal of six miles, one mile of which was through gravel and clay a depth of thirty-five feet. The fall from the head of the Saut to Lake St. Francis was found to be fifty feet. Estimated cost, $200,000. It was stated that in 1833 $48,000 was paid for cartage and towage past the Long Saut, and the cost of towing one boat amounted to |500 per annum. The subject was also urged upon Congress by a convention at Canton, Dec. 18, 1833, and D. C. Judson, Wm. Ogden, N. F. Hyer, H. Allen, and M. Whitoomb were appointed to circulate petitions. Nothing was eifected or afterwards attempted, as the Canadian government soon after undertook this labor, " The Oswegatchie Navigation Company'' was incorpo- rated April 25, 1831, for the purpose of improving, by means of locks, canals, and dams, its navigation to Black lake and to the town of Gouverneur, and from the Oswe- gatchie river, along the natural canal, to Grasse river, and up to Canton village. Capital to be $50,000, and Sylvester Gilbert, Jacob A. Vanden Heuvel, Smith Stilwell, and Louis Hasbrouck were appointed a board of commissioners to re- ceive subscriptions. A certain portion of the work was to be accomplished within five years, and the duration of the corporation was limited to thirty years. The previous act was renewed April 25, 1836, and con- tinued in force thirty years. Baron S. Doty, Silvester Gil- bert, Jacob A. Vanden Heuvel, Smith Stilwell, Henry Van Rensselaer, and B. M. Fairchild were named commissioners to receive stock. Unless they met within three months the act was to be void. In 1835 the capital stock was increased to $100,000. R. Harrison, D. C. Judson, S. Gilbert, H. Van Rensselaer, E. Dodge, A. Sprague, and S. D. Moody were named commissioners to receive subscriptions. No actual improvements were ever undertaken under these acts. In the petition which procured the passage of the above act It was stated that at Heuvelton locks had been commenced, and might be completed at small expense ; that the expense of dams and locks to improve the natural channel of the Oswegatchie would not cost to exceed $12,000 ; and that a steamboat might be built for $5000, sufficient to meet the business of the proposed company. The fall on Grasse river at Canton is stated to be nine feet, and at Cooper's fall in De Kalb, on the Oswegatchie river, as eight feet which being overcome by locks would render the latter river navigable as far as the Ox Bow, in Jefferson county. A dam across Grasse river, and a short canal near the eastern end of the natural canal, would bring Canton in navigable communication with the St. Lawrencs at 0"-densbur»-. The plan of extending the Black river canal to Ogdens- burg was brought forward in 1839, and a survey executed by Edward H. Brodhead, which is published in the legis- lative documents of 1840, embraced the several improve- ments above proposed. Several acts have been passed for preventing the obstruc- tion of the channels of our rivers, by declaring them pvLlic highways. Raquette river, from its mouth to Norfolk, and St. Regis, from the province line to the east line of Stock- holm, were so declared April 15, 1810. April 16, 1816, the Oswegatchie was made a highway to Streeter's Mills, in Rossie, and its obstruction forbidden under a penalty of $100. By a subsequent act this limit was extended to Cranberry lake. An act of 1849, for improving the sources of the Hudson for lumbering purposes, led in 1850 to petitions for grants to be expended on Raquette and Moose rivers. These were referred to a select committee, who, through their chairman, Mr. Henry J. Raymond, made a very elaborate report, set- ting forth the advantages of the improvements, and de- scribing the wonderful natural water communication of the primitive wilderness of northern New York. This elevated plateau, averaging 1500 to 1870 feet above tide, gives origin to rivers flowing in different directions. The Raquette, after a crooked and sluggish course through several large ponds, and receiving tributaries navigable for logs from many lakes in the interior, on arriving within fifty miles of the St. Lawrence becomes rapid, and descends to near the level of that river before reaching Massena. In a multi- tude of places it affords fine, cascades for hydraulic purposes, especially in the villages of Colton,East Pierrepont, Potsdam, Racketville, Norfolk, and Raymondville, with many inter- vening places. There is a peculiarity of this river that de- serves special notice, which is its little liability to be affected by drought and flood, in consequence of its being fed from lakes. The highest water commonly occurs several days later -in this than the neighboring rivers, and a prudent policy should lead to the erection of sluices and floodgates at the outlet of the lakes to retain the excess of the spring flood against any want that might occur in the drought of sum- mer. Such a want has not hitherto been felt, but might if the interior country were cleared and cultivated. An act was passed April 10, 1850, declaring the Raquette a highway from its mouth to the foot of Raquette lake, in Hamilton county, and on the 9th of April an appropriation of $10,000 was made, to be expended by H. Hewitt, A. T. Hopkins, and C. Russell, in removing obstructions and improving the channel. These consisted in shutting up lost channels and straits around islands, in the erection of piera, dams, booms, etc. The accession of capital and employment of labor from this improvement is remarkable. But one gang-mill ex- isted on the river at the time of the passage of the law, while in 1853 there were either in operation or in course of erection eight, and still more contemplated. The logs sawed at these are brought from the country adjoining Tapper's lake. Long lake, in Hamilton county, many of the lakes and streams of Franklin county, and from the western borders of Essex county. Much credit is due to Dr. H. Hewitt, of Potsdam, for HISTORY OP ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 133 exertions in procuring this improvement, and to Messrs. Wm. A. Dart, of the senate, and Noble S. Elderkin, of the assembly, for the zeal and ability with which they sus- tained the measure. The first attempt to open a cheap and direct communica- tion between the navigable waters of the St. Lawrence and the sea-board began in 1823, and arose from the wants which had been so severely felt during the war. A year or two after the peace, plans for uniting Lake Champlain with the Connecticut were discussed and attempted. Judge Raymond and Benjamin Wright, while surveying the coun- try before its settlement, had formed projects for improving the natural channels of the rivers, and to them belongs the merit of the idea. The former was afterwards the ardent advocate of a canal. A meeting of the citizens of Clinton, Franklin, and St. Lawrence counties convened at Ogdens- burg, Aug. 28, 1823, to concert measures for a canal, who appointed B. Raymond, of Norfolk, S. Partridge, of Pots- dam, J. A. Vanden Heuvel, of Ogdensburg, Wm. Hogan, of Fort Covington, Thomas Smith, of Chateaugay, and Asa Hascall, of Malone, who prepared and published a lengthy report for distribution in the sections most to be benefited by the work. It was accompanied by a report from Judge Raymond, who had been employed to make a preliminary survey. This improvement proposed to use the Oswe- gatchie. Natural canal, and Grasse river to Canton. The petitions and the friendly influences towards these works led to an act for a survey under the direction of the canal commissioners, and Holmes Hutchinson, of Utica, was em- ployed. The expense was limited to $1500. The summit was found to be 811 feet above the St. Lawrence at Og- densburg, and 966 above Lake Champlain. This work was commended to the legislature by De Witt Clinton in his annual message of 1825, but was found impracticable, and abandoned. RAILWAYS. A railroad began to be discussed in 1829, and a full meeting was held Feb. 17, 1830, at Montpelier, Vt., for promoting a railroad from Ogdensburg, by way of Lake Champlain and the valleys of Onion and Connecticut rivers, and through Concord and Lowell, to Boston. A committee, previously appointed, reported favorably on the plan and its advantages, and estimated that passengers and heavy freight could be taken over the whole route in 35 hours. They further predicted that 15 miles an hour would here- after be performed by locomotives. On the 17th of March, 1830, a similar meeting was held at Ogdensburg, and a com- mittee of twelve appointed to collect information and report to a future meeting. Application was also made to Con- gress for aid in constructing the work, but this failing, petitions were next forwarded to the State legislature, and a convention met at Malone, Dec. 17, 1831, to promote this object. This failed, but was prosecuted until May 21, 1836. The Lake Champlain and Ogdensburg railroad was incorporated with a capital of $800,000. S. Gilbert and S. Stilwell, of St. Lawrence, B. Clark and J. Stearns, of Franklin, with two from each of the counties of Clinton and Essex, and James H. Titus, of New York, were em- powered to open books for receiving stock. Some declining to act, a law of May 16, 1837, appointed Wm. H. Harri- son, of New York, Wm. P. Haile, of Clinton, D. L. Sey- mour, of Franklin, and J. L. Russell, of St. Lawrence, in their place. About this time the plan of a railroad from Ogdensburg directly through to Albany was discussed. A convention met, Feb. 27, 1837, at Matildaville, for this ob- ject. The moneys subscribed for the road to Lake Cham- plain were first reloaned, and afterwards refunded to sub- scribers. This company failing to organize, a convention met at Malone, Aug. 8, 1838, and persons appointed to collect statistics. These measures led to an act of April 18, 1838, authorizing a survey, which was executed by Edward F. Johnson, and the expense was limited to $4000. On May 14, 1840, commissioners were appointed to survey and estimate the cost of a railroad by the several routes, and the public documents of 1841 contain the results. Both of the lines surveyed passed southeast through the county and penetrated the wilderness. The Port Kent route passed up the valley of the Ausable and down the St. Regis, and thence, by way of Parishville and Potsdam, to Ogdens- burg. Length, 131 miles; summit, 1733 feet above tide; cost, $2,714,003.89; maximum grade, 95 feet going east and 90 feet going west ; least radius of curve, 800 feet. The Plattsburg route led to Malone and Moira, whence a route by Norfolk and Columbia, and one by Potsdam, was sur- veyed. Summit, 1089 feet; distance by Norfolk, 120, and by Potsdam 122 miles ; cost of the Norfolk line, $1,778,459 24; of the Potsdam route, $1,923,108.09; maximum grade of both, 40 feet; least radius, 1300 feet. In connection with this report was given the probable cost of improving the rivers and Natural canal, the aggregate of which was $305,982. A convention met at Malone Deo. 22, 1840, who, through a committee, memorialized the legislature, and procured the opinions of several military men on the importance of the route as of national use in case of war. This measure failed to become a law. Nothing discour- raged, the friends of this improvement continued active, and finding it impossible to obtain assistance from the State, began to importune for the privilege of helping themselves; and here they were met by the poweri'ul opposition of the friends of the central routes, which was conciliated by their being themselves brought to the necessity of feeling the want of votes to carry one of their measures. In the ses- sion of 1845, Messra. Hiram Horton, John L. Russell, and Asa L. Hazelton representing these two counties, a bill was introduced and early passed the assembly, but was delayed in the senate till near the close of the session. At this time not less than fourteen railroad bills were before the legislature, among which was one for increasing the capital of the Syracuse and Utica road. It was partly through the influence of the friends of this road, who found them- selves forced to help, in order to be helped, that the bill finally passed, receiving the governor's signature but twenty minutes before the adjournment. This act passed May 14, 1845, incorporating THE NORTHERN RAILROAD for fifty years, with a capital of $2,000,000, in .shares of $50, and naming David C. Judson and Joseph Barnes, of St. Lawrence, S. C. Wead, of Franklin, and others from Clin- 134 HISTORY OE ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. ton and Essex counties and New York, commissioners to receive and distribute stock. Measures were taken to raise the means for a survey, and in the fall of 1845 a delegation visited Boston to induce capitalists to undertake the work. They were advised to return and raise along the road as much as possible first, which was done; but, in their absence, about $10,000,000 of railroad stock had been taken, and their chances for suc- cess were much lessened. To set forth the advantages of the route, Mr. James G. Hopkins, of Ogdensburg, in 1845, published a pamphlet containing many documents and statistics relating to the matter. It is but justice to state that not only these estimates but those that preceded them were, so far as relates to the resources of the country, far below what time has developed. The Burlington people, and those interested in the lines of New England roads connecting with Lake Champlain, early perceived the ad- vantages that would ensue from a line which would turn a portion of the resources of the great west through their channels. In July, 1846, Mr. James Hayward, an expe- rienced engineer, who, since 1828, had had his attention directed to this route, was employed to survey the route, who did so and reported. In June, 1846, a company was organized at Ogdensburg, having George Parish, president ; J. Leslie Russell, of Can- ton, Hiram Horton, of Malone, Anthony C. Brown, of Og- densburg, Lawrence Myers, of Plattsburg, Charles Paine, of Northfield, Vt., S. F.. Belknap, of Windsor, Vt., Isaac Spalding, of Nashua, N. H., and Abbot Lawrence, J. Wiley Edmonds, Benjamin Reed, T. P. Chandler, and S. S. Lewis, of Boston, directors; S. S. Walley, treasurer; and James G. Hopkins, secretary. In the fall of 1847, a contract was taken by Sewall P. Belknap for the portion east of Malone, and by Chamberlain, Worral & Co., to be completed within two years. Work was begun in March, 1848, at the deep cutting in Ogdensburg, and in the fall of that year was opened to Centreville from Champlain river. Late in 1849 it had reached Ellenburg ; in June, 1850, Chateaugay; October 1, Malone; and in the same month through ; the last work being done near Deer river bridge, in Lawrence. From their report of 1852 it is learned that this road has cost, including fixtures and equipment, $5,022,121.31, and possesses very ample facilities for the transaction of the im- mense amount of business in the freight department. Amount of land owned in July, 1851, 3077i acres, exclusive of roadway. Its buildings at that date were as follows: Wharves, docks, and piers at Ogdensburg, 4534 feet; at Rouse's Point, 165 feet wharf and a pier of 1650, which has since become a part of the bridge across Lake Cham- plain. Freight and passenger station at Ogdensburg, 305 by 84 feet. One freight-house at ditto, 402 by 82 feet ; fire-proof engine-house for six locomotives, and numerous other buildings. Among these, the grain warehouse and elevator deserves notice. It is built on piles in 14-feet water, and contains 42 bins, each 30 feet deep, and capable of holding 4000 bushels each, or 12 tons of wheat. All these deliver their grain on one track by spouts, and each can load a car with 10 tons in eight or ten minutes the load being weighed on a platform-scale in the track. The elevators are driven by a steam-engine of 15-horse power and raise daily 16,000 to 18,000 bushels, which is weighed as received in draughts of 30 bushels, and spouted into cars or raised into the bins if stored. The cars are sent in on one track and out on another, being changed by a traverse- table. Vessels laden with grain on the upper lakes are here unloaded with great facility, and the establishment is found to be eminently useful in promoting the business of the road. It was erected by N. Taggert, after plans by P. Pelletier, the draftsman of the company, who has kindly furnished the above data. This building was burned in 1865, and two grain-houses were erected in its stead, and these were pulled down in 1877. The present extensive elevator was erected under the superintendence of Mr. Abraham Klohs, assistant super- intendent of the road, and also an acting engineer. It has a storage capacity of 600,000 bushels of grain, and is ar- ranged in a manner similar to the one destroyed in 1865 including two tracks and a traverse-table. The company's facilities for handling grain-produce, and all descriptions of freight, are unsurpassed. At Lisbon, Madrid, Potsdam, Stockholm, Lawrence, Moira, Bangor, Champlain, and Hoyle's Landing are depots 50 by 100 feet ; at Brush's Mills, 80 by 35 feet ; at Cha- teaugay, 200 by 55 ; a passenger-station, 37 by 26 ; and a wood- and water-station, 330 by 35 feet ; at Rouse's Point, a passenger- and freight-house, 500 by 104 feet ; a station- house and hotel, 78 by 50 ; repair-shop, 175 by 80 feet ; and numerous other buildings. Since the date of the last report before us, depots have been built at Knapp's, Burke, Malone, and other places. Many of the station-buildings have been rebuilt or ma- terially changed, and new and very substantial ones of brick erected at Ogdensburg and Chateaugay. Much opposition was met from the eiForts made by the company to procure the right of bridging Lake Champlain, to enable it to connect with the eastern roads ; and in the sessions of 1850, a special committee, consisting of Wm. A. Dart, George Geddes, and Robert Owens, Jr., was appointed, who, in the recess of the legislature, visited the locaUty, and reported. An attempt was made to excite the jealousies of New York against Boston, but an expression was obtained from the leading interests of that city disclaiming this, and concurring in the proposed improvement, and among the objections urged were the obstruction to navigation, the diversion from the trade of the canals, and consequent loss of revenue to the State, and the obstruction it would be to the fortress of the United States government north of the road and near the boundary. This matter has been since decided and a floating draw-bridge constructed, so that trains pass freely over without hindrance. Since the above paragraph was written a new and more substantial bridge has been erected over Lake Champlain. It is of wood, built on piles, and has a spacious draw for the passage of vessels. It is less the amount of travel over this road than that of freight that gives it importance. Being remote from the great lines of travel, it as yet has not generally attracted that notice which it deserves, but when its advantages come to be known and appreciated, it cannot fail of drawing a con- siderable amount of New England travel going westward. HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 135 The officers of the Northern railroad can boast of one fact which few other roads would be able to do, viz., that they have never caused the death or injury of a passenger who has intrusted himself to their charge! During its whole existence there has been only one slight collision, which resulted in injuries to a few passengers, but none of them of a serious character. This exemption from accident is not due to chance, but mainly to the admirable precision with which the trains are run, and it is doing in- justice to no one to assert that this is principally due to the talents and ability of the chief engineers of the road. Every employee is instructed in his duties, and no excuses are re- ceived for any violation or neglect of them. This inexorable rule has its advantages, which are felt and approved by all concerned ; and it is said that men can be employed in run- ning trains at less wages on this than on many other roads, from the feeling of security resulting from these arrange- ments. In 1870 the road was leased to the " Central Vermont railway company" for a period of twenty years, at an annual rental of $384,620 for three years, $415,390 for the next three y^ars, and $446,160 the remainder of the term, pay- able monthly ; the company to keep the road in good repair. These obligations not having been fulfilled, the property was taken possession of by the owners in 1877. The name was changed, under the provisions of a new charter, some years since, to the present one, — " Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain railroad company." The following table shows the classes, and amount in tons, of freight handled and transported during the last year, ending Sept. 30, 1877 : Tons. Products of the forest 76,840 ■Animals 13,428 Vegetable food 27,400 Other agricultural products 69,494 Manufactures 10,728 Merchandise 12,696 Other articles 31,005 Total ;241,591 Total earnings of the road for the year ending Sept. 30, 1877 $516,938.30 Total expenses 284,654.85 Number of passengers, all classes, carried 118,640 Average weight of passenger trains, exclusive of passengers, — tons 65 Average weight of freight trains, exclusive of freight 206 This road has connections by ferry with the Grand Trunk and the St. Lawrence and Ottawa lines at Prescott. Freight is transported across the river without breaking bulk. Ex- tensive shops for the manufacture and repair of rolling-stock were erected by the company some years since, near the east line of the city. In full running order they employed 100 men, and turned out a finished car per day, and repaired as high as 700 cars per month. The manufacturing depart- ment is not now in operation, and only a limited amount of repairing is done. The officers of the company are : John C. Pratt, presi- dent; Henry A. Church, secretary and treasurer; John C. Pratt, Boston ; John S. Farlow, Boston ; George M. Bar- nard, Boston; I. D. Farnsworth, Boston; Francis Cox, Boston; Theodore A. Neal, Boston; George Lewis, Bos- ton ; Thomas Upham, Boston ; Henry A. Church, Boston ; Samuel M. Felton, Philadelphia ; William J. Averill, Og- densburg ; C. T. Hulburd, Brasher Falls ; Albert Andrus, Malone ; W. W. Hungerford, Ogdensburg, superintendent. The superintendents of the road from the beginning have been Charles L. Schlatter, Geo. V. Hoyle, Harvey Rice, De Witt C. Brown, and the present incumbent, W. W. Hungerford. THE POTSDAM AND WATERTOWN RAILROAD originated from the dissatisfaction felt by Potsdam and Canton in not having the Northern railroad pass through their villages. Soon after the Rome and Cape Vincent railroad was opened, the want of a connecting link with the Northern road began to be felt, and it became an object of importance to decide whether this should connect at Og- densburg, and run along the St. Lawrence, or at a point east of this, and through the interior of the county. In July, 1851, a convention met at Watertown, and persons appointed to collect the means for a survey ; Mr. E. H. Brodhead employed, and at a meeting held at Gouverneur, on Jan. 8, 1852, this report and survey were rendered, and a company formed the next day, under the general law of the State. In no place will the route vary three miles from a direct line ; the grades will not exceed 36.96 feet to the mile ; and, with one exception, the shortest radius of curve does not exceed 2000 feet. Length, 69 miles ; esti- mated cost, $293,721.50, for grading and bridging ; besides, $6000 per mile for superstructure. A route was surveyed to Sacket's Harbor in connection with this. From this time vigorous efforts were made to secure a sufiicient amount of stock to commence the construction of the road, and by an act passed April 7, 1852, the company was authorized, whenever the subscription to the capital stock should amount to $5000 per mile, to exercise the powers, rights, and privileges usually possessed by a com- pany incorporated under the general act. This act was considered necessary in this case in order to secure the right of way, and made contracts for the same. In Oct., 1852, the sum of $750,000 having been subscribed, the directors felt themselves warranted in entering into a con- tract for the making of the road, and accordingly contracted with Phelps, Matoon & Barnes, of Springfield, Mass., by whom the road was to be completed July 1, 1854. This road, passing through a comparatively level section, was constructed at much less expense than many other roads in the State, and opened up an extensive and quite wealthy and populous country. It is now operated under the con- trol of the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg company, one of the best managed and most prosperous in the State, and having excellent connections in all directions. The principal stations on this line are Gouverneur, De Kalb, Canton, and Potsdam. At Potsdam junction it makes con- nections with the Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain-road, and at Philadelphia, in Jefierson county, with the Utica and Black River road. The Ogdensburg Branch, now the main line, was put in operation in September, 1862, and soon became a great thoroughfare. The stations are De Kalb, Rensselaer Falls Heuvelton, and Ogdensburg. Extensive shipments of lum ber and live-stock are made from Ogdensburg, and the dairy products of the county largely pass over this line to 136 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. southern markets. Among the earlier oflGtcers of this road were 0. V. Brainard, Eli Farwell, Hiram Holcomb, Wm. AUaster, Wm. E. Sterling, Edwin Dodge, Barzillai Hod- skin, Orville Page, Zenas Clark, Samuel Partridge, Joseph H. Sanford, Wm. W. Goulding, A. M. Adsit, Edwin Dodge, Daniel Lee, and H. L. Knowles. UTICA AND BLACK RIVEE RAILROAD. The line at first constructed from Carthage to Morris- town was called the Black River and Morristown railroad, but was subsequently consolidated with the Utica and Black River road. The last-named company are now extending their line from Morristown to Ogdensburg, and the present intention is upon the completion of this link to change the name to Utica, Black River and Ogdensburg railroad. The work between Morristown and Ogdensburg is well under way, and the line will bo in running order early in the sea- son of 1878. When completed it will give Ogdensburg and the western portion of St. Lawrence County additional and valuable facilities for the transaction of business. To the commerce of Ogdensburg it must give a fresh impetus, for the city will then have two lines running south and west, and an important one to the east, connecting with the great lines of the country. An accommodating spirit in the management of these three roads would add largely to their business, and be of great benefit to the city of Ogdens- burg. Close connections are necessary to gain the patron- age and confidence of the public, and a union depot at some convenient point in the city would be of immense ad- vantage to the railway companies, to the city of Ogdens- burg, and to the public generally. STEAM NAVIGATION. Steamboat navigation was first attempted on the great lakes by the building of the Ontario, in 1816, by Charles Smyth, David Boyd, Eri Lusher, Abram Van Santvoord, John I. De Grafi", and their associates, who, in February, 1816, made an unsuccessful attempt to secure au incorpora- tion as the " Lake Ontario Steamboat Company," with a capital of $200,000. In their memorial before us, they state that they had purchased of the heirs of Robert R. Livingston and Robert Fulton the right to the exclusive navigation of the St. Lawrence. Their steamer, which FmST STEAMBOAT ON THE GnEAT LAKES, 1816. is shown in the above illustration, is engraved from a drawing by Capt. J. Van Cleve. The boat was 110 feet long, 24 wide, 8 deep, and measured 237 tons. She had one low-pressure cross-head engine of 34-ineh cylinder and 4-feet stroke. The latter was made at the Allaire works, New York. She was designed to be after the model of the Sea Horse, then running on the Sound, near New York, and was built mainly under the direction of Hunter Crane, one of the owners. The first trip was made in 1817, and her arrival was celebrated at all the ports on the lake and river with the most extravagant demonstrations of joy, and hailed as a new era to the commerce of our inland seas. In every village that could muster a cannon, and from every steeple that had a bell, went forth a joyous welcome, and crowds of eager citizens from the adjoining country thronged the shores to salute its arrival. Bonfires and illuminations, the congratulations of friends, and the interchange of hos- pitalities, signalized the event. The trip from Lewistown to Ogdensburg required ten days ; fare, $16 ; deck fare, $8', Master, Capt. Mallaby, U.S.N. The Ontario continued till 1832, seldom exceeding five miles an hour, and was finally broken up at Oswego. The Frontenac, a British steamer, at Kingston, and the Walk-in-the- Water, 1818, on Lake Erie, followed soon after. The Martha Ogden was built at Sacket's Harbor, about 1819, with Albert Crane managing owner the first season. She was lost in a gale off Stony point, and the passengers and crew saved by being landed in a basket, drawn back and forth on a rope from the wreck to the shore. No one was lost, and the engine was recovered and placed in the Ontario. The Sophia, originally a schooner, was fitted up as a steamer at Sacket's Harbor, at an early day. The Rohhins was another small schooner, built over, but never did much business. The Black Hawk, built at French Creek, by G. S. Weeks, and owned by Smith, Merrick & Co., was used several seasons as a packet, and afterwards sold to Canadians, and the name changed to The Dolphin. The Paul Pry was built at Heuvelton, in 1830, by Paul Boynton, for parties in Ogdensburg, and run some time on Black lake to Rossie. About 1834, she was passed into the St. Lawrence, at great delay and expense, and used as a ferry until, from the aff'air at the Windmill, in 1838, she became obnoxious to the Canadians, and was run on Black River bay afterwards. The Rossie, a small steamer, was built near Pope's mills, about 1837, by White & Hooker, of Morristown, and ran two seasons on Black lake. This was a small affair and proved unprofitable. An act of Jan. 28, 1831, incorporated the "Lake Ontario Steamboat Company," capital, $100,000 ; dura- tion till May, 1850. The affairs were to be managed by fifteen directors, and the office to be kept at Oswego. This company built the steamer United States, which was launched in November, 1831, and came out July 1, 1832, under the command of Elias Trowbridge. Length, 142 feet ; width, 26 feet beam, 55 feet over all ; depth, 10 feet ; engines, two low-pressure ones of 40-inch cylinder and 8- feet stroke. Cost, $56,000. This steamer, so much in ad- vance of anything that had preceded it on the American side, ran on the through line till 1831, when, from having become obnoxious to the Canadians on account of the use made of her at the affair of the Windmill, she was run upon the lake only afterwards, and was finally broken up at Oswego in 1843, and her engines transferred to the Rochester. This was the first and only boat owned by this company. HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 137 The Oswego was built at that place in 1833 ; of 286 tons ; was used for several seasons on the through line, but after running six years the engines were taken out and placed in the steamer St. Lawrence. She was changed to a sail vessel and lost. The Brownville was built on Black river, below the village of that name, in JeflFerson county. In going down the St. Lawrence she took fire and was burned to the water's edge, but was run on an island, and her crew saved. She was afterwards rebuilt, and run awhile with the former name, and subsequently lengthened at Sacket's Harbor, and her name changed to the William Avery. The engines built by William Avery, of Syracuse, which had previously been high-pressure, were changed to condensing. With a few minor exceptions, there have been no high-pressure engines employed on the lake or river ex- cept in propellers. In 1834 the William Avery was run between Ogdensburg and Niagara, with W. W. Sherman as master. She was dismantled in 1835. The Charles Carroll was built at Sacket's Harbor, and run from Kingston to Rochester in 1834. Afterwards she was rebuilt and length- ened at Sacket's Harbor, in the summer of 1834, and her name changed to the America. Her engine was high- pressure. The America, with D. Howe master, was run- ning from Ogdensburg to Lewistown late in the season of 1834. The Jack Downing was a very small steamer, built by P. Boynton, at Carthage, JeiFerson county, in 1834 ; drawn on wheels to Sacket's Harbor, launched, fitted up, and intended as a ferry at Ogdensburg ; used for this purpose a short time at Waddington, and afterwards run from Fort Covington to Cornwall. Her engine was in 1837 transferred to the Henry Burden, a boat on a novel principle, being supported on two hollow cylindrical floats and the wheel between them. It was afterwards taken by the Rideau canal to Ogdens- burg, and used a short time as a ferry. The Oneida, of 227 tons, was built at Oswego, in 1836. A. Smith was her first master. Her owners were princi- pally Henry Fitzhugh, of Oswego, E. B. Allen and G. N. Seymour, of Ogdensburg. In 1838, and during some part of 1840, she was in the employ of government. With these exceptions, this vessel made regular trips from Og- densburg to Lewiston until 1845, when her engine was taken out, and she was fitted up as a sail vessel. The engine of this boat was afterwards transferred to the steamer British Queen, one of the American line of boats from Ogdensburg to Montreal. She was subsequently lost on Lake Erie. The Telegraph, a steamer having 196 tonnage, was built near Dexter, Jefierson county, and first came out in the fall of 1836. She was owned by parties in Utica, Watertown, and Sacket's Harbor. Sprague was her first captain. She was in the employ of government in the fall of 1838, the whole of 1839, and some part of the spring of 1840. Changed to a sail vessel and burnt on Lake St. Clair. The Express was built at Pultneyville, Wayne county, — H. N. Throop master, and one of the owners, — about the year 1839. It was used on the through line for several years, and afterwards ran from Lewiston to Hamilton. It was finally laid up in 1850. The St. Lawrence, 402 tons, was enrolled at Oswego, in 1839, the engines being the same as those which had been used in the Oswego. In 1844 she 18 was rebuilt, and the tonnage increased to 434 tons. Her first trip was performed in June, 1839. Cost about $50,000. She was run till 1851, most of the time as one of the through line, when she was dismantled at French Creek. This is said to have been the first steamer on this lake that had state-rooms on the main deck. Length, 180 feet; beam, 23 feet; hold, 11 feet. In 1839 she was com- manded by John Evans ; in 1840-46, by J. Van Cleve. Her place on the line was supplied by the Cataract. The George Clinton and the President were small boats built at Oswego in 1842, and the former was wrecked on the south shore of the lake, in 1850. About 1842, a stock company called the " Ontario Steam- and Canal-boat Com- pany'' was formed at Oswego, who, in 1842, built the Lady of the Lake, of 423 tons, G. S. Weeks, builder; used on the through line until 1852, when she was chartered as a ferry, in connection with the railroad from Cape Vincent to Kingston. This was the first American boat on this water that had state-rooms on the upper deck. J. J. Taylor was her master for several years. The Rochester, built for this company by G. S. Weeks, at Oswego, in 1843; of 354 tons, and run on the lake and river until 1848, after which she ran from Lewiston to Hamilton. In July, 1845, the Niagara, of 473 tons, came out, having been the first of a series of steamers built at French Creek by J. Oades. Her length was 182 feet ; beam, 27 J feet ; total breadth, 47 feet; hold, 1\ feet. Engine from the Archimedes works, with cylinder of 40 inches and 11 feet stroke. Wheels, 30 feet in diameter. The British Queen was built on Long Island, between Clayton and Kingston, in 1846, by Oades, the engines being those of the Oneida. Length, 180 feet ; beam, 42 feet ; engine double, each cylinder 26 inches in diameter. The British Empire was built at the same time and place with the last. The Cataract came out in July, 1837. She measured 577 tons, and was commanded the first season by James Van Cleve. Length of keel, 202 feet ; breadth of beam, 27 J feet; breadth across the guards, 48 feet; depth of hold, 10 feet; diameter of wheels, 30 feet; engines built by H. R. Dunham & Co., at the Archimedes works, in New York, and the cylinder has a diameter of 44 inches, and a stroke of 11 feet; cost about $60,000. She was commanded in 1847-48, by J. Van Cleve; in 1849-51, by R. B. Chap- man ; in 1852, by A. D. Kilby. Ontario. Built in the summer of 1847. Length of keel, 222 feet; of deck, 233 feet ; and over all, 240 feet 6 inches ; breadth of beam, 32 feet 2 inches ; and over all, 54 feet 8 inches ; depth of hold, 1 2 feet ; machinery made by T F. Secor & Co., New York ; cylinder 50 inches in diameter, and 11 feet stroke ; tonnage, 900 ; cost about $80,000. Bay State. This magnificent steamer came out for the first time in June, 1849, with J. Van Cleve master the first season. She had a tonnage of 935, and the following dimensions, viz.: length, 222 feet; breadth of beam, 31 J feet ; total breadth, 58 feet ; depth of hold, 12 feet ; eno-ines from the Archimedes works, New York, with a cylinder 56 inches in diameter and 11 feet stroke; wheels, 32 feet in diameter. The Northerner was built at Oswego, by G. S. Week? and came out in May, 1850. She, had a tonnage of 905 ■ 138 HISTOEY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. length, 232 feet; beam, 30} feet; total breadth, 58 feet; depth of hold, 12} feet; wheels, 32 feet in diameter; cost $95,000 ; engines by T. F. Secor & Co., of New York, with cylinder of 60 inches in diameter, and a stroke of 11 feet. The New York, the largest American steamer on the lake, was built in 1851-52, and made her first trip in August, 1852, with R. B. Chapman master ; cost about 1100,000; tonnage, 994; length, 224 feet; beam, 32} feet ; entire breadth, 64 feet ; engines built by H. R. Dun- ham & Co., New York ; cylinder, 60 inches in diameter, with 12 feet stroke ; wheels, 34 feet in diameter. Besides the above there have been built or run upon the river and lake the John Marshall, Utica, Caroline, Pres- cott, Swan, Express, Gleaner, and a few others, mostly small. Shortly after the formation of the " Steam- and Canal- boat Company," a new one was organized, called the " St. Lawrence Steamboat Company." The two were, in 1848, united in one, which assumed the name of the " Ontario and St. Lawrence Steamboat Company," having a capital of $750,000, and at present (1853) the following officers : E. B. Allen, president; E. B. Allen, G. N. Seymour, H. Van Rensselaer, A. Chapman, E. Gr. Merrick, S. Buckley, H. Fitzhugh, A. Munson, T. S. Faxton, H. White, L. Wright, directors ; and James Van Cleve, secretary and treasurer. This company were the owners of eleven steamers in daily service during the season of navigation. Their names, routes, and names of masters, as they existed in the summer and fall of 1852, were as follows : Express Line. — From Ogdensburg, by way of Toronto to Lewiston, and back, a daily line of two steamers, viz. : But/ State, Captain John Ledyard ; New York, Captain R. C. Chapman. Mail Line. — From Ogdensburg to Lewiston, touching at Kingston, and all the principal American ports, except Cape Vincent, a daily line of four steamers, viz. : Northerner, Captain R. F. Child; Cataract, Captain A. D. Kilby; Niagara, Captain J. B. Estes; Ontario, Captain H. N. Throop. The American Line, from Ogdensburg to Montreal, a daily line of three steamers, viz. : British Queen, Captain T. Laflamme ; British Empire, Captain D. S. Allen ; Jenny Lind, Captain L. Moody. Railroad Ferry. — From Cape Vincent to Kingston : Lady of the Lake, Captain S. L. Seymour. Line from Lewiston to Hamilton, at the head of Lake Ontario : Rochester, Captain John Mason. Of the above steamers, the Niagara, Cataract, Ontario, Bay State, and New York were built at French Creek, by John Oades, and the British Queen and British Empire, by the same builder, at the foot of Long island, in the St. Lawrence. Of propellers, the pioneer on the lake was the Oswego, built at that place in 1841 ; since which, about a dozen have been built on the lake. In 1851 a line, now numbering ten propellers, was established by Crawford & Co., to ruo in connection with the Northern railroad, for forwarding freight. In 1852, this line transported about 30,000 tons of flour and produce, eastward, and 20,000 of merchandise, westward. Many of these vessels have cabins for passengers. jNIost of them were built at Cleveland Ohio. Speaking of the manner in which the business of steam navigation was managed on Lake Ontario and the St. Law- rence in 1852, Dr. Hough makes the following observations : " It is a singular fact that not a single accident has ever occurred upon any American steamer on Lake Ontario, or the St. Lawrence, which has caused the death or injury of a passenger. This is not due to chance so much as to skillful management. "It is believed that the steam packets on Lake Ontario, although they may be wanting in the gaudy ornaments and dazzling array of gilding and carving which is so ostentatiously displayed on the steamers of the North river, will compare in real convenience, neat- ness, and comfort, in the careful and attentive deportment of the officers and subordinates employed, in skillful management, punctu- ality, and safety, with any class of boats in the world. This opinion will be readily indorsed by any one who has enjoyed the accommoda- tion which they afford." The number of vessels built in the district of Oswegatchie from 1865 to 1877 inclusive, and their tonnage, was as follows : Ton.". Steam vessels 9 440.37 Barges 9 170.40 Total 18 610.77 The number of vessels registered in this district, and their tonnage, is as follows : Tons. steam vessels 15 1068.67 Sail vessels 7 691.47 Barges 7 964.12 Total 29 2724.46 Steamers for passengers and freight ply regularly in the season between Lake Ontario and Montreal, touching at all intermediate points; and there are several of a smaller ca- pacity which run from Ogdensburg to various points below Waddington, Louisville, Massena, etc. There are steam ferries at Ogdensburg, Morristown, and at several points below the latter. For the benefit of navigation, there are light-houses erected on the American side at Ogdensburg, Cross-over, and Sister islands, within the bounds of St. Lawrence County, and there are several on the Canadian shore. MARINE RAILWAY. The repairing of vessels is an important item to the great lines of transportation and to shipping men generally, and to facilitate this branch of commerce dry-docks and marine' railways are constructed at great expense, by which a vessel may be taken from the water and placed in such a positioti that work can be carried on upon every part of her, outside, inside, and underneath, at the same time. Knowing the advantages that would accrue from a work of this kind located at Ogdensburg, a company called the Ogdensburg Marine Railway Company was formed Sept. 29, 1852. The following gentlemen were chosen ofiieers at the first meeting: Henry Van Rensselaer, B. N. Fair- child, E. B. Allen, Edwin Clark, and Allen Chaney, trustees; Henry Van Rensselaer, president; Walter B. Allen, secre- tary. The duration of the company was limited to fifty years, and the shares were fixed at fifty dollars each. This organization was elFected under an act passed Feb. 17, 1848. During the season of 1853 the company constructed a marine railway at Pigeon Point, a half-mile above the mouth of the Oswegatchie, on the St. Lawrence, of sufficient HISTOEY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 139 capacity to take out the largest vessels then on the lakes. Its approximate cost was $75,000, and it was and is yet the largest on the northern border. There are others at King- ston, Ontario, and at Oswego. Connected with it was an extensive ship-yard, with the necessary shops and appurtenances for building and repair- ing all classes of sea-going craft, canal-boats, etc., etc. The original company built the Mariner and rebuilt the Rio Grande, two sail vessels, besides repairing a large number, of various descriptions, during the time in which they op- erated the works, from 1853 to about 1860, when they were leased to E. B. Allen & Son, who operated them for ope or two years, when the property was sold to H. C. Pearson, who operated it until about 1870, when it was purchased by the Northern Transportation Company. During Mr. Pearson's occupancy he constructed ten or twelve canal propellers for the Erie canal, and built a number of vessels for the lake trade, among them the schooners W. B. Allen (for E. B. Allen & Son) and South- west, and two propellers and a side-wheel steamer. The works are now the property of the Northern Transit Com- pany, which succeeded the old Northern Transportation Company in 1876. The railway has a capacity for hauling out and repairing two of the Northern Transportation Company's propellers at the same time. Their average tonnage is about 400. The engine used is of about 40- horse power only, but by the use of heavy and complicated gearing a large vessel is easily taken from the water in less than an hour after she begins to move. This railway has been in successful operation for twenty-four years. The steady flow of the St. Lawrence, and its exemption from floods, make it the finest fresh-water stream in the world for purposes of this description. THE NORTHERN TRANSIT COMPANY. A company known as the " Northern Transportation Company" was organized under the laws of New York in 1855, and reorganized under the laws of Ohio in 1862. This company had two lines of propellers in operation, one running to Lake Erie and one to Lake Michigan. Fifteen boats were employed until 1868, when the number was in- creased to twenty-one. Those running on Lakes Erie and Ontario and the St. Lawrence river were built as large as could be passed through the Welland canal, — about four hundred tons each. This company continued in business until 1875, when the property went into the hands of a re- ceiver. In 1876 the " Northern Transit Company" was formed, which purchased the entire outfit of the former company, and are now running sixteen propellers and three sail vessels between Ogdensburg and the ports of the lakes ; Chicago, Milwaukee, Toledo, and Cleveland being the principal ports in the west, and Oswego and Ogdensburg in the east. The boats touch at all points on the St. Law- rence above Ogdensburg, and at all the ports, both Canadian and American, on the lakes above the Welland canal. The principal business is the freighting of grain and flour from the west and merchandise from the east, the latter princi- pally from New York and Boston. The New England business passes mostly via Ogdens- burg, and the New York business via Oswego. The passenger traffic is more extensive than is at first sight apparent, amounting to over $100,000 annually. At Ogdensburg the line connects with the Ogdensburg and Lake Cliamplain railway, and through this with the Central Vermont railway, which distributes to all parts of New England. The connections at Oswego are by canal and railway, and the facilities are excellent and ample. The line also connects at Clayton with the Utica and Black River railroad. The company also own the marine railway at Ogdens- burg (spoken of elsewhere), and in connection therewith a ship-yard, where are constructed many of their vessels, extensive repair-shops, a saw-mill, etc. The boats are registered in the Cleveland district, and the company have also a ship-yard at that place for the construction of vessels. The present ofiicers of the company are A. W. French, president ; Philo Chamberlin, superintendent ; W. W. But- ler, secretary and treasurer ; C. L. Thompson, auditor. TELEGRAPH COMPANIES. Northern New York was first brought into direct com- munication with the great cities in 1849, by means of the Canadian line of telegraphs operating on the Morse princi- ple. A station was established at Brookville'and another at Prescott. The " New York State Line" extended a branch from Watertown to Ogdensburg, by way of the Old Military road, in the summer of 1850. Ogdensburg was the only station in the county. In the summer of 1851 the " Vermont and Boston Line,'' originally intended to extend only as far as Burling- ton, was continued on to Rouse's Point and Ogdensburg, partly along the line of the railroad and partly along the highway. It had stations for receiving and transmitting intelligence at Ogdensburg, Canton, Potsdam, North Pots- dam, Malone, and Chateaugay. Both of these lines were operated on the principle of Bain's electro-chemical tele- graph, and sufficient stock was taken up along the routes to defray the expense of erection. The entire business of the county of St. Lawrence is now transacted by two companies : " The Montreal Tele- graph Company" and the " Dominion Telegraph Company." The former was organized in 1847, and commenced busi- ness in the county in 1849. It connects with the Anglo- American Cable Company and with the land lines of the Western Union Company at Oswego, BulFalo, Detroit, and other points. Nine separate lines connect with the Ogdens- burg office. The territory occupied by the company is divided into two divisions, called the Eastern and Western, Oo-densburg being in the Western Division. The officers of this company are : President, Sir Hugh Allan ; Secretary and General Eastern Superintendent, James Dakers ; Treasurer, Charles Bourne ; Greneral Western Superintendent, H. P. Dwight; Superintendent Western Division, Dexter Van Ostrand; Manager Ogdens- burg Office, James Ingram. " Tiie Dominion Telegraph Company" was organized in 1868, and commenced business in St. Lawrence County in September, 1872. Offices are established at Ogdensburg, Morristown, and Hammond, in St. Lawrence County. The 140 HISTORY OP ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. company connects with direct ocean cable with the Atlantic and Pacific and Vermont International Telegraph companies. The general offices of the company are located at Toronto. The following are the present officers : Board of Directors, Hon. T. N. Gibbs, M.P., president; John I. MacKenzie, Esq., vice-president; James Michie, Esq., treasurer; Thos. Swinyard, Esq., managing director; Hon. William Cayley, W. F. McMaster, Esq., A. Copp, Esq., R. N. Waddell, Esq., Laurence Oliphant, Esq. Local Directors, M. H. Grault, Esq., Montreal ; A. Joseph, Esq., Quebec. Execu- tive officers, Thomas Swinyard, Esq., general manager, Toronto; Frederick Roper, Esq., secretary, Toronto. Divi- sional Superintendents, H. Neilson, Toronto ; C. R. Hosmer, Montreal ; T. C. Elwood, Toronto ; D. B. McQuarrie, Hal- ifax. Agent at Ogdensburg, C. E. Comstock. r. S. CUSTOMS. The District of Oswe.gatchie was established March 2, 1811, and the following statistics, procured by the Hon. Preston King, at the Treasury Department, for this purpose, show the business of this district very satisfactorily. The collectors have been Alexander Richards, 1811-20 ; Aaron Hackley, 1821 to 1827 ; Nathan Myers, 1827-29 ; Baron S. Doty, 182fl-36 ; Smith Stilwell, Oct. 1, 1836, Sept. 11, 1840; David C. Judson, Sept. 12, 1840, Feb. 16, 1849; James C. Barter, Aug. 7, 1849 ; Thomas Bacon, Horace Moody, David M. Chapin, N. M. Curtis, George Parker, and Col. S. P. Remington, the present incumbent. The collections for a series of years, including all we could obtain, are shown in the following table : Year. Collections. 1815 $11,729.37 1816 4,409.80 1817 6,176.02 1818 6,155.98 1819 2,716.01 1820 1,677.01 182X 1,339.45 1822 2,307.35 1823 2,462.07 1824 1,913.59 1825 1,349.30 1826 1,207.87 1827 768.02 1828 2,103.33 1829 2,044.91 1830 2,.329.76 1831 3,314.60 1832 3,847.04 Year. Collections. 1833 $3,295.99 1834 2,625.53 1836 2,964.76 1836 10,581.00 1836 2,228.97 1837 4,316.79 1838 2,847.62 1839 2,497.68 1840 1,111.25 1840 542.22 1841 1,420.08 1842 1,268.68 1843 743.36 1844 2,032.09 1846 2,884.26 1846 1,852.26 1847 4,650.09 1848 5,106.76 Year. Collections. 1849 $7,605.19 1849 1,325.19 1860 11,210.37 1861..... 20,048.96 1870 309,190.00 1871 269,420.00 Year. Collections 1872 $234,361.00 1873 226,249.00 1874 206,605.00 ISrS 112,.S60.00 1876 80,362.00 187? 96,494.00 Subordinate offices are located at Hammond, Morristown Louisville, Massena, and Waddington, of which noticf.s will be found in the history of the respective towns. CUSTOM-HOUSE AT OGDENSBURG. The U. S. government purchased grounds in Ogdens- burg, about 1850, of David C. Judson, and erected the present fine, substantial, and imposing edifice. The struc- ture is built of Berea sandstone, fr^-ii Ohio. The basement is of blue cut limestone, resting u,, ja a concrete foundation, four feet wide and six feet deep, filled with broken limestone and Salina cement. It is three stories in height, and 121 by 57 feet in dimensions, and stands in a commanding loca- tion, on the block bounded by State, Knox, South Water, and Spinner streets. The lower floor is occupied by the post-office, customs department, pension-office, and offices for the revenue department. In the second story are the U. S. court-rooms and necessary offices. The rooms in the third story are used mostly for storage purposes. The floors rest upon iron girders, supported on brick arches. The roof, covered with Vermont slate, is supported by iron rafters, and surmounted by an iron-framed dome thirty feet in diameter, in the centre of which is a spiral iron stairway, fifty feet in height, reaching to the observatory above, which commands a fine and extensive view of the city, the St. Lawrence river, and the surrounding country on both sides for many miles. The interior finish is of white ash, and the furniture of black walnut. The hall floors are laid with sandstone tiling, and the office floors are of four-inch white spruce. The stair-frames are of iron, and the steps of Ohio stone. The building is heated by steam. The open space west of the building is inclosed by an iron fence, and the wide space around is lagged with Potsdam sandstone. The entire cost of the building, including grounds, furni- ture, etc., has been about $265,000, and it is one of the finest of its class in the country. (See illustration.) The steamer "Admiral," formerly U. S. revenue cutter, is owned by the Judsons, of Ogdensburg. CUSTOM house: and ^oiro7?fc-rr^^^^;ii,^tTV VILLAGE AND CITY 0¥ OGDEKSBUKG. INTEODUCTORY. The city of Ogdensburg, named in honor of Samuel Ogden, its original proprietor, is beautifully and most ad- vantageously situated on the St. Lawrence river, at the foot of heavy ship navigation for the lakes, and on both sides of the Oswegatchie river, which here enters the St. Lawrence from the south. The great rapids of the latter river com- mence about six miles below Ogdensburg, and form a serious obstruction to the navigation of that stream ; but above Ogdensburg there is plenty of still water for the largest vessels and steamers. Three great railway lines diverge from this point towards the east, south, and southwest, and good connections are made with the Canadian railway sys- tem. The manufacturing facilities of Ogdensburg are good, and more especially in the lines of finished lumber and va- rious descriptions of wood-working. The Oswegatchie fur- nishes extensive water-power, which is well utilized, and the point is easily accessible to the iron mines of New York and Lake Superior, and the coal fields of Pennsylvania and Ohio. The city is finely laid out with broad streets, and is generally well built, particularly in the line of business- buildings, which compare favorably with those of any city of its size in the country. The public buildings of Ogdensburg are a United States custom-house and post-ofiice, a fine city-hall, six costly churches, nine good school buildings, a State arsenal, — the latter not at present in use for the purpose designed, — and the city water-works. Besides the nine public school build- ings, the Catholics and other denominations own several costly and commodious school buildings in various parts of the city, including two convents. The latitude is about 44° 40', and the longitude 75° 30' west from Glreenwich. Ogdensburg contains all the elements of larger cities, — broad, fine streets, beautifully shaded with forest maples ; good public and business buildings ; elegant and costly pri- vate dwellings ; grand churches ; excellent schools ; an en- terprising press ; a resident bishop ; prominent clergymen, attorneys, and physicians ; extensive banking-houses ; im- portant manufactures ; railways ; telegraph and express lines ; the finest post-oiEce building in the northern part of the State ; water- and gas-works ; beautiful cemeteries ; an efficient police and fire department ; numerous orders and societies ; bands, etc. ; and a very important commercial and mercantile trade. It is situated in the midst of most interesting historical associations, dating back to the days of Champlain and Frontenac, and closely connected in later times with the stirring military events of 1812-15, and of 1837-40. The situation of the city is grand, — ^upon the banks of the finest fresh-water stream upon the globe, upon whose breast floats the commerce of two mighty nations, and which connects the greatest system of inland navigation in the world with the waters of the Atlantic. From the dome of the custom-house, on a clear day, the prospect is grand and sublime. The vision takes in a vast stretch of the St. Lawrence, with its bays and islands, the long line of the Canada coast, with numerous cities and villages, towards the north and west, and to the south and east the extensive champaign region lying between the wilderness and the river; and far to the southeast rise the blue undulating outlines of the ancient Adirondacks, the fathers of moun- tains. The population of Ogdensburg, by the last State census of 1875, is something over 11,000, of whom between 4000 and 5000 are of foreign extraction. The bonded debt of the city is §135,000 ; of which there was issued in 1868 $100,000, and in 1870 $35,000. These bonds run for twenty years from date of issue, with interest payable semi-annually in February and August at the National Park bank, city of New York. The following statements are from the last annual report of the Mayor for 1876-77. SUMMARY OF RECEIPTS OF GENERAL FUND. Balance on hand at date of last report Keoeired from E. White, Esq., recorder, fines, etc " Board of excise, licenses " City treasurer, liquor licenses *' Hack and carter licenses " Show licenses , " Circus licenses " Foreign insurance companies " Distribution of city taxes " Town orders " Ferry license " Entertainment at town-hall, for gas " Street vendor " Transfer of order 433 to highway fund..., " Transfer from special police fund Paid , $U70.n8 701.10 2349.25 2844.05 221.00 83.80 30.00 437.98 2186.03 309.65 100.00 1.20 1.00 20.38 1.79 $10,467.31 SUMMARY OF DISBURSEMENTS FROM GENERAL FUND. City Clerk, N. H. Lytle $500.92 Police department 2941.46 Legal services 65.75 Excise Board, salary, etc 150.00 Assessors' salaries, etc 372.00 G-as bills at town-house, police headquarters, and town-hall 189.20 Rent police headquarters 200.00 E. White, recorder, salary 600.00 Firewardens, July 4 18.00 Pound rent 25.00 Expenses of fire department 687.95 " inspectors and clerks election 331.25 Expenses printing, etc 603.70 Health officers 322.43 Lumber 226.49 Coal, police headquarters and town-hall 146.10 Wood for same places 258.50 Erroneous taxes returned 50.51 Special police, July 4 and Nov. 7 138.75 Insurance 224.00 Surveying 17.00 Shoveling snow 16.00 Sundries, etc 1447.23 $9,331.24 141 142 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. WATEB-WORKS FUND — EECEIPTS. Received from water-rates *^®?2'^o It (t 11. lo <. .■ 347.75 « 90.70 „ « 92.00 « .. .■■" 21.5.10 » « V ■ 135.24 « <' 127.00 « " ■. ■ 1.30.71 « " ■ 18.70 « « 42.35 1862.19 " " ' ,\ 126.98 " " ' 141.50 " " 175.45 << " 161.00 " " 653.39 " 14.70 " " 11.62 Received note to pay interest on bonds 4725.00 " from city taxes 4960.00 " balance of city taxes 560.00 $17,119.25 WATER- WORKS — DlSBURSESfENTS. By balance overdrawn at date of last report $157.54 Paid Seymours &> Co., coal 80.00 " A. H. Lord, salary and disbursements 105.50 " C. A. Davies & Co., merchandise 38.54 " Cranberry lake commissioners 72.00 " A. H. Lord, salary and disbursements 109.25 " Ogdensburg gas company, gas at water-works 5.40 " A. H. Lord, salary and disbursements 114.75 " Water- works pay-roll 31.45 " Draft interest on bonds 4725.00 " Commissions National Park bank 23.62 " J. C. Armstrong, postage account.... 8.00 '* R. Montgomery, labor 99.14 " W. B. Allen & Co., merchandise 34.21 " A. H. Lord, salary and disbursements 107.45 ^* Water-works pay-roll 14.38 " A. H. Lord, salary, etc 108.90 " Seymours & Co., coal 252.23 " Murphy & Liscomb 58.40 " E. S, Brownson, merchandise 9.27 " A. H. Lord, salary, etc 105.72 " Thomas McSirr, labor 11.75 " A. H. Lord, salary and disbursements 114.45 " Note and discount 4829.14 *' Water- works pay-roll 24.19 " A. H. Lord, salary 106.00 " James Brown, lumber 34.97 " Ogdensburg gas company, gas at water-works 11.88 " A. H. Lord, salary and disbursements 110.60 '* Interest on coupon bonds 2460.00 " Interest on registered bonds 2275.00 ** Park bank, commissions 11.81 " Exchange on draft 11.81 " W. W. Fulton, referee 18.42 " W. B. Allen, merchandise 76.65 " J. Autin, wood 43.12 " J. Glass, merchandise 115.35 " A. H. Lord, disbursements 36.00 " J. C. Armstrong, stamps and envelopes 11.76 '' James, Remington & Palmer, printing 28.26 " C. A. Davies & Co., merchandise 11.66 " C. Slocum, labor 8.48 " A. H. Lord, salary and disbursements 111.60 " " 127.05 " C. Axhley, merchandise 3,34 " A. H. Lord, salary, etc 110.06 " J. MoNaughton, legal services 10.00 " Ogdensburg gas company, gas for water-works 9.72 •' Balance 146.56 $17,119.25 MISCELLANEOUS. Highway fund — receipts and expenditures $11,023.67 Gas fund— receipts and expenditures 2,247.22 Public park fund— receipts and disbursements 1,372.26 Sewer fund, " " 2,026.83 Cemetery fund, " *' 541.60 Hose house fund, " " 426.73 Total $17,638.31 The total amount expended on account of streets, in- cluding walks, bridges, and culverts, was $10,945.08. In the following pages will be found the early and later history of the mission, village, and city of Ogdensbui-o' with a full account of its various institutions, manufactures, schools, churches, professions, etc., with complete lists of vil- lage and city officers to the present time, carefully arranged by subjects, and covering every department of enterprise from 1749 to 1878. TRADE. The first stock of goods opened in Ogdensburg was brought by the tedious route of the Hudson river, the Mo- hawk, Wood creek, Oneida lake, Oswego river, Lake On- tario, and the St. Lawrence, by Nathan Ford, agent for Samuel Ogden, and arrived at Ogdensburg Aug. 11, 1796. On the route up the Mohawk one of the boats, loaded with the goods, was sunk in the rapids and the goods badly damaged. This stock was opened in the sergeant's room of the late British barracks, and Richard Fitz Randolph was the first man to measure tape and sell salt and sugar in the embryo city. To-day, from this small beginning, the city has grown and enlarged its trade until the mercantile estab- lishments probably number over one hundred and fifty of various kinds. BUSINESS SUMMART. A summary of the present business of the city of Og- densburg gives about the following : 4 asheries, 35 attor- neys, 2 architects, 3 auction and commission, 3 bakeries, 2 banking-houses, 9 barber-shops, 2 billiard-rooms, 20 blacksmiths, 4 boat-builders, 2 bowling-alleys, 2 books and stationery, 1 book-bindery, 10 boot- and shoe-dealers, 3 brokers, 1 brewery, 1 broom-factory, 4 carriage-works, 1 cement-roofing, 1 chandlery, 10 clergymen, 6 clothing- stores, 5 confectioners, 2 heavy coal dealers, 4 cooperages, 1 crockery dealer, 5 dentists, 12 dress-makers, 4 doors, sash, and blinds, 5 druggists, 11 dry goods, 1 express office, 2 flour and grain dealers, 4 flour-mills, 1 forwarding and corn, 2 foundries and machine-shops, 2 fruit dealers, 4 fur- niture dealers, 50 grocers, 2 hair-work manufacturers, 8 hardware and tinware, 3 hat, cap, and fur dealers, 15 hotels, 9 insurance agents, 5 jewelers, 3 job printers, 4 justices, 4 land agents and real estate, 2 grain elevators, one with ca- pacity of 650,000 bushels, 90 licensed hackmen, wagoners, and carters, 5 liquor-stores, 2 liveries, 3 heavy lumber deal- ers, 2 marble-shops, 20 meat and vegetable markets, 4 mer- chant tailors, 10 milliners, 2 musical instruments, 2 oils and glassware, 3 photographers, 12 physicians, 5 planing-mills, 1 plaster-mill, 3 plumbers and gas-fitters, 5 post officials, 2 pump-factories, 3 railways, 10 saddlery and harness, 25 saloons and sample-rooms, 9 public and 7 select schools, and about 20 societies of various kinds, exclusive of churches, 1 extensive stave-factory, 2 steam ferries, 2 telegraph offices, 4 tobacconists. The total capital invested in the city in various branches of business, railways, transportation, manufactures, banking, and trade, approximates $5,000,000. VILLAGE AND CITY OF OGDENSBURa. The city of Ogdensburg comprises, for civil purposes, a part of the town of Oswegatchie, which was erected from Lisbon March 3, 1802, the date of the organization of the county. HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 143 The first settlement was made in 1749 by the Sulpician Father Francis Picquet, who built a mission house and in- closed it with a small stockade, or palisade, and had mounted for its defense " seven small stone guns and eleven four- to six-pounders." In 1751 he built a dam and saw-mill on the Oswegatchie, as stated by one writer ; by another it is said that a dam and mill were erected by Captain Vernuil Lorimier, a French officer, who commanded at La Presenta- tion (the name given by Picquet to his post). At this mill large quantities of lumber were manufactured, a por- tion of which was used in the building of the rapidly- increasing village, which was composed of Indians, mostly from the Onondaga tribe of the Five Nations, who were persuaded to embrace Christianity, or rather to conform to the outward rules of the Catholic church, and to emigrate to the new mission on the Oswegatchie. The mission was abandoned and the works destroyed by the French upon the advance of General Amherst's army in the summer of 1760. The sandstone tablet, with its Latin inscription, which Father Picquet had placed in his mission house, was found among the ruins in 1831, and afterwards inserted in the front of the State arsenal, erected in 1858. A British garrison probably occupied this post for some years. The English were in possession in 1793, at which time Samuel Ogden was in correspondence with the gov- ernor of New York and the governor-general of Canada concerning the occupation by the English and the rapid destruction of the timber upon his domain, which was being extensively shipped to the north side of the St. Lawrence. Settlement was commenced here, under the proprietor- ship of Samuel Ogden, by his agent, Nathan Ford, in 1796 ; and on July 11, 1797, Mr. Ford was made his attorney for the sale of lands. It was Mr. Ogden's intention to begin at an earlier date, but possession of the English Fort Oswe- gatchie could not be obtained. The ownership was finally settled by the terms of Jay's treaty, ratified in February, 1796, and the British gave up possession. Under British administration leases had been procured from the Oswegatchie Indians, under which the old French mill and dam were put in repair and an extensive lumber- ing business commenced by the Canadians, and was in full tide of operation when the fact first became known to the purchasers. Specimens of these spurious titles are inserted as curi- osities worthy of preservation. SPECIMEN INDIAN TITLE. " To all people to whom these presents shall come : Ogentago, Do- wasundah, Sahundarish, and Canadaha, the four representatives of the Indian village of Oswegatchie, have this day, by and with the advice of the whole nation, being duly assembled in full council of the whole tribe or nation, as above mentioned, Men, Women, and Children being all present, have this day bargained, agreed, and to farme let for ever, to Major Watson, of Oswegatchie, and to his heirs and assignes for ever, all that tract or parcel of Land, Situate, Lying, and Being, on the South Side of the River St. Lawrence, Beginning at the northwest corner of a tract of land granted to Daniel Smith, and running up along the stream of the river one League, or three English miles; thence Bast South-east from the Lake or Kiver, into the woods three Leagues or Nine English Miles, thence Northeast one League or three English miles, thence North North west three Leagues or Nine English Miles, along the Line of said Daniel Smith to the place of Beginning, at the River Keeping the breadth of one League or three English miles, from the front of the River with Nine Miles in Depth; to him, his heirs and assigns, with the appurte- nances thereunto Belonging, or anywise appertaining to him the Said Major Watson his heirs and assigns for ever, for the yearly Rents and Covenants herein Reserved to the above Ogentago, Do- wasundah, Sahundarish and Canadaha, their heirs and successors or assigns, forever; to be yearly and Every year after the day of the date hearof, and to commence on the first day of December, one thousand Seven hundred and ninety three, the sum of Twenty Spanish Mill'd Dollars, thirteen and one third Bushels of wheat, and thirty three and one third pounds of pork, to be paid on the premices by the said Major Watson, his Heirs, Executors, administrators and assigns, to the above forementioned representatives, their heirs or assigns, if legally demanded on the premises, they giving sufiicient dis- charges for the same, every year, hereafter, as the same rent becomes due. Now therefore this Indenture witnesseth, that the above Ogen- tago, Dowasunda, Sahundarish, and Canadaha, the four Representa- tives of the above mentioned village, and being the true and lawful owners of the above described Lands, and for, and in consideration of the yearly Rents and Covenants above mentioned, the receipt whereof they do here acknowledge, hath granted Bargained aliened released and confirmed, and by these presents doth, fully, freely, and Abso- lutely, do grant, Bargain, and sell; alien. Release, and confirm, unto the said Major Watson, his heirs and assigns for ever all the Title, Interest, Property, Claim, and Demand, of and unto, the above men- tioned Land, and premises, together with all the Trees, Timber, woods, ponds, pools, water, water courses, and streams of water, fish- ing, fowling, hawking, and hunting, Mines and Minerals, Standing, growing, Lying, and Being, or to be had, used, and enjoyed within the limits and Bounds aforesaid, and all other profits, Benefits, Liberties, priviledges, heriditiments, and appurtunanceys to the same Belonging, or in anywise appertaining, to have, and to hold, all the aforesaid Land, and premises, to the said Major Watson, his Heirs and assigns, to the proper use Benefit and Behoof of him, the said Major Watson, his Heirs and assigns for ever. So that neither of them the said Releasors nor their heirs or any other person or persons whatsoever for them or either of them, in their or either of their Names or write. Shall, or May, by any ways or means whatsoever, at any time hereafter. Claim, Challenge, or demand any Estate Right Title Interest, of, in, or to, the said above released premices, or any part thereof. But from all and every action and actions. Estate, Right, title. Claim, and De- mand, of any kind, of, in, or to, the said premises, or any part there- of, they and Every of them. Shall be for ever Bound, by thease presents, and thay, and Every of them, the above said premises, with the ap- portunances to the said Major Watson, his heirs and assigns, shall, and will, for Ever Warrant and Defend. In Witness whereof, they have hearunto Set their Hands, and Seals, the Twenty Second day of August, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety two. " Sealed and Delivered in the Presents off, " Senhawe x his Mark. Sahieh x bis Mark. Henry Galton. Chrest. Swansichton. Ogentago x his Mark. l. s. Dowasundah, x his Mark. i^. a. Sawhundarish, x his Mark. L. s. Canadaha. x his Mark. l. s. 'T. B. A true coppy " Indorsement on Preceding. — Be it for Ever hereafter Remembered, that the chiefs of the Oswegatchie Nation have received of Major Watson, Jared Seeley, and Daniel Smith, and John Livingston, an actual payment for the consideration contained in the Deeds executed by us and our fathers, comprehending ten miles on the river St. Law- rence, with nine miles back into the woods ; wo say received the rent in full, for the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and 144 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. ninety-seven, agreeable to the conditions of the within Lease or Deed, and the said parteys are hear hy Regularly Discharged for the same, as witnesses our hands. his 'Candaha. 'Witness present, " Amos Ansley. mark. " Lashalagcnhas, X his mark. " Lcwangelass, X his mark." Onatchateyent, Totagoines, Onarlos, Tiotaasera, Aonaota, Gatemontie, Ganonsenthe and Onente, OswegatcMe chiefs, at Grenville, U. C, June 1, 1795, in the presence of Joseph Anderson, John Stigraan, and Ephraim Jones, confirmed to Catharine and Francis, the wife and son of Capt. Verneuil Lorimier, a verbal lease, executed in 1785, of a tract on the south shore, half a mile on each side of the small river called Black river and up to Black lake, for the yearly rent of one hundred silver dollars, or money equivalent thereto. This was a full warranty deed with covenant. Lorimier had been a French officer in command of Fort Presentation, and a tradition relates that he also possessed a French title, which, with other papers, were scattered and lost in a gale of wind that unroofed his house.* It having been reported that the St. Regis Indians discountenanced these proceed- ings, Watson and his associates wrote to them on the subject, and received the following answer, dated at St. Regis, April 10, 1795 : "SiK, — We were favored with your letter of the 9 March, and we have to inform you that no Indian of St. Regis ever will molest or trouble you on your present possession. You pay our brothers of the Oswegatchie a tolerable rent, and as long as "you will make good pay- ment of the same rent to our brothers, who are the same in all re- spects as ourselves, we shall and ever will be happy to keep you in full possession ; do not ever believe any thing to the contrary from any person whatever. " We are with esteem, your brothers and friends, " Tharonhiageton, " Ononsagenra, " Assorontonkota, " Tionategekha. "For ourselves and others of our village of St. Regis." To Still further substantiate their title, the lessees from the Indians procured of the commandant of the furt at Oswegatchie a permit to locate upon and occupy the tracts included in their leases. This document is given below, in the orthography and punctuation of the original : *' This is to cartifyc that John Levingston Daniel Smith, Major Watson, and Jered Seley have made a purchase of a tract of land from the Indians of the Oswegatchie within the Jurisdiction of the British post of Oswegatchie, I having examined said purchase and find it to be a fair one therefore the said John Levingston Daniel Smith M'ajor Watson and Jered Seley are hereby ortherized to settle cultivate and improve the saim and T as oummanding officer of said post Do hereby Ratilie and Confirm said purchase and promia the Kings protection to them and Their associates Witness my hand And seal Don at oswegatchie this Tenth Day of June one thousand seven hundred ninty four Richard Porter. L. S." * Slated on the authority of Wm. E. Guest, Esq., of Ogdensburg. By virtue of these titles, and under protection of the British flag, a saw-millf was erected west of the Oswegat- chie, near its mouth, and the business of lumbering was commenced and prosecuted with spirit, under which the majestic forests, covering almost the entire region, began rapidly to disappear; and these operations extended to the whole river-front and the tributaries of the great river capable of floating spars and rafts. The following correspondence, in relation to these claims and trespasses, passed several years before settlements were attempted : " New York, Nov. 1, 1793. " His Excellency George Clinton, Esq. " Myself and associates, owners of ten townships of land lying on the east side of the river St. Lawrence, having had the honor of ad- dressing you on the 2d of September, 1792, and stating to you, as the head of the executive of this State, certain representations of tres- passes daily committed on said townships by subjects of the Govern- ment of Great Britain, in hopes that through your aid some measures would be taken, either by the government of the State or by the general government, to put a stop to the great evil of which we com- plained. But finding from good information that the trespass was not only continued, but very much increased, I conceived it for the in- terest of myself and the other gentlemen concerned to take a journey to that country, as well to establish the facts contained in that letter as to endeavor, by making a representation thereof to the governor of Canada, to have an immediate stop put to the evil. How far my expectations have been realized, your excellency will judge from a perusal of the copies, hereto annexed, of the letters that passed between Governor Simooe, my Lord Dorchester, and myself. " You will allow me, in behalf of myself and associates, to aver to you that all the facts contained in our letter to you, as well as those contained in my letter to Governor Simcoe and my Lord Dorchester, are true, and I trust you will readily see the necessity of some imme- diate and spirited measures to stop the trespass, or the great part of all our valuable timber will be destroyed, and carried out of the United States, by a set of men whose only motive is to plunder and destroy. Our title under the State we know to be good, and we conceive we have every just claim for protection and indemnity from it. It is now upwards of eight years that wo paid into the public treasury a large sum of money for this tract of country, under full expectation that we might make peaceable settlements thereon. But, unfortunately for our interests, we are not only prevented by the British government from settling those lands, but the subjects thereof have already robbed us of the most valuable part of that property. It is the apprehension of consequences of a public nature that restrains us from appealing to the law of the State for the protection of that property. There can be no doubt but that the justice of the legislature ought to give us an ample indemnity for our sufferings. How far, then, it may be proper for us, through you, to make a representation of the hardships under which we labor to it, at the approaching session, is with much respect submitted to your wisdom, and we, well knowing your anxiety for the dignity of the State and the interests of its individuals, have no doubt that you will do everything that may be proper in the premises. " I have the honor to be your most obedient humble servant, "Sam'l Ogden." " York, Uppek Canaba, August 31, 1793. "His EXCEI.LHNCY JOHN G. SlMCOE, ESQ. " Sir,— Having obtained, under the State of New York, a title to a large tract of land lying on the southeast side of the river St. Law- rence, at or about Oswegatchie, and being informed that many persons calling themselves subjects of your government are daily committing great trespass on said tract of land, by cutting and transporting to Montreal large quantities of timber therefrom, I beg leave to repre- sent the same to your excellency, in full confidence that your interpo- sition will put an immediate stop to such proceedings as tend very much to my injury. It may not be improper to add that, previous to my leaving New York, I was advised, and well knew, that the ex- t This was possibly a new mill, as the original French mill m^J have been destroyed or decayed. HISTORY OP ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 145 eoutivo of that State would, on my application, give his immediate aid for the protection of this property. But conceiving such an opera- tion would involve a governmental question (which for very obvious reasons I conceive at this time ought to be avoided), at great expense and fatigue, I undertook a journey to this country, that I might make this representation to your excellency previous to any other measures being taken in the premises. " I have the honor to bo, etc., "Sam'l Ogden." " Yonic, August 31, 1793. " Samuel Ogden, Esq. "Sir, — I am just favored with your letter of the 31st of August. I beg leave to observe to you that last autumn, on the representation of the Oaioegatckie Indians, the magistrates of the town of Augusta warned some of his majesty's subjects to quit those very lands. I apprehend you claim under a title from the State of New York. In regard to your intimation that the executive of the State of New York would give its immediate aid for the protection of this property, I have to observe that you are perfectly just in your observation that such would be a governmental question, inasmuch as it is obvious to all tJtei-e is nn treaty line, nor can he reasoaahiy expected to he acknowl- edged by Great Britain, until the prior articles of the treaty shall be fulfilled by the United States. But in the immediate point of view, as this question does not concern his majesty's subjects, who have already been forbidden, at the request of the Indians claiming the land, to form settlements on that side of the river, I can only refer you to his excellency the commander-in-chief for any further ex- planations you require, to whom your very liberal principles as ex- pressed in your letters, which I shall transmit to him, cannot but be highly recommendatory, and impress those sentiments of respect, with which I am your obedient servant, "J. tr. SiMCOE, " Li.-Guv'r Upper Canada.'' " Quebec, Sepiember 29, 1793. "His ExoELLENcr Guy Lord' Carlton, Governor-General, Etc. " Mr Lord, — His excellency, Governor Simcoe, having in his letter to me of the 31st of August referred me to your lordship on the subject about which I wrote him, I beg leave to address you thereon, and to inclose you for your information that correspondence and a representation of some facts which came to my knowledge since writing to Governor Simcoe. On examining the tract of country which I own, I found the most wanton and excessive waste of timber imaginable, so much so that I conceive injury already committed to the amount of many thousand pounds. I found also a large saw-mill building within two or three hundred yards of the fort of Oswegat- ohie, which if persisted in will destroy the most valuable tract of timber in all that country. This mill is building by Verne Francis Lorimier, a half-pay captain, who lives opposite my tract on the western side of the river, with whom I had a conversation on the subject. After producing a copy of the records of New York showing my title to these lands, and representing the injury that would arise to me from the waste of timber which the mill would occasion, I offered, in order to prevent any further difBculty, to pay him his dis- bursements in case he would desist. This he refused, and informed me that he was conductor of the Indians on whose lands it was, and that so long as one of them were alive he should possess the mill. This gentleman being in the employ of your government, for Indian affairs, or agency, and under that pretense is in the constant practice of selling large quantities of timber. It is not my husiness, my lord, to discuss any question of a public nature. I shall not, therefore, at- tempt to reason as to the right the Indians may have to those lands (which I am informed by the governor of New York have been long since purchased of them), on the propriety of the detention of the post at Oswegatchie, or on the recent eatahlishment of an Indian village in my lands. Yet I cannot help observing that no claim of title can in the courts of New York justify those trespasses on my property, which the State stands bound to protect me in. I presume your good- ness will excuse the earnest importunity of an individual who con- ceives himself a great sufferer, and feels a most anxious desire, from various motives, that your interposition may prevent any further settlement or waste being committed on those lands until the question of the posts shall by the two governments be finally adjusted and settled. "I have the honor to be your lordship's most obed't serv t, "Sam'l Ogdkn." 19 In the summer of 1795, Mr. Ford was sent by Ogden to take further measures to obtain possession and commence a settlement. His letter of Instructions, dated Perth Amboy, July 12, 1795, will be read with interest: " Dear Nathan, — By this opportunity I have written again to my brother* on the subject of his application to my Lord Dorchester, and have told him that you would stay a few days at Montreal, and requested him to communicate to you there (to the care of Mr. For- syth) his lordship's determination. Now in case of his giving you permission to repair one or more of the houses, and placing inhabi- tants therein, you will then, while at Oswegatchie, make, with the advice of Major Drummond, the necessary arrangements, and procure some proper person to move therein as my tenant. The importance of this you will sec, and it may hecouie a question whether you had not better in this case return from Toronto via Omoegatachic, and spend acme loeeka or perhapa months there thia aunnner and nntunni, so as to prepare and arrange things for your reception next spring. If you should succeed in the idea I gave you respecting the aaic-mill, then it ought to be kept diligently at work in sawing pine boards and shingles proper for the buildings we mean to erect next year, which ought to be carefully set up when sawed, so as to be seasoned for use next summer. Cannot you, by some means or other, possess yourself of a particular account of the distance and route from Oswegatchie up the river and lake, and so on to Fort Stanwix, or such route as the nearest direction may lead to ? In doing this, attend to the following queries : 1. What falls of water between the Oswegatchie and the lake ? 2. What distance from the fort to the lake? what streams put in and where? with a full description of lands, meadows, swamps, etc. Be very particular aa to thia. 3. A very particular description of the lake, as well as the outlet, and the land around its margin, with an estimate of its dimensions and course, so that we may form an estimate of its situation in the townships. Estimate its course with that of the great rivers. 4, What streams run up into the lake, and what water communication leads from towards Fort Stanwix, and what may be the supposed distance ? 5. In your description of land attend to timber, limestone, intervale, bog meadow, swamps, etc. Let your observations be made in writing, and do not spare paper. Perhaps a few dollars laid out in presents to the Oswegatchie Indians would be useful. You will procure from the commanding otficer at Montreal a letter of introduction to the sergeant at Oswegatchie. This will become very necessary. Colonel Gordon and Colonel Mo- Donald, if at Montreal, will aid you in this. " My health is mending. God bless you. " Sam'l Ogden. "Major Ford." In answer to the foregoing, the following letter was re- turned, dated Kingston, Aug. 28, 1795 : " Dear Sir, — I have this moment received your letter dated July 12. Its contents shall be attended to. I wrote you the 2d and 7th inst., both of which I hope you have received. I left Montreal the 9th for Niagara; on my way I paid Oswegatchie a visit, and was much sur- prised to find the dam so completely out of repair. The north end of the dam is totally gone for fifteen or twenty feet, and all the gravel is off the dam, — indeed it does not appear there ever was any great quantity upon it. Such another built dam I never saw. It looks more like an old log house than it does like a dam. There is a kind of crib work built up, which supports logs, set nearly perpendicular, without having even the bark taken off, and chinked exactly like a log house. It appears there has been a little gravel thrown on, but there is scarce a trace of it left. " Nothing has been done this summer, and I doubt much if they will do to repair. Ilonniwell has sold out to Lorimier, and he has rented to a number of people, and so confused a piece of business as it is I never saw : There is no person about the place that can give me the whole history of the business. Honniwell is not at home, or I could have known all about it. I was happy to find that most of the people upon the other side are glad to find that a settlement is to be made, and many intend coining over. I did not go to sec Lori- * The Hon. Isaac Ogden, of Montreal, who became a loyalist in the Revolution, and afterwards filled a high judicial station in Canada. 146 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. mier, and for this reason : After conyersing with Mr. Farrand fully upon this subject, we finally eoneluded it would be best for me to show the greatest indifference, merely call at the mill, look at the fort, and take care to impress the idea fully upon whoever I talked with that, by the treaty, the fort was to be given up in June; that there would be a garrison sent there; that settlers would be brought on, and business commenced extensively. This I have done in a way that I hope will have its desired effect. In my absence Mr. Farrand will make business at Oswegntohie, and sound Lorimier on the sub- ject, and, if possible, make him apply for terms. If he can be brought to this state, a negotiation may be had upon better terms than if I should apply to him. Mr. Farrand concurred fully in this idea, and thinks it the most probable way to accomplish our wishes. Lori- mier's circumstances are in a very embarrassed state : the mill, to- gether with the farm, are mortgaged to Honniwell, and many other demands are rising up against the estate. My intention is to return to Oswegatohie, if I keep my health (which, thank God, was never better). I intend leaving my baggage, and find my way through the woods to the Little falls. This idea I suggested to you in a former letter. Never was anybody more unfortunate than I have been in passages. I had a long passage up the North river, and a long pass- age to St. John's ; was detained longer at Montreal than was neces- sary, for want of a conveyance up the river; a long passage up the river, and, as the d 1 must have it so, arrived here only two hours too late for a passage to Niagara, and this is the ninth day I have been here, wind-bound; and, what is more than all, a packet, which arrived two days ago from Niagara, brings word that the governor left that place six days ago for Long Point, at which place his stay is very uncertain. I shall go on to Niagara, and if I do not find his return certain in a short time, I shall go on to Fort Erie, and there hire an Indian to take me on in a birch canoe until I find him. I think this will be saving time. The whole time I have been at this place is completely lost, for I durst not be out of the way for fear the wind should come fair, in which case the vessel would leave me. "Were not this the case I should have visited the isle of Taunty and the Grand isle.* All this must be left until I return. I believe there will be no doubt of a lawsuit respecting Grand isle. I have been to the mills upon the Thames, and find them very much out of repair. My time was so short that I could not get a very full account about them and the land. I shall see them again. The greatest object of all is the fixing of the Oswegatchie business, and no stone shall be unturned to bring this to a happy issue. Mr. Farrand tells me that Lorimier relies upon a French title, which he says he has. This Mr. Farrand will get a sight of, and, should it be worth anything, a nego- tiation will be more necessary. Mr. Farrand will be in full possession of all the business against my return (which T shall make as speedy as possible), and which I shall not leave until I see an end of. The boat which is going to Montreal is waiting for this, and hurries me so that I have not time to write you as fully as you wish. " N. FoiiD. " Col. Ogden, Newark," " Newark, in Upper Canada, Sept. 10, 1795. "Dear Sir, — I wrote you from Kingston the 20th of August, which I hope you have received. In that I mentioned my ill luck in not arriving at Kingston a few hours sooner, which would have made me in time to have taken passage in the packet, by which mis- fortune I was detained at Kingston from the 19th of August to the 1st of September, and, after another gun-boat vnyaije of ."-ix days, ar- rived at this place, where I am now detained by the governor's not having returned from Long Point, from whence he is daily expected. I shall transact my business with him as soon after his return as pos- * Mr. Ford was commissioned by Col. Ogden and Nicholas Low to make inquiries into the titles and terms of these islands, and pur- chase them of Sir John Johnsipu in the name of Alexander Wallace an Englishman (as they say in Canada), on speculation. He was authorized to offer £2000 sterling for the isle of Tanle. Eleven fam- ilies had been settled three years upon it. Grand isle had been pur- chased at Montreal from Mr. Curot, a Frenchman (who held it under iL grant from the king of France), for £600, with a further sum of quarter dollar per acre when the title was established. These pur- chases were not made by Mr. Ford. He examined them, and made very full reports upon soil, timber, etc., which are preserved with his papers. — P. H. H. sible, and return to Oswegatohie immediately, when I hope to. settle that business. Should I not he so fortunate as to obtain leave of the governor to repair the houses, that will not prevent my negotiating with Lorimier. Mr. Farrand will have taken the necessary measures for bringing about a negotiation. I have this day written him to meet me at Oswegatchie on my return. I take it for granted you have received all my former letters, which contain all the information I have. I will write you thence by way of Montreal, and inform you of my success with his excellency. Unless something very unforeseen takes place I shall undoubtedly leave my baggage at Oswegatchie, and go through the woods to the Mohawk river. I am of opinion that it will be best to strike the river as low down as the Little falls, which is said to be 120 miles from Oswegatchie. I am sorry to tell you it is a very sickly season in this province; never was it more so; but I am very happy to add that it is less so about Oswegatchie. That part is looked upon to be the most healthy of any in Upper Canada. Should I pass through this country without a touch I shall be peculiarly fortunate. It is said here that strangers are scarce ever exempt. I hope to reach the fort in a state to be able to undertake the proposed march. I should recommend to you not to sell before I return. I think there can be no doubt of those lands settling very fast. I hope to give you a very satisfactory account of them on my return. I have this moment heard that the governor is at Fort Erie, on his return. Believe me to he your very humble servant. " N. Ford." Mr. Ford, in a letter dated Kingston, Sept. 23, 1795, mentioned that the governor had returned sick, and that liis business could only be settled in council. He again states his intention of traversing the woods to the Mohawk, but it is not known whether this design was carried into effect. Jay's treaty, which was finally ratified in February, 1796, provided in its second articles that his majesty's troops should be withdrawn from all posts within the States on or before the 1st of June, the property of British subjects being secured to them by the government, and they were to be free to remain or go as they saw fit. The signature of the treaty having at length rendered it certain that the surrender of Fort Oswegatchie would re- move the last obstacle which had for several years hindered the settlement of northern New York, Mr. Ford at length started with a company of men, a few goods, and articles of prime necessity for a new settlement, with the design to re- pair or rebuild the dam and mills on the Oswegatchie and survey and settle the country. As a guide for his opera- tions, the proprietor drew. up the following memorandum of instructions, which embody the designs and wishes of Col. Ogden in relation to the new settlement : " On your arrival at Oswegatohie endeavor, in as amicable a man- ner as possible, to gain immediate possession of the works, mills, and town. If difficulties do arise, you will of course exercise the best of your judgment and discretion in order to remove them. This, per- haps, may be done best by soothing measures; perhaps by threats and perhaps by bribes, as to which it must be entirely submitted to your judgment, as circumstances may turn up. It seems certain that you will have no difficulty in obtaining possession of the fort and works. These, therefore, I presume you will immediately possess. The mills seem the great difliculty, for which you will make every exertion after you have possession of the fort. After you have ob- tained possession of the mills, you will immediately commence the repairs thereof, so as to have the saw-mill at work this autumn before you leave it. As to the manner of repairing the dam, it must be left to your own judgment. I must, however, recommend it to your par- ticular attention to have it solidly placed and well filled in with stone, and graveled, so as to render it permanent and secure. Perhaps it may be best for this fall's operation to place the whole of the saic-mill on the same site as it formerly stood, observing, however, that in our next summer's operations wo shall place many other works on llieaime rinni, and that those works must be carried so far down the river iif I" HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 147 be placed on the navigable water, so that vessels may eome to them to load and unload. If the old mill is destroyed, and you find that a new one must be constructed, I would recommend that you construct it so as to saw planls: or timber of forty feet long. You will exercise your own judgment as to what repairs it may be proper for you to put on any of the buildings at the old fort. It strikes me that it will be best to repair the old stone houses, and as many of the frame as may be found sound and free from decay. Of this, however, you will be able to judge after a careful inspection thereof. Should you meet with any difficulty with the Indians who live below, send a letter to Mr. r , and inclose one to Grey (the interpreter), who lives at St. Regis; desire Grey to come up to you, nnd with him fall on such measures as may be proper for an accommodation. "If on experiment you find that a further supply of goods will be advantageous this autumn, write me so, and send me a memorandum thereof, so that I may forward them to you. If on experiment you find that that any particular article of commerce will answer a good and speedy remittance, you will be very early in your communica- tions to me thereof, and it is probable that you may point out the best and most expeditious manner of transporting the same. " It maif be that certain articles of remittance may offer which it may be proper to send to Montreal for sale, in which case you will for- ward them to the care and direction of Thomas Forsyth, of that place, taking care to give him written instructions how to dispose thereof, and always remember in your letter book to keep regular copies of all your letters. Your Set of books must be regularly kept, so as to show a very exact account of all expenditures and disbursements, so tbat every shilling may be explained and accounted for. Write me from Schenectady the result of your conversation with Tibbets, so that I may endeavor to fall on some measures for the completing that object. If on examination you find any tract of land without my purchase, and which you believe to be an object worth our attention, write me a full accowH thereof^ and enable me to take it if it should be found an object. Mr. Grey gave me some reason to believe he could find a mine of iron ore within our ten townships. Pray extend your researches thereafter as early as possible, as it is very important that we should, at as early a period as possible, commence our iron-work operation, -and nothing can be done until the ore be found. The let- ters I forward you from hence I shall forward to the care of D. Hale, Albany; any which you may write to me (not by the post) you will also direct to his care. " S. Ogdrn. "July 12, 1796." Mr. Ford left New York in July, 1796, and on the 18th arrived at Albany and crossed with teams to Schenectady, where he met Mr. Day and John Lyon,* men whom he had employed to come with him, together with Thomas Lee, carpenter, and Dick, a negro slave who was owned by Mr. Ford. These were considered suflBcient to man one boat. To hire another would cost £85 to Oswegatchie, besides porterage and lock-fees, which would amount to £5 more. Of the boatmen, Mr. Ford remarked : " So abandoned a set of rascals as the boatmen at this place are, I never saw." Instead of complying with their demand he bought a four- handed boat, and tried to hire men by the day, but here he was again met with a coalition, and was obliged to pay high wages to his hands. So impressed was he with the impositions and exactions that thus obstructed the gateway to the great west, that he predicted that at no distant day, if a change for the better did not soon occur, " the western country would seek a market in Montreal rather than submit to the exactions of these men," Could a prophetic vision but have carried him forward through but half a century, and placed him on that very spot, where he could have seen the throbs of those mighty arteries which transmit the wealth of millions » Mr. Lyon die] in Fdruary, 1834, at the age of eighty-jine. along their channels and on their iron tracks, in obedience to the electric message, and the beautiful Mohawk reduced to an insignificant stream from the withdrawal of its waters by the canals, the senses must have failed to impart to the understanding the vastness of the change, and the bewil- dered eye would have gazed without comprehension upon the scene as belonging to a dream ! Is an equal change reserved for the coming half-century ? Mr. Ford, having purchased a boat for £16, prepared to leave the town, and the journal of his voyage will give the incidents which occurred with much vividness, and will here be quoted : " Left Schenectady on Friday, July 22, 1796, at two o'clock, with two boats for Oswegatchie; proceeded up the river as far as Maby's tavern, where we lodged; distance, six miles. 23d. Set out early in the morning, and got ns far as Mill's tavern, where we lodged; dis- tance, ten miles; had -■*■ very heavy shower this afternoon. 24th. Left Mill's tavern and got to Connoly's, where we lodged ; distance, seventeen miles. Our passage up the river is rendered very slow, owing to the lowness of the water and our boats being full loaded. I have been under the necessity of loading them full for two reasons: first, because I could not make up three full loads ; and, second, be- cause of the infamous price I was asked for taking a load. It will scarcely be believed when I say that I was asked £85 for one boat- load to betaken to Oswegatchie, besides looks and portage-fees, which would make it amount, in the whole, to £90. This I thought so enormous I could not think of submitting to it. I purchased a boat, and hired another with three bateaumen, and with my own people I set out, and thus far we have come on tolerably well. 25th. Left Connoly's this morning, and came on to what is called Caty's rift;t distance three miles. At this unfortunate place commenced my ill fortune. I at first hired only two bateaumen, but previous to my leaving Schenectady I hired a third, hoping by this I had put it out of the power of any accident to happen. The boat, being manned by three professed bateaumen and one good hand (though not a boatman), ascended this rift to within a boat's length of being over, when she took a shear and fell back, aqd soon acquired such velocity that the resistance of the boatmen became quite inadequate to stopping her. The consequence wa-s, she fell crosswise of the current, and when she had descended the rapids about half way she brought up broadside upon a rock (which lays in the middle of the stream), and sunk al- most instantly about four or five inches under. In this situation she Lay about two hours before I could pruoure assistance to get her un- loaded ; the delay of getting to her, together with the difficulty of coming at her cargo, made us three hours before we could relieve the boat, during whjch time we expected to see her go to pieces, which would undoubtedly have happened had she not been a new boat, and well-built. It was particularly unfortunate that it was on board this boat that I had almost all my dry goods, which got most thoroughly wet. Upon getting the bout off I found she had two of her knees broke, and one of her planks split, and leaky in several places. I immediately had one-half the cargo reloaded, and set forward up the rapid, at the head of which lives Mr. Spraker. Here I unloaded, and sent the boat back lor the residue. Upon their arrival I set about opening the goods, all of which were soaking wet. The casks I had the goods in would have turned water for a short time, but the length of time the boat was under gave an opportunity for all the casks to fill. The three boxes of tea were all soaked through. The difficulty of get- ting this article dry was heightened by the very showery weather we had Tuesday and "Wednesday ; but by paying the greatest attention we were enabled to get it all dry by Wednesday evening. The goods I had all dried and repacked; the boat I had taken out of the water and repaired; almost everything was now ready for setting out in the morning. Upon drying the tea I found it was too much damaged to take on ; I concluded it would be better to send it back to New York and have it disposed of at auction for what it would bring, rather than have the reputation of bringing forward damaged tea, and dis- posing of it for good, and that in a country where my future success very much depends upon the reputation I establish. 28th. I finished ■j- Keaton's rift, the most formidable on the route. 148 HISTOKY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. packing up, and at ten o'clock we got on board and proceeded upon our voyage again ; got as far as Neller's tavern ; distance, about twelve miles; rained very sharp this afternoon. 29lh. Got to the Little falls this afternoon about three o'clock. The tea I left boxed up, in the care of Mr. Spraker, to be forwarded to Mr. Murdock, Schenectady. I have written him to forward it to Mr. McKie ; you will be so good as to give him directions about it. It was fortunate that two chests of tea were left at Schenectady, as was also a barrel of snuff, etc., which I have ordered to be forwarded to Kingston. The two casks of powder I have also sent back to Mr. McKie; that article was totally spoiled (except to work over again). The best of the muslins was in Richard's trunk, and did not get wet. I hope the dry goods are not so damaged as to prevent a sale of them. The cutlery is very much injured, notwithstanding the greatest attention. This is not only a heavy loss, but is attended with vast fatigue and perplexity. I could not procure oil-cloths for the boats (the one you had was sold with the boat). I have only tow cloths, which I fear will not be sufficient to protect the goods against the very heavy rains we have had and still have. It has been raining about twelve hours very heavy, and, should it continue, I apprehend the cnsks will not fully shed the water. No industry or perseverance shall be wanting on my part to make the best of the voyage." On the 1st of August the voyagers arrived at Fort Stan- wix (Borne), on which date Mr. Ford wrote to Col. Ogden that, although the voyage had thus far been disastrous and extremely unpleasant, yet he anticipated arriving at Oswe- gatchie in a week, and hoped to go on pleasantly' down hill. A copy of the letters of Judge Ford, from 1796 till 1807, is before us, which describe the events of that period with minuteness, and are expressed in language remarkable for that force and originality so peculiar to that singular man. They would of themselves form a volume of consid- erable size, and we shall be under the necessity of gleaning from them the succession of events, although we confess our utter inability to approach that conciseness and that striking peculiarity which indicate the talents and genius of their writer.* He arrived Aug. 11, 1796, and was accompanied by Richard Fitz Randolph, a clerk, Thomas Lee, a carpenter, John Lyon and family, and a few boatmen from Schenec- tady. His goods he set up in the sergeant's room, which he used as a store ; the family of Tuttle, whom he had sent on to stay in the fort and keep things in order, he placed in the barracks adjoining the store ; Mr. Lyon he placed in the mill-house, and immediately crossed to Canada, and ob- tained three yoke of oxen, four milch cows, peas, wheat, etc., hired about forty men, and set about building a dam and saw-mill. He found many persons on the other side anxious to settle, but was not at the time authorized to sell lands, and could only defer their applications by telling them that settlements could not be made till the lands were surveyed. In a few days Joseph Edsall arrived, and began to survey the town. He brought with him a small bag of orchard grass seed, half for Ford, and half for Mr. Farrand, on the north shore. On the 7th of September he wrote to Mr. Ogden as follows : "When I wrote you last, I mentioned Major Watsonf and several other persons, who had settled upon the lands up the river. These people have relinquished their pretensions, and find that they had better become purchasers. Watson and several others of them are at work for me. From what I had heard before, it was Watson I was expecting that would be the person who meant to give us trouble, but » Dr. Hough. t Major Watson was a son of John Watson, from Ireland, and in early life had been a prisoner among the Indiana. I am glad to find it is not like to be the case. But I am well in- formed that John Smith, or Joseph Smith (who goes by the name of Yankee Smith), is the man who says he will try the title with you. He lives upon the other side himself, and keeps a tavern. I believe he is a man of but little force to set about establishing title to such a tract. I have been told that he was on his way to warn me about my business, but was taken sick and returned. I have not seen him. It would be well to make an example of him, if wo could get him over this side. Those fellows only want to be treated with promptness to bring them to terms. I dare say Smith's object is to make a fuss, hoping that to get clear of him you will give him a deed for a tract, which he is not able to purchase. This I would never indulge him in. It is through such fellows that so much trespass has been com- mitted, and [by] this Smith particularly. " I have had all the chiefs of the St. Regis village to see and welcome me to this country, excepting Gray and two others, who are gone to the river Chazy, to receive the money from the State. " They gave me a hearty welcome, and pressed me very much to pay them a visit. I treated them with the utmost civility, and sent them all away drunk. As to the Oswegaich'e Indians, I have never heard a word from them upon the possession of their la-nds, — many of them have been here to trade, etc. As to Lorimier's claim, I never heard anything from them until I had been here several days. I had been asked what I intended doing with the widow, etc., by people who were not interested (and who, I suppose, informed her what I said upon the subject) ; my reply was that we had been very illy treated about t'ne business heretofore, but I had understood that the widow was in indigent circumstances, audit was not your or my inten- tion to distress the widow and fatherless : what was right we intended to do. Were Mr. Lorimier alive, we should hold a very different lan- guage. This was my uniform reply to those who said anything to me upon the subject. Upon the I7th Mr. Sherwood (a young lawyer) came over and presented me a letter from Mrs. Lorimier (a copy of which is annexed), which, after I had read, he began to apologizofor being under the necessity of formally forbidding me to proceed in my building upon-the premises, and begged I would not be offended if he called in two witnesses that he might do it in form. He went on to say that he thought Mrs. Lorimier's right would hold good under the 2d article of the treaty, etc.; to all which I made no other reply but that I should not have any objection to his being as formal as he wished, and as to her coming within the 2d article, I did not con- ceive it could be made to bear such a construction, and concluded by observing that if Mrs. Lorimier meant to set up title, it must Ijo the hardest kind of one, and that all idea of charity must be at an end. He insinuated that the cause would be tried in their courts, it being a matter that the treaty was to decide. This idea I treated with levity, as did also Farrand, when I mentioned the thing to him. A few days after_ this transaction I was over the river, where I saw Capt. Anderson (who lives at Kingston), to whom the estate is in- debted. He told me be was going to administer on the estate, and wished to know if we intended'to make the widow any compensation. I told him the widow had sent me a letter and a lawyer to forbid my proceeding ; that I supposed she meant to press her title if she had any, in which case charity would be entirely out of the quesiion. That we had ever been disposed to do what was right, he himself very well knew. Who had advised her to the step she had tiikcn I did not know, neither did I care. If they thought the widow would do better by a lawsuit than relying upon our justice and generosity, she was at perfect liberty to try it; that I should give myself no further trouble about it. He told me ho thought it a very unwise step she -had taken, and could not imagine who had advised bel- to it; that the thing was given up, and I should never hear any more of it. Notwithstanding all his protestations to the contrary, I did believe then, and ever shall, that ho himself was the man. I took care uot to insinuate such a belief. I then interrogated him as to her title; this he evaded, upon which I told him that ho must be well enough acquainted with law to know that a widow could not dispose of real estate, and if they had any title to the land I should not do anything until the heir-at-law gave me a release and quitclaim. That if I went into the business at all I did not mean to do it by halves. This brought forward an elucidation of their title, as he has it from the widow, and as he says the lease which ho has seen is * * *" Ho states that in the year 1786 they built a saw-mill and lived upon this side; that the dam and mill wont away, and they removed over the river. That in the year 179.3 the Indians gave Lorimier a verbal lease (for HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 149 the land, as stated in her letter to me). That after Lorimier's death the Indians came forward and confirmed to her, in her own name (in writing), a lease for the same lands (the widow states) they gave Lorimier a verbal lease for. This last act was done this springer last fall. " This, he assures me on his honor, is all the title they have. After much conversation upon the subject, I told him that if their conduct towards mo was such as it ought to be, I would take the business into consideration, and make an equitable valuation of the mill and house, and pay the widow therefor, provided they gave up all idea of title. This he assured me they would do, and rely upon our generosity. I am to write to him upon the subject, which when I do he will come down, and we shall have an end to the business. I do not wish to be in too great a hurry, for fear that something may be behind, whioh I may find out. I shall be attentive to the business, and not lose too much time. "As to business in the mercantile way, it equals my expectation. I am confident much business may be done here in that way. I am sorry that I have not a further supply of coarse goods here for the season. Provisions of every kind can be taken in here in abun- dance. It was impossible for me to know soon enough what would answer this country for you to forward them this autumn. I shall make the best and most of what I have : it will go some way in making provision for our next summer's operations. I would sug- gest to you the propriety of sending to England this fall to have the burr-stones shipped to Montreal j they will come easier and much cheaper that way than coming up the Mohawk. It is astonishing what a mill may do here. Boulton's mill, which is at the Garlows, is now resorted to for fifty miles, and a worse mill lam sure never was. I have not yet been able to get information relative to iron ore. If I can get the dam done soon enough, I intend to take a ramble back of the lake. If we get the saw-mill under way this fall, whioh I hope will be the case, it will be absolutely necessary to have a hill of such timber as will be wanted for the grist-mill, so that every preparation for that may be going on this winter. This you will be so good as not to fail sending me. "My carpenter will stay the winter. I can now give you an accu- rate account of the surveys and claims made by the people who have leases from Indians : Yankee Smith begins 1 mile from the fort, runs H miles upon the river, and 9 miles back. Watson then begins, and has the same quantity. Sealy then begins, and has a like quantity. Sealy lives upon the other side ; he has been here, but I did not know at the time of his pretensions. Watson tells me that Sealy's lease is in New England. I should not be surprised to find that he had sold it to the speculators there. The following is Mrs. Lorimier's letter to me : " ' EDWAKDSiiURG, 16th August, 1796. " ' Sir, — I am informed you have arrived in Oswegutchie with a number of people, and have taken possession of one of my houses there, and that you are about to make a dam across the Black river, first taliing away what remained of mine. That you may not be deceived, I now inform you that I have a good title to half a mile on each side of that river, from the mouth to the source of it, which I cannot think of relinquishing without a valuable consideration; and Christian charity obliges me to think that you would not eudeavor to wrong or in any manner distress the widow and fatherless, and as it appears you wish to form a settlement there, I hereby give yon my first offer to pur- chase my title, and would be glad to have you answer upon the subject as soon as possible, that I may know how to govern myself. "' I am your most humble serv't, "*Cathaetne Lobimier. " ' To Majok Foed.' " I was not particular in stating to you that Lorimier's verbal lease was obtained of the Indians after you had warned him off the prem- ises. I have drawn upon you through Mr. Forsyth for $500, payable ten days after sight. I hope he will honor the bill. I have requested him to forward me $iOO in cash and $100 in rum. Richard joins in best respects to Mrs. Ogden and family. I am very anxious to hear from you, and when you write, pray let me know the news and how the world is going. I believe you will begin to think it is time for me to stop, for you Inust be tired of reading, and I am sure I am of writing. So God bless you is the earnest prayer of your friend and humble servant, " N. FOKD. "Colonel Samuel Ogden." On the approach of winter Mr. Ford returned to New Jersey, and did not get back to Oswegatohie until the 9th of August, 1'797. He found that the Canadian claimants had been over the spring before, held a town-meeting, elected civil and military officers, and sent on Ensly, their moderator, to get their proceedings confirmed by the gov- ernor, and that they had opened a land-office for selling and settling his tracts. He wrote to his partner, — ■ " I also found that some of those jockeys had come over and stripped a quantity of bark. I immediately sent Mr. Randolph, with a boat (properly manned), with orders to take on board as much bark as he could, and burn the residue. He accordingly set out, and did not (un- fortunately) arrive at the place before they got off with one boat-load, but was fortunate enough to arrive just as they had got the second loaded, which he detained, and after making them assist in loading his boat, he ordered both to sail for the garrison, where they arrived in good order, and well conditioned. I immediately sent the bark to a tanner in Johnstown, where I send my hides, so that we shall have our hides tanned with our own bark. They have kept themselves very quiet upon the subject. I gave out that I wanted more bark, and only wait for trespassers to come over and get it for me. If it is possible for processes to be made out, leaving the names to be filled up, and a deputation made, I am clear for having some of the ring- leaders in Herkimer jail, — this I am sure would settle the business. If this can be done, let friend Richard's name be mentioned for the deputation, and I will see that the business is properly executed ; but you must write me particularly how it is to he done, and you must be particular that the opinion be given by a lawyer of New York, for depend upon it, there is a difference between New York and New Jer- sey laws upon these subjects. "'■■■ In a letter written early in 1798, Ford stated his anxie- ties about the leases, and advised that influence should be used with the governor and legislature to prevent any mischief that might arise from the ex parte repre- sentations which he understood were being used, and added that it would make a fatal hole in Oswegatchie township should the claims happen to be by any means confirmed. The trouble about the lease was finally settled by purchase from Mrs. Lorimier and her son, Sept. 26, 1798, in which Mr. Ford paid £62 10s., Canada currency, for a quitclaim " during the rest residue and remainder of said term which is yet to come and unexpired, to wit ; so long as wood shall grow and water run, peaceably and quietly to enter into, have, hold, and occupy, possess and enjoy." The original is extremely diffuse in its style, and abounds in repetitions. Watson was arrested on a charge of having violated the statute by dealing with the Indians for their lands, taken to the county jail at Rome, indicted in June, 1799, tried and convicted in June, 1800, having laid in jail a year, and was released upon his signing a re- lease and quitclaim, and surrendering his papers. It appears that Watson and Ensly were the only ones of the lessees who had ventured to sell lands to settlers ; the others only awaited the result to set up their claims. In his letter to his attorney, Thomas R. Gould, of Whitestown, informing him of the condition of the afiairs, and forwarded by Mr. Sherman, the keeper of Watson, on his way to jail, he expressed his regret at the necessity which led him to the measure, and added that every milder means had been exhausted. His efforts to secure the others failed. In a letter of Sept. 11, 1798, he says, — " The sheriff then wont in pursuit of Ensly, hut by some means or other he got suspicious that something more than common was pre- '* Nathan Ford was commissioned as a Special Justice of the Peace for Herkimer county, March 20, 1797. 150 HISTORY OP ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. paring, and lie made his escape over the river, by which means he eluded the officer. Watson I have forwarded to jail, and as he is really the principal, I hope it will be sufficient to finish the business. I am sorry that Ensly was not taken, for he is a great villain. I am not sure but I shall lay a plan for taking him yet; nothing but the difficulty of sparing hands to send down with him will prevent; but should he recross the river, and be saucy, I will do it at all events. They have carried on with a tolerable high hand since my absence, in insulting our settlers. I have given it to the charge of all the people, if any person dare threaten them or abuse them for settling under the title derived from the State, to make me instantly ac- quainted with the fact, and I will immediately issue a warrant for them, and send them to jail. This, by the State law, I have a right to do, and I certainly shall do it. The remote situation of this place has encouraged, and still does encourage, to do and act as they would not dare to act were the jail a little handier, and there is no way to get the jail nigher to us but by cutting the road to the Mohawk. This is a thing you must take pains about, and with a little pains I am confident it may be effected ; and if only a winter road can be got, the value of the lands will almost double. At present it is impossible for people to get here, the expense is so great. I shall draw upon you shortly for six or eight hundred dollars, and hope you will be prepared. Friend Richard joins in best respects to Mrs. Ogden and family. Believe me to be as ever your humble servant, "N. Ford." In a letter of Sept. 16, 1798, to Samuel Ogden, lie says, — " I wrote you the 11th inst., in which I mentioned having sent Watson to jail, etc. The minds of those in his and Ensly's interests are much agitated at the circumstance. They are at present very quiet, and Bnsly durst not be seen this side the river. It has been suggested that the Indians will be excited to do private mischief. I am not uneasy for my personal safety. We are so totally outside of the protection of government, that it may become absolutely neces- sary to go into some violence, should violence be threatened. Noth- ing but necessity will induce me to do a thing which will not be perfectly consistent with law, but when that necessity presents itself I shall do that which is most effectual for self-defense, and oppose violence with violence, and trust to common justice the event. I have been told the Indians have burnt a quantity of wild hay I had put up some distance from here; the truth of the fact I have not yet ascertained; I shall find out the persons who have done it. My line of conduct towards them I shall not pretend at present to say." During the season of 1797 a grist-mill was commenced, it being the same as that now owned by S. W. Day, which was placed a considerable distance below the dam, in order that vessels might there load and unload. A large number of hands were employed, and, to add to his cares, Isaac Ogden had hired and sent up from Montreal four French masons and five or six laborers, at high prices, and with the promise that they should be paid in money as soon as their work was done. There was no lack of ability or inclination on the part of Mr. S. Ogden to sustain these expenses, but the means of communication by letter, and especially the remittance of money, were very precarious and uncertain. This produced the greatest difficulties, and in this and the following years almost rendered the firm in- solvent. It was in these extremities that the energy and perseverance of Mr. Ford were displayed in the most striking manner, and in such a way as to indicate his quali- fications for founding a new colony, beyond the protection of the laws, and among those whose interests would have been promoted by his misfortunes. After complaining to his partner of the high prices promised (|30 for masons and $15 for laborers, while he could hire the latter for $11.25), he adds,— "There is a disadvantage over and above the very high price al- lowed the French laborers, because nothing but money will answer for d 1 the thing will they purchase. There is their expenses, which amounts to $30 or $40, exclusive of their pay. Your brother writes very anxiously, fearing he may be led into some scrape in the business. I will give you an extract of that part of his letter: 'You are to pay them at Oswegatchie, in silver doUare ; be careful that you do not bring me into a lawsuit with them for non-compliance on your part, as you see I am bound; it would not be well for a judge to be sued.' He also mentions that he had wrote you upon the sub- ject, etc., and you will see the positive necessity of putting it in my power to defray the heavy expenses which must unavoidably accrue in so extensive a building. The cash I am obliged to pay out for the supplies of last winter and this spring will take every farthing of money I brought with me, and unless you take measures for my being immediately supplied, it will be impossible for me to go on. The store affords me a considerable assistance, but the sales fall vastly short of the supply wanted. I hope you will not let this es- cape your attention. The success of our operations very much de- pends upon this year's exertions. There are a number of people who wish to come over, who have not joined the mob, but they have no money to purchase, and are poor. How I shall do with them I know not. I must shape the thing by way of agreement. Another year I shall insist upon your sending an agent about your landed matters; it is positively more than I can attend to and take care of my busi- ness. I cannot conclude without taking again the liberty of pressing upon your mind the necessity of forwarding me the ways and means ; without it, I shall not be able to do much this year. You will have the goodness to present my best respects to Mrs. Ogden and all the family, and believe me to be, with every sentiment of esteem, your friend and humble servant, *' N. Foun. " N. B. — I took out my commission as a magistrate, but could not be sworn in by any other but a judge or clerk of the court of this county, and not any being handy, I could not spare the time to hunt them up. The invention of our friends over the river have been upon the stretch to invent lies to destroy our influence. Among the great number propagated I shall only mention was that you and I were both broke, and that Mr. Randolph had surest orders to quit the ground as soon as he possibly could plausibly do it, etc." In a letter of Aug. 23, he urged the justice of the claims of the laborers, many of whom were poor, and whose fami- lies would be brought to want, and represented in strong language the discredit that would be brought upon them- selves in case of failure to pay them. The following bill of goods was probably the first ever ordered in town. They were directed to be sent to Fort Stanwix, to meet boats frotn Oswegatchie, and to be packed in tight barrels: "Four doz. pieces of Hummums, that will come at Is. lOd., or 2s. pr. yd.; 3 or 4 pieces of coarse blue and mixed colored cloths; 200 yds. check flannel, yd. wide; striped cotton, blue and white; i ps. of camblet, for cloaks (brown); 1 ps. swan's skin; 2 ps. coating; I ps. blue 2d cloth: 1 ps. yellow flannel; 1 ps. of red; 1 ps. of white; colored silk and twist ; 10 or 20 ps. calico, some of which to be large figured for Indians, the rest fashionable ; 1 ps. Russian sheeting; 1 cwt. bar lead; 500 oil flints; vermilion for Indians; 1 small case hats; 2 doz. of cotton handkerchiefs for men; 2 doz. do. for women; i cwt. indigo; 2 or 3 ps. of blue and black moreen; 2 or 3 ps. of oaliminco; do. 2 ps. durant, do. '• If you should determine to send the above articles, you must do it immediately, and send me word. I do not know anybody at Fort Stanwix, unless you shall write to Mr. Weston, and he will have them stored." In a letter dated Sept. 13, 1797, to S. Ogden, he wrote,— " I am still disappointed in not hearing from you; how to account for it I am totally at a loss. How, or in what manner, I am to turn myself to meet the present demands, at present I knownot; and how I am to do when the season of work closes, I am still much more at a loss to know. I have not ten dollars at command, and have now forty-five hands (besides a number of women and children) to find in provisions. These must all be fed and paid, and unless you for- ward me the means it will be out of my power to go on with the business. I have squeezed along, knows how, until this time, but this flijU do no longer. The money must be paid for what has HISTOKY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YOEK. 151 been had, as well as what is to be. Laying aside every other con- sideration, this way of carrying on business is extravagant, for sup- plies must be had, and at such prices as those who have them choose to ask, but if I had it in my power to send a man out and purchase with cash, I should be able to get things a little at my prices. The supply of provisions will amount to considerable, but when I come to pay off the hands, and then tell them I have no money, what must their opinion be of us ! They have nothing but their labor to depend upon, and have been at work and still are at work, under the strongest impression that the moment they want their money they can have it. The contract your brother made with the Frenchmen was such that they were to be paid monthly. They were so dissatisfied at the ex- piration of the first month, that it was with difficulty I prevented their going to Monti-eal and demanding their pay from your brother. They said, 'He is the man they bargained with, and he shall fulfill the contract.' Their second month will expire the 7th of next month, and then I suppose there will be more noise than all the work is worth, for I have not in my power to pay them, and I am sure they will then leave me, and your brother must stand in the gap. A noise at Montreal with the Frenchman, and a noise here with the people over the river, will be rather more than any one man can stand. Were I not quite confident that you had taken measures before now, I should be almost induced to run away." In this letter he gave a minute account of the plan of the mill and fixtures, and his hopes and fears in relation to the first raft which he was preparing to send to Montreal. As the business of the season was about being closed up, his embarrassment became extreme, and is fully set forth in the following letter, dated Oct. 7, 1797 : "I have this moment received your letter of the 13th of August, and my letter of the 13th September (which I hope you have received) will be answering much of it. Some few days ago I received part of the money you had placed in your brother's hand, but the whole sum of $500, which I am authorized to draw upon him for, is so trifling, compared with our disbursements (as you will see by my last letters, to which permit me to refer you), that 1 am almost discouraged. You know, when I left you, you did not furnish me with any more cash than was necessary to get me here, and pay our debts. This, you very well remember, I remonstrated against, but you assured me I should have a sufficiency forwarded to Montreal early enough to meet my exigencies, upon which promise I set out, and have struggled through the season thus far, at the close of which I receive $500, a. sum that is only $5 more than will pay the four French masons and six laborers from Montreal. Now, what am I to do *ith all the rest? and how am I to pay for provisions and lay in our winter stock ? The mode you point out is to draw upon you at short sight. I have no doubt that the bills would be punctually paid, but let me ask to whom am I to sell the bills in this country ? This cannot be done to any one short of Montreal, so that the very moment Mr. Ran- dolph returns from that place, I must send him back to negotiate the bills; the very expense attending this will be considerable, and the loss of his services at this time will be much more than the expense, for it is more than I can possibly do to attend to keep upwards of forty hands at work, provide provisions, and tend the store, which I have been obliged to do ever since he has been gone to Montreal, which is upwards of three weeks. Added to all my own troubles, I have been perplexed with Edsal's thirteen surveyors, whom he left unprovided for, and who have given me a great deal of trouble, and Tuesday next must be fitted out for home, and provided with cash ; and before I can send to Montreal and get returns, Odle and his party, and King and Vanriper, must be fitted out, and they must have money to carry them home. Their wages will be paid in Jersey, but the five carpenters and thirty laborers I have hired from over the river must be paid hero, and so must all our supplies. If you had received your money, the shortest way would have been to forward it by Mr. McDonald, and if you had not, you ought to have advised me to draw sooner. It is now the close of the season, when the hands want to be paid off, and now I have to do what might have been done long since. It is certainly placing me in a very cruel situation in a strange country, and in a country where it is the interest of so many to be our enemies, and who lay hold of every opportunity to turn every slip to our disadvantage, and, I am sorry to add, there are some among this number who have professed friendship. God knows I have a heart that despises them, and a disposition to punish them for their scurrility, as soon as I can bring it home to any one who has the smallest pretensions to calling himself a gentleman. There has been much said of us, but I cannot trace it those whom I suspect. If I am able to do so, I will call them to a settlement that shall make them tremble. In my former letter I informed you that I had sent a raft of boards to Montreal, and the prospects of raising money fiom that source, etc. The raft contained 2800 boards; this number was as much as could go down the rapids at this season. My orders were for the boat to return as soon as the boards were landed, and friend Richard to remain and sell them to the best ad- vantage. He has not yet returned. The boat has returned, and by it he has sent me $400 of the money in your brother's hands ; the re- mainder he retained, and wrote he had done so because he feared the r.aft would not sell for enough to pay for the articles I had been under the necessity to purchase, such as rum, nails, tackles to raise the mill, etc. Before the boat came away he had sold one crib for $12.50 per 100 boards, and did not expect a higher price for the remainder ; so that when he comes to pay your brother about $40 which he ad- vanced for the Frenchmen's outfit, and $40 which we owe to R. F. A Co., and for three barrels of rum, fifteen bushels of salt, two casks of nails, window glass, and tin, and add to this the cash he had to pay the hands at Montreal, I am sure he will have no raft money in band, for at the most the raft will fetch no more than $380, supposing he is able to get $12.50 per 100, which is very doubtful. " . . . My room-door opens at this instant ; enters my ten Frenchmen ; ' What do you want?' ' Our month is out, and we want our moneys.' Here I must stop and settle with them. ... I have done it, thank God ! and had I not received the money from Montreal as I did, they would have left me and gone to your brother. But by doing this I am now stripped of cash again, and all the other people must do without, I have done this to save the noise which would otherwise be at Montreal. The noise here is bad enough, and I fear our fame will spread fast enough without our assistance to prop- agate it. What I am to do now I know not. Those from whom I have been in the constant habit of purchasing beef at 4d. York, now ask me 4J, and they keep the hide and tallow. This will bring our beef at 5Jd., and this arises from no other cause than a knowledge of my being without money, and the advantage is taken. They know I must have beef, and they know I must get it from those who can credit; and I cannot help myself Had I the cash I could get it plenty, and, I believe, for less than 4d. This is also the case with my flour. If I had cash I could purchase wheat for less than a dollar, but, as I have not, I am under the necessity of purchasing of Mr. , who charges me four dollars per cwt. This is a loss of one dollar upon every hundred, which is no small matter in the quantity I am obliged to use. This is doing business at a great loss, and, if it can, ought to be avoided. You certainly have no competent idea of the magnitude of our building, or you would never have sent me $600 under the idea of its being sufficient for our summer's operations. The little map I sent you in my last will furnish you with sufficient information to form a. judgment of what we have to do, and, from your knowledge in business, of the expense also. Every possible economy is made use of, and no object however trifling escapes my attention ; and could I be furnished with a capital equal to the ob- ject, I am bound to say, no work of equal magnitude would be set in motion for the same money this would be. •'. . . If you would for a moment conceive yourself in my very, very unpleasant situation, I am confident your humanity would be- come excited to that degree that no time would be lost in giving relief but you are too far from the scene and my pen too feeble to paint. I close the subject, not doubting you will take the earliest opportunity to furnish me with the means necessary for the occasion. In my last I told you we were almost through the stone work of the mill. That is finished, and a most complete wall it is. . . . Before I close this letter I shall give you a description of the dam and race we expected to raise on the 12th. I should now have the pleasure to tell you it was, and partly covered, had not Odle met with the mis- fortune to stick the adze into his ankle, which has laid him up nearly a fortnight. " There is one question you will naturally ask me, about paying the Frenchmen, which is. Why did I not draw a bill and send it to your brother at Montreal to negotiate and pay them there? This I tried, and pressed it in every way and shape I could devise; but their jealousy, or their ignorance, or the orders of their priests to 152 HISTOKY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. bring the money with them (so that they could have their share), or what it was, I know not; but nothing but the moneys would answer. I have kept the masons busy at the walls of the dam. I have found the race a more tedious job than any I ever undertook. I have drove it with the utmost industry, and have progressed in it as fast as could reasonably be expected, considering the disadvantage I labored under in sending so many of my hands with the raff." The mill was finally raised in October of that year (1797). He proposed to have the mill-stones brought to the place in sections and put together there, to save the expense of taking them whole up the rapids in boats. His Frenchmen he finally sent to Mr. Ogden, of Montreal, for the balance due them, but was very soon enabled to remit the means of payment. His opinion of the settlers from Canada Was subsequently modified : *' Those people upon the other side, who used to talk so much about purchasing and settling, say very little about the matter now. The intentions of some of them I have discovered, which was to purchase upon the credit given, in hopes before the leases expired the land would rise so as to net them a handsome profit. In this I prevented them by annexing to the terms ' in case of actual settlement.' I think it much better the land should rise in your hands than theirs. There is another class which would come over, but are so poor they durst not purchase. Knowing their own inability to pay, they are fearful that at the expiration of the time the land will bo taken from them and they lose their improvement. So that between the two classes we are not like to get many from the other side. Indeed, the more I become acquainted with them the less I fancy them as settlers. They are a strange medley, and I believe it is well the river is be- twixt us. I am well convinced in my own mind the country will settle, and by our own countrymen, one of whom is worth six of his majesty's beef-eaters. Let us get our buildings and our business well under way, and if possible get the legislature to assist in cutting a road from the Mohawk, and the country will soon settle itself. The road ought to be attended to this winter. You can, through the medium of your friends, get the thing pressed in the legislature. If this were done the people on the other side assure me they would much rather take their produce to Albany in the winter than go to Montreal. They have all a desire to trade with New York. Were this avenue once opened, it would be astonishing to see the number of people that would flock in. The navigation is too intricate and expensive for families to come in that way. The consequence is hundreds are under the necessity of going to the army land and the Genesee and every other new country to which they can get with sleighs. The road finished, and our business under good way, will at once render Ogdensburg the emporium of this part of the world. I hope Edsal has furnished you with a map and field-book of his work. I charged them to do so as soon as they got home. I was happy to be informed that Mr. G. M. Avas so soon expected. I hope he has arrived safe. I am much at a loss to account for your writing me only once since I left Jersey. You promised me you would be very punctual." Postscript of a letter dated Dec. 17, 1797, by N. Ford, to Samuel Ogden : " N. B.— The Yankees I mentioned to you in a former letter have been with me, and go out to-morrow to vieAv the lands upon the east branch. There are four of them who will settle together, and, as I conceive it an object to get a settlement going in that part of the tract, I have made it an object with them, by allowing them each to take one hundred acres adjoining each other, for ten shillings per acre, in four annual payments. There are four more who wish to join them and make a like settlement, and I have promised Mr. Thurber (who is the leading character in the business), if they come forward and go immediately on with him and his associates, they shall have a like quantity at twelve shillings per acre. Mr. Thurber tells me I may expect them. As soon as I can get this settlement under way I shall venture to put the lands in that quarter at sixteen shillings and twenty shillings, and so on from time to time as the settlement advances. I mentioned in », former letter the plan the people over the river had laid for speculation. They having been defeated in that have laid another, which is to purchase and strip off the timber before the payment becomes due and then give up the land. This scheme I have also discovered, and by frustrating this plan we shall not have many settlers from the other side, unless it should so turn out, upon finding they can get no advantage from their plans, some may become actual settlers. The Yankee immi- gration is commonly in the winter, and, as the ice over Lake Cham- plain has not been good until lately, I expect there may be some along shortly. I shall have another opportunity to write you again in ten or twelve days, and when I return shall give you a full history of everything. Don't forget the road to the Mohawk, everything depends upon that. God bless you. N. F." On the 24th of October, 1798, Mr. Ford wrote to Ogden : " I have sold eight or ten farms, but not one shiUlDg of money j but I think it better to let settlers come on under contract. I con- sider most of them pioneers making way for another set, which will most assuredly- succeed them. Many stand aloof yet, waiting the fate of Watson (who I suppose is now in jail), hoping or doubting as to the title. "... I mentioned to you the burning of our hay by the Indians, in consequence of Watson's arrest. The report was not true. I have had an opportunity of seeing the Indians who were suspected, and read them a lecture upon the subject. I found them submissive. The white Indians are the worst; but I have so totally got the better of white and black Indians that they are perfectly quiet, and I have not the least apprehension from either. I cannot conclude without pressing your attention to the road. Be assured it is everything to this country.'' The great object of solicitude, the mill, was at length completed so as to get grinding done on the 1st of Decem- ber, 1798. On the 22d he had ground about 1500 bushels. During the summer of 1799, while the surveys of the towns were in progress, vague reports of iron mines, salt springs,- etc., were circulated, and high expectations formed from the latter. During the season of 1799 a second saw-mill was erected. During the first eleven months the gristrmill ground 3954 bushels of wheat, 1820 of corn, other grain 100 for customers, and 693 for the owners. In almost every letter which he wrote Mr. Ford brought in the sub- ject of a road to the Mohawk, as an object of vast impor- tance to the prosperity of the new settlement. He observed, in a letter to the Hon. Stephen Van Rensselaer, as follows; " The difficulty of getting to this country with families is beyond what is generally supposed. The present road through the Chateau- gay country accommodates the few vrho emigrate from the upper part of Vermont, but the immense flood of people who emigrate to the westward go there because they have no choice. This road once opened as contemplated, the emigration would soon turn this way, not only because the distance would be less than to the Genesee, but also because the lands are better and more advantageously situated. If the legislature will not take up the business, I am fully of opinion the proprietors will find their account in cutting out the road at their own expense. I should suppose those who own in the big purchase would unite iiartially in the thing, for that land can never settle until a road is out. The traveling and commerce which will go to Albany from Upper Canada will far surpass the most sanguine idea. I am confident the farmer from this country will take his produce to Al- bany as easily as he can to Montreal, and he is sure of going to a better market. Over and above this (which is a sufficient reason for ■ inducing them this way) is that, generally speaking, those who have settled upon the opposite side of the St. Lawrence are from the North and Jlohawk rivers, and their connections are there. So they have a double advantage of seeing their friends and doing business upon more advantageous principles. Vast numbers of the most leading farmers in that country have assured me they would go to Albany, in preference to Montreal, if it took them three days longer. I am confident that the commerce which would flow into Albany, through HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY", NEW YORK. 153 the medium of this road, would very soon reimburse the State for the expense. Those who live on our own side of the river arc compelled, from necessity, to trade at Montreal. This is the case with myself. My inclination is to trade to Albany, but it is impossible. It is highly politic to prevent, if possible, the commerce of this country from falling into a regular system through Montreal; for when people once form mercantile connections, it is vastly diilicult to divert and turn the current into a new channel. I see no rational mode but having the road cut, to secure to Albany so desirable an object. I have talien the liberty of stating my ideas upon this subject, which, if they should meet yours, I trust and hope you will take sucli steps as will secure a benefit to the State, as well as promote the interest of the proprietors and settlers. '* I can but be suspicious that you and Hoffman have suiTered an imposition in Mr. Hay and Mr. Sherman's survey. I shall mention the grounds of my suspicion, and you will be able to draw your own conclusions. Some short time before Mr. Hay had finished his part of the survey, I had it hinted to me that Sherman's work was all wrong. Not many days after Mr. Hay came to my place, when I mentioned the matter to him. He told me he had understood some- thing of the matter, upon which I told him it was his business to ascertain the fact, and, as a honest man, make you acquainted with the business early enough to prevent Sherman's receiving his pay. This I told him was not a business that immediately concerned me, but I would not be in the knowledge of these things without com- municating them, and he might take his choice of doing it himself or I would do it for him. A day or two after he came to me, and affected to be very much distressed, and wanted my advice; that he was confident Sherman was a villain, and much feared he should be involved with him. I told him to get two surveyors, go into the woods, and take Sherman with them, examine the lines he (Sherman) had run, as well as the lines given him to lay out his work from, and if his work was- false, convict him of it upon the spot; then let these surveyors certify the fact, and then write you a letter fully upon the subject, and inclose the certificate. This was done. The surveyors and Hay told me they had never seen such infamous work done by anybody who had the smallest pretensions of being a surveyor. They very particularly examined the line given him to lay off his work from, and found that right. Hay wrote you a letter upon this subject, which I made him show me, also the certificate, both of which he promised to forward immediately. I have no doubt upon my mind he would have done it, for there never were two men who execrated each other more than they have, or appeared to be greater enemies, and I never was more surprised than to hear that they met by mutual agreement at the St. Regis village, and traveled on to Albany to- gether, and found no difficulty in making up a very good survey and getting their pay, and have now gone to New York for another job of surveying. No alteration has taken place in the liues since they were examined, and if they were wrong then they certainly are wrong now. How Mr. Hay reconciles this business I cannot very well see. I should have been happier to have given this information earlier.'' During the fall of 1800 Mr. Ford was visited by Gouv- erneur Morris, on a tour to see his northern lands, and wrote : " I have done all I could to add to his accommoda- tion, but that has been so trifling it scarce deserves a name ; for there was no accommodation which he had not with him. He travels in the style of an eastern prince." In this season a fulling-mill was got in operation, and kettles for making potash were brought on at great expense. In the summer of 1801 Edsall was employed to survey a road through to the Black river, which was completed in Sep- tember. It was intended to run to the High falls, but he found that after leaving the Ox Bow, " he came to a most intolerably swampy and ridgy ground, growing worse and worse as he progressed, and before he reached the falls be- came so perfectly confident of the impracticability of a road as well as the impossibility of settlement that he abandoned the idea." This surveyor took a contract for continuing the road from Louisville to the east branch of Black lake 20 (Oswegatchie), and arrangements were made for extending it on to the Long falls (now Carthage, Jefferson county), to intersect the road through the Black river country, then about being laid out by Jacob Brown. At this time a project was on foot for opening a road through to Schroon lake, in the direction of Albany, but the roughness of the country, as found by Edsall's survey, deterred for a time the prosecution of this plan. The road towards Black river was so far cleared of underbrush during the fall, that it was resolved to attempt the journey through by sleigh as soon as the snows permitted. Mr. Ford was strong in the faith that before the next summer he would have a road that could be "used by loaded wagons, and added: "I have no idea of putting up with such a thing as they have made through Chateaugay, which scarcely deserves the name of an apol- ogy for a road." Late in this season the arrival of a vessel from Oswego, with one hundred and twenty barrels of salt, was recorded as a memorable event. The erection of a new county was prosecuted with zeal, and in March, 1802, was successfully accomplished. Mr. Ford thus wrote to S. Ogden concerning the first session of the county court : "We had a respectable grand jury and a numerous audience, and the business of the day was gone through with tolerable propriety. I was much disappointed in Edsall's not being there. I, however, brought forward my propositions respecting the court-house, and should have gone through it tolerably well, but Turner and Tibbets, with the assistance of a Mr. Foote, who lives in Canton, rather seemed to think it had rather be put off. I did not think it good policy to urge the thing, and make party at that particular time. This is of too much importance to be omitted a moment. [Reflections upon the personal motives of certain parties are omitted, in which the interests of other localities for securing the county-seat are surmised.] If we can preserve harmony in the county it will be the better way, but if it is reduced to a certainty that we are to be opposed, I am deter- mined to take the field, and we will try our strength. I would wish to try all other means first. I'his letter and our determination ought to be kept a profound secret, and let us pursue the same friendship which they affect towards us ; if we take them upon their own ground we may have a chance to fight them with their own weapons, but to do this with effect, caution on our part is necessary. . . . You must let me hear as early as possible, for the board of supervisors must meet shortly to fix about repairing the jail, and this cannot be done for less than £100. It will be poor policy to tax the county that sum, in addition, for a thing that ultimately will be lost, and, at this par- ticular time, I do not think it practicable for the county to pay it; for wheat and flour have no market at Montreal, and the people have nothing that will bring money. The policy of the county ought to be the strictest economy, and make the taxes as light as possible ; for nothing scares people like taxes, and particularly in a new country. A man will be hardly willing to emigrate to a new country where his little all is subject to be sold for taxes. " There is a curious circumstance about the law which perhaps it is not best to say anything about at present, and which I am con- fident I am not mistaken in, and Turner stood by me when the law passed, and he is confident of the same thing. The bill as first reported fixed the place of the court-house here. That part was amended, and it was left with the judges and supervisors to fix the spot. But the bill now says, "to bo left to the future order of the legislature." Another thing in the bill, — the time of opening the court was on the second Tuesday of June; the bill now says the first Tuesday." Turner and myself stood by, and our attention was neces- sarily fixed on the bill, but we neither of us can remember any such amendments. How they have since found their way into the bill I do not understand. As we now must apply to the legislature to fix the place, it makes it necessary that we should be as unanimous as possible. If we are, and apply, there is no doubt but we can succeed. Edsall has been from home these four weeks ; what has become of him I do not know, — I fear some accident. I met with him at the 154 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. Little Falls, and mentioned my plan to him, which he approved. I have delayed doing anything very pointed, because he was not here. The season thus for has been the wettest and most backward of any known in the country. Wheat has no market at Montreal, neither has any thing else." In a letter to T. L. Ogden, on the subject of taxes, he said, — " It is of all consequence that taxes be kept out of view as much as possible, and a tax of £100 in addition to those which must be raised for other purposes would, when all put together, be more to each than any man within the county ever paid in his life, let him come from whatever part of the world he might. I need not tell you the influence this would have upon the mind as well as pockets of all the settlers, and also the influence it would have upon those who con- templated emigrating to the county. " It is too obvious to need the smallest observation ; for there can be none but will readily believe the emigration would very soon be from instead of into the country. Tou will most undoubtedly agree with me in opinion, that all measures ought to be pursued which will have a tendency to promote and encourage seltlement. This I take to be a primary object with all those who possess lands within the county, from which they expect to draw resource. Whilst I am upon the subject of taxes, I cannot omit mentioning one circumstance which applies forcibly to this country, and is one which requires ad- dress and management in the affairs of the county to obviate its effects, and this arises from our proximity to Canada, where the taxes are very small, and scarce deserve a name. People will be drawing a parallel, and when they find the taxes upon this side of the river to be so much higher than upon the other, I fear it will be difiicult to explain away the effects which may be produced. The taxes lastyear were three times as high on this side of the river as they were upon the other. T, however, explained the thing away very much in my settlement. People, however, talked and affected not to see what could make the difference. Our taxes now of course must be something higher, but if things are judiciously managed, I hope taxation will be circumscribed so as not to be oppressive. Many difficulties have this long time presented themselves to my mind upon those subjects, but never so forcibly as they have since my return home; and, upon mature deliberation, I concluded to make the following proposition, and if the county thought proper to accept the offer, I would set about the court-house and jail, and, before this time next year, I would have a room for the court, and also one jail-room fitted, and the whole should be finished as soon as possible, and not repair the barracks. "Propoaitioii. — That every person should sign In wheat as many bushels as they thought proper,— to be paid in jvheat, delivered at our mill in the following manner : one-third in February, one-third in the February following, and one-third the next February. The house to be set upon the east side of the Oswegatchie river. Ogden and Ford would subscribe SIOOO, take the wheat subscription upon themselves, and go on and finish the building at once. The county was very much disposed to take the offer, and very properly con- cluded that they c'ould never get a house upon so good terms but Tibbetfs, Turner, and Foote threw cold water upon it, and I did not think proper to urge the thing. Their opposition did not extend beyond their own settlement, and many of them thought the offer too generous to he slighted." In a confidential letter of August 8, 1802, the fear was expressed that some project was on foot to extend the county back to the height of land, in which case the court- house would undoubtedly fall in the great purchase, or of dividing it by a line from the rear to the river. On the 18th of September, 1802, he wrote, concernino- the road, — " I have got all the worst places cross-wayed ; and to convince you I have effected something like a road, a wagon from the Mohawk river came through to Ogdensburg with me. I do not mean to tell you it is at this minute a good wagon-road, but before cold weather I intend it shall be so. I have finished the bridge over the East Branch (now Heuvelton), and a most complete one it is; there are few so good in any of our old counties." This bridge was afterwards swept away. During the season vigorous eflForts were made to collect materials for the court-house. On the 12th of November, 1802, he wrote, concerning the settlement, — ''Emigration this year has universally been less than it has been for several years past, and this I impute to the sudden fall of pro- duce, in consequence of the peace. From the high price of produce land in our old settled country was proportionate, and lands not ex- periencing the same sudden fall are still kept up by those who meant to sell and emigrate; but the neighbor who meant to buy does not think he can (in consequence of the fall of produce) pay the price he expected he could, and the consequence is the man does not sell, and as consequently does not emigrate. But this is a thing which will regulate itself, and emigration must soon go on with its usual rapidity; for I cannot learn there are any less children got in New England now than there were when wheat was three dollars per bushel, and it is equally necessary that Yankees swarm as it is for the bees. We are getting on with our settlement. I have got three settlers out upon the new road, fifteen miles from this, and several intend going. I hope to have the road a good one; I mean to have it in my power to say it is by far the best new road I ever saw in a new country." The lumber trade, although often a source of loss at times, continued to be prosecuted, and one or two rafts were sent annually to Montreal. On the 10th of July, 1804, Mr. Ford wrote to Ogden, concerning his raft, etc., — " She sailed yesterday with flour, potash, pearl barley, boards and planks, all of which I fear will go to a dull market, hut this is a fate attending doing business. We must hope for better times, and be the more industrious. I found our business at home in as good train as I could expect. The difiiculty of procuring labor in this country is unusually great. The high price of lumber last year- was such as to induce almost everybody to drive at that business, which takes off all the surplus labor this year. In old times, ' all the world went up to Jerusalem to he taxed,* but in modern days all the world go to Montreal with rafts, which, if I am not mistaken, will prove a heavier tax to them than the old times people experienced at Jerusalem. I have got our tanning business under way ; we shall make about two hundred hides. I find the men I have employed in the business to be very industrious, and hope we shall find the business to answer. Since my arrival I have determined to set a still at work. I have em- ployed a man who has the reputation of being clever at the distilling business. I have sent to Albany for a still of 160 gallons, and a rec- tifier of 50 gallons. The size of these I imagine is as profitable as any. At all events I do not wish to dip too deep before I make the experiment. I brought in three masons from Troy to work at the court-house, and I hope to see the chimney above the roof to-morrow or next day at furtherest. My intention is to hold our November term in the house. After getting through this and the two foregoing objects, I intend laying aside all further considerations in the build- ing way until we find ore, except it be a house, which I intend shall be of stone. I cannot consent to live in those old barracks much longer, and the groundwork of this fabric I intend shall bo laid next summer. I found a number of settlers had got on before my return. I have sold several farms since, and ix number more are intending to purchase, but money they have not. I can plainly perceive there will not be a great length of time elapse before a race of people will come along who will purchase improvements." On the 17th of November, 1804, he wrote, — "This season has passed away without hearing a word from you. Why you are thus silent I do not know. I told you in my last I was jogging away at the court-house, and now I have the pleasure to tell you I have completed it, so as to be very comfortable and convenient. We have also finished one of the jails. The November term was held in the house, and the people of the country expressed much satisfac- tion in finding themselves in the possession of so much accommoda- tion. It has been a pretty tough job to get along with, for it has interfered very much with our business, but I hope the effect will be to put an end to any court house dispute in the county. I have had the certificates regularly filed in the proper office, and it now becomes HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 155 the court-house and jail of -tho county. I told you also in my former letter I was about setting up n distillery, and upon examining I found it would be more trouble to convert one of the block-houses into a distillery than it would be to build a new one. The court-house delayed me so late in the fall that I only got at distilling a few days since. I hope we shall find it to answer. Our tannery we shall find to answer. The man whom I have employed I find to bo very indus- trious and a good workman. As to settlement, that progresses, but not with the same rapidity which some other part of the county does, I have made a number of sales this fall, and to some who are respect- able people j and one sale I have made (which is not fully completed, and which, if it takes place, which I do not doubt at present) of im- portance, for it is to a man who will pfiy half the money next spring, and the residue in one or two years. He has been over the land and likes it well, and also the country generally. He will purchase between 2000 and 3000 acres, and is to give $5 per acre. Should this sale take place, there are a number of men of handsome property in Ulster county (from whence this man comes) who will also purchase and remove here. Although our sales are not rapid, we shall ultimately do better than those who are pressing otF tlieir lands at the price they are, and upon so long a credit, for the rise of lands is much more advantageous to us than their interest will be to them. In either case no money is received. Nothing has been done or is doing about the road, and un- less there is a different conduct among the proprietors there will not be by me." The subject of tlie road to the Moliawk was never lost sight of until accomplished, which was done by a law of April 9, 1804, in which a lottery was created, for the pur- pose of raising $22,000, with 10 per cent, in addition for expenses, to construct a road from Troy to Greenwich, Washington county, and from or near the head of the Long falls on Black river (Carthage), in the county of Oneida, to the mills of Nathan Ford, at Oswegatchie, in St. Law- rence County. The latter was to be six rods wide, and Nathan Ford, Alexander J. Turner, and Joseph Edsall were appointed commissioners for making it. Owners of improved lands might require payment for damages. $12,000 of the above sum was appropriated for this road. If any person thought proper to advance money for either road he might pay it into the treasury, to be repaid with in- terest out of the avails of the lottery. Vacancies in the office of commissioners were to be filled by the governor. They were to be paid $1.50 per day. The summer of 1805 was devoted to the location and opening of the road, and on the 26th of October, 1805, Judge Ford wrote, — "1 have just returned from laying out the State road between Og- densburg and the Long falls upon Black river, and I am happy to tell you we have great alterations (from the old road) for the better, as well also as shortening distance. This business took me nine days, and most of the time it was stormy, disagreeable weather. The diflB- euUy I find in forming a plan how our lottery money can be laid out to the best advantage makes me wish for some abler head than mine to consult, or those with whom I am associated in the commission. To contract by the mile is.very difficult, and to contract by the job, comprehending the whole distance, is still worse. After consulting and turning the business in all the ways and shapes it is capable of, I proposed to my colleague the propriety of employing a man of reputation, who had weight of character equal to the procuring of thirty good hands to be paid by the month, and he to superintend the business; the superintendent to be handsomely paid, and he to carry on and conduct the business under the direction of the com- missioners. This plan we have adopted, and I trust I have found a man who is fully adequate to the task,* and we shall make our en- gagements to begin on the 25th of May. I hope nothing will inter- fere which will obstruct our progressing. I am sorry to say I am not * David Seymour, of Springfield, Vt., the father of George N. Seymour, Esq., of Ogdensburg. wholly without my fears, although I durst not whisper such an idea. You would be astonished to see how much pains are taken to coun- teract this object by those who are settling lands to the east of us: and you would be equally astonished to see the exertion there is now making to get roads in every direction to Lake Champlain. Their exertion is by no means fruitless, for they have worked through with several. This I, however, fim happy to sec; notwithstanding it pro- duces to us a temporary evil, will eventually be a thing which can- not fail to produce to us solid advantages; because through these avenues we shall ultimately reap as great advantages as they will. All that can be said of the thing is they are enjoying the first fruits. There is not now scarcely a town in the rear of us (in Macomb's great purchase) but what is open for sale, and have agents now on that trumpet thopc lands to be the finest in the world; and these agents being Yankees who have connections in the eastern States, have turned the most of emigration that way. Those lands are in- finitely better, generally speaking, than we ever had an idea of, and the very low price they are held at induce vast numbers to stop at them, notwithstanding their original intentions were otherwise. But it is a fact that nine-tenths of the first emigrants inquire for cheap lands, and the reason for their so doing is because they expect to sell their improvements and jog farther. Those agents cry down the front Ifinds as a poor, sunken, and fever and ague country, and that lands have got to their value, and a thousand other stories equally false and ridiculous. These, together (or some one of them), have the eBfect to divert the unwary traveler. By the dexterity of those fellows in the east, and the Black river jockeys to the west (whose brains are equally inventive), they really have the effect to make our settlement interior. Were I to attempt to give you any adequate idea of the means made use of to divert and keep back settlements upon the river towns by these people, I should exhaust all my ingenuity and then fall vastly short of the object, Suflice it to say that no stone is left unturned ; but however much it may avail them for the present its duration must be short. The patroon having stopped the sales in Lisbon and Oanton has been of great injury to us, because it has enabled the people I have just described to assert that the sales of the river lands are stopped, and this has prevented many from coming on. to view lands in our town. I'inding that every species of foul play is practiced against us, I have thought it good policy to send a man (who is very well qualified) to that part of Vermont from whence the greatest emigration to this country comes, to make a true state- ment of the countr}', and lessen the force of misrepresentation by exposing the fraud practiced upon the credulity of those who seek a better country. I have also authorized him, after finding out proper influential characters, to privately assure them if they come on and purchase, and use their influence to induce others to follow them, I will make it a consideration which shall be to them an object. I have also employed another, who lives beyond the mountains, near the borders of New Hampshire, in tho same business, and my determina- tion is t() show those fellows who have taken so much pains to prevent our town from settling that it can be done. My time heretofore has been so much occupied with our business, and my winters so wholly taken up in carrying out measures with the legislature, that I have not had it in my power to traverse the eastern States and meet those agents there, and have an opportunity to do away their misrepresen- tations. There arc a number of people who have been on their way to me (as has come to my knowledge), who have been turned aside by these fellows. Their wish was to settle upon the lands near the court- house. When they have mentioned this they have been confidentially told there is no court-house in the county established by authority, and that there is no likelihood of the thing being substantially fixed here ; but that their lands are in the centre of the county, and that there is no doubt but it will be there. They have caught many by this stratagem, I should not be surprised if there should be an attempt to make a hubbub about tho court-house; but I hope I have guarded that at all points so as to baffle their designs. Envy and jealousy are very conspicuous concerning the court-house, and you would be surprised to see how much pains have been taken to turn all the eastern roads from our toAvn. This I have looked at without its being known that I have observed it, and when they had got the whole fixed very much to their minds, and as they supposed, so as to keep the whole emigration interior. When the board of supervisors set I proposed to them to appropriate a sum of money for the pur- pose of opening a road from the East Branch bridge to the northeast line of Canton, for the purpose of accommodating that part of the 156 HISTORY OP ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. county with a, road which would fetch them to the court-house si.x miles nearer than any other way ; and as that interior country was rapidly settling, I thought it the duty of the board to facilitate their communication with the court-house as much as possible. This idea the board fell in with, and we have appropriated between three and four hundred dollars to that object, and in drawing the resolution I have taken care to word it in such a way as will run the road not only so as to make the above accommodation, but also so as to strike their main road at a point which will exactly embrace all their other roads, by which we shall open an avenue through that part of our purchase in Dewitt (now apart of Russell), and give a full chance for those who wish to settle at Ogdensburg. This stroke has dis- turbed much of their plans, and I suppose the board will have to suffer a little slander for appropriating public money for the public 'accommodation against their local interest. We shall have the com- missioners out this fall, and have the road laid and recorded, and, if possible, have it opened. After we get it recorded it will be out of their power (under present circumstances) to get it altered, and this is what they fear. Much pains were taken last year to have a suffi- cient number of towns set off for the purpose of overbalancing the board of supervisors. This they failed in. I foresee that much jar- ring interest and local consideration will compel us to meet that dis- sension which all new counties have experienced before us. It is a fatality incident to human nature, and we must not expect to bo exempt from it. "I am happy to tell you we have got the East Branch bridge fin- ished, and I think it is not such a one as will get away as soon as the other did.* In my former letter I told you I had been obliged to rebuild the lower side of our dam. The frost had so injured it that it would not do to risk it another winter. This has been a heavy job. This, together with the bridge, repairing the two houses in town, and our ordinary business, has found vent for all the money I have 'been able to muster. The want of capital obliges us to carry on business to a great disadvantage. If we had capital sufficient to open business upon such a scale as the situation of this place incapa- ble of, wo could without doubt make the business support itself; but under the present circumstances it moves feebly in comparison to the dead capital. I hope we shall not always stand at the same point. You doubtless recollect the letter you wrote me last fall upon the subject of a clergyman being sent here under the direction of the bishop. That letter I answered fully, in which I stated the feelings and wishes of the settlers. I also mentioned to them the measures pursuing by them to obtain a clergyman of their own persuasion. I also stated my opinion as to the policy of attempting to urge or in any way to direct their wishes in this matter. To that letter I would beg leave to refer you. Finding them determined to get one of the Presbyterian order, and their minds being fully bent upon that ob- ject, I concluded it was proper for me not to oppose, but fall in with, their views, and take such a lead in the business as to prevent their getting some poor character who would probably be a harm rather than advantage to tho settlement. Under this impression I have united with them in giving a call to a Mr. Younglove, a gentleman of education and abilities, and who has been the first tutor of the college at Schenectady for three years.f His recommendations are highly honorable. He has spent six weeks with us, but has now re- turned to his friends in Washington county, and expects to be back in February. I have suggested to him the idea of taking the charge of an academy here, — an institution I make no scruple will answer well, for there is no such thing in Canada short of Montreal. If I can succeed in effecting this object, which at present I make no doubt of, it will be the means of adding much reputation to this place, and particularly so by having it under the guidance of a man who has already established a reputation as a teacher. Our court-room will afford good accommodations for the present. Upon his return I shall form apian for carrying this desii able object into effect, and advertise the thing in our papers, and also the eastern and Montreal « The bridge at this place had been swept off in a freshet. t The Bev. John Younglove, A.M., S.T.D., graduated at Union college in 1801. In the following year he was appointed tutor, and was one of the first two who held that office in that college. He had hold that place until 1805, when he received the call as above stated. It does not appear that he settled there, although he spent some time here. Mr. Younglove was tho first pastor of the first Presbyterian ohurch in Ogdensburg, in 1806. papers. By this means full publicity will be given to the institution, and I think it cannot fail to attach much reputation to the village of Ogdensburg ; and when we get a little more forward, and find the thing to succeed, we will build an academy. David and his family left this yesterday for their new habitation in Morristown, where I hope they will be comfortable the ensuing winter. He writes you by the present conveyance. I have written you a number of letters this summer, but I am sorry to tell you I have received none from you except the one by T. L. 0. I cannot conclude without telling you I fear the Indians will jockey about the lead mine; but if they should, we would have the gratification to know the speculation is a good one: the lands are settling rapidly. I am, however, not with- out hope we shall finally attain our object. Believe me, with much affection, your friend, "N. Ford. "Colonel Samuel Ogden." To counteract the influence of traveling agents, Mr. Ford, in the winter of 1805-6, also sent men to travel through the districts, in which the emigrating epidemic prevailed, and published in two of the papers in Vermont, giving a little history of the county. Dr. J. W. SmithJ was one of the persons employed to influence emigrants. Of the articles he said, — *' I shall prepare another, and forward in February. The doctor (to whom I shew them) says they're calculated to be useful in Ver- mont, and is surprised that something has not been done long since. I have ever been of opinion it was as easy to write the county into notice as it was the Genesee, and have frequently requested your sons David and Ludlow to do it, but it seems they did not, and I am con- scious my pen is too feeble. But I presume I have done the thing in such a way as will do no harm if it does no good. All I can say is that a plain simple story sometimes takes effect, provided it be so told that no suspicion is attached to it, and I have tried to guard my expressions so as to prevent that. There has not been any oppor- tunity for me to hear from Vermont yet. This I however expect daily. I very much suspect some attempt will be made at the legis- lature for dividing the avails of the lottery, for the purpose of ex- pending a part of it upon the Champlain road. I have written to my friends in the legislature guarding them against it. I mentioned to you that the board of supervisors have granted a sum of money for making a road from the East Branch bridge to intersect that and other roads which had bejn laid opt by those interior people for the purpose of turning the emigration from the front towns, and that I expected it would make a noise. They kept themselves tolerably peaceable, hoping and expecting nothing would be done until after the next town-meeting, when they would change the commissioners of Canton and Lisbon. In this they have been anticipated, for we have contracted for the making the road and building the bridge over the natural canal, and making the crossway through the swamp, and the hands are now at work at it. Before town-meeting we hope to have the heaviest of it completed. They have no hope now to prevent the thing, but gratify themselves by railing against the supervisors for granting the money. This I disregard. Business, as usual, will take me to Albany in tho latter part of February. How long I shall be detained there is very uncertain. I shall from thence pay you a visit." Having quoted freely from the Correspondence down to the time when it ceased to relate to the settlements, we will resume the history of Ogdensburg. The village was sur- veyed the second or third year of the settlement, and the streets named at first as now, with trifling exceptions. The first house erected and finished was the present American hotel. The place was named from Samuel Ogden, who was a son of David Ogden, and had several brothers. On the occurrence of the Revolutionary War, the father and all of the sons, except Abram (the father of David A. Ogden, an t See Biography. HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 157 owner of Madrid) and Samuel, adhered to the royal cause. These two were disinherited by their father for their politi- cal faith. Samuel Ogden was for many years engaged in the iron business in New Jersey. He bore the title of colonel, although he is believed to have held no office, and took no part in the Revolutionary War. He married a sister of Gouverneur Morris, and the acquaintance which resulted from this relation led him to become concerned extensively in the land-purchases of the western part of the State, and in the township of Oswegatcliie and elsewhere. He lived for a time at Trenton, N. J., and owned an estate which afterwards was purchased by General Moreau. He subse- quently resided in Newai'k, N. J., where he died, about 1818. David B. Ogden, whom we have had occasion to mention as concerned in the titles, was a son of S. Ogden. In 1802 was held the first celebration of our national anniversary in Ogdensburg, if not in the county. It was held at the old barracks, and Mr. John King, in the em- ployment of Ogden & Ford, delivered the oration. In 1804 a pleasant celebration was held, at which a party of both sexes from Canada united with the villagers in the festivi- ties of the occasion. A dinner was prepared by Judge Ford, as was his custom for several years, and in the even- ing fireworks were first displayed. They were prepared on the premises, and said to have been very fine. Many of the Canadians, previous to the war, were accustomed to cross to our side and join in celebrating our national anniversary, and even the war itself, although it temporarily chocked the intercourse along the lines by inspiring mutual fear and suspicion, did not long separate those people who had many interests in common. In 1813, along the lower part of St. Lawrence County, old neighbors began to exchange visits by night, and continued to do so more or less privately till the peace. There were living in the village of Ogdensburg in 1804 hut four families, viz. : Slosson, on the corner diago- nally opposite the St. Lawrence hotel; Dr. Davis, on the/ ground now covered by E. B. Allen's residence ; George Davis, who kept an inn at the American hotel ; and a Mr. Chapin, in State street, near the Ripley house. There was a store kept by Judge Ford, at the old barracks, and occa- sionally the settlers had the opportunity of shopping on hoard of Durham boats from Utica, in which goods were displayed for sale. In the summer of 1803, Mr. Washington Irving, then a young man, came into the county with some of the pro- prietors, and remained a short time. His name oftcurs on several old deeds as a witness. In 1804, Mr. Louis Has- brouck, the first county clerk, who had been on for two years previously, removed with his family, and settled in the village. In November, 1804, Francis Bromigen, David Griffin, Richard M. Lawrence, John M. Lawrence, John Lyons, Wm. B. Wright, Seth Warren, Archibald McClaren, and Stephen Slawson were returned as grand jurors, and Daniel McNeill, Wm. Sharp, and John Stewart as petit jurors, in Oswegatchie. In 1808 the unsold portions of the village plat were pur- chased by David Parish, who first visited the town in the fall of that year, and measures were immediately taken to create at this point a commercial interest that should con- test with every other port on the river and lake for superi- ority. In this year a bridge was built by a Mr. Aldrich, at a cost of $1500, which was warranted to last five years, and which stood fifteen. In 1829 and in 1847 legislative provision was made for rebuilding the bridge. In the fall of 1808, the firm of J. Rosseel & Co., sustained by the capital of Mr. Parish, commenced mercantile operations, and brought on $40,000 worth of goods, which were opened in a temporary store until a permanent building could be erected. On Nov. 10, 1808, the building of two schooners was commenced by Mr. Jonathan Brown, of New York, who, with Selick Howe, was sent on from New York for that purpose by Mr. Parish. Two vessels, the " Collector'' and the " Experiment," were built during that winter and the following summer. The first one launched was the schooner " Experiment ;" it occurred on the 4th of July, 1809, and formed a part of the exercises of the day. A very hand- some celebration was got up for this occasion. An oration was delivered by a Mr. Ogden, a lawyer from New Jersey, at the court-house, and a dinner was prepared in a beautiful walnut grove, on the present site of the marble row. Great numbers of Canadians participated in the proceedings with spirit. The yard in which the " Experiment" was built was on the site of Amos Bacon's store. She was subse- quently commanded by Captain Holmes, and had a burden of 50 tons. The second vessel was the schooner " Collector," launched in the latter part of the summer of 1809, which made several trips up the lake that season under Captain Obed Mayo, and the next year she was run by Captain Samuel Dixon. Her first arrival was Nov. 15, 1809, with salt and dry goods from Oswego. She was owned by Ros- seel & Co. In the following summer (1810), the third schooner, the " Genesee Packet," was launched and rigged. She was owned and commanded by Captain Mayo. On the 5th of July, 1810, Mr. Rosseel wrote to his patron as fol- lows : " We have renounced the project of building boat*, since with them we could not enter into competition with the Kingstonians in the line of transporting produce down the St. Lawrence, a rivalship which we are solicitous to maintain, though we work for glory; we therefore have re- solved to combine building arks.'' Early in the season of 1809, Mr. Rosseel proceeded to Montreal to procure from thence laborers, where he engaged about forty Canadians to work by the month, and bought two bateaux to take them up to Ogdensburg, with blankets, peas for soup, etc., each receiving a month's wages in advance for their families' support. These bateaux were afterwards used in bringing sand from Nettleton's point, above Prescott, for the mortar used in building, the cement of which is remarkably hard. The stone building at the wharf was commenced on the 7th of May, under the direction of Daniel W. Church, and in June, Mr. David Parish's brick house. The commercial and mercantile enterprise of the company prospered for a season, and the vessels belonging to the port of Ogdensburg became the carriers on Lake Ontario, and at the breaking out of the war it was growing more rapidly than any port on the lake. The approach of the war arrested the growth of the vil- 158 HISTORY OP ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. lage as well as that of the country in general, and the em- bargo entirely stopped its commerce. These evils began to be felt for several years previous, and Judge Ford, as early as Aug. 18, 1807, in writing to S. Ogden, said, — "The sound of war has palsied the sales of land in this county. The prospect of immigration this fall to the county was vastly flat- tering, and among the number were men of property and respecta- bility. This unhappy affair will very materially affect our prospects in the money line. I yet hope I shall receive a payment, which if I do, I shall not fail to alleviate your present wants. I, however, am apprehensive that the gentleman (who is now out) will fear to return, for much is said of the Indians, and much pains is talcen by some people upon the other side of the river to inspire a belief that the In- dians will be employed by the British government, and their num- bers are immensely magnified. This, as is natural, frightens the old women, and the anxiety and commotion among them is astonishing. Many are for flying immediately, whilst others are so frightened they do not know which way to run. This constant theme of fear, origi- nating with the women, puts the d — 1 into some of the men, and some among them are becoming as old-womanish as the women them- selves. These men I abuse for their cowardice, and the women's fears I soothe, but I fear all my exertions will be in vain, for it is in- credible what frightful stories arc going upon this subject. Should the war-whoop continue, and curtail us in the receipt of that money so certainly expected, it will be totally out of my power to afford you that aid you wish. It would have been out of my power to have given you assistance when I was in Jersey, if Mr. Lewis had not promised me he would answer my draft upon him in October. Upon the promise I purchased my goods upon six months' credit, and gave you his note for what he could then- pay, together with the ready money I had. These two, together with what money I bad to pay upon our Dewitt purchase, made up a sum of almost $2000. By this means I was under the necessity of going in debt, and to people who are not in a situation to lay out of their money ; with them we have not heretofore had dealings, and who count upon punctuality. . . . Out of all the moneys we have due in this country, I am confident I shall not be able to command S500. I need not urge upon you the neces- sity of cherishing that credit and reputation which we have estab- lished in the course of our business, neither need I give you any new assurance how much pleasure it would afford me to have it in my power to help you to such sums as I may be able. I really viewed the time as having arrived when you might have calculated upon a certainty from your estate here, and nothing but the dreadful dilemma into which our country is now plunged could have prevented it. I yet hope the whirlwind may pass by without material injury. . . . What makes this war-whoop more particularly disadvantageous to us at this time, is the event which we have so long anticipated being upon the eve of taking place, of this becoming the place of a depot instead of Kingston. Two of the principal merchants residing at the head of the lake called upon me, when on their way down the river with their produce, to know if arrangements could not be made for receiving and forwarding their produce to market, provided they should be able to contract with the owners of vessels, so as to make it their interest to come to Ogdensburg instead of Kingston. I told them I was not prepared at that moment to answer them decisively, but if they would call upon me upon their way up, I would by that time make an estimate, and give them an answer what I could do the business for. Last week they called, and we found no difiiculty in agreeing upon the price of forwarding, but they found this war busi- ness would interfere. They, however, told me they would make it a business to see the owners of vessels, and if this war sound should blow over, write me immediately, that I might make the necessary arrangements. To set this business properly in motion will take considerable money. Therefore, much caution is to be used, that a failure on our part should not take place. If we can but get the thing in motion it will produce an effect that will be solid. Should the temper and times admit of, going into this business, I shall be under the necessity of sending to the Susquehanpa for those people who have been in the habit of making arks and managing them. I do not think the business of ark-building is sufficiently understood by any person in this country to hazard anything to their manage- ment, and as the success of this business is very much to depend upon economy and accurate management, I think we had better go to the expense at once of procuring men who already understand the business, than hazard it to those who must learn from experience. "N. Ford." On the 18th of December, 1807, he said,— " When I wrote you last, I told you the sound of war was like to palsy emigration, and I am sorry to add, a continuation of the war- whoop has completely produced that effect; and if one can jud^e from the acts of the administration, the chances are much in favor of war measures, though I presume Jefferson docs not calculate to fight himself. I hope and trust there will good sense and moral honesty yet be found in the people of America to avert the impend- ing storm. The extreme wet season has prevented the post making the regular tours, by which I am much in the dark how prospects in the political hemisphere are likely to stand. . . . Should this unpleasant bustle blow over this winter, I presume we may calculate the ensuing summer will produce to the county many valuable settlers, who are laying back from no other cause than to see the fate of the present commotion. Very few sales have been made in the county this year, and most of those which have been made were to that de- scription of y)eopIe who may be considered as the first run, and con- sequently are of the moneyless kind. The people in the county have very much got over their first fright about war, and I hope, should it come, they will have spunk enough to stand their ground, and manfully defend their property. The d — 1 of it is, we have neither guns nor ammunition to do with. I suppose, upon a proper repre- sentation to Jefferson, he might be induced to send us up one of his gun-boats ; it might as well travel our new road as plow through the sandy corn-fields of Georgia. I think an application of this kind, made through Stone of New Jersey, might be attended to at least by Stone, whose capacity is not equal to distinguishing but that such application and mode of conveyance would be perfectly proper and consistent. I hope you will write me often, and give me a sketch of the times. I should like to know a little beforehand how the guil- lotine is like to work. That is u, machine much more likely to travel than Jefferson gun-boats, and my opinion is, the Democrats will never rcit until they erect a few of those kind of shaving-mills." The reader is referred to the chapter on the war, for the details of the incidents that occurred here during that period. For many years afterwards business languished, and the country was a long time in recovering from the financial depression which it occasioned. A fort, to be called Fort Oswegatchie, was begun, and after the war some thoughts of finishing it were entertained, but the work was never prosecuted. During the summer of 1817, Mr. Mon- roe, the president, made a tour through the northern States, and visited Ogdensburg. He reached Hamilton from Plattsburg, July 31, and on the following day he was met by a party of gentlemen from Ogdensburg, and carried into town, preceded by a band of music ; and became the guest of Mr. George Parish. He there received the re- spects of the citizens, and the trustees and inhabitants, through Louis Hasbrouck, Esq., who delivered him the following address : "SiH, — The trustees and inhabitants of this village welcome with peculiar satisfaction your arrival, in health, among them, after your long and fatiguing journey through many of our yet infant settle- ments. In common with the nation, we have viewed with much in- terest your important tour along our sea-board and frontier, particu- larly confiding in your observation, wisdom, and experience for the establishment of such points of national defense along our immediate border as will best promote our individual prosperity and strengthen the national security. Born and educated under a government whose laws we venerate, enjoying a soil rich iu the bounties of Providence, and' grateful for the invaluable blessings of liberty bequeathed' to us by the heroes of the Kevolution, no excitement shall be wanting on our part to maintain, defend, and transmit to posterity the benefits we so eminently possess. Experience, however, has taught us that individual or sectional exertionsj be they ever so ardent, unless aided by the protecting and strong arm of government, afford but a feeble :t^ 't ' *SSi W OFFICE /iND ffESIDENCE or Dff.SOUTHWfCK, OGDENSBUfftj, N Y. Photo, by Dow, Ogdensburg. The subject of this sketch was born Jan. 27, 1806, in England. He was son of George and Ann Furniss. His father was born November, 1781, and died in 1836. His mother, whose maiden name was Wilcock, was born Sept. 21, 1778, and died June 10, 1840. In the year 1830 he emigrated to America, and settled ip the town of Rossie, St. Lawrence County. He first engaged as a miller, with George Parish, with whom he remained until about the year 1839, when he commenced business for himself During this time he had an interest in smelting the ore taken from the lead mines in that town. About 1840 be came to Ogdensburg, and leased the custom mill of the city, which, after some four years, he purchased. Prudent and economical in business, he became one of the most successful and enterprising business men of his city. Unaided pecuniarily while young, he, by judicious management, secured a competence tljat placed him beyond the apprehension of want. During his business career, he was highly respected by all \fho knew him, and especially by those who had dealings with him. He was a man of correct habits, his character and reputation being above reproach. He was strictly honest ai)d exact in all his dealings. Mr. Furniss never was very active ip politics, but during the late rebellion was an ardent supporter of the adminis- tration. He first cast his infiuence with tbe Whig party, and upon the formation of the Republican party espoused its principles and adopted its platform- Held in high esteem by his fellow-men, he was elected to several impor- tant offices in his city, — was alderman in 1851-53-54. He was never SQljcjJ;ofls of public hopofs of tljis kinc}, and never shrank from bearing his share of the public burdens for the preservation of peace and good society. Liberal in his views, he was ready to enlist in any good enterprise which would build up and improve the city of his adoption, establish society upon a religious basis, and educate the rising generation. In the year 1834 (Sept. 15), he married Mrs. Mary A. Knott, of English birth, who only lived until July 20, 1840. Her daughter, Lucy A., married Mr. T. D. Servis, of Lacrosse, Wis. ; for his second wife, Sept. 3, 1846, he married Miss Clarissa, daughter of Henry Lum and Belinda Ranney. Her father was a native of Morristown, N. J., and settled in Ogdensburg in 1810. Henry Lum was a lineal descendent of the fifth generation from Samuel Lum, who was born June 13, 1619, in England, and was one of the early settlers of the New England States ; one of his sons settling in Connecticut, a second on Long Island, and a third in New Jersey. By his second wife he had three children, — William E., Fannie, and Clara. Fannie died while young. William E. married Miss Fannie, daughter of the late Daniel Judson, of Ogdensburg ; resides in his native city, has succeeded his father in the milling business, and is one of the enterprising business men of his county. Clara married Mr. D. V. Williams, of Joliet, 111,, and resides in Chicago. William Furniss was a member of the Episcopal church of Ogdensburg for many years previous to his death (which occurred July 2, 1872), and for several years served as ves- tryman. Early in life he identified himself with church interests, of which he was a liberal supporter. Both of his wives were members of the same church. ASHBEL SYKES. Photo, by Dow, Ogdensburg, ELIZABETH SYKES. ELIZABETH STKES. The subject of this sketch was born in Morristown, N. J., Deo. 7, 1796. She was the daughter of John and Martha Lyon, who were both natives of the same State as herself. The former was born Aug. 26, 1753 ; the latter, Aug. 16, 1759. John Lyon was first mar- ried to Miss Rachel Keves, March 26, 1775, by whom ho had three children : Hannah, Mary, and Rachel. Upon the death of his wife (1780) he married Miss Martha Babbit, July 9, 1781, by whom he had seven children ; Lewis, Aaron, Sarah, John, Stephen, Harvey, and Elizabeth (the subject of this memoir), John Lyon and his family of wife and eight children came from New Jersey and settled in the locality of Ogdensburg in 1796, at first taking quarters in an old Prench garrison, the present site being on the south side of the Oswegatchie river. They came with Judge Nathan Ford, who was sent as land agent for Mr. Ogden, owner of the land where the city now is. Judge Ford also moved into one of the French garrisons, and some years after erected for a residence the house now used as a nunnery. At the time the Lyons family came to this locality no railroads or steamboats were known. They were six weeks on their journey, traveling mostly by means of rowboats. Upon reaching the settlement then known by the Indian name of Oswegatchie, they found three Indian chiefs (white men) who claimed to hold the land, together with many bands of native Indians, and, with these exceptions, there were no white people. Through the shrewdness and careful management of Judge Ford, the title to land claimed by the chiefs was soon abandoned, and the Ogden title firmly established. The Lyons family lived here, endur- ing all the privations and hardships coincident not only with a pioneer life, but a life among the Indians, for some years before any more white settlers came; and, as an example of the want of modern conveniences, it may be stated that the nearest grist-mill was seventy miles down the river St. Lawrence, where they went in canoes with their corn to be ground, or at times taking the alternative to pound it in a hollow stump. About eight weeks after the arrival of the family the wife and mother died — in 1796 — at the ago of thirty- seven, leaving a large family of children in »■ new home in the wilderness to mourn her loss, — her dying words being that she com- mitted the care of her children to God. John Lyon, in the year 1815, married his third wife. Miss Mary Smith, a native of Connecticut, who was born in 1777, and died some fifteen years after her husband. He lived upon the spot where he first settled, cleared ofi' the forest, made the land tillable, followed the occupation of a farmer, and died Feb. 3, 18.34. At the time of the writing of this sketch all of the children are dead except the two youngest; Harvey, living near the place of his father's first settlement ; and Elizabeth, whose portrait is found above this notice, by the side of her husband's, is now living in the city of Ogdensburg, where she has resided for the last sixty-one years, and in the town and city for eighty-one years. She was only three years of age when her father settled here, and now, in her eighty-fourth year, has lived to watch the various changes from the wilderness to the present beautiful city of wealth, from the rude log cabin to the palatial residences of modern times ; to see schools, churches, and society established; and it may be said here that she is supposed to have lived longer in the county than any other person at the present time. At the age of twenty-two, and in the year 1815, she married Ezra Fitch, of Cooperstown, N. Y. To them were born three children: Elizabeth, Elias, and Ezra; the last two dying in infancy, the daughter living to be twenty-one years of age. Mr. Fitch died in the year 1822. In the year 1839 she married Ashbel Sykes, a native of Suffolk, Conn., but at the time of his marriage, of Lisbon, this county. Ho was born Oct. 16, 1777, and died April 27, 1868. Since the death of her second husband Mrs. Sykes has lived alone, doing her housework most of the time. At the age of twenty-six she united with the Presbyterian church of this city, and from that time has been an active member of that body until age debarred her from such duties. Charitable to all, a friend to the destitute, possess- ing that urbanity of manner and good common sense oharactenstio of the pioneer women of the country, she still retains her activity of both mind and body to a remarkable degree. Beyond the competence necessary for her support to the end of her life, she has arranged for her entire property to be distributed at her death among various religious institutions, remembering especially the one most dear, own church. She has been for many years manager of the mission- ary work in her own church, and contributed liberally for its sup- port. Few persons are spared to live through so many yeifs " usefulness as Mrs. Sykes, and few who are spared leave so laudable a record. HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW .YORK. 159 defense agaiost a powerful foe. Placed on a frontier contiguous to a warlike and powerful nation, enjoying the advantage of an extensive and increasing navigation, it is peculiarly important that our local situation should be well understood. At the commencement of the late war the attention of government was in the first instance natur- ally drawn to the defense of that extensive line of sea-coast, on which the immense maritime force of the enemy could be more eflfectuaDy exerted, and consequently the more remote and interior defenses did not perhaps receive the protection which their importance warranted. "But commencing your administration in a time of profound peace, enjoying the confidence of the nation, and presiding over a government proud of its honor, tenacious of its rights, and possess- ing the requisite resources, we flatter ourselves, should any collision hereafter take place (which we pray heaven to avert), your penetra- tion and judgment, aided by your local observations, will have pointed out a.nd perfected such a line of defenses as will insure our personal safety, and redound to the honor and prosperity of the nation. That you may establish these desirable objects, progress in your important tour in safety, and return happily to the bosom of your domestic circle, is, sir, the fervent prayer of your obedient servants.*' His excellency made a verbal reply to the following eifect : " He thanked the citizens of Ogdensburg for their attention, and Tery polite reception ; he received them as marks of respect to the first magistrate of the nation, not by any means arrogating them to himself as an individual. It gg^ve him great pleasure, because it evinced an attachment of the people to that form of government which they themselves had established. He was satisfied they held its value in just estimation, and were sincerely devoted to its preser- vation, and in administering it he would support its principles, and, to his best ability, promote the interests of the country. As the ad- dress correctly stated, his journey was connected with objects of na- tional defense, and was undertaken for the purpose of acquiring such information as would better enable him to discharge the duties of his oflBce; that large sums of money had been appropriated by the gov- ernment, the judicious application of which depended much on the executive. He perfectly agreed that the time of peace was the best time to prepare for defense, but had much pleasure in stating that the best understanding prevailed between our government and that of Great Britain, and was persuaded he had every reason to look for a permanent peace. He said that the importance of the situation along the St. Lawrence had not escaped his observation, and during his progress in this country he was much gratified to find it fertile and abundant, and inhabited by enterprising, industrious, and he believed a virtuous people.*' In the evening the president was joined by Major- Greneral Brown, of the United States army, and his whole suite, accompanied by whom he repaired to Morristown, and lodged with the honorable Judge Ford. On Saturday, the 2d, he viewed Mr. Parish's extensive and very valuable iron-works at Rossie, considered to be an establishment of great public importance and usefulness to the surrounding country. From Rossie he proceeded to Antwerp, where he was met by Mr. Le Ray and others, and conducted to Le Rayville, where he spent the night.* PROMINENT EARLY FAMILIES. In the early years of the present century, when the region now occupied by St. Lawrence County first began to attract the attention of settlers and capitalists, it was be- lieved that a great. system of roads and canals would bring it into close connection with the sea-board, and extravagant anticipations were indulged that it would rapidly become one of the best-peopled and most desirable countries in the United States for agricultural, manufacturing, and com- mercial purposes, and as a residence locality, especially along the magnificent St. Lawrence river. Prominent and * Narrative of a Tour of Observation, by James Monroe. wealthy men from New England, New York, and New Jersey entered heavily into land speculation, and many aristocratic families settled in and around Ogdensburg, which they fondly believed, from its remarkable situation at the foot of lake navigation and its proximity to the mines, water-power, and forest region of the State, would speedily become the great emporium of trade and com- merce of the upper St. Lawrence valley. Among the prominent families who settled in the vicinity of Ogdens- burg were the Parishes, Ogdens, Fords, Van Heuvels, Van Rensselaers, and others. These were all Whigs, and, having abundant means, they proceeded to clear the forests away and make improvements and erect substantial dwell- ings and outbuildings, which compared favorably with a similar class in Virginia and along the valleys of the Hud- son, Mohawk, and Connecticut rivers. Of this description were the mansions on the estate subsequently owned by Hon. Henry Van Rensselaer, now belonging to the Averills, and where a vast sum of money was expended in building immense stone fences, laying out broad and beautiful grounds, and in erecting buildings that would be no dis- credit to the great manors of England. The Parish man- sion, erected about 1809-10. This was a great establishment in its day. Its last occupant, Mr. George Parish, aban- doned it about 1869, and is now living in Seftenburg, Bohemia, a province of the Austrian empire, where he has large estates and holds a baron's title. Soon after the American Revolution the prominent loyalist refugees were granted lands along the St. Lawrence by the British government for those which had been con- fiscated by the United States government, and nearly the whole line of the St. Lawrence, from Cornwall to the Bay of QuintiS, was settled by them. After a time these fami- lies, who were of the better class, assimilated with those on the American side, and thus a sort of landed aristocracy flourished for many years. VILLAGE OF OGDENSBURG. INCORPOEATION. The village of Ogdensburg was incorporated by an act passed by the legislature, April 15, 1817, of which act the following is "Section I. — Be it enacted by the people of the State of New York, represented in the Senate and Assembly, That the district of county contained in the following bounds, to wit: Beginning at a black- oak-tree standing on the eastwardly bank of the Oswegatchie river, being the northwestwardly corner of a lot of land now owned by William Wells, and running thence north sixty-one degrees and ten minutes east, one hundred and eleven chains and thirty links to the southwestwardly corner of a lot of land now owned by Timothy Burr; thence along his bounds north twenty-four degrees and thirty minutes west, sixty-five chains and eighty-one links to a cedar post on the margin of the river St. Lawrence; thence continuing the same course into said river to the bounds of the county of St. Lawrence; thence along the said bounds westwardly to a point opposite the middle of the Oswegatchie river; thence along the middle of the Oswegatchie river to a point opposite the place of beginning ; and thence to the place of beginning. And all the freemen of this State, inhabitants within the limits aforesaid, be, and they hereby are ordained, constituted, dnd declared to be from time to time and for- ever hereafter a body politic and corporate in fact and in name by the name of the trustees of the village of Ogdensburg, and by that 160 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. name they and their successors forever shall and may have perpetual succession, and be persons in law capable of suing and being sued and of defending in all courts and places whatsoever in all manner of actions whatsoever, and that they and their successors may have a common seal and may change and alter the same at pleasure, and shall be in law capable of purchasing, holding, and conveying any lands or tenements within the limits aforesaid to and for the common use and benefit of the inhabitants of the said village." OFFICERS. The first election for village officers was held May 12, 1817, at which the following persons were chosen : Presi- dent, Louis Hasbrouck ; Trustees, Joseph W. Smith, Charles Hill, John Scott. The board held a meeting May 17, 1817, and appointed Joseph W. Smith, treasurer ; Syl- vester Gilbert, clerk ; and Louis Hasbrouck and J. W. Smith a committee to draft a code of by-laws. The latter were read and adopted on the 26th of the same month. The list of officers for the village of Ogdensburg, from 1818 to 1867 inclusive, embraces the following; 1818. — Louis Hasbrouck, president; Palmer Cleveland, Charles D. Raymond, JoEn Tibbits ; James Averell (3dJ, clerk. 1818. — Louis Hasbrouck, president; Charles D. Ray- mond, Erastus Vilas, Joseph York; David R. Strachan, clerk. 1820. — James Averell (3d), president; Levi Gilbert, Wolcott Hubbell, Amos B.acon ; George N, Seymour, clerk. 1821. — Walcott Hubbell, president; David C. Judson, Amos Bacon, Bishop Perkins; Geo. N. Seymour, clerk, 1822. — Brinsley Hunton, president; Abel Heminway, Harvey Church, John Eaton ; Bishop Perkins, clerk. 1823. — Louis Hasbrouck, president ; Joseph Rosseel, Charles D. Raymond, Ira Shead ; David C. Judson, clerk. At the annual election the following were appointed to revise the charter: Louis Hasbrouck, Anthony C. Brown David C. Judson, Bishop Perkins, James Averell (3d). A petition was sent to the legislature for a revision of the act incorporating the village, and a new act was passed April 9, 1824, and the next village board elected under the new charter. 1824. — Louis Hasbrouck, president; Joseph Rosseel, Charles D. Raymond, Ira Shead ; David C. Judson, clerk. 1825. — Joseph Rosseel, president ; William Bacon, An- thony C. Brown, David C. Judson ; Baron S. Doty, clerk. 1826.— George Guest, president; Richard Freeman, Da- vid C. Judson, Baron S. Doty, Charles D. Raymond ; Ed- mund A. Graham appointed clerk by board. 1827. — Anthony C. Brown, president; Henry Lum, William Bacon, William A. Campfield, James G. Hopkins ; E. A. Graham appointed clerk. 1828.— Charles Hill, president ; Joseph Rosseel, Erastus Vilas, Charles D. Raymond, Joseph W. Smith ; Edmund A. Graham appointed clerk. 1829.— Charles Hill, president; Baron S. Doty, Elijah B. Allen, Peter C. Oakley, John Elliott ; E. A. Graham, clerk. 1830.— Charles Hill, president; David C. Judson, Pres- ton King, John Elliott, Harvey Thomas ; E. A. Graham, clerk. 1831. — Charles Hill, president; John Elliott, Harry Odell, David C. Judson, Royal VUas ; E. A. Graham, clerk. 1832. — James G. Hopkins, president; Charles Hill, Lin- coln Morris, Jacob Arnold, William B. Spelman. Board of Health.- — B. Perkins, S. Gilbert, L. Hasbrouck, Charles Hill, D. C. Judson, M. S. Daniels, E. B. Allen, J. W. Smith. 1833. — James G. Hopkins, president ; Royal Vilas, Lin- coln Morris, Egbert N. Fairchild, Preston King; E. A. Graham, clerk. 1834. — James G. Hopkins, president; Joseph Rosseel, Egbert N. Fairchild, John Clark, Preston King; E. A. Graham, clerk. 1835. — Sylvester Gilbert, president; David C. Judson, George W. Shepard, Moses S. Piatt, Michael S. Daniels ; George Guest, clerk. 1836.— Sylvester Gilbert, president ; M. S. Piatt, M. S. Daniels, Wm. H. Marshall, James W. Lytle ; Charles G. Myers, clerk. 1837. — Erastus Vilas, president ; John J. Gilbert, Amos Bacon, Henry D. Laughlin, William Melhinch, John J. Gilbert ; Anthony C. Brown, clerk. 1838.— Charles Hill, president; John Clark, H. D. Laughlin, Amos Bacon, Socrates N. Sherman ; A. C. Brown, clerk. 1839. — Amos Bacon, president ; Collins A. Bumham, Edwin Clark, Wm. E. Guest, AUeti Chaney; Wm. C. Brown, clerk. 1840. — George W. Shepard, president ; Allen Chaney, Joshua L. Warner, Wm. H. Marshall, John Barber ; W. C. Brown, clerk. 1841. — David Crichton, president; Wm. H. Marshall, William Bacon, Thomas Bacon, David Burdett; W. C. Brown, clerk. 1842. — David Crichton, president ; James G. Wilson, Charles Shepard, Thomas Birkby, Nathan S. Pitkin ; Ste- phen B. Seely, clerk. Map of the village, by W. B. Gilbert, adopted and placed on file in the county clerk's office. 1843. — Amos Bacon, president ; Elijah White, Joseph Hutchinson, Jr., George M. Foster, Edwin Clark ;.S. B. Seely, clerk. 1844. — James G. Hopkins, president; Henry T.Bacon, Alden Vilas, William Jones, Amaziah B. James; William B. Hickok, clerk. 1845. — James G. Hopkins, president; Amaziah B. James, Alden Vilas, William Jones, Henry T. Bacon ; A. B. James, clerk. 1846. — Amaziah B. James, president ; Harvey Thomas, Jeremiah Baldwin, Amasa W. WooUey, George D. V. Seymour; William B. Hickok, clerk; George Morris, clerk, on resignation of W. B. Hickok. 1847. — Cornelius Stillman, president ; David C. Judson, James G. Averell, George N. Seymour, Royal Vilas ; Geo. Morris, clerk. 1848. — Egbert N. Fairchild, president ; James G. Hop- kins, Charles Shepard, William E. Guest, William Jones; Stillman Foote, clerk. 1849. — Stillman Foote, president; David Crichton, HISTORY OP ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 161 Albert Chismore, Benj. Whitney, Elijah White; Albert Tyler, clerk. 1850. — William Bacon, president; David Crichton, Amasa W. Woolley, Nehemiah Whitney, S. Gilbert; Louis Hasbrouck, cleik. 1851 (Four months). — William Jones, president; Egbert N. Fairohild, Jeremiah Baldwin, Amaziah B. James, Collins A. Burnham ; George Morris, clerk. Mr. Burnham de- clined to serve. John P. Rossell was elected in his place. William Jones resigned, and E. N. Fairchild was elected president. A new charter was granted by the legislature, June 20, 1851, and an election held on the fourth Tuesday of July following. This charter gave greater privileges, and under it the bounds of the village were extended, and the corpo- ration divided into three wards. 1851 (New charter). — WilUiam C. Brown, president ; Edwin Clark, Elijab B. Allen, Henry S. Humphrey, for 1st ward ; Allen Chaney, Henry Rockwell, William Furness, for 2d ward ; Nathan S. Pitkin, Albert Tyler, Luke Bald- win, for 3d ward ; George Morris, clerk. 1852. — William C. Brown, president; John Austin, David Field, John F. Rosseel, Ralzaman Haskell, William C. Alden, Daniel D. T. Carr, Nathaniel Taggert, Nathaniel Lewis, Luke Baldwin ; George Morris, clerk. 1853. — John P. Rosseel, president ; George D. V. Sey- mour, Jacob H. Guest, David M. Chapin, William Purness, Alouzo E. Alden, Allen Chaney, Philander Robbins, Wil- liam Jones, Ira Wheelock ; Joseph McNaugbton, clerk. 1854. — J. F. Rosseel, president ; John Barber, Smith Stilwell, Jr., George M. Poster, Ozro S. Cummings, P. M. Burt, William Purness, Norman Sackrider, William Jones, George P. Ryon ; Gaylord P. Chapin, clerk. 1855. — Thomas Bacon, president; E. N. Pairchild, S. Gilbert, W. C. Brown, Eli.sha Sanderson, Franklin N. Burt, Patrick V. Lankton, Cyrus Vilas, William H. Young, J. A. Stevens; Edwin M. Holbrook, clerk. 1856. — Sylvester Gilbert, president ; Walter B. Allen, Herman P. Millard, Royal Vilas, Franklin N. Burt, James D. Raymond, Erastus Vilas (2d), P. V. Lankton, John Allendorph, Roswell S. Ryon ; Edwin M. Holbrook, clerk. 1857.— S. Gilbert, president ; W. B. Allen, H. P. Mil- lard, E. N. Merriam, F. N. Burt, J. D. Raymond, A. Chaney, P. V. Lankton, J. Allendorph, A. Chismore; E. M. Hol- brook, clerk. 1858. — Seth G. Pope, president; George Morris, Charles P. Egert, George Parker, John G. McDonald, Ozro S. Cum- mings, James L. Ives, Alric M. Herriman, Luke Baldwin, Joseph Thompson ; N. H. Lytle, clerk. 1859.— S. G. Pope, president; G. Morris, C. P. Egert, Jacob Henry Guest, Benjamin L. Jones, W. C. Alden, D. D. T. Carr, A. M. Herriman, Louis D. Hoard, Joseph Thompson ; N. H. Lytle, clerk. 1860 A. M. Herriman, president; W. C. Brown, J. H. Guest, George Witherhead, B. L. Jones, W. C. Alden, C. S. Burt, Carlos Slocum, George Newmeyer, J. Thompson ; N. H. Lytle, clerk. 1861. — A. M. Herriman, president; W. C. Brown, G. Witherhead, J. H. Guest, B. L. Jones, Wm. C. Alden, 21 Patrick Golden, Carlos Slocum, Josepb Thompson, George Newmeyer ; H. G. Thomas, clerk. 1862. — David C. Judson, president; George Parker, Thomas Bacon, Ela N. Merriam, Amos S. Partridge, P, Golden, Hiram Chatterton, J. Thompson, Henry W. Fer- guson, A. M. Herriman ; William Wheeler and John Magone, clerks. 1863. — David C. Judson, president ; B. M. Holbrook, John W. Hastings, James M. Chamberlain, J. L. Ives, Thomas Mullin, Harvey L. Jones, J. H. Morgan, J. Thompson, William Armstrong ; William B. W. O'Brian and William N. Oswell, clerks. 1864. — Charles G. Myers, president; Calvin W. Gibbs, Nathaniel H. Lytle, Charles I. Baldwin, Harrison C. Pear- sons, Harvey L. Jones, Walter B. Allen, Henry F. Church, Carlos Slocum, Reuben M. Barnes; T. H. Brosnan, clerk. 1865. — Calvin W. Gibbs, president; J. H. Guest, Na- thaniel H. Lytle, George D. Seymour, Erastus Vilas (2d), P. H. Delaney, Francis N. Burt, D. W. C. Brown, George R. Bell, James H. Morgan ; T.,H. Brosnan, clerk. 1866.— De Witt C. Brown, president; J. H. Guest, N. H. Lytle, H. T. Bacon, P. H. Delaney, Erastus Vilas (2d), P. Golden, G. R. Bell, William L. Proctor, Allen B. Phillips ; R. E. Gordon, clerk. 1867.— De Witt C. Brown, president; Nathaniel H. Lytle, Arthur Callaghan, Charles I. Baldwin, James A. Mack, Galen W. Pearson, Merchant J. Ives, William L. Proctor, William Armstrong, William H. Young ; Chipman S. Mastin, clerk. TOWN-CLOCK. In November, 1841, a clock was purchased of Andrew Meneely, of West Troy, and placed in the tower of the Pres- byterian church. Its cost, including freight, expense of setting up, etc., was nearly seven hundred dollars. Some trouble was experienced with it on account of a bad ar- rangement of the weights, and, by permission of the trus- tees of the church, the weights were altered so as to reach the basement .'^tory. At a recent date new faces have been placed on the clock, from the necessity arising therefor at the reconstruction of the spire of the church. When the old church was removed the clock was carefully taken down, and now occupies a position in the spire of the substantial church built on the site of the old one. Messrs. Bell Bros., jewelers, of Ogdensburg, have had charge of the clock since it was first set up in 1841. TOWN-HOUSE. An act was passed by the legislature, April 2, 1858, em- powering the supervisors of St. Lawrence County to assess on the town of Oswegatohic a tax of $5000, besides col- lector's fees, for the year 1858, the balance to be raised in 1859, and not to exceed $10,000 altogether, for the purpose of erecting a building for the joint use of the town of Os- wegatchie and the village of Ogdensburg. Also empower- ing said town to issue bonds to the amount of $5000 in 1858, the balance to be raised as the commissioners re- quired it. Smith Stilwell, John Pickens, and Alden Vilas were appointed commissioners to superintend the work, and placed under bonds of $10,000 for the faithful performance 162 HISTOKY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YOUK. of their duty. The building was to contain, by the pro- visions of the act, " a room for the public meetings of the inhabitants of said town and village ; a room for the meet- ing and deliberation of the trustees of said village, and of the board of education ; a police-court room ; such number of lock-ups, or prison-rooms, as they shall deem necessary, together with rooms for a keeper and his family ; with such other rooms and appurtenant buildings as are necessary or proper for said purposes." It was provided that none of this money should be used until the village had first secured a lot on which to build, and accordingly the present location was chosen, on the corner of Franklin and Washington streets, and the lot purchased of George Parish, Esq., in exchange for engine-house lot. No. 3. The plan of the building by the commissioners was adopted by the village board in June, 1858, and work was at once commenced. The edifice, now standing, is a large brick building, two stories and a basement in height, and cost, besides furnish- ing, painting, etc., $8778.42. The furniture and other ex- penses aggregated about $1000 additional. The hall on the second floor is commodious and well lighted (as are all the rooms in the building),. and is used both for judicial and social purposes. The structure was completed in Jan- uary, 1859. VILLAGE MARKET-HOUSE. This building was erected in 1838, on a lot leased from George Parish, Esq., and bounded by Water, Washington, and Catharine streets. It was 80 by 24 feet in dimensions, containing eleven stalls 12 by 6 feet. A code of by-laws regTilating the market was passed September 29, 1838, and at a sale of stalls at auction, on the 6th of October following, they were all bid in. On Blay 27, 1824, the name of Eupliamia was changed to State, and of Gertrude to Franklin streets. St. Lawrence County in general, and that portion border- ing on the river in particular, partook of the general alarm that spread like an epidemic through the country on the approach of the Asiatic cholera in 1832. The village of Ogdensburg suffered considerably from this pestilence, and strict sanitary regulations were adopted in this and other frontier towns, in pursuance of the recommendations of the legislature in an act passed at a special session convened for the occasion. Quarantine grounds were established, at first at the mouth of the Oswegatchie, and afterwards at Mile Point, the site of the present depot, where crafts from Canada were to be detained fifteen days. The followinn- facts are mostly derived from an address delivered before the St. Lawrence medical society, by their president. Dr. S. N. Sherman, who had witnessed the progress of the pesti- lence at that place, and was a believer in its non-contagious character : "In June, 1832, the disease appeared in America, the first case having occurred in Quebec on the Sth of that month. On the 14th it appeared at Montreal, and on the 17th at Ogdensburg, though not in its severest grade. On the 21st of June the first fatll oase°ooeurrcd at that place. During the period from the Sth to the 2l3t of June it was computed that from one hundred to one hundred and fifty citi- zens of Ogdensburg and vicinity were in the cities of Montreal and Quebec, or occupied on boats and rafts, in the passage to or from thence. Some, it is true, on their passage down, ]aid up their boats and returned j but of all that number engaged in navigating the St. Lawrence, not one, so far as was known, died of the cholera, or was attacked by it. The case that occurred on the 21st of June was that of a Frenchman, of dissi])ated habits and broken-down constitution. He assured those around hiiu, on his death-bed, that he bad not crossed the St. Lawrence in a fortnight, and could not therefore have caught the disease by ordinary contagion. The second fatal case was that of a child fot\r years of age, at least half a mile from the resi- dence of the former. The third ease was also that of a Frenchman, living in a quarter remote from the others, and who had not been out of the village for weeks. The fourth case occurred near one of the wharves, and the subject of it had not left the village, but subse- quently an aged couple, with whom he boarded, sickened and died of the disease. The fifth case occurred a mile from the village, on the Heuvelton road, the subject of which had been in no other house, and not a stone's throw from her own, for the last fortnight. " Cases followed in quick succession : first here, to-morrow at a point half a mile distant, and next day in a quarter equally remote, and under circumstances that strongly tended to prove th'e non-con- tagious character of the disease. Precise data of the mortality of the cholera at Ogdensburg are not preserved, as none of the physicians kept a journal of the cases, and the records of the board of health are lost. The number of cases reported was about 160, and of death, 49. In 1834 the numbers attacked were not more than ten, of whom seven died. It is but just, however, to remark, that the mortality in pro- portion to the number of cases in the above estimates is too large, as no cases were counted in which the third stage or state of collapse had not made more or less progress. In 1832, by common consent, the physicians reported no case as cholera unless, among other symp- toms, the rice-water discbarges, vomiting, violent cramping of the muscles of the limbs or trunk, or both, the broken or cholera voice, and more or less blueness of the skin occurred. Had all the cases been reported in which the disease was checked in the earlier stages, the number would have been increased to hundreds. This custom was adopted in Philadelphia and other cities, and the less rate of mortality which they exhibit is thus explained. In the city of Paris there were treated in a given time, 10,274 cases, of whom 1453 died. In New York, of 5814 cases, 2935, or about 52 per cent., were fatal. In Quebec there had died of cholera, up to Sept. 1, 1832, 2218, and the city probably did not number over 28,000 inhabitants, which gives a mortality of eight per cent, of the whole population. In Phila- delphia there died 754 out of 2500 cases. In Montreal the mortality of the disease was greater than in any American city except Quebec. No reports were made of it in 1834, from its having been deemed the wiser policy to excite as little as possible the attention of the public mind to the subject, and thus avoid the general state of consterna- tion aud alarm which are well known to operate so powerfully in producing fatal results in numerous cases, and which is thought to have increased the mortality of the disease in 1832." The state of alarm which pervaded the frontier on the ap- proach of the cholera, and the stringent quarantine regula- tions which were imposed upon all persons coming from the provinces into the States, checked for a season all business and communication on the St. Lawrence, and increased the alarm which was felt in relation to the disease. Intercourse was not established along the river for several weeks, and the public mind but slowly recovered from the panic which the pestilence had occasioned. The following memoranda from the records of the board of supervisors show the expenses which were incurred in the several towns in the organization of boards of health and the establishment of sanitary regulations : " Brasher, $8.50 ; Canton, $120 ; Do Kalb, $6.60 ; Edwards, $5 ; Fowler, ^'6; Gouverneur, $9 ; Hammond, $18.25; Depeau,$5i Hop- kinton, $5; Lawrence, .fo ; Lisbon, $10; Louisville, $9.87 ; Madrid, $87.87; Massena, $13; Morristown, $164.37; Norfolk, $6; Oswe- gatchie, $24.63 (Ogdensburg, $780.33); Pierrepont, $4.25; Pots- dam, $24.48; Stockholm, $7 ; Total, $1351.46." Tiie only serious visitation of the Asiatic cholera since 1832 was again in 1854, when it was very severe. It was HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 163 introduced by immigrants from Europe ou board of vessels passing up the St. Lawrence river, and there was a large number of cases in Ogdensburg. Dr. Robert Morris, who was health officer of tlie village in that year, states, iu an article for publication, that there were 105 deaths in the village, mostly among the railroad laborers and others of a similar class. The mortality was fully equal to fifty per cent, of those attacked. The completion of the Oswego canal was the first public work that conferred a benefit upon Ogdensburg, or St. Law- rence County, as they thus first gained a direct avenue to market. The Erie canal hindered the growtli of this por- tion of the State, more than it promoted it, by opening new, cheap, and fertile land to the settler, the produce from which could be sent to market at less expense than that from this county, and thus great numbers were induced to emigrate. In the great era of speculation and high prices in 1836, in connection with the extraordinary mineral re- sources then being developed, a new impulse was given, and measures were adopted to improve the hydraulic power of the place by the purchase of the water-privilege and erec- tion of mills. This right had passed from Ford to Thomas Denny, and was bought by Smith Stilwell, in 1836, for $30,OUU, and has since been sold to individuals who are bound by certain regulations to sustain the expenses which their maintenance may require. A canal is extended down to below the bridge, and, with the exception of a few weeks in summer, aflFords an ample supply for the extensive mills and manufactories upon it. The dam built by Judge Ford, in 1796, has, with some repairs, lasted till the present time, and is still good. A most destructive fire occurred at Ogdensburg on the night between the 16th and 17th of April, 1839, by which nearly half the business portion of the village was laid in ashes. The loss was estimated at but little less than $100,000. The irritation that then existed ou the frontiers led to the suspicion that it was the work of an incendiary.* This fire consumed the premises on the southwest corner of State and Ford streets, including the post-office. Re- publican printing-office, and a large number of stores and shops. On the morning of the 1st of September, 1852, another fire consumed a large amount of property on Ford and Isa- bella streets, extending from the store of G. N. Seymour nearly to Washington street, and shortly after two other destructive fires burned a large amount of property on Ford street, including the office of the St. Lawrence Republican and the entire premises belonging to the Hasbrouck estate. As an emporium of commerce, and the natural limit of navigation by sail-vessels, the port of Ogdensburg enjoys advantages incomparably superior to those of any port on the river, and this feature of the location presented itself to the minds of the French in their selection of a site for a mission, the English in their retention of it as a fur station, and the' early purchasers under the State as a point for the establishment of a commercial interest and the nucleus of a new settlement. * The incendiaries and robbers were afterwards detoctod and ap- prehended, tried, convicted, and sent to State-prison. They wore a man and wife, and both died in prison. The completion of the Northern railroad has done infi- nitely more than all other causes combined to give an impulse to the prosperity of Ogdensburg and of northern New York - generally, and in our history of improvements will be found an account of the origin, progress, and completion of that work.f This, in connection with the system of Canadian roads in progress and the great natural advantages of the place, cannot fail to give it an eminence as a commerc'al point which it so truly deserves. From the completion of the Northern railroad to the date of the incorporation of Ogdensburg as a city, in 1868, its growth was quite rapid. Five new school buildings were erected between 1854 and 1868. Several of the fine church edifices that adorn the city were also erected during this period, and many substantial blocks, manufactories, and dwellings. Streets were opened and graded, old plank-roads changed to grav- eled turnpikes, and many improvements made in every branch of business. The opening of the Northern railway naturally drew a large trade in lumber, grain, etc., from the upper lakes, and much of the business of New England with the west passed through the place. The population increased so much that in 1868 the place contained the requisite number of inhabitants to enable it to apply ' for a city charter, and the necessary steps were taken, and the desired object accomplished. Since its char- ter was obtained it has been one of the cities of the State, but it still remains a part of the town of Oswegatehie for various purposes, and we have the anomaly of a population living under both town and city organizations at the same time. CITY OF OGDENSBURG. INCORPORATION, ETC. A charter was granted to the city of Ogdensburg on the 27th of April, 1868, and May 2, 1873, it was amended, the following being title one of the amended charter : " Sectiom 1. — That district in the county of St. Lawrence, included within the bound? described in the next section, shall hereafter be called the city of Ogdensburg, and the inhabitants from time to time therein shiiU form a body politic and corporate by the name of 'the city of Ogdensburg.' " Sec. 2. — The boundaries of said city shall bo as follows : Begin- ning at a point in the centre of the river St. Lawrence, at the north- erly corner of the town of Oswegatehie, and running thence along the easterly line of said town southerly to the division line between sec- tions number one and two of the Van Solingen tract; thence south- westerly along the said division line, and the northerly line of section two, and numbers five, si.\, and seven of the same tract to the centre of the Oswegatehie river; thence to and along the southerly line of the 'mansion-house property,' and the continuation thereof, to the land of the late Henry Van Kensselaer ; thence northerly along the easterly line of said Van Rensselaer lands, and the southerly and westerly bounds of the 'ship-yard' lands to the centre of river St. Lawrence, and thence along said centre to the place of beginning. "Sec. 3. — The said city is divided into four wards, as follows: All that part lying between the centre of the river Oswegatehie and the centre of Franklin street is the first ward; that part lying westerly of the centre of the river Oswegatehie is the second ward; that part lying between the centre of Franklin street and the centre of Patter- son street is the third ward ; and that part lying easterly of the centre of Patterson street is the fourth ward. -(■ See Chapter X., general history, pp. 133 et seq. 164 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. '■Sec. 4.— The common council may divide said city into so many highway distvicts as they may deem proper, and change the same at pleasure." Title 2. " Sec. 6.— The officers of said city shall be as follows : A mayor; three aldermen for each ward; one supervisor for each ward; a recorder; one assessor for each ward; a chief of police and police- men; a chief engineer of the fire department and two assistants; a treasurer, who shall also be collector ex nfficin ; a clerk; one or more street commissioners, not exceeding one in each highway district." CITY OFFICERS. The following is a list of the officers of the city of Ogdensburg, from 1868 to 1877, inclusive: 1868. — William C. Brown, mayor; Charles I. Baldwin, Walter B. Allen, Henry Rodel, aldermen 1st ward; Benj. L. Jones, Galen W. Pearsons, Patrick Hackett, aldermen 2d ward ; Carlisle B. Herriman, Urias Pearson, Chester Waterman (until July), William L. Proctor (after July), aldermen 3d ward ; Calvin W. Gibbs, supervisor 1st ward ; William C. Alden, supervisor 2d ward ; Zina B. Bridges, supervisor 3d ward ; Nathaniel H. Lytle, city clerk. 1869.— W. C. Brown, mayor; C. G. Myers, W. H. Daniels, Wm. J. Averell, aldermen 1st ward ; P. Hackett, Gates Curtis, John McDonald, aldermen 2d ward ; C. B. Herriman, W. L. Proctor, G. W. Smith, aldermen 3d ward ; C. W. Gibbs, supervisor 1st ward ; Wm. C. Alden, supervisor 2d ward ; Zina B. Bridges, supervisor 3d ward ; N. H. Lytle, city clerk. 1870. — Zina B. Bridges, mayor ; W. H. Daniels, Joseph Baker, W. B. Allen, aldermen 1st ward ; George W. Mack, Charles M. Adams, P. Hackett, aldermen 2d ward ; Wm. L. Proctor, Wm. A. Newell, Timothy Larkin, aldermen 3d ward ; N. H. Lytle, city clerk. 1871. — W. L. Proctor, mayor; John Barber, Calvin P. Goodno, Charles S. Philips, aldermen 1st ward ; G. W. Mack, John C. McVean, Thomas Whalen, aldermen 2d ward; W. A. Newell, Bcnj. Tilley, M. C. Loomis, aldermen 3d ward; N. H. Lytle, city clerk. 1872.— W. L. Proctor, mayor ; Ela N. Merriam, S. H. Higbee, Chas. S. Philips, L. Hasbrouck, Jr. (vacancy by resignation of Philips), John Glass, Wm. C. Alden, Lyman N. Burt, Wm. A. Newell, Benj. Tilley, Thomas N. Derby, aldermen ; N. H. Lytle, city clerk. 1873.— W. L. Proctor, mayor ; E. N. Merriam, C. G. Egert, L. Hasbrouck, Jr., W. C. Alden, James Hall, Hiram D. Northrup, Wm. A. Newell, John Austin, Morrison C. Loomis, Daniel Donahue, Andrew George, John Earl, aldermen ; N. H. Lytle, city clerk. 1874— W. L. Proctor, mayor ; E. N. Merriam, C. G. Egert, Wm. Wheeler, aldermen 1st ward; W. C. Alden, James Hall, Patrick Hackett, aldermen 2d ward; John Austin, Seth G. Pope, George B. Oswell, aldermen 3d ward; Francis R. Houlihan, H. W. Ferguson, Michael T. Power, aldermen 4th ward ; N. H. Lytle, clerk. 1875. — John F. Rosseel, mayor; C. G. E'l-ert W. H. Daniels, J. W. Hastings, aldermen 1st ward ; James Hall, Henry Lovejoy, P. Hackett, aldermen 2d ward; John Austin, Chas. H. Butriok, Alfred B. Chapin, aldermen 3d ward; H. W. Ferguson, F. R. Houlihan, M. T. Power, aldermen 4th ward ; N. H. Lytle, clerk. 1876. — James Armstrong, mayor ; L. D. Ralph, A. E. Smith, J. W. Hastings, aldermen 1st ward ; H. Lovejoy, John W. Piercy, P. Hackett, aldermen 2d ward ; C. H, Butriek, Silas W. Day, Charles P. Geer, aldermen 3d ward ; H. W. Ferguson, F. R. Houlihan, Adolphus F. Daily, al- dermen 4th ward ; N. H. Lytle, clerk. 1877. — James Armstrong, mayor ; L. D. Ralph, Joseph Gilbert (resigned), John W. Hastings, William Wheeler (elected to fill vacancy), aldermen 1st ward; John W. Piercy, A. A. Valley, D. C. Turner, aldermen 2d ward ; W. Bell, S. W. Day, George Foster, aldermen 3d ward; Ed. P. McElligott, Michael T. Power, John Pray, alder- men 4th ward ; Joseph Roy, city clerk ; A. B. Chapin, chief of police ; T. N. Derby, street commissioner ; James Lytle, chief engineer ; Lyman D. Burt, treasurer. DEATH or HON. DAVID C. JUDSON. At a meeting of the city council, held May 5, 1875, the following preamble and resolutions were ofiered by the mayor, and adopted by the council : "Whereas, The Hon. David C. Judson, a resident of Ogdensburg for more than sixty years, and of the county of St. Lawrence for nearly seventy years, and at different times occupying the positions of clerk, trustee, and president of the village of Ogdensburg, and also the offices of sheriff of St. Lawrence County, collector of the district of Oswegatchie, State senator, one of the judges of the county court of St. Lawrence County, and other positions of trust, departed this life on the 5th of May, 1875, at the age of eighty-nine years; and " WhereaSj The intimate conneclions of Mr. Judson with the public affairs and public improvements in this city and county for nearly seventy years, renders it eminently fitting and proper that his decease should be the subject of appropriate action by the mayor and alder- men of the city of Ogdensburg in council assembled, therefore " RcHolced, That in the death of Mr. Judson the city of Ogdens- burg and the county of St. Lawrence have sustained a great and irreparable loss, and that we deeply feel and sincerely regret his decease, notwithstanding it came when in the fullness of years, and afrer a long life free from spot or blemish; " lieei'lvecl, That the unswerving honesty and integrity with which Mr. Judson in his long life, whether holding a public post of honor or that of a private station, performed all and every duty which de- volved upon him, meets and receives our hearty commendation, and are worthy of our sincere and earnest emulation; '■ Resohed, That as marks of respect for the deceased, this pream- able and these resolutions be entered at large upon the records of the city council, and that said city council attend his funeral in a body." WATER-WORKS. The subject of a supply of water for the use of the city and for service at fires having long been agitated, and numerous reservoirs constructed which were found inade- quate for the purposes designed of them, it finally became necessary to build suitable works for supplying the much- needed article. After examining various plans, the Holly system was decided upon, and the present water-works were constructed, in 1868, at a cost of $100,000, the city issuing bonds to that amount, bearing interest at seven pSr cent., maturing in twenty years from date, and payable semi-annually in New York. Of these bonds, $25,000 were taken by Hon. William A. Wheeler, since elected vice-president of the United States. The works are' located on the east bank of the Oswegatchie, from which the water is drawn, the pump-house being a substantial building of blue limestone, three stories in height, and thirty-three feet square. It has a wing eighteen by twenty-five feet, built of the same material, in which the boiler is placed. Im- HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 165 provements to the amount of 135,000 were made up to 1873, including the extension of pipes, the purchase of additional gates, the setting of new hydrants, and the purchase of an engine of 120-horse power for use in contingencies arising from scarcity of water, breaking of the dam, or other trouble. In the spring of 1874, a Fiander's double-acting piston pump was purchased of the Vergennes manufacturing company, and tested April 22, 1874. It cost $3000, and proved satisfactory to all. The object in procuring this was a greater capacity to pump, with less power. This pump is the only one kept in constant use, the others only being used in the case of low water or a demand for an extra supply in any emergency. The pumps altogether are capa- ble of supplying more than 3,000,000 gallons of water every twenty-four hours, the piston pump supplying an average of 720,000 gallons. At the date of the last annual report of the water commissioners, April 1, 1877, there were 810 consumers receiving supplies from the water-works, paying rates amounting to 17601 annually. There were at the time thirteen miles of mains, seventy-seven fire-hydrants, seventy-three gates, and five safety-valves, all in good order. The expenditures for the year, including plastering and completing the boiler-room, painting the pump- and boiler- room, building two hundred feet of sidewalk, and paying all necessary expenses, were $1079.63. The Holly alarm is used in case of fire, managed by re- moving both caps from the hydrant and allowing the water to flow for thirty seconds, reducing the pressure at the works, and ringing a gong by means of a regulator for the purpose. The ground on which are located the buildings was purchased of George Parish, in 1868, the price paid being $5400. FIRE DEPARTMENT. At a meeting of the village trustees, held on the 20th of April, 1818, it was "Resolved, that it be recommended to the iuhabitants of the village to raise the sum of two hun- dred dollars (besides collector's fees) for the purpose of pro- curing a fire-engine.'' At the succeeding election, May 18, 1818, it was voted to raise this amount by tax, the same to be paid into the hands of the treasurer on or before the 1st of the following August. The interest thus awakened was kept up, but it was not until 1820-21 that an engine was secured. At the village election held May 14, 1821, the balance of money required to pay for it (two hundred dol- lars) was voted, and, during the same season, an engine- house was built on a contract, by A. Kingsbury, on the corner of Euphemia (now State) and Green streets, costing fifty dollars. The engine, a small hand machine, cost in the neighborhood of five hundred dollars. July 17, 1821, a fire-company was organized, and rules and regulations were adopted. It numbered twenty-four members, as fol- lows: Joseph York, Edwin Bacon, Lewis C. A. Do Villers, Isaac C. Page, Gains Clark, John Berthrong, Bethuel Houghton, Worden Griffin, John Elliott, Asahel Geralds, Jr., Abiram Kingsbury, John C. Bush, Richard W. Col- fax, Lincoln Morris, Harvey Church, William Warner, John Creighton, John Eaton, Alvah Dimmick, John L. Barheydt, Guy C. Stevens, Jesse Willson, Henry Lum, Rowlings Webster. On the 19th of October, 1832, a new code of by-laws was adopted, and the membership increased to thirty-seven. New hose was purchased in 1834. Buckets, ladders, leather hats for firemen, etc., had been furnished as early as 1822- 24. Preliminary steps were several times taken to secure a new engine after the old one had become unfit for much use, but each time they went no fartlier than to pass reso- lutions empowering certain parties to purchase an engine. A Mr. Hardinbrook, of New York, was negotiated with on the subject, and it is possible that (the old engine not working favorably) a new engine was received from him, as the matter of settlement with him was placed in the hands of Elisha Tibbits, of New York city. An engine-house was built in 1847 in the rear of the academy, the contractor being George Arnold, and the price $200. The building was 40 by 22 feet, with 12-feet posts, and cost, including stove, painting, etc., $228.17. A new engine was purchased in 1849, of A. Van Ness, of New York, with 250 feet of hose, costing in the aggregate $1000. This was a larger and better engine than the vil- lage had yet possessed. The old one was repaired in 1851, and continued in use. In March, 1852, a fire-company was formed in the third ward, with Nathaniel Taggart, foreman ; Thomas Alton, first assistant; William Dalzell, second assistant; Nathan S. Pitkin, clerk and treasurer. The same year an additional engine was purchased, with a bell, hose-cart, and 409 feet of hose, at a cost of $1230.85. The engine was numbered " Two," and named " Oswegatchie." The lot for the engine- house cost $1000. Fire-company No. 2 was formed in January, 1853, with fifty members. In the summer of 1858 another engine was purchased of Messrs. Button & Blake, at an expense of $1300, and 900 feet of new hose were added in 1859, costing $859. At the date of the last annual report of the chief of the fire department, April 2, 1877, the apparatus in service consisted of two first-class Amoskeag steam fire-engines, and three hose-carts, all in good condition. Also two old hose-carts, and one old hook-and-ladder truck, with hooks and ladders of very old style and very little value to the department. The hose on hand and in use amounted to 3100 feet of heavy, oak-tanned, leather make, some of which had been in service seven years. There were also 1800 feet of old leather hose not in use. The engine- and hose-houses are as follows: Hose Co. No. 1, located on the west side of Catharine street ; Steam Fire-Engine Co. No. 2, on Main street, second ward ; Steam Fire-Engine Co. No. 3, on Patterson street, between Ford and Washington ; Old Engine-House No. 3, on Town-House lot, Franklin street. The manual force of the department at the date of the report consisted of one chief and two assistant engi- neers, and thirty-five members of engine- and hose-com- panies. GAS-WORKS. As early as 1852, the subject of gas for the village of Ogdensburg was discussed, and finally negotiations were entered into with Messrs. John Lockwood & Co., of Phila- delphia. These parties agreed to form a corporation to be called the " Ogdensburg Gas-Light Company," provided the village would grant them certain rights (which were at the time agreed to), and would furnish gas at five dollars 166 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. per thousand cubic feet for the first year, reserviogthe right to increase to six if found necessarj'. One mile of mains was to be laid, fifty lamp-posts set, and all houses requiring gas to be supplied. The works were to be completed by August 1, 1854. Finally, the contract for erecting suitable build- ings was given in the fall of 1853 to Georgo Odeorne, of Philadelphia, and some time in the summer or fall of 1854 the village was first lighted with the new illuminator. The property of tlie company in 1858 was assessed at $75,000. The works are located in the west division of the city. On Water street, in the east division, is a large gasometer, which it was found necessary to add on account of the growth of the city, and increasing requirements for lighting. A DESTRUCTIVE FLOOD occurred in Oswegatchie river in 1862, lasting a week, and it was by the utmost efforts of the citizens that much valuable property along it was saved. The lower bridge was by per- sistent effort prevented from being washed away, and the river-bank around the bend, below the present dam, was undermined to such an extent that much of it caved in. The present protective or guard-wall was built immediately after, and all further danger from a like source averted. MANUFACTURES. The manufactures of Ogden,sburg date back to 1751, when Father Picquet erected a saw-mill, and probably also a dam, for the manufacture of lumber for the use of his new settlement. This mill was used by him during the ten years in which he labored here, when it was abandoned and perhaps destroyed. About 1785 it was rebuilt, or at least repaired, and put in operation by one Captain Lori- mier, about 1785, and operated by him for some time. In 1796 the dam and mill were rebuilt by Nathan Ford, agent for Samuel Ogden, and from that date to the present time manufacturing of various kinds has come in until the amount of money invested is large, and the amount of business done very considerable. The principal branches of manu- facturing carried on here are merchant and custom milling, foundry and machine work, tanning, various kinds of fin- ished lumber work, staves, pump-manufacturing, and ship- building. We give a condensed history of the various establish- ments, past and present, in the following pages. An article on ship-building will be found in Chapter X., in connection with navigation and transportation. FLOURING-MILLS. The Ogdenshurg Mills. — During the season of 1797 a grist-mill was commenced, it being the same as that now owned by S. W. Day, which was placed a considerable dis- tance below the dam, in order that vessels might there load and unload. This mill was sold by Mr. Ford's estate, in 1840, to Harvey Thomas, who in 1850 sold out to William Furniss. Mr. Furniss carried on the mill until 1863 or '64, durino- which time it did an extensive business. Mr. Furniss was succeeded by Messi's. Duty & Phillips, and Mr. Doty shortly after this sold his interest to Charles Lyon, and the business was carried on for four or five years under the firm-name of Lyon & Phillips. At the expiration of this time Mr. Lyon sold his interest in the property to Mr. S. W. Day, who purchased Mr. Phillips' interest in the spring of 1877. The mill is a wooden structure, sixty by eighty feet, and five stories in height. It is provided with six runs of stone, three of which are used for custom grinding, three turbineT wheels, and three central-dissharge wheels. Mr. Day will, during the following season, thoroughly refit the mill with new and improved machinery, and it is thought that, when fitted up, it will be capable of grinding from twelve to fifteen hundred bushels of grain per day. During the year 1876 one hundred and twelve thousand bushels of wheat were ground. The Oswegatchie Mills. — This mill was built in 1836 by Horace Hooker, of Rochester, N. Y., and Eli B. Haskell, of Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1850 the mill was leased by Nor- man Sackrider. After running the mill for one year he purchased the property. The mill had remained idle for a number of years previous to 1850, owing to a lack of means for transporting flour to market. This was remedied by the completion of the Northern railroad about that time. The mill was run with profit until April, 1863, when it was destroyed by fire. In 1864, Mr. Sackrider sold the water-power to Mr. Henry Gr. Foot, who immediately commenced the construc- tion of the present mill. Mr. Foot did not have the means of carrying on the business, and, after his death in 1865, the property remained idle until the following spring, when it was purchased by the present owners, Messrs. Rodee, Lynde & Nichols. The mill consists of two buildings, one of which is fifty feet square, and the second seventy feet square, and both are five stories in height. The mill has eight turbine-wheels, with six runs of stone, and is capable of manufacturing from three hundred to three hundred and fifty barrels of flour per day. The principal market is in the New England States. The Iroquois Flouring- Mills. — This -extensive mill was built by Mr. George Parker in 1863. The buildings (three in number) are of stone, five stories in height. The mill is sixty by ninety feet, the storehouse is fifty by sixty-four feet, and the elevator is forty by seventy-five feet. The mill is provided with eight turbine-wheels, with six runs of stone, and is capable of manufacturing about four hundred barrels of flour per day. The elevator has a capacity of twenty- five hundred bushels per hour, and is used in supplying two other mills with grain. The grain used is from the western States, and the principal market for the flour manufactured is Canada and the New England States. The mill is owned at present by Mr. George Parker's estate. Furniss' Flouring-Mills. — This mill was built in 1877, upon the site of a mill burned in April of that year. The present building is eighty by fifty feet, is built of stone, and is five stories in height. It is provided with the means of conveying wheat directly from the vessels into bins, whose combined capacity is about thirty thousand bushels. The mill is fitted with the most improved machinery, having five runs of stone, and is capable of manufacturing two hundred and fifty barrels of flour and one car-load of corn-meal per day. The principal mai-ket is in the New HISTOEY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 167 England States. The mill is owned by Mr. William E. Furniss. The Empire Mills. — This mill was built in 1860 by Judge William C. Brown. The building is of stone, forty by seventy feet, sind is three stories in height. It has two turbine-wheels and two runs of stone, and is capable of manufacturing twenty-five barrels of flour per day and of grinding two hundred bushels of corn. The mill is at present owned by Mr. William Rider, and is leased by Messrs. C. S. Philips & Son. FOUNDRIES AND MACHINE-SHOPS. The machine-shop owned by Mr. Gates Curtis, situated upon Lake street, was built in 1835 or 1836 by Mr. J. C. Lewis. The works have been since owned by Chapin Brothel's and by J. C. Alden. They were purchased by Mr. Curtis in 1855, since which time the buildings have been enlarged and repaired. Mr. Curtis is now engaged in the manufacture of the Curtis turbine water-wheels, steel and iron plows, agricul- tural implements, etc. The foundry owned by Messrs. Allen & Co. was built about the year 1840 by Messrs. Chancy & Allen. Mr. Allen purchased the interest of Mr. Chaney in 1862. This is quite an extensive foundry, and does a general line of casting. The machine-shop owned by Mr. John Glass was built by him in 1861. These works employ fifteen men, and are engaged in the manufacture of steam-engines, wood- working machinery, water-wheels, etc. The Alden foundry and machine-shop was built by Mr. J. C. Alden in 1871. The building is eighty-five by thirty feet, three stories in height. This establishment is engaged in the manufacture of shingle-machines, planing- and sawing-machines, and does a general line of casting and mill-work. MISCELLANEOUS MANUFACTORIES. Northrup's stavo-factory was built in 1861 by Messrs. D. & S. A. Northrup. It consists of a stave-factory and cooper-shop combined, and has been carried on by Mr. H. D. Northrup since 1867. This establishment employs at present about sixty men and boys. The principal market for the staves, shingles, barrels, etc., manufactured, is in the New England States. The Ogdensburg steam dye-works were established in the fall of 1877 by Mr. Fred. S. McGuire, and does a general line of custom dyeing. Lovejoy's'sash- and blind-factory is the oldest establish- ment of the kind in the city, and is quite extensively en- gaged in the manufacture of sawed and dressed lumber, doors, sash, blinds, etc. S. G. Pope's door-, sash-, and blind-factory was estab- lished by Mr. S. G. Pope in 1851. The manufactory, situated on Lake street, is forty by eighty feet, and is three stories in height. Owing to the lack of water during the dry seasons, in 1863 a thirty-horse power engine was placed in the building. During the war these works manufactured four hundred doors per week. Previous to 1870, Mr. Pope did a very extensive shipping business. Babcock's pump-factory is a substantial stone structure, forty by seventy feet, and four stories in height. Was built by Mr. Baron S. Doty about the year 1846. The stone used in its construction was obtained upon the site of the present city gas-works. The building was used for a number of years by Mr. 0. S. Cummins as a macliine- shop. It was nearly destroyed by fire in 1854, but was immediately rebuilt. Was converted into a flouring-mill in 1862. Since that time the property has changed hands several times, and has been used for various purposes. In 1873 it was purchased by the present owner, Mr. A. A. Babcock, and is used at present as a pump-factory. The works are fitted with the latest improved machinery, and are capable of manufacturing from one thousand to fifteen hundred pumps per year. There are two tanneries in the city, one of which was built in 1828 by Erastus Vilas. This building has been in constant use as a tannery since, and is owned at present by M. Vilas. There is also an upper leather and morocco tannery, owned by Mr. F. N. Burt. THE LUMBER TRADE. The lumber trade of Ogdensburg is very heavy. Situated at the foot of lake navigation, and at the terminus of several important lines of railway, and having extraordinary facilities for procuring and handling this important product, it com- mandsan extensive trade. Alargeshareofthetimberhaudled in the New England States passes through Ogdensburg, and considerable quantities are exported south over the two rail- way linos, the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg, and the Utica and Black River. The facilities this point enjoys could not fail to attract dealers, and accordingly we find several heavy firms located here. Prominent among these is the well-known firm of Skillings & Whitney Brothers, whose extensive mills and yards are situated at the western terminus of the Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain railway. The history of this firm is briefly as follows: In 1857, Mr. David N. Skillings commenced business on his own account, in Boston. At that time Messrs. Charles and David Whit- ney, Jr., were also in business at Lowell. In 1855, Mr. Lawrence Barnes commenced the lumber business at Bur- lington, Vt. These three firms were independent of each other, but in 1858 they united, and carried on the business in Boston, under the firm-name of D. N. Skillings & Co. ; in Lowell, Ogdensburg, Albany, Toledo, and Detroit, as C. & D. Whitney, Jr., & Co. ; and in Burlington, Vt., and Whitehall, N. Y., as L. Barnes & Co. They also subse- quently established a branch at Indianapolis, Ind. Business was commenced in Ogdensburg in the spring of 1859, under the management of Mr. Wm. L. Proctor, who still continues agent for the firm at this point. In 1871 the firm changed to Skillings, Whitney Brothers and Barnes, and continued as such until Jan. 1, 1873, when Mr. Barnes retired, and the firm became Skillings & Whitney Brothers. On the 1st of January, 1877, Mr. David Whitney, Jr., of Detroit, retired from the firm, taking with him the ves- sels employed in transportation, and also the interest of the firm at Albany, N. Y. All the interests of the firm are at present located at Boston and Ogdensburg. 168 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. The business steadily increased until about 1873, since which date it has somewhat diminished, owing to a variety of causes, but principally to the general stagnation of busi- ness. At one time the company occupied, in addition to their present extensive grounds, a large lot owned by Mr. George Parish, from whom they leased. At present their business is consolidated around the Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain railway terminus. In the flood-tide of prosperity the firm owned eighteen steam and sail vessels, upon which were employed about 125 men ; and handled lumber to the extent of 125,000,000 feet annually. An immense steam planing-mill 300 by 80 feet in dimensions, and driven by a 200-horse power Cor- liss engine, was erected in 1871, and put in operation. It had a capacity for dressing 100,000 feet in ten hours, and gave employment to about 50 hands. The amount of lumber handled by them during the season of 1877 was from 30,000,000 to -10,000,000 feet. The present number of hands employed varies, according to cir- cumstances, from 50 to 200. All descriptions of work done in a first-class mill are turned out by the firm. The principal market is in New England. The principal houses of the firm of Shepard, Hall & Co. are located in Boston, Mass., and Burlington, Vt. The branch at Ogdensburg was established in 1870. A planing- mill was put in operation in 1871. The business of this firm is exclusively wholesale. They deal in all kinds of hard and soft lumber, which comes from Canada and the west. Their market is mostly in New England. Their planing-mill and docks are located near the elevator of the Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain railway, and their facili- ties are ample for the transaction of a large business. This firm is connected with an extensive one in Montreal. The saw- and planing-mill, shingle-mill, lumber-yard, and boat-shop of E. S. Bronson is located on the west side of the Oswegatchie, in the rear of the old grist-mill. Mr. Bronson purchased the establishment in 1867 of G-eoro-e Parish, and entered into a copartnership with ChariesLyon, who had previously rented the property. This partnership lasted a year or two and was dissolved, Mr. Lyon starting a mill of his own, and Mr. Bronson continuing at the old place. Bronson's mill was burned in February, 1873 a short time previous to the great fire of that year on Ford and Water streets. This establishment has a capacity for planing fifteen thousand feet of lumber, making ten thou- sand clapboards, a large amount of shingles, and other work, daily, and one boat a week. Mr. Bronson has handled as high as 4,000,000 feet of lumber in a year, but averages much less ; his manufactures amount to from 500,000 to 1,000,000 feet of lumber annually,— for 1877 about 700 - 000. Eight to ten men are employed during the summer. The present buildings were erected soon after Mr. B. was burned out. The saw-mill of Charies Lyon, adjoining Bronson's estab- lishment, does a large business, sawing more than the other mill. The planing is done by Mr. Bronson. Mr. Lyon is extensively engaged also in the cord-wood trade, keepino- a considerable force of men chopping in the woods His property was burned in 1871 or 1872, and afterwards re- built. Several men are employed around the mill. BANKING. The first steps taken towards the establishment of banks in St. Lawrence County were in 1825, when the necessities of the county led the supervisors to pass a resolution in which they asserted the unsound state of the circulating medium, which consisted largely of Canada issues, from which losses were constantly ensuing, and set forth the claims of northern New York to the corporate privileges and benefits of banks of issue. This resolution passed by a vote of eleven to seven. On the 30th of April, 1829, the Ogdensburg bank was incorporated for 30 years ; capital $100,000, in 2000 shares. Horace Allen, Amos Bacon, David C. Judson, Baron S. Doty, and William Bacon were appointed to open books for subscription of stock. It went into operation soon after upon the safety fund principle, being the only one of that description ever organized in the county. The institution continued business until Dec. 31, 1858, when it discontinued business, its obligations being assumed by the Oswegatchie bank. On the 9th of October, 1838, articles of association were filed for a new bank, to commence operation Oct. 15, 1838, and continue 100 years ; capital, $100,000, in 1000 shares, and to be managed by 21 directors, one-third of whom were to be chosen annually. It began to issue bills in January, 1839. The name assumed was the St. Lawrence bank. After continuing business two or three years it became insolvent, and its aiFairs were closed up. The Oswegatchie bank, a chartered institution, went into operation Nov. 19, 1854. Its first officers were Augustus Chapman, president; James G. Averill, vice- president ; E. N. Merriam, cashier. This bank, as above stated, assumed the circulation of the old Ogdensburg bank. Mr. Chapman died May 11, 1860, and on the 29th of the same month Mr. James G. Averill was elected pres- ident in his place. The bank continued to do business until June 11, 1866, when it was changed to a private banking firm, under the name of Averills & Chapman, who continued until Dec. 1, 1873, when Mr. James S. Bean became associated with the firm, which was changed to Averills, Chapman & Bean, and has so continued to the present time. The present partner- ship includes the following gentlemen : James G. Averill, Wm. J. Averill, R. B. Chapman, J. S. Bean. The officers are E. N. Merriam, cashier; E. B. Vilas, teller; A. K. Strong, book-keeper ; and J. S. Martin, clerk. C. G. Egert & Co. opened a banking house about 1874, with a capital of $50,000, and did business about two years. The Judson bank was organized under the general banking law of the State, June 13, 1853. Its first officers were John D. Judson, president; Daniel Judson, cashier; William Armstrong, teller. The original stockholders were Hon. David C. Judson, John D. Judson, Daniel Judson, and George N. Seymour. About June 1, 1866, a copart- nership was formed under the name and style of " Judsons' Bank," and the business was changed to that of a private institution. At this date Mr. Seymour retired from the firm. Under the new regime the officers were John D. Photo, by Dow, Ogdenaburg. Stillman Foote was born in Canton, June 13, 1817. He was the son of Still- man Foote, the first settler in Canton. The latter was born at Simsbury, Cud a., Sept. 10, 1763, and was the fifth in descent from Nathaniel Foote, an emigrant from England as early as 1633, when he took the freeman's oath at Watertown, Mass., and in 1635 was one of the "goodlie companie" who went "f.irther west," to Pyqnag (afterwards Wethersfield), Conn., for " more room," where, after taking an active part in tbe Peqnod war, he died, in 1644, leaving two sons and five daughters, from the eldest of whom, Nathaniel, the sulject of this sketch traces his descent. Stillman Foole, the elder, born Sept. 10, 1763, was the immediate descendant of Daniel Foute, of Sitnsbury, Conn., from which place he removed to Middlebury, Vt, probably about 1773. In 1777, being ex- posed to the depredations of scouting parties of British, Tories, and Indians, and having been pillaged of most of his movalde property, he took his family farther south for protection, and on bis return, in 1783, purchased about twelve hundred acres of land, whei'e he felled forests, btiilt mills, and resided for many years. He had a family of eight sons and four daughters, of whom, says Swift, the historian of Middlebury, they " were of great service in the settlement and organization of the town." Of these eight sons, the eldest was a lieutenant in the Revolutionary army; the second, Gecirge, in the last year of his life a resi- dent of Canton, was one of the Green Mountain Boys who applied the " Beach Seal" to the settlement of Yorkers, at Vergeunes, and stood by the side of Ethan Allen at the surrender of Ticonderoga. The fourth and fifth sons served un- der Ethan Allen, in the Vermont Volunteers. Mr. Daniel Foote died .it Canton, May 10, 1801, in the seventy-seventh year of his age, of smallpox. His is sup- posed to be the first death of a white man in Canton. (See History of Canton.) William Foote (the elder) was twice married; first, to Louisa Donaghy, of Shefiield, Mass., by whom he had three ch.ldren, — Chauncey, Henry, and Louisa, the wife of Cephas L. Bockwood. Second, to Mary Pember, of New London, Conn., by whom he had also three children, — Delia, the wife of Leonard Sears ; Stillman, the subject of this sketch ; and Mary, wife of Elam Kust. The cir- cumstance of his settlement at Canton, and the numerous enterprises in which he was engaged to promote its welfare and prosperity, will be spoken of in the history of the town of Canton, where he died, Dec. 27, 1834, in the seventy- second year of his age. Stillman Foote, the younger, early evinced a taste for reading and study, and spent the fall and winter of 1829-30 at St. Lawrence Academy, Potsdam. In thefallof 1832 he entered Canton Academy, and there continued till the spring of 1835, when he entered the freshman class at Middlebury College, Vermont. He graduated with creditable standing in 1838, being the first collegiate pupil and graduate from tliat academy. While in college he aided in defraying his expenses by teaching school, first in Cornwall and Leicester, Vt., and in the winter of 1837-38 at W ddington, N. Y. After graduating, he began the study of the law with Eliim Ttiist, E-(q., his brother-in-law, at Waddington, at the same time teaching school. He spont the winter of 1839-40 in the law-ofiice of the late Ilnn. John L. Russell, in Canton, and in the spring of 1840 was invited into the office of Hnn. James Redington, at Waddington, he having ju«t been appointed Surrogate of the county. Here he remained, discharging the duty of surrogate's clerk, till ho finally opened an office on hh own account. He was admitted to the Court of Common Pleas of the county in 1841, and a-< attorney in the Supreme Court, in Jan., 1843. He immediately opened an office in Waddington, where he prac- ticed his profession till May 1, 1845, when he removed to Ogden'*burg and en- tered in partnership with his nephew, the late Henry G. Koote, eldest son of his brother Chauncey. In May, 1846, he was admitted counselor in the Supreme Court, and solicitor and counselor in chancery. Sept. 22, 1847, he was married to Mary R. Ohipman, oldest daughter of Hon. Johns. Chipman, of Waddington. She died on the 29rh of March, T8I9, leaving a son of about nine months, who followed his mnthpr in August ensuing. On the 16th of Nov., 1853, he again married, with Elizabeth A. Gurst, second daughter of the late George Gurst, Esq., of Ogdensburg. They have had five children, of whom one only, a daughter, survives. On the 27th of Nov., 1847, Mr. H. G. Foote, being the editor and proprietor of the Ogdemburg Sentinel, and having taken the secretaryship of the St. Lawrence County Mutual Insurance Company, the law partnership was practically, though not formally, dissolved, and Stillman Foute became The lessee and editor of the Sentinel for three years, before the expiration of which he became the pur- chaser and proprietor of the establishment. In April, 1848, he established the Daily Sentinel, being the first attempt to run a daily paper in St. Lawence County ; but the times not being propitious for such an enterprise, it was dis- continued at the end of fivo months. Mr. Foote remained the editor and pro- prietor of the Sentinel till Oct., 1858, when the material of the office was sold, and the subscription list tran=!ferrod to the St. Lawrence Republican. When Mr. Foote succeeded to the editorship of the Sentinel, it was a warm supporter of tbe principles and policy of the Whig party. It gave its ardent support to Heiirv Clav in 1844, to Gen. Taylor in 1848, and, though the platform of tbe Whig national convention, in 1852, was not entirely satisfactory to Mr. Foote, he supported Gen. Scott. But bis early proclivities were opposed to the insti- tution of slavery. He believed in the natural equality of all men before the law, and hence,'though not holding to the right of the national government to interfere with the institution in tbe States, was opposed to its extension into the Territories, over which the national government held the supreme control. As slavery existed only by virtue of State authority, and as the general govern- ment was one of limited powers, and was established "to secure the blessings of liberty," he held that the general government not only hiid no power to es- tablish slavery, but tliat it was its imperative duty to prohibit it in the Terri- tories, and especially in territory that was free when it came to the national possession. His viewfl, therefore, naturally assimilated with those of the "Free-Soil wing" of the Whig party, and prepared him, when, in 185.5, that party was formally disbanded, to go into the Republican organization. He was a member of tlie last Whig State Convention (1855) in the State of New York, and was chairman of the committee which took the final step to bring together, as one body, the State convention of the Free-Soil wing of the Democratic party, and that of the Whig party, at Syracuse. He may be said, therefore, to have been present at the birth of the Republican party in the State of New Yoik. Frum thit time, so long as it existed, the Smlinel v/»fi an earnest Re- publican piper, and Mr. Foote has, till the present time, been an active member of that party, supporting its principles, policy, and candidates, with pen and tongue. # He has been fully identified with the scheme'* for promoting the educational interests of his town and city. He filled the office of Town Superintendent of Schnnls of Oswegatchie in 1848-49, and on the organization of the city schools, in 1857, he was elected the first Superintendent of Schools, in which capacity he served six years. Ho was subjhouse, which stood where the custom- house now stands, in connection with the Ogdensbur"- Chapter, No. 63, R. A. Masons. " On April 30, 1855, a committee was appointed by the lodge to confer with Mr. Averill as to a room for said lodge in the brick building then being constructed by him on Ford street. A satisfactory arrangement was not, how- ever, made, and on the 11th of June, 1855, the proposition of our late Brothel- Royal Vilas, for the fourth story of his two brick stores, was accepted. Steps were immediately taken by the lodge and Ogdensburg Chapter, and rooms were there fitted up in Vilas block, and were dedicated on the evening of September 7, 1855, Rev. Mr. Tredway officiating. The lodge continued to hold its meetings in that block until January, 1874. . . . The following-named brethren have each served as W. M. of the lodge : 1840- 50, George Guest; 1851-52, John Young; 1853, Luke Baldwin; 1854, Joel Mack; 1855, George A. French; 1856, Edwin M. Holbrook ; 1857, James D. Raymond ; 1858, Heman F. Millard; 1859, John D.Ransom; 1860, Charles S. Burt; 1861, Thomas Hall; 1862, John H. Fairchild; 1863, Amos S. Partridge ; 1864, Jas. Thompson ; 1866-67, Jas. H. Palmer ; 1869, Geo. W. Mack; 1870-71, W. N. Cross; 1872, R. Montgomery; 1873-74, A. W. Lord, and Richard L. Seaman, the present Master. Of those who have served as W. M.'s of Ogdensburg Lodge, all who preceded the speaker, and Brothers Millard, Ran- som, Fairchild, and Mack, who succeeded him, have died, and the wind on this February night sighs its weird and mournful requiem over their snow-clad graves. Of the others, besides the speaker, W. Brothers Cross, Mont- gomeryf and Lord are alone members of the Ogdensburg Lodge, — W. Brothers Raymond, Bush, Hall, and Partridge being demitted, and W. Brothers Thompson, Hanna, Palmer, Studholm having each become a member of Aca- cean Lodge, No. 705. " Since the organization of the Ogdensburg lodge, some three hundred and sixty have been raised to the sublime de- gree of Master Masons, and the membership of said lodge at its last return in June, 1874, was one hundred and forty- eight. The whole number on its register is four hundred and sixty-two. " On March 16, 1870, the members of Ogdensburg brother lodges petitioned for a dispensation for a new lodge at this place, to be known as Acacean Lodge. A dispensation was granted, with the following oflBcers : M. Bretans, W. M. ; James Raymond, S. W. ; W. L. Proc- tor, J. W. " At the annual convocation of the Grand Lodge in 1870, a warrant was granted to Acacean Lodge, No. 705, with the following as officers: C. H. Butrick, W. M.; James S. Raymond, S. W. ; W. L. Proctor, J. W. The lodge was constituted and dedicated by Rev. Brother Havens, D. D. G. Master, on the 20th day of September, 1870, and has continued until last month to meet in the hall recently occupied by Ogdensburg Lodge. The following have been W. M.'s of Acacean Lodge since its warrant ; C. H. Bost- wick, 1870-73; M. S. Lee, 1874; W. Brother Gates Curtis, a member of Acacean Lodge, was W. M. of De Peyster Lodge ; W. Brother M. C. Loomis, also a member of Aca- cean Lodge, was W. M. of Brownsville Lodge ; W. Brother Butrick was also Master of Grass River Lodge in Madrid. " On Sept. 18, 1818, a meeting of R. A. Masons was held to organize a chapter, and the following were named as officers: H. P., S. Gilbert, K. ; Amos Bacon, Scribe. A dispensation was granted at a convocation of the Grand Chapter of the State of New York, held February, 1819. A warrant was granted on May 27, 1819. On May 27, 1819, the chapter was instituted and dedicated at the old court-house, the Rev. A. G. Baldwin acting as G. H. P., and who delivered an address. A collation was served at the house of William Warner. The first exaltation was on the 5th of July, 1819, when Brothers Harvey, Church, A. Kingsbury, and William Warren were duly exalted to the most sublime degree of Royal Arch Masons. The meetings. of the chapter were regularly held up to, and including, Nov. 27, 1827, when the following were elected officers and installed : S. Gilbert, H. P. ; G. W. Kruger, K. ; George Guest, S. "Since the organization of the chapter, up to this date, the exaltations were some sixty. " There does not appear to have been any further meet- ings of the chapter for a period of about twenty-two years. " In 1848 the following companions petitioned for a re- vival of the chapter : S. Gilbert, George Guest, Rawlings Webster, Henry Church, S. G. Seward, L. Baldwin, R. D. Searle, S. B. James, and R. Dudley. " At a convocation of the Grand Chapter of the State of New York, Feb. 7, 1849, the prayer of the petitioners was granted, and the warrant renewed. " On the 3d of March, 1849, some of the petitioners met in the ofiice of Mr. Van Rensselaer, at the corner of State and Green streets, and a committee was appointed to confer with the Ogdensburg lodge, with reference to a room. Arrangements were subsequently made, and on the 8th of March, 1849, the chapter commenced its regular convocation in the hall in the old court-house. The meet- ings continued to be held there until September 7, 1855, when they were held in the hall in Royal Vilas' block, and have been held there until last month. " The following have been High Priests of said chapter since its reorganization in February, 1849 : S. Gilbert, 1849-55; E. M. Holbrook, 1856-59, '61, '66-73; J. H. Fairchild, 1860-62; C. S. Burt, 1864; N. Lewis, 1865; Joseph Studholm, 1874 ; and the speaker is the High Priest for the present year. 176 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. " Companions Burt, Studholm, and the speaker are the only surviving High Priests since the chapter was formed in 1819. The exaltations in the chapter since its reorgani- zation in 1849 have been 150, and its present membership is 70. " A dispensation was granted in March, 1871, to certain petitioners for a commandery of Knights Templar in this city. The dispensation was not acted upon the first year, and was renewed by the Grand Commandery in October, 1872. In the following July a commandery under dispen- sation was organized by R. E. Joseph B. Chaffee, Grand Lecturer of the Grand Commandery, and continued its work until October, 1873, when, at the annual conclave of the Grand Commandery of Knights Templar of the State of New York, a warrant was given to Ogdensburg Com- mandery, No. 54, Knights Templar. The commandery was instituted and dedicated under its warrant, December, 1873, by R. Em. John S. Perry, Grand Treasurer. " The following are the present oiEcers of .^aid com- mandery : E. M. Holbrook, E. C. ; Jas. Thompson, Genl. ; Joseph Studholm, Capt. Gen. ; C. H. Butrick, Prelate ; N. P. WooUey, Treas. ; G. Boswell, Rec. ; T. H. F. Robert- son, S. W; W. B. Hutchinson, J. W. ; D. Hanna, Sd. B. ; J. E. Willson, St'nd. B. ; D. Bowen, Warder; Gates Cur- tiss, J. S. Raymond, Guards ; W. A. Butler, J. Behre, Sentinels." Since 1874 the Masonic organizations in the city have been in a prosperous condition, and, notwithstanding the tinaes, have been gradually increasing in membership. OGDENSBURG LODGE, NO. 98, I. O. 0. P., was organized with eight charter members, Feb. 24, 1847. The original number of the lodge was " 273." Upon the union of the two Grand Lodges of the State this lodge was granted a new charter, and the number was changed to " 98." The following are the names of the original mem- bers of the society : John B. Haggert, Henry W. Smith, Joseph M. Doty, George Boyd, Frank B. Hitchcock, F. M. Humphrey, A. M. Hepburne, and George W. Durgin. The following officers were elected at the first meeting of the society : John B. Haggert, N. G. ; Andrew Hepburne, V. G. ; Henry M. Smith, Sec. ; George Boyd, Treas. ; Joseph M. Doty, P. Sec. Thirteen persons were duly initiated mem- bers of the society at the first meeting. This is the only lodge at present within the county, and has been in a pros- perous condition since its organization. Their lodge-room is one of the finest in the State. The present officers of the society are as follows : L. M. Sopher, N. G. ; Henry S. Lightall, V. G. ; Jacob Boston, R. S. ; Francis Corry, Treas. ; Benjamin Wells, Permanent Secretary. OGDENSBURG ENCAMPMENT, NO. 32, I. 0. 0. F., was organized April 23, 1861, with the following charter members: Francis Cony, Elijah White, H. F. Millard Alexander Matheson, T. C. Atoheson, M. Lewis, and Jos. Thompson. The officers elected at the first meeting were : Elijah White, C. P. ; M. Lewis, H. P. ; Joseph Thomp- son, S. W. ; Alexander Matheson, J. W. ; Francis Corry Scribe. Meetings are held regularly in the rooms occupied by the lodge. The present officers are : F. N. Burt, C. P. ; James Spear, H. P. ; Robert Wright, S. W. ; Laughlin W. Giles, J. W. ; Francis Corry, Scribe. OGDENSBURG DIVISION, NO. 235, SONS OP TEMPERANCE, OP EASTERN NEW YORK, was organized March 27, 1847, the charter members being: George Boyd, Simeon Dillingham, Henry G. Foote, Andrew M. Hepburn, Henry Rockwell, Philo Abbott, Geo. Guest (2d),R. G. James, J. C. Hanley, Amasa W. Wooley, Geo. W. Durgin, L. R Storrs, John Burke, R. S. Armstrong, Philip Hergog. This is the only division in this section of the State be- longing to the Eastern Grand Division, and it is within the territory of the Western Grand Division. The division has been in a flourishing condition since its organization. The most prosperous meeting ever held in the Oswegatchie division was held March 26, 1874 ; the receipts from in- itiations alone amounting to one hundred and eight dollars. The society at that time numbered oyer four hundred members. The present officers of the society are ; F. S. Ryan, W. P. ; W. A. Callaghan, W. A. ; Hugh Miller, R. S. ; E. Weaver, F. S. ; A. Callaghan, Treas.; R. Golden, I. S.; David Mcintosh, O. S. ;'Miss M. F. Cook, A. C. ; Mrs. A. Callaghan, Chaplain. OGDENSBURG LODGE, NO. 285, I. 0. G. T., was organized May 25, 1867, with the following charter members : G. S. Wright, P. H. Millard, C. H. Adams, A. N. Partridge, L. G. Cadier, George R. Persons, C. Smith, Serena McCoy, J. N. Thompson, C. A. Webb, N. J. Mack, Louisa S. Smith, A. E. Foster, Jennie M. Briley, Helen Rutherford, H. E. Higby, E. L. Higby, W. L. Thompson, George R. Leonard, John Seeley, S. T. Duclos, and F. E. Persons. The following officers were elected at the first regular meeting of the society : W. L. Thompson, W. C. T. ; C. A. Webb, W. V. T. ; G. S. Wright, W. Chap. ; C. H. Adams, W. Sec. ; Serena McCoy, W. A. S. ; A. N. Partridge, W. F. S. ; Jennie M. Bailey, W. Treas.; G. R. Persons, W. M. ; F. E. Persons, W. D. M. ; Hattie B. Higby, W. L G.; J. M. Thompson, W. 0. G. ; E. L. Higby, W. R. H. S. ; Helen Rutherford, W. L. H. S. ; P. H. Millard, P. W. C. T. Meetings were at first held in "the lodge-room occupied by the Sons of Temperance. In July, 1872, they moved into the present lodge-room, which is commodious, finely furnished. During the year 1874 the society numbered over three hundred members. With the exception of a few weeks during the summer of 1877 meetings have been held regularly since its organization. The present officers are as follows : J. E. Fell,^W. C. T. ; Louisa S. Smith, W. V. T. ; W. H. Wright, W. Sec. ; Ella Wilson, W. A. S. ; Charles Robinson, W. F. S. ; J. P. Wallace, W. Treas. ; W. J. Knox, W. C. ; George Robinson, W. M. ; Nettie Sturdevant, W. D. M. ; Ella Golden, W. L G. ; Fanny IMoore, W. R. S. ; Ida Moore, W. L. S. HISTOllY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 177 STATE ARMORY. The Strong stone building standing on the hill above the city water-works was built by the State in 1858, and used as a store-house for old muskets and other ordnance pre- viously used by the militia, and of little value. The prop- erty was purchased by the city after the War of the Rebel- lion, and the building is now used as a place in which to store the various tools belonging to the city, — plows, shovels, picks, scrapers, etc. On the south front of the building the tablet from Father Picquet's mission-house, built in 1749, is set in the wall for preservation. Its rude lettering is much worn by the action of the elements, and cannot be read except by close scrutiny. PARKS. The city contains three very pleasant parks, one in the west and two in the east division. " Mansion" park, occu- pying the space inclosed by Ogden and Rensselaer streets, and Ford and New York avenues, in the west division, was donated to the village about 1852-53, and the trustees accepted it and fenced it in. No improvements were made in it until within the past five years, but it is now neatly inclosed and well taken care of, and is a credit to the city. A number of beautiful pines are within the inolosure, and lend much to its attractiveness. "Hamilton" park lies in the oast division, between Green, Knox, Hamilton, and Paterson streets, and is the square originally the old cemetery. It was converted into a park about the close of the War of the Rebellion, the remains having been removed to the city cemetery and other localities; some which were not claimed to the pot- ter's field. It is a little larger than Mansion park. " Central" or " River" park occupies the space along the bank of the Oswegatchie in front of the custom-house, and was conveyed to the city at a recent date by George Parish. Many improvements have been made in all the parks, and the work of placing in them reservoirs and fountains is now going on. IRON BRIDGES. The Oswegatchie river is spanned within the city limits by two wrought iron-bridges, manufactured by the King bridge company, of Cleveland, Ohio ; the lower one, crossing from the foot of Ford street, was built in 1866, at a cost of about $22,500, including sub- and super-structures, approaches, etc. It consists of two spans of 111 feet each. The road- ways, two in number, are each 16 feet wide, and the two sidewalks 8 feet each. The upper bridge, connecting Fayette and Spring streets, was built in 1873, when mate- rial was much cheaper, and the company was doing a larger business. Its cost, including piers and abutments, was in the neighborhood of $20,000, the superstructure alone costing about $12,000. This bridge is 586 feet in length, and consists of five spans, averaging a trifie over 117 feet each. Two of the shorter spans are 110 feet each, while the longest is 125 feet. It has a single roadway, 18 feet in width, and two sidewalks, each 5 feet wide. Seth G. Pope, Esq., -of this city, who was instrumental in securing these bridges, has, as agent for the company, con- tracted for and built a number of them in other localities, 2% including a very substantial one at Waltham, Massachu- setts, differing somewhat in pattern from the two at Ogdens- burg. Of the latter the lower one has stood a great strain since it was built, and it is more substantial than many others built by this company. OGDENSBURG FIRES. Ogdensburg, like many other towns and cities, has had its experience with fire. One of the most destructive confla- grations visited the city in 1873. It originated in a hard- ware establishment and tiu-shop on Water street, below the Oswegatchie bridge, in a range of frame buildings, and spread with such rapidity and fury as soon to be beyond control. Buildings were burned on both sides of Water street, above and below the bridge, including those which occupied the site of the block now owned by Hon. A. B. James. The total loss was between one and two hundred thou- sand dollars, on which insurance was paid to the amount of about one hundred thousand dollars. It made a sad inroad into the business of the city, but a large share of the ground has since been covered with fine marble and brick edifices. There have been many minor fires, but this was by far the most serious since the great fire of 1852. EXPRESS COMPANIES. There are two express companies having ofiices in the city, both in the stone building on State street formerly the Ogdensburg bank, and both in charge of the same agent, — C. P. Geer. They have occupied their present location since about 1873. The companies are the " Ameri- can" and the ''U. S. and Canada." BANDS. The Ogdensburg city band was originally organized in 1860 ; it was reorganized under its present name in 1874, and consists of sixteen pieces. It is a fine corps of musi- cians, and an honor to the city. Its officers are : Leader, D. H. Bowen, who has held the position since 1874, he having effected the new organization ; President, Hugh McCaffrey ; Secretary and Treasurer, James Doyle. The La Fayette band was organized in 1874, under the direction of Rev. Father La Rose, of the French church. It has seventeen instruments, of which but a portion are in use, and the membership is at present (December, 1877) quite small. Most of its members belong to the laboring class, and are changing often on account of not being able to find constant employment. FERRIES. The early ferries on the St. Lawrence between Ogdens- burg and Prescott, Canada, were row- and sail-boats, and these continued in use until perhaps about the year 1830, when Eli Lusher put on a steam ferry. Isaac Plumb and his nephews, Charles, Lewis R., Ward, and Isaac, succeeded Lusher, and continued the business down to 1874, when Charles Lyon bought the equipment, and has continued it since. Isaac and Ward Plumb are the present cap- tains on the two boats, one of which pliej direct between 178 HlSTOflY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. the two cities, the otlier (the " Transit") being employed by the Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain railway company in conveying freight cars and passengers between the railway depots. Messrs. Plumb also own the steamer " Henry Plumb." These ferries pay a license on both the American and British sides of the river. They have been so carefully managed that there has never been a serious accident since their first establishment. The passenger traffic is exten- sive at this point, and the boats make trips every forty minutes, at ten cents per head for each passenger, until December 1, when the charge is twenty-five cents. A large amount of stock and poultry is also handled here, passing mostly from the Dominion to the United States. MUSEUM. Among the places of note in Ogdensburg worthy of in- vestigation the museum of General Roscius W. Judson de- serves special mention. The general was evidently born with an extraordinary and remarkably discriminating taste for mementos and relics of " ye olden time," and especially for everything that would perpetuate the memory of Amer- ican heroes and statesmen of the Revolutionary period. From his boyhood he has been engaged in gathering, from every available source, objects of interest and curiosity of every description, and whose history covered the period from the ages when this region was occupied by the pre- historic people down to the present time. His collection of ancient implements of numerous varie- ties, found principally in northern New York, and largely in St. Lawrence County, is very complete, and many of the specimens are exquisitely wrought and ornamented. Tlie ancient stone axes are ponderous weapons, that in the hands of the powerful men who wielded them must have been well-nigh irresistible, and the beautifully finished gouges, knives, and images evince a skill and intelligence that put to' shame all the efforts of the red race known as Indians, and prove beyond a doubt the existence of an ancient peo- ple upon this continent, who possessed a remarkable degree of civilization. Supplementary to these ancient curiosities is a fine col- lection of Indian implements of war, of husbandry, and of the chase, — hatchets, flint arrow- and spear-heads, pipes, household utensils, etc. The articles representing the civil, military, and domestic life of the colonies, and of the sub- sequent union of States, are in wonderful variety ; and, what is sometimes lacking in more noted collections, an authentic description is furnished with each particular piece or speci- men, and they are known to be genuine. A special enumeration of the 3000 specimens which make up this unique and wonderful collection we have not space to furnish, but to every admirer of time-worn relics and rare curiosities from the battle-fields of the republic, and from every department of human industry and inven- tion, we would say, go and see General Judson's collection. It is free to all, and the most polite, aff'able, and courteous gentleman in the land will delight to explain everything to you in his inimitable way. The collection deserves to have a fire-proof buildin"- erected for its safe-keeping, and the citizens of Ogdensbur"- will do honor to themselves by making provision for pre- serving it in the interests of their historic city. SCHOOLS. The earliest school of which we have any record is men- tioned in the following memorandum by Mr. Joseph Ros- seel, dated Nov. 24, 1809 : " Upon application of some of our villagers, I have granted the house destined for Captain Cherry's bivouac as the place for the use of a school for upwards of thirty children, whose parents have engaged jMr. Richard Hubbard for a teacher.'' Mr. H. was from Charlestown, N. H., and the number of his scholars, at first only about six, increased very soon to double that number. The place having been found too small, a dwelling-house was next used for a whUe, and not long after a small school- house was built. The village was included in one district until about 1836—37, when it was divided into three dis- tricts : two on the east side and one on the west side of the Oswegatchie river. A stone school building was erected as early as 1820-25, on Knox street, corner of Caroline street, in which schools were taught up to 1850, when the first of the present school buildings was erected on Franklin street, known now as No. 1. The trustees at that time were Dr. S. N. Sherman, A. B. James, and Otis Glynn. This building was a vast improve- ment on those of former years, and accommodated 450 scholars. It cost, complete, about $3000. We are unable to give the names of the early teachers in the old districts, as the records were destroyed by fire, but Dr. B. F. Sher- man recollects that a young man by the name of Cleghorn taught in the old stone building on Knox street, about 1836. Dr. B. F. Sherman was himself a teacher, and taught his first term in the building now No. 2, then num- bered 22, on Washington street. He afterwards taught in the old stone building, his last term being in 1840, when he abandoned teaching for the study and practice of the medical profession. The three districts established in 1836-37 were num- bered with other districts of the whole township, and were continued as originally organized until the act consolidating the districts within what are now the limits of the city into one, which was passed in 1857. By this act the graded system, or at least something approximating it, was estab- lished, the schools being divided into primary and second- ary, and an institute, which furnished all the advantages of a high school. This latter was abolished in 1871, and a grammar school substituted in its stead. The project of establishing a high school is under discussion, and is quite likely to be adopted sooner or later, which step would com- plete the schools upon the graded system, and enable pupils holding diplomas to enter the higher institutions of learning. The school buildings of the city, with their location, ma- terial, and date of erection, are as follows : No. 1, on Franklin street, built of brick in 1850. No. 2, on Washington street, of brick, built in 1854. Occupied also for grammar school. No. 3, on Park street, of brick, built in 1853. No. 4, on New York avenue, of stone, built in 1856. No. 5, in east part of city, rebuilt of brick. (Photos, by Oow.j ^^^y^^^^C^^^^ <^. The siuDJect of this sketch was born in Marlborough, N. H., Dec. 17, 1804. He was eldest child of a family of nine children of James and Lucy Wheelock, both natives of New Hampshire. His father, born May 15, 1776, was a lineal descendant of Wheelock, who came to this country from England about the year 1635, In company with his two brothers. His mother was youngest child of "William Barker, and was born July 22, 1780. William Barker was of English birth, and came with his brother John, the former settling in the town of Marlborough, N. H., b^ing the first white settler of that town, and before the town had a name. The latter settled in Lester, Vt., and both remained on the land upon which they first settled until their death. His father was a farmer by occupation, and being in moderate circumstances was only able to give his children any- thing more than a common school education. "When "William was about ten years of age his father, with his family, moved to Pitts- ford, Eutland county, Vt., and in the year 1836 removed, with three of the youngest children, and settled in the town of De Peyster, this county, where the father and mother lived until their death, he dying May 31, 1855, his wife dying Sept. 11, 1849. Until William was nineteen years of age he worked on the farm with his father, and then in the year 1824, having previously bought his" time until he should become of age of his father for one hundred dollars, and with his pack on his back, came on foot all the way from Pittsford to take up his home in the wilderness. Coming to the town of De Peyster, St. Lawrence County, he took jobs chopping timber land at five dollars per acre, and as soon as he had saved the money he went back to the parental roof, paid his debt, and by this first speculation gained one year's time for himself. Eeturning to this county, lie spent several years clearing land, and then engaged as superintendent with the contractors of the Eideau canal. After a short time he entered as a partner with Mr. Clif- ford as contractors in building some six locks on the canal. Suc- cessful in this operation, he went to Maryland, 1832, and contracted to build the aqueduct across Catockton creek for the Chesapeake and Ohio canal. He next built the viaduct across the same stream for the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. Successful in these opera- tions, he again returned to this county, purchased in all some four hundred and thirty-eight acres of land in the town of De Peyster, and began farming. Eemained on his farm only a short time, and lin the year 1836 came to Ogdensburg and built the canal in the city for the Ogdensburg water-power company. In 1837 betook charge of the Eossie lead mines for the Eossie lead mining com- pany, James Averill being president, David C. Judson being vice- president. At the end of four years he engaged with George Parish to take care of his iron mines, furnaces, ore beds, and wood- lands in the town of Eossie ; and, while employed by him, built the large furnace, grist-mill, foundry (largest north of Utica), machine-shop, and all the brick buildings in Eossie except the hotel, and made the entire castings for the Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain railroad ; and at the close of his services with him re- ceived not only his entire approbation, but a substantial present, not only increasing the value of his employer's property, but suc- cessful for himself. After fourteen years he returned to his farm, where he remained until 1866. Sold his farm, and after one year came to Ogdensburg, where he has since resided. Mr. Wheelock has been a successful business man, was representative in whatever he turned his atten- tion to, and while a farmer took the second prize for the best farm in the county, awarded by the judges appointed by the agricultural society of the county, and at the present time ranks with the first in all its improvements. In politics, Mr. Wheelock has been a life-long Democrat, but was never active as a politician. In the year 1835, at the age of thirty-one, he married Miss Susan Adelia, daughter of Daniel and Abigail Dike, of Chittenden, Eutland county, Vt. Her father was the first male child born in the town, and was son of Captain Jonathan Dike, of Scottish birth. Her mother (whose maiden name was Mitchell) was a native of Easton, Mass. Both Mr. and Mrs. Wheelock are members of the Presbyterian society of Ogdensburg. He has contributed liberally for the sup- port of church and school, and has been active in any measure looking towards the education of the masses and the building up of ^ood society wherever he has been located. Coming into the county in its early days of settlement, Mr. Wheelock has watched the progress of improvement in the various branches of industry of the county ; a man of strong personal character, ambitious in all business operations with which he was connected, he, as an employee, retained the full confidence of those whom he served, and as a manager of his own business commanded the respect of all associated under him. He is a plain, unassuming man, largely interested and well versed in the important topics of his day, and possessing that good, sound judgment common to" the self-made men of St. Lawrence County. HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 179 No. 6, on Fayette street, of stone, built in 1864. No. 7, on Barre street, of brick, built about 1868. No. 8, corner Ford avenue and Pine street, of brick, built in 1870. No. 9, on Knox street, of wood, rebuilt about 1865. This building was formerly used as a fire-engine house. In these buildings during the past year there have been taught twenty-four schools during an average of ten months. There were employed in all twenty-four teachers and three assistants. The wages of teachers range from thirty to seventy dollars per month, and assistants receive five dollars per week. Attendance. — The attendance for the year ending March 30, 1877, was as follows: spring term, 1221; fall term, 1264; winter term, 1271. Average attendance during spring term, 957 ; average attendance during fall term, 1028 ; average attendance during winter term, 1097.* Valuation. — The total valuation of school property, in- cluding sites, according to State superintendent's report for 1875, was 853,914. Daring the year repairs and improve- ments were made on No. 2 to amount of $1174.61. Library. — The library belonging to the schools is kept in the town-hall building. It is in charge of Miss Mary E. Baldwin, librarian, who receives a salary of fifty dollars per annum. The total number of books now in condition for circulation is 2959. The total receipts and expenditures by the board of education for the year were $20,559.67. In addition there were also seven private schools in the city, with an attendance of 1265 pupils. Dr. S. N. Sherman justly deserves the title of father of the Ogdensburg school system, for he labored faithfully and unremittingly from 1825 to the end of his life in the cause of the common schools, and was connected with them in some official capacity for many years. He was the first president of the board of education established by the act of 1857, and held the office continuously until he entered the army in 1861. He was elected by common consent as the most proper person to fill that important position, no one ever thinking of opposing him. He was instrumental in procuring the passage of the act consolidating the dis- tricts in Ogdensburg, and in erecting several of the fine buildings now in use. Succeeding him in the office of president have been George Parker, Henry Rockwell, Stillman Foote, B. N. Meniam, Dr. N. W. Howard, and Robert Morris, the present incumbent. The superintendents of the city schools have been Still- man Foote, John Magone, R. B. Lowry, and Dr. N. W. Howard. OGDENSBURG ACADEMY. An act of April 6, 1833, directed that the money then in the hands of the supervisor and poor-masters of the town of Oswegatchie should be delivered up to D. C. Judson, S. Gilbert, G. N. Seymour, M. S. Daniel, and H. Thomas, who were appointed commissioners to receive these moneys, and enough more raised by tax upon the town to make $2000 (on condition that a like sum were first subscribed in the village), and to purcliase therewith a lot and build- * Total number of children of school age in the city, 4169. ings for an academy, one room in the building being re- served for a town-hall. The inhabitants of each school district in town, not in the village, were entitled to credit on the tuition of any scholar from their district to the amount of the interest on the tax of the district. The supervisor and town clerk, and the president and clerk of the village, were made ex officio trustees of the academy, who were to audit the accounts of the commissioners and to fill vacancies. On the 24th of April, 1834, the trustees were empowered to grant licenses for a ferry across the St. Lawrence at the village, the rates and rules of which were to be established by the county court of common pleas. The income was to be paid over to the above commissioners, and when their term of office should expire, on the fulfill- ment of the duties for which they were appointed, to be paid to the treasurer of the academy. The rights thus granted were to continue ten years. On the 20th of April, 1835, the academy was incorpo- rated with the following trustees : George Parish, John Fine, David Ford, David C. Judson, Henry Van Rensselaer, Royal Vilas, Bishop Perkins, Geo. N. Seymour, Baron S. Doty, Elijah B. Allen, William Bacon, Smith Stilwell, Sylvester Giliet, Amos Bacon, Thomas J. Davies, Joseph W. Smith, Ransom H. Gilbertj James Averill (3d), Duncan Turner, George Ranney, Joseph Rosseel, Rodolphus D. Searle, Edmund A. Graham, James G. Hopkins, Silas Wright, Jr., William Hogan, Gouverneur Ogden, George Redington, and Augustus Chapman, together with the supervisor and town clerk of the town of Oswegatchie, and the president and clerk of the trustees of the village of Ogdensburg for the time being. They were clothed with the usual powers of such officers. Those who held by virtue of town or village office were to have the care of the town-hall. Previous to the passage of these acts an academic school had been established. On the 22d of May, 1834, the trustees, at a meeting held at Canton, fixed the rent of the ferry at $300 per annum for three years, commencing with the 1st of June. This rate has since been repeatedly changed. On the 8th of October, 1834, Taylor Lewis, of Water- ford, subsequently a professor of languages in New York university and professor of Greek and Latin in Union col- lege, was appointed the firsD principal, with a salary of 1600. On the following May the trustees resolved to have four departments in their schools, — two male and two fe- male. This arrangement was never fully carried out. The first president of the board of trustees was David C. Jud- son. He was succeeded by John Fine. In the fall of 1837, Mr. Lewis was succeeded by James H. Coffin, after- wards vice-president and professor in Lafayette college at Easton, Pa. In February, 1838, Mr. Coffin was engaged for one year at $800, and on the 1st of April, 1839, a new ao'reement was made by which he was to receive whatever income might be derived from tuition, ferry, and literature fund, reserving a sufficient sum for repairs. In the spring of 1840 the Rev. J. A. Brayton was engaged, who con- tinued in charge of the school until September, 1843, when he resigned, and Mr. John Bradshaw was employed in November of the same year. He continued the principal of the institution until the summer of 1849, when Messrs. 180 HISTOEY OF ST. LAWKENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. Hart F. Lawrence and Roswell G. Pettibonc entered jointly into an agreement with the trustees in which they assumed the care and government of the institution, receiving what- ever might accrue from tuition, literature fund, and the ferry, excepting only suiBcient to pay insurance and repairs. The Hon. John Fine, president of the board of trustees, filled this office for many years. Messrs. Lawrence and Pettibone continued the school to 1856, when Mr. Lawrence retired, and Mr. Pettibone continued it for about a year in his own name. In 1 857 the legislature passed a special act whereby the schools of Ogdensburg were consolidated into one district, including the academy. The old academic building was originally erected in 1819, and opened in 1820 as the St. Lawrence hotel. It stood on the corner of State and Knox streets, opposite the site of the new custom-house and post-office, then occupied by the old court-house. Upon the organization of the academy it was purchased by the commissioners, the village contributing one thousand dollars towards its purchase, and receiving the privilege therefor of the chapel for the use of town-meetings and elections. The building embraced apartments for a family, study, recitation-rooms, and a chapel. The school had a well- selected library and philosophical apparatus, and every fa- cility for obtaining a good practical education. The only assistance the school ever received from the regents of the university was |250, on Feb. '28, 1845, for the purchase of apparatus. In the summer of 1851 a teachers' depart- ment was organized. The act of 1857 established substantially the graded system, including primary and secondary or intermediate ■ schools, and an institute, with a board of education, a su- perintendent for all the schools, and a principal for the in- stitute. Under this arrangement the academy became the institute, which was continued in the same building until Oct. 21, 1854, when it was destroyed by fire. The insti- tute was then established in the school building No. 2, on Washington street, where it remained until discontinued in 1871. Mr. Pettibone continued as principal until 1863, when he was succeeded by T. N. Brosnan. The following is be- lieved to be a correct list of those who have served subse- quently: R. B. Lowry, J. S. Grinnell, H. J. Porter, A. B. Hepburn, James O'Neil, C. E. Hawkins, W. H. Faulkner, C. F. Ainsworth, Mary E. Colleghan, A. B. Shepard (for a short time), and E. S. Lane. CHURCHES. FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. The first permanent settlement at Ogdensburg was com- menced in 1796. In 1805 the first religious society was formed, under the title of the "first church and congrega- tion of Christ in the town of Oswegatchie." In September of that year a subscription of $393 was made out, payable half-yearly to the minister who should be called and settled. In Jan., 1806, a call was sent through Rev. Isaac Snowdon, of New Hartford, then moderator of the presbytery of Oneida, to Rev. John Younglove, of that presbytery. It was signed in behalf of the congregation by Nathan Ford, L. Hasbrouck, and Thos. Davies, and promised to pay the sum of $400 annual salary while Mr. Younglove should continue pastor. He accepted, and labored for a short time at this place. After his departure, and until after the War of 1812-15, there was no regular minister located here. The Rev. Mr. Smart, of Brockville, Canada, occasionally held services, and in Dec, 1811, a call was made to the Rev. Comfort Williams, who had previously labored here for a short time, offering him $600 per annum salary. This paper was made in due form, and signed by Nathan Ford, L. Hasbrouck, and John Lyon, trustees. Mr. Williams came, and continued until the war broke up and scattered the congregation. The meetings of the society were held at this time in the old court-house. The congregation was taken under the care of the presbytery of Oneida in 1806. Subsequent to the war correspondence was opened be- tween the congregation and the Oneida presbytery con- cerning stated preachers, but without success, until 1819. Occasional sermons were delivered by Rev. Mr. Gerry, of Denmark, Samuel T. Mills, and Revs. Isaac Clinton, Phelps, and Dunlap. In Sept., 1816, the St. Lawrence presbytery was formed from Oneida, and this church was set off with others. Mr. John Lyon was the first delegate from the new body. Various clergymen officiated here from time to time, and services were maintained at the court-house, Judge Fine (who had settled in Ogdensburg in 1815) read- ing selected sermons. During the year 1817, Rev. Royal Phelps visited the place and ascertained the needs of the society, and whether it would be advisable to try and unite all the professing Christians in the place (about 30) in one body ; but society relations were adhered to, and matters remained as before. In October, Rev. Mr. Dunlap, a Presbyterian, from Low- ville, visited the place, and baptized Mr. Lincoln Morris, his wife, and three children. In the early part of 1919, the Rev. Barnabas Bruin, a tutor in Union college, was settled over the society, and the same year the first church edifice, called the " Gospel Barn," was erected, at a cost of $600. It stood on the corner of Ford and Caroline streets. A portion of this structure was afterwards converted into a dwelling. On Dec. 8, 1819, in that place of worship, the following eighteen persons — nine males and nine females — were organ- ized by Rev. Mr. Bruin into a society under the denomina- tion, faith, and government of the Presbyterian church in the United States, viz. : John Fine, John Bell, Isabella B. Bell his wife, John Elliott, Nathaniel Smith and his wife Susannah R. Smith, Benjamin Nichols and Lucy his wife, Chester Guerney, David R. Strachan, Mary E. Hubbell, Charlotte Spenser, Esther Rice, Philena Colfax, Wm. J. Guest and Juliana P. his wife, Christiana Eaton, and Geo. Oliver. The church was received under the care of the St. Lawrence presbytery. On Wednesday, Dec. 15, George Bell and John Pine were duly elected elders, and Sabbath, the 19th, were ordained and installed in their work. The Lord's Supper was administered the Sabbath after, being the first of the new year. The first meeting of the session occurred previous to the communion, on Dec. 27, 1819, at the house of D. Turner, and Mr. Jared W. Spencer, Mrs. HISTOKY OF ST. LA WHENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 181 Benjamin Wilson, and Mrs. E. Sykes were examined and received into full communion on profession of their faith. This was certainly a cheerful and hopeful beginning. Four days after, at a second meeting of the session, four others were also received on profession of their faith, viz. : Dun- can Turner and Isabella his wife, Mrs. Lincoln Morris, and Mrs. B. Nichols, Jr. Total, twenty-five. The following persons were elected trustees of the congregation : Nathan Ford, Duncan Turner, Wm. J. Guest, John Lyon, Joseph Rosseel, Wolcott Hubbell. Shortly after this Mr. Bruin, who was in feeble health, went away on a visit, declaring he believed his work was done. He had accomplished, by the blessing of God, more in one year than he had expected to in three or four. He thought his mission was closed. He returned to remain only a few days, and finally died in Connecticut, loved as a valued servant of Christ, and lamented that his work should so soon be completed. The Rev. Isaac Clinton occupied the pulpit as a stated supply during the year 1820. He was previously settled at Lowville, and was a member of the St. Lawrence presby- tery. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Rosseel, five members of the Lyon family, and fourteen others were admitted to the church during the year, making a total of forty-six commu- nicants. On Sept. 22, 1820, Duncan Turner and Wm. J. Guest were elected elders, and ordained and installed on the fol- lowing Sabbath. In February, 1821, the Rev. James McAuley, having been duly called, entered upon his labors at a salary of $600 per year. Elder Wm. J. Guest died in 1823, at the age of forty- four years, greatly beloved and respected. In February, 1824, Joab Seely, Joseph Rosseel, and Sal- mon Smith were elected and installed elders of the church. The old stone church, the antecedent of the present stately edifice, was dedicated in 1825. The parsonage was erected in 1839. In 1848 the church was enlarged. The church and parsonage, with their improvements, cost alto- gether $19,750. Weekly prayer-meetings were instituted at an early day, and at first held in private dwellings, afterwards in a school- house standing where Dr. S. N. Sherman now resides. Subsequently they passed to the stone school-house on Knox street, now occupied as an ofiice by Mr. H. Church, and thence to the old school-house in Washington street, where they remained until the erection of the old lecture- room in 1849. The stone church spoken of above was commenced in 1824. It was originally 72 by 48 feet in dimensions, which were enlarged in 1848. Judge Nathan Ford and Elder Turner gave respectively $2000 and $1200 towards it. In 1825 causes of diiference arose which resulted in a separation of the congregation, one part continuing to oc- cupy the church, and the other holding services in the court-house and calling in the aid of different clergymen. After frequent consultation, the Hon. J. Fine and the Hon. B. Perkins were appointed to meet the synod and present the situation of the two sections of the church. It resulted in an amicable adjustment of these diflSculties, and the church was again harmonized. In the spring of 1826, the Rev. Mr. McAuley resigned his connection with the church. During his pastorate of nearly six years one hundred and fourteen persons were added to the number of its commu- nicants. Messrs. Joab Seely and Salmon Smith having resigned their offices as elders of the church, on Oct. 10, 1826, Messrs. John Lyon and A. Abbott, Esq., were elected to the same office. Subsquent to the resignation of Mr. Mc- Auley the pulpit was supplied by diffijrent clergymen until May 25, 1827, when the Rev. James B. Ambler, a member of the Oswego presbytery, engaged to serve the congrega- tion as stated supply during the term of three years, his salary being fixed at $600 per year, payable semi-annually. He continued his labors here for a year nnd a half, when his engagement was terminated by mutual consent. Twelve persons united with the church during this period. The organ was placed in the church during the year 1828, chiefly through the exertions of General Arnold, at a cost of $700. On the 2d of February, 1829, Rev. Elizur G. Smith en- tered upon the duties of pastor. In October of that year the old bell, weighing 906 pounds, was replaced by a new one from L. Aspinwall, of Albany, weighing 1300 pounds. In 1831, Mr. Smith removed to the east on account of his health. During his ministry a protracted meeting occurred, resulting in the addition of about sixty persons on profes- sion. In January, 1832, Rev. J. A. Savage succeeded Mr. Smith as stated supply, and continued as such until the 18th of Feb- ruary, 1835, when he was regularly installed as pastor, and remained until Sept. 30, 1850, when he resigned to accept a call to the presidency of Carroll college, at Waukesha, Wisconsin. In 1836 eleven persons were dismissed from this church and organized into a Congregational church, which con- tinued only a few months. Elder John Lyon died in 1812. He was the first of this church who settled in Ogdensburg. In the same year George M. Foster and Wm. E. Guest were elected elders, and Elijah White and Israel Lamb were chosen deacons, — the first since the formation of the church. The church was enlarged during the fall and winter of 1847-48, at an expense of $3750, but the sale of slips more than met the outlay. A lecture-room 45 by 21 feet was added in 1849, and enlarged in 1856, at a total cost of $1325. The additions to the church during the pastorate of Mr. Savage were 335. From the time of the resigna- tion of Mr. Savage until February, 1851, the pulpit was supplied by Revs. R. T. Conant, James Rogers, Wm. Smart, B. S. Barnes, Mr. McDowell, Mr. Townsend, and A. D. Brinkerhoff. On the 1st of February, 1851, a call was extended to the Rev. L. Merrill Miller, D.D., who accepted and entered upon his duties in May following, and has continued until the present time. The elders serving since 1851 have been Norman Sack- rider, George Hurlbut, and Elijah White, elected in 1858,, and George R. Bell, Allen Chancy, David M. Chapin, and Benjamin Nevin, elected in 1865. 182 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. The deacons have been E. White, Israel Lamb, Harvey Lyon, and W. L, Thomson. About 1856 the necessity of dividing the congregation, or building a new and more commodious church, began to be apparent. The old edifice seated 844 persons. Dr. Mil- ler proposed at first to build a new church on the west side of the Oswegatohie river, and divide the congregation, but this did not fully suit them, and they proposed to build a new house of worship sufficient for their needs. Dr. Mil- ler at once took the ground that to do this the congregation must come promptly forward with the necessary means, and push the work with vigor under a competent superintend- ence. The breaking out of the War of the Rebellion delayed the work, and it was not until the spring of 1865 that op- erations were begun in earnest. In May of that year the ladies of "The New Church Society" raised funds for finishing and furnishing the new edifice. The building committee consisted of Dr. Miller, S. G. Pope, and Charles Lyon, and the doctor gave his personal supervision to the work from first to last. May 20, 1867, notice was given of the last service in the lecture-room building, which was immediately removed, and the work of excavation begun. The last service, with appropriate exercises, in the church, transpired on the third day of June following. On the next day began the re- moval of the church furniture and the building itself. Public worship and Sabbath-school service were held in Lyceum hall. The materials of the old edifice, as far as possible, have appeared in this house. The east wall and tower were mostly retained. The west tower, west wall, and most of the north and south walls are entirely new. The buttresses are also new. The structure is of blue limestone (caps and facings being cut stone) from the base to the spire, which rises 190 feet. Built in pointed Gothic style, it pre- sents the true ehurchly aspect of solidity, symmetry, and spaciousne.ss. The Sunday-school and lecture-room are fur- nished with ample accommodation and ante-rooms. The pastor's study is a convenient, home-like room, from which a passage-way leads to the pulpit. Comfort and conveni- ence and edification of worshipers have been consulted with success, as well as church architecture and durability. The dimensions of the main building are 78 by 108 feet. Size of audience-room 70 by 90, which, with pleasant gal leries half around the church, has an easy capacity for 1200 persons. The corner-stone was laid with appropriate exer- cises on the 21st day of August, 1866. The new lec- ture-room was first occupied for the annual Sunday-school festival January 4, 1867. Church services commenced in the same room the Sabbath following. The church, finished and furnished, was dedicated to the worship of Almighty God on the 20th day of September, A.D. 1867. The total present value of the church property, including par- sonage, is about $75,000. The new church society, up to its annual report for 1876, had received, from its organization in 1865, $12,224.82. In addition to this, there are attached to the church two other societies, to wit : the Dorcas society, which was organized in 1828, under the name of the " Fragment so- ciety," for providing garments for the needy, and the " Ladles' missionary society." The first Sabbath-school was organized in the summer of 1820. Mr. Joseph Rosseel was the first superintendent, and served until 1861, when Mr. R. G. Pettibone succeeded him. In connection with the church, schools have at differ- ent periods been opened in various parts of the city, and in the surrounding country. In 1876 there were three remain- ing connected, namely : the church school and the 2d and 3d ward schools. The pastor is ex officio superintendent. The report for 1876 showed : Officers and teachers, 13 male, 38 female, total 51. Scholars : males 172, females 202, total 374 ; aggregate, 425. Among the prominent members who have died were Duncan Turner, in 1852, Joseph Rosseel, in 1863, Wm. E. Guest, in 1864, Abijah Abbott, in 1866, and Hon. John Fine, in 1807. The amount of moneys raised for various purposes from 1852 to 1876, inclusive, has been as follows : For home purposes, $137,878.39; for foreign purposes, $31,815.73 ; total, $169,694.12. The organ which now graces the lecture-room of the Presbyterian church and assists in its devotional exercises, was placed in the old church in the year 1828, chiefly through the exertions of General Arnold, and cost $700. The new organ, which gracefully fills so large a place in the new church, was built by the well-known and popular es- tablishment at Westfield, Mass., William A. Johnson, pro- prietor. He was the builder of the large organ in Chicago, one of the largest in America. Our organ, in the judg- ment of professional experts, is unsurpassed in beauty and purity of tone, voicing, and general effect by any organ of its size and appointments built in this country. It has two manuals, from C C to A, in Sop. — 58 keys ; also, pre pedal manual from C C C to D — 27 keys ; 1323 pipes are divided between great organ, pedal organ, and swell organ. It has 30 choice stops, with 5 mechanical registers. The case is of chestnut, with black walnut mountings and orna- ments. The front pipes are ornamented in gold and colors. The church has had during its existence six difierent bells. The present one, weighing 1823 pounds, was placed in the tower in 1861. A fine town-clock is also connected with the bell, having four ornamental faces, and furnishing time to the public. The church has on its roll since its organization 1280 communicants. It received from 1819 to 1851, 583 ; had on its roll in 1851, 217 ; received since, — by examination, 471 ; by certificate, 226,-697 ; dismissed since 1851, 277 ; died since 1851, 135 ; now on the roll, 502. Bap- tisms of children during the quarter century, 629 ; of adults, 101 ; total, 730. FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH. This church was organized June 30, 1809, as the Oswe- gatohie Baptist church, nine members uniting to organize it, — ^six males and three females, — as follows: Daniel McNeil, Amasa Townshend, Samuel Havens, James Salis- bury, Isaac Parce, Truman Parce, Mary Townshend, Polly Salisbury, and Elizabeth Parce. The organization was ef- fected by the agency of Rev. Samuel Rowley, of the Massa- chusetts missionary society, who was moderator of the meeting, Samuel Havens acting a.s clerk. HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 183 The Articles of Faith and Covenant adopted wore known as the Articles and Covenant of the Vermont Association. Samuel Havens was elected clerk of the church. The church met in school-houses and private residences in dif- ferent parts of the town, and had no pastor or regular preaching. The first baptisms recorded were in November, by Elder Carr. John Taylor and Lucy Allen were the candidates. From December 10, 1810, to July 12, 1817, there are no records of meetings, the events of the War of 1812 so scattering and disheartening the members that the church seemed to sink out of existence. In July, 1817, the church resumed its meetings, evidently being moved thereto by the labors of Eider David Boyiiton, of the Fairfield asso- ciation (Vermont). The fiist regular engagement for stated preaching was made with a Bro. Brown, a licentiate of what place is not stated. The terms of agreement were that the church pro- vide him a place to live in, and that he should live on terms of equality with the brethren, and should not leave them for greater temporal gain. The church made appli- cation for membership in the St. Lawrence Baptist asso- ciation in January, 1818, at the meeting held at Russell. Brothers Brown, McNeil, and Payne being appointed as delegates. From 1818 to 1824, Rev. Jonathan Payne, Sr., was regular preacher to the church, but was not pastor. The first pastor was Nathaniel Colver, a noted pulpit orator and debater, who served the church one year, — during parts of 1827-28. In 1829, Rev. J. W. Sawyer bejame pastor of the church, serving it one-half the time till 1834. Rev. J. M. Howard was pastor from January, 1834, to Sep- tember, 1837. In November, 1837, Rev. W. H. Rice became pastor of the church, and held the office one year or more. Rev. J. M. Howard returned to the pastoral work in 1839, and continued till about January, 1842, from which time Rev. Gratten Brand served as pastor till January, 1843. In May, 1843, Rev. Charles Willard became pastor, serving till January, 1846. He was followed by Rev. A. Case from May, 1846, to January 2, 1848. Rev. J. N. Webb was called as pastor May 1, 1848, and served till Feb- ruary, 1852. Rev. Wm. Carpenter followed from August, 1852, to January, 1854. Rev. Charles E. Elliot, from November, 1854, to January, 1856. Rev. T. H. G-reen succeeded him from June, 1857, until August, 1859. Rev. H. M. Carr, just graduated from Madison university, was ordained pastor in October, 1859, and served the church until September 30, 1861. Rev. H. C. Reals served as pastor nine months, and Rev. J. H. Walden supplied six months between October, 1861, and February, 1863. In April, 1863, Rev. Wm. Carpenter commenced his second term of service as pastor, and continued till April 11, 1867. He was followed by Rev. L. L. Wood, graduate of Madison university, who was ordained September 10, 1867, and served till September, 1870. Rev. H. W. Barnes, the present pastor, commenced his work in De- cember, 1870, having served seven years at the date of this article. This church has had but one house of worship, which has been several times considerably changed by additions and repairs. The corner-stone of the building was laid July 3, 1830. The lectul'e-room was occupied for services about the close of the year, or the early part of 1831. The building was not completed and dedicated till 1833. Rev. J. W. Sawyer was pastor, and J. C. Lewis clerk. The original structure had galleries on three sides. In 1 855 (Rev. C. E. Elliot pastor, and Deacon E. Vilas clerk) the house was enlarged by an addition of twenty- four feet to its length, the galleries were removed, the pulpit placed in the rear end of the house, and the floor, origi- nally inclined towards the front, was leveled. Further re- pairs and improvements were made in 1860, Rev. H. M. Carr pastor, Wm. Hawkins clerk. In 1831 the church was organized under the statute of 1813, and changed its name from the Oswegatchie Bap- tist church to the First Baptist church and society of Ogdensburg. May 17, 1 869, the church was reincorporated as the First Baptist church of the city of Ogdensburg, and a constitution and by-laws adopted, a copy of which may be found in the church archives. At this time Rev. L. L. Wood was pastor, and E. S. Brownson clerk. In 1871 the church was substantially rebuilt from base- ment up, furnished with a fine organ, frescoed, upholstered, a steeple added, and sheds for teams and a house for the " sexton erected, at a cost of $16,000. A special act of legislature was passed, in 1875, ratifying, confirming, and approving all the acts of the society, such as its change of name and title, its acts of rebuilding and giving security for moneys loaned it by bonds and a mort- gage on its property, and correcting any errors which may have been committed in its organization, reincorporation, or business. The mortgage has been, since the passage of this act, cancelled and discharged, and the property, valued at $20,000, is at this date free from incumbrance. The society numbers one hundred and ninety-seven cominuni- cants, more than eighty of whom reside outside the city. The church participates in the benevolent work of American Baptists, such as home and foreign missions, publication society work, tract and Bible distribution, ministerial education, etc. Its regular services are public worship twice each Sunday, a Sunday-school, and two prayer-meetings weekly. The custom of the church is to celebrate the Lord's Supper monthly, on the first Sunday of the month. The covenant-meeting and business-meeting of the church united are held also monthly. The Sunday-school of the first Baptist church in Ogdens- burg was organized about 1827-28. Its earliest records are dated 1830, but no account is given of its organization. In December, 1830, the names of 37 scholars were enrolled ; in 1834 the number had reached 112. J. C. Lewis seems to have been some of the time superintendent of the school. Its library was largely the gift of individuals, and consisted of standard books. Its classes were marked as " Testament classes" and " Spelling-book" classes. The school was reorganized in 1869, and a constitution and rules were adopted, under which it is now acting. It has a membership of about 140, and is divided into three departments : primary class, intermediate classes, and Bible classes. It makes regular weekly contributions for its own 184 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. expenses, and annually appropriates from $25 to $60 for the cause of education among the freedmen. Its scholars range from four to seventy years of age. Its teachers are mainly Christian women. Its pastor has a permanent place and charge in the school. Its present officers are W. L. Proctor, superintendent ; W. H. Butrick, assistant super- intendent; E. S. Brownson, secretary and treasurer ; Fred. Davis, E. Douglass, and Charles Butrick, librarians. W. L. Proctor has served as superintendent almost uninter- ruptedly for nine or ten years, and E. S. Brownson as sec- retary and treasurer. The church has under its care a mission school, known as the Bethel mission, organized about 1868. A day school was for four or five years connected with the mission, with Miss May Kelly as teacher. It meets in a building erected for its accommodation, and owned by W. L. Proctor, who was for several years its superintendent. A benevolent and industrial department is connected with the school, with the care and clothing of its poor members as its object. This school numbers nearly one hundred members. It is under the charge of Benjamin Algie, as acting superintendent. One Christian woman, connected with the school from its commencement, should be honored as carrying the school in her heart, and ministering to it as a mother to her children. riRST METHODIST EPISCOPAL. The first Methodist Episcopal society in Ogdensburg was organized Feb. 21, 1825, the following persons signifying their desire to become stated hearers in the Methodist Epis- copal church, viz., Joseph Brooks, Lewis Lyon, James W. Lytle, Ichabod Arnold, Wm. Henry, Joseph Arnold, Loyal Giffin, Gabriel Readman, David Chapin, Joseph Cule, Tim- othy Case, Jas. Butterfield, Richard Hathaway, Jas. Say- ward, Samuel W. Brady, John Hathaway, Samuel Willson, Reuben Brown, Jas. Parlow, Jesse J. Shaver. Under the pastoral charge of the late Rev. Gardner Baker, the follow- ing gentlemen were elected trustees, viz., Ichabod Arnold, Joseph Arnold, Joseph Cole, David Chapin, and Joseph Brooks. The society proceeded immediately to erect a small wooden chapel on the corner of Montgomery and Caro- lina streets, which served the church for twenty-five years, under the pastoral care of the following ministers respect- ively, viz.. Revs. Gardner Baker, W. W. Rundali, Squier Chase, Philo Barbery, John Seys, E. Hines, L. K. Reding- ton, E. Hall, John Lovis, W. S. Bowdish, L. Whitcomb, Geo. Sawyer, John Sawyer, Edward Banister, John Lovis, Jas. H. Lamb, P. D. Gorrie, Hiram Shepard. Under the pastoral charge of the Rev. John Sawyer, in the year 1841, an extensive revival was enjoyed by the church, which gave new energy to the hitherto small so- ciety ; and, again, in the years 1847 and 1848, under the charge of the Rev. P. D. Gorrie, as the result of another revival, a large number was added to the church ; and, in 1849, the Rev. Hiram Shepard was appointed to the charo-e ■ and, in 1850, under the direction of a building committee' composed of J. M. Woolley, Geo. Arnold, and Henry Plumb^ the old wooden chapel was removed, and the present brick church edifice was erected, and for .sixteen years the church was served by the following ministers : Revs. J. P. Jennin>'-s D. M. Rodgers, W. S. Titus, J. B. Foot, A. S. Wightman, Samuel Call, B. S. Wright, Thomas Richey, and John T. Hewett. In the year 1866, the centennial year of Methodism in the United States, this edifice was remodeled and partially rebuilt, under the direction of a building committee, com- posed of Rev. J. T. Hewett, Dr. D. E. Southwick, and J. M. Woolley, and has been served since that time by the Rev. H. W. Bennett, Rev. E. C. Bruse, Rev. C. H. Guile, and Rev. F. H. Beck respectively. The church has now over 300 communicants. The Sabbath-school of the church was quite small until the year 1848, when, under the efficient superintendency of David Fields, Esq., it began to assume somewhat larger proportions, until it is now one of the largest and most effi- cient Sabbath-schools in the county. It has 38 officers and teachers, 379 scholars, and a library consisting of 435 vol- umes. Its superintendents have been, since Mr. Fields re- tired, Capt. I. D. Ransom (under whose superintendence more than any one else it is indebted for its present stand- ing), Abram Metcalf, and J. M. Woolley. Its present officers are W. I. Knox, superintendent ; L. R. Plumb, librarian ; L. E. Plumb, secretary. The present officers of the church are Jas. R. Morris, J. P. Johnson, Dr. N. N. Childs, J. M. Woolley, S. B. Hut- chins, D. H. Davis, and H. D. Northrup, trustees; J, P. Johnson, clerk ; A. N. Partridge, treasurer. ST. John's protestant episcopal church. The Rev. Daniel Nash, on a missionary tour, in 1816, visited this place, and, in a report which he made, says that he was the first Episcopal clergyman who had visited that village and the county of St. Lawrence. The second one who officiated was the Rev. Amos G. Baldwin, a mis- sionary, who came early in June, 1818, and at times per- formed divine offices in the court-house ; and, on the 23d of May, 1820, a society was incorporated, having Thomas J. Davies and Isaac Plumb wardens, George Parish, Louis Hasbrouck, David Ford, David C. Judson, Andrew McCol- lom, Junius Walton, Richaid W. Colfax, and Silvester Gil- bert vestrymen. The first report to the bishop was that of 1 5 members. In 1 82 1 it was resolved to build a stone church edifice ; and, in the same year. Rev. L. Carter was invited to a temporary charge, which he immediately assumed, and on the 10th of August, 1821, he laid the cornerstone on a lot of ground given for that purpose by David and George Parish. In October, 1823, the building was opened for worship. In 1824 the Rev. Addison Searle and Rev. Mr. Beardsley were called to take temporary charge of the con- gregation, and in 1825 the first measures were adopted by the vestry for the erection of the present rectory. In the same year the Rev. Mr. Todd accepted the charge of the parish. In 1830 the Rev. Nathaniel Huse was called to the parochial charge, and in 1833 the Rev. Richard Bury was chosen to a temporary charge. In 1838 the Rev. Francis Tremayne became the minister ; and in 1836 the Rev. William Barton became the first rector, and continued until 1839, when he resigned, and the Rev. Mr. Brayton was temporarily employed. In 1840 the Rev. H. R. Peters was invited to the rectorship, and still remains. In HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 185 1843 the churoli was thoroughly repaired, enlarged, and made to assume its present appearance. This work was un- dertaken by Hon. H. Van Rensselaer, one of the wardens, who very liberally proposed to make the addition, and carry up the tower to a proportionate height, in considera- tion of the additional pews. This inci-eased the length 30 feet, making its present dimensions 90 by 42 feet, and the church is capable of seating from 500 to 600. In conse- quence of the growth of the congregation, further additions, or a new edifice, will ere long be needed. The rectory ad- joins the church in the same inclosure, is of stone, and was built on land given by George Parish. There is a large bell in the tower, and the church contains a fine organ.* (Written in 1852.) In the year 1869 the vestry resolved to remove the old church and parsonage, and to build a more commodious place of worship on the same site. In the spring of 1870 the work on the new church was commenced, and on the 27th of July, 1871, the Bishop of Albany consecrated the finished building in the presence of 23 clergymen and a vast congregation. This church is perhaps the finest and costliest in the northern part of the State. It was designed by Knilen T. Littell, of New York, and is of the early decorated Gothic style of architecture. The plan comprises chancel, nave, aisles, tower, organ-chamber, sacristy, and porch. The extreme dimensions are 150 feet by 75 feet. The main entrance is througli the tower, which rises 110 feet, and is crowned by angles and intermediate pinnacles, forming a striking feature in the view of the city from any quarter. The entrance-door is canopied, the canopy surmounted by a cross, and flanked by triple columns. The crowning pinnacles of the tower are con- nected by an open stone parapet. The body of the church is divided into nave and aisles. There are eight bays separated by buttresses and lighted with lancet-windows, five of which are filled with handsome subject-glass, in memory of late members of the parish. The clerestory has two traceried windows to each bay, and the arches of the clerestory wall are supported by coupled wrought-iron columns, with capi- tals of cast metal, from the foliage of which the gas-jets project. The chancel is 30 feet in depth and 25 in width, with apsidal termination. On the south side of the ch.in- cel is the organ-chamber, and on the north side of the sac- risty, adjoining the organ-chamber and sacristy in the easternmost bay, are side-porches. The roof is partly open, with arched ribs and moulded panels in the ceiling. From the junction of the arched ribs in the chancel a corona depends. The church is wainscoted with white-ash, with black walnut mouldings, the wainscoting in the apse being deeply paneled, with trefoiled heads in the panels. The seats are of white-ash, with black walnut rails, and the chancel farniture is of black walnut. The church is built of the dark-blue calciferous sandstone found at Ogdens- burg, and the string-corners, arches, and trimmings gener- ally are of light-buff Ohio freestone, forming a striking and brilliant contrast. The roofs are slated with purple and » The history of the church to 1862 was furnished for Dr. Hough's work by Rev. Mr. Peters, the additional material by Rev. Mr. Mor- rison. 24 red Vermont slate, in equal proportions, with a small amount of green slate, all laid in harmonious patterns. The ridges are surmounted by iron castings, and the gables crowned with iron crosses, all finished in blue and gold. The gen- eral effect of the whole edifice is that of solid and seemly stateliness, and its acoustic properties arc perfect. It is at present seated for about 1000 persons, and, if necessary, the accommodation can be somewhat increased. The cost of the building was between $70,000 and 180,000. In 1875, St. John's chapel was built to the south and rear of the church, after the plans of the eminent archi- tect who had designed the church. So happily was the scheme carried out that both buildings seem parts of one original, design. The chapel contains a lecture-room de- signed to accommodate about 325 persons, two commodious school-rooms, with adjoining class-rooms, besides guild- rooms, etc. The total cost was about $12,000. In the year 1872, Dr. H. R. Peters having resigned the rectorate, the Rev. H. W. Beers, D.D., was called by the vestry, and entered on his duties as rector in June of that year. In March, 1875, Dr. Beers resigned his post to take charge of a church in the city of San Francisco, and in the following June, Rev. J. D. Morrison, the present rector, was called to the position. The church has on its roll be- tween 350 and 400 communicants, and there are some 280 children connected with the Sunday-school. In connection with the church there are several institutions devoted to charity and to education. St. John's guild, organized by the rector in 1876, among various branches of parish work with which it is charged, cares for the poor through its district visitors and Dorcas society, distributing hundreds of dollars and large quantities of food and clothing to the necessitous annually. St. John's orphanage, organized in the spring of 1877, receives and cares for orphan children, without distinction of creed or name. St. John's high school, established by the rector in 1870, is intended to furnish a thorough grammar school or academic training to pupils. Though still in its infancy, the school has already won many friends. The present master is Rev. Geo. C. Griswold, who is also the rector's assistant. The clergy of this church, in addition to their parish duties, have been carrying on a successful mission work in the adjoining township of Lisbon. The current expenses of the church during the last year (including an annuity of $1000, which is secured to Dr. Peters for life) amounted to somewhat more than $5000. During that time more than $2000 was also given to various charities, besides large sums for parish improvements. Considering the manner in which it responds to its obligations in the present season of financial depression, when so many enterprises are prostrated, it is not diffioult to see that a future of great and vigorous usefulness is in store for St. John's church, Ogdensburg. The following are the dates when the several parishes in St. Lawrence County were admitted into union with the diocesan convention (some of them had been in existence for some years previous to the dates given) : St. John's, Og- densburg, 1820 ; St. Paul's, Waddington, 1824 ; Christ 186 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. church, Norristown, 1833; Trinity, Potsdam, 1835; Grace church. Canton, 1836; Grace church, Norfolk, 1844; St. John's, Massena, 1870 ; St. Luke's, Lisbon, 1871 ; Trinity, Gouverncur, 1869. St. Thomas' church, Lawrenceville, and Trinity chapel, Morley, — the latter one of the most perfect specimens of a rural church to be found anywhere, — and nearly a score of missions, should be added to the above list. Everywhere the work is growing rapidly. SAINT mart's (ROJIAN CATHOLIC) CATHEDRAL. The advent of the Catholic religion in the region now occupied by St. Lawrence County, dates back to the year 1749, when Father Francis Picquet,* a French missionary, of the order of Sulpicians, established a mission-house, and erected a strong stockade, defended by a few small guns, near the ground now occupied by the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg railway depot in Ogdensburg. Succeeding him, in 1760, was Father Le Garde, who was with M. Pouchot in Fort Levis during the siege by Gen. Amherst, and who afterwards died at Montreal. Whether a mission was maintained here subsequent to the conquest by the English we have been unable to ascertain. The earliest communicants were mostly Indians of the Onondaga tribe of the Five Nations, converted by De Lamberville, Father Picquet, and other missionaries, and induced to emigrate from central New York and- settle on the banks of the St. Lawrence, where Ogdensburg now stands, but then known to the Indians as Oswegntcliie, or Swegatchie, and named by Father Picquet ■' La Presenta- tion." Over the door of his mission-house the Rev. Father caused a stone tablet to be inserted, bearing the Latin in- scription : " In nomine -\- Dei omnipotentis Hide habitationi initia dedit Fran's. Picquet, 1749." When the post was destroyed by the French, in 1760, this tablet was left among the ruins, where it remained until 1831, in which year it was unearthed, and some years later, upon the erection of the State arsenal, was inserted over the south entrance, where it still may be seen. From about the close of the French war it is probable that there was no regular mission maintained, and the place was without the ordinances of the Christian religion until about 1831-32, when missionaries began to make occasional visits to the then village of Ogdensburg ; about which date, or perhaps a little later, a small stone chapel was erected on the lot adjoining west of the cathedral of St. Mary. The first resident priest was Rev. Father James Salmon, who came about 1 832-33. The next was Rev. Father David S. Bacon, about 1839, and he was succeeded by Rev. Father James Mackay, in December, 1840. Under Father Mackay's care a church was organized and incorporated Nov. 29 1848. The original trustees were James Kennedy, Daniel Burns, and James McNally. In 1852, Father Mackay had met with sufiBcient encouragement to enable him to erect the present substantial and imposing edifice. It is constructed of the dark-colored oalciferous sandstone found in the vicinity, and is an honor to the society and an orna- « For sketch of Father Picquet, see General History, ante. ment to the church architecture of the city. A large and convenient vestry- room was added in the rear in 1872. When Father Mackay first came to Ogdensburg he was placed in charge of the entire Catholic population of St. Lawrence County, which now requires the services of sixteen priests for its accommodation. He was continued in this position for about twenty-five years, since which he has given his time to the congregation in Ogdensburg.t A female school was established in connection with the church as early as 1 848, and a fine stone school building afterwards erected. This school is under the control and tuition of the " Sisters of Charity^ A school for males was also opened in the springof 1877, and an excellent and commodious building of brick erected during the same year. This school is conducted by the brothers of the order " Clerks of St. Viateur.'' Both these institutions have been put in successful operation, and the buildings erected, under the superintendence of the Very Reverend James Mackay, V.G., which titles he has earned by a long and laborious series of years spent in the service of the " mother church." The schools combined have an average attend- ance of four hundred pupils, and are in a flourishing con- dition. Ogdensburg was erected into a bishopric in 1872. In May of the same year the Right Rev. Bishop E. P. Wad- hams located here as assistant bishop for the diocese. For many years past there has been no remarkable in- crease of the number of communicants to St. Mary's, owing principally to the lack of foreign immigration, and the slow increase of population. The number is kept good mostly by additions from the rising generation. The erection of a bishopric, and the residence of the principal magnate of the diocese in Ogdensburg, together with the popularity of Father Blackay, give the churches an added dignity and importance which undoubtedly contribute greatly to their growth and prosperity. The average number of communicants of St. Mary's cathedral is 1200 to 1300. On remarkable occasions it has been as high as 1 600. The congregation is mostly made up from the Irish population of Ogdensburg and vicinity, which is probably 1500 or more. The property belonging to St. Mary's cathedral is quite valuable, being among the best in the city. The total value of church and school property in Ogdensburg belonging to the Catholics approxi- mates 8100,000. ST. JOHN BAPTIST — FRENCH CATHOLIC CHURCH. A congregation was organized under the above title on the 24th of April, 1859, by Father J. B. Lemercier. It included most of the French families then living in and around Ogdensburg, and during the first year the rev. father reported sixty additions by baptism. Father Le- mercier remained until his death, which occurred on the 12th of Dec, 1863. He was buried in the church on the 5th of January following. During his pastorate he erected the fine brick edifice now occupied by the congregation, and also the parsonage adjoining. t During Father Mackay's residence in Ogdensburg he has erecti'd five churches in the county : at Ogdensburg, Potsdam, Canton, Wad- dington, and Rossie. HISTORY OF ST. LA.WRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 187 Father Lemercier was a native of Nantes, in France. From the date of his death until October, 1864, there was no permanent pastor, but services were conducted by various priests who visited Ogdensburg from other stations. At the last-mentioned date Father Renauld was settled as pas- tor, and remained until June, 1866. He was also from France. He was succeeded in July, 1866, by Father L. Griffa, an Italian by birth, who continued until June, 1867, when he was succeeded by Father George Jeannotte, who officiated with great acceptability until March, 1877, when the present pastor. Rev. Father P. 0. La Rose, who had been an assistant to Father Jeannotte for four years, suc- ceeded him. Both the last-named gentlemen are natives of the province of Ontario, from near Montreal. The first meetings of the society were held in Eagle hall for some time, and for a .short period in the " Mansion," now occupied by the Gray Nans as a convent. The church edifice is a large and commodious structure of brick, and can accommodate 1400 people. It is furnished with a fine organ and bell, and stands in a very commanding situation, overlooking the city and the St. Lawrence. The total cost of the church, parsonage, and grounds has been about $10,000. In connection with this church are two free schools, one for males and one for females. The former is located on Ford street, and is under the control of the brothers of the order "Clerks of St. Viateur" who also have charge of a similar school connected with the St. Mary's cathe- dral. The pupils number 250. The female school is con- ducted by the Gray Nuns, and the number of pupils is about 120. The Catholics have also two convents in Ogdensburg. One established by the " Clerks of St. Viateur," from Joliet, near Montreal, about 1872, and having a school in connection known as " St. Philip Neri's Boarding Academy," in which tuition fees are charged ; and the other, " Convent of our Lady of Victory," established at an earlier date, by the " Gray Nuns." Rev. Cyril Fournier, C.S.V., is su- perior of the Ford street convent, which has ten brothers ; and Mother de Chantel is lady superior of the convent of " Our Lady of Victory" adjoining the French church. The latter institution is established in a large building originally erected by a prominent citizen for a family dwelling. The property owned by the Catholics in Ogdensburg is kept in excellent condition, and evinces in every way a most thorough and careful supervision. The Catholic population of the city is between four and five thousand, of whom three thousand are French, connected with St. John's church ; the remainder being mostly Irish, and communi- cants at St. Mary's cathedral. The number of regular com- municants at St. John's is about 2000. The French church is situated almost within a stone's throw of the site of Father Picquet's mission-house erected in 1749, but instead of the vast wilderness that surrounded the latter are now the well-cultivated fields and comfortable homes of an in- telligent and industrious people ; and in the place of the dusky sons and daughters of the forest who made up Father Picquet's congregation are the sons and daughters of those pioneers of New France who first planted the cross in the wilds of the St. Lawrence. A busy city has grown up on the ground occupied by La Presentation, and the steam - whistle wakes the echoes where in the early day was heard the war-whoop of the Iroquois. YOUNG men's christian ASSOCIATION. This organization was formed Jan. 19, 1877, the old association, organized about 1872, having disbanded. The officers of the present association are : President, J. B. Johnson ; First Vice-President, Charles McClair ; Second Vice-President, E. S. Lane ; Corresponding Secretary, M. J. Ives ; Recording Secretary, W. J. Knox ; Treasurer, A. M. Partridge. Booms have been fitted up on the third floor of the Gilbert block, corner of Ford and State streets, including a chapel and free reading-room. The chapel is tastily furnished, and contains an Estey " Boudoir" organ. The reading-room contains a small library of standard, his- torical, and religious works, and about fifteen papers and magazines are taken, including the prominent dailies and weeklies, the standard monthlies, and the most prominent religious papers. Tiie active and associate membership, Deo. 24, 1877, was ninety-five. EEMAKKABLE WEATHER. It is worthy of record that the fall and winter of 1877—78 were the mildest known on the St. Lawrence for the past sixty years. The rivers were open as late as Jan. 1, 1878, and there had been no snow to remain up to that date. STEAMER EXCURSION. On the first day of January the steamer "Armstrong," Captain Plumb, made an excursion from Ogdensburg and Prescott to Brockville and return, a circumstance before unheard of in this region. CEMETERIES. The first ground occupied for burial purposes within the present limits of the city of Ogdensburg was on the high ground west of the Oswegatchie river, on the block east of the French church, where, possibly, burials were made by Father Picquet as early as 1749-50, and certainly by the British garrison, which subsequently occupied the post of Oswegatchie, from 1760 to 1796. A burying-ground formerly occupied the present beauti- ful site of Hamilton park, but upon the organization of the present cemetery association, in 1847, this was discontinued for purposes of sepulture, and the remains were mostly transferred to the new grounds. The Ogdensburg cemetery association was incorporated July 26, 1847, with the following persons as trustees: George N. Seymour, Elijah B. Allen, John Fine, Collins A. Burnham, Edwin Clark, David C. Judson, William Brown, Amos Bacon, and James G. Hopkins. It was dedicated on the 18th of September, 1847, by the clergy and citizens, and an address was delivered by the Hon. John Fine. The grounds are situated on the Oswegatchie river, a little south of the city limits. The amount origin- ally purchased was about ten acres, but subsequent pur- chases have brought the total up tu about thirteen acres. This cemetery is tastefully laid out with numerous carriage- 188 HISTOKY OF ST. LAWEENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. roads and walks, and is beautifully ornamented with shade- trees and shrubbery, and contains many fine monuments. It is about twenty-five feet above ordinary water in the Oswegatchie river, and the ground is a sandy loam, the best possible composition of soil for the purposes required. The present officers of the association are as follows : President, Elijah White ; Vice-President, Walter B. Allen ; Secre- tary and Treasurer, Charles Lum. The board of trustees consists of the following gentlemen : Elijah White, W. B. Allen, Charles Lum, James Gr. Averill, John D Judson, Wm. L. Proctor, G. R. Bell, D. Seymour, and Alden Vilas. The Catholics of Ogdensburg possess two fine cemeteries; one belonging to the congregation of St. Mary's cathedral, and situated south of the Ogdensburg cemetery, the other belonging to the French population, located on the west side of the Oswegatchie. They are both tastefully laid out and kept in fine order. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. HON. NATHAN FORD. Nathan Ford was born at Morristown, N. J., Deo. 8, 17C3, and, having at an early age lost both parents, ho spent his childhood with his paternal grandfather, Jacob Ford, and remained, after the death of the latter in 1777, with the family, receiving but a common education. In 1779-80, he, though a youth of but seventeen, solicited a service in the continental armies, and obtained and faith- fully discharged the duties of a.ssistant-deputy quarter- master-general during the memorable winter of suiFering in which the American army lay encamped on the hills back of Morristown. While still a young man, he obtained the confidence of several of the parties who had, many of them, been ofiicers in the Revolution, and who had become in- terested in the land speculations of Northern New York, and was sent by them in 1794 and 1795 to explore the northern part of the State, where they had made their purchases, and also to examine and report upon several of the islands near Kingston, which they were proposing to purchase upon speculation. We have given some of the details of the settlement at Oswegatchie, from which it will be learned that he was a man of indomitable energy and force of character, which proved adequate to the trying emergencies which surrounded him, and which would have discouraged common men from proceeding. The OswRgatchie Indians often proved an- noying, especially when stimulated by ardent spirits, and on one occasion a number of them in the night-time entered the old stone garrison which he inhabited, seized Dick, his negi-o slave, and were about to put him into the fire which was burning in the room, but the cries of the frightened negro aroused Mr. Ford, who seized his sword, and, without waiting to dress, he rushed into the room and succeeded, with the help he as.sembled, in drivinu- out the intruders. This affair probably oecuried in a drunken row for after the Indians had been driven from the house they began to quarrel among themselves, and one Battise, said to be a chief of the tribe, got stripped and beaten till he was nearly dead. During the night he knocked at the door of Mr. Lyon for admission, and was allowed to enter and spend the night on the floor. In the morning, as he arose to depart, he stooped down to the hearth, blackened both hands with coal, and rubbing them over hts face, he, with a whoop and a bound, sallied forth to avenge the injuries he had received on the previous night. These Indians were peculiarly addicted to intemperance, having for many years resided near a post where liquors were easily procured, and in consequence frequent quarrels arose among them, and the night was often made hideous by their bacchanalian riots and yelling. Two or three of their number got killed at these revels in 1796-7. Early in 1803 a dispute concerning timber on Ogden's island, alluded to elsewhere, had reached such a pitch that life was threatened, and the affair necessarily came under the notice of Judge Ford, who wrote to Governor Clinton as follows : "Upon my arrival here, I availed myself of the first safe oppor- tunity to forward the letter (your excellency did me the honor to commit to my care) to the chiefs of the St. Regis village. Upon inquiry, I found they had carried a very high hand respecting the island busi- ness, a.nd absolutely went so far as to threaten the taking of scalps.. This threat was made by Gray, and was previous to Judge Edsall's sending the express forward. Upon my being informed of this out- rngeous conduct I wrote Gray a letter upon the subject, and wished to know how he durst throw out such threats against the citizens of this State, and told him it was absolutely necessary for him to come forward and make such concessions as conduct like this required; that harmony and good understanding the citizens of this country were willing to cultivate, but threats like this they would be far from submitting to, and the sooner he gave satisfactory explanations upon the subject the sooner harmony would be restored. Had he resided in the county or State, as a magistrate I should have pursued a different method with him. Colonel Lewis, who was on his way home from Oneida (and who had not seen your excellency's letter to the chiefs, or mine to Gray), called upon me. I explained to him the subject of your ex- cellency's letter, and also mine to Gray. I told him it was a matter of astonishment that he and Gray should have to act in such open defiance of the laws of the State as they had done respecting the sale of the timber upon the island ; had it been by common Indians, some little apology mighthave been made for them, but for him and Gray there certainly could he none, because they knew better, and they as certainly could have no doubt resting upon their minds as to the islands being comprehended in the sale of those lands to the State; and ivs an evidence, that at the time of the treaty be and Gray applied to your excellency to know if the islands would not be taken possession of before the corn which was then upon them would be fit to gather. This was too strong a circumstance to admit of a quibble, and too well grounded in their recollection to be denied. He attempted a weak apology, and concluded by saying ho hoped good understand- ing would not bo broken up, and that similar conduct would not take place. I then stated to him Gniy's threats, and the necessity there was of his coming forward and making satisfactory acknowledgments, which should be made as public as his threats had been. This he assured me he should do; and accordingly Gray came up, and, after making the fullest recantation, declared he never meant or intended harm to any of the citizens of this State, and that he must have been in liquor when so unguarded an expression escaped him, and hoped the thing might be overlooked. I then talked with him upon the subject of the island. He did not pretend but that the islands were contained in the sales to the State, but attempted to apologize by im- pressing the idea of a grant made to the St. Eegis people of that particular island by the Oswegatchie Indians. I found no difficulty to confound him in this specious pretext, for it has been his and Lewis' uniform declaration to me that the Oswegatchie Indians never was born in Orange, Worcester Co., Mass., April lY, 1791. He was the fifth child, in a family of seven children, of James and Phebe Allen, both natives of the same State, — the former of Acton, the latter of Mendon. His father was a cloth-manufacturer by trade, and through his busi- ness was enabled to support his family and give his children the advantages of a common-school education. He carried out very strictly the principles of family training inherited from Puritan ancestry, being a descendant, in the fourth generation, from James Allen, who emigrated from Eng- land, and settled near Boston, Mass. His father and grand- father were both soldiers of the Kevolutionary War, were at the battle of Bunker Hill, and served in the American army until the close of the war. At the age of fifteen, Elijah went to Worcester to learn the mercantile business with his uncle, Samuel Brazier, but soon after went to Mendon, where he engaged with his cousin, John Tyler, in the dry- goods business. At the age of nineteen he was sent to the city of Charleston, S. C, to take charge of a branch store pf Mr. Tyler's, where he remained until the breaking out pf the War of 1812, leaving that city on account of the embargo placed upon the port, preventing the landing of goods. He married Miss Harriet, daughter of David and Nancy Ann Seymour, the former a native of Hartford, Conn., and the latter a native of Massachusetts. After his mar- riage, in Springfield, Vt., he went to Albany, where he established himself in the wholesale mercantile business, which he carried on for several years. Being much inter- ested in the fur trade, he went to Chicago, which then had only a few log houses and a small garrison to protect the traders of the post. He remained there only two years, and went to Sault St. Mary, Mich., another post for the fur trade, where he was successful in his business operations for some seven years. In the year 1827 he came with his family and settled in Photo, by Dow, Ogdensburg. Ogdensburg, where he opened a general mercantile busi- ness. With the increasing prosperity of Ogdensburg, and the increase in trade, he enlarged his business. Keeping pace with the demand, he opened a wholesale grocery and tea house, trading mostly with Canada, some branches of which he maintained until his death, Feb. 16, 1869. He was interested in the old river steamer " United States," the first that made regular, reliable trips up and down the St. Lawrence. He was also interested in the control of the steamers " Oneida" and "St. Lawrence." The boating trade of the river increased until the steamboat company, of which Mr. Allen was elected president, had placed upon the river and lake eleven elegant and commodious steamers. He was largely interested in building the Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain Railroad. His ambition for the public improvements looking towards the increase of trade for his city and the extension of its borders was such that he lost laro-e sums of money in trying to put forward the first Rome and Ogdensburg Railroad, and also in the establish- ment of the Marine Railway, an enterprise which must always prove a benefit to the city. During his business career in Ogdensburg he was largely interested in the river trade, and, before the establishment of railroads, did a very extensive business as a forwarding and shipping mer- chant. Among the business men of his county none were more active. In politics, Mr. Allen was first identified with the Whig, afterwards with the Republican party ; he never solicited public office, or neglected his business for any political preferment. He was a liberal contributor to both church and school interests, and largely assisted in the erection of the Presbyterian church edifice of his city, of which body of Christians he and his wife were members to the time of their death. She has passed away, but her many virtues are still remembered by her friends, and firmly impressed upon the minds of her children. Photo, by Dow, Ogdensburg, CHARLES LYON. The subject of this sketch was born at Fort A.nn, Wash- ington Co., N. Y., Oct. 30, 1814, and at the time when his parents, John and Patience Lyon, were on a visit to her native county. His father, for his first wife, married Miss Betsey Blanchard, 1808, by whom he had one son, David C, who is a graduate of Union college, and a Presbyterian minister of St. Paul, Minnesota. She died April 9, 1810. By his second wife he had seven children, — Harvey, Charles, Roby Ann, John Smith, Mary Jane, George, and Aaron. Of these, only three are living, — Harvey, Charles, and G-eorge, — the first a resident of Hammond, this county, the latter a resident of St. Joseph, Missouri. Charles, the subject of this memoir, resides in the city of Ogdensburg. His father by occupation carried on farming, but also en- gaged largely in the lumber business. Charles very early in life assisted his father in his business as a lumberman during the winter season, and in the summer season worked on the farm. From the time he was thirteen to fifteen years of age he had become so schooled in business as to take charge of his father's lumber-yard. He then spent one year in school at the academy in Ogdensburg. At the age of nineteen he went to New York city, and remained one year as clerk in a wholesale dry goods store. He then went to Albany, where he remained for three years in the fur store of Gan- sevoort Melville, when he succeeded him in the fur business under the firm-name of Lyon & Cheesebro, which firm con- tinued in business for four years, when Mr. Lyon returned to Ogdensburg and engaged in the lumber business, which to a greater or less extent he has followed down to the present time. Soon after returning from Albany he pur- chased the farm settled by his grandfather when he first came to this county, which he made his residence for some twenty years, and during the time of his residence there he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of timber land ad^ joining and a part of the original land purchase of Judge Nathan Ford, at that time owned by the heirs of the judge. Since that time he has caused to be cleared oyer sixteen hundred acres of original timber land, making some forty- eight thousand cords of wood after the sawing timber had been taken off, which in the aggregate amounted to some eleven million feet. This land after being cleared he has sold for farming lands. He has owned some twenty-eight hundred acres, and after his sales still retains some seven- teen hundred acres. He is also a large real estate owner in the city. Among the business men of Ogdensburg no one is more active, no one takes a greater interest in build- ing up and beautifying the city, and years after he has left all these interests his works will stand as monuments of his industry and ambition. In the year 1836, Dec. 19, while at Albany, he married Miss Maria, daughter of Henry and Maria Vandenburg, of that city, but who was born in Cort- land Co., N. Y., May 22, 1813. Her father was a native of Coxsackie, on the Hudson, and her grandfather was a native of Holland. To Mr. and Mrs. Lyon were born six children, — Mary Sprague, Martha Safford, David Howard, Emma Sophia and Anna Maria (twins), and Ella Louise. All are living except Martha Safford, who died in infancy. Mrs. Lyon united with the Second Presbyterian church of Albany, under Dr. Chester, when she was only thirteen years of age, and is now a member of the Presbyterian church of Ogdensburg. Careful in the instruction of her children, her lessons of morality will live with them, years after she has passed away. Mr. Lyon for some fbrty-eight years has been connected with the same church with his wife, has been very actively engaged in Sabbath-school work for over a halftcentury, and becomes more endeared to that interest as years increase. In politics he is a Re- publican, first casting his vote in the old Whig party. He was never solicitous of office, and although held in higi* esteem by liis fellow-citizens, and political preferii)eiif offered, yet he shrank from publicity. Once, ho\vever, he wfis elected supervisor, in which office he served one term, Liberal in his views, he is also liberal in ^^^ assistance in every enterprise looking to the building up of good society and the support of churches and schools. He has always taken a deep interest in the agricultural interests of biS county, and has been prominently identified W''"'' t''l§ society froin its early days. Photo, by Kent, Eocliester, CHARLES G. MYERS was born at Madrid, St. Lawrence County, Feb. 17, 1810. His father was of German, his mother of Scottish, pater- nity. They settled on a farm on the St. Lawrence river in 1800, where Charles G. was born, the youngest of three children. The eldest, James C, born in 1799, is now active and vigorous, and still resides on the homestead farm. The second, Lucretia, was distinguished for fine literary ability and piety, and died in 1826. The subject of this sketch, at the age of ten years, entered the St. Lawrence Academy at Potsdam, and continued there for about five years, during which time he attained a fair knowledge of the classics and the ordinary academic course. At the age of sixteen he entered the law-office of Gouverneur and William Ogden, at Waddington, St. Lawrence County, and there and at the then village of Rochester, Monroe Co., com- pleted the term of clerkship then required for admission to the bar, and was admitted as attorney-at-law and solicitor in Chancery at the October term, 1832, at Albany. In 1833 he formed a partnership with Hon. Ransom H. Gillet, then member of congress for his district, residing at Ogdensburg, and at once entered upon the active practice of his profession, being brought forward more rapidly than was then usual, by reason of the continued absence of his senior in congress. In 1844 he was commissioned Surrogate, and served four years ; in 1848 was Member of Assembly, 1st district ; in 1847 was elected District Attorney, and re-elected, serving as such until January 1, 1854; in 1859 he was elected Attorney-General. In 1861, as a member of the Military Board, he participated in the organization of thirty thousand troops. For his participation therein see the " Military Reports, 1862." In 1863-64 he served as chairman of the military committee of his senatorial district, and greatly aided the organization of the 95th, 106th, and 142d regi- ments of volunteers. In 1873 he was appointed Canal Appraiser on nomination of Gov. Dix, which office he still holds. A Democrat from his youth, in 1847, as a "Barn- burner," he attended the Herkimer convention. In the assembly, in 1848, he moved the Wilmot Proviso, amend- ing the resolution for the admission of Texas. Opposed from the first to the extension of slavery into fi'ee territory, he joined the Republican party at its organization, and has continued with it ever since. Mr. Myers, politically, was entitled to a much higher position than he ever secured, and in the estimation of his friends his ability and sterling honesty should have given him greater political preferment. Independent in thought, followed by judicious action, yet far above any underhanded measure to accomplish his objects, he is unswerving and .faithful to principle, irrespective of men. In the circle of his acquaintance he stands a peer among his associates, having great consideration for others in pre- ference to himself; gentlemanly, unpretentious ; and in his own family, especially, his social qualities are pre-eminent. He never led opposition to any enterprise tending to benefit society, educate the rising generation, or establish it upon a religious basis ; but always gave encouragement to ambition rightly directed, and to pure motives apparent in others. He is among the prominent members of the bar of his county, and particularly distinguished as a safe and wise counselor. In 1836 he married Miss Frances Ann Ranney, by whom he had two sons and two daughters. George R., his eldest son, was colonel of the 18th New York Volunteers in the War of the Rebellion, who, after his term of service ex- pired, was breveted brigadier-general for meritorious ser- vices. His second son, Charles McC, is a lawyer, and a partner with his father. His eldest daughter, Frances A., married Mr. George A. Eddy, of the N. T. Company, and his youngest, Mary, is unmarried. Photo, by Dow, Ogdenabiirg. (^^M4.^^A^ was born in the town of Oswegatchie, St. Lawrence County, Oct. 3, 1827. He was the eldest son of a family of three children of Ira and Almira H. Chapin. The former was a native of Connecticut, the latter of Herkimer county ; her maiden name was Pinney, and she w^ a daughter of Judge Pinney, who married a daughter of an Indian chief of the Mohawk tribe. Judge Pinney came to Oswegatchie as early as 1808 with his family, and he and his wife were both buried in the village of Heuvelton. His father belonged to the large family of Chapins of the New England States, who are descendants from English stock, and came to St. Lawrence County with his father, John Chapin, during the pioneer days of the county's history. He first settled at Ogdensburg. His father was engaged in the lumbering business in the earlier part of his life, but subsequently followed farming, which he carried on until his death in the year 1842, aged fifty-two years. The father died when Edward J. was only fifteen years old. The mother, with due consideration and fore- thought for the future prosperity of her children, educated her third son, Alexander P., for a doctor ; he graduated at Castleton, Vermont ; opened the practice of his profession at Matamoras, Mexico, but only lived some six years thereafter, and died at the age of thirty years, in the year 1858. The second son, Gaylord P., was educated for a lawyer ; gradu- ated at Middlebury College, Vermont ; was admitted to practicehis profession about the year 1854 ; became promi- nently identified during his short career with the bar of Ogdensburg, but only lived about four years after he was admitted to the bar, and died in the year 1856, aged thirty years. In the year 1854 the mother died. After the death of the entire family, except the subject of this memoir, Edward J. (having previously man- aged farm matters with his mother, and assisted in the education of his two brothers), at about the time of the death of his second brother, was appointed undcr-sheriiF of his county, which office he retained for some nine years, and during the entire time discharged the duties of the office to the satisfaction of the people, and with such honor to himself, that at the end of this time he was elected sheriff, which office he enjoyed for the term allowed by law. For the next six years immediately following he was under-sheriff. He was in 1873 again elected sheriff for his second term, which term of office expired Jan. 1, 1877, making in all twenty-one years' continual service as under- sheriff and sheriff. He was chief of police of Ogdens- burg from its incorporation as a city, May, 1868 (with the exception of one year), until August, 1877. In his early manhood days he was a member of the Whig party, and from the time of his first vote began to take an active part in politics. Upon the formation of the Eepublican party he united with its principles and adopted its platform, and has since unswervingly stood firm in its ranks. In 1870 he married Miss Jemima, daughter of Benjamin and Sarah Nevin, of this city. Her father was of Irish birth, and came to America at the age of nineteen years, and settled in the town of Brasher, in 1817. Her mother was a native of New Hampshire, her maiden name being Woodbury. Mr. Chapin's public career has been such as to gain the full confidence not only of his own political friends, but also of those opposed to him in politics. Unassuming, he despises the man who engages in anything underhanded to accomplish any object; scrupulously honest, and a man of sterling integrity. HISTOKY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 189 -had any claim wliatovei- to lands in thia part of the State, conse- quently they could not grant an island in the river. In consequence of his excellency's letter, the husiness of the island I hope is happily concluded, and I hope a similar occasion will not present itself. I consider it proper to give your excellency the earliest information upon this subject, and it was but yesterday that Gray came forward." Mr. Ford was appointed first judge, which ofiice he held for many years, and in this capacity he ever evinced that promptness and decision, joined with sound judgment, that rendered him peculiarly valuable to the public, and a terror to evil-doers. In politics he was Federal, and although he denounced the policy of the war, his course was such as to secure the confidence of the officers stationed at Ogdens- burg, and he was particularly useful in dissuading from predatory incursions for plundering, which led only to re- taliations. For several years previous to his death, which occurred in April, 1829, his constitution had been yielding to the insiduous approaches of consumption, but the vigor of his mind remained unimpaired, and he continued to feel a deep interest in public afiairs, after his strength had de- nied him the power of taking part in them. He had seen and felt the first feeble beginnings of a colony which had grown up to a populous and thriving town, and the howling wilderness, traversed only by savages and wild beasts, trans- formed into cultivated fields and inhabited by an intelligent and prosperous people. With the progress of a third of a century before him, he looked forward into coming years, and, with the prophetic faith natural to his employment, I'ealized in his mental vision the change which a century would work in the condition of the country around him. Some time before his death, a friend, conversing on this subject, asked him if, in his dreams, the future aspect of the town ever presented itself The idea instantly struck him, and with an energy beyond his strength, and an eye kindling with enthusiasm, he replied, " Dream? I see it 1 A rich and populous ci/y! A wide extent of country covered with houses ; a harbor crowded with the fleet of the lakes !" He then went on and in glowing language por- trayed the coming greatness and opulence which natural advantages were destined to confer upon the town. From the earliest period, Mr. Ford took the strongest interest iu the welfiire of the Presbyterian church in the village. In person, Mr. Ford was thin and slender, and his fea- tures are well represented iu the portrait given ; his eye possessed unusual brilliancy, and when excited by any topic that engaged his whole soul, it sparkled with enthusiasm and feeling. In his manners he was courteous and grace- ful, and his hospitality was of that elegant kind which, while it made its recipients at ease, gave them a sense of welcome, and a home feeling, so eminently pleasing to the guests. He was interred in the family vault, in the western part of the village, which is neatly enclosed in a wall, and the grounds within are suitably adorned with shrubbery. LOUIS HASBROUCK was the fifth in descent from a family of French Hugue- nots, who fled from France to Holland, and thence to New Yi)j-k, and settled on the Hudson, in the present town of New Paltz, Ulster county. He was born at New Paltz, on the banks of the Wallkill, April 22, 1777, and received his collegiate education at Nassau Hall, in Princeton, at which he graduated Sept. 25, 1797, and studied law in New York under Josiah Ogden Hofi'man and Cadwallader Colden. In August, 1801, he was admitted at Albany to practice in the supreme court, and, in September following, to the Ulster court of common pleas. While at Albany, at the time of his admission to the supreme court, he met with Judge Ford, and was persuaded to come to Ogdensburg to settle, and through the same influence he received an appointment as clerk of the county March 10, 1802. In June he arrived at Ogdensburg, and ofiiciated at the first court held in the old garrison in that month. He came by horseback, with others, through the Mohawk and Black river countries. He returned in October, and continued for two years to spend his winters below, and his summers in Ogdensburg. In May, 1804, he started, with the view of making a permanent residence, accompanied by his wife, brother, a lady cousin, and a female slave, and proceeded up the Mohawk valley and the Black river settlements, in a wagon, as far as Coffin's tavern, in West Carthage. It being impossible to proceed farther by wagon, he hired another horse of a Frenchman called Battise, and proceeded on from thence with throe horses to the five travelers. One of the horses was used as a pack-horse, and across it were laid two bags containing provision and clothing. Their outfit for a march of several days through a wilderness, with no guide but a line of marked trees, and only casual opportunities of procuring supplies from the huts of scat- tered settlers, consisted of some dried beef, a few lemons for making lemonade, hard crackers, and a little tea and sugar. For milk, bread, and other provisions, they trusted to the supplies they might procure along the road of the inhabitants, or kill in the forest with their fire-arms. Mr. Joseph Hasbrouck led the way, and the others followed in Indian file, adopting at times the practice of riding and tying, and at others mounting double. The route led through Wilna, Antwerp, and somewhere near the line of the Old State road to the Oswegatchie, at the present vil- lage of Heuvelton, where they crossed the river in a scow. Their first night was spent at Lewis's, their second at Lee's (now Mordecai Cook's, in Antwerp), their third at Bris- tol's (De Peyster's), and their fourth at the old garrison in Ogdensburg. The Hasbrouck mansion was erected the year previous, and finished in 1804. Mr. Hasbrouck moved for a few weeks into Judge Ford's building, at the garrison. Mr. Hasbrouck arrived in the infancy of its settlement, and commenced the practice of law in that vil- lage, which he continued till his death. He held the office of county clerk until 1817. During a period of thirty-two years, in which he saw the progressive and rapid rise of the county from a wilderness to a populous and prosperous dis- trict, he was intimately concerned with its business and its interests, and was extensively known to its citizens, by all classes of whom he was highly esteemed for the many ex- cellent qualities he possessed. With the purest rectitude of principle in all his conduct, he united a kindness and benevolence of disposition that made him alike respected and beloved by all. Modest and unpretending in his manners, he sou'i-ht not public distinction, and preferred the walks of 190 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. private life, from which he could not be prevailed to with- draw, until, at the fall election of 1832, he reluctantly consented to allow his political friends to nominate him for the office of senator of this State. To this office he was elected, and continued until his decease, which resulted from hydrothorax, on the 20th of August, 1834. The mem- bers of the bar of the county of St. Lawrence, resident in Ogdensburg, convened the day after, and testified their re- spect for the amiable character of the deceased by passing a series of resolutions highly expressive of their esteem for his merits and sorrow at his death, and followed in a body to his last resting-place the remains of the citizen whose memory it was their privilege to honor. The trustees of the village also called a meeting of the inhabitants to con- sider the proper measures to be taken for paying suitable respect to his memory. The meeting thus assembled adopted measures for testifying their sorrow and expressing their sympathy with the family of the deceased.* DR. J. W. SMITH was the first physician who settled in St. Lawrence County, at a period when the hardship.s of that laborious profession were unusually severe. The physician's avocation is always one of great responsibility, and requires for its successful prosecution the greatest amount of sagacity and skill ; but especially amid the privations of a new settlement, where conveniences fur the sick are sometimes not procurable, and the usual methods, from necessity, are supplanted by such as the exigencies of the moment may suggest, does it re- quire in a special manner the exercise of sound judgment and a prompt and judicious action. Dr. Smith was born at Cheshire, Mass., Feb. 22, 1781. His father removed from Cheshire to Addison, Vt., and died in the year 1791. He studied with Dr. Ebenezer Huntington, of Vergennes, in 1799, and completed his professional studies with Dr. Wil- liam Rose, at Middlebury, in 1802. In the following year he removed to Lisbon and commenced practice. Durino- the time he resided here his business extended to Madrid, Canton, and Oswegatchie, and was one of great hardship from the want of passable roads, and the great distance which he was compelled to travel, often on foot, from the impossibility of getting through otherwise, and exposed to the various vicissitudes incident to a new country. He has been known to travel on foot through the forest by torch- light, at night, without a road, to Canton, a distance of eighteen miles. In 1807 he removed to Ogdensburg, and became the first physician at that place. He was the first president of the county medical society, and continued to fill that office during a great part of the time till his death. He also held the office of loan commissioner for some time. He died at Ogdensburg July 4, 1835. The following tribute to his memory, published soon after his decease, is believed to be but a just picture of his life and character : "From the first settlement of the county to the close of his life his whole time and energies were devoted to his profession. He * Dr. Hough. underwent incredible fatigue in his extended practice in the country without roads, and never spared himself in his exertions to mitigate the pain of others j neither dangerous roads, or the darkness of night, or inclement weather, ever deterred him from attending to the calls of the sick, even though that call were by the most poor and profligate of our race; all will bear him wilness to his kindness, charity, and compassion. It was no selfish principle that prompted his exertions. The love of gain seemed to have no influence with him, for he habitually did himself great injustice, as well in respect to the amount of his charges ns in his reluctance to collect those he had made. He was undoubtedly a man of great science, skill, and judgment in his profession. Perhaps no physician ever had the uni- versal confidence both of his professional brethren and of his patients than Dr. Smith ,* at the bedside of a patient he was rarely mistaken, either in the disease or its appropriate remedy. To the poor and distressed he was the good Samaritan, and in the various relations of professional and private life he was ever found exemplary."-|- JOSEPH YORK, the second sheriff of St. Lawrence County, an active parti- san in the war of 1812-15, and a citizen who enjoyed to a great degree the esteem of the public, was born in Claren- don, Mass., Jan. 8, 1781, and removed, with his father's family, at an early age to Randolph, Vt. From thence he emigrated, in 1805, to Ogdensburg, and for three years lield the post of deputy-sheriff under Thomas J. Davies, when he succeeded that gentleman, and held the office of sheriff four years. At the battle of Feb. 22, 1813, he was residing in the court-house, and had care of the prisoners. Measures had been taken to raise a new company, and he was to have been one of its officers. He had charge of a cannon which was posted at the corner of Ford and Euphamia streets, and was the only person of his party who was not killed or wounded. He was captured and taken to Prescott, but soon after, at the intercession of his wife, he was paroled, and in a few weeks after exchanged. The prisoners in jail were set free on their own assertion that they were confined for political offenses, but upon being assured of the contrary they were mostly rearrested, and given up to Mr. York, who met the British authorities at the national boundary on the ice, in the middle of the St. Lawrence, and received them. Among these was one who had fled to Montreal upon his receiving his liberty, and was there captured. He had been confined on a charge of murder. During three successive years, Mr. York represented the county in the legislature. The town of York, in Livingston Co., N. Y., derives its name from him. He died on the 6th of May, 1827, at the age of forty-six, after a lingering illness of several months. Mr. York was a very public-spirited man, and especially in times of danger. or alarm he was one of those who placed himself in front, and by his word and example en- couraged others more timid or less qualified to think for themselves at moments of excitement. This was particu- larly the case in fires, on which occasion he never failed to take the lead in directing the means to be taken for sup- pressing the consuming element and in rescuing prop- erty.f t Dr. Hough. Photo, by Dow, Ogdensburg. The subject of this sketch was born at the village of Ogdensburg, St. Law- rence Co., N. T., on October 14, 1806. His father died soon jifter the birth of Preston, leaving to him a modest competence, and committing his son to the guardianship of the late Hon. Louis Hasbronck. Mr. King received his classical course, preparatory for college, at the St Lawrence academy, and entered Union college in 1821, whence be graduated with distinction. He pureued the study of the law in his native village with his guardian and tlie late Judge Fine, and was duly licensed as an attorney. He never practiced his profession. His inclination led him into thepoliticfil field. Ho soon became a writer upon and editor of the St. Lawrence Republican, a Democratic paper; and he ardently espoused and advocated the principles and measures then held and puiBuc'd by the Democratic party. In 1832 he was appointed postmaster at Ogdensburg, which office hii held for several years, and in 1834 he was elected a member of assembly, and was re- e!t-cted there sever.il consecutive times to that office. He at once took a foremost rank in the legislature as a radical, opposed to corporate monopolies, and in favor of hard money. His associates and com- panions in the legislature were Abijfih Mann, Samuel Toung, Richard Hulbert, and others of like opinions, and during his service he became an expert and accomplishtid parliamentarian, which stood him in good stead in after-life. His ardent love of Democratic institutions induced him, in 1837-38, to form the so-called "patriot" movement to sever Canada from Great Britain, and wheu that affair culminated in the unfortunate expedition of Von Schoultz, and his capture at "Windmill point," Mr. King headed an effort to rescue the luckless survivors, which was only defeated by the treachery of the messenger whom he sent to the men, urging them to eacape on his steamer. His failure to rescue these men weighed heavily on his spirits, and produced an illness from wliich he did not recover for several months. In 1845 he was elected a member of Congress, and twice, consecutively, re- elected to the same offiice. During these six years' service in the Hi^use he was distinguished as a cool, vigilant, and industrious member, and as a fearless and able advocate of "free s il, free speech, and free men." He is said to have beon the real author of the famous " Wilmot proviso," though with character- istic modesty he allowed another to offer it. After the close of his services in the House of Representatives he served as one of the commissioners of harbor improvement in the city of New York. During all this period, Mr. King had been a conspicuous member of the Democratic party in the State, and one of the trusted leaders of that division of the party then known as " Barnburners." When, in 1854, the Barnbui-ners, following the lead of the late John "Van Buren, surrendered the control of the party to the "Hunkers," and abandoned the doctrines of free soil, ami the "corner-stone," Mr. King became one of the prominent founders of the Republican party, and was run unsuccessfully in 1855 as its candidate for the olfice of secretary of state. In 1857 ho was elected by the Republican party to the Senate of the United Suites, and served his full time in that body, where he held a high rank for solid influence. "He had the high honor of speaking in the Senate of the United States the first plain words which told the Southern leaders that if they chose war, war they should have." His firmness, courage, and unhesitating faith in the triumph of the right enabled him to render far more efficient ser- vice to his country in his unassuming and unostentsitiuus manner, by his wise and prudent counsels, than many other members who commanded more public attention by display and ostentation. When the late Mr. Greeley attempted a combination to force Mr. Seward from the cabinet, Mr. King firmly sustained the great secretary, and thereby in- curi'ed Mr. Greeley's unrelenting hostility. At the expiration of his term, Mr. King persistently refused to solicit support for re-election, relying upon his record and the justice of his constituency. In the canvass, Mr. Greeley ap- peared as a bitter opponent, assigning as one reason, Mr. King's adherence to Mr. Seward, and Mr. King was defeated. In 18G4, Mr. King was a prominent delegate in the Baltimore convention, and advocated and secured the nomination of Andrew Johnson for vice-president. Upon the accession of Mr. Johnson to the presidency, Mr. King was for some time his guest, and heartily approved the rejection by the president of the nu- merous presents tendered; Mr. King holding through life the doctrine of Silas Wnght, whose political pupil he was, that public men ought never to embarrass themselves by incurring obligations to individuals which might, perchance, influence them in the performance of public duties. In the summer of 18G5, Mr. King was appointed collector of the port of New York, an office in the administration of which he was not fairly settled when his death by his own hand, in a sudden fit of insanity, terminated his career November 12, 18G5. Mr. King never married. He was kind and affectionate to his relatives, steadfast to bis principles, and faithful to his friends; urbane and affable to all, and sympatliizing and accessible to high and low, rich and poor, alike. Ho was frugal in his personal expenses, plain in his apparel and modes of life, but always ready to relieve the necessities of the needy and afflicted. His grasp of public aflaira and political questions was intuitive and masterly. Ho was not an orator. He was too terse and laconic in expression for a successful speaker, but could express more solid sense in a sentence or two than would serve an orator for an extended speech. The integrity and purity of the man are demonstrated by the fact that, though he hold all the public positions above enumerated, and lavished nothing in unnecessary expenses, at his death his modest estate consisted mainly in real property inherited from his father. Photo, by Dow, Ogdensbnrg. D. E. SOUTHWICK, M.D. The subject of this sketch was born in Keesville, Clinton Co., N. Y., Sept. 29, 1831. He was the only son and third child of a family of six children of Paul and Sarah Southwick. His father was a native of Salem, Mass., being born May 15, 1797, and his ancestors early settlers of the eastern States and of English birth. His mother was born Sept. 14, 1800. His father, at the age of ten years, came to Keesville, and remained there until his death. He was a farmer by occupation, and in circum- stances to give his children the advantages of a good edu- cation. David E. was early a student in the common school, but received his first instruction in a private school kept in the family. At the age of eighteen he entered the academy of his native place and remained for some three years, at the end of which time he commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Blanchard, of Keesville. After a year he entered the office of Dr. AVard, of the same place, and during the year attended a course of medical lectures in Albany, and at the close of the year entered the Homoeo- pathic medical college at Philadelphia (the first homoeo- pathic college started in the United States). Here he spent about one year, and graduated, receiving the honorary degree of Doctor of Medicine in the year 1857. Coming home he remained for a short time, caring for his father, who had been thrown from his carriage. His father shortly after died, being sixty-three years of age. His mother had died when he was quite young. In the year 1857 he came to Ogdensburg, and began the practice of his profession, where he has remained until the writing of this brief sketch (1877). In the year 1871, Dr. Southwick married Miss Sarah Frances, daughter of Alden and Ellen Vilas, of this city. Mr. Alden Vilas was one of the pioneers of Oswegatchie, and of New England birth. He came to this county at the age of sixteen years, and was a descendant of Peter Vilas, who was born 1704, in England. Her mother was daugh- ter of Thomas and Sarah Chandler, of Reading, Vt. Dr. Southwick opened up the practice of the homoeo- pathic theory in the city of Ogdensburg, and was the first physician of that school who permanently located there, and hence was the pioneer of his profession in the city where he has .since resided. As, in the introducing of any new doctiine, opposition of opposing theories is expected, it was no exception in Dr. Southwiok's experience. This he met with true, manly dignity and consideration, feeling the value of the correct practice of the peculiar theory which he was about to propagate, yielding to others their own opinions, but reserving the result of his own in the development of his practice. Quite fortunately for the doctor, an epidemic peculiar to children, called " scarlatina," broke out, in the treatment of which he was very successful. This, being in the winter following his arrival in the city the August previous, at once gave a strong impetus to the new theory, and placed its propagation favorably before the people. His great skill in practicing medicine has gradually become a matter of fact in the minds of the people, and has made his pa- tients his warmest friends. In 1864 he took into partnership with him Dr. N. N. Child, the partnership lasting until the year 1871, since which time Dr. Southwick has remained alone in the prac- tice of his profession, yielding his services to the needy poor as soon as to the wealthy, to those from whom he never expected any remuneration for services as well as to those who were in circumstances to pay. Dr. Southwick never takes an active part in the political arena, but is strongly imbued with Republican principles, and esteems highly the value of a vote for principle instead of for men. In social life he is considerate in conversation, gentlemanly in all his ways, modest, and unassuming. He is liberal in his views, and ready to assist every enterprise for the good of society, the education of the masses, aad the propagation of the principles of the Protestant religion. He is a member of the American Medical Institute, also of the State medical society, and president of the county medical society. ^^^ "V ^' Photo, by Dow. 6o/V*-7 -€^0 ANTHONY FURNESS. The subject of this sketch was born in the parish of Cliburn, county of Westmoreland, England, Oct. 15, 1797. He was the eldest son of a family of ten children of John and James Furness, both natives of the same county. His father was a stone-mason by trade, and laid up a fair competence for himself and family, but gave his children liberal opportunities for obtaining an education. Anthony worked with his father until he was of age, and learned the mason trade, as also did four others of his brothers. At the age of twenty-one, and in the year 1818, he emigrated from England, landing at Quebec. After a few days he came to Ogdensburg, and at once began work at his trade. From that time until age debarred him from the active duties of life, he continued in his business, and as contractor and builder has erected some of the finest residences now in the city of his adoption. At the age of twenty-six, and in the year 1823, he married Miss Margaret, daughter of James Gilmour, of Morristown. She was born in Paisley, Scotland, December 20, 1802, and came to America with her father, June 20, 1820. To Mr. and Mrs. Furness have been born nine children : John R., Elizabeth J., James A., William, Mary, James H., Isabella Scott, George A., and Charles Howie. Of these, the three eldest are dead. William has entered the law-office of Hon. D. Magone, of Ogdensburg. Mary resides with her father, having lost her husband, Seth Pomeroy, June, 1861 ; they were residents of Detroit, Mich. James H. went to Austin, Nevada, in 1862, with a party to work in the silver-mines. Very little has been heard of him since, and it is not known now by his friends where he is. Isabella Scott married Allen Gilmour, and resides in Albany, N. Y. George A. is in the dry goods business in his native city ; he married Miss Martha, daughter of Fred. Winslow, and resides in Ogdensburg. Charles Howie married Miss Annie, daughter of William Vollaus, of Oswegatohie, and resides in Gloversville, N. Y. Mrs. Furness, in the early history of the Presbyterian church of Ogdensburg, united with that body, and re- mained a member of the same until the time of her death, August 6, 1867. She was a model Christian woman, in- structed her children in their early life in all that was necessary to impress upon their minds lessons of morality and religion ; devoted to the best interests of society, a faithful wife, a loving mother, honored by all who knew her, and especially endeared to her sisters in the church. Anthony Furness, on first coming to this city, entered the ranks of the Whig party, having imbibed liberal prin- ciples of the same party before leaving his native country. Upon the formation of the Republican party he naturally cast his lot with it, and has always regarded the right of suffrage a boon conferred upon every American citizen. He is a very plain, unassuming man, and lives in the hearts of his children, who surround him in his old age. He is now in his eighty-first year, having lived to see the various changes in the city's history. He has been connected with the Presbyterian church for the last thirty years, and his record will go down to his oifspring without a blemish to mar its evenness or detract from its influence upon generations unborn of his race. He is still active in mind and tjody, and ^-esides i(i tj^e house built by himself in the year 184(J. za^'^^^ MRS. G. N. SEYMOUR. Photo, by Dow, Ogdenaburg GEORGE N. SEYMOUR. The subject of this sketch was born in Siiringtield, Vt, April 14, 1794^. He wfia the eldest son of a family of five children of David and Nancy Seymonr, ■viz.: George N., Harriet, Isaac, David L., and Nancy Ann. David Seymour was a native of Hartford, Conn., and a lineal descendent of — Seymour, who emigrated to this country from England, and settled in Hartford soon after the landing of the Pilgrims. Nancy Seymour (whose maiden name was Nichols) was a daughter of Nathaniel Nichols, of Winchenden, Mass. In 1806, David Seymour, leaving his family in Vermont, came to St. Lawrence County with Gen. Lewis Morris as a surveyor and contractor, bringing a company of men with him. He erected the old court-house of Ogdensburg where the new cus- tom-house now standn; took the contract for building the bridges on the old State road to Albany, and while at work at Heuvelton went in bathing, and was drowned. His body was the first interred in the old cemetery. The mother and widow, with true devotion to her children, unaided pecuni- arily, and «ith but little competence left at the sudden death of her husband, met her position with remarkable oourage, and with a will to do, by judicious management and fortithought, gave her children each a liberal education for that diiy, and trained them while young in all tliat lays the foundation for true manhood and womanhood. She died at the residence of her daughter, Mrs, Gilbert, in Ogdensburg, at the advanced age of eighty-aeven years'. In theyearlSnS, at the age of fourteen years, George N. came to Ogdensburg, recommended by Gen. Lewis Morris, of Verniont (guardian of his father's child-, ren), to the firm of Russeel & Lewis, merchants. He was bound out to these gentlemen until he was of age. It was dunng these seven years of apprentice- ship that lie was schooled in business tactics, and laid the foundation of cai'eful business habits, which, together with the careful antl more than ordinary^ain- ing of his mother, formed the germ of his successful operations as a merchant in after-years. His education from books while young was of such a character as to lay the foundation for a good business ability. Upon arriving at the age of twenty-ono he entered the land-offjce of Mr. David Parisli, and was soon after sent to Vermont to solicit enjigration to the county, and for the purpose of inducing settlement on the lands owned by Mr, Parish. At the age of twenty- two he wont to New York, puiohased a stock of goods, brought them to Ogdens- burg, and began business for hiniself. He hf^fl acquired sufficient reputation for his integrity with those witli whom he had been associated to command their full confidence, and commenced business upon borrowed capital, loaned from Mr. Parish. His careful and judicious nvmagement in business secured for himself and family a competence which placed him beyond the apprehension of want. Scrupulously honest, he was held in high esteem by his fellow-men, and often intrusted with theaffaird of others a3 executor or guardian. Ho was counsel and assi.-itanco to those in need, and during the great famine in Ireland was president of the relief committee for his county. Ho was drafted, and served in the War of 1812 for a short time, mostly at Sacket's Harbor. Mr. Seymour in politics was first a Federalist, afterwards a Whig, but upon the breaking up of that party ever after stood independent for the principles involved, and not for the men, thought and acted for himself, regarding the right of suffrage as the gift of the people. He took a deep interest in matters of church and school, and was a member of the Presbyterian Society of Ogdensburg. In 1844 he took into partnership with him his two sons, and at the end of ten years left his mercantile business in their hands, which they continued until 1860. He was chosen vice-president of the Ogdensburg bank upon its organiz!>tion, and held that position for several years. He was also a stock- holder in the Judson bank from the time of its organization until his death, July 27, 1859. At the age of twenty-three, and in the year 1818, be married Miss Sophia Mary, daughter of Louis and Sarah de Villera, of Wilna, Jefferson county. Her father was a native of Abbeville, Fi-ance, and descended from an ancient and respectable family; was in the service of Louis XVI. as lieutenant in the Battiilion Vermandois, a corps composing a part of the Royal Guards, and stationed most of the time at Paris. He was transferred to the regiment serving in America under Gen. Rochambeau, and came to this country about the close of the Revolutionary War, with Count Le Ray de Chauraont, for the purpose of joining the Allies. Her father first came to Trenton, afterwards to Cooperstown, thence to Butternuts, where he married Miss Sarah Kinney, of Connecticut birth. It was at Butternuts that Miss Sophia Mary de Villers was born, October 19, 1797. To Mr. and Mrs. Seymour were born four children, — Harriet Ann, George de Villers, Isaac Lewis, and Sophia Mary. Of these all are living, Harriet Ann married Mr. John D. Judson, a banker of Ogdensburg city, and resides in that place; George de Villers married Miss Frances G. Ford, of New Jersey, and resides in his native city; Isaac Lewis married Miss Mary Ann Cryalor, of j Williamsburg, Ontario, and resides alHO in Ogdensburg; Sophia Mary married Mr. George Conant, of Ogdensburg, and resides in New York city. Mrs. Seymour many years ago united with the Presbyterian church of this city, and has remained a member of the same until the present time. She \^ at the writing of this sketch celebrating her eightieth birthday, surrounded hy her children and grandchildren. She has lived to see four generations in her own family, and still retains her accustomed activity of both body an^ mind. Coming into the county in the early days of its settlement, she has noted the various changes from the rude cabin to residences of grandeur, ber tokening the wealth of this generation. In her day schools, churches, and societies have been established, She has the pleasiiro of seeing before the close of her life the result of her early lessons of instruction to her children, an^ their influence down the generations beyond. She lives in the hearts of her children^ endeared to them by the parental ties of an affectionate mother. HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY. NEW YORK. 191 Plioto. by Dow, OgdenPbiirg. The Perkins family are the descendants of Sir Jacob Perkins, a knight, and president of a college in England. His sons, Joseph and John, when young, came to New England. They, and fifteen others, were the first settlers of old Ipswich. They were born about the commence- ment of the 16th century. It was from the latter, John, that the subject of this memoir is descended. John was a friend to the Indians, had their confidence, and saved the town from destruction by their giving him timely notice. John Perkins, Sr. (son of Jacob), was born in Newent, Gloucester, England, in 1590; came to New England in 1631, in the same ship which brought Roger Williams ; died at Ipswich, in 1654, aged sixty -four. He left three sons and three daughters. The names of the sons are re- corded in the Ipswich town-records among those who had the right of commonage then, — the last day of the last month, 1641. The grandfather of tho subject of this sketch, Mathew Perkins, married Miss Hannah Bishop, a native of Connecticut, in 1738. Bishop Perkins was born in Becket, Berkshire Co., Mass., Sept. 5, 1787, and was, at the time of his death (Nov. 20, 1866), in the eightieth year of his age. He received his preparatory instruction from Rev. Timothy M. Cooley, of East Granville, and entered Williams college in the year 1807. Soon after leaving college he entered a law-office in Troy, but eventually finished his studies with Hon. Joseph Kirkland, of Utica. Coming to reside in St. Lawrence County soon after the close of the War of 1812, he first located himself at Lisbon, but soon after removed to Ogdensburg, succeeding to the business of Mr. Bowen, at that time the most distinguished member of the bar. He was soon after appointed district attorney, which office he held by continued appointment for more than twenty years, discharging its duties with such ability, integrity, and devotion to the public good that change or competition was scarcely thought of. The same may be said of the office of clerk of the board of supervisors, which he held for about the same period. At a later time he was mem- ber of congress; he was also member of the constitu- tional convention of 1846, and in the assembly of this State. In politics Mr. Perkins was a life-long Democrat. He never sought public offices, or any political preferment, nor did he shrink from bearing a public burden placed upon him by his county. The leading trait of Mr. Perkins' character as a public man was an unselfish devotion to the maintenance and sup- port of whatever his judgment dictated to be right. With- out any of the art or address of the scheming politician, it was the universal confidence in his integrity and faithful- ness that gave him the official positions he held. In private life, in his social aifections and friendships, Mr. Perkins possessed and acted with a kindness of heart and feelings that never tired, and a generosity that forgot selfibh con- siderations. To his family and intimate friends he was strongly endeared, and, though living (after premonitions which warned them of his end) beyond expectation, his loss was severely felt. At a meeting of the bar of the village of Ogdensburg, held at the office of Justice James, on November 22, 1866, convened on occasion of the death of Hon. Bishop Per- kins, the Hon. D. C. Judson was called to the chair, and George Morris appointed secretary. After remarks on the character and virtues of the deceased by Justice James, Charles G. Myers, B. H. Vary, and others, the following resolutions were adopted : Resolved, That in tlie death of Hon. Bishop Perliins, the b.ar of St. Lawrence County have lost its oldest member, one whose integ- rity, candor and professional courtesy, liberality, and ability have given character to the bar of this county, of which we may well be proud J and that it behooves us as survivors to emulate his example and endeavor to perpetuate its influence upon those who shall come after. Resolved, That high as is our appreciation of the professional and official career and character of our deceased brother, who ably exe- cuted the duties of the oflGce of prosecutor and legislator, it is in his domestic and social relations that he shines brightest, wherein he emphatically proved himself " an honest man — the noblest work of God." The bar of the county erected his monument, and placed upon it the following inscription : "Bishop Perkins, born in Becket, Berkshire county, Mass., Sept. 5, 1787. A lawyer for forty years ; the leader and exemplar of tho St. Lawrence County Bar, in logic, research, integrity, and all that elevates and adorns the profession. He lived without guile, and died without reproach." In 1822 he married Miss Mary, daughter of William and Blargaret Grant, of Johnstown. N. Y. Her father and mother were both of Scottish birth, coming to America with their parents when thej' were quite young. To Mr. and Mrs. Perkins was born one daughter, Margaret Grant Perkins, who resides with and kindly cares for her mother in her declining years. 192 HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK, DANIEL JUDSON. The subject of this sketch was born in Washington, Litchfield Co., Conn., March 18, 1797. He was the eighth cjjild and sixth son of General David Judson, who had a family of fourteen children. General Judson was a native of Washington, Conn., and was born March 9, 1755. He was a descendant of William Judson, who emigrated from Lancaster, England, about the year 1634. He was second lieutenant, lieutenant, and captain in the War of the Revolution, as appears by the dates of his commissions. In 1778 he graduated at Yale college. In 1790 he was appointed by the general assembly of the State of Connecticut to be a lieutenant-colonel, commander of the 29th regiment of militia. By his commission, dated 1795, he was appointed by the general assembly of the State of Connecticut to be brigadier-general of the 8th brigade of militia of that State. February 28, 1784, he married Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas and Eunice Davis, of Washington, Conn. Her father, Thomas Davis, was descended from English ances- try. In private life General Judson was a merchant while in Connecticut. In the year 1806 he came to St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., bringing with him his family, at that time con- sisting of himself, wife, and twelve children, except his eldest daughter, Abigail, who was married, and remained behind. His other two children, Adelia and John D., were born in this county. The general first settled near Black lake, buying a large quantity of land, and, with his sons, began clearing oiF the original forest, built a log house, and afterwards erected a frame house, the first built on Black lake. His forethought in coming into a new country with his family has proved his good, sound judgment, and to his children, pecuniarily, has been a field for extensive operations as business men. The early family training in- herited from Puritan ancestry, and practiced in the culture of the children, tended to impress upon their minds very fully industrious habits, laid the foundation for a thorough business ability, and prepared them for the various exten- sive and successful operations which they carried on in after- years. From the time that General Judson came to this county until his death, February 14, 1818, he was in very poor health, but directed the operations of his sons. His wife died at the age of 87 years, June 10, 1850. He passed away during the pioneer days of the county's his- tory, and his children are among the oldest residents of the county at the time of the writing of this sketch. The eldest daughter is still living at the age of 93 years, quite active in mind, and being able to give many of the facts herein noticed. Daniel was nine -years of age when his parents came to St. Lawrence County, and as with the children in the pio- neer days of the county's history, their services measured largely from a pecuniary point of view, this case was no exception. As early as the year 1825 he established himself in busi- ness in the village of Ogdensburg, where the Judson bank is now located, which he carried on in a quiet way, always gentlemanly in his deportment and methodical in all his business operations. In 1836, at the time of the great money crisis, he wound up his general business, and soon after became a stockholder in the Ogdensburg bank. He was one of the originators of the Judson bank, was one of its stockholders, and was nominally its cashier from its organization until the time of his death, August 21, 1873. Mr. Judson was never an active politician, and cared not for any preferment that political parties could offer. He was originally a Silver-Gray Whig, afterwards an unswerving Democrat. He was for many years connected with church interests, was a member of the Episcopal church of his city, and for many years one of its vestrymen. It is said of him " That he was noted for his evenness of life, his unas.sum- ing manner, his plain and honest dealing, and his sterling integrity." At the age of fifty years (June 23, 1847) he married Miss Susan, daughter of Hon. Charles B. Phelps, a native of Portland, Conn. He was a prominent member of the bar of Litchfield Co., and has enjoyed the high oflBces of his State as member of the House of Representatives, Speaker of the House, State senator, and judge of his county for a long term of years. She was born in Woodbury, Conn., March 23, 1818. To Mr. and Mrs. Judson were born two children, Fannie M. and Elsie M., both living. The former married Mr. W. E. Furniss, a prominent and enterprising miller of Ogdensburg. DAVID C. JUDSON came into the cOunty of St. Lawrence in the spring of 1808, his father's family having settled on Black lake, in Oswegatchie, two years previously, from Washington, Conn. It being the period of the embargo, Mr. J. engaged in no permanent business until 1811, when, on the appointment of the late Thomas J. Davies to the ofiRce of sheriff, he, in connection with his friend, Mr. York, undertook to do all the active duties of the oflnce throughout the county, the former taking all east of the east line of Lisbon and Canton, and the latter the remainder. He accordingly located at Hamilton, in Madrid, and this arrangement continued during the official term of Mr. Da- vies, and of Mr. York, his successor. In 1818 he was ap- pointed sheriff, and assumed the active duties of the western half; he thus became thoroughly conversant with the en- tire county, and a witness of its early and feeble begin- nings, which was of eminent service to him in subsequent life. In the division of the Democratic party, during the era of good feeling in national politics, in relation to Mr. Clinton and his policy, Mr. J., adhering to Mr. C, was re- moved from the office of sheriff on the triumph of the Bucktail party in 1821. He was immediately after nominated and elected to the senate from the eastern district. The constitution of 1821 coming into operation in 1 822, by which all legislative and judicial offices were vacated, he declined renomination, and was principally instrumental in securing the nomination of Silas Wright, Jr., who was elected, and then first occupied the field in which he became so eminent. In the selection of a new site for the public buildings, Mr. Judson, from — "'■c dL.£,„i-!^j Sortai"--' ■ o^, (--^^ C^^yy gK-i.^fU B^lttl:c nr.m.a,Xla^aerTeo5pe ^V )i) ( ,il'J iS(.\j -7^ ^ 6.M^^ HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUiSTTY, NEW YORK. 193 his intimate knowledge of the county, gave his influence for a change, believing that the public wants required it, and his identification with this measure contributed to his election to the assembly in 1818, the county having before been decidedly federal. The measure was brought forward this session, but defeated, principally through the influence of the late George Parish. In 1826 it was again brought forward, aided by Mr. Wright, in the senate, and Mr. Jud- son, notwithstanding his interests and residence at Ogdens- burg, gave his influence for it. It was at last successful, having been made the issue of the election of 1827, and he was one of the building committee appointed to superintend the erection of the new buildings, which were completed in time for the fall term of 1829, at a cost of less than seven thousand dollars. From 1829 till 1840 he was one of the judges of the county court. In the fall of 1829 he was chosen cashier of the Ogdensburg bank, and remained till IS-tO, when he re- signed, and in the fall of that year was appointed collector of the district of Oswegatchie, by Van Buren, and held this station under the diiferent presidents until 1849. From the year 1849 until his decease Mr. Judson devoted his time principally to his extensive private business and the care and development of the large property which he had acquired. In June, 1853, in connection with his brothers, Daniel and John D. Judson, and others, he established at Ogdensburg the Judson bank, under the laws of the State of New York, of which John D. Judson, Esq., was presi- dent, and Daniel Judson, Esq., cashier. This bank con- tinued in business until about the year 1867, when it was closed up, in consequence of the onerous taxation imposed by Congress upon the circulation, etc., of the State banks. After its close Mr. Judson, with his brothers, continued the busi- ness as private bankers. In 1862, Mr. Judson was elected president of the then village of Ogdensburg, and was re- elected in 1863. During the War of the Rebellion Mr. Judson was an active supporter of the Union, and occupied a leading posi- tion upon all local committees which had for their object the furnishing of men and money in aid of the government, and on all occasions evincing his patriotism by his counsel and personal efforts and large contributions of money. In 1868, at a meeting of the citizens of Ogdensburg for the purpose of securing an act of incorporation as a city, Mr. Judson was appointed one of the committee to prepare a city charter, and took a prominent part in the formation of the organic act by which Ogdensburg became a city. Always a zealous member of the Democratic party, he was frequently the recipient of nominations by that party to important official stations, viz., member of congress, presi- dential elector, etc. He was the candidate of that party at the first election for mayor of the city of Ogdensburg. To the active efforts of Mr. Judson, and his liberal contribu- tions of money, the church and society of St John of Og- densburg are greatly indebted for their present elegant church edifice. For several years before his death Mr. Judson was almost exclusively occupied in the management of his property, but was always ready to give his counsel and support to all public matters in promotion of the interests of the city and 2.fi county. He died at Ogdensburg, May 5, 1875, at the age of eighty-nine years. It is seldom that an individual is found who, for nearly three-fourths of a century, has been so extensively and so intimately concerned in public affairs, and it is but justice to add, that his worth is appreciated as extensively as his name is known ; and in most of the public improvements of the county in general, and of Ogdensburg and vicinity in particular, we witness many of the beneficial results of his influence. HON. SILVESTER GILBERT was born at Otego, Otsego county, N. Y., September 24, 1787. His ancestors were of English birth, and on coming to America first settled at Hartford, Conn., and are traced to the various localities of Middletown, Conn., New Lebanon, N. Y., and the birthplace of the subject of this memoir. Soon after he became of age, about the year 1810, he came to Ogdensburg, and established himself in business as a hatter, which trade he had learned previous to coming here. He evinced from the first the ability and good judgment necessary for successful operations as a business man. Soon after the War of 1812, he formed a copartnership with the late Judge Averill in the mercantile business, in which oper- ation, with different public and financial positions, he spent most of his active life. Mr. Gilbert was an active and careful politician. In his earlier days he was a Federalist, afterwards a Silver- Gray Whig, but upon the breaking up of the Whig party united with the Democrats. Before leaving the county of his birth, he joined the Masonic fraternity. He assisted in forming the first lodge in Ogdensburg, of which, in 1826, he was Master. He was highly esteemed by the members of the fraternity, not only at home, but throughout the State, holding the office of Grand Scribe of the Grand Chapter in 1852, '53, '55 ; Grand King, 1857-58 ; and in 1859-60, that of Deputy Grand High Priest. Devotion to principle of whatever he conceived right was characteristic of him through his entire life, and unswervingly he remained a Mason for some fifty- five years. He was a man of unquestioned integrity, retaining the full confidence of all with whom he was associated, and was elected to fill not only important but responsible places within the gift of the people. He has been severally elected as supervisor of the town of Oswegatchie, member of as-_ sembly, and president of the Drovers' bank ; and in all and every position, filled them to the satisfaction of his constituents and to the honor of himself In the Harrisburg convention, in 1839, when General Harrison received his nomination for the presidency, he was one of the delegates from the Empire State representing the great St. Lawrence County. Especially in the circle of private life and social inter- course was the beauty and usefulness of Mr. Gilbert's life most felt and enjoyed. His genial and kind feelings, agree- able and pleasant manners, with his unpretending, correct moral habits, made him the useful exemplar of society around him. His religious duties were performed with unwavering fidelity, and though devotedly attached to the 194 HISTOEY OP ST. LAWKENCE COUNTY, NEW YOKK. Episcopal church, his efforts in building it up and main- taining it were never tinctured with intolerance. In the domestic circle and in the bosom of his numerous family he was the beloved and agreeable companion, the affectionate father, the ever-kind husband. Upon the incorporation of the Episcopal church in 1820, the Hon. Silvester Gilbert was elected one of its first ves- trymen, and in 1835 was elected warden, which latter ofiiee he held until the day of his death. He was always a warm supporter of church and school interest, and it may be said here, without any depreciation of the efforts of others, that he was the main man in putting forward and completing the first church edifice of St. John's in this city. . For his first wife he married Miss Lois Ranney, Feb. 16, 1818. She died Aug. 19, 1819, leaving one son, who is now living. For his second wife, Dec. 1 6, 1822, he married Miss Nancy Ann, daughter of David and Nancy Seymour (the former a native of Hartford, Conn., and the latter a native of Winchenden, Mass.), by whom he had twelve children, eight of whom are now living. The mother of these children still lives (honored and respected by her children and a large cii-cle of relations) in the old stone house, which for more than fifty years has been the home of the family, and which for many of these years was the centre from which many enterprises, social, political, or eccle- siastical, emanated. At the time of the political excitement attendant upon the election of General Harrison, a banner, worked in the house by the ladies of the village, was presented, by the Hon. Henry Van Rensselaer, to the Tippecanoe Club. The hospitable doors were always open, and a genial host and hostess ready to receive their numerous friends. Mr. Gilbert died suddenly, Oct. 25, 1865. "Sustained and soothed By an unfaltering trust, approached his end Like one who wraps the draperj of his couch about him, And lies down to pleasant dreams." DAVID M. CHAPIN. The subject of this sketch was born about three miles from the city of Ogdensburg, April 22, 1806. His grand- father, John Chapin, came from New England and settled in Ogdensburg in the year 1800, when the village com- prised only a few houses besides the old French garrison bringing with him a family of seven sons and four daugh- ters, all but one of whom lived to old age, the father him- self living to be about one hundred years of age. From this family sprang numerous families in the county of St. Lawrence of the same name. David's father, John Chapin, was the eldest of the seven sons, and married Miss Abigail Thrasher, who bore him ten children, of whom the subject of this memoir was the eldest. His father died in 1856, aged seventy-five years. His mother died in June, 1836. David M. spent his infancy and childhood on a farm with his parents, on the ridge (so called), about three miles from Ogdensburg, on the Heuvelton road. His early edu- cation was limited to the common school. At the a"-e of twenty years, feeling the necessity of more education, he set out with the determination to secure it if possible, un- aided pecuniarily, and with a few articles of wearing ap- parel in his hand. Arriving at western Oneida county, he joined a class of young men under the tutorship of Rev. Jonathan Gale. Here, by working four hours each day, he carried on his studies and kept up his necessary ex- penses. At the end of four months he went to Rome, N. Y., and began to prepare for college under the instruction of Prof. Grosvenor. In the year 1830 he entered the sophomore class in Hamilton college, and remained one year. Returning to Ogdensburg, he, in October, 1831, opened a select school, which he kept up for some three years, and in the mean time entered his name as a law student in the office of Hon. James G. Hopkins. In the year 1836 he was admitted to practice law in the supreme court of New York State, and afterwards admitted to practice in the United States court. He has continued the practice of his profession to a greater or less extent ^.-^.-i^a/i. ^-^^. Photo, by Dow, Ogdensburg. until the present time, but in his later years has given a large amount of his time to life, fire, and marine insurance and negotiating loans by bond and mortgages on real estate. In politics, Mr, Chapin was originally a Democrat, but upon the formation of the Republican party adopted its principles, and lias since been an active member of that party and firmly adhered to its platform. In April, 1861, he was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln to the office of collector of customs for the district of Oswegatchie, which office he held until August, 1866. In the year 1838 (March 15) he married Miss Mary Elsie, daughter of Joseph York, formerly of Vermont, but among the pioneers of Oswegatchie. Her father was sheriff of the county in 1812-13; was taken prisoner by the British, carried to Johnstown, but afterwards released. He was subsequently member of the state legislature. To Mr. and Mrs. Chapin were born five children, — Mary ^/x£^^^^t^^i^^'^^'^<^ Jones Block , FropY or Mrs. £. JONES, Ogdhnsburo, New York. HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 195 Lavinia, Joseph York, Sophia Elizabeth, Louise ]51sie, and David John. All are living except the youngest, who died in infancy. Mary L. married George B. Bacon, of the United States Navy ; Joseph York is a practicing attorney in the city of Ogdensburg and supervisor of the first ward ; Sophia Elizabeth married Jacob B. Wells, of New York, and resides in that city. WM. JONES was born in Jefferson county, May 30, 1816. He was eldest son of Solomon and Sally Jones, — the former of New England birth, the latter born in Canada. William worked until he was nineteen years of age with his father, making brick, then he engaged as clerk in a grocery-store, and at. the end of two years bought out the store and began busi- ness for himself. For his first wife, in the year 1845, he married Miss Fannie Moore, by whom he had two children, Francis Levi and Albert H. The former enlisted in the War of the Rebellion, served about one and a half years, and his con- stitution giving way, he came home and died in 1865. Albert H. resides in New York. His first wife died in 1850. For his second wife he married, in 1853, Miss Elizabeth Fackrell, daughter of John and Jane Clements Fackrell, the former of English, the latter of Irish, birth. To Mr. and Mrs. Jones were born five children, — Fanny E., Luther H., John E., Jenny M., and William F. All are living except John E., who was drowned in the St. Lawrence river when only four years of age, in the year 1864. Mr. Jones was unaided pecuniarily, and struck out in his early years with the right kind of a determination to succeed as a business man. For many years he carried on the grocery business in Ogdensburg, and was known as a man of stern integrity and careful business habits. In all his business operations he was successful, and accumulated a sufficient competence to place him beyond want. He was quite active as a politician, stood unswervingly in the Democratic party, and was elected to some of the most important offices in his village and city. In the year 1852-53, he erected the Jones block (now the Woodman House block), an engraving of which will be found, in connection with his portrait, on one of the pages of this work. He died Jan. 1 , 1 87 1 . GEORGE PARKER. The subject of this sketch was born in the town of Westminster, Vt., Feb. 18, 1817. He was second son of a family of three children of Isaac and Anna Parker. His father was a native of Massachusetts, and only son descended from one of three brothers, who in the early settlement of the New England States emigrated from England and settled there. His mother was a native of Rockingham, Vt., and of Scotch descent, her maiden name being Camp- bell. When he was eight years of age his father removed to Franklin cSunty, N. Y., and subsequently came to the town of Massena, St. Lawrence County. His means for obtaining an education had been some- what limited, and at the age of thirteen years he entered a store as clerk in Hogansburg. He possessed great force of character, and his early instruction was such as to lay the foundation for good business habits and fit him for the self- reliant position which he took in business circles in after-life. Unaided pecuniarily, he began at that age for himself and struck out into the busy world, meeting its obstacles with that courage and manliness applicable to those older in years and with greater experience. At the age of eighteen years he engaged as clerk with John C. Bush, a merchant of Ogdensburg, and remained with him some three years. Subsequently he was agent and manager for the firm of Skinner & Bush, at their iron-works in the town of Brasher. In the spring of 1840 he left the firm of Skinner & Bush and went into business for himself in the village of Massena as a merchant, in partnership with Jlr. E. D. Ransom, but remained there only a few years and came back to Ogdensburg, where he engaged in trade for a short time. About the year 1848 he engaged in railroad busi- ness, and was closely connected with the interests of the Ogdensburg & Lake Champlain R. R. for the next seven- teen years in various offices, and for a time as superin- tendent of the road. During this time he had purchased an interest in some mill property, which subsequently en- gaged his whole attention, and during the latter years of his life was a successful operator in that business. The interest thus started, since his death is carried on by his eldest son (living), James W. Parker, a young man of enterprise and good business ability. At the age of twenty-three and in the year 1841 (Jan. 12), he married Miss Fanny E., daughter of James and Betsy Wilcox, of New Haven, Vt. To Mr. and Mrs. Parker were born seven children, four of whom are living. Mary resides in Ogdensburg;- James W., previously mentioned; Annie Campbell, married Lieutenant Fred. M. Symonds, U.S.N. ; and William Henry is a graduate of Cornell university. Mr. Parker was very prompt in all matters of business, energetic in everything he undertook, and yet amid his business relations and cares always found time for improv- ing his store of useful knowledge. He was very fond of scientific and historical reading. Many years ago he was favorably known as a pleasant writer for the press, was very closely and intimately connected with the educational interests of the city as a member of the board of education, and was always ready to encourage any enterprise looking to the buildin" up of good society and the education of the rising generation. In politics, Mr. Parker was a Democrat, and unswervingly remained so, but was never an active politician. He was conversant with the business interests of the city and county, and was from its organization connected with the Board of Trade. He was president of the same at the time of his death, July 27, 1868. 196 HISTORY OP ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. % /' Photo, by J. H. Kent, Rochester. yy ^ ^-tsr 2AAa/^ REV. L. M. MILLER, D.D., was born in Rochester, Monroe Co., N. Y., Oct. 13, 1819, being the same year that the church in Ogdonsburg, over which he has so long ministered as pastor, was reorganized and re-established after its dispersion by the War of 1812- 15. He united with the First Presbyterian church of Rochester at the age of thirteen years, and prepared for college in attendance upon the " old high school," subse- quently called Collegiate Institute, and over which the Rev. Dr. Chester Dewey for many years presided. Notwith- standing the drawback of feeble health, he graduated with honor at Hamilton college, in the notable and very suc- cessful class of 181:0. Though enfeebled by a severe cough and general debility, and discouraged by the repeated ad- vice of physicians, and their assurance that it would be useless for him to pursue his studies longer with any view to prosecute the work of the ministry, he persisted in going forward, and entered Princeton seminary in the fall of 1840, passed the examinations of one year, and attended many of the lectures of the second year. When compelled by want of strength to leave the seminary, he took charge of a small school in the family of the Hon. Dr. Fitzhugh, of Livingston Co., and putting himself under the direction of Steuben (0. S.) presbytery, was by them examined and licensed to preach, in November, 1 843. In May, 1844, he was called to the Presbyterian church of Bath, Steuben Co., N. Y., and was ordained and installed as pastor in October of the same year. In October, 1846, he was married to Miss Lydia R., a daughter of the Hon. David Ramsey, of Bath. After a service of seven years with that church, — filling the offices of stated clerk of Steuben presbytery and permanent clerk of the synod of Buffalo, preaching and lecturing much outside of his own parish, and acting as trustee to Genesee academy, — he re- ceived and accepted a call to the pastorate of the First Pres- byterian church of Ogdensburg, N. Y., in February of 1851. In going to this place, by a severe stage accident he was laid up with a broken limb, and could not enter upon his labors. His installation took place June 25, 1851. Though repeatedly called to enter other desirable fields of service, he still remains, and is now completing the twenty-seventh year of his pastorate there. His incessant labors in this field, over his own church and for other churches, have been interrupted only by a brief illness in the winter of 18G5-66, and a visit of nearly ten months in Europe, Egypt, and Syria, in 1869-70. During this pastorate, notwithstanding constant decrease by deaths and removals in large numbers, the roll of com- municants has much more than doubled, and a new ornate stone church edifice (a view of which will be found on the opposite page), with an easy capacity for twelve hundred persons, has been built and amply furnished in every de- sirable manner for the purposes of worship and the conveni- ence of the congregation. Dr. Miller has been corresponding secretary of the St. Liiwrence County Bible Society for quarter of a century, and intimately connected with various ecclesiastical and benevolent associations of the county, devoting successfully much time and labor to their various objects. He has FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AND PARSONAG-E. OSDENSBUWS-, ". y- (QROUHD Plan 80 k ISO nn .) 'hU^ySo T~tyi:yryy— HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 197 been called to repeat many of his lectures upon his travels and other topics, and to publish many of his sermons. He received the honorary degree of S.T.D. from his Alma Mater in 18G5, and was elected a trustee of Hamil- ton college in 1869. He was an advocate for the preser- vation of the Union in its integrity, and in earnest and active sympathy with the soldiers of the Union army. Zealous for the reunion of the Old and New School branches of the Presbyterian church, he was among the first who proposed and advocated that step. After the re- union, the Synod of Central New York was formed, of which body he was elected moderator, at Utica, in 1873. Taking an active interest in the cause of Christian edu- cation, he has encouraged eleven of the young men of his church to enter the ministry, the most of whom are now at work, with evident success, in its various fields. By a reference to Dr. Miller's pastoral record for the year closing in May, 1877, we conclude that he is still as arduous in his work as ever. It is as follows : sermons, 100 ; lectures and addresses, 256 ; marriages, 26 ; funerals, 32. From his entire pastoral service, exclusive of visita- tation, which is laborious, we have taken the following sum- mary : sermons preached, 4512; lectures and addresses delivered, 4879; marriages performed, 1009; funerals attended, 802. Total, 11,202. WILLIAM L. PROCTER. The subject of this sketch was born in East Washing- ton, N. H., March 26, 1837. He is the oldest son of Mr. Israel Procter, a farmer of that place. He worked with his father upon the farm until twenty years of age, when, with his father's consent, he removed with his uncle (mother's brother), Lawrence Barnes, to Burlington, Vt., and worked for him in the lumber business until June 3, 1859, when he was transferred to Ogdensburg, N. Y., to conduct a branch of the lumber business which had re- cently been established at that place under the firm-name of C. & D. Whitney, Jr., & Co., of which his uncle, Law- rence Barnes, was a partner. He has been since the com- mencement connected with the firm under the new style of Skillings & Whitney Brothers, Mr. Barnes having with- drawn his interest Jan. 1, 1873. Mr. Procter was mar- ried Feb. 12, 1861, to Miss Dolly P. Howard, daughter of Rev. J. M. Howard, of Ogdensburg, the ceremony being performed by the bride's father. William L. and Dolly P. Procter have had born to them the following children : An infant son, born Aug. 4, 1862, died Aug. 9, 1862 ; William Henry Procter, born July 21, 1863; Lawrence Manning Procter, born Aug. 16, 1865 ; Mary (Minnie) Isabel Procter, born April 10, 1867 ; Nancy (Nannie) Grace Procter, born Aug. 17, 1869 ; Mabel Jane Procter, born July 6, 1872. Mr. Procter was elected trustee of the village in 1866-7 ; was elected alderman, to fill the vacancy of Chester Water- man, in July, 1868, and for the full term of 1869-70. He was elected mayor of the city in 1870, and sworn in Jan. 1, 1871, holding the office continuously until June 1, 1875. PJioto. by Duw, Ogdenpbiirg. '-