CAYUGA COUNTY 
 
 Historical Society 
 
 AUBURN. N. Y. 
 
FIRST ANNUAL MEETING 
 
 OF THE 
 
 TUGJl COUHTY HlSTO[[lCJlL SOCIETY, 
 
 Constitution and By-Laws. 
 
 FEBRUARY 12, 1878. 
 
 Unburn, I. |. : 
 
 Daily Advertiser Book and Commercial Printing House. 
 
 1878. 
 
ROOMS OF THE SOOTETY, 
 
 Skwari) Block, corner Genesee and Exchange Streets. 
 
 AUBURN, N. Y. 
 
OFFICERS. 
 
 President^ 
 KEV. CHARLES HAW LEY, D. D. 
 
 Vic. Prasicteni, 
 GEN. WM. H. SEWARD. 
 
 Corresponding Secretary^ 
 BENJAMIN B. SNOW. 
 
 Recording Secretary^ 
 CHARLES M. BAKER. 
 
 Treasurer^ 
 DAVID M. DUNNING. 
 
 Lihrarian^ 
 DENNIS R. ALWARD. 
 
 TRUSTEES. 
 Blanchard Fosgate, M. D., John H. Osborne, 
 J. Lewis Grant, Benjamin B. Snow, 
 
 David M. Dunning, Ma.tor Lewis E. Carpenter, 
 
 James D. Button, M. D. 
 
 STANDING COMMITTEES. 
 
 On Papers. — John H. Osborne, Gen. John S. Clark, David 
 M. Dunning, Horace J. Knapp, Theo. Dimon, M. D. 
 
 On Membership. — Messrs. Fosgate, Snow and Button. 
 
 On Finance. — Messrs. Carpenter, Grant and Dunning. 
 
 EyECUTiVE Committee. — Messrs. Osborne, Snow and Grant. 
 
ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT. 
 
 Gentlemen of the Society : 
 
 We are met this evening to observe the tirst anniversary of 
 our Society under its present organization ; and I shall best serve 
 the occasion by a review of the results which have thus far been 
 secured, with some suggestions as to the work yet before us. 
 
 An association like this, having a specific end in view, and at- 
 tractive chiefly to some particular taste or form of culture, is 
 ordinarily, in communities no larger than our own, an experiment, 
 the success of which depends upon the enthusiasm and persistence 
 of a few, who are willing to work without the notice or favor of 
 the general public, at least until the enterprise commands its own 
 way to the patronage to which it is entitled. Our Society has 
 been fortunate in this regard, owing, doubtless, somewhat to the 
 circumstances under which it was formed. The original move- 
 ment, as you are aware, grew out of the interest awakened 
 throughout the country, in the proper observance of the nation's 
 centennial. The first meeting for the purpose was held in Au- 
 burn, March 22, 1876, pursuant to a call signed by above two 
 hundred citizens, representing the towns of Aurelius, Cato, Flem- 
 ing, Genoa, Ledyard, Mentz, Moravia, Owasco and Scipio. The 
 object of the Society as defined in the call, was •' to collect and 
 preserve the memorials of our local history while the incidents 
 of early settlements within the county were still fresh in mem- 
 ory or tradition ; to gather a historical library and cabinet : " and 
 as an immediate duty, " to arrange for appropriate celebrations, 
 within the county, of the one hundredth anniversary of our 
 national independence," then near at hand. An organization was 
 effected at this meeting, and a direction given to the observance 
 of the memorable day both in this city and in other parts of the 
 county. Besides this immediate result, a new impulse was given 
 
to local, historical research, and considerable progress was made 
 in the general work of the Society. It was, however, soon found 
 necessary, in order to place the Society upon a more permanent 
 basis, to modify, in some particulars, the first organization, and at 
 the same time preserve its leading object. A new charter was 
 obtained and a fresh start taken, with an enlarged membership, 
 a replenished treasury, and a better out-look for the future. As 
 an immediate result, the Society was provided with its present 
 convenient and attractive rooms for a term of years, thus secur- 
 ing a local habitation in keeping with its name and design. 
 
 The more vigorous and systematic prosecution of our work 
 dates with these increased means and facilities, showing how much 
 depends upon suitable arrangements in this regard. Our Society 
 may now justly claim to be a repository, at once safe and accessi- 
 ble, for whatever is committed to its guardianship ; and may as- 
 sure its donors and patrons that their gifts will be preserved and 
 become serviceable, as they could not be in private hands. More- 
 over, such a collection, continually enlarging, and arranged to 
 betoken at once the purpose and labors of the Society, becomes 
 a source of constantly increasing interest in its work, and serves 
 to educate, at the same time that it stimulates, a taste for historical 
 studies. We have already, mainly through the vigilant and 
 tasteful labors of our Librarian and Custodian, laid the founda- 
 tion of a valuable historical library ; also a cabinet already en- 
 riched with local antiquities, each with its story and associations, 
 taking us back to the ways and manners of the olden times ; and 
 still further to the habits and customs of aboriginal races, which 
 have left no other records from which we may trace their history, 
 on this ground, over which they roamed in the chase or fought 
 for the mastery, generations before the European saw this New 
 World. If so much has been accomplished within this short 
 period in collecting these treasures of our local history, may we 
 not expect that our cabinet, like those of similar societies of long 
 standing, will not only serve as a safe repository of the curiosities 
 of history, but will aid in solving some of its more intricate 
 problems. 
 
6 
 
 Our monthly meetings during the year have been made in- 
 structive and entertaining, by the reading of select papers, recit- 
 iijg personal and family histories, together with the origin and 
 growth of social and commercial enterprises, which have given 
 shape and character to our several communities. These papers, 
 prepared as they have been, with thoroughness and care worthy 
 of all praise, show how rich is any one vein in this mine of his- 
 torical wealth when well worked, and what treasures are yet in 
 reserve to reward like research. This feature of the Society's 
 work involves much of its labor; and great credit is due to 
 the Conmiittee who have had in charge the duty of suggesving 
 the subjects and selecting the writers- — a responsible and Hclicate 
 task, in which they have evinced most excellent judgment and 
 a truly catholic spirit. Neither have we been unmindful of 
 what was passing around us and into history. Our meetmgs 
 have been enlivened each month with a, faithful record of current 
 events, fresh and racy from the facile and impartial pen of our 
 Historian, who has taught us that love for the old is not incon- 
 sistent with a living concern in the things of to-day ; that in our 
 efforts to rescue from oblivion the memorials of the past, we may 
 not forget that we ourselves are making history ; that after all 
 it is the new that gives consequence to the old, and that what 
 has been, is of value because of what is and is to be. 
 
 Thus it is that the archives of the Society will, year by year, 
 be growing rich in the materials of history, the bulk of which 
 would otherwise be irrecoverably lost in the lapse of time. It 
 is not, indeed, our province as an organized body, to write history, 
 but rather to collect and accumulate the material out of which 
 history is made. The day is. past in which romance can be 
 accepted as history or the teacher of history. It is not the theo- 
 ries or fancy which certain writers may choose to adopt, nor the 
 use they make of legend or tradition or fact, that reaches to the 
 dignity of history which Schiller denominates with great em- 
 phasis — " The tribunal of the world." There is a fieM for romance 
 that is legitimate as it is charming ; but when it enters the domain 
 of history, one needs to be well versed in the order and relation 
 
of events, sufficiently so at least to discover the thi-ead of 
 fiction from the warp of truth, in the skillful interweaving of 
 imagination with fact, or he may be led into serious error. What 
 we want to know is, not what certain people who once lived and 
 played important parts, from which we their descendants and 
 successors are now reaping the results for good or for evil, might 
 or might not do under certain circumstances, existing only in 
 the imagination of the writer; but what they actually did in 
 the circuinstances in which they were placed. For the use 
 of history, let us never forget, is not to make men sympathize 
 with this or that party, be the conflict one of opinion or of arms, 
 in Church or State, in single communities or on the wide theatre 
 of human action ; but to make them sympathize with and cherish 
 what is good and noble in any party and in any result achieved. 
 
 Hence the disposition of the time is to expose rather than con- 
 ceal whatever may serve to elucidate personal, local or national 
 history. The tendency on all sides is to offer to the public all 
 original con-espondence both private and official ; all documents 
 in civil or military affairs; all contemporary records — indeed, every 
 item which may give a clue, or cast a ray of hght to guide the 
 conscientious historian. Such publications are now a necessity 
 of civilized nations, and are already reversing some of the long- 
 accepted verdicts of history. Still there is a vast amount of 
 material that cannot of right come into the national archives, but 
 which, though perhaps more miscellaneous, is not, therefore, less 
 serviceable ; and to gather and preserve this material is the special 
 work of the various historical societies, for the States or localities 
 embraced in their respective fields of operation. 
 
 It is an interesting fact, showing progress in public senti- 
 ment as to the value of such labors, that in some of the newer 
 States of our Union a very general interest has been awakened 
 on this subject,and State patronage bestowed to furnish means and 
 facilities to their respective Societies in the prosecution of their 
 work. The Wisconsin Historical Society already ranks with the 
 most prominent institutions of similar character in the countiy. 
 There is now a bill before the Legislature of Minnesota, if it has 
 
8 
 
 not already become a law, appropriating the sum of $35,000 for 
 the erection of a suitable building for their State Historical So- 
 ciety. New York is, as yet, without a Society for the whole State, 
 although much has been accomplished by local organizations. 
 I have learned, however, within a few days past, that a movement is 
 being initiated to found such a Society, and that one of its pur- 
 poses will be to co-operate with local Societies throughout the 
 State, thus giving and receiving mutual aid in the work common 
 to all. I mention these things as encouraging us in the patient 
 and vigorous continuance of the work upon which we have en- 
 tered. Its importance can hardly be exaggerated as contributing 
 so much to the knowledge, which in laying bare the sources of 
 history, makes it possible to be written in the spirit of truth. — 
 This may be called the life and substance of historical science ; 
 for whatever tends to unravel the true motives of men and their 
 deeds,clothes the past with living interest, imparts vividness, with 
 no sacrifice of truth, to the pen of the historian, while it greatly 
 facilitates his labors. 
 
 Let me now direct your attention for a few moments, to the 
 particular field within the province of our Society, that we may 
 have a clear view of the work yet before us. 
 
 Cayuga county presents an important and fruitful field for his- 
 torical inquiry as the home of another race within a century, and 
 as the central part of the territory occupied by the famous Iro- 
 quois Confederacy. The origin of the Cayugas and the asso- 
 ciate nations composing this powerful league, runs back into dim 
 tradition ; but they have left here and there the scattered remains 
 of village sites and burial grounds, with utensil and we;i]ion of 
 various grade, evincing progress through different statues of 
 their civilization, for the study of the archgeologist. Tlicre is 
 much to be learned from original investigation at our own door; 
 much more of error to be corrected, which has hitherto passed 
 unquestioned ; and a new basis to be laid for systematic and crit- 
 ical research in the field directly under our eye. No department 
 of antiquarian study is receiving just now such care as this of 
 archaeology, for the solution of the grand enigma that has so long 
 
9 
 
 rested upon tlie primitive populations and civilizations of the 
 American continent, — and it hc^longs to each locality to make its 
 contribution to the general result. 
 
 In aid of our historical investigations, we have written records 
 which take us back more than a century anterior to the first set- 
 tlement of the region by the white man. They give us pictures 
 'of the face of the country as it then was, with descriptions of its 
 inhabitants, their characteristics, customs, govenmient and laws. 
 We are thus enabled to locate their villages, their trails and 
 routes of travel, and to become acquainted with their manufac- 
 tures, trade, progress in the arts of living, their modes of warfare, 
 their diplomacy and oratory, and thei'eby reproduce with historic 
 accuracy, the life and manners of this interesting people in their 
 pride and power, two hundred and fifty years ago. Their can- 
 ton, lying between the Owasco and Cayuga Lakes, excelled in 
 beauty of situation and natural advantages the other cantons of 
 the Iroquois, with its open country bordered by fine forests, 
 abounding in game and most favorable for the chase, while the 
 waters of its lakes teemed with fish and wild fowl in variety and 
 abundance. But as one of the Five Nations, their prominence in 
 the colonial history of the State and particularly in the events 
 which determined the conflict between the French and the English 
 for supremacy in the New World, gives special interest and value 
 to all that may be learned of them as a people. Indeed it so oc- 
 curs that the earliest written records pertaining to this region, 
 which have been preserved, are religious narratives, occupied 
 largely with details of the patient and heroic labors of the Jesuit 
 Fathers to win the Cayugas, with the other Iroquois nations, to 
 the Catholic faith and thus into alliance with the Crown of 
 France. 
 
 The history of these missions covers a period of more than 
 a quarter of a century, and is quite as important in its political 
 as in its religious aspects. The Jesuit missionary whose zeal 
 never flagged, whose courage never waned, whose highest ambi- 
 tion was martyrdom, never, in his efforts for the conversion of 
 souls, lost sight of the temporal Kingdom whose power and maj- 
 
10 
 
 esty he associated with the mission of the Church to subjugate 
 the world. Thus rehgion became a most important factor in all 
 that fierce struggle of France with England for dominion on this 
 continent ; and the Black Robe, the name given by the Iroquois 
 to the Jesuit Father, was always in the van of the conflict. He 
 was not more the self-denying missionary, than the sagacious, 
 diplomatist. He shared the cabin and fare of the savage ; bap- 
 tised the little children ; instructed the catechumens; visited the 
 sick in his daily rounds ; displayed the images and symbols of 
 the faith in his rude chapel and missed no opportunity to rescue 
 a soul from the kingdom of darkness. At the same time he was 
 a conspicuous figure in the Indian council chamber, the vigilant 
 representative of Onontio, the title given by the Iroquois to the 
 Governor of Canada ; the advocate of war or peace, as might 
 best suit the hour, pledging in belts of wampum the royal favor 
 and with all the arts of eloquence, warning or persuading the 
 dusky councillors, against any alliance with the English at the 
 sacrifice of the friendship of France. On the final decision of the 
 Iroquois council chamber with its fifty sachems, representing each 
 of the five cantons, hung the fate of the contest between the two 
 great powers of Europe, the one Catholic and the other Protes- 
 tant, and as it then shaped the contest between Absolutism on 
 the one side and Liberty on the other. We have only to consider 
 the territorial position of the Five Nations, then composed of the 
 Senecas, Cayugas, Onondagas, Oneidas and Mohawks, the first 
 four cantons corresponding very nearly in locality to the coun- 
 ties which now bear their respective names, to see their weight 
 in the scale, and that in the weak condition both of the French 
 and English colonies, whichever succeeded in securing their 
 alliance must win in the end. This territory held on the one 
 hand the gateway of the great lakes, lying to the west and south 
 of the French possessions in Canada, and on the other the sources 
 alike of the rivers flowing to the Atlantic, on the borders of which 
 the English with the Dutch had their settlements, and to the 
 Mississippi, with numerous stragetic advantages which the crafty 
 and ambitious Iroquois were quick to comprehend. They had 
 
11 
 
 already destroyed the Hurons, the neighbors and faithful allies of 
 the French on the west, and as a result had broicen up the 
 great Huron mission endeared to the Jesuit Fathers by years of 
 hard toil and the blood of martyrs. This was in 1649, and in 
 1654, only live years after, Simon LeMoyne, " a sagacious and 
 able priest, versed in Indian languages and customs," is at a 
 grand council at Onondaga, paving the way for the missions of 
 his order among the Iroquois themselves, in the hope that tlins 
 would peace be restored to Canada, and an effectual l)arrier be 
 interposed to the progress of both Dutch and English ; and in 
 two years each of the cantons had its mission, with a French 
 colony located at Onondaga, the capital of the confederacy. But 
 the hopes thus raised were doomed to speedy disappointment. 
 The colonists and missionaries were soon fugitives for their lives, 
 and barely escaped a general massacre at the hands of their treach- 
 erous allies, wht) less than two years befoi'e had welcomed their 
 coming with every demonstration of welcome. 
 
 A period of ten years elapsed when the missions were I'esumed 
 only to be maintained against growing odds, until 1687, when the 
 hist of the Jesuit Fathers was driven from the cantons and all 
 hope of French alliance with the Iroquois forever abandoned. In- 
 *deed, the conquest of New Netherland from the Dutch in 1664, 
 four years before the resumption of the French missions, made the 
 E'ive Nations virtually a dependence of the English; "and if," 
 says Bancroft, " for twenty-five years England and France sued 
 for their friendship with uncertain success, yet afterwards, in'the 
 grand division of parties in the Old World, the Bourbons found 
 them implacable enemies." " The Europeans," continues the his- 
 torian, " in their struggles against legitimacy and for freedom, 
 I laving come all the way nito the wilderness pursued the contest 
 even here, making of the Iroquois allies and of their hunting 
 grounds battle fields." ' "Liberty may thank the Iroquois," says 
 Farkinan, " that by their insatiate fury, the plans of her adversary 
 were brought to nought, and a peril and a woe were averted from 
 lier future. They ruined the trade which was the life-blood of 
 New France ; they stopped the currents of her arteries, and 
 
 1. History of U. S., 111—149. 
 
12 
 
 made her early years a misery and a terror. Not that they 
 changed her destinies. The contest on this continent between 
 Liberty and Absolutism was never doubtful, but the triumph 
 of the one would have been dearly bought, and the downfall of 
 the other incomplete. Populations formed in the ideas and habits 
 of a feudal monarchy and controlled by a hierarchy hostile to 
 freedom of thought, would have remained a hindrance and a 
 stumbling block in the way of that majestic experiment of 
 which America was the field." ^ 
 
 These are some of the more prominent considerations that 
 give interest and importance to this immediate locality as in part 
 the theatre of events which have had such far reaching issues. 
 The last act in the drama did not appear until a century after 
 the alliance of the English with the Five Nations was consum- 
 mated, and in the struggle of the colonies for independence of 
 the British Crown. The Cayugas, though professedly neutral 
 were implicated in such massacres as ravaged the region of 
 Minisink on the Hudson and the valley of Wyoming : and at 
 one vengeful blow they were swept from their ancient domain, 
 soon after to disappear from history. Several of the first settlers 
 of this region, and among them the founder of Auburn, had 
 served in the expedition under Sullivan, which wrought this 
 work of destruction, and through the war of the Eevolution ; 
 men disciplined by the events of the time to hardship and patri- 
 otic devotion, and who made their mark deep and strong on the 
 early character of this and other towns in the vicinity. These 
 earliest immigrations were of the best material with which to build 
 communities. There was little or nothing of the refuse and scum, 
 often borne on the advancing wave of civilization ; but it brought 
 here men who had the right views of what was essential to a well 
 ordered social state. They carefully guarded against the first ten- 
 dencies of all immigration which are towards barbarism ; and in 
 coping with the obstacles of nature, did not fail to plant forth- 
 with the institutions, such as the church and the school, which 
 give to society its stability and its rich fruitage. A faithful rec- 
 ord of the pioneer generation which should mirror forth its man- 
 
 2. Jesuits of North America — 448. 
 
13 
 
 ners, customs, habits and jirinciples, would only serve to increase 
 our veneration for the men who won for us this fair heritage and 
 our gratitude for the work they did so bravely and so well. This 
 should be done for every town in the county, while it is jxtssihle 
 to comjilete such a record. It is a part f)f the history of our 
 American civilization which has made our country what it is. 
 We cannot be too familiar with the examjjles of the past. We 
 cannot know too much of the influences which have made and 
 controlled the conditions of society, as they have hindered or ad- 
 vanced its welfare. Tt is in the way of such knowledge, that we 
 appreciate the j^resent responsibilities upon us, to perpetuate the 
 principles which promote, and avoid the errors which hinder a 
 sound and prosperous social condition. 
 
 Our work for the future is plainly before us. It is to com- 
 plete what has been so well begun; and in doing this we invoke 
 the support and co-o]^eration of every citizen of the county, who 
 desires that its history should be gathered and preserved. It is 
 a work in accord with the best s|)irit of the age intent u])on learn- 
 ing, if possible, the events and conditions which have wrought 
 thus far in retarding or advancing the welfare of the whole 
 human family. If institutions, social, civil and religious, which 
 are the present life of communities, are worth tlie outlay of time, 
 money and labor, at which they must be maintained, certainly 
 the one organization to gather up and preserve what has been 
 accomplished through these manifold agencies, for the better 
 knowledge of the generations to come, has a special claim upon 
 our material and moral support. Whatever is done to build up 
 society in intelligence and wealth : in virtue and stability ; in 
 moral and spiritual excellence, is worthy of record and precious 
 care : and everv contribution whether of narrative or relic, illus- 
 trative of local history, to our archives ; every addition to our 
 meml)ership, with every donation to the funds of the Society, 
 facilitates its work and insures its permanence. Let us remem- 
 ber, moreover, that the value of what has been done depends 
 upon a continuance of our labors, till we have in our keeping all 
 that may be known of the generations that have here lived, and 
 
14 
 
 wrought and passed away. Among our immediate wants as a 
 Society is a permanent fund, which need not be large at the first, 
 from the income of which we could publish from time to time 
 selections from our growing material, thus enabling us to secure, 
 by way of exchange, similar publications of other Historical 
 Societies throughout the country and attract interest to our work 
 from various directions. I would that we had the means at hand 
 eve)i for a single volume to show what has already been done 
 under the auspices of the Society. 
 
 There are incidental uses for such an association as this, 
 to which I may refer as among its attractions : It is a means of 
 self-culture ; it gratifies an instinctive desire to know about men 
 and things in the days gone by, and the sources from whence 
 what we now enjoy and prize, has been derived. It enlarges the 
 mind and widens one's range of thought. It brings into activity 
 the better sensibilities of our nature ; promotes gratitude and 
 charity, with a generous solicitude for the welfare of those who are 
 to come after us. 
 
 Then again, I count it of importance that every man should 
 have some diversion from his accustomed employment, some 
 hobby if you please, which will lead him to cultivate genial and 
 refined tastes as a defence against the monotonous and sordid in- 
 fluence of mere business ; the wasting cares of an exacting pro- 
 fession, or the selfish tendencies of leisure induced by wealth 
 and ease. There is enough of fascination here to divert the mind 
 from its beaten track, into a healthy change of atmosphere 
 which may be said to combine most ha})pily the elements of a 
 reasonable conservatism with the impulses of a restless and pro- 
 gressive age, beating hotly through its business anil social life. 
 
 Once more, — the common saying that "History repeats itself," 
 is its highest claim to our study and pursuit. Tliis betokens the 
 Divine element in human affairs, and makes success in life, 
 whatever its sphere, to consist, not in the attempt to control 
 events, but in taking advantage of events and putting them to 
 our service. This is largely the difference among men, whether 
 in public or private station, occupied with the affairs of state, or 
 
15 
 
 engrossed in the cares and coinpcititioiis of ordinary life. This is 
 the true experience, not one's own which often comes too late, but 
 the experience of those who have gone over the ground we have 
 to tread ; sailed over the seas we have to cross, and left their 
 maps and charts for our better guidance. There is no position 
 or work of life that may not be the more honorably lilled or suc- 
 cessfully prosecuted, from knowing what has been ; and lie does 
 wisest and best for himself and for others, who takes closest heed 
 to the lessons of the past. 
 
REPORT OF LIBRARIAN AND CUSTODIAN. 
 
 The report of the Librarian and Cuslodian of tlie Cayuga County Historical 
 Society for the year ending February 12, 1878 : 
 
 The Library at present contains four hundred and eighty volumes. Twenty- 
 four volumes of bound newspapers, and seven or eight volumes of manuscripts. 
 There are also six volumes of the Morning Netus, loaned b)' the Dennis Brothers, 
 which comprise a complete file of this enterprising journal from its commence- 
 ment to its unhappy termination. 
 
 Among the bound volumes of newspapers are eight volumes containing a file 
 of the Cayuga Republican during a period of seventeen years. It is scarcely pos- 
 sible to estimate the full value of these papers which cover important periods in 
 the history of our county. 
 
 At the request of this Society, your librarian has prepared and arranged a vol- 
 ume for biographical notices of prominent citizens who have passed away. Sixty- 
 eight of these sketches have already been secured, and the number is only too 
 rapidly increasing by the frequent mortality in our midst. 
 
 Another volume under the same direction has been prepared for valuable and 
 interesting manuscripts, containing matter relating to the history of this county or 
 bearing autographs of our early settlers. Among these papers may be found the 
 bond which Col. John L. Hardenbergh gave for hi.s lot here in 1792, and on to 
 which he moved in 1793. Also the acceptance of the Rev. David Higgins, of the 
 call of the 1st Presbyterian Society in this city, to become their Pastor in 1813. 
 There are autographs of Walter "Wood, Elijah Miller and Joseph L. Richardson, 
 early Judges of the Court of Common Pleas ; of Glen Cuyler, Eleazer Burnham, 
 and Seneca Wood, earlj^ Surrogates of this county ; of Jonathan Richmond, an 
 early Sheriff; of Enos T. Throop, County Clerk in 1811, and afterwards Governor 
 of this State ; of Nathaniel Garrow and Gersham Powers, who represented this 
 District at an early day in Congress, and of many others who have filled positions 
 of trust and confidence in this County 
 
 The papers read before the Society have been carefully preserved, and form an 
 interesting and precious series to elucidate in future the history of Cayuga County. 
 
 Among these may be found sketches of Captain Edward Wheeler, who came to 
 this County in 1790; of Henry Watkins, who settled at Scipioville in the same 
 j'-ear, and whose descendants still reside on the same property; of Elijah Miller, an 
 account of whose life by Judge B. P. Hall, held us deeply interested for two eve- 
 nings ; of WQliam Bostwick, an early and benevolent settler in this city ; also an 
 able essay on the Press of this County, by E. G. Storke ; an interesting account 
 of the early modes of travel in this section of the Country, by J. Lewis Grant; and 
 
17 
 
 an exhaustive history of the Oayuga Comity Medical Society, from its foriiiiitioii 
 in 1806 down to the present time, by Dr. Tlicodore Dimon. 
 
 Mr. B. B. Snow, the Corresponding Secretary of tiii.s Society, has kindly fjivored 
 us at our regular meetings, for several months past, with a record of current events, 
 both local and foreign, leaving us in douhl each time as to which interested us 
 most, the records of the events themselves, or the marvelous and fascinating 
 manner in which he has woven tliem together. 
 
 Throughout tlie collecting of all tliis material one aim has been kept constantly 
 in view. It is to secure data and facts for a .serious and complete history of Cay- 
 uga County. The result has so far been most satisfactory. We have a history of 
 the Baptist Association of this County. It gives an account of the first protestant 
 sermon preached in this county. It was by Elder David Irish, in 1794. And it is 
 a singular and striking circumstance that the devoted daughter of this pioneer 
 divine at present lives in our midst, engaged in distributing the Holy Scriptures, 
 which her sainted father so zealously and ably expounded to the early settlers of 
 this region. We have the history of Auburn by Henry Hall, and a complete .set 
 of the directories of this city. 
 
 We have carefully preserved the able and interesting discourse of Rev. Dr. John 
 Brainard on the history of St. Peter's Cliurch, and the several elaborate sermons 
 preached by Rev. Dr. Chas. Havvley, setting forth the history of the First Presbyte- 
 rian Church, in this city, over which he has so ably presided for more tiian a fifth of 
 a century. In addition to this it has been discovered that the French Jesuit Mission- 
 aries labored in this vicinity among the Indians as early as 1657. We are indebted 
 to the learned President of this Society for a translation, which places a perusal ' 
 of the account of these pious labors within the reach of us all. The brass amu- 
 lets and crosses, heretofore without authentic significance, and left unnoticed 
 among the old iron and rubbish of our agricultural community, have now an intense 
 interest as illustrations of the zeal of these self-sacrificing ecclesiastics, whose 
 hardships and trials have found few equals in modern history. 
 
 This report is presented to show that the objects and purposes conceived in the 
 formation of this Society have already been partially realized. 
 
 It is to be hoped that the good work will go on, and that this couuty so rich in 
 Indian history, so fruitful of stirring events from its earliest settlement to the 
 present day, and which is justly proud of having sent forth sons who have filled 
 with dignity the Presidential chair, sat in the Senate of these United States, pre- 
 sided as Governors over many commonwealths, led our armies on to victory, and 
 represented this Government at the courts of Europe, and daughters who have 
 adorned society in every part of the globe — that this county so distinguished in 
 the past may preserve to itself a glorious future. 
 
 D. R. ALWARD, 
 Librarian and Custodian. 
 
TREASUREirS REPORT. 
 
 Auburn, N. Y., P'eh. 2(;, 1878. 
 
 First Annual Report of Treasurer of Cayuga Co. Historical Society : 
 
 Amount received from Treasurer of old Society, - - - $ 26.20 
 " " for 54 memberships (1st year) at $10 each, 540.00 
 
 $500.20 
 
 Amount paid out for rent of rooms ; books, papers and other 
 material purchased, and sundry expenses as per report 
 on file with Society, ------- - 444.99 
 
 Balance on hand on deposit at Banking House of Wm. H. 
 
 Seward & Co., - - . $121.21 
 
 D. M. DUNNING, Treas. 
 
CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION. 
 
 Wc the undersigned, citizens of the United States, residing within the County 
 of Cayuga and State of New York, and being also citizens of the State of New 
 York, of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, do hereby associate ourselves 
 and form a corporation, pursuant to the provisions of the Statutes of the State of 
 New York, known as chapter 267 of the laws of 1875, as amended by chapter 53 
 of the laws of 1876. 
 
 The name by which such corporation shall be known in law, is "The Cayuga 
 County Historical Society." 
 
 Said corporation is formed for social, literary, and historical purposes, and the 
 particular business and objects tliereof, shall be the discussion of general and 
 local history, and the discovery, collection and preservation of the historical rec- 
 ords of Cayuga County, aforesaid, comprising books, newspaper.s, pamphlets, maps 
 and genealogies; and also of paintings, relics and any articles or materials which 
 may or shall illustrate the growth or progress of society, religion, education, liter- 
 ature, art, science, agriculture, manufactures, commerce, and the trades and pro- 
 fessions within the United States, and especially within the Count}^ of Cayuga and 
 state of New York. 
 
 The principal office and place of business of said Society, shall be in the city of 
 Auburn, Cayuga County, N. Y. 
 
 The said corporation shall be managed by seven trustees. The names of said 
 trustees for the first year of the existence of said corporation are, Benjamin B. 
 Snow, Blanchard Fosgate, James D. Button, Lewis E. Carpenter, David M. Dun- 
 ning, John H. Osborne, and J. Lewis Grant, all of Auburn, N. Y. 
 
 It is hereby intended to incorporate an association heretofore existing inidcr the 
 name of "The Cayuga County Historical Society," but heretofore unincorporated. 
 
 In witness whereof we have hereunto set our iiands and seals the 23d day of 
 January, 1877. 
 
 CHARLES HAWLEY, [l. s.] BLANCHARD FOSGATE, [l. s.] 
 
 WILLIAM H. SEWARD, [l. s.] JOHN S. CLARK, [l. s.] 
 
 JAMES D. BUTTON, [u s.] A. W. LAWTON, [l. s.] • 
 
 B. B. SNOW. [l. s.] W. D. BALDWIN, [l. s.] 
 
 F. L. GRISWOLD, [l. ts.) D. M. OSBORNE, [l. s.] 
 
 J. H. OSBORNE, [l. s.] OTIS M. GODDARD, [l. s.] 
 
 W. A. BAKER, [l. s.] BYRON C. SMITH, [l. s.] 
 
 D. M. DUNNING, [l. s.] GEO. R. PECK, [l. s.] 
 
 L. E. CARPENTER, [h. s.] JOHN UNDERWOOD, [i,. s.] 
 
20 
 
 DENNIS R. ALWARD, [l. s.] CHAS. A. SMITH, [l. s.] 
 
 J. W. DUNNING, [l. s.] E. S. NEWTON, [l. s.] 
 
 H. J. KNAPP, [l. s.] J. T. M. DAVIE, [l. s.] 
 
 A. G. BRARDSLEY, Jr., [l. s.] JAS. SEYMOUR, Jr., [l. s.] 
 
 S. L. BRADLEY, [l. s.] D. H. ARMSTRONG, [l. s.] 
 
 (!. J. REED, [l. s.] GORTON W. ALLEN, [h. s.] 
 
 SAMUEL W. DUFFIELD, [l. s.] W. II. (V\RPENTER, [l. s.] 
 
 NELSON B. ELDRED, [l. s.] F. P. TABER, [l. s.] 
 
 State of Nkw York, ) 
 (/;iyii!i-;i (Joiiiit}'. ) 
 
 On this llrst day of February, 1877, persoii;illy appeared before me, a Notary 
 Public, in and for said county: Charles Hawley, William H. Seward, James D 
 Button, Blanchard Fosgate, Benjamin B. Snow, John S. Clark, Franklin L. Gris- 
 wold, John H. Osborne, William A. Baker, David M. Dunning, Lewis E. Carpen- 
 ter, Dennis R. Alward, Joseph W. Dunning, Horace J. Knapp, Alonzo G. Beards- 
 ley, Jr., Silas L. Bradley, Charles J. Reed, Nelson B. Eldred, David M. Osborne, 
 Otis M. Goddard, Byron C. Smith, Charles A. Smitli, John Underwood, George R. 
 Peek, John T. M. Davie, James Seymour, Jr., David H. Armstrong, Frank P. 
 Taber, Ed. S. Newton and A. W. Lawton, to me personally known to be thirty of 
 the persons described in, and who executed the foregoing instrument, and sever- 
 al I v acknowledged that they executed the same. 
 
 CHARLES M. BAKER, 
 Notary Public, Cayuga County. 
 
 Cayuga County, ss. 
 On the 2nd da)'^ of February, 1877, personally appeared before me, Samuel W. 
 Duffield, Gorton W. Allen and William H. Carpenter, to me known to be three 
 of the persons described in, and who executed the foregoing instrument, and sev- 
 
 erallv acknowledged the execution thereof. 
 
 CHARLES M. BAKER, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 The undersigned, one of the Justices of the Supreme Court for the Seventh 
 Judicial District of the State of New York, hereby consents to and approves of 
 the filing of the foregoing certificate. 
 
 Dated Auburn, N. Y., February 2, 1877. CHARLES C. DWIGHT, 
 
 Jus. Sup. Ct., 7 th Jud. Dlst. S. N. Y. 
 
BY-LAWS. 
 
 1. The name of the Society shall be, "The Cayuga County Historical Society." 
 
 2. The object of the Society shall ho, to discover, procure and preserve what- 
 ever relates to the natural, civil, military, industrial, literary and ecclesiastical 
 history, and the history of science and art, of the State of New York in general, 
 and the County of Cayuga in particular. 
 
 3. The Society shall consist of resident, honorary, and corresponding members. 
 Resident members shall be nominated by a member in open meeting, and the nom- 
 inations referred to the membership committee, whicli shall report thereon at the 
 next regular meeting. A ballot shall then be taken in which five negative votes 
 sliall exclude. Resident members only shall bo entitled to vote. Honorary and 
 corresponding members shall be elected in the same manner. 
 
 4. The annual dues shall be at the rate of ten dollars each year, payable on 
 the tirst day of February in each year in advauce. The sum of fifty dollars paid 
 at one time shall be in full for all annual dues during life. A failure or refusal to 
 pay annual dues within three months after the same become due, shall work a 
 forfeiture of membership, and the Trustees shall erase the name of such delin- 
 quent from the roll of members unless said, dues shall be paid or remitted by a 
 vote of the Society. 
 
 5. The officers of the Society shall be a President, Vice-President, Correspond- 
 ing Secretary, Recording Secretary, Treasurer, Librarian, and seven Trustees, all 
 of whom shall be elected by ballot from the resident members only, and shall 
 hold their offices for one year, and until others are chosen to fill their places. 
 
 6. The annual meeting of the Society shall be held on the second Tuesday in 
 February in each and every year hereafter, at which a general election of officers 
 shall take place. In such election a majority of the ballots given for any officer 
 shall constitute a choice ; if no choice is made on the first ballot, another ballot 
 shall take place, in which a plurality shall determine the choice. 
 
 7. If a vacancy shaU occur in any office the same may be filled by the Board 
 of Trustees. 
 
 8. The Society shall meet statedly for the transaction of business on the second 
 Tuesday of eacli month, at such hour of the day as may be decided upon, unless 
 otherwise specially ordered. The President, or in his absence, the Vice-President, 
 may call special meetings for special purposes, the nature thereof being fully set 
 forth in the call. 
 
22 
 
 9. At the stated meetings of the Society, the following shall be the order of 
 business : 
 
 1 . Reading the proceedings of the last meeting. 
 
 2. Reports and communications from officers. 
 
 3. Reports of the Board of Trustees, and of standing committees. 
 
 4. Reports of special committees. 
 
 5. Election of members previously proposed. 
 
 6. Nomination of new members. 
 
 7. Reading of papers, delivery of addresses, and discussion thereon. 
 
 8. Miscellaneous business. 
 
 10. Seven members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. 
 
 1 1. The President, or hi his absence the Vice-President, or in their absence a 
 Oijairman %>n) temport shall pe-rform all the duties pertaining to that office. 
 
 12. The Corresponding Secretary shall have charge of all the correspondence 
 and perform all the duties pertaining to the same. 
 
 13. The Recording Secretary shall have charge of the seal, charter, by-laws and 
 books of record, and perform all the duties pertaining to his office. 
 
 14. The Treasurer shall collect and keep the funds and securities of the So- 
 ciety, and they shall be deposited in a safe bank to the credit of the Society, and 
 only drawn therefrom on his check, for the purposes of the Societ}'^, and by the 
 approval of the Executive Committee. He shall .keep a true account and report 
 the same to the Society and to the Finance Committee whenever either of them 
 shall require. 
 
 15. The Librarian shall have charge of the Library and be general custodian of 
 all the books, maps, pamphlets, pictures, and all other property contributed to the 
 Society. He may receive and arrange articles loaned to the Society and sign a 
 receipt for the same, to be returned when called for by the owners thereof. 
 
 16. Library regulations: 
 
 i . No book or other article shall at any time bo lent to any person to be 
 removed from the library, except by express consent of the Board of 
 Trustees. 
 
 2. No paper or manuscript read before the Society and deposited therewith, 
 
 shall be published except by the consent of the Trustees and the author. 
 
 3. All members may have access to the rooms at any reasonable times, and 
 
 may consult and examine any book or manuscript except such as may be 
 designated by the Trustees. But no person not a member shall Jiave 
 such privilege except a donor, or one mtroduced by a member, or by 
 special authority of the Executive Committee. 
 
 4. Any injury done to books or other articles shall be reported by the Libra- 
 
 rian to the Executive Committee, and the damage shall be required for 
 such injury. 
 
 17. The Board of Trustees shall have charge and control of the busmess and 
 l)roperty of the Society. 
 
23 
 
 The Vice-Prcsidoiit ^hall bo ex-officio Chairman, and the Recording Secretai-y 
 Hhall be Secretary of tiie Board. They shall have charge and general supervision 
 
 and management of the rooms and all the property and funds of the Society. 
 
 They shall meet monthly at tlie rooms the evening before the regular meeting, 
 and four members shall be a ((uorum to do business. 
 The Chairman shall appoint from their number : 
 1st, An Executive Committee. 
 2d, A Finance Committee. 
 3d, A Membership Committee, consisting of three members cacli. 
 
 18. It shall be the duty of the Executive Committee to solicit donations and 
 contributions, to propose and digest business for the Society ; to authorize dis- 
 bursements and expenditures of unappropriated money in the Treasury for the 
 payment of current expenses of the Society, and for Library, purchase of books, 
 printing and binding; but no expenditure or liability shall be made at any time, 
 exceeding tlie amount of cash in the Treasury, and the available assests of the 
 Society. 
 
 Tlie (committee shall have a general superintendence of the interests of the So- 
 ciety under the control and direction of the Board of Trustees, and report to them 
 as often as may be required. 
 
 19. The Finance Committee shall examine the books and accounts of the Treas- 
 urer, and audit all bills and accounts against the Society, and l)e able to report at 
 all times the condition of the Society as to funds, etc. 
 
 20. The Committee on Membership shall report on all nominations for menilxir- 
 ship before an election shall be had. 
 
 21. The President shall appoint a committee of five members of the Society, to 
 which shall be referred all papers and addresses presented to the Society, and said 
 Committee shall examine the same, and give notice of the time of the reading of 
 any paper before the Society. It shall also be their duty to solicit and provide 
 some paper on a subject in the second by-law designated, to be read at each 
 meeting ; and shall give public notice of the same. 
 
 22. Amendments or alterations of the By-Laws may be made by a majority vote 
 at any regular meeting, provided such amendment or alteration shall have been 
 prepared and entered upon the minutes at a meeting held at least four weeks pre- 
 vious, with the name of the member proposing the same. 
 
LIST OF MEMBERS. 
 
 HONORARY. 
 
 Hon. Andrew D. W^hite, Ithaca, N. Y. Henry Ivison, Esq., New York City. 
 Hon. Fred'k W. Seward, Washington. Joseph Thomas, LL. D., Philadelphia, Pa. 
 Hon. Henry Farnham, New Haven, Ct. Hon. Samuel R.Wells, Waterloo, N. Y. 
 Hon. Roscoe Conkling, Utica, N. Y. Sevellon A. Brown, Esq., Washington. 
 William P. Letcuworth, Esq., Buffalo. Wm. H. Lewis, Esq., Katonah, N. Y. 
 
 RES I DENT. 
 
 Rev. Charles Hawley, 
 Gen. Wm. H. Seward, 
 Rev. Samuel W. Duffield, 
 Benjamin B. Snow, 
 Rev. William Searls, 
 J. Lewis Grant, 
 Dennis R. Alward, 
 David M. Dunning, 
 Dr. J. D. Button, 
 John H. Osborne, 
 Dr. Blanchard Fosgate. 
 Lewis E. Carpenter, 
 Dr. David H. Armstrong, 
 James Seymour, Jr., 
 William G. Wise, 
 Dr. S. Willard, 
 Silas L. Bradley, 
 Frank P. Taber. 
 Ed. S. Newton, 
 William H. Carpenter, 
 Delmar E. Olapp, 
 A. W. Lawton, 
 Bradley A. Tuttle, 
 Orlando Lewis, 
 RuFus Sargent, 
 Wm. H. Meaker, 
 Henry A. Morgan, 
 N. Lansing Zabriskie, 
 
 D. M. Osborne. 
 Otis M. Goddard, 
 F. L. Griswold, 
 Byron C. Smith, 
 William A. Baker, 
 Charles A. Smith, 
 W. Del. Baldwin, 
 Gorton W. Allen, 
 W. Hollister, 
 Edwin R. Fay, 
 Alonzo G. Beardsley, Jr., 
 Charles J. Reed, 
 David Wadsworth, 
 Charles M. Baker, 
 Horace J. Knapp, 
 George R. Peck, 
 Gen. John N. Knapp, 
 E. Delevan Woodruff, 
 Nelson B. Eldred, 
 Charles Standart, 
 Charles E. Thorne, 
 Joseph W. Dunning, 
 Terrence J. Kennedy, 
 Lewis E. Lyon, 
 JosiAH Letchworth, 
 E. H. Underbill, 
 Horace V. Howland. 
 Ebenezer B. Jones. 
 
LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 
 
 014 107 816 1