ii Class . __4_ GopightlJ". £.-tf»ay 2- ^; COFKRICHT DEPOSm ^W(WWVV^i X.*\"«W«VVO^tTf I.mds have existed unknown to the nations of the civilized world. CHAPTER IL How THE Pioneers Came Their hardships. The difficulties of keeping fire on the hearth. A description of the original tinder-box. How it was used to originate fire. The first friction- matches, which were introduced in the year 1827. Tallow dips were an early luxury. Next were introduced the whale-oil lamps. Account-books of early merchants. Explanation of the common currency first used after the Revolutionary War. Its legal tender character was. by Act of Congress of 1795, enacted to be the divisions of the Spanish milled dollar: Halves, Quarters. Eighths, and Sixteenths. This legal tender character of the Spanish coin continued until the Act of Congress passed in the year 1855 repealed the Act of 1795. Since the year 1855 no Spanish coin has been in circulation as legal tender. An old one-cent piece. The pioneer's life. " Bees." Log houses, log barns, and log schoolhouscs. The early missionaries held their religious services in the barns and schoolhouscs. The women of those early days deserve especial notice. They hatchcled all the flax, spun all the linen thread, spun all the wool, wove all the tow cloth, knit all the stockings of the household, made all the clothing of the pioneers, did all the cooking, tended to garden to supply the viii COh'TENTS. I-AGE. table with vegetables, together with some flowers to beautify their home, and did all the other household work, which was continuous from daylight to the hours of needed rest late at night. CHAPTER III. Early Pioneers '. n Pioneers who came within the first twenty years. The first actual original settler in this town was Abraham A. Cuddeback. John Thompson was not a resident settler until 1810; proof shown of this fact. Elijah Bowen, another very early settler; account of his family. His son Almeron was the first child born of parents who settled and lived in this town. The peculiar circumstances of his birth. • Bowen's home was headquarters for emigrating families. Benajah Bowen. David Kingsley. Amasa Smith. Winston Day. the first merchant in this town. Henry Root ; his recollections. Asa Mason. Nehemiah H. Earll ; his history, recollections, and obituary notice. Nathan Kelsey, the brickmaker who stamped his name on every brick. His bricks are often found in old large chimneys and ovens of this town. The Cuyken- dalls. The Van Ettens. David Welch. Samuel Welch, and his recollections. Benjamin Nye, who made the first bricks. Mrs. Nye's journey through the wilderness for assistance. Hezekiah Earll. Abijah Earll. Chester Par.sons. Silas Bush. Amos Pardee. CHAPTER I\'. Continuation of the History of the Pioneers 25 Alanson Benson. Charles J. Burnett, Sr. Daniel Kellogg. Jedediah Sanger. Isaac Sherwood, together with the details of his contract with the Government for the transportation of the mails between Albany and Buffalo and intermediate places. Mrs. Cody, grandmother of Hiram Reed; her experience in the journey from Massa- chusetts on horseback to this town in the year 1800 through the forest. Copy of a bill of merchandise purchased at .Albany by a firm of early merchants of this town in the year 1806. William J. Vredenburg. A legend concerning a jug of gin. Who were here when Williain J. Vredenburg first came in the year 1803. Nathaniel Miller, who settled in the village in 1S07; his recollections. The interesting history of Amos Miner, an early inventor. Remarkable history of a journey through the forest in the year 1799 by John R. Kellogg. CH.XPTRR V. Moke Pioneers 52 History of early settlers. Eli Clark. Elias Merrell. Alanson Edwards, Jr. S. Porter Rhoades and family history. Names and location of early settlers, farmers, and others who caine here before 1803. Another list of early settlers who caine here before 1815. Ministerial items. Old receipt for dressing deer skins. Daniel Briggs. John S. Furman and Alexander Bebee. Aaron Austin. Dorastus Lawrence. William Clift. Elijah Parsons. The town of Skaneateles. Hardships of the pioneers. "Through the Wilderness," a poem. John Legg. History of the Shepard family and the " Shepard Settlement." Recollections of Mrs. Charles J. Burnett, Sr. John Bristol. Abner Bates. Simeon Edwards. Solomon Williams. Samuel Briggs. Colonel Samuel Bellamy. Daniel McKay. Business men here in 1834. The First Cuddeback. CONTENTS. ix CHAPTER VI. FACE Interesting Sayings and Doings of Olben Times 70 Samuel Edwards, an old resident, tells of olden times. Dr. Nels. Flink. Nate Bennett. Josh Wilkinson. Sol Foster. Frank Barker. Ives Parsons. Harrison B. Dodge, editor of the Skaneateles Democrat. The defeat of the dangerous •' Malby Bill " in the Legislature. Comparison of early real estate values in Syracuse and Skaneateles. James Sackett. Has Skaneateles retrograded? The first steam- boat on the Lake, "The Highland Chief." Rossville was in the year 1831 the name of the head of the lake. An old log tavern. Early business in Skaneateles. Early artists and their rudimcntal practise in painting the backs of the old style of sleighs. These artists were Elliott and Thayer. Winston Day and wife's sale of land to Freeborn G. Jewett. The Pettis House. The brother of Benedict Arnold, the traitor of Revolutionary notoriety, was once a resident in the village. Condensed fragments of early history. CHAPTER Vn. Miscellaneous Fragments of Early History 79 The early merchants of the village. Daniel Talcott. Jonathan Weston. Moses Loss. James Turnure, the miller in 1828. Ezra & Benjamin. Ingham & Hccox. Isaac Sherwood. Colonel Warren Hecox. Letter from Lafayette Cuddcback on our first settler, Abraham A. Cuddeback. The Leonard family. Nathan Leonard's Inn. The first actual settler in this county. The first mail carried through Onondaga County in the years 1792-98. Old-time servants. Farmers' daughters. Daniel Kellogg's gardener. Description of the village in 1809. The Skaneateles Religious Society. First excitement among the early settlers; the mill-dam breaks. A forest on the lake-shore in 1796. Village plots. The original village lots, which were laid out by Judge Jedediah Sanger, were termed " Village plots on the north end of Skaneateles Lake." An order for bricks in 1814. John C. Noble, school teacher in 1825. The original forests in this town. First roads laid out in the town. The first graveyard. This settlement (the site of the village) an attractive trading-place in early times. Subscription for Jonathan Weston, sexton of the old original church on the hill. The old colored man's plaint, in connection with William J. Vredenburg's experience as a judge. Home-made drays. The Hamilton and Skaneateles Turnpike. Wheel-head manufactory. Militia. Elections in 1836. Ezra Lee. William Clift. James Porter came here in 1797, and opened the first tavern in town. The early records. Old-time caterpillars, which destroyed the tree-leaves and garden vegetables in the year 1798. Cold summer in 1816. Open winter in 1823-24. Severe winter in 1836. Water-lime. Division of Marcellus. CHAPTER VIII. E Cardiff Ciiant Full and complete history of this remarkable fraud. Skaneateles very much interested in viewing it. All the particulars of its discovery. Detailed opinions expressed of its authenticity by prominent professors of colleges, Egrypfologists. archeologists, archbishops, clergymen, physicians, and theorists of all degrees. " The Stone Man," a poem. Names of Syracuse speculators who finally purchased the big CONTENTS. PAGE. fraud. The unfortunate error which was made in not allowing Professor Boynton • to purchase an interest in the giant. The owners made another mistake in not allowing P. T. Barnum to purchase an interest. The Cardiff Giant and the Indians. Early newspapers in Cayuga County. Charles Goodall, a former resident of this town; some particulars of his eventful life. Presentation to the Skaneateles Library Association. Old accounts. CH.^PTER IX. Early Reminiscences Celebration of Fourth of July in 1831. First Skaneateles newspaper: its adver- tisements. General Training Day. An affair of honor. First mail-carriers. Early history. A brother of Benedict Arnold. The dark day in 1806, when there was an eclipse of the sun. Incident of the War of 1812. Repulsing the British in 1812. British prisoners. Samuel Francis, Sr. History of the Edwards family in this town. Origin of the Doctors Porter family. Thaddeus Edwards. Alanson Edwards. Copy of a bill of goods purchased in the village in 1806. Celebration of Fourth of July, 1835. Stages and stage-drivers. Riding-horses. Mrs. Cody's remarkable journey. Full history of the original Skaneateles Library Company, organized March 2, 1806. List of subscribers. Merchants and mechanics here in 1828, who advertised in the first newspaper, Tlie Telegraph. James Sackett, a remarkable character in his time. Winston Day's sale of his village lot to Freeborn G. Jewett, in 1822. Charles J. Burnett's sale of three acres in what is now (1902) the center of the village, in 1820, for $250 to F. G. Jewett. Seth and James Hall, early carriage manufacturers. Skaneateles business men in 1830. CHAPTER X. Early Burial-Places and General History 131 Earliest burial-places in this town. The second burial-place. The Mottville burying-ground. The succeeding burial-ground in the village of Skaneateles. Vari- ous items of early history. Phares Gould. Dr. Samuel Benedict. Names of the vestry of St. James' Church in 1816. Vestry of St. James' Church in 1824. Business men in the village in 1841. \ sensational burglary in Skaneateles. Archibald Farr. Chester Parsons. Daniel Kellogg. Jr. Captain Benjamin Lee. Sea letter by George Washington. Captain Nash De Cost. Reuel Smith. The Three Sisters. William Fuller. History of the John Lcgg village lot. CHAPTER XI. The Potashery and Other Manufactures 144 Winston Day's potashery and distillery in the village before 1816. Joseph Tallcot. Nicholas J. Roosevelt. First steamboat trials. Archibald Douglass. William G. Ellery. Daniel T. Moseley. Augustus Kellogg. Dr. John Snook. Dyer Brainerd. Charles B. Isbell. Joel Thayer. Dorastus Kellogg. John Kellogg. William M. Beauchamp. Richard Talcott. Captain Rishworth Mason. John Legg. Merchants in 1813. Peter Thompson. Taverns. Philo Dibble. William H. Jewett. Obadiah Thome. Thome Hill. William H. Pattison. Dr. Charles F. Merrill. Ezckiel B. CONTENTS. xi PAGE. Iliiyt. Gcorgi; F. U-ilcli. I"recl.orn G. Jcwett, Sr. Spencer Hanniim. The Dic- feiidorphs in llie town. James Cannings Fuller. Edward B. Coc. Abner Lawton. Edwin Osborne Gould. A traveler's visit to Skaneateles in 1811, while on his way to Niagara, with description of the village. Description of Skaneateles in 1830. Skaneateles Lake. Early recollections of Thaddeus Edwards, in his boyhood days, 1810. The Packwood carriage manufactory. The " Shcpard Settlement." CM.\PTER XII. The First Industries in Tow.x and Villale, Cu.m.mencuvg with the V'iu,- .\ retrospect of past business of both town and village. Industries in the village. Industries in the to%vn of Skaneateles outside of the village. Mabbitt's mills. Industries at Mottville. Below Mottville— Long Bridge. Hart lot. The rise and fall of mercantile and industrial prosperity in both town and village. The earliest industry in this town. .-\n incident during the War of 1812. Community Place and John A. Collins. Early prices. The sign of the Indian Queen Tavern. CHAPTER XIII. ;ainst "Protracted Meetings/' and Other Reminiscences. Report of the proceedings of a public meeting, held February 15, 1832, at the Indian Queen House of Isaac W. Perry, in the village of Skaneateles. An address to the public, with the signatures of prominent citizens, published in an extra of the Skaneateles Columbian. Daniel Webster's visit to Skaneateles in May, 1825. Gen- eral Lafayette's visit to Skaneateles in 1824.. while on his return to New York from a visit through the Western States. The great fire which occurred in the village of Skaneateles in 1835. Buildings destroyed, losses, and sufferers. Notice of an appli- cation to the Legislature for the passage of a law to prevent the erection of frame buildings in certain parts of the village. Sir James Nurse, a remarkable Skaneateles fraud. Copperplate engraving of the village seventy-two years ago (1830), together with a description of both town and village, and an enlarged folding illustration, rnlcrcsting items. CHAPTER XI\-. Earlv Mercha.nts 194 Briggs & Hall. Hall & Pynchon. Richard Tallcot. R. Tallcot & Co. C. W. Allis & Co. Allis & Morgan. Allis, Moses & Hu.xtablc. Allis. Rhoades & Hall. Morgan & Daniels. J. Gurdon Porter. Wolcott & Porter. Hall, Porter & Co. Butler S. Wolcott. B. S. Wolcott & Co. Phares Gould. Spencer Parsons. Parsons & Rust. Stephen Horton. Jonathan Booth. Booth & Ingham. Booth & Horlon. Gibbs & Horton. S. Horton & Co. N. Hawley & Co. Nelson Hawlcy. George P. Morgan. Edward G. Ludlow. John Meeker. Charles J. Burnett, Jr. Rhoades & Burnett. S. Porter Rhoades. William G. Slade. Charles Pardee. Porter & Pardee. C. Pardee & Co. Isom & Hall. E. Pardee & Co. Aaron Brinkerhoff. Brinkerhoff & Willetts. Brinkerhoff & Porter. Jonathan Booth. John Meeker. George Francis. Phares Gould. Rev. .\. C. Patterson. Jacob W. Van Ellen. David Seynmur. Earlv settlers. xii CONTENTS. CHAPTER XV. PAGE. Recollections, Business, and Inventions 213 The cooper-shops of Thaddeus Edwards. Recollections of Thaddeus Edwards. Definition of the pounds, shillings, and pence used in the old account-books of early merchants and traders. Letter from Superintendent of Philadelphia Mint. Recol- lections of Charles J. Burnett, Jr. Boy life on a farm in Skaneateles. The patent knocker. Expedition to Australia in 1852 in search of gold. The Hecox brick house on the lake-shore, opposite the Packwood House, in 1872. Smallpox in the village in 1851. Offhand sketch of the village and of its people fifty years ago, by George H. Ellsbury. Sam Francis and his comical story about four hundred chip- munks in the old brick schoolhouse on the hill. Young fish placed in Skaneateles Lake. Old Burdick, the soap man. The Erie Canal, and its effect on this town. Charles Oxley, the egg man. The Powell brothers and their peculiarities. Peter Pell and his bass drum always the prominent figure in all public processions. Retail prices in the village in the year 1825. Grant Bramble and his reported wonderful inventions. Village property rather low in 1820. Sherwood's house. The Indian Queen Hotel. Before photographs were known. The propeller Ben Porter. CHAPTER XVI. Educational Sources and Early Schools 229 The first school in the town of Skaneateles. Succeeding schools. Thomas Allis. Miss Graham's school and the names of her scholars in 1829. Location of the first schoolhouse in the village. State street in the village first opened. Subscription by enterprising citizens to purchase a lot whereon to build a schoolhouse in 1828. That lot is now whereon the Academy is located. The Skaneateles High School. Select schools. Lydia P. Mott, being the early history of a prominent promoter of female education, comprising a compilation of some of the principal events of her life in this town, and embracing some incidents of her youthful life as a schoolgirl when she was seventeen years old, in the year 1791. " The Maples of Mott Cottage," a poem. The history of the life and missionary work of the Rev. Samuel Kirkland. The Iroquois deputation to Philadelphia, and its reception at Bethlehem. The earliest recorded traveler's visit to Skaneateles, while on his way to Niagara in the year 1804. His description of tlie settlement and Lake. Historical collections. CHAPTER XVIL The Teasel Industry, Various Corporations, and Banks 248 The teasel industry. The term teaseling explained. Further description of the teasel and its peculiar use. Mode of cultivation. Gathering of the crop. Drying the teasels. The business of the teasel merchants. The growth of the teasel plant in the United States. The difference between teasels cultivated and uncultivated. The Skaneateles Water Works Company. The Skaneateles Iron Works. Certificate of Incorporation. Meeting of stockholders to increase its capita! stock. The Skaneateles Wood-Working Company. The Skaneateles Lake Park Company. The Dryden, Grolon, and Moravia TeiiKraph Company. The Central New York Electric Light and Power Company. The Lake Bank. The First National Bank.- The Bank of Skaneateles. Skaneateles Savings-Bank. Detailed history of the old burying- ground before the incorporation of the Rural Cemetery Association of Lake View. CONTENTS. CHAPTER XVlli. Lake View Cemetery and Skaxeateles Lake. The origin of Lake View Cemetery. How it was finally established under the most adverse opposition, and through whose personal exertions and loans of large sums of money it became finally established. The original Trustees who were ap- pointed at a public meeting, which the statute required to be held. Unfortunately a majority of the iweh'e thus appointed were adherents of the owner of the old burial-ground, and, of course, were not interested in the new organization. Skanc- ateles Lake as it appeared when this part of the country was visited by the pioneers. Modern description of its shores. Mile Point. Effect of the first dam which raised the surface of the water in the Lake. The original building on the shore of the Lake in the village. Aboriginal name of Skaneatcles Lake. Another and more modern description d the Lake. The peat-bog speculation. Another peat-bog operation reported. Pork Point. Skaneateles Lake, and how its name originated. The original mail and the improved stage-coach. CHAPTER XIX. Bonding Skaxeateles Defe.vted. — Early Missions and Religious Dexo.minatioxs. . . . 274 Defeat of the attempt to bond Skaneateles on behalf of a railroad. Another speculation which was intended to force on the town of Skaneateles a bonded debt of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in behalf of the New York Western Midland Railroad. After the town had been actually bonded under the forms of the railroad law, the scheme of its promoters was fortunately defeated by the dis- covery of the defection of the County Judge. Another attempt to bond. Conse- quences of bonding. Early missionaries in this section of the State. The Episcopal missions. Religious denominations in this town. The first religious body, the Schaneateles Society, was not denominational, as all the residents attended its services. In the year 1818 its attendants adopted the Presbyterian form of govern- ment, and has ever since been distinguished as the Presbyterian Society. The Protestant Episcopal Church. The Society of Friends. Origin of the First Baptist Society in the village. The Methodist Episcopal Church. The Skaneatcles Falls Methodist Episcopal Church. The Methodist Episcopal Church at Mottville. The Congrtpational Church. The Roman Catholic Church. CHAPTER XX. ^'ACHTING, Skaxeateles, anu Official History 2S0 The first real yacht built. A visit by the Chief and a delegation of the Onondaga tribe of Indians, when Colonel William J. Vredenburg's grand Colonial mansion was begun in 1804. The appropriate name given to this yacht, and why it was named "The Four Sisters." Regattas on the Lake fifty years ago. A notable yacht, "The Wild Wave." Years Ago: a highly polished descriptive communication, published in the Skaneateles Columbian, written by Dr. H. R. Lord, and signed " Secretary of the Navy." Charles L. Elliott, the artist. Sketches of the town of Skaneateles in 1865. Official history of the village, its incorporation, and the names of its various officers. Description of the village at the present time. Its attractiveness as a resi- dence for all who appreciate health, beauty, cleanliness, and quiet enjoyment, and particularly its freedom from those insidious insects mosquitoes. There is not a village in the State of New York which offers more attractions to either resident or visitor than Skaneateles. Town meetings held in various taverns. xiv CONTEXTS. CHAPTER XXI. PAGE. Ch.\nges i.v Proi'erty-Ownership and Establish.ment of Libraries 309 History of the James Ennis-Ludlow-Talcott-De Zcng-Whittlesey-Lapham-Padel- ford-Roosevclt property, on the west shore of the Lake, from the ownership of the soldier to whom it was allotted in 1791. History of the haunted tavern, which was located on this property at an early period. The legend of the haunted tavern and the yellow dog with red eyes. Remarkable history of Daniel Ludlow, who purchased this property in 1811, and died here in 1814. His remains rest in the old burial- ground on the hill. Names of the various owners of this property after the death of Ludlow, and the consideration each gave when purchased. The ownership of Richard L. De Zeng, who built the present Colonial mansion in 1839. The Skaneateles Library Association incorporated. A circulating library in the village in 1832-33. Description of a remarkable snow-storm in the village in 1891. Subscription to pay for the first organ to be constructed for St. James' Church. .\n effort to establish a Free Public Library in 1875, which effort was defeated. CHAPTER XXH. Early Physicians and Local History 326 Original and later physicians in town and village. Sale of Military Lot No. 35. Thayer, the artist. Fragments of history. How Harrison B. Dodge first became editor of the Skaneateles Democrat. Origin of the village Fire Department. Valua- ble files of local newspapers. Memorial Tablet in St. James' Church, in memory of six members of the Church who gave up their lives in the Civil War. Presbyterian Sunday-school celebration of Fourth of July, 1832. " Columbia," an ode. John W. Livingston, United States Marshal, a resident in this town. History of the Jerome family. Addison Jerome and his brother Leonard H. Jerome have been residents of this village. Leonard H. Jerome the father of Lady Randolph Churchill. She, however, never was in Skaneateles. The Lake House, its former names and various landlords. Mrs. Elizabeth T. Porter Beach, her celebrity. " The Last Broadside," a poem. CHAPTER XXI Enrolment List of Skaneateles Enrolment list of all the men in this town liable to military duty, together with the age of each individual, in the year 1863: First class, ages from 20 to 35, 362; Second class, ages from 35 to 45, 212; number enrolled, 594. List 'of drafted men in 1863. Skaneateles Roll of Honor. Names, rank, company, and regiment of three hundred and seventy-four volunteers from this town in the War of 1861-65. This Roll of Honor is the most complete that was ever collected. It is. therefore, a por- tion of the history of this town. Names of the soldiers who gave up their lives in defense of the Union who belonged to the town of Skaneateles. Albert De Cost Burnett, the youngest volunteer from Skaneateles. The Skaneateles Educational Society. The Skaneateles Anli-Slavery Society. F.lnalhan S. .Xndrows. James Sackelt. Bethuel Cole. An early carpenter and contractor. CONTENTS. XV CHAPTER XXIV. PACE. Introduction of Merino Sheep.— Early Merchants and Steamboat Excursions 362 Corrcl Humphreys' life and experiences, written by himself, by request, pur- posely for this History. The massacre in Florida. One of his ancestors first intro- duced the famous Merino sheep into this country. An interesting account of its accomplishment. Early merchants in the village whose places of business were all on the north side of the Seneca Turnpike Road as late as 1816. Names of the original millwrights who built all the grist-mills about this section of the State. Justice of the Peace Elijah Price. Isaac Mills. Church diversion in old days among the gentle- men of the congregation of St. James' Church. Recollections of Thaddeus Edwards. History of the Daniel C. Robbins place, now the Mingo Lodge. Arthur Mott, from whom Mottville took its name. The first excursion up to the head of the Lake in the first steamboat, with the names of the excursionists, sixty in number. Matches. Peat, or muck. Abraham Cuddeback. Elijah Manley. John Briggs. CHAPTER XXV. The Skaneateles Water Works Co.mpany and Local History 371 History of that remarkable organization, " The Skaneateles Water Works Com- pany," which acted as an agent of the American Pipe Manufacturing Company of New Jersey. It applied for a franchise, and got it, from the village Trustees, without due consideration. Its value has been demonstrated since by the litigation the Pipe Company has cost the village. " Municipal Ownership of a Water Plant," an article from the Skaneateles Democrat. Scraping the snow from the village sidewalks in winter; how it originated. Dr. Jonathan Kneeland. Samuel C. Wheadon. The Ladies' Aid Society during the Civil War. An illustration of the uncertainty of human life. Names of one hundred well-known citizens of the village of Skaneateles who signed a remonstrance against a bill pending in the Legislature in the year 1862, forty years ago. Only nine are now living. The village officers have passed away. The closing century. Early accoimt-books procured. Over twelve hundred names alphabetized. See Decision of Supreme Court of the United States against the Water Works Company, March 3, 1902, on page 454. CHAPTER XXVI. The Churches and the Library 389 Engraving of St. James' Church and description of memorials placed therein. The Leslie memorial windows. Engraving of the New Brick Presbyterian Church, with description of its memorials. Mud Lake. A Tourist's observations. Erastus M. Beach, a former resident of the village. His experiences while a resident. The Skaneateles Library Building and Sphinx, illustrated with six half-tone engravings. Items of interest. CHAPTER XXVII. A Great Century's Ending 406 The Nineteenth Century and its discoveries. Other subjects of general interest, none of which have any relation to the special history of Skaneateles or to the general subjects of this volume. The wonderful transmission of meridian time by telegraph. Predictions for the year 2000. xvi CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXVIII. p Local History as Elaborated by the Newspaper Press of Syracuse Extracts are presented from the various newspapers of Syracuse, giving inter- esting information concerning the village of Skaneateles in 1898. CHAPTER XXIX. An Inside History of Lake View Cemetery, which has never before been- made PUBLIC 4 ' Preliminary action to organize an incorporated public cemetery. Election of twelve Trustees. A certificate of indebtedness. Want of interest. Prosecution of the work by the author. Criticism of public functionaries. Trust funds. Facsimile of document discovered by the author. Cemetery lands conveyed to the Trustees. of the village. Portrait of Dver Brainerd. History of Alfred Champ. CHAPTER XXX. The Author's Adventures with the Legal Fraternity 440 Commencing with the highest authority in the State, the Attorney-General. Criticism of his opinion. Legal right to criticize a public officer. Judge Folger's opinion with reference to the right of newspaper criticism. Lawyers generally. What the Bible says of lawyers. Characterization of lawyers by Shakespeare. Another adventure with a different variety of the legal fraternity— the official stenographer of a court of record. CONCLUSION. Summary or the Work on this Volu.me 45° The concluding remarks to the gentle reader by Mr. Clark in his " History of Onondaga County." Experiences of the author. A remonstrance by one hundred citizens of the village. Defeat of the attempt to bond the town. Franchise granted to a trolley road. An excellent cemetery secured to the town. Municipal ownership of the water works. Decision of the Supreme Court of the United States against the Skaneateles Water Works Company, March 3, 1902. System of clearing the snow from the sidewalks in winter by tlie village. Individual history. INDEX OF NAMES 46s INDEX OF SUBJECTS 47i INDEX OF ILLUSTRATIONS. A fAGi;. Allis, C. \V., Merchant and Banker 196 Braincrd. I )ycr 419 Burnett, Albert Dc Cost, Youngest \'oluntcer of the Civil \\ .ir 359 Burnett. Charles J.. Jr 201 C. Coe, Edward B 161 Coe's. Edward B., Daughter and her Children . . 164 Collins Point, Skancateles Lake, East Shore 295 Colonial Residence of Daniel Kellogg 26 Cooper Shops, Thaddcus Edwards' Old, Built Eighty Years Ago 213 Document Discovered by the Author. Five- Mile Point, on East Shore of Lake. Francis, George Genesee Street and St. James' Church. Goodall, Charles 11. Hall. David, more familiarly known as Deacon David Hall 194 Hall, Captain James, Early Prominent Citizen and Manufacturer 311 Hawley, Nelson, Early Merchant 199 Head, or South End, of Skaneatelcs Lake, showing " Glen Haven " Hotel 329 Highlands, The, near South End of Lake, showing both sides of the Lake 271 Humphreys, Corrcl, a well-know 11 Early Resident 365 Kellogg, Daniel Lake House, built in 1824, destroyed by fire July 19, 1870 ,137 Leslie, Edmund Norman Frontispiece Leslie, Mrs. Edmund Norman Frontispiece Leslie, Mrs. Edmund Norman, copy of Daguerreotype taken in 1846 324 Leslie, Mrs. Edmund Norman, copy of Portrait painted by Charles L, Elliott in 1846, .. . 325 Leslie Memorial Windows in St. James' Church 391 xviii IXDEX OF ILLUSTRATIONS. O. PAGE. One-Mile Point, West Shore of Lake 263 Oxley, Charles (Died 1888, aged ninety years) 225 P. Pardee, Charles » 203 Picnic on the Wooded Shore of Skaneateles Lake 315 Presbyterian Church, Old Brick, erected in 1830 283 Presbyterian Church, New 394 R. Regatta on Skaneateles Lake Forty Years Ago (On the dock stands Philander William- son ; on his right is Captain Eckhardt; on the corner of the dock is George Rawlins) . 220 Regatta, Skaneateles— The Start, 1850 292 Regatta, Skaneateles— The Start, 1851 293 S. St. James' Church, Original, erected 1827-28 283 St. James' Church, New 390 Skaneateles Lake and St. James' Church 233 Skaneateles Lake, East Shore, near Village 266 Skaneateles Lake Yacht, sailing " in-the-eye-of-the-wind " — St. James' Church and sur- rounding Scenery 380 Skaneateles Library Building and Sphinx — Six Illustrations. .. .397, 398, 399, 401, 403, 404 Skaneateles Savings Bank 255 Skaneateles, N. Y., Village of, in 1830 (Copperplate Engraving from the Ariel) 190 Enlargement of the above Engraving (Folding Plate), opposite 192 Skaneateles Village, Mirrored by Water of the Lake 37;^ Skaneateles, Village of. View from the Lake in 1856 x^i Society of Friends, as illustrated by two of its early members, Mrs. Ahner Lawton and Mrs. Russell Frost 285 Stage-Coach, Original Mail and Passenger 259 Stage-Coach, An Improved (designed for wealthier travelers), and a Roadside Tavern.. 273 T. Taber. Mrs. William -R., illustrating the Simplicity of Attire oi liie .■Micieiy of Friends. .. . 287 Teasel, The, One of the Chief Productions of Skaneateles 249 Ten-Mile Point, Skaneateles Lake, from the South 223 Ten-Mile Point. Skaneateles Lake, looking South 385 Three Sisters, The, ages respectively 82, 83, and 84 years 142 V. Village Residence of Ednunid Norman Leslie — Summer 299 Village Residence of Ednnmd Norman Leslie — Winter Approach 303 Vredenburg Colonial Mansion, erected 1804-72 290 W. Wheel-Head, Accelerating, Miner's 38 Winter Scene in the Village of Skaneateles 319 PREFACE, After assuming a permanent residence in the village of Skaneateles, in the year 1851, the change from an active business life became very apparent, and necessitated not only physical, but mental occupation. While considering some project of pleasurable employment which would be of general interest and beneficial to the community at large, the subject of investigating the pioneer settlement of both the town and the village of Skaneateles was brought to mijid by learning that all the public records of the town had been destroyed by fire in the year 1835. Therefore, under these conditions, the subject of investigating the earliest settlement of this section of the State was assumed, although with considerable doubt of its successful completion. The original purpose was to publish such collections of local history from time to time in the Skaneateles Democrat, whose editor, now deceased, had always exhibited a personal interest in the early history of the town. The author not having been " to the manor born,"' it seemed, of course, to be a very difficult undertaking, but, being naturally endowed with tlu' faculty of perseverance, the contents of this volume attest his endeavors. The first necessity under the above conditions, in entering upon an unknown subject, was to obtain the names of the original pioneers who with their families settled this section of the State over one hundred years ago, all of whom have " passed over to the majority." In order to procure the names desired, it was essential to obtain account-books, such as ledgers and day-books, which had been kept by the original pioneer traders and merchants, as they would be desirable adjuncts in ascertaining the names of those who had made purchases for family XX PREFACE. and other purposes. It consumed a considerable time to procure those old account-books, but it was finall\- accomplished. Five ledgers and two day-books, dating from the year 1800 to 1825, were secured. The ledgers were all single entry, and it was difficult to obtain the names of the owners. From all these account-books there were obtained over twelve hundred names of individuals and firms who made regular purchases from dealers and traders located at the ■■ Xorth End of Skaneateles Lake," which was the original name of the present village. The persons who made their purchases here resided within a radius of from fifty to one hundred miles around this early settlement. These names were copied in alphabetical order, and were afterward sub- mitted to the late Nathaniel Miller, who first settled in the village in the year 1807, and who possessed a very retentive memory of individuals and of events. Only the result of his recollections of the names of farmers and others, their locations and individualities, is given in this volume. The great mass of the names not included within his recollection has been omitted as being in obscurity. The names have, however, been kept for reference to determine the date when some particular individual traded or was a temporary resident in either town or village. It is proper here to state llial nearly all the sketches of individuals who were early settlers that are detailed in this volume are the result of personal interviews by the author within the past fifty years, all of whom have now " joined the innumerable throng." The material included in this volume, fragmentary in character, has been in course of collection during the past fifty years, a great deal of it by personal correspondence, and, now that so much has been obtained which has never here- tofore seen the light of publication, and which it is now impossible to acquire, the author estimates that its publication in its present form has become a diUy which will be indispensable to futurity. The small volume entitled "• History of Skaneateles and Vicinity," ijublished twenty years ago (1881), included, with the permission of the author, a small portion of this history that had previously been printed in the Skaneateles Donocrat. PREFACE. xxi The author also loaned all his niamiscript collections of the early history of this town to the editor and publisher of " The Centennial History of Onondaga County," by request, indicated in a circular received by mail. In the preface of the first volume, the following acknowledgment was printed : ■■ While the list of all who have personally aided in our task is too long for publication, it is incumbent upon us to give the names of a few who have been most instrumental in securing and supplying information for the various town histories, among which are Captain George Collins and Uriah Roundy, town of Spafford; E. Norman Leslie, the town of Skaneateles," etc. In the progress of collecting the subjects detailed herein, the author has been indebted and placed under personal obligations to several gentlemen and one lady, among whom may be primarily named Thomas Isom, himself a former merchant, who furnished all the particulars of the earliest merchants, their various partnerships, changes in business, and many other subjects of general interest which otherwise it would have been impossible to obtain. His information was derived from the late Nathaniel Miller, Dr. E. H. Porter, Deacon David Hall, C. Pardee, and Amos Pardee, Sr., all of whom are deceased; Rev. William M. Beauchamp : George Maurice Abbot, Treasurer of " The Library Company of Philadelphia " ; and Mrs. D. K. Leitch, of the village of Skaneateles. The author has also consulted J. V. H. Clark's " Onondaga," the records in the office of the Clerk of Onondaga County, and the records in the office of the Surrogate of Onondaga County. The sketches of individuals who nearly a century ago were prominent residents here have been obtained through an extensive correspondence with their descend- ants, and it required much perseverance to complete them. One of these was Daniel Ludlow (page 312), and another was Phares Gould (page 209). There are undoubtedly many imperfections and some repetitions that have naturally occurred in a history which has been from time to time written in the interim of the past fifty years. The number of years since this town was first settled is now ( 1902) named as having been one hundred and eight years from 1794, although in the following pages one hundred and seven years has been stated as having been the limited time. xxii PREFACE. This volume has been wrilten offhand by the author, without previous mem- orandum of any kind, and every page has been by him typewritten and pre- pared for the compositor. His advancing years, causing impairment of eyesight and especially of memory, must be held responsible for many imperfections in this volume. There have been added as " reminiscences of later times " some of the author's personal experiences after having been elected President of the village, in the year 1895, at the age of seventy-eight years, which office he held two years. In entering upon the subject of writing a history of the town and village of Skaneateles, it was at first considered unfruitful of incident and barren of interest. Materials multiplied, however, and incidents accumulated to a great extent. The field of investigation was found to be unexplored, and the author was borne on irresistibly to glean fresh material from all sources. The success which has attended the undertaking in the collection of this mass of historical matter has greatly exceeded anticipation. With these preliminary remarks and explanation, the following pages are submitted to the public. The Author. March, 1902. SKANEATELES CHAPTER I. Tiii; Earliest Historv. It will be appropriate, in writing on the subject of the earliest history of Skaneatcles, to comnience at the period before this town was set off from the township of Marcellus. Marcellus was one of the original townships in the military tract that con- sisted of lands which were assigned by the State of New York to the Revolu- tionary soldiers of the New York line as premiums, or bounty lands. A lot one mile square was given to each soldier, except a certain portion which was reserved to defray the expenses of surveying and other contingencies. The names assigned to the townships were selected by the Surveyor-General De Witt and officers of the Government before any settlements were made. This accounts for the singularity of the names, which were taken principally from distinguished men of ancient Greece and Rome. Some of them were distinguished as poets, orators, statesmen, and some as military commanders ; a few were taken from prominent literary men of England, as Dryden, Milton, and Locke. The town- ships of the military tract were equal to ten miles square, and were divided by surveys into one hundred lots one mile square. At the commencement of the Revolutionary War, in 1776, Congress offered to the officers and soldiers who should enlist and serve during the war a bounty of both money and land. At the close of the war, in 1783, the Legislature of the State of New York took action with regard to these promised bounty lands, not only with a view of discharging the aforesaid engagement of Congress, but, in consideration of the virtue and patriotism of the troops of New York, to add thereto a large gratuity of State lands. As a consequence, the Legislature passed an act defining the ratio of lands to be given to each private and to officers of each grade. There were two kinds of granted lands, one called gratuity, and the other bounty. By an act passed February 28, 1789, the Surveyor-General was directed to lay out the tracts of land which are now known as "The Military Lots." On the ist of January, 1791, the Commissioners of the Land Office proceeded to determine claims, and to ballot for each individual's share. From that time, soldiers began to sell their bounty lands, and even before that date they sold their claims to any one who wished to purchase, and it is a singular fact that soldiers would sell their claims over and over again to whoever would make an offer for them. Our county records, made at an early day, show many owners of about half of the military lots in this town. In consequence, the 2 HISTORY 01- SKANEATELES. courts became overflowed with business relating to these contested claims, a large proportion of the lots in the whole military tract being more or less a subject of litigation. Finally, the Legislature passed a law appointing a Board of Commis- sioners, with full power to hear, examine, award, and determine all disputes respecting the titles to any and all the military bounty lands. The action of this board prevented further litigation, and the real owners were placed in quiet possession of their lands. Therefore, under the conditions of these laws, the original owners of the lands in this town of Skaneateles were the thirty-four Revolutionary soldiers who were awarded by ballot the several military lots in this town, hereinafter designated. There are thirty-nine of these lots in this town, which were originally in the township of Marcellus, which had one hundred lots, and when this town was set off and organized, in 1830, as a distinct town, thirty-nine lots were taken from Marcellus, and these lots now compose the town of Skaneateles. January i, 1791, the balloting commenced for each individual's share. Ninety- four soldiers drew lots in each township. Of the one hundred lots, one lot was drawn for the support of literature in the State of New York; one lot near the center of each township was assigned by the Surveyor-General for the support of the gospel and common schools, and the remaining four lots went to satisfy the surplus shares of the officers, and to compensate those who by chance might draw lots covered with water. NAMES OF SOLDIERS WHO ORIGINALLY OWNED THIS TOWN. Lot Lot Number. Soldier. Number. Soldier. I. Baker, Stephen. 38. Dennison, Geo., Lieutenant. 2. Lepperd, John. 39- Gillaspie, William. 3- Bear, Edward. 44- Shultz, John. 4- Moore, John. 45- Blowers, Ephraim. 5- Yarrington, William. 52. Peck, Hiel, Lieutenant. 10. Herring, Benj., Ensign. 57- Beebe, Benjamin. II. Lodder, William. 58. Vosburgh, Peter J. 12. Gilbert, John. 59- Reed, Jacob, Captain. 13- Gross, John. 60. Lake, Henry. 20. Dow, Volkert. J.\mes B.\ilev. When our pioneers came here, they found the uplands covered with forests of hard timber, with but little undergrowth. The lowlands were overspread with a dense hemlock forest, and the swamps with ash and white cedar. Not a tree had been felled ; no plowshare had rent the ground. That placid lake which is before our admiring eyes daily, whose surface has the same appearance now that it had thousands of years ago, reflects the heavens as of old ; the everlasting hills and its rocky banks were then the same as now, the jutting points produced from the deposited sands of the swift-flowing rivu- lets of past ages. It was the resting-place of the migrating wild fowl, geese, ducks, herons, and others of the like nature, unharmed and unmolested. Its appearance thousands of years ago taxes the imagination to describe. Every detail of the scene has undergone a change. Rocks remain to show the location of the beautiful cascades of early times, but the water which produced HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. 5 tlieiii has disappeared. By llie rcmcival of the forests our southern hills liave lost some of their graceful contour and much in apparent height. The fishennan and hunter have not their old success. The naturalist searches in vain for birds, tree, or plant which in fomier times were to be found with little care. The utilitarian observes the decrease of the water supply with anxiety, and the farmer can not grow some varieties of fruits, which once were abundant. Progress often leaves behind much that is good. Notwithstanding all this, few would wish to go back to that past. Present advantages are so great and real that they outweigh all the losses that can be mentioned. Measured by revolving years, the century since the pioneer first raised his cabin near the lake shore is but the faintest point of time compared with the ages that have gone before. Tested by the advance of civilization here and else- where, it is as the passage of thousands of years. Of that dim, illimitable past, there is very little to record here; of our later days, every household and home offers something to interest heart and mind, and this because the reign of mind has begun. How great the contrast now ! It seems a new world, filled with strange inventions and teeming with a new life. HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. CHAPTER II. How THE Pioneers Came. From the time of the survey of the military lots in 1794, the tide of emigration from the eastern section of this State and from the New England States began to flow to this part of the State. Usually pioneers came in the summer and fall, on foot and on horseback, prospecting in search of homes. But winter was most propitious for the removal of their families and goods. The snows of winter were distributed evenly over the ground, and lay permanently protected from drifts by the dense forests. The long winters gave ample time for the journeys, which were often interrupted by impassable streams and thaws. This was for- tunate for emigration at that early period, as the highway during the summer season was so much obstructed by roots and stumps as to render traveling very difificult in conveyances on wheels. There were no four-wheeled wagons in those days. Two-wheeled vehicles only were used. For many years there was to be seen on the Genesee road, in the winter season, an almost unbroken procession of loads of people with goods, drawn by either oxen or horses, accompanied by herds of cattle and cows, to settle this great wilderness. In 1803 the Seneca Turnpike was chartered, and soon after it was laid out six rods wide, the trees being cut away to the whole width, and the road- way thrown up in the center to get the benefit of the sun's rays and render the road as dry as possible. This road extended from Utica to Canandaigua, and was a continuation of the Mohawk Turnpike, thus affording a regular turnpike communication from Albany to Canandaigua. There was a great tide of emigra- tion which came over this road, destined to the western part of this State and to the Western Reserve in Ohio. The Genesee country, in the western part of the State, was settled previously, and, there being no roads through the State, the emigration to it was by water up the Mohawk, through Oneida Lake and River, and up the Seneca River and Lake. On the completion of the turnpike, the travel westward passed wholly through this place. About the year 180D merchandise was transported in large covered wagons drawn by four horses. Settlements once made prepared the way for accessions, and accordingly we find that the population increased rapidly from year to year by the constantly in- coming tide of emigration from the East. At the time the first settlers came here there was not in existence in the town of Marcellus such a vehicle as a horse-wagon. All visiting was done mostly in winter, on sleds, and fortunate was the hardy settler who could yoke a pair of oxen of his own, and make his way through the woods with his wife and a child HI STORY or SKAXHATELES. 7 or two on the sled, for an evening's visit with his nearest neighbor, many miles distant. Such a man was considered rich. At first there were no roads for many years. The settlers used to follow marked trees on foot. Roads were first made from house to house, and from place to place, and finally, when roads were made, they were proverbially bad — very bad. At the time this part of the country was settled our fathers w^re groping in almost utter darkness, so far as a knowledge of the sciences was concerned, and but little progress had been made in invention and the arts. Scarcely one of the modern contrivances for cooking, and for warming and lighting dwellings, was known. Not a pound of coal had been burned in the country. No iron stoves were used, and no contrivances for economizing heat were employed. All the cooking and warming were done with the aid of fire kindled upon the stone hearth or with the oven. Pine-knots or tallow candles furnished the light for the long winter evenings, and the bare floors supplied the place of rugs and car- pets. The water used for household purposes was drawn from deep wells with the creaking "sweep." No form of pump was used in this part of the country, so far as can be learned, until after the commencement of the present century. There were no friction matches in those early days, with the aid of which a fire could be speedily kindled. And if the fire went out upon the hearth overnight, and the tinder was damp, so that the spark would not "catch," the alternative remained of wading through the snow a mile or so to borrow a brand of a neigh- bor. Only one room in any house was warmed, unless some of the family were ill. In all the rest the temperature was at zero during many nights in winter. The men and women of those days undressed and retired to their beds at night in an atmosphere colder than that of our modem barns and woodsheds, and they never complained. Xo hot-air furnaces tempered the wintry air in their dwellings, and they slept soundly in the cold. The cooking was very simple, and the nature of the food plain and substantial. But few dishes were seen upon the tabic. Pork and cabbage, corn bread and milk, with bean porridge and pota- toes, were about the usual forms of food consumed. The ancient tinder-box was the only reliance for producing fire for household purposes. The present population know nothing of this necessity, therefore a detailed description is here given. The tinder-box was usually constructed of tin-plate. It was cylindrical in form, with an open top, about four or five inches in diameter, and four inches in height. A disk or plunger was made to exactly fit the cylindrical opening. On this disk was soldered a tin candle-holder, which was used not only to place a candle, but as a handle to the disk. A piece of linen rag was then lighted in a blaze, and as .soon as the blaze expired it was placed in the tinder-lx)x, and the disk or [)lunger placed over the charred rag. A piece of flint, which in those days was easily obtainable as gun-flints were in common use. and a piece of steel, so shaped as to hang by a hook over the inflex-finger of one hand, while with the other hand the flint was struck on the 8 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. steel, produced a spark of fire, which, being directed to the surface of the charred rag, set it on fire, not, however, in a blaze, but sufficient to ignite a pine- shaving which had been tipped with brimstone for this purpose, and the shaving soon produced a blaze sufficient to light a candle. The tinder-box was always kept closed and in a dry place to avoid dampness. The space on top of the closed disk was the receptacle for holding the flint and steel. The tinder-box was in common use until the introduction of the original friction-match, about the year 1827. The first friction-matches were flat in shape, and had to be drawn between a folded piece of sand-paper to produce a blaze. The name given to these matches was "Lucifer matches," and from the time they were introduced the tinder-boxes disappeared, so much so that not one of them can now be found in an old-time collection. Skaneateles had not yet received its first shovelful of mineral coal, and it was a long way off from the time when its dwellings would be illuminated with kerosene. Tallow dips were then the only fashionable lights, and pine-knots were used by those who did not possess dips. Whale-oil lamps afterward came into fashion. Account-Books of Early Merchants. — The author obtained many years ago four ledgers and two day-books, which had been kept by as many early merchants and manufacturers. One day-book, kept by Eli Clark, dated from the time he came here, 1800, and continued until his death, August, 1834, at the age of seventy-two. From these account-books have been obtained twelve hundred names of per- sons who purchased their goods here in this early settlement, and who resided within a radius of from fifty to one hundred miles from this centei;. These repre- sent the earliest settlers in this section of the State. The cash entries in these old ledgers were apparently kept in sterling cur- rency. Pounds, Shillings, and Pence really were not sterling money, but divi- sions of the Spanish milled dollar. The pence were our twelfths of a shilling; the shillings were 123/2 cents ; and the pounds were 20 shillings of 12^/2 cents each. In a letter received by the author from the Superintendent of the United States Mint, at Philadelphia, it is stated that a law was passed by Congress in the year 1795 which made the divisions of the Spanish milled dollar legal tender. That law was in full force until Congress in 1853 passed a law repeal- ing the law of 1795. This had (he effect of driving out of circulation all the old Spanish coin then in use here. The Superintendent, also in reply to other questions, stated that none of the gold dollars which had been coined by the Mint had ever been returned, but were kept by their possessors. He also stated that the Mint now coins every year about $75,000 in quarter-eagles ($2,50) during the month of November to supply the demand during the holiday season. While writing on the subject of coins, it may be of interest to mention that an old coin was dug up on the old W. J. Vredenburg ground, on which is the HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. 9 new Colton dwelling-house. This coin was a one-cent piece which was coined by the State of Massachusetts before any coins were issued by the United States Mint. It bears the date of 1788. On the obverse side is an Indian with bow and arrow, and on the reverse is an eagle with outspread wings. Immediately under the eagle is the date 1788. On one side is the word "Massachusetts" around the eagle, while on the reverse side is the word "Commonwealth," thus making the title "Commonwealth of Massachusetts." The coin shows much use. therefore it was lost by its owner many years after its date. The Pioneers. — All the earliest settlers, when they first came here into the woods, were obliged to live for a considerable time with no shelter but the forest, making use of their two-wheeled cart, not only for sleeping purposes, but for culinary purposes, until a comfortable temporary cabin could be constructed. All the heavy labor was performed by the settlers themselves, and when it be- came necessary to build a log cabin, or for other heav>' work needing more as- sistance, a general invitation was extended to all the settlers in the vicinity, which was very generally accepted, and the meeting always ended in a frolic. Such calls for assistance were termed "Bees" — "Chopping-Bees," "Logging-Bees," "Husk- ing-Bccs," etc. In these primitive times the means of subsistence were scanty and precarious. Needed provisions were obtained from other settlements that had been settled earlier, such as the towns of .\urelius and Scipio, then in Onondaga County. Log Houses. — Very few log houses remain in central New York at this time. They have gone to ruin through neglect or have been used for firewood. Modern houses have taken their places, and modern methods of cooking have been adopted instead of those that held forth in the days of big chimneys and monster fireplaces, large enough to take in cord-wood. The old log cabins were built cheaply, and yet they had their good qualities, and were very comfortable in many respects. Some of them were very large. The floor was the bare earth, and re- mained so until saw-mills produced boards for floors. The logs for constructing the house were all about one size, and all were round as they grew. In the process of building, an open space was left on one side for a chimney, which was always built outside of the house, and was constructed of small round wood, laid together similar to the exterior of the log house. The spaces between the logs were plas- tered with clav, as well as the spaces between the smaller round wood for the chimneys, clay being the most desirable to keep out the rain and the snow and the cold, freezing air. The chimney was not only chinked with clay, but plastered inside for safety against fire. The roof of the log house was laid with small round straight trees, and covered with birch-hark, or bark of other trees if birch was not obtainable. Flat stones were laid down in and around the fireplace. The methods of housekeeping and cooking were very crude, but the pioneers enjoyed this mode of life until better appliances became available. Log barns were also common in early days, and were more crudely made than the log dwelling-houses. 10 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. In later times, when the pioneers were able to get bricks or stone for their fireplaces and chimneys, they had many more comforts. Then they had cooking- cranes in the fireplace. These cranes had hooks on them for the purpose of hang- ing on kettles. The cranes were so constructed as to swing back and forth over and from the fire. Potatoes were buried in the hot ashes, and were thoroughly cooked. The corn and rye bread was baked over the hot embers in a cast-iron bake-pot, which had a cast-iron cover with a raised edge to hold the hot coals and ashes over the bread. Spareribs were hung on the crane over the fire to cook, and thus a superbly cooked rib was the result. The cost of living with these cheap conveniences was reduced to a minimum. Their wants were simple and not far- reaching. Log school-houses were a necessity in early times, not only for school purposes, but for religious services and for traveling missionaries, and for holding public meetings of the settlers. The log school-houses had been talked about for years. They were a necessity, and served a good purpose. When religious meetings were held in them, the ministers preached, and all the whole neighborhood for many miles around turned out on the Sabbath, on foot and on horseback, or in crude vehicles, to attend the meetings held in the log school-houses. Before the advent of saw-mills logs were placed in rows for seats. The min- ister had no pulpit, and was obliged to stand up and deliver his address without the customary written notes. His address was always practical. It was in this manner that the pioneers worshiped, and listened to the minister and to the old- fashioned singing, one hundred years ago. The pioneers did the best tliey could according to their means. The women of those days deserve especial notice. They made their own stockings, spun their own wool, and wove their own tow cloth, hatcheled their own flax, spun their own thread, and made the fabric into substantial garments. The log house had its old- fashioned loom, its spinning-wheel, flax-hatchel, and other arrangements, simple in their make-up, which were used in the log cabins of the pioneers, because they were useful and were required to meet the absolute wants of the early settlers. The youth of to-day can tell you nothing about log house life, much less about log cabins, tallow dips, tinder-boxes, and other rude appliances of those old days. This is an entirely different age from the pioneer days, and the present generation looks upon existing conditions with altogether different eyes from the early oc- cupants of our country. They see the wonders of this period, the advancements made by inventors and scientists, the progress that has been made in educational processes, in the modes of living, in traveling, and in innumerable other conve- niences, while our early pioneers were in blissful ignorance of the future modern progressiveness of the wonderful age in which we now live — the daily news- paper, printed by the hundred thousand daily, with huge machines driven by steam ; telegraphy ; the wonderful telephone, which allows familiar speech to be transmitted through a wire a thousand miles ; and, lastly, wireless telegraphy. HISTORY OF SK.IXE.ITELES. CHAPTER III. Eakly Pioneers. Abr.\h.\m a. CuDDEii.xcK. — The first settler in this town was Abraham A. Cuddeback, who came here from the town of Minisink, Orange County, N. \. He had previously secured his lands from the Surveyor-General of the State, at a time when the titles to the military lots were very imperfect from causes hereinbefore stated. He started from his old home, May 2, 1794, with a wagon, three yoke of oxen, one two-year-old colt, and twelve cows. He brought with him his wife and eight children, came by way of Albany, was forty-three days on the road, and arrived here June 14, 1794. When he arrived at Fort Schuyler, now Utica, there were but two buildings, and between there and Onondaga Hill there were no dwelling-houses. When he arrived here, there were no houses or log cabins within the locality where the village is situated. The forest on the lake-shore was so impenetrable for teams and cattle that he was obliged to construct a raft of logs, on which, from the entrance of the outlet, he had to convey his effects and family to his destination on the west shore of the lake. This location is now ornamented with the beautiful residence of the late Dr. S. H. Hurd, wliich is now owned by Mr. William Fitsgerald. The east end of the old barn, which was taken down by the order of Dr. Hurd some years ago, was erected by Mr. Cudde- back, and was the first frame building put up in the town. When Mr. Cudde- back and his family arrived here, there were five Indian wigwams, occupied by Indians, located at the spring where C. W. Allis erected his dwelling many years ago. The first four years the settlers had to carry their grain to be ground at a mill situated where Utica is now. The first mill in this vicinity was built at Onondaga Valley in 1798. The first wheat raised by Mr. Cuddeback, in 1796- 97, he carried to Albany. Among other necessities needed by him were nails, so he traded part of his wiieat to procure them — a bushel of wheat for a pound of nails. Abraham A. Cuddeback died October 22, 1831, aged seventy-three years. He was a descendant of the Huguenots, who originally settled in Orange County, N. Y. Sk.\neateles' First Settler. — According to "Clark's Onondaga," John Thompson was the earliest settler. It is stated in that historical book that he came with his family within the present limits of this town in 1793. He was said to have settled on Lot No. 18. The deed of his purchase was recorded in the Countv Clerk's office, dated 1794. The consideration was his services while 12 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. employed in ascertaining the jurisdiction line between the States of New York and Pennsylvania, and during three successive summers employed in surveying the military lands, as well as in consideration of five shillings lawful money of the State of New York. In my opinion he was by no means the earliest settler, as I have at various times during the past year made it a study to search the records of deeds in the County Clerk's office, on the theory that, this deed to him being on record in 1794, at some future time thereafter he must have disposed of that land. I com- menced with the year 1794, and, searching along the following years, I found that said John Thompson had purchased military lands not only in this but in adjoining towns, and in all his deeds his name was recorded as being of the town of Stillwater, Saratoga County, N. Y. The next recorded deed after the first one in this town was dated October 12, 1801, when he purchased lands in Lot No. 88 in the township of Camillus. October 2, 1806, John Thompson of the town of Stillwater, sold the foregoing tract of land in the township of Camillus. I found recorded in 1810: John Thompson and Charlora Adams, of Mar- cellus, administrators of the goods and chattels, rights, and credits of David Groom, of Marcellus. June 15, 1819, John Thompson, of the same township of Stillwater, sold a tract of land to Nathan Thompson, of the town of Galway, Saratoga County, N. Y. January 12, 1821, John Thompson then entered his name in a deed for the first time as being of the town of Marcellus, N. Y., and sold to Joseph Fos- ter, of the township of Hannibal, Oswego County, N. Y., 104.85 acres, being parts of Lots Nos. 18 and 35, in the township of Marcellus; consideration, $2,090. This conveyance included his first purchase of fifty acres in Lot No. 18, and another parcel adjoining the fifty acres in Lot No. 35, of which purchase there was no record. In those early days many deeds were not recorded, and by dili- gent search no record could be found, March 2, 1825, this parcel of land of 104.85 acres was sold by Joseph Torter to Samuel Jacacks, of the town of Mar- cellus; consideration, $2,300. April 7, 1836, Samuel Jacacks sold the John Thompson land to David Hall of Skaneateles; consideration, $5,000. In all these deeds by John Thompson, his wife, if he had one, did not join in the execution thereof. This indicates to my mind that, when assisting in the survey of the military lands, he was possibly quite a young man, without family or wife, and that he did not actually settle in this town until 1810 or 1821. The records in Syracuse are more or less imperfect in determining who were the first settlers, as many who came in early times had no money, and were obliged to hire or lease lands until they could earn enough to purchase. Sur- veyor-General De Witt, who held large tracts of land, furnished all newcomers with such lands as were wanted at a very low rate. There were other early pioneers who came in 1794, but no other deeds than John Thompson's are on record. HISTORY or SKJNEATELES. 13 In my opinion really, under all circumstances hereinbefore stated, the first actual settler was Abraham A. Cuddcback, who arrived here June 14, 1794, with his wife and eight children, from Minisink, Orange County, N. Y. He was forty-three days on the route, and not only brought his family, but considerable stock. Though there is no deed on record of lands purchased by him, I have been informed by his grandchildren that he rented lands from De Witt, the Surveyor-General, and in the course of time he purchased the lands on which he first settled on the west bank of the lake. Among his grandchildren, to whom have been handed down his first experiences and sayings, he is stated to have said that his nearest settler was at Onondaga Hill. It is well at this late day to determine as far as is possible the name of the first settler of one hundred and six years ago. Elij.\h Bowen. — .Ajiother early settler was Elijah Bowen, who was born in Massachusetts in 1757, and died in this town May 20, 1807, aged fifty years. He with his family came here and located on Military Lot No. 39, on what has since been known as the C. C. WycofT farm, in 1794. The first record in the County Clerk's office shows that he purchased part of Military Lot No. 39, May 22, i8cx), and paid therefor $125. He had a brother named Benajah, who lo- cated on the farm next east of the present Rickard farm. The log houses owned by these two brothers were the only ones in that vicinity, and the road leading to them was for a long time known as the "Bowen Road." Elijah first came here in the spring of 1793, with one yoke of oxen and a sled, and selected the land he wanted, then cut down some trees, and with the logs and some birch- bark constructed a temporary shelter for the season. During the subsequent summer. 1794. he built a log house, wherein to make a home for his family. In the summer of 1794 he brought his family to this town. On this occasion he came with two sleds, one yoke of oxen, and a pair of horses. His family con- sisted of his wife and six children, all of whom were born in Cheshire, Mass. The names of the children of Elijah Bowen are as follows: Valentine, born 1793, died in Pennsylvania, 1870, aged eighty-seven years. Sophronia, born 1784, died at the age of seventy-nine years. Elijah, bom 1787, died in Wisconsin, 1861, aged eighty-three years. Hannah, born 1785. She was nine years old when she came here. Delina, born 1788, married to Dr. David Kingsbury, of this town. Lucina, born 1788, died i8f>3, aged seventy-four years. Patsey, wife of Elijah Bowen, born 1867, died July 15, 1857, aged ninety years. After the Bowen family were scttlid in their new home, it became the head- quarters for all the emigrating families in that neighborhood. Families would drive into the dooryard, and make it their home until the men selected a loca- tion. There not being much extra space in the Bowen log house, the newcomers would sleep at night on the floor, or ground, if there was no floor, wherever they could find convenient space. 14 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. According to the history of this family, Elijah Bowen had another child, a son, who was born in Pompey during the first year of his residence here. In connection therewith, it is stated that, but a short time before this son's birth, his mother went from their new home here, on horseback, to Pompey, where the family had friends, and the mother returned home when her baby was two weeks old. This son, Almeron Bowen, died September 27, 1825, aged thirty-one years. Although not exactly born in the town of Skaneateles, still, under the circumstances related above, he was really the first born of parents residing in this town. When Elijah Bowen arrived here in 1793, the titles to the military lots were at that time in much doubt. This was before the Board of Commissioners ap- pointed by the Legislature had determined all disputes as to the ownership of the several military lots in 1797. Bowen had located his land, but had not yet secured the title. It may, therefore, be said that Elijah Bowen was one of the first settlers of this town. Elijah Bowen, son of the above early settler, who came with his father from Cheshire, Mass., in 1794, and who was thirty-three years of age at that date, resided here for many years, and was a soldier of the War of 1812. He always was called Colonel Bowen. He afterward went to Wisconsin, where he died in 1861, aged eighty-three years. Benajah Bowen. — Benajah Bowen, brother to the elder Elijah, was born in Cheshire, Mass., in the year 1765. He came here and settled on the land next east of his brother, in the year 1795, bringing his wife and eight children — five boys and three girls. He removed with his family in 1817 from this place to Lysander, where he died. David Kingsley. — Dr. David Kingsley, who married Delina Bowen when he was thirty years old, was born in 1777. He practised medicine hereabout for nearly forty years, residing in Clintonville. He was contemporary with Dr. Samuel Porter and Dr. Hopkins. He died March 7, 1841, in the sixty-fourth year of his age. He was the father of the late Mrs. Schuyler Moore, of this village. Amasa Smith. — Amasa Smith was one of the earliest blacksmiths of this town, and made his home on the Bowen place for a number of years. . Winston Day, the First Merchant in this Town. — Winston Day was born July 11, 1767, and came to this town in 1796, when he was twenty-nine years of age. He built a storehouse of logs and split basswood slabs. There being neither boards nor sawed timber at that early period, split basswood was the only material that could be used. This store was situated on Military Lot No. 27 when he first came here, and goods were sold in this building; but he subse- quently located a second store, in 1797, on the site formerly occupied by the Lake House, where he was set up in business by Judge Jedediah Sanger. His first log storehouse was built on land owned by John Watson, and was situated on a pathway through the forest leading from where the "Red House" HISTORV OF SK.INE.ITELES. 15 uas afterward erected to the outlet of the lake. When he removed to the Lake House lot, John S. Fumian purchased the store and land, and afterward built on it a dwelling. By the record of the Board of Supervisors of the county, the town of Marcel- lus was represented by Winston Day as Supervisor in 1798. Winston Day was an enterprising business man in this town during thirty- five years, and he was the leading member of several firms at various periods, some of which were: Day & Sherwood, in 1806; W. Day & Co.; Day & Heco.x, in 1815. He owned and conducted potasheries on both the east and west banks of the lake. He died September 5, 1831, at the age of sixty-four years, and was buried in the old burying-ground. The headstone over his grave states that he was the first merchant in Skaneateles. He.nmjy Root. — Henry Root was born in Westfield, Hampshire County, Mass., November 21, 1788, left there October 13, 1804, and came to this place with his father. Joseph Root, together with his mother and three sisters (he had at that time seven sisters), came in his own conveyance and was two weeks on his journey. His father purchased 150 acres, and that was the land which composed the farm which Henry Root always lived upon Nathan Leonard was his nearest neighbor, and Bethuel Cole lived in a log house on the Luther Clark place. Cole had 200 acres. Nathan Leonard a few years later built the house now owned by Joab Clift, and Cole built the house now on the Luther Clark place. There was a cooper named Caulkins wlio lived where the Widow Briggs does. The next neighbor east on the road to the "Red House" was a man named Wilkie, who was a tailor, and lived on the same side of the road as John Thompson. Eli Clark, father of Foster Clark, lived, on the road leading to the lake, in a log house on the opposite side to where Foster Clark now resides. The next settler on that road was Simeon Hosnier, who then lived in a log house on what is now the Oscar Howard farm. Aaron Taylor was next east in a log house on the J. A. Root place. The John Briggs tavern was completed in 1806 and opened as a tavern. Before its completion Briggs lived in a small dwelling next east of where the Sherwood tavern was built. Norman Leonard and Win- ston Day were the only merchants when Henry Root came, as near as he can recollect. Henry Root died at Hudson, Mich., February 25, 1873, aged eighty- five years. Asa M.\son. — Asa Mason came during the month of February, 1800, from Berkshire County, Mass., with his brother Avery Mason. The latter lived here six years, went to the Holland Purchase, and then returned to Massachusetts, where he died. Asa Mason came during the winter with an ox-tcam, a barrel of pork, and his farming tools, and purchased 480 acres on Military Lot No 68. This tract of land was 118 rods wide, and ran from the shore of Skaneateles I^ke to what is now known as Thorn Hill. In the fall of 1801 the Mason brothers cleared four acres and planted it with corn. Asa Mason then went back to Berkshire County 1 6 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. and married. He had eight children — four boys and four girls — all of whom were born on that farm. Of these children only two are now living — J. L. Mason and Chloe Harvey, wife of Job Harvey. Asa had two wives. He lived to be eighty-three years old. J. L. Mason now owns 190 acres of the same farm. Nehemiah H. Earll. — The following narrative was made to the author personally by Mr. Earll. Nehemiah H. Earll was born in Whitehall, Washington County, N. Y., Octo- ber 5, 1787. Left there during the month of January, 1794, went to Onondaga Hollow, lived there one year, and came here in June, 1796. His father built a log house on the site of the house now occupied by a Mr. Samuels, now just be- low the "Red House," on the right-hand side. Afterward the present house was built by a Mr. Watson for himself. Josiah Weston was the son of Jonathan Weston, who was the first resident of the village of Skaneateles. He lived about the vicinity of the location of St. James' Church, in a log house, on the C. H. Poor place. The Mr. Watson (Daniel) mentioned above and Mr. Earll were boys of about the same age, and came together from Onondaga Hollow. They both dug up a bark canoe in the mud on the lake-shore, about where the outlet was at that period. This Watson boy with his parents' family came with the Earll family from Whitehall. In the spring of 1806 Nehemiah H. Earll went to study law with Daniel Kellogg. William Price and David Hyde were also in the same office studying law. The Kellogg law office was built soon after D. Kellogg came from Auburn, and while Daniel Kellogg was boarding with Dr. Samuel Porter. -Mr. Litherland used to read the church service for Mr. Vredenburg's family. He also read church services in the "Red House," where lived ]\Ir. Earll's father, who had moved into tVie "Red House" in the fall of 1799. The erection of the "Red House" was begun in 1798. Robert Earll was Nehemiah's father. The first dam across the outlet was raised for a saw-mill and grist-mill, by his father, Robert Earll, at the present location of Willow Glen. This was be- fore Judge Jedediah Sanger made the mill-dam at the outlet near the lake- shore. The first school was kept in a log house on the west side of the creek, which was built for the purpose by Robert Earll and the other settlers in the vicinity. Edey Whitman was the first school teacher in the town of Skaneateles, and Nehemiah H. Earll was a scholar. The next school was located about where Daniel Earll now lives. The teacher was Dr. Munger, who not only practised medicine, but kept this school. He built a little log house for the school. Two of his scholars were Thaddeus and Alanson Edwards. Dr. Munger had a son who practised medicine. His name was Dr. Jessee. He boarded with Mr. Earll's father, and practised around among the early set- HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. .7 tiers. He was the first physician in the town, and before Dr. Samuel Porter came into the county. When Dr. Porter came. Dr. Munger moved to a place named " Wellington," between Elbridgc and Camillus, where he afterward died. The first blacksmith's name was Sabins. who afterward sold out to John Legg. who worked there in 1804, near his shop, in a log house. Sabins was intem- perate, and consequently poor. Sabins' shop was thirty rods northeast of Mr. Earll's house. This was before there was any blacksmith in the town of Skane- ateles. The first carpenter was named Lusk, who framed and built the "Red House" in 1798. He afterward returned to Whitestown, where he originally came from. Lusk also raised the first frame barn. Robert and Jonas Earll established the first distillery, near where Watson erected his house (this was not situated on the outlet), about the year 1800. The distillery was located a few rods higher up and a little north of Watson's house. The grain distilled was six bushels of wheat a day, and as fast as it could be made it was sold at seventy-five cents a gallon. It yielded about two gallons to a bushel of wheat, which was considered a good yield in those days. The first religious services were held in the ballroom of the "Red House" by traveling missionaries, mostly of Methodists and some Baptists. A cele- brated Baptist preacher, John Leland. of Berkshire, Mass., used to come here and preach. He had relatives about here. He was the bearer of a monster cheese which was presented to President Jeflferson by Berkshire County, Mass When Mr. Earll first came as a boy, where the village is now was then a wilderness in 1796. There was not a single house built there at the time, not even a tavern, which would naturally be first erected. Robert Earll, Nehemiah's father, was the first tanner in the county of Onon- daga. He brought hides from Whitehall, and these he tanned. He had no opposition in this business for many years. He established his tannery on Skancatelcs Outlet in 1797 or 1798. The stock he purchased in Whitehall. The tannery was located from four to si.x rods north of the bridge and south of the present factory, known as the D. Kellogg factory. Robert Earll also carried on shoemaking at that time, and afterward em- ployed many journeymen at the business. He was the first maker of boots and shoes hereabout. The first tailors in this section were an old Englishman named O'Keefe and his son in Skaneateles. His shop was near the big elm-tree, corner of Jordan and Academy streets. The William Price heretofore mentioned as studying law with Mr. Earll in his younger days and with Daniel Kellogg was the son of Judge Prire. of Owasco. He was considered the smartest young man in the office, but lie afterward became intemperate, and consequently degraded and died a wreck. N'ehemiah H. Earll died at Mottville, August 26, 1872, at the age of eighty- i8 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. five years. The following notice of his death was published in the Skaneateles Democrat, August 30, 1872 : "Death of Hon. Nehemi.\h H. Earll. — Under our obituary head this week will be found the announcement of the death of Hon. Nehemiah H. Earll, at Mottville, on Saturday last, August 26, 1872. The Syracuse Standard of Mon- day has the following just criticism upon Mr. Earll's life and character, which we lay before our readers: 'J'-i'lge Earll had lived in comparative retirement for many years, but the mere mention of his name will revive many reminiscences in the minds of those who are acquainted with his career, and will refresh a knowledge of our local history with those who are at all acquainted with its scope or details. Judge Earll was a very prominent citizen of Onondaga. Few of her inhabitants have conferred upon her greater honor or had more influence in molding her destiny. No one has held more places of trust or honor, or brought to the discharge of his duties higher talents," a more scrupulous fidelity, or greater dignity of character. Nehemiah Earll was born October 5, 1787, at Whitehall, Washington County, and removed to this county with his father, General Robert Earll, in 1793, residing at Onondaga Valley about nine months, when his father went to the town of Skaneateles, where he lived until 1S04. In that year young Earll entered Fairfield Academy, remaining there two years and leaving the institution with a high reputation for scholarship. After leav- ing the Academy he commenced reading law in the office of Daniel Kellogg, at Skaneateles. He remained with Mr. Kellogg, himself one of the ablest lawyers the county has produced, and pursued his further studies at Onondaga Valley with Thaddeus M. Wood and George B. Hall, whose names are intimately iden- tified with the sharp legal contests of our early period. He was admitted to practise as Attorney in the Court of Common Pleas in 1809, the curriculum of preparation for the law being somewhat longer than it now is. Shortly after his admission he removed to the village of Salina (now First Ward), and en- tered into partnership with Judge Daniel Mosely and John P. Sherwood. He was admitted to practise in the Supreme Court in 1812, having then completed the full course of seven years' study required for admission to the highest courts. In that year, however, he dropped his brief, and entered the service of his country, in the war with Great Britain, as adjutant of Colonel Fleming's regiment. During nearly the entire period of the regiment's service he was stationed at Oswego, and at the close of the war he was honorably discharged. The veterans of 1812 who remain with us are but a remnant now. One by one they have dropped away. Let us honor their memories as of those who did us patriotic service in a day when the country had the fullest need of all her sons of heroic mold. In 1814 Judge Earll resumed the practise of law at Onondaga Hill, where he rapidly gained reputation and position. In 1816 he was appointed postmaster at Onon- daga Hill, and in the same year was elected Justice of the Peace, which latter office he held by successive elections until 1830. He was also during this period a Master in Chancery for six years. In 1823 he was appointed First Judge of HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. 19 the Court of Common Picas, which he lield until 1831, when he resigned and was made Superintendent of the Onondaga Salt Springs, which he held until 1836. During his careful and exact management of the salt reservation, the manufacture of our staple was largely increased, and the rights of the producer and of the State were both rigidly protected. In 1836 he resigned as superin- tendent and went into the milling business with his brother Hezckiah at Jordan, when he sold out and came to our city (then village) to live. In 1838 he was elected by the Democracy Representative from the Twenty-third District (Madi- son and Onondaga) in the Twenty-sixth Congress. He served one term with credit to himself and honor to his constituency, and was renominated in 1840; but the mutations in politics then reversed the Democratic majority in the district, and he was defeated by the Whig candidate, the Hon. Victory Birdseye. Since that time he had been a private citizen, residing in Syracuse and the town of Salina until i860, when upon the death of his wife he removed to Motlville, in this county, and lived there respected and beloved by all who knew him, as an honest man, a kind neighbor, and a consistent Christian. Such in brief is the history of one whose record has been of the finest character, and whose services entitle his memory to the most lasting consideration. We should be pleased if some of our older citizens who knew him and the times in which he lived would add their contributions to this necessarily imperfect sketch.' " Nath.\n Kelsev. — Nathan Kelsey was a resident here in the year 1798. There was an early brickmaker here named Kelsey. It is not known whether Nathan was his given name or not; but the brickmaker identified himself by branding his name on all the bricks he made, and Kelsey bricks are often found when the old large chimneys are torn down in this village and town. Nothing more is known of Nathan Kelsey than his well-made bricks. The Cuykendall F.\.milv. — The first Cuykendall that settled in this town was Henr)'. He was born in the town of Minisink, Orange County, in 1778, came to Owasco in the spring of the year 1800, resided there six years, and in 1806 moved to Skaneateles, about one and half miles north of Mandana, on the farm now occupied by the Huff family. Henry's family consisted of nine children — five boys and four girls — of which only two children survive. Moses Cuykendall was born in the town of Minisink, came to the town of Sempronius in 1809, learned the blacksmith's trade with his uncle, and in 1815 came into this town and purchased fifty acres of land, worked at his trade ami on his farm until his death in 1859. His family consisted of ten children — six boys and four girls — of whom all are dead but one. Van Etten Family. — Jacob W. \'an Etten was born in Minisink in 1770, came to the town of Skaneateles. and purchased a farm north of Mandana, where he died in 1850. He had (\\c cliildren — one son and four daughters — of whom all arc dead but the youngest daughter, who now resides in Minnesota. David Welch. — David Welch came to this town from Fort .\nn, Washing- ton County, in 1798, and settled on Military Lot No. 73, on land which is now 20 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. the first farm this side of Mandana. He was a private in the Revolutionary War, and was at the battle of Bennington, where he was wounded in the shoul- der. He raised the first frame barn in 1800. Samuel Welch. — Samuel Welch, brother of David, came here in 1800 from the same place. He was born in 1773, was twenty-seven years old when he came, and arrived here in the month of March, with two yoke of oxen and a wooden shod sled. His son Samuel was then three years old. He came by way of Oneida, and through Marcellus. He served in the War of 1812. A car- penter by the name of Johnson built a frame barn for him in 1804. The first schoolhouse in that vicinity was in a log house, and was on the site of the present tavern. Daniel G. Burroughs was the first school teacher, and young Samuel Welch was one of the pupils. A Miss Hall and Miss Gleason afterward taught school in this schoolhouse. Religious services were held in barns by traveling missionaries. Israel Sabins, a blacksmith and tinker, lived on the Hodges place. Cole was also a blacksmith and lived on the Tunis Van Houghten farm. This was the next farm south of Welch's. Tunis Van Houghten was among the first, if not the very first, supervisors of the town of Skaneateles. The Town Records show that he was supervisor in 1836, in which he was succeeded by Chester Clark. Mr. Van Houghten evidently was a man of good education, as some very old books here show that he set the pattern l)y which all the records have since been kept. James Gardner first settled on the Dor Austin farm, and Sam Hardy was on the same farm previously. Colonel Burroughs was on the farm next north of Samuel Welch. Judge Kellogg had a farm west of the Gravitt place. He after- ward went to Kelloggsville and kept store there. This place took its name from him. ' Samuel Robertson had a farm west of David Welch, and William Watts was west of Robertson, and Edward Greenman next west of Watts. John G. Garlock built a store on the corners on the east side of the road, lie commanded a company in the War of 1812. The store was afterward kept by John Miles, and also by Seth Morgan. This statement was made by Mr. Samuel Welch, now a resident of Auburn, and formerly well known here as the father of Mrs. Massilon W. Fay. He is now eighty-four years old. Benjamin Nye.— Benjamin Nye, father of John M. Nye, came to Skaneateles from the town of Lee, Mass., in the year 1798. He purchased four acres in this village, near the locality of the house now occupied by John Kellogg. Here he constructed a log house for his residence. He was a brickmaker by trade, and located a brick-yard on the shore of the lake, in the vicinity of where the late Julius Earll's boat-house is situated. It is said that he made the first brick ever produced here. After carrying on this business for four years, he sold his land for one hundred dollars per acre, and then purchased one hundred acres on the east shore of the lake. There was no road at that time on the east side of the lake, consequently he had to go from day to day to his land to clear a place on HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. which to build a log house. He had also to move his family and furniture in his boat after he iiad finished his log cabin. Some years later, when it became neces- sary to raise money to make his last payment for the land, having no financial friends nearer than Utica, it became necessary for some one of his family to go to Ltica, where his wife had relatives. So Mrs. Nye undertook the journey, thinking that she could leave her household cares with less loss than her husband, as he was constantly engaged in clearing up his land preparatory to planting a crop of corn on which to subsist his family and stock. The wife started on horse- back under unusual difficulties, as there were no roads through the country, and the route was only by marked trees ; but she persevered, and arrived in due time at Utica, found her relatives, obtained the money, and returned in the same man- ner and by the same route to her home in the woods, and made her husband glad with her success in procuring the necessary mOney to make the final payment. No one nowadays can imagine the deprivation and inconvenience endured by the hardy settlers in this section of country. Some years later, and after Mr. Nye had accumulated some hard-earned money, he began to build a frame dwelling for his family, and, making use of his trade as a brickmaker, he made his brick, burned his lime, and made his shingles ; but, in other respects laboring under the disadvantage of the want of other mechanics, he did not complete his house entirely, and he moved his family into it while in an unfinished state. Soon after he contracted a severe cold, from the effects of which he never recovered, although he lived some years after- ward. He was never able to completely finish the house in consequence of poor health. Me died in 1829. Hezeki.xh Earll. — The Earlls emigrated from Wales to Nova Scotia at quite an early day, and thence to the New England States, and to the eastern section of New York State, near Lake Champlain. In the winter of 1794-95. Robert Earll and his brother Abijah came to the town of Skaneateles, and settled on Military Lot No. 27. They were the sons of Daniel Earll, Sr., who first came from Whitehall, Washington County, N. Y., and settled at Onondaga Hollow, in the year 1792. He had eight sons, all hardy, enterprrsing men. He died in the year 1817, at the advanced age of eighty-eight years. Robert Earll had si.x sons, one of whom, Hezekiah Earll, is the subject of this sketch. He was born about the year 1790, and identified himself with the his- tory of the town of Skaneateles as one of its most successful business men. He en- gaged in many business enterprises, which were accomplished with conciseness and brevity, and he always had a large following of personal friends. He was for a number of years connected with the Auburn Exchange Bank, and at one time was its President. At an early day he was the owner of the farm now occn- picd by Emerson Adams. He built the dwelling-house that is there, and John Billings was the carpenter. Hezekiah Earll died October 30. 1S63. at the age of seventv-three vears. 2 2 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. Judge Nehemiah H. Earll was the eldest brother of Hezekiah Earll, a sketch of whose life is given in the preceding part of this chapter. Hezekiah Earll had seven children, three of whom died in infancy. One of his sons, George H. Earll, was a successful business man, and connected in many enterprises with his father. In all of his varied public and private transactions, he manifested sound judgment, strict integrity, and ability. He died in the year 1873. Julius Earll, the eldest son of Hezekiah Earll, was born in this town, 1818. In his youth he received a thorough academic education, and subsequently studied law in the office of Sandford & Moseley, and later with Sherwood & Green in Buffalo, and was subsequently admitted to the bar. Instead of pursuing the practise of law, he entered into the manufacturing business, and was prominently identified with that and other business enterprises, which were always eminently successful. His life was a remarkably busy one. Strong common sense and unfaltering energy were his predominating characteristics. He was a man of the strictest integrity and of exceptional business ability, which he turned to good account for many others who sought his counsel and advice in matters of busi- ness importance. He won and retained warm friendships, universal respect, and high esteem by all classes of his fellow citizens. He died July 26, 1876, in the midst of an active and prosperous life. Abijah E.M^LL. — Abijah Earll was the son of Daniel Earll, Sr. In the win- ter of 1794-95, Abijah Earll came to this town and settled on Military Lot No. 19, on the old Genesee Road, about a half mile east of what is now "Willow Glen," on the farm now owned by his grandson J. Horatio Earll. There Abijah built a log house. His brother Robert came here at the same time, and settled near by on Military Lot No. 27, where he erected a log house on the site of what has since been known as the "Red House." In the year 1818 Abijah Earll was elected a Member of Assembly. Abijah Earll had five sons and four daughters. Col. Daniel Earll, his eldest son, was born August 26, 1803, and was but si.xteen years of age when his father died, in 18 19. He then assumed charge of his father's business, operating his father's mills — saw-mills, linseed-oil mill, and grist-mill — all located v^here the Lakeside Paper Mill is now, besides running the farm. Later he became in- terested as either owner or partner in several grist-mills on the outlet of Skan- eateles Lake, including the mill at Skancateles. In 1857, Colonel Earll and his sons Augustus, Leonard, and Charles Tallman, of Syracuse, established a distillery on the site formerly owned by his father, and now the Lakeside Paper Mill, which they operated under the firm name of Earlls & Tallman until about 1870, when Colonel Earll withdrew from the firm and retired to his farm, the place of his birth. Here he died at the age of eighty-six. Chester Parsons. — Chester Parsons was born in Westhampton, Mass., January, 1791. and moved to Skaneateles in the month of February, 1822. He HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. ^3 purchased his farm in 1821 from Jiidah Pierce, who was known in early times as Major Pierce. At that time Colonel Livingston, United States Marshal of North- em New York, occupied the place now owned by David Waldron, formerly the Dyer Brainerd place. Thaddeus Edwards lived on the Gale or Ellery farm. Gibbs & Horton. Phares Gould, and Winston Day were the merchants in the village. Colonel Bellamy sold his farm to Captain Lee the same year. Captain Lee built his first sail-boat, or began it, the same year. It was an open boat, arranged with air-tight tanks as precautions for safety in case of disaster. The post-office was where the Episcopal church is now, and C. J. Burnett was Post- master. Rev. Mr. Stockton preached at the Presbyterian church opposite the present Pardee place. He did not stay very long after that time. Rev. Alex- ander Co wen was the next preacher. A school was kept in the brick school house across the bridge in 1828, and another on the hill near the meeting-house. Mr. Dascomb was the keeper of the tavern on the site now occupied by Hanmtr's store. Sherwood kept the old tavern where the l^ackwood House is now. Sackett lived in the house now occupied by Packwood. Alanson Edwards kept the tavern which was then on the corner of East Genesee Street and the East Lake Road, and his son Thaddeus attended the bar. This tavern was after- ward destroyed by fire, and never rebuilt. Ebenezer Sessions lived south of Mr. Parsons, near the small stream of water, in a house painted red. Deacon Amasa Sessions lived on what is known as the Bradford place. John I^egg had his hlack- ■smith shop on the Dr. Bartlett place. A Mr. Potter did woodwork on wagons for Mr. Legg. At about that period John Legg had purchased the Norman Leonard place, and Legg's shop was then moved on the lake-shore. This was about 1821. Philo Dibble was the village harness-maker. Chester Parsons was a real, practical temperance man. Always making it a point of principle not to sell any of his farm produce for distilling purposes, he would rather be satisfied with a less price for his grain in order to place it in the line of food for man or beast. He was a man of sterling character, and was always highly respected by not only his immediate neighbors, but tlie community generally. He left Skaneatcles in 1854, and died in Syracuse in 1874. aged eighty-three years. The above statement was the result of a personal interview with the author. SiL.\s Busn. — Silas Bush came from Sheffield. Mass., in 1797, on foot, witli William Chatfield Harmon. They were both carpenters by trade. Soon after they arrived, they raised the first frame barn at Hardenburgh's Corners, now Auburn. Silas Bush purchased 300 acres of land on Military Lot No. 12 He died in 1836, aged sixty-three years. His son, Silas Bush, who now resides at Shcpard Settlement, was Iwrn .\pril 4. 1812. He is now in his eighty-eighth year. Amos P.xrdee. — Amos Pardee's father, Charles Pardee, was born in Norfolk, Litchfield County, Conn., in 1760. He had ten children, of whom six lived to become adults. He emigrated to this town September 27, 1804, with his family, 24 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. but came previously during the month of June and purchased land for a farm. He was accompanied by his six adult children — two sons and four daughters. The sons were: Amos and Charles L. The daughters were: Lucy, Charlotte, Ciorinda, and Harriette. Amos, the subject of this sketch, was born at Norfolk, Conn., January i6, 1788. He came with his father in 1804, at the age of sixteen years. He drove an ox-team with a two-wheeled cart, in which was stowed all of the household furniture of the family. His father drove a horse-team. Besides their furni- ture, they brought a quince-tree, a sweet-flag root, and a peony, all in flower- pots. The family was sixteen days on the journey from Connecticut, and brought four oxen and three horses. Charles Pardee, the father, settled on what has since been known as "The Perry Foote farm." He lived and died on that farm. Charles L., Amos' brother, went West, and was known to be living in 1863. Of the sisters, Lucy married a Rathbun. The other three are dead. Charles Pardee died in the year 1836, at the age of seventy-six years. He had been a soldier of the Revoluntary War, was wounded in his arm, and received a pension of ninety-six dollars a year. Amos Pardee, the subject of this article, purchased the farm on which he resided, about the year 1813, and built the dwelling-house in 1828, so it will be observed that at the date of his death, January 16, 1878, he had owned that farm sixty-five years. While he was a young man he learned the trade of wool-carder at the estab- lishment of the Skaneateles Manufacturing Company, which was located at what is now known as Willow Glen. He worked at this business twelve or fourteen years, and was considered the best workman in that line of business in this part of the country. Wool-carding was at that period all done by hand, as machinery had not been invented for that purpose. Since that time he had devoted his ener- gies to cultivating and improving his farm. He was always a great reader, and his memory of events and of persons was unusually retentive. During the ten years previously to his death he had been confined to his home, having infirmities which made it necessary to nurture him with great care. During this confinement he was always ready to receive the calls of his old friends and acquaintances. His mind was active and bright, and his conversation interesting on all subjects. Within a few years previously to his death he had often expressed a wish that his days might be lengthened, so that he might reach the full term of ninety years. This wish was fulfilled, for he passed away on his birthday, having reached his ninetieth year, January 16, 1878. The above was the result of a jiersonal interview with tlie author. HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. CHAPTER IV. Continuation of tiik History ok the Pioneers. Al.\.\son Benso.n. — (This statement is from a personal interview. I — Alan- son Benson was born in the town of Mendon, Worcester County, Mass., I'ebru- ary 12, 1792. He left there in 1797 with his father, Stephen Benson, and family •of ten children — four girls, all married but one at the time the family came, and si.x sons. The family came on an ox-sled during the month of February from Westmoreland, near l"tica. It was two years from the time he left Massachusetts before he came here to settle. He settled on Military Lot No. 84, southwest corner, and purchased the whole six hundred acres, settling his children on the lot. He bought Lot 84 from Garret H. Van Waggoner, of New York, who bought it from John Martin, the soldier. The oldest son negotiated the sale in New York, and while there took the yellow fever, and soon after his return home died of the fever. Alanson Ben- son paid two dollars an acre for the six hundred acres, being twelve hundred dol- lars for the lot. It took about all the money he had to pay for it. He came from Utica, stayed at Oneida overnight, put up at a log tavern at Marcellus, and passed over a traveled road to Skaneateles. He went through here and crossed the outlet where the bridge is now, passed over the driftwood which had accumulated in the creek, followed the west shore of the lake to about the brook on Russel Frost's farm, and thence to Lot No. 84, guided by marked trees through the woods. He brought with him two cows. There were at that time only two log houses on the west side of the lake, one of which was at about the location of the Octagon schoolhouse, the other near Holcomb Peck's, on the corner of the road that leads to Owasco Baptist meeting- house. When he first went through tlie village, he saw two or three log houses, one of them a tavern, and also noticed a frame house in process of erection, the frame being up. This was about where the Lake House was afterward built. Some Indians were seen traveling around and hunting. They belonged to Cayuga Lake, were dressed Indian fashion, and were very friendly. There were plenty of deer around. The first religious services, "Reformed Dutch," were in a log house on the shore of Owasco Lake, Reverend P.rokaw being the Dominic. The first doctor Avas Van Horlin, at Owasco Lake, near the meeting-house. Colonel Hardcnburgh nltended this church. The trading was done with Winston Day. at Skaneateles. The first burying-ground was at Owasco, about a mile south of the meeting- house. 26 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. A " dugout" of whitewood, which was made by the elder brother of Alanson, was used on the lake, and with it their grists were carried to Skaneateles from Mandana. About a year or two afterward the Welch family settled north of Mandana. Jones, who came in 1806, and Burroughs settled about Mandana. The first log tavern at Mandana was kept by Sam Welch. The first blacksmith at Owasco was named Dates. Judge Price, the Brinckerhoffs, and the De Puys were in the town of Owasco before Benson came. De Puy or the Brinckerhoffs were the first settlers be- tween Owasco and Skaneateles Lake. Ch.arles J. Burnett, Sr.— Charles J. Burnett, Sr., was born in London. England, in the year 1774, and was connected with the Burnetts of Leys of Aberdeen, Scotland, a family originally of Saxon origin, and was a lineal descendant of Bishop Gilbert Burnet, the historian of "The Reformation in England," and a brother of the Rev. I. B. Burnet, Rector of the parish of Hough- ton, Hints, England. In early life he left London, and entered the mercantile house of a relative at Lisbon, Portugal. After residing there for a while, and also at Malaga and at Gibraltar, in Spain, he returned to England. He soon after came to this country, and settled at Skaneateles in the year 1803, with one of the Dutch merchants of New York, William J. Vredenburg, with whom he had already previously had business relations while in Spain and Portugal, and whose daughter he soon after married. The marriage service was held ninety-seven years ago, in the parlor of the house in which he always lived until his death, and from the same parlor his remains were borne to the church where the funeral services were held. He held the office of postmaster of Skaneateles from 1817 to 1843, ^ period of twenty-six years, through the administrations of Presidents Monroe, Adam.s. Jackson, Van Buren, and Harrison. He had been a warden of St. James' Church since 1824, a period of thirty-two years. He died in this village, February 16. 1856, aged eighty-two years. D.\.NiKL Kellogg. — Daniel Kellogg, one of the early and most distinguished citizens of the county of Onondaga, was born April 19, 1780, at Williamstown, Mass. After two years at Williams College of his native town, at the age of seventeen, he entered the law office of Abraham Van Vechten, of Albany, N. Y., one of the most distinguished lawyers of his time. Here young Kellogg laid the foundation of those high legal attainments for which he became so distinguished later in life. He was admitted to the Bar in October, 1800, and in the following year determined to win fortune in " the far West," which, early in the nineteenth century, held out as alluring prospects for young men of talent and enterprise as the farther West did to young men .similarly equijiped a generation or two later. fllf KAN' IK I, KKI.LOr.C, 5 £ a J, J) - 26 b HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. His father, a farmer in not too affluent circumstances, died when Mr. Kellogg was still quite young, and he therefore found himself when entering upon the great business of life destitute of all resources except the abilities with which nature had endowed him — resources which, however, proved of more value to him than gold. In the spring of 1801 we hear of his setting out on horseback for the western part of New York. A single pair of saddlebags afforded ample accommodations for all his worldly possessions, and that, too, without inconvenience to either horse or rider. In after-times, when in the enjoyment of the abundant fruits of his industry and talents, he delighted to recount the amusing incidents of this journey, and to portray in lively colors the vexations and dif- ficulties that surrounded him in his early career. He settled in the village of Auburn, then only a small hamlet of a few scat- tering houses. In 1802 he married Miss Laura Hyde, of Auburn, and in the spring of 1803 he removed to Skaneateles, which thereafter became his home. Though always taking a lively interest in every important public question, he never sought political preferment ; yet he was held in such esteem in the community that his fellow townsmen frequently called upon his services in positions of trust and honor. In 1813 he was appointed District Attorney for the counties of Cayuga, Cortland, and Onondaga, an office that he administered with characteristic ability for three years. In 1818 he was elected to the presidency of the bank of Auburn, and for eighteen years he had the principal direction of that institution, the affairs of which, when he was called upon to administer them, he found in a state of almost' hopeless confusion. His clear insight and inborn business faculty, coupled with untiring industry, served him admirably in bringing order out of chaos in the conditions of his bank, and in establishing its credit on an enduring basis. During his administration the country was several times swept with panics and commercial depression ; yet the Bank of Auburn withstood every shock, and no one ever questioned its solvency while Daniel Kellogg stood at its head. Not only did he maintain the integrity of his bank, but on more than one occasion he was enabled to save large local interests from ruin, and so to avert distress among the workmen depending upon the milling industries of Skaneateles and its surroundings for their livelihood. .\s an advocate his fame spread far beyond the county in which he labored. With a mind that was profound rather than brilliant, he addressed himself to the reason, rather than to the imagination, and, contenting himself with the forcible and plain exhibition of truth, was careless of oratorical graces and elegance of style. As might naturally be expected of a mind thus constituted and disciplined, his bent was decidedly practical, and theories, however specious and imposing, seldom found favor with him until they had been subjected to the searching approval of his own judgment. With him a verbal promise or engagement was ever regarded as obligatory — if anything, as more sacred than if reduced to writing: and, considering the extent and variety of his business, the HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. 27 aociiracv witli which he rcmemhiTcil such cnijagt'iiicnts was htile short of phe- nomenal. Few men in any station ever worked more assiduously or for a greater number of hours ; nevertheless, he was ever ready to respond to the calls of friendship, and no man took greater delight in the social circle or could impart a larger share to the fund of common enjoyments. On the announcement of Mr. Kellogg's death. May 4, 1836, hy his former law clerk, William H. Seward, the Court of Chancery for the Seventh Circuit, then in session in Auburn, N. Y., adjourned, and a committee of the members of the Bar was appointed to draft suitable resolutions. In i)ers(>n Mr. Kellogg was rather above the common height, well formed, and imposing, and decidedly prepossessing in his appearance and address, which latter was uniformly courteous and engaging, winning for him the respect and favorable regard of all who approached him. The following statement is part of an excerpt taken from the Albany Jour- nal: " Daniel Kellogg was decidedly the greatest financial man in all the State of New York in his day. and I do not think him excelled now, all things taken into consideration. My father (who owned by contract all the Sanger property) sold to Mr. Kellogg the point of land on the hill, on which he built the one-anda-half- story house and office as they now are. (I presume Mr. Sanger gave the deed.) After Mr. Kellogg had completed these, he told my father he was then worth, besides them, about twelve hundred dollars. He said about that time, if he could acquire ten thousand dollars, he would be satisfied. But he got the track well laid, and his engine in good working order, and kept it well oiled, and it ran easily, steadily, and at a good speed. Had he lived he would have been a Roths- child in his way. What he had he made himself; and. while he made for himself, he upheld and enabled others to make. The Beeches without Daniel Kellogg as a prop would have been bankrupt more than once in the milling business, so also would Isaac Sherwood, and many others I could name. Any observing man, having business with him, could easily learn valuable lessons from his wa\ of doing things. His system and his practise were perfect, and success was a natural consequence. About the time Mr. Kellogg built his house and office, Colonel Vredenburg commenced the large house, now the Leitch place. The ground was then the cemetery, but the silent occupants were removed to their present rest- ing-place. Whoever lives to sec that house taken down will see timber enough to build at least three houses of equal size in modern style. The building was let hy the job, but the undertaker and his successor failed, and it was a long time before the house was completed." Jkdedi.xh S.wger. — Jedediah Sanger was a very prominent individual here among our early settlers, but so far as can be ascertained he was not a permanent resident. His residence was at Whitestown. Oneida County. N. Y. He was much interested here, however, as he had purchased this military lot from John 2 8 HISTORY OP SKANEATELES. Simonds, the Revolutionary soldier, who drew Lot No. 36, which is the lot on which this village is located. What he gave for it the author has thus far been unable to ascertain. Sanger constructed the first dam across the outlet, about 1797, the remains of which can now be seen just north of the present bridge, on the west side of the dam. Judge Sanger (for he had that distinction) very early recognized the future possibilities of this location, and directed nearly all of the first improve- ments. He erected the first saw-mill and a grist-mill. All these structures were built by Jessee Kellogg, into whose possession they subsequently came. Jessee Kellogg was the father of Dorastus Kellogg, and also of John R. Kellogg (they were half- brothers). John R. Kellogg came here with his parents in 1799. His recollections are given on pages 44 and 49. Judge Sanger caused village lots to be laid out very early by Mr. Geddes, the surveyor. These lots were termed "Lots at the north end of Skaneateles Lake." They were each one hundred feet front and twenty rods in depth, containing one acre each. No map of these lots was ever deposited in the office of the County Clerk, but deeds conveying them by numbers are on record in the County Clerk's office. Judge Sanger was also the purchaser of Military Lot No. 44 from the soldier John Shultz, and he probably purchased other military lots in this town. The following is a synopsis of a sale of one of these village lots by Judge Sanger : "January 18, 1800, Sanger to Levi Sartwell : consideration, $60. Village Lot No. 10, and 13^4 acres in Military Lot No. 36." Another transfer of same land : "July 18, 1803, Levi Sartwell to William J. Vredenburg: consideration, 300 pounds. Village Lot No. 10, being one of the village lots so called, con- taining 13^ acres of land, being the same which was conve\ed to said Levi by Jedediah Sanger, and containing the house," etc. The house here named was built by Levi Sartwell in the early part of the year 1800, and it was used as a tavern until its sale to William J. Vredenburg, July 18, 1803. This house, now known as the Burnett dwelling, and located just opposite the Episcopal church, is the oldest house in the village, and has quite a history. Judge Sanger continued to sell these lots at the north end of Skaneateles Lake until August, 1803, when he sold all the remainder of his holdings to William J. Vredenburg, as follows : "August 31, 1803, Jedediah Sanger to William J. Vredenburg; consideration, $4,000. Beginning at the outlet of Skaneateles Lake, on the northern boundary of said lot (36), thence east along same line 216 rods 13 links to the northwest corner of Nathaniel Eell's land (which is now known as the Charles Pardee place), and by various courses and measurements to ' The Highway ' (not copied HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. 29 here as beiiifj unnecessary), containing 120 acres. Together with such part of said lake inckidcd in the original survey of said Lot No. 36. In presence of ; Ebenezer R. Hawley and Charles J. Burnett." Isaac Sherwood. — Isaac Sherwood was born in Williamstown, Mass., Octo- ber 12, 1769. It is not known when he first came to this town, but he was here previously to 1804, and was over thirty years of age when he settled here. He was the great stage-coach proprietor, whose talents were as celebrated in those days for staging as Commodore Vanderbilt's have since been for railroading. Me was said to have weighed three hundred and eighty pounds. His first effort in business was in carrying the mail on foot from Onondaga llill to the different settlements west of that place, including Skaneateles. From' this small beginning he rapidly advanced, so as to first own a horse, then a horse and wagon, and finally a stage-coach, with which to carry both mails and passen- gers. He had a wonderful perseverance in all his undertakings. As early as 1818 he was extensively engaged in this business. It is stated on the authority of the late David Hall that Sherwood had a contract for a short time with the Syracuse & Auburn Railroad Company. After the road-bed had been completed, and before the flat iron rails had been laid, Sherwood leased the road for a short time, placed wooden rails on the string-pieces, and operated the road by horse- power, until the company were enabled to procure their rails. Sherwood's head- quarters during the time his stage business was the most extensive and prosper- ous were at Skaneateles. He then owned the bid tavern where the Packwood House is now located, and had his office there. He did not personally attend to the duties of landlord, but left that to his son Milton. In order to show the extent of his stage business during his residence here, the following copy of a contract with the Post Office Department is given : " No. 510. From New York to Albany and back, daily, thirty hours. ■ No. 584. From Utica to Sacket's Harbor and back, daily, fifty hours. " No. 587. From Albany to Buffalo and back, twice a day. " No. 589. From Albany to Auburn and back, forty-eight hours. " No. 665. From Elbridge to Rochester and back, twice a day, seventeen hours. " No. 672. From Rochester to Lewiston and back, ilaily, six hours. ■ No. 697. From Buflfalo to Youngstown and back, daily. " Supplying all the intermediate offices, and conveying the mail in four-horse post-coaches, at the rate of fifteen thousand one hundred and thirty-four and fifty- hundredths dollars ($15,134.50) for every quarter of a year, making sixty thousand five hundred and thirty-eight dollars ($60,538), to be paid in drafts anions, still there was a continuous procession of travelers on the road, either emigrating or prospecting, so she was not alone, and although all were strangers to her, yet, distributed all along that multitude, there were many mothers and grandmothers in reality, who, as the nature of society was in those days, would be interested immediately in the situation of any lone woman. It was stated above that it was not known when Isaac Sherwood came to Skaneateles. We now have an original bill of goods purchased by Day & Sher- wood, who were in partnership together here in 1806, of which the following is a copy : Albany, 21st January, 1806. Messrs. Day & Sliencooil : Bo't of FONDEV & WlXNE. i s. d. J gro. cnam'd cups and saucers, 32s 340 4 doz. plates, 5s i i o 4 doz. twiflers, is 4 o 3 doz. muffins, 5s 15 o 4 doz. edged plates, 7s i 8 o 2 doz. edged muffins, 4s. 6d 9 o 2 doz. enam'd quart bowls, l6s i 12 o 2 doz. do. pint bowls, 3s 16 o 4 doz. ditto, ditto, 4s. 6d 18 o Yi doz. enam'd tea pots, 22s. & 30s 13 o J4 doz. quart decanters, 40s i o o yi doz. pint ditto, 26s 13 o 4 doz. tumblers, los 2 o 3 doz. half do. ids i i 1 doz. chambers, i8s. & 24s i I o 2 doz. quart mugs, 12s i i o 2 doz. pint do, 5s 12 o I doz. enam'd milks 10 I doz. peppers 6 o I doz. each mustards, 54s., 44s., 343., 27s , 20s. and i6s i t2 Total 2019 o William J. Vredf.mbi/rg. — William J. Vredenburg was one of the most prom- inent early settlers in this village. He was bom in the city of New York, April 18, 1757. brought up a merchant, and was largely in the shipping and commission business. His place of business was in Stone Street, near the lower end of Broad- way. At another period his place of business was on the northerly side of Water Street, the building nmning through the block to Pearl Street, on the opposite side of which was his residence. This was not very far from Broad Street. In 3 2 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. person, Colonel Vredenburg was in height about six feet, had a handsome and com- manding face, and was a fine specimen of the perfect gentleman. He had been a colonel in the army, and ever afterward retained that title. As early as 1790 his name appears on the records of this county as a large operator, buying and selling soldiers' claims, and in after years in the purchase and sale of military lots. He first came to this part of the country in 1799, but he had previously sent an agent here to report to him a description of the country, and especially the military lots in this vicinity, with a view of moving his family if such report was favorable. This individual came from New York on horseback, and kept a diary, which is probably still in existence. In the month of May, 1803, he brought his family, consisting of his wife and six children — four daughters and two sons. One child was born after he came here. Colonel Vredenburg and his family came through from New York by their own conveyance. Their first stopping-place here was under the large elm-tree, now near the corner of Academy and Jordan streets. The road from the lake then ran in a direct line from the " old mill house " to that large elm-tree; the road then turned to the left to Aaron Austin's, thence to Gen. Robert Earll's. There were no houses between Winston Day's store and the elm-tree, the space being a swamp. The " old mill house," it may be observed, is not on the line of the present Jordan Street, it having been built before that street was laid out. Eben- ezer R. Hawley then lived in the house nearest the elm-tree. Colonel Vreden- burg soon after purchased the house since occupied by C. J. Burnett, opposite the lake-shore. It was jjurchased from Levi Sartwell, a carpenter and joiner, who had previously purchased the village lot from Judge Sanger in January, 1800, and had built the house with the view of making it a tavern, and it was kept for that purpose a short time before Colonel Vredenburg purchased the property. It was not long after Colonel Vredenburg came before he purchased from Judge Sanger the remaining unsold portion of Military Lot No. 36. This is the military lot on which the village is located. He selected from this purchase about twenty acres on a commanding eminence above the lake, with the intention of erecting a substantial building for the future home of his family. That ground was then the village cemetery. There were about sixteen graves on it : no head- stones. The remains were carefully taken up and removed to the land of John Briggs, where he had laid out a family burying-ground, and where his wife had been interred in 1802. The ground was in 1812 purchased by the Skaneateles Religious Society for a public burying-ground. It was about the year 1804, after Colonel Vredenburg had procured his ar- chitectural plans from New York, that he let the contract for building the house by the job, but the contractor and his successor both failed, and it was several years before the house was completed. It was about fifty feet square, with gables on all four sides, and was located so as to face the four points of the compass. It was a two-story and attic, witli massive halls of extra width passing through both stories. The rooms on the HISTORY or SKANHATELES. ?.? first story were about fifteen feet in height, and in the second story, twelve feet, with kitchens, storerooms, and cellar under the whole structure. As has been before stated, the floors were being laid on the " Dark Day," June i6, 1806. This circumstance shows the slow progress of the work, and the building was probably not finished for occupation until a year or two after the "' Dark Day." .-Ml the carpenters in this vicinity, numbering about thirty, were employed on the building, including David and Seth Hall, Isaac Selover, and Samuel Lither- land. David and Seth Hall came here from Massachusetts in the year 1806. I'he first work they did after their arrival was for Winston Day. His house, next cast of his store, had been completed about a year, and the edges of the clear pine floors needed smooth planing to make them very even, and the Halls were employed to do that work. The pine flooring in early days was not sawed of uniform thickness, conse- quently the carpenters had to size each board, or, in other words, cut the under sides with an adz. so that they should have an even surface on the upper side. Colonel Vredenburg met with many drawbacks while the building was in progress. Among others, he had erected two large dry-kilns, and filled them with a large quantity of choice lumber. These were destroyed by fire. The name of the contractor wh(j commenced the job was Mellen. During the progress of the work, Colonel Vredenburg fitted up two unfinished rooms, and set Mr. Litherland 10 work therein. He made all the carved and fancy work about the doors and mantelpieces, and all the mahogany and other doors. He assisted in laying the floors, which in those early days were made of all clear pine, without a kuoi or blemish ; in fact, floors were made to use without carpets or other covering. The pine used for the building was all grown about here. Under Colonel Vredenburg's directions only, Mr. Litherland made a number of pieces of household furniture from the different varieties of wood which grew in this vicinity. Among others was a sideboard, in the construction of which were combined all the varieties of native wood. This sideboard he always took great pride in showing to his New York friends when they visited him in after years. In those days sidchoards were not used entirely for ornament, but were the receptacles of decanters filled with the choicest liquors and wines, and this one was not an exception to the rule, for Colonel Vredenburg always kept a choice stock on hand'fo entertain his friends. This same old-fashioned sideboard is now in possession of Colonel Vredenburg's descendants in this place. A corner-stone was placed in the wall of the foundation of the new building in the year 1804, in which newspapers, books, coin, and manuscript were deposited. .After the destruction of the old house, a few years ago, the foundation-stone wa- sought for. but could not be found. On the occasion of raising the frame of this magnificent structure, in those early days, invitations were sent to all the surrounding inhabitants for mpny miles around, in consequence of which there was a very large attendance, the fame for liberalitv of Colonel XrcdenlmrL' bcint: crciicrallv kimun A lart'e falilo 34 HISTORy OF SKANEATELES. constructed for the occasion was plated under a grove of trees, and spread with all the delicacies and substantials attainable at the time, including all kinds of liquors and the choicest wines. This was an occasion long to be remembered by the early inhabitants. Colonel Vredenburg lived in the house which he first purchased during the time in which his house was being constructed. He took great pride in having the best garden in this section. He wanted a professional gardener, so sent to New York, and a Mr. Dullard and wife came in the month of JMarch, 1804, bring- ing with him seeds, cuttings, roots, and every appliance for laying out a garden and setting out an orchard. After completing this work faithfully he left Skanc- ateles, and went in the employ of Chancellor Livingston, on the Hudson River. He was in Colonel \'redenburg's employ about three years. Dullard made the finest garden and raised the choicest vegetables in this part of the State. People came from great distances to see his garden. Dullard was a very pompous man, and was nicknamed " The Governor." After Dullard left. Colonel Vredenburg sent to New York, and obtained Sam- uel Litherland and his wife, the former for a gardener and the wife as housekeeper. Litherland had not long been at work before his employer ascertained that he was a cabinet-maker by trade. There was no post-office here at that time, and Colonel Vredenburg had to send to Marcellus for his mail twice a week. He had been used to prompt delivery of mail matter when he lived in New York, and he was not satisfied with the slow mail arrangements of the time. He wrote to Philadelphia, where Congress was then assembled, and sent a petition to the Postmaster-General asking for a mail- carrier on horseback from Marcellus to Skaneateles, which he succeeded in pro- curing. At first the mail was delivered once a week, but Colonel X'redenburg was not satisfied, and he soon had the mail delivered twice a week. The first mail- bags were opened in Colonel Vredenburg's house. Colonel \'redenburg did not live to enjoy his fine property. He died May 9, 1813, at the age of fifty-six years. He left a large landed estate of several thou- sand acres of some of the best land in central New York. His fine mansion and grounds were sold to the late Daniel Kellogg a few years after his decease. After the death of Mr. Kellogg it was occupied by his daughter, Mrs. G. F. Leitch, and after her decease the house was allowed to run down, without an occupant, except a poor tenant, and in the year 1872 it was destroyed by fire. .i Legend concerning a Jug of Gin. — It is said that Colonel X'redcnburg had brought with him from New York, among other good things, some of the best quality of Holland gin, imported in half-gallon jugs. One of these jugs, sealed perfectly tight, was placed in one of the chimneys and cemented immediately back of the fireplace. (Rather a warm place for gin.) One of the masons who worked on the building when the chimney was built, and who assisted in placing the jug of gin in tlie brickwork, passed through this village about the year 1846, at which time the gin ought to have been buried some forty years. This man must have HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. 35 been at least sixty-five years old. He said he had never been in the village since he worked on the house. He told tiie tale of the jug of gin, and that it was in the southwest chimney of the old mansion. His personal appearance indicated his affection for kindred spirits, and, after detailing the story, he exclaimed: "1 would give five dollars (if I had it) for one smack of that gin." Who xvcrc here in iSoj- — When Colonel X'redenburg came, John Legg lived in a small house where T. Y. Avery now lives. Legg's blacksmith-shop then stood where Dr. Bartletl's office now is. A log house stood where C. H. Poor now lives. Judge Sanger owned an ashery on the lake-shore on the present James E. Porter place. Winston Day was the only merchant in 1803. Norman Leonard afterward established himself as a merchant. His store was on the north side of Main Street. John Meeker afterward opened a store here, and Phares Gould was his confidential clerk. Meeker had several stores in other parts of the country, having confiden- tial clerks in all of them to do the business. He devoted his time to purchasing goods for the supply of his different establishments, and in a general supervision of them all. Phares Gould afterward opened a store on his own account, and Stephen Horton was his clerk. Thomas Greaves was a tailor. Moses Loss, his wife, and one child, lived in a small, new one-story frame-house on the lot now owned by John Kellogg. A log house stood in the rear of this house, and Syl- vester Roberts, a blacksmith, lived in it. This was in 1804. Isaac Selover. one of the most noted carpenters in this vicinity, lived in an unpainted frame-house on the site where Dr. Campbell now resides. He afterward built a small frame- dwelling on the rear of the same lot. X.vTiiANiEL Mii.LER. — The village of Skaneateles is thus described by the late Nathaniel Miller, who first came here in 1807: ■' I was born in Cherry \alley, Otsego County, March 29, 1796. I came to Skaneateles in the month of February, 1807. Winston Day, Norman Leonard, Jonathan Booth, and John Meeker were the only merchants. Samuel Ingham was the principal and confidential clerk for Meeker. Sylvester Roberts was then the only blacksmith. His shop was where the C. N. Hatch house is now, on Onon- daga Street. This shop was afterward removed to the opjxjsite side of the street lower down, and now forms the rear building of O. H. Wildey's dwelling. The old meeting-house was in process of construction, but the frame was not raised until July 3, 1807. Moses Loss, Isaac Selover, and Samuel Litherland were among those who assisted in the carpenter and joiner wi;>rk. Thomas Greaves was the tailor. His shop was in the old yellow building now owned by John Slocum. Col. Warren Hecox and Ezra Stephens were the only shoemakers. The latter was the first man to introduce pegged shoes here. Isaac Rawson was the only minister when I came. There had been a missionary by the name of P.ascomb here previously. The religious services were then held in the old schoolhousc. which was located nearly opposite what is now the Fibbens tavern. This school- house was afterward destroyed by fire. There was no other denomination here in 1807. 36 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. Perley Putnam was the only saddler and harness-maker. I learned my trade with him. His shop was where Dr. Campbell now resides, and his dwelling, a one-story building, was immediately west of his shop and on the lot next east of the Thayer house. Putnam became interested as a partner in the wheel-head factory at what was then called Sodom, now Mottville. Lower down the stream, where the brick flour-mill is now, was then called Gomorrah. These Scriptural names were so applied to these locations because there was a large number of Universalists in the neighborhood. Putnam's partners in the wheel-head factory were Deacon James Porter (he that owned the old tavern), Barker, and Lovell. Afterward it was carried on by Porter, Putnam, Newell, and Leonard, the latter a brother of Norman Leonard. Noah Barnes either owned or tended the flour-mill here in 1807. Afterward Peabody owned the mill. Miner owned it afterward ; after him, Lewis & Cotton : after them, Daniel Earll and John Kellogg. The bridge across the outlet was built in 1807. It was a long wooden structure, extending from about the corner of Jordan Street to the old Van Shoick house (now removed). It was only intended for a single carriage way, but by tight squeezing two carriages could pass in opposite directions. John Briggs kept a tavern in the house now owned by Fred Shear, on the cor- ner of Main Street and the West Lake Road. A Mr. White afterward rented it and kept tavern, after which James Sackett purchased it and lived in it as a private residence. John Briggs then purchased the property now owned by James A. Root. There was then a log house there. Briggs removed the log house, and built what is now the rear building of the Root house. Nicholas Thome afterward owned this same property and built the front part of the Root house. Peter Thompson and John Billings did the carpenter and joiner work, and Josiah Weston was the mason. This was about the year 1824. The west building of the old tavern where the Packwood House is now was in process of building in 1807. Isaac Selover was the contractor, and David Hall was one of the carpenters. Isaac Sherwood kept tavern there as soon as the building was finished, and Stephen Smith kept bar for him. The first house after passing the Briggs tavern on the West Lake Road was a frame-building that was located about where Arthur Barnes now lives. Andrews lived in it. Afterward it was a cooper shop kept by Ira Reynolds. The next building was a low frame- structure owned by David Seymour, who was a farmer, brickmaker, and shoe- maker. His farm included the Furman, Field, Nye, and Reuel Smith places. William Gibbs afterward lived on this place, and Jonathan Booth followed, living there until his death. Stephen Gardner lived on the Sydney Smith place, and afterward sold the place to Alexander M. Beebe. There was in 1807 a two-story frame-building on the Lapham place, occupied by Jacobus Annis. Abraham A. Cuddeback had a farm where the Dr. Hurd house is now. There were, in 1807, no buildings between the Briggs tavern and where James A. Root now lives. Winston Day's store was on the corner of Main Street HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. :,7 ^.Id lake house lot). The road running north went directly to the large elm-tree now in the rear of George Barrow's dwelling, and passed over the present site of the Methodist church. From the elm-tree it ran to Aaron Austin's, thence to Gen. Robert Earll's. Between Austin's and Earll's there were four log dwelling-houses, three on the west side and one on the east side of the road. The mill-house was, in 1807, occupied by Peabody, the miller. No other house was beyond that to the elm-tree. The Winston Day dwelling- house, a two-story building, then stood on the site of the William Marvin house. It was painted white in front and red in the rear. The next building east was Elnathan Andrews' tavern. Andrews had a travelers' barn on the lake-shore, a little to the east of opposite the tavern. An elephant, the first one ever seen in this part of the State, was housed in this barn. This barn was then the only building on the south side of Main Street. John Meeker's store, frame two-story building, then stood where State Street now is. This was next to the tavern. Then Jona- than Booth's store was next east, his residence on the lot next east. The Meeker store was afterward moved when State Street was laid out, and placed on the lot occupied by I. S. Amerman. It was afterward taken down, and C. Pardee built the house now on its location. The Booth residence was also removed to the cast side of State Street. The Booth store was moved to the west side of Jordan Street by Nehemiah Smith and used as a tin-shop. It is now the residence of H. Cornell. The building now owned by Dr. Campbell as an office was built by Jonathan Booth for Alexander M. Beebe and John S. Furman as a law office. Xorman Leonard's store, a one-story frame-building, stood on the site of the Horton dwelling. When Mr. Horton was about to build the present dwelling, the store was moved to the lot next west (now owned by Mrs. Wheeler), and Gibbs and Morton kept the store, and Charles Pardee was their clerk. Isaac Selover's house was the next house east, on the Thayer lot. The onc- and-a-half story frame-house unpaintcd, which stood on where the John Kellogg place is, was afterward moved to the west side of Jordan Street. Gordon Bingham moved the house and owned it. It was lately taken down, and the dwelling occupied by J. K. Knox is on the same lot." Nathaniel Miller died in this village, March 16, 1875. It will be noticed from his location of the stores in 1807 that they were all on the north side of Main Street. Why the location was afterward changed to the south side of the street is not known, except possibly the anticipation of a large lake trade that may have mduced the construction of the expensive stone docks in the rear of the present row of brick stores. Had the business remained on tiic north side of the street, there would have been no more attractive village in the whole State of New York than Skaneatelcs. (The above was the result of a personal interview with the author.) Amos Miner. — Amos Miner was the youngest son of Dr. John Miner, and was born in Norfolk, Litchfield (oMnty, Conn., November m. i77''>. He was left at a very early age to the care of a widowed mother, his father having been killed 38 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. during the Revolutionary War. After having learned the trade of a wheelwright he married Phoebe Hamlin, December 21, 1796. About the year 1800 he emi- grated to the then wilds of New York State, and settled in what is now Onon- daga County, and in the town of Marcellus, now Skaneateles. He brought from his native State much of that energy which is characteris- tic of the New Englandcr. and combined with this lie had an inventive turn of mind, wliich he soon brought into requisition after his arrival in this part of the country, and tended to llic advantage of his fellow men if not to himself. In the course of a year or two after his arrival here, while engaged in break- ing up some new land, he was accidentally injured, so much so as to be confined to his bed, and was kindly cared for by his immediate neighbor. While lying in bed in the primitive log cabin of the times, and in the same apartment where the females of the household did their household work. Miner noticed the disadvantage the women had to undergo in the use of the spinning-wheel, which was a big wheel, with a band over a whirr or small band-wheel about three-quarters of an inch in di- . HlSTURy Of SKAXEATHLHS. .iv aincter, single geared and slipped over liie spindle. Sufficient velocity to spin the thread satisfactorily required herculean power, yet this power had to be furnished by the woman with one hand, while the thread was drawn out with the other. Miner lay in his bed day after day in the presence of this spinning-wheel, thinking how he could iiTiprove this old-fashioned device, and before he was well enough to go to work had mentally accomplished his contemplated improvement. His first attempt to put it into practise was to add to the staff which supported the spindle a wooden arm with an upright attached to it to hold a wheel, which was separately geared to both spindle and the large wheel by two bands. This was a great improvement, but the sale of it was confined to his immediate vicinity, because every old spinning-wheel had to be brought to him to have the device attached. It soon became self-evident to him that, in order to meet the growing demands, he must so arrange his improvement as to be portable, so that it could readily be attached to any spinning-wheel without his personal assistance. This he soon accomplished by great perseverance in what he called Miner's Accelerating Wheel-Head, for which he obtained a patent .April ii, 1810, and of which we present an illustration on the preceding page. It was just about this time that Winston Day and others were preparing to send a drove of cattle to the Philadelphia market, and had engaged Jessee Kellogg (who had experience in the business) to take charge and sell them in Philadelphia. Of course, men must be had to drive, while Mr. Kellogg performed the journey on horseback. When Miner had perfected his model for the wheel-head, the drove was about ready to start. He came to Mr. Kellogg, and hired out as a man to drive the cattle, and, taking his model under his arm, faithfully followed that drove down through the backwoods to Philadelphia, where he received his wages and put right out for Washington City. He had no difficulty in obtaining his patent right, and, paying the expenses thereof from the wages he had received for driving the cattle, he returned to Skaneateles on foot. Til order to get a more minute description of the patented accelerating wheel- head, a communication was recently addressed to the Commissioner of Patents, at Washington, asking for a copy f>f the specifications of the patent. In reply, the Commissioner of Patents, under . 1803. and the other for ' Spinning Wheel-Heads.' .Xpril 11. 1810. These patents were burned in the fire of 1836, and have never l)een restored. The office is. therefore, unable to furnish copies of them. (Signed) E. H. Smf.pard. Chief Clerk." The '■ Spinning-Whcel," patented November 16, 1803, is thus described: " A machine for spinning yarn or thread, in which a wheel drives a single spindle, and is itself driven by the hand, or by the foot acting on a treadle." 40 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. The " Spinning Wheel-Head," patented April ii, 1810, was a great improve- ment on the simple spinning-wheel, which he invented and procured a patent for in 1803, which spiiming wheel-head is fully described in this history. All the separate parts of the wheel-head were made of hardwood, principally maple, and those parts where there was the greatest friction, such as the collars or gudgeon-blocks, were made from hemlock knots. All these parts were turned in a lathe, and it soon became necessary, as the business increased, to have other than foot-power to turn his lathes, consequently, on March 8, 1804, he pur- chased from Silas Bascom twenty-seven acres of land, for which he paid $125. This was on Military Lot No. 44. On this land was a small stream of water, which ran from south to north across the road. He desired to locate his work- shop on the north side of said road, as his land did not extend on the south side. As he had some difficulty in getting the full height of the stream across the road to his own premises, and as his perseverance never failed in an emergency, he led the water from some considerable distance in a raceway, and in crossing the road ran the water into an upright basswood hollow log, down to another hollow log which ran horizontally across and under the roadway, and from this it was forced into another upright hollow log on the north side of the road. From the top of this log the water was fed into his first experiment of an overshot wheel, which was a leather band with buckets on it similar to a modern elevator in a flour-mill for carrying grain. This experimental wheel was not a success, and Miner soon constructed an ordinary overshot wheel, and erected a small workshop. His machinery was necessarily of a very crude description, but he managed to manufacture sufficient wheel-heads to supply the demand, as well as flails and flail-caps, fork-handles, and such other wooden utensils as weie demanded in those times. The site where Miner's factory was is now the farm of George Clark, on the road running east from J. Augustus Edwards' place. The introduction of Miner's accelerating wheel-head was a perfect Ixion and benefaction to all the farmers' families as well as the hired help in the land. The hired help in those days were all natives, generally daughters of small farm- ers, whose duties in the household were, in addition to the ordinary housework, to spin twenty knots. The demand was such, in a few years after the introduction of this mdispensable necessity, that they were sent in pedlers' wagons to all parts of the then settled States from Maine to Georgia. This wheel-head was in that early day a great invention, entering, as it did, the every-day work of thousands of households in all parts of the country, and, like the sewing-machines of the present day, lightened the labors of every family in the agricultural portions of the country by increasing the ease and facility with which they could do their spinning. Like many other inventors, however. Miner profited little by it finan- cially. The late Charles Pardee, in a short address to the Sunday-school scholars at a picnic of the Methodist Society, held about 1840, near the location of Miner's HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. 4" old factory, iiointcd out to the children ilie little brook where the factory was located, in which as a little boy he had worked for Miner. On the I2th of September, 1805, Miner sold out his land to Daniel Waller for $276, and in the following month, October 28, purchased from Avery Mason ten acres on the southwest corner of Lot No. 68. There is a small brook on this location, but whether Miner ever had a factory there is not known. He after- ward established a factory at Five Mile Point, (mi the cast side of the lake, where he manufactured wheel-heads, as one of the firm of Miner, Deming & Sessions (Amasa Sessions and Davis Deming). He soon afterward sold out his patent right and his interest in the factory to his partners, and located at a point midway between Skaneateles and Otisco lakes, where there were two small streams of water, and there erected a grist-mill and a saw-mill. This location has been known ever since as "the pudding-mill." This name was given to it from the fact that Miner ground large quantities of corn-mcal to make supawn, which at that period was the common food of the farmers in the neighborhood. These mills were driven by water-power obtained from three overshot water- wheels, about five or si.x feet in width and nearly twenty-five feet in diameter, which were so geared into each other that the water from one of the little streams was used over three times, and the water from the other little stream was used through two of these wheels. Miner's inventive genius was put to the test to get all the power possible from these two small streams of water. About the year 1816 he left this place and located at what was then called " Sodom," now Mottville, but soon afterward settled at a place on the outlet, a mile or two above Jordan, called " The Hollow." Liefore leaving the subject of wheel-heads, it may be of interest to state that, when Miner first offered them for sale, they were retailed at three dollars each, then two and a half dollars, then two dollars, and kept declining until the intro- duction of spinning-jacks, when they were sold as low as twenty-five cents each, and finally the demand ceased. Miner sold out as soon as his patent became money-making, so that he might turn his attention to other inventions. Putnam, Porter & Leonard built the wheel-head factory at Mottville, which was located where it is now or near the machine-shop of E. B. Hoyt. This firm, in 183 1, was succeeded by Whcadun ( S. C). Xye ( lirastus) & .\dams (('icorgc 1". 1. Mr. A. Blodgett, now of Mottville, sold all their manufactures with a two-horse team. He started out about every week with six hundred wheel-heads, and sold them at wholesale to the merchants throughout the State at six dollars per dozen. His journeys stretched eastward to .Mbany and Newburgh, on the north and west to ng said that Amos Miner, of Skaneatcles, \. Y., had invented and patented more really useful machines than any other man in the United States in those early years. Miner was poor, very poor, and yet he made many rich. No man ever brought so much money for tlie benefit of others, and yet had none of consequence for himself, altiiough he was a perfect model of economy in all his habits. He always gave to others the benefit of his many inventions, and kept poor, hut ever happy and pleasant. He was indomitably industrious, always at work, except when studying out a new invention, when he would wrap his head and shoulders in a woolen blanket, and, entirely blindfolded, crawl under his work-bench, and there remain without speaking to any person day or night, until he had formed a theory of a model with all the exactness he could have done if he had made a thousand. He once told Howard Delano that people gave him more credit than he deserved for an inventive genius. He did not consider that he had much of that quality, but what he really claimed to have was a perseverance and energy that were never sat- isfied until the desired end was accomiilished. He could not sleep at night while his mind was occupied during the day in any of his mental researches. The inventions he made were important in their day. meeting the demand of the times in which he lived for improvements, and under these various patents quite a number of manufactories were started in diflferent parts of the country, and were in operation for many years. While he did not liimself acquire riches by the fruits of his labor and inventive genius, yet he saw others enriched by them, and the public at large greatly benefited. About the close of the year 1835 he emigrated from New York State and settled in Morgan County, Illinois, and there erected a grist-mill and a saw-mill at a place called Little York in that county, from some little means he had acquired from the fruits of his industry in his old home. It is estimated that he took from here about $10,000, the fruits of his long and laborious life. Here, surrounded by his children who came with him, with the exception of two who had previously settled in western Pennsylvania, he passed the last years of his life, and died in the sixty-sixth year of his age, June 2, 1842. .\nna Miner, the sister of Amos Miner, was the mother of the late Charles Pardee and of Aaron, Allen, etc. She came from Connecticut and settled in Skaneateles, but whether she came at the same time her brother did is not known. Since the above was written a letter from a correspondent in Michigan has just been received, which gives the following items: ■ In reply, I can say my boyish recollection of Amos Miner is much more dis- tinct and vivid than those I have met in recent years. My father was a partner in business with him when my mother gave birth to nic in a log cabin deep down in the factory gulf, near where the patent wheel-heads were made. " As I grew up I saw him often at my father's house, and once at work in his factory at Camillus. where I saw the machinery at work which he had invented and perfected to make the neatest and most substantial woodcnwarc that I have 44 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. ever seen, in all its various forms. He was a very ordinary-looking man, and dis- figured by the loss of one of his eyes, which was occasioned by a splinter striking him in his e\e while he was hammering a piece of steel. His manners were simple and plain, and with his homespun dress he went quietly about the country, peddling his own wares with a rig in character with his own appearance, all having a shabby, neglected look, except his wares, which were neat, durable, perfect ; in fact, I have never seen them equaled by any manufacturers of the present day. He knew what was wanted, he knew how to make the tools and machinery, but he did not know how to accumulate or save money. ■■ When he had completed any of his inventions and could make his wares per- fect, they appeared to interest him no more, and he hastened to employ his energies and genius on other schemes of invention. " While manufacturing woodenware near Jordan, he constructed a canal- boat of staves, loaded it with tubs, pails, keelers, churns, and every variety of his wares of a quality never equaled, and peddled along the canal. After he left Camillus, I knew nothing of him except from rumor." We append the following letter from the Patent Office, giving a summary of Amos Miner's patents: " United States Patent Office, " Washington, D. C, October 20, 1881. " Edmund N. Leslie, Skaneateles, N. Y. : ■' SiK : In reply to yours of the 15th inst., you are informed that the following patents appear of record under the name of 'Miner' : '■ .Vmos Miner, Spinning-Wheel, patented November 16, 1S03. Residence not given. " Amos Miner, of Marcellus, N. Y., Spinning Wheel-Heads, patented April 10, 1810. " Amos Miner, of Camillus, Onondaga County, N. Y., Implement in making Pails, April 25, 1823. " Amos Miner, of Elbridge, Onondaga County, N. Y., Window-Sash Machines, July 9, 1823. " Amos Miner, of Camillus, N. Y., Implement in making Keelers, or Pails for holding Milk, July 20, 1825. " Amos Miner, of Elbridge, N. Y., Window-Sash Making, November 19, 1833. " Amos Miner, of Jordan, N. Y., Pump. July 7, 1835. Respectfully, M. Seaton, Chief Clerk." Early Recollections of Skaneateles by John R. Kellogg. — (W ritten in the year 1867.)— About sixty-eight years ago (1799), we entered Skaneateles, in the dead of night, in a sleigh drawn by two horses. The next morning I walked out of a small one-story house, and took a view of that beautiful lake. HISTORY or SKANEATELES. 4 5 havinj: never before seen a broader expanse of water than a country mill-pond. We liad traveled from my native home, New Hartford, Oneida County, being sixty miles east, through an almost continuous forest, having slept two nights in an Indian wigwam during a heavy snow-storm, which was the only available accommodation in that region in those days, called Oneida Castle, being the place where the first missionary, Dominie Kirkland, preached. In the days of the Revo- lution, many, and perhaps most, of the Oneidas, especially the warriors, were on the side of the British. Dominie Kirkland was for the Americans. His life was frequently threatened and attempted, and on one occasion he ran a long distance, chased by several savages with their tomahawk^, etc., determined to kill him. He barely reached Skanadoah's wig%vam in time, and was protected by that noble chief, and lived many years after. So, then, si.xty-eight years ago, the country was all new from Utica to Skan- eateles, and all travel done by teams and on horseback. The Trowbridge girls' father, a most worthy man, was the first liaiicr in Skaneateles. As early as 1800 or before, his house and shop stood near the old schoolhouse. on what is now the magnificently improved Roosevelt place, the road being a little changed. Up to the year 1800 there was no stated preaching in Skaneateles or in Mar- cellus, nor in any part of that region. Occasionally a missionary from New Eng- land came, generally from Connecticut. The Rev. Mr. Robbins was the first minister I ever heard in Skaneateles. He came as a missionary and boarded in our family. I was then six years old. In person, the Rev. Mr. Robbins was a specimen Presbyterian of the straitest sect. As I have before said, Jessee Kellogg, my father, had built and then owned the mills. One Saturday night the dam broke badly, and, when my father received the information early Sunday morning, it was in a bad way and growing worse. He at once called all the men he could raise, and went vigorously to work to arrest its progress. The family as yet knew nothing of it. We had breakfast, and all prepared for meeting at the old schoolhouse. We boys always went with Mr. Robbins, and, as we passed down and going round Winston Day's store, Mr. Robbins was surprised to see a crowd of men at work on the dam, and among them he noticed my father. He at/once called to my eldest brother, and requested him to ask his father to come across to where we all were. He came at once, and Mr. Robbins inquired why he was thus engaged on the Sabbath. My father said, "Mr. Robbins, come out on the dam with me." He went and saw the state of affairs. My father said to him, "This is the only mill in all this region." Mr. Robbins said no more, but turned about and pulled off his coat, and said to my eldest brother: "Go at once to the schoolhouse, and notify the people that the meeting to-day will be at the mill-dam. All are invited to attend." You may be sure that it was a great and anxious meeting, for the people had a mind to work, and much goofi was (lone at the dam, and no harm to the cause of religion. No man in the crowd worked more vigorously than our beloved clcrgjTnan. and all the people 46 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. loved him, and many attended his meetings after that who had never attended before. Amos Miner, the jjatent wheel-head man, humble as he was, was always pleasant and agreeable ; but he was more than that, for he possessed an inventive genius hardly excelled. The Superintendent of the Patent Office at Washington said, in one of his reports, that Amos Miner, of Skaneateles, N. Y., had invented and patentctl more really useful machines than any other man in the United States. He was poor, very poor, and yet he made many rich. On the road formerly known as the Hamilton Turnpike, about two hundred yards beyond where the Misses Trowbridge formerly lived, and in the woods, was a brook crossing the road, which flowed quite a volume of water, but which has since disappeared. There Miner iiad his log house and shops. There he built a dam and water-wheel, and made spinning-wheels, foot-wheels, flails and flail-caps, fork- handles, etc. Up to that time carding was done on the knee with hand-cards — all the wool and tow. The spinning was done on the big wheel, with a Ijand over a mere whirr or wheel alxjut three-fourths of an inch in diameter, single geared, slipped on over the s])indle. and to give the spindle sufficient velocity required the power of a steam-engine, yet this power had to he furnished with one hand, while the thread was drawn out with the other ; and when a girl had done a day's work spinning on that wheel, she did not feel like spinning street-yarns in the evening. Hence, the introduction of Miner's patent accelerating wheel-head was a perfect godsend to all the farmers' families in the land, and these wheel-heads were appreciated and sent in pedlers" wagons to all the then settled States from Maine to Georgia, and also by teams and wagons from Miner's factory, which had then been removed to a brook above the Colonel Bellamy farm on the lake- shore, at Five Mile Point, and afierw-.-ird to Moltville. .\t first the wheel-heads retailed at three dollars each, then two and a half dollars, then two dollars, and finally, after the introduction of spinning-jacks, they went down to twenty-five cents, and then out. i^ooth & Ingham's carding-machine superseded our mothers' hand-cards, the spinning-jack, and the .girls' labor on the big wheel. Miner sold out as soon as bis ])atciii became more money-making, that he might give his mind to other inveuiioiis. I le in\enicd the sash-making machine, the planing-machine, the pail and tub making machines, and various others. He always gave to others the benefit of his inventions, and kept poor, yet happy and pleasant. He was indomitably industrious, always kept at work, except when studying out a new invention, when he would wrap his head and shoulders in a woolen blanket, and, entirely blindfolded, crawl under his work-bench, and there remain without speaking to a single soul, day or night, until he had formed a theory of a model with all the exactness he could have done if he had inade a thousand. Then he must ni'cds go to ^\';l^llingloIl for his patent, and on at least two occasions the journey was made in this wise: M\- father had many years' ex- HISTORY UP SKANEATELES. 47 pcriern:c in driving and selling calile lo the I'hiladclphia market trom (Jncida County before removing to Skaneateles. Consequently, Winston Day and others who were in the business engaged him once or twice a year to make sales for them. Of course, men must be had to drive, while he performed the journey on horse- back. W hen Miner had perfected his model for the wheel-head, the drove was about ready to start, and he came to my father and hired out as a man to drive, and, taking his model under his arm, he faithfully followed that drove down through the backwoods to I'hilailelphia, where he received his wages, and put right out on foot for Washington. He obtained his patent, and returned to Skaneateles in the same way (on foot). .\nd this he repeated another \ear at least, but he finally obtained a standing in the Patent Office, which induced them to volunteer facilities by which he was saved his personal journeys. No man ever brought to Skaneateles <;o much monej for the benefit of others, and yet had none of consequence for himself, although he was a perfect model of economy in all his habits. He finally removed to lilbridge, and 1 never knew much about him after that. His memory deserves special honor from the citizens of Skaneateles. I had much personal acquaintance with him, and knew his worth. He always traded at the store where I was clerk. His word was a perfect law. and he was ever a law-abiding man. Samuel liriggs was six or seven years my senior, he having been born in 1793, and was the special associate of my elder brothers, but we all went to the same school in the year 1825. He was from his youth a sturdy, steady, industrious, worthy person. The last time 1 saw him he was passing in the street in Skane- ateles in a one-horse wagon, with his feci stretched forward over the top of the dashboard on account of severe rheumatism. He died from inflammation of the lungs. In his early days he was one of the hardest of the hardy, and was never suspected of being a subject for either of these complaints, whereas I was slender, and at the age of si.vteen was afflicted with both those miserable maladies, and these continued as long as I resided in that region, and had become so seated in youth that my prospect of comfort in old age was neither promised to me by physicians nor by the experience of others who came before me. Perhaps I have before said that Ja.son Parker, the old mail contractor of I'tica, drove the first coach that ever passed from Ctica to Canandaigua. Years after that, Isaac Sherwood, who I well remember lived in a log house about half-way between Skaneateles and .Auburn on the old State Road, and nearly opposite where is now a tavern house, was appointed by the Council of .\p|)ointmenl. there in the woods, a Justice of the Peace. Finding it inconvenient for his vocation, he wisely removed his office to Winston Day's store. There he assisted as clerk, and officiated as a Justice for a time, and finally entered into copartnership with Day, 3nd so continued for many years. They together built, for those clays, a large public house on the old Msquirc Hriggs place on the west side. This statement is not true, as John Briggs built his said tavern, which is the same building that is 48 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. now on the corner of West Lake Street and Genesee Street. Then Day & Sher- wood dissolved partnership. Day kept his store, distillery, and potashery ; Sher- wood, his tavern, and a good one, too. He soon succeeded in getting the patron- age of his stages. Then he soon became part owner, then sole owner, and finally he proved himself a perfect Napoleon of a stage proprietor. When opposition arose, his energies increased, and finally broke it down. But after that came on the powerful Sunday mail line, or rather the Sabbath-observ- ing line. They ran him hard, and Daniel Kellogg, who furnished him money, told me, after the opposition gave out, that had they held on sixty or ninety days longer Sherwood would have been obliged to succumb. Sherwood removed to Geneva, and theu back to Auburn, where he built " The American," regained more than his lost wealth, and died, leaving a handsome estate. Isaac Sherwood was truly a representative man in his life, but fortunately lie had the full confidence of Daniel Kellogg, who was decidedly the greatest financial man in all the State of New York in his day, and I do not think him e.xcelled now, all things taken into consideration. My father, who owned by contract all the Sanger property, sold to Mr. Kellogg the point of land on the hill on which he built the one-and-a-half-story house and office as iliey now are. Note. — This property was sold to Kellogg by Dr. Jonathan Hall, as is shown by Kellogg's deed. .After Mr. Kellogg had completed these, he told my father that he was then worth, besides them, about twelve hundred dollars. He said about that lime that, if he could acquire ten thousand dollars, he would be satisfied. But he got the track well laid and his engine in good working order, and kept it well oiled, and it ran easily, steadily, and at good speed.' Had he lived, he would have been a Rothschild in his way. What he had, he made himself, and, while he made for himself, he upheld and enabled others to make. The Beeches, without Daniel Kellogg as a prop, would have been bankniy)t more than once in the milling business ; so also would Isaac Sherwood and man>' others I could name. Any observing man having business with him could easilv learn valuable lessons from his way of doing things. His system and his practise were perfect, and success was a natural consequence. .\bout the time Mr. Kellogg built liis house and office. Colonel Vredenburg commenced his large house, whicli was burned in the year 1872. known then as the Leitch house. The ground was then the village cemetery, and the silent occupants were removed to their present resting-place, then owned by John Briggs. Colonel Vredenburg let the building of the house by the job, but the contractor and his successor both failed, and it was a long time lie fore the house was completed. One, and T think two, very large dry-kilns, containing a large quantity of lumber, were burned. HJsroRy or sk.-ixeateles. 49 (Some time after the above was written we received the following communi- cation, containing further reminiscences of our early history-.) Early Rf.collections of Skaneateles by John R. Kellogg. — In the year 1799, we entered Skaneateles. in the dead of night, in a sleigh drawn by two horses. The next morning I walked out of a small, one-story house and took a view of that beautiful lake, having never before seen a broader expanse of water than a country mill-pond. We had traveled from my native home. New Hartford, Oneida County, being sixty miles east, through an almost continuous forest, having slept two nights in an Indian wigwam during a heavy snow-storm, which was the only available ac- commodation in that region in those days, called Oneida Castle, being the place where the first missionary, Dominie Kirkland, preached. Skanadoah, a worthy Chief, and one of God's noblemen, was then an aged man. In after years (in 1809 or 1810), when he was about one hundred years old, I saw him standing near his old minister's grave, at the foot of College Hill, in Clinton, yet alive, but waiting the messenger of Death, and insisting on being buried by the side of him who had by the grace of God many, many years before led him to embrace in the arms of faith and love the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour. But he lived some years after that, and, when his nation voted to sell all out and move West, this venerable chief, being opposed to the project, arose, and by way of claiming attention said : " I am an aged hemlock, through whose boughs a hundred winter blasts have blown. Dead at the top," and so on to the end. and truly eloquent. This was many years since published in our school-lx)oks as a specimen of Indian oratory. (See "American Reader.") Perhaps most people think it is a dressed-up thing by some scholar. But not so. I have it only second hand from the lips of the then venerable Doctor Backus, President of Ham- ilton College, who assured John J. Glover, of New York, that he took it down word for word from the interpreter at the time of its delivery by Skanadoah him- self, and Mr. Glover told it to me when I was his clerk. In the days of the Revolution many, and perhaps most, of the Oneidas, espe- ciallv the warriors, were on the side of the British. Dominie Kirkland was for the Americans. His life was freciuentiy threatened and attempted, and on one occasion he ran a long distance, chased by several savages w ith their tomahawks, etc., determined to kill him. He barely reached Skanadoah's wigwam in time, and was protected by that noble chief, and lived many years after. He died, and was buried under the west window of his own mansion at the foot of College Hill, in Clinton. And, as I said, many years afterward Skanadoah was buried by his side, at the age, if I recollect correctly, of one hundred and three years. He died at home, but was brought as he requested, and buried there. Thousands attended his funeral from Utica and all around. So, then, sixty-eight years ago, the country was all new from llica to Skane- ateles, and all travel and transportation done by two-horse teams and on horse- back. 50 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. Well, about three weeks ago I entered that same Skaneatcles in the night time, but in a most convenient railroad-car, propelled by a handsome steam-en- gine, having traveled from near Lake Michigan by railroad through a fully settled country of towns and large cities ; and from that starting-point 1 could have gone in a direct line much farther West than I went East to reach Skaneateles. What a driving out of buffaloes, bears, wolves, and Indians have I witnessed in my day ! And now, in their places, behold the steamboats, railroads, canals, telegraph lines, commerce, agriculture, schools, colleges, churches, cities, manufactories, and all, in the good providence of God, under a glorious system of free government! Yet the half is not told. The progress of a day is more than can be spoken in a week. But let me come back from my digressions to my late hasty visit to your vil- lage. In my last letter, I had promised you that, when you had the cars running, I would, if living, come up and see you. Well, I did so, and found you, the father and son, engaged in the noble work that once occupied the mind and energies of the immortal Franklin, and that, too, right on the bank of the lake whence I used to shove my skiff and strap on my skates when a boy. I was glad to see you, and as many others as my time would permit. But I called on your rich people first — the " Trowbridge Girls," as they arc called, and, as Mrs. Horton said to me afterward, "Rich in Faith." Yes, God bless them ! The people of Skaneateles know not how many blessings these two may have enjoyed and are enjoying in answer to the prayers of such as they. The father, a most worthy man, was the first hatter in Skaneateles, as early as 1800, or before his house and shop stood near the old schoolhouse on what is now the magnificently improved Roosevelt place, nearly opposite and but a few rods from where these worthy daughters now live, the road being but a little changed. Mr. Trowbridge was a good citizen, and highly esteemed for his integrity and industry. And now his aged children, like Cowpcr's cottager, sit within their own door, plying the needle of industry day by day, scarcely going a mile from home, knowing little of the world, yet, as Cowper says, know their Bible true — "A truth the brilliant Frenchman* never knew." Forget them not! They are God's heritage, and he will not forget his own. Give me while I live the prayers of the honest, pious poor, "Rich in Faith," and I will have enough of earth's riches (sanctified) to carry me through this world, and with those honored ones enter and enjoy those mansions prepared not with hands, eternal in the heavens. " The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof." But it is to be used here on earth, for it is of the " earth, earthy," and God will not allow us to bring one dollar of it into heaven, for all there is heavenly. But I am glad to see the "Beautiful Squaw" (Skaneateles). like Rip \'an Winkle, arousing from her long sleep. Omaha, five httndrcd miles west of Chi- HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. 5» cago. has already become a large city, witli all the modern improvements and facilities, and is still progressing ; and all this and much more, while you wealthy men have slumbered over those great natural advantages extending all along the outlet to the junction. But by your paper of three or four weeks ago I was re- joiced to see that those accursed slink-pots (excuse me for using the right name), whisky -mills, are to be abated, cleared out, purified, and their places to be made meet for the legitimate uses of that pure stream, beside which lie dead men's bones, like Sol. Foster and others, poisoned, it is to be feared, even to the second death. Awful to contemplate! * * * //o/d/ /'or //it)i« //i3'.ff// wert guilty of being engaged in that accursed traffic on a neighboring stream, six miles east. True, true! But a righteous God in his great mercy to me and mine cleaned me out by fire ; and I trust he gave me grace to say "Amen." While my property was burning, I thought many of my neighbors were more sorrowful for my loss than I was. I had reduced my insurance from $7,000 to $700, which the company promptly paid, and offered me a loan to enable me to rebuild, as there was much other property connected with it to be saved ; but I said "Xo." I had long waited to get out of the business (it was rented then) , but I received it as God's way of getting me out. So I pocketed a loss of eight or ten thousand dollars, closed up my affairs, paid off my debts, took the leavings, came to Michigan, where I have had better health, and my full share of prosperity, and have no disposition to go into that miserable traffic or advise others to. But again I do rejoice to see that that most lovely stream at Skaneateles is to be improved, as stated in your paper. May its builders be amply rewarded in their enterprise! And how can they be otherwise? The power is there, building ma- terials are there, a rich country to feed and sustain is there. So go ahead, for " you are right," as David Crockett said. Besides, you can pass up and down in your beautiful and comfortable cars, superintend your works as they progress, and even make it a source of mutual and social enjoyment, equal to what you and I, Mr. Pardee, enjoyed in our boy- hood, playing at seesaw on a board laid across a rail fence — and in those days ez'en that was amusing. And then, if you choose to keep up olf Shotwell barn. Gleason, Amasa, painter; shop where old engine-house was. Granger, David, lived on Parker Wright place, beyond brick scluMilhouse, al>ove C. Pardee. Granger, Isaac, farmer, occupied Amos R. Pardee farm. Greves, Thomas, early tailor: was Dr. Evelyn's uncle. Greenman, Edward, father of .'^anuiel H. Grecnman, of this town Gunn, Hezekiah, farmer, on < )sman Rhoades' farm. Hall, David, came to this town in March. iSoT). 56 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. Hall, Dr. Jonathan, practised medicine hereabout; was great on smallpox. Hall, Seth, carpenter and wagon-maker. Harris, George, laborer, worked for Norman Leonard. Hatch, Asa, farmer, on Warren Hatch farm. Hatch, Timothy, farmer, and kept tavern. Hecox, Cyrus, brother of Col. Warren Hecox. Hodge, Israel, near Mandana. Hodges, Isaac, farmer, west of Mandana, next to Gleason's. Hosmer, Simeon, farmer, on Wills Clift farm ; William Fuller farm. Ingham, Samuel, early merchant and clerk for John Meeker. Jones, Amos, Esq., farmer, Mandana; a great snuff-taker; had been a Justice of the Peace before he came here. Jones, Elijah, Henry Jones' father. Jones, Henry, Constable here. Keith, Phinneas. Think he was a tailor here, in early times. Kellogg, Jessee, Dorastus' father, and agent for Judge Sanger. Kingsley, Bela, farmer, was uncle to J. Augustus Edwards. Kneeland, Asa, carpenter and joiner. Kneeland, John, or Amasa, schoolmaster at Joab Clift's ; also in this village. Lane, Ezra, school teacher here before 1807. Lee, Ezra, farmer, on John Gregory place ; had a wood-boat on lake. Lewis, Abraham, farmer, north part of town. Manley, Luther, farmer in this town. McKay, Daniel, farmer and mason, lived on Dr. Merrell place. McKee, James, farmer, on Lot No. 84. Merrell, Elias, laborer here ; worked for Norman Leonard ; owned two-acre lot running from Seneca Turnpike to Hamilton Turnpike (Cooper shop lot) ; died in 1812. Miller, Timothy, laborer here before 1806. Millhollen, Henry, well-digger, lived near Borodino. Moffett, Ishmael, farmer, next south of Holcomb Peck. Niles, Samuel, teamster to Elnathan Andrews while he was building the old church where the brick schoolhouse is now, opposite the tavern, of which he was contractor. Nye, Benjamin, John Nye's father. Otis, Cynthia, widow of Nicholas. Otis, Nicholas, taught school here, early; died in 1808. Parish, Rus.^ell, resided near Mandana in 1805. Parsons, Elijah, came here from Northampton, Mass., in 1803, and died October 26, 1862, aged eighty-three years ; was Moses and John Parson's father. I'atchin, Jared, farmer, owned George Gregory farm. Peck, Liva, first lived on the Will Willctts farm, and afterward owned the John H. Smith farm. HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. 57 Pettis, Joseph and John, who Hved in a small unpainted house next cast of the Burnett house, in the village. Pierson, John, lived in this town October i6, 1805. Porter, Dr. Samuel, an original physician, died June 14, 1843, aged sixty-five years. Pratt, Levi, hired man for Alanson Edwards. Price, Alexander, fanner, brother of Elijah, who studied law with Daniel Kellogg. Price, Elijah, law student with Daniel Kellogg. J'utnam, Perley, owned the Baber farm ; was a saddler by trade. Rathbun, Benjamin, farmer, Tyler Hollow. Kathbun, James H., farmer. Five Mile Point. Read, Thomas, farmer, on West Lake Road, north of Mandana. Rhoades, Joseph, farmer, Osman Rhoades' father. Roberts & Briggs, blacksmiths; shop was on the corner where Stephen A. Clif- ford's dwelling is now ; both of these blacksmiths were very early settlers. Roberts, Sylvester, blacksmith, Onondaga Street in early times. Ivobinson, Samuel and Edmund, were residents in this town in 1802. Rose, William, farmer, on Lots Nos. 35 and 37. Sabins, Israel, lived at Mottville, or at " Sodom," as it was then called ; was a mason by trade. Secoy, Peter, lived with Jared Patchin, as hired man, to work his farm. Sessions, Amasa, a leading early Baptist, lived on Bradford farm, on East Lake Road. Seymour, Nathaniel, farmer, East Lake Road. Shaw, Samuel, lived at Mottville. Shearman, Briggs, farmer, lived on west side of lake; was connected with the Bentley family; was also a carpenter. Stanton, Phinncas, farmer, lived up the lake. Stringham, Jacob, was at one time a blacksmith in this village. Thomas, William, David's father. \'ail, Daniel, Jr., came from Goshen, Orange County, X. Y., in 1791, with Moses Carpenter; was also a farmer, west of Mottville (town line) ; was Norman Leonard's distiller, on the outlet. \'an Orsdell, John, distiller for Leonard in first still below village, on the outlet. Wiltsey, Joseph, Marsh's father. Early Settlers, F.vrmers, and Others before 181 5. Allen, Miles, miller, owned the Weed mill; Robert Earll's son-in-law. Austin, Reuben, laborer here in 181 5. Bacon, Amos, shoemaker, Colonel Hccox's brother-in-law. Bates, Joshua, farmer ami blacksmitli. on the John Joyce farm. S8 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. Bebee, Alexander M., lawyer, lived where Sydney Smith now resides; went to Utica from here ; died in Utica ; first came here with John S. Furman about 1804. Belamy, Samuel, farmer, on George F. Shotwell place. Belding, Silas, gatekeeper near Jacob Allen's. Benedict, Amos, farmer, Skaneateles. Benedict, Micajah, farmer, Sennett, near Owls' Xest. Bennett, Peleg, crazy man. Benson, Abijah, tanner, currier, and shoemaker, Benson Street. Benson, Elkannah, farmer, pottery manufacturer, Skaneateles, near Owasco. Bentley, Joseph, farmer, on the Valentine Willetts farm. Birch, Jeremiah, farmer, Dutch Hollow, Niles. Blodgett, Nathan, potash-boiler for John Meeker ; lived in the Huxtable house. Booth, Jonathan, merchant here ; store site on B. Lee's office ; died September 24, 1840, aged seventy-eight years. Bowen, Almerin, farmer, lived on the Wyckoti' farm. Boyd, George, laborer here; was intemperate. Bradley, Myrick, farmer, lived on S. C. Conover place; was afterward killed in Syracuse. Brainerd, Sebe, farmer, east side of the lake. Briggs & Hall (Isaac and David), merchants here at the time. Burnett, Stephen, teamster here. Bums, Eleazer, potash-boiler for John Meeker. Burroughs & Co., here in 181 1. Burroughs, Daniel, farmer and carding-machine maker, on Vine Warner farm. Burroughs, John, farmer, Alvin's father. Burroughs, William, farmer, lived on the Henry Vary farm. Cady, Palmer, tavern-keeper in the Gulf; husband of Mrs. Francis. Capen, John, brother-in-law of Selah Thompson ; was blind. Chandler, Joshua, farmer, one of the first settlers, up the east side of the lake near William Briggs. Chapman, Ashbel, farmer, lived on the Luther Clark place, Skaneateles. Chase, Stephen, blacksmith; manufactured hoes; moved to Lysander, where he died. Cleaveland, Asaph, farmer, Skaneateles. Cody, Elijah, farmer, near Clintonville. Coe & Marsh, kept the Sherwood tavern here. Coe, Alvin, fast young man, brother of Noble. Coe, John, painter by trade, lived on the old Betsey Clark place. Coe, Noble, tavern-keeper, owned the old tavern opposite the old meeting-house. Cole, Elijah, farmer, owned Community farm. Coon, George, farmer, east of Compton's. Cotton, George H., millwright, owned the mill lure. HISTORY OF SK.IXEATELES. 59 /.I iKiili-liack. Jacol), came to this country in the year 1690 anil settled in Orange County, in this State. All the Cnddebacks in this section were descended from him. Curtis, Ezra S., studied law with Daniel Kcllogp. Curtis, James, carpenter and joiner, lived on John Clark place. Daggett, James, teamster between Albany and Skaneateles, lived in tlic •iiiif, near Guppy's. Davis, Solomon, farmer, west side of lake, on Asa Foote's farm. Dayley, James, fanner, moved to (7)iiio, and went into the counterfeit business there. Dayley. John, farmer, turned ^[ornll>n and left town. Dayley, Moses, farmer, turned Mormon and left for Ohio. Denio, Cotton, sold to Samuel Francis his place in 1813. Dennison, Daniel, farmer, on west side of the lake. Dibble, Philo, harness-maker, came here in 1812; shop on Dr. Campbell's place. Diffins, Samuel, farmer, an Irishman, lived on the Chauncey Tliornc farm. IDodge, .\braiiam. farmer, had the best farm in Marcellus. Dorhance, John, farmer, on Captain Taylor's farm. Douglass, William B., built the Milford House ; was a patent ris^ht pedler. Dwinnell, Stephen, farmer, Sennett. Earll. Cotton & Lewis, millers, owned the mill here. Earll, Abijah, farmer, Colonel Daniel's father and on same fanii. Earll, Watson, farmer, grandfather of Delescus. Earll, William, Thorn Hill, father of Shepperd. Eaton, Mancasseh, merchant, Clintonvilie, and afterward kept tavern at l^lbridge. Edwards, Abner, farmer. East Lake Road, in the old house next this side of the old Ellery place. Edwards, Alanson, Jr., school teaciier ; once County Clerk. Eells, Horace, son of Xathaniel, cooper on the Pardee place; his father Xathaniel built the Fibliens tavern about the year 181 2. Enos, Joseph, farmer, east sin the same farm HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. 63 which lie occupied at the time of his death, having lived more than sixty-seven years on the same premises, Clift's Corners. He died in Sennett, October 18, 1862, aged eighty-four years. Elijah P.xrsgxs. — Elijah Parsons came \.o this place from N'orthampton, Mass., in 1805. He died October 25, 1862, aged eighty-three years. The Town ov Skaxe.\tele:s. The earliest actual settlement was in the spring of 1794. The attraction t.> this part of the State was the low rate at which the Military Bounty land could be ])urchased. The pioneers who first came to this section of the State were prin- cipally from the Xew England States, and only a few from the eastern section of this State. The Earlv Pio.veers. — Who among our farming population can coni])rclien(! the resolution, hardships, and trials experienced by the early settlers, in leaving their old homes and attachments of relatives and friends in New England Staler and in the eastern part of this State? Starting out with their rude sleds durin;; the winter season, and with two-wheeled carts at other seasons of the year, loaded with household furniture of all descriptions, wives and children, with food l)oth for themselves and for their cattle and stock, they made long and tedious journeys of from two hundred to three hundred miles through an almost unset- tled country in search of new homes in a wilderness. How could they find shelter for their families during the inclement seasons of the year? There were then no bridges, no roads, and, after passing the Hudson River, absolutely nothing but a simple path through the dense forest to guide them to their destination. The pioneer had to meet the difficulty of making a fire to cook his food, with no handy kindlings to start a blaze. His tinder-box, too, must be dry. In fact, he must encounter all kinds of hardships. He must walk the whole journey, driving his oxen, and have his family ride. How could he supply Iiis draft animals with food and give them rest? How could he provide his family with food, and particularly bread, if he did not anticipate this deprivation by laying in a stock of hard biscuit, or what is called navy bread, such as sailors at sea are fed upon? " Through the deep wiUIcriicss. where scarce the sun Can cast his darts, along the winding path The pioneer is treading. In his grasp Is his keen ax, that wondrous instrument. That, like the talisman, transforms Deserts to fields and cities. He has left His home in which his early years have passed. And led by hope, and full of restless strength, Has pUinged within the forest, there to plant His destiny. Beside some rapid stream HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. He rears his log-built cabin. When the chains Of winter fetter nature, and no sound Disturbs the echoes of the dreary woods, Save when some stem cracks sharply with the fros Then merrily rings his ax, and tree on tree Crashes to earth ; and when the long, keen night Mantles the wilderness in solemn gloom. He sits beside the ruddy hearth, and hears The fierce wolf snarling at the cabin door, Or through the lowly casement sees his eye Gleam like a burning coal." — Alfred B. Swee Xow let us follow the early settler to his home in the wilderness, and when lie erects his log house. The opening he has made in the forest at first was only such as was necessary to supply the logs for the construction of his house and to let his cattle browse. He has come a long journey with an ox-team, a horse, a couple of pigs, and a few sheep. These, with a few articles of furniture, including two or three chairs, a pot, and a kettle, seed potatoes and other seeds required in forming a new home, also a few indispensable articles of house- keeping, of course not excepting a tinder-box, all necessary conveniences, con- stitute his outfit and the bulk of his worldly wealth. He has no money and had none to bring. He constructs the roof of his house of peeled elm-bark. His scanty window is oiled or greased paper, for glass is a luxury which has not yet found its way into the wilderness. The floor of his house is at first the naked ground covered with forest leaves; then with his ax he splits straight-grained logs, and lays them on the ground for an improved floor for his log house. No boards are to be had, as there are no sawmills w^ithin at least a hundred miles. There are yet no roads and no bridges across the streams, which at all seasons of the year are filled with rushing waters. Miles and miles away, through the dense forest and underbrush, is his nearest neighbor. Such is the spot which the pioneer has chosen in which to carve out his future home and fortune. Against what fearful odds is he battling! The trees which cover his grounds with the growth of centuries are to be attacked and cleared away, and his land to be paid for by his industry and economy. The task is surely a Herculean one, but he has a stout heart and a strong arm. A year or two pass away, and we see the improvements which he has made. Our pioneer has chopped down the trees and cleared a few acres. He has made a rail fence near his house to inclose a garden. Here he has raised some vegetables during the season, which have supplied the first delicacies for his household table. A crop of corn, pumpkins, and potatoes has been raised among the charred and blackened logs. The crop of corn is, owing to imperfect growth and cultivation, very small. Tiicre are no grist-mills or other facilities for grinding, therefore he has extemporized a contrivance for converting his corn HISTORY OF SK.IXF.ATELES. 65 into coarse meal. A mortar lias been biirned out of a lianlwood stump, and the hollow in the center worn down with sandstone. A pestle of hardwood has been suspended to a sapling over the mortar, and with this rude appliance is pounded the corn to supply the needs of his family, except on extraordinary occasions when wheaten bread from his limited growth of wheat is desired as a luxury, in which case the wheat is pounded in his mortar, and is real " whole wheat " and very coarse. But look again at our pioneer. Ten years are supposed to have passed away. His premises, formerly so rude, have begun to have the appearance of careful management, thrift, and even comfort. Here is the statement of an early settler (Col. Warren Hecox), within five years after the first settler located in the town of Skaneateles: " In 1799 there was an uncommon scarcity of grain, and he had to send to Scipio, twenty miles, to pay two dollars and fifty cents for one bushel of wheat. He could only raise money enough to purcliase a single bushel at a time. He hired a horse at fifty cents a day, and sent a boy eighteen miles to Montville, in Sempronius, to get his bushel ground, wiiich took two days, the mills at Harden- burgh's Corners, now Auburn, and at Camillus having stopped running on account of the great drought of that season. Many of his neighbors were in a worse predicament, for they could get neither money nor wheat." \'arious crops are growing on his acres of cleared land. A payment has been made on the property. He has had a neat framed barn built, a well sunk, provided with curb and sweep, and a garden inclosed with a picket fence. A look into his fields shows a large increase of his stock. The improvements of his neighbors have reached his, so that he can now look out. without looking up. A school district has been organized, and a comfortable log school- house appears in the distance. A substantial framed bridge spans the stream in place of the primitive one built of logs. Our pioneer, we may now venture to assume, is either Colonel or Captain of militia. Supervisor of the town, or Justice of the Peace. Take another view of him. Forty-five years are supposed to have elapsed since we saw him commencing his wilderness home. Not only is his home, but the houses of his neighbors around him are in a well-cultivated and rich section of farming country. His lands arc free from debt. He is a forehanded and independent farmer, having founded and worked out his own fortune by long years of patient and persevering industry. .Such has been the pioneer life and jirogress in Onondaga Comity. Who is there at the present day who would undertake such a journey as has Wen as sparsely settled when he came here in 1804, and it was men of his enter- prising character that gave stimulus not only to the town, but to the village. He was quite a young man when he came to Skaneateles, but by steady business liabits and an energy which knew no bounds he finally built uj) an extensive carriage manvifacturing establishment, second to none in the State of New York. He was energetic and industrious, with frugal habits and an upright, honest heart. Possessing all these traits, his success was assured, and the result was the accumulation of a competence much beyond the ordinary achievement of those days. And while he labored for individual success, he also had a mind and heart filled with generous impulses, which were manifested in deeds of benevolence. John Legg died in Skaneateles. December 19, 1857, aged eighty- four. History of the Shepard F.\Mn.v. — The following manuscript was found in a book belonging to the Skaneateles Library, which book was formerly used by a canvassing agent in soliciting subscribers for "The History of Onondaga County " : " In the year 1794, John Shepard and Zalmon Terrell, brother-in-law of John Shepard, came from the town of Newton, Fairfield County, Conn., and settled in what is now known as ' The Shepard Settlement.' Terrell bought one hundred acres from Gould Steel, on Military Lot No. 5. They put up a house, as they called it then, of logs, and split basswood for the floor, and shingled it with ' shucks,' as they called them, that is, oak rived out like staves three feet long, and laid on ribs. They had a blanket for a window, and the door was so con- structed as to enable them to draw in backlogs with a horse. They cleared off a few acres and planted it to corn. When they were hoeing, Nathan Kelsey ranie down and said to them, ' It seems to me that you are digging your potatoes pretty early,' he having mistaken the round gravel-stones for potatoes, with which the ground was filled. " The next winter Terrell went F,ast, and brought back his wife and family. In 1796 John Shepard bought one hundred acres on Lot No. 12, and married the same year. He went out across Cayuga Lake with an ox-team and sled after wheat, and on his return, when coming across the same lake, his team broke through the ice and his wheat got wet. He came as far as Hardcnburgh's Corners. There was at that time a mill at Clarksville. He left his grist at this inSTORy or SK.lXE.IThLES. 67 mill, and the miller agreed to [paxv. — The following circular was mailed to the newspaper having the largest circulation of every county in the State of New York. Its purpose was to defeat the passage of the celebrated Malby bill then pending in the Legislature, which bill was inimical to the interests of every village in the State. Bills of this character had previously been introduced in the Legislature, and great pressure had been brought by the water works companies to have them passed and enacted into law. The following circular had the desired effect, after having been extensively copied throughout the State, and the bill was not passed. This circular is appropriately copied as incident to the history of the Skaneateles \\'ater Works Comixmy. and of its promoter, the American Pipe Manufacturing Company, of Xew Jersey: ALL VILL.\GES INTERESTED. A DANGEROUS niU. INTRODUCED IN THE LEGISL.\TURE. The following i.s a copy of the bill. The passage of this measure would seriously affect every village in the State. This circular is now sent to every County Seat in the State for the purpose of having the local press publish it in the interest of every municipality within each county to urge all villages to fight this bill to its death. There is a large sum of money behind this bill, which in ordinary Legislatures is inimical to the interests of the people : State of New York.— No. 565.— In Senate, February 13, 1896. Introduced by Mr. Malby— read twice, and ordered printed, and when printed to be com- mitted to the committee on miscellaneous corporations. .-\n Act to amend an act entitled " The general corporation law," constituting chapter thirty-five of the general law. The People of the State of \c~v York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enaet as fullozvs: Section i. Section eleven of chapter six hundred and eighty-.seven of the laws of eighteen hundred and rtinety-two, entitled " An act to amend the general corporation law," i^nsTORy or skaxe.itules. 75 constituting chapter thirty-five of the general laws, is hereby amended by adding thereto a subdivision to be known as subdivision six, to be read as follows : 6. Whenever rights, privileges or franchises have been or shall hereafter be granted to any corporation, or the exercise thereof by such corporation assented to by any municipal corporation, and the conditions or requirements of such grant have been complied with by the corporation receiving the same, the municipal corporation within whose limits such rights, privileges or franchises are exercised, sh.-ill not itself imdertake or perform any business or purpose of said corporation without first acquiring, in the manner prescribed by chapter twenty-three of the code of civil procedure, the rights, privileges and franchises granted to said corporation, and also the property of said corporation necessary for the use of said rights, privileges and franchises. § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. The following protest, which is to be presented to the legislature, has been left at the postoffice in this village for the purpose of securing the signatures of all those who favor municipal ownership and municipal rights : — To the Honorable, the Legislature of the State of Sew York: We the undersigned citizens of the village of Skaneatelcs respectfully protest against the passage of a bill introduced by Senator Malby, in the Senate, Feb. 13, 1896. For the following reasons, to wit : The scheme of this bill is to compel every municipal corporation in the state, which has heretofore granted a franchise to a water works company, or indeed any other kind of a company, or to any person, firm or corporation, before they can exercise the same right or franchise to acquire the franchise in the given case by proceedings for condemnation. * This bill is extraordinarily sweeping m its provisions, and the object intended to be effected is made applicable to all municipal corporations alike. It is extraordinarily vicious in principle, for it delivers every municipal corporation in the state bound hand and foot, to any person, firm or corporation, to which any franchise has heretofore been granted, however incautiously or improperly. This bill has behind it the combined power of the water works companies and all other companies, firms and corporations, who have heretofore procured a municipal franchise of any description, not only this but the money influence of the various banks and institutions that have invested in the bonds of these companies. This village of Skancateles is now considering the subject of municipal ownership, either by the purchase of the plant of the foreign water works company here, or if satisfac- tory terms can not be effected, to put in an entire new water plant. ' The Malby bill if passed, would be decidedly against the interest of this village, and not only this but many other villages, in the state similarly situated. Dated Skaneateles, N. Y., February 20, 1896. E. Norman Leslie, President of the Village. One nffcci of litis Circular. — The Syracuse Standard, which received one of the circulars, pulilishcd tlic following leafling editorial, Tcbruary 22. i8i/): " .\ GOOD DILL TO DEFEAT. " Senator Malby has a bill in committee at Albany which ought to receive its quietus the moment it gets before either branch of the legislature. It is described in its title as an amendment to the general corporation law, but its real purpose is to prevent municipal corporations, either villages or cities, from establishing water works or lighting .systems, without first extinguishing franchises covering the same rights that may be in existence. This is the text of the bill: [Unnecessary to repeat here.] " In most of the villages of New York .state foreign companies arc in possession of franchises for the furni-^hing of water. Gas and electric lighting has also iKcn furnished to scores of the smaller places by companies working with foreign capital. Senator Malhy's bill proposes to invest these concerns with perpetual pos-icssion of their respective fields, unless by purchase, at presumably their own figures, they are superseded and extinguished. 76 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. Municipal ownership of water works and lighting systems would be fatally retarded were the Malby bill to become a law. " Probably the proposition contained in this bill originated with banking institutions and private individuals who have invested in local bonds. Were the companies to be estab- lished in essential perpetuity these securities would be much more valuable than they are at present, but the justice of asking this guarantee of the legislature at the expense of the municipal corporations will have to be explained when the author of the bill supports it on the floor. In the meantime the villages of the state had better keep a sharp lookout for this little joker." Early Skaxeateles Real Estate Values Compared with Syracuse Real Property Values. — James Sackett during the early part of the nineteenth century was the owner of all the lands in this village south of the Seneca Turn- pike road and east of the outlet of the lake, on which are now the business stores of this village. He also owned many acres in the western portion of this village, including the present Fred. Shear property, on which Sackett had his residence, succeeding the John Briggs tavern. Sackett afterward removed to the village of Syracuse, where he invested largely in real estate. Soon after his assuming his residence there, he had as his family physician Dr. Mather Williams, who was one of the earliest physicians in Syracuse. Dr. Williams' services to Mr. Sackett's family ran over a number of years. His bill for services, which was not very extravagant in those early days, was finally settled by Dr. Williams receiving from his patient a tract of land out over James Street liill. It was then not very valuable, nor did it give promise of becoming one of the home districts of the village. Dr. Williams was a gentleman of the old school, suave and courteous, who always affected the latest mode of dress, and was never seen without the ruffled shirt-front and high-stock collar. That tract of land " over James Street hill,'' as the village grew and when the village became a city, was and now is a very valuable property. Other persons purchased land in what is now James Street at about the same period that James Sackett paid his doctor's bill with a tract of land. Lands in that location were purchased at the rate of eighteen dollars per acre, and three- quarters of a century ago lands in the vicinity of where Fayette Park is now sold for from six dollars to ten dollars and a half an acre. These lands are at the present time worth from one hundred to three hundred dollars per front foot. Syracuse at that period was in embryo, and was not thought of, not even as a village. In the year 1834, the land on which the Durston Memorial building now stands, in James Street, was owned by Daniel Kellogg, Esq., of Skaneateles, and two other gentlemen of Syracuse, and it i.'; now a very vahiahlc jiicce of property. Of course, the salt industry, and especially the construction of the l-"rio Canal, were the foundations of the prosperity of Syracuse. Why has Skaneateles Retrogr.\ded ? — Within twenty years of the early settlement of the village, the piece of land on the lake-shore, about half an acre HlSrORV OF SK.IXEATELES. 77 in extent, on which the boat-house of the late Julius Earll, Jr., is located, was sold by John Briggs to John Meeker for one thousand dollars. This is only an instance of the early value of lake-shore property. The lots on which the brick stores are now located were originally owned by James Sackett, and, being on tlie lake-shore, were probably sold by hint at proportionately advanced prices. That these lots were considered valuable is indicated by the construction of the heavy stone docks at the rear of the stores at a considerable expense. The First Ste.\mbo.\t o.\ the Lake. — The following is a copy of a handbill concerning the Highland Chief, and now in good preservation, in possession of E. X. Leslie. The Highland Chief was not built here, but was brought from the Hudson River by Captain Fowler by the way of the canal, and he had it trucked up to the lake with a large number of oxen. It was forty feet in length. Captain Fowler did not belong here, but came with his boat, which was a verv uncomfortable craft for pleasure parties, as it was liable to careen and upset. STEAM BOAT HIGHL.'W'D CHIEF, Win. FowLEK, Capt. Will leave Skaxe.\teles, at 8 o'clock, a. m. for Rossvn.LE, (at the head of the lake.) on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, of each week, and return same day. O.v Mo.vdavs, Wednc.-days and Fridays, of each week, it will be in readiness for parties of pleasure. t^ Fare to Rossville and back, $0.75. Skancateles, 3d August, 1831. An C)ld Log T.wf.r.n. — The only tavern in the town, in 1795, was located in wliat is now the village, and was situated where the present west corner of Main and State streets is. It was constructed of logs. Some years afterward, when better accommodations were needed, a frame addition was added on the west side, which was about sixty feet long, fronting on the turnpike road. It was two stories in height, and in after years additions were built for the ac- conunoflation of travelers' horses. This tavern was first kept by a Captain Welsh, who was also a militia captain. In 1820, no less than fifteen stage-coaches passed through the village daily. These stages carried the United States mail. Early Business in Skaxeateles. — Skaneateles very early became a well- known mart of trade, not only in this section of the State, but in all parts of the State west of .Albany. Its early merchants were enterprising, kept heavy stocks of merchandise on hand, and consequently had an extensive trade. Carriage and sleigh manufacturing in Skaneateles very early assumed an extensive business, which gave this manufacture a great reputation, not only throughout central \ew York west of .Mbany, but also throughout the Western States. The zenith of business here of all descriptions was in the year 1830. The later known artists, Elliott aiul Thayer, both learned the early rudiments -8 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. of their artistic work liere in the village. The carriage and sleigh manufacturers employed them in painting fancy designs on the high backs of expensive sleighs. Another Convev.\nce to Freeborn G. Jewett. — Winston Day and Thankful, his wife, to Freeborn G. Jewett: " Part of Lot No. 36, February 20, 1822. Bounded and described as follows: 15eginning at the southeast corner of Skaneateles village lot number one, laid out at the north end of the Skaneateles Lake, said lots containing about one acre each, thence easterly along the north line of the old road leading east and west through the village of Skaneateles, and on the south line of lot number two one hundred feet to the southwest corner of village lot number three." Village Lot No. i was where the brick buildings are now west of Judge Marvin's residence. Village Lot No. 2 comprised the Marvin lot. Village Lot Xo. 3 was the next village lot east of Judge Marvin's, on which the savings- liank is now located. Further description of this land is given, but not necessary lo repeat here. The number of acres is not given in the deed, but the con- sideration was $2,500. According to the description given in the deed there must have been a considerable number of acres in this purchase. Condensed Fr.\gments of History. — Ebenezer Edwards traded here from t8oi to 1808. — 'Henry Mead and Factory Company traded here from 1826 to 1831. — Isaac Selover, from 1801 to 1813. — Levi Stephens, 1815. — Sylvester Eells, ]8i2. — Benjamin Leonard, 1812. — Aaron Taylor, 1800 to 1809. — Aloses Legg, 1796 to 1801. — Mr. Keth, 1807. — Weeks & Bristol (Esquire Weeks and A. P. Bristol) dealt in ashes in 1802-4. — Eli Clark in his account-book wrote: "April 29, 1816, Mr. Enock and family moved into my log house. November 4, 1815, Mr. Levi Swan came to my old house to live." — Walter Root, 181 1. — Asahe! Cook, 1804. — 'Joseph Davis, 181 1. — William Clift, 1807. — Deacon Joseph Root, 1805. — John Brewer, 1812. — Ezra Stephens, 1812. — Eleazer Goodwin, 1810. — William White, 1816.— William B. Douglass, 1815. — Asa Kneeland, 1812.— Hccox & Tinkhani were manufacturing boots and shoes here in 1828. — Porter & Wolcott and Burnett & Rhoadcs were doing business here in 1828. — Mason iV' Earll were dealers in lumber in 1827. — R. C. &• (\ Hulbut were dealers in lumber in 1823. — Ingham, Booth & Champlin here in 1812. — 'Esquire Northam a Justice of the Peace here in 1814. — Benjamin Gumaer came here from Minisink. Orange County, in 1799. — John Legg's first blacksmith-shop was on the lake- shore, just south of where the Waller boat-house is now, when he first came here in 1804. He afterward sold out his shop to Sabins, a blacksmith. The Pettis House. — A family by the name of Pettis lived in a story-and-a- half house next east of the Charles J. Burnett dwelling, opposite the present St. James' Church, previously to the year 1804. John Legg occupied this house sul)scf|uently. After Legg, Henry Arnold, who was an own brother of Benedict .Vrnold, the traitor, of Revolutionary notoriety, came here from Canada, and lived in it. Ilenrs' Arnold afterward married a sister of John Ten Eyck's wife. Freeborn (1. jewett later resided in this house for a short time. HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. CIlAl'TKR Ml. MlSCELLAXliOLi FRAGMENTS III- EaRLV HiSTORY. Caleb X. Potter was born at Pownal, \'t., and came to Skaneatcles \illage in 1815, where he was engaged for several years in mechanical pursuits. In 1823 he settled in Clintonville. where lie continued to reside until his death. July 25, 1865, aged seventy-live years. Deacon David Hall died June 4, i8f>5, aged seventy-nine years. Elder Amasa Smith died at Elmira, January 20, 1865. Correl Humphrey died October 17, 1885. Peter Thompson and Joiin I'illings, both carpenters, constructed many of the prominent and l)cst dwelling-houses in the village and surrounding country during their time, one of which was the dwelling of James A. Root's present residence. This house was built for Nicholas Thome, who owned the property, .\nother was the dwelling now owned by Emerson Adams. It has been very difficult to obtain the names of early building mechanics of this village. Both of these carpenters were employed by Ambrose lleco.x in building his house, barns, an'.-- f,,rn,.rl\ tlv F.li.as Tiioriu- residence. 8o HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. Jonathan Weston was the first settler in the village. He built a log house on the site of the C. H. Poor residence. Josiah Weston, the son of Jonathan, built a log house on the present site of Mrs. John Kellogg's wood house. Sylvester Roberts, an early blacksmith, lived in the Josiah Weston log house in the year 1803. Closes Loss, an early carpenter, who had been married a short time, lived in a log house immediately in front of Sylvester's log house. Both families were very mtimate. S. C. Wheaden & Co. were doing business in the village in 1826. Captain Elijah Rust was here in 1826. There was a blacksmith named Stringham iiere in 1826. The Miss Higby who tauglit school under the Episcopal church was related to Xehemiah Smith's wife. James Turnure was the miller who had the frame grist-mill in 1828, when it was destroyed by fire. Lewis, Cotton & Co. purchased the site, and erected a new frame mill afterward. Earll, Kellogg & Co. had the grist-mill in 1837. Ezra & Benjamin were in business here in 1812. Also Ingham & Hecox. Samuel Francis purchased his place on the shore of the lake from Cotton Denio. August 29, 1803, Jedediah Sanger sold to John Briggs fifty-seven acres, being part of Lot No. 36 ; consideration, $300. This land included the present cemetery and old burial-ground. March 5, 1805, John Briggs, and Roxy, his wife, sold to Winston Day part of Lot No. 36, beginning at the southwest corner of the store now occupied by Piatt Wikes, thence forty-two feet along said store to the land of Warren Hecox, etc. ; consideration, $400. Winston Day at that date (1805) was in partnership with Isaac Sherwood. Rev. Isaac Ravvson, minister, was hired by the year to preach in the old schoolhouse on the hill, before it was destroyed by fire in 1807. He was origi- nally a Freemason, but afterward became an Antimason. Nathaniel Swift, who succeeded Rawson, was the first settled minister. Columbus Weston had a blacksmith-shop on the corner of Hamilton Turnpike and Cross Street in 1836. William J. Vredenburg first came to this town in 1797. He then owned many military lots in various townships. The records of the County Clerk's office show that his first purchases of military lands was in the year 1790, at which time he was a merchant in the city of New York. A Mr. Camp kept tavern here in 1816. Chester Tolles, who originally owned the Bradford farm on the east side of the lake, built and owned a wood boat on the lake here in 1812 or after that date. In 1806 Winston Day had completed his dwelling-house and was living in it. This was a frame two-storv house. A one-storv wins: was afterward built on HISTORY ur .-./v.iA /:.i y /;L/^^. 81 the west side. Tlie jjreat rire ol 1835, o" t'^c opposite side of the street, one hundred feet distant, was so hot that the front door was blistered by tlie fire. The late Thaddeus Edwards stated that the tavern which John Briggs built, on the site now owned by IVed Shear, was completely finished and occupied in 1806. Isaas Sherwood in 1806 lived in a story-and-a-half house next west of Col. Warren Heco.x's house, across the highway. The Isaac Sherwood tavern was built for him by a carpenter named Wicks. This tavern was located where the Packwood House is now. Col. Warren Hecox was a tanner and shoemaker, and manufactured boots and shoes. He learned his trade of David Seymour, on the west side of the lake. Shoemaking at that period was an important business, as much so as keeping a store. This, together with the tanning business, in both of which Colonel Hecox was engaged, was one of the original industries of the town. John Legg first came to this town in 1802. P. Fish, of New York, owned a farm on the east side of the lake in 1835. He placed John Middleton on it, more as a matter of charity than otherwise. John Middleton not knowing anything about farming, and being more of a politician than otherwise, spent nearly all his time in the village, and got into debt, as a matter of course. Finally the owner of the farm sent a power of attorney to Captain De Cost, who was an old friend of i'. Fish, to sell the farm, after which John Middleton with his family went back to New York. Esquire Sherwood was here in 1814. He had a lime-kiln and soiil lime. William J. Vredenburg first resided in this town in 1803. He was a Judge of Onondaga County in 1804-5 ''"^ iSo), and was Member of .Assembly in 1805 and 1806. Col. Warren Hecox was a Judge of Onondaga County in 1818. Xehemiah H. Earll was a Judge of Onondaga County in 18.23, and was First Judge in 1828. He was also a member of the Twenty-sixth Congress. Thomas Jones was here in the village from 1805 to 1810. He was an excellent penman, as has been shown by the account-books kept by him. Joseph Root came here with his son, Henry, in 1804. Elijah Parsons arrived here from Massachusetts in 1805, and died < Kiober 25, 1862, at the age of eighty-three years. Col. Warren Hecox was long encaged in tanning antl shoemaking in the village, and became a leading citizen. His tannery was burned February 20, 1848. Laf.wette Clddeb.vck. — We here insert a copy of a letter from I-afayctte Cuddeback, a grandson of .Abraham .\. Cuddeback, the first settler here: " My grandmother, wife of .Xbraham .\. Cuddeback, was a De Witt, .1 daughter of J. R. He Witt, of Minisink. Orange County. .\. Y.. who had two sons aufl seven daughters. The eldest daughter married William Raso, who settled near Lodi, Syracuse. Rachel married RoIktI Burnett, father of Nfoses Burnett, of Syracuse. Margaret, and Jane. Peter and .Abraham Cuddeback 82 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. married two sisters. Hannah married James Annis (one of the former owners of what is now known as the Lapham place). Peter settled where Porter Cudde- back now lives. The three sisters leased that section from their brother, Moses De Witt, who surveyed the military lots in the }ears 1787 to 1788. He died in 1790. " My grandmother had a sister that married James De Puy, who settled where Jamesville now is, in the spring of 1792. Also one other sister that married James Coleman, who hired a half section near where Onondaga Hill is now located. " This was all on land hired from their brother, Moses De Witt. .My grand- father came in the spring of 1794 to his brother-in-law at Onondaga Hill, where he left his wife and five children. He then went to Skaneateles, about June i. with his two eldest children, a girl of fourteen years and a son of twelve years. " I have heard my grandmother say many times that the nearest settler was at Onondaga Hill. When my grandfather got to Skaneateles, he camped near what has since been known as the Furman Brook, where there were a spring of water and three Indian wigwams. On the bank of the lake there he constructed a raft of logs, and after completing it satisfactorily put on his two-wheeled wagon and other things, and poled the raft along the shore to what is now known as the Dr. Hurd place. His two children then drove the cattle and a colt through the woods to the same locality. There was no settler then at Skaneateles until the following autumn. " The seven sisters of J. R. De Witt hired something like 30.000 acres in western New York from tlieir brother. I think they procured their lease from Simeon De Witt, but Moses De Witt did the work, as he was entitled to fifty acres for every section he surveyed. You (E. N. Leslie) wrote of the two grave- stones, now in the village burial-ground, of Abraham Cuddeback and his wife. They came from Minisink, in the spring of 1795, with Peter Cuddeback and James Ennis. Abraham Cuddeback and his wife died within two years of each other, as stated on the gravestone. They were originally buried on the farm, and the remains were afterward removed to their present location. This gravestone- was erected about 1830. " I have always understood from my grandmother that her husband (my grandfather) was the first settler in the town of Skaneateles." The Leon.vrd F.\mily. — Nathan Leonard was the original settler mi the Joab Clift fari'i. The Leonards caine from Shaftsbury, Vt., in 1795. Nathan Leonard brought with him from Verinont eight children : Joseph, Nathan, Benja- min, Luther, Calvin, Ezra (Cutler), Azenath, and Polly or Afary. N'athan Leonard, the father, died October 10, 1813. He purchased the farm land in 1795. which was .sold as a " Government claim." He built a log house, and with his family lived in it for three }ears, after which he built the present Joab Clift house in 1708, which was originally occupied as a public inn. The old signboard of this inn has been preserved by the fatnily, and is now in the attic. It reads as HISTORy I// .^.'s.iMi.lTELES. S3 follows, ■■ Nathan Lku.nakus I.n.n," which was regularly opened for the weary traveler in 1798. Ezra Leonard, son of Xathan, was the father of Mrs. Joab Clift. Ezra succeeded his father in the ownership of tlie farm. He lived on il tifly-three years, and died April 13, 1850. Xoniian Leonard, one of Skaneateles' early merchants, was the son of Joseph M. Leonard, brother of Xathan first, who lived about half a mile south of Clift 's Corners, on same place where Samuel iJobbett now lives. Joseph ^L built the Bobbitt house. Charles Leonard was a grandson of Joseph ^L and second cousin of Mrs. Joab Clift. Mrs. Clift has lived in the old homestead all her life, nearly seventy- nine years. Ezra Lemiard made a request that the old homestead should always be kept in the family. It has been so kept, and the Leonards have lived on it since it was purchased in 1795 — one hundred and five years! Ezra did not come from Shaftsbury at first with his father, but came in 1797. The First Actual SiiTTLiiR in this Countv. — It is stated that, in the spring of 1788, Comfort Tyler, at the age of twenty-three years, in company with Major Asa Danforth, pushed into the wilderness fifty miles beyond any white settlement, and commenced the permanent settlement of Onondaga Coimiv. This was nearly a year before the treaty was held, on the bank of the Seneca Lake, between Oliver Phelps and the Indians. Oliver Phelps opened the first land office in America, at Canandaigua, in 1789. The First Mail thkolgh Ono.\d.u;a Colntv. — The first I'niteil States mail was carried through this count} by a Mr. Langtlon, from W'hiiestuwn to Geneva, on horseback, in 1792-98, and distributed newspapers ami unsealed letters by the way, before intermediate offices were established. .A Mr. Luca.s succeeded Langdon in the transportation of the mail, which in 1800 had become so heavy as to require a wagon to transport it. Mr. Lucas established a two- horse passenger-wagon for the conveyance of passengers and the mail, and did a profitable business. The first four-horse mail-coach was sent throutrh once ,i week by Jason Parker in 1803, and in 1804 commenced running regularly from Utica to Canandaigua twice a week, carrying the L'nited States mail and pas- sengers. In 1804 an act was passed granting to Jason Parker and Levi Stephens the exclusive right, for seven years, of running a line of stages for the conveyance of passengers, at least twice a week, along the Genesee Road, or Genesee Turnpike, between the villages of I'tica and Canandaigua. They were bound to furnish four good and stdistantial covered wagons or sleighs, and .sufficient horses to rim the same. The fare was not to exceed five cents jier mile for each passenger, with fourteen pounds of baggage. They were bound by law to nm through in forty- eight hours, accidents excepted, and not more than seven passenirers were allowed in any one carriage, except by the unanimous consent of the said seven passen- 84 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. gers ; and, if four passengers above the seven applied lor passage, they were bound to immediately fit out and start an extra for their accommodation ; or any number less than four should be accommodated by paying the fare of four. In 1808 a daily line was established, and afterward several others, which were continued until the completion of the Syracuse and Utica Railroad. Old-Time Servants. — As early as 181 5 there had been no negroes brought into this part of the State. Mr. V^redenburg brought from New York a black wench as cook. The children were all afraid of her, and ran as soon as she made her appearance in the street. There were, however, two native-born negroes, who belonged to either Mr. Booth's or Mr. Furman's family. Their names were Jack and Kate. They were born about 1812, and were slaves. These slaves became free under a law after- ward passed by this State. An Irishman was a curiosity in those days. There were no Irish women. The hired help were all natives, who were glad to hire out at seventy-five cents per week, which was considered big wages. The conditions for prime help were that, in addition to the ordinary house-work, they would agree to spin twenty knots and do the milking night and morning. But hired help were then treated as equals in the family. The Vredenburg family, being more aristocratic, wanted servants who were not treated as equals, and such could not be found about here, consequently they had to import all their help from New York. Farmers' Daughters. — The farmers' daughters would come into town for the winter and engage to do chores for their board, for the sake of attending school. They would get up before daylight, get breakfast for the family, and do all the necessary work, including washing the dishes, before school-time. On ^Mondays they would stay at home half a day to assist in the family washing, and during evenings through the week would do up the ironing. Daniel Kellogg's Gardener. — The gardener of Daniel Kellogg was an Englishman, and celebrated for his early vegetables, which were forced under glass. lie was the only one who raised early stock, and his garden was the resort of all who were curious in such matters. DESCRirxiON OF Skane.\teles Village in 1809. — " The following description is appended as a note to the dedication sermon preached by Rev. David Higgins, March i, i8of;. entitled ' A Sermon delivered at Marcel.lus, N. Y., at the Dedica- tion of a House for Public Worship in Skaneateles Village.' A copy of this sermon was printed in pam|)hlet form by the trustees of the Skaneateles Religious Society. It was printed at IManlius by Leonard Kellogg, and it is now in posses- sion of the Presbyterian Society. " The flourishing village of Skaneateles, consisting of nearly one hundred buildings of different kinds, is situated at the foot of the lake of the same name. The lake is about fifteen miles in length and from half a mile to nearly two miles in width. The waters in the body of the lake are raised above their natural level about three or four feet bv a dam which is built across the outlet. Bv this means HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. 85 a lumibcr of mills of dilYcrent kinds are kept in operation during the whole season, even the driest svunmers. The settlements in this village commenced in March, 1796. A number of the buildings are elegant, and it has become a place of considerable business. Passing eastward on the great western thoroughfare, you leave the bridge over the outlet and ascend on a gentle rise for half a mile till you come to the eminence, where the eye is presented \sith one of the most pleasing prospects in the western country. The view is handsomely variegated with cultivated farms, forests, and lake waters. Here is placed an elegant Congre- gational meeting-house, built of wood. The plan of the building displays good taste; the materials are of the best kind; the workmanship exhibits neatness and beauty. The country around is handsome and fertile, generally owned and cultivated by wealthy farmers. These with the villagers compose the SkaiicatcU-s Religious Society, which was incorporated October 29, 1801. " The church in Skaneateles was organized with the name and style ' The First Congregational Church of Marcellus,' July 20, 1801, by the Rev. .\aroii Bascom. " The change from Congregationalism to I'resbyterian took place on January 10, 1818. The members of the First Congregational Church in Marcellus met, and resolved to adopt the form of government and discipline of the Presbyterian Church in the United States as that according to which we will henceforth be governed. Bexj.v.min B. Stockton, Moderator." The First Exciteme.nt. — The first excitement among the early settlers was when the mill-dam broke away, about the early part of the nineteenth century. This occurred during a Saturday night, and , but they are not original productions, one of them being the Norway variety. The hickory has been found in some sections of the town, but not to any great extent. The chestnut is found in many sections of the town, and has proved an excellent fencing material. The original apple orchards are nearly extinct, but. properly taken care of, they are one of the most profitable crops the farmer can raise. Ko.ADS. — The first road attempted to be made through this part of the State was in 1790, by a party of emigrants, under the direction of the late General Wadsworth, from the settlement at Whiiestown, Oneida County, to Canandaigua, through a country then very little explored and entirely a wilderness, in which was the town of .Marcellus, now Skaneateles. After this the old State Road was cut through, enlarging and following the one cut by the emigrants. The road running through the business portion of this village was a portion of the old State Road. Then, as the country was wholly shaded by dense forests, there was commonly snow enough for good sleighing through the winter months. Most of the settlements along this road from Utica to Canandaigua. began to attain some consequence as early as the year 1800. Previously to the laying out of this road, which was somewhat improved by sundry appropriations from the State, the Western settlers moved on pack-horses along the Indian paths through the forests. In 1793. John L. Hardenburgh, Moses De Witt, and John Patterson were appointed a board of commissioners for laying out and making public roads on the Militan.- Tract. The roads were to be laid out four rods wide, and the sum of two thousand seven hundred dollars was appropriated by the State for that purpose. -Another board of commissioners was apjwiinted by act of the Legislature in T704 for the ])urpose of laying out and improving a public highway from old Fort Schuvler. now Utica, on the Mohawk River to Cayuga Ferry, as nearly straight as the situation of the country would allow. The road to be six rods wide, and the sum of six hundred pounds was ap])ropriated for the expenses of opening and improving so much of the road as passed through the Military Tract. In 1796. the Surveyor-General was authorized to sell certain lands on the Indian Reservation, and from the proceeds of the sales appropriate five hundred pounds for improving the Great Genesee Road through the county of Onondaga. In \~*)0. commissioners were appointed to make and repair the highways in the county of Onondaga. Four thousand dollars was appropriated by the State fur that purpose. an, one day in each successively. Ezra Lee. — Ezra Lee was the son of the Mr. Lee who has heretofore been mentioned as having purchased one hundred acres of Lot Xo. 38. The Ezra Lee here named built a scow wotxl boat, which was placed on the lake about the year 1800. It was afterward transported either to Lake Ontario or Lake Erie. Chester Tolles built a wood boat for lake use about 1818. William Ci.ift. — William Clift arrived from Vermont with his father, in March, 17(^5, and settled at what has since been known as " Clift's Comers." He died in iSTii. His house was kept as a tavern for nearly sixty years. It was destroyed by fire in May, 1883. James Porter. — James Porter came here in 1797, and erected and opened the first tavern in town, the timlwrs of which probably constituted the first raft of the kind that ever floated upon the lake. The Eari.v Records. — The early settlers came into tins town by the Indian trail, or bv the old Genesee Road, which was opened soon after the first arrivals. 92 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. Suffering from the hardships and privations incident to a new country, and especially from the miasmatic conditions of the low, unbroken lands, they bore the many trials of frontier life with fortitude. \\'olves, bears, and other wild animals were troublesome. As the present town of Skaneateles formed a part of the town of r^Iarcellus previously to the year 1830, it is well to state that the public records of the town of Marcellus were destroyed by fire about 1829-30. All the records dating before 1830 were thus lost. It has since been learned that William Stephens was Supervisor of Marcellus in 1794, 1795, and 1796, Samuel Tyler in 1797, and Winston Day in 1798. In the history of the town of Marcellus it is stated that slavery existed here during the first quarter of the nineteenth century. All slaves, however, were soon afterward freed by law. During the first three decades of settlement, quantities of timber were burned and the ashes converted into " black salts," or potash, which formed an important source of revenue. The Old-Time Caterpillars in 1798. — Clark's " History of Onondaga County" states that in 1798 this valley (Pompey) was visited by myriads of caterpillars, which totally stripped the forests of their foliage and attacked the smaller vegetables with great voracity, doing considerable damage to the tender corn. They, however, disappeared in the month of June, vegetation revived, and the crops were plenteous. These insects were so numerous that they congregated in heaps on the eaves and chimneys of the houses at evening, and when the fires were kindled in the morning they were very troublesome, often spinning down the stick chimneys into the cookery, and when their day was over, in such quantities had they accu- mulated, the atmosphere was completely tainted with their decaying remains. The Cold Summer in 1816. — This was a very remarkable year in all respects. The month of January was unusually mild, so much so as to render fires almost needless for warming purposes. December previous was very cold. February was not very cold; with the exception of a few days it was mild like its prede- cessor. March was cold and boisterous during the first part of it. but the remain- der was mild. April began warm, but grew colder as the month advanced, and ended in snow and ice, with a temperature more like winter than spring. May was more remarkable for frowns than smiles ; buds and flowers were frozen ; ice was half an inch thick. June was the coldest ever known in this latitude; frost, ice, and snow prevailed during the whole month; almost every green thing was killed ; thp early fruit blossoms were all blasted. July was accompanied with frost, and ice of the thickness of common window-glass formed on the 5th. Indian corn was nearly all destroyed ; some favorably situated fields escaped utter destruction. August was more cheerless, if possible, than the summer months already passed. Ice was formed early, half an inch thick, and the corn which had previously escaped was so frozen that the greater part was cut down and dried HISTORY or SK.IXE.ITELES. 93 for fodder. September furnished aWut two weeks of the mildest weatlier of tlic season. Soon after the middle of the month it became very cold and frosty, and ice a quarter of an inch thick formed. October produced more than its share of cold weather, frost and ice particularly. November was cold and blustering, and enough snow fell to make good sleighing. December was quite mild and com- fortable. The above is a brief summary of the " Cold Summer of 1816," as it has always been known since that time. The sun's rays seemed to be destitute of heat throughout the summer; all nature seemed to have been clad in a sable hue, and men exhibited much anxiety concerning the future of this life. Eli Cr..\RK's Recollections. — Eli Clark made the following memorandums: ■' The winter of 1823-24 was a very open winter season. March 19, began to plough. March 24, sowed three acres spring wheat. The ground was quite tlry and in perfect order for sowing. ■■ Dnring the winter of 1835-36, snow fell two feet deep on the 24th of Novem- ber. 1835, ami it went off the last of December. The first of January it fell four feet deep, and remained on the ground until the i6lh of .April, and that winter was the coldest we have had for fifty years. Februarj-, 1836, the snow fell eighteen inches.' Water-Lime. — Water-lime, which is quarried in this town, consists of two layers, from three to four feet thick. Its color is drab, it is dull in its fracture, and is composed of minute grains, with usually but few lines of division. The upper of these courses burns more freely than the lower. When burnt, it is ground fine and mixed with sand — one part of lime to from two to six j)arts of sand, according to its quality and the speed with which it is desirable the cement should set. Owing to its property of preserving its fomi and hardening under water, it is used with stone or brick in the construction of cisterns, and without any other substance than sand for pipes for conducting water from springs. Such is its strength that a cylinder of pure cement and sand, six inches in diameter, of one inch caliber, buried three feet in the ground, after some years became closed at the lower end, and the pipe sustained the pressure of a column of water forty feet in height. The best practical tests for i)ersnns un,skilled in judging of the quality of this lime for cement are : The stone when burnt must not slake on the applica- tion of water: when ground, the cement must set quickly on Iwing wet ; keep its form under water, and hanlen until it becomes as hard as well-burnt brick. It is sometimes injured by being burnt tiK) much, and ven,- often it is nt)t ground fine enough. An engineering authority states that Onondaga water-lime is simply an impure lime, having clay enough in it to make it resist the action of water. I-irgc (piantitics of hydraulic cement are manufactured from our rocks and .sent in barrels wherever wanted. Division ok Marcklll^s. — .\ public notice, dated Xovemlwr 24, 1829, an- nounced that " application w ill be made to the next Legislature for the division of the town of Marcellus into three towns." HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. CHAPTER VIII. The Cardiff Giant. Although not strictly within the town of Skaneatelss, still it was near enough to produce great excitement and interest among the people. It was brought to light, or, rather, said to liave been discovered (?), in the year 1869. Nearly all the residents of this town, particularly the men and many women, who could procure transportation thence, hastened to see the great curiosity, at Cardiff, about twelve miles distant. It was exhibited under a canvas tent, as it had been supposed to have lain in the ground for one or more centuries, lying on a sandy bed, which was cunningly devised to represent what had been originally the bed of a river. The earth immediately above the sandy bed was the mold of decayed leaves and vegetable substances, which had been gradually collecting for centuries. Fifty cents was the charge for admission. The first spasm of interest in this town was that two individuals of reputed wealth employed a responsible agent to go to Syracuse, and to endeavor to pur- chase an interest from the party there who owned the controlling interest in the " petrifaction." The agent had full power to make a purchase, if possible, at any reasonable terms. The consideration for the agent's services, if his mission was successful, was to be one-third of the investment. The Syracuse proprietor absolutely refused to dispose of any interest whatever, and would listen to no offer. Immediately after the exhibition was opened, large crowds of people from all the surrounding country thronged the roads and highways, in all descriptions of vehicles, on horseback and on foot. The town of Skaneateles was well repre- sented in its equipages large and small, and all classes of the inhabitants of both town and village rushed to see the " show," and among the females were some in " Bloomer costume." The giant, as his remains lay exposed in the canvas tent, was particularly offensive to purity of mind, and coarse and indelicate even to the common observer. This was a grand opening for the giant owners. Immediately great crowds of jicople rushed to see the petrifaction, among whom were professors, students of colleges, Egyptologists, archeologists, archbishops, clergymen, and, lastly, physicians. The general opinion was that it was a petrifaction. One of Skan- eateles' prominent physicians, on his return from the show, stated publicly that there was no doubt that it was a real petrifaction, as he was permitted to go into the well, and had made a close examination, and could sec the pores in the cuticle { !!). His opinion, of course, was the common talk of the villatrers. and was largelv instrumental in inducing many who before had little faith in the show to go. aisroRy a i.i.lls. v5 Aiiutlicr party. Dr. Boyntun, residing in Syracuse, endeavored to obtain an interest in the giant, but all liis perseverance was in vain. The controlling interest in the giant made a great mistake in denying the application of Dr. I'.oynton. He. being naturally of an investigating nature, determined to get even with the giant owners, therefore he immediately commenced investigating the (as he suspected) origin of the " fake," as he supposed it was, and he always did Iiave that supposition. Even witii that suspicion, he considered a moderate investment in it a good operation, more especially as the scientists, archeologists, and pro- fessors of the Xew England colleges had, after inspection, pronounced it, some a petrifaction, others a statue. W'itli great perseverance, and through the aid of a detective employed by him, he obtained positive information that, about the previous year, a huge box had been transported from Chicago by the way of the {'•rem Western Railroad to Suspension Bridge, thence by the Xew York Central Railroad to Syracuse, thence by the way of the Syracuse & Binghamton Railroad to Binghamton, thence by the Erie Railroad to a station on that railroad named Union. This large box was addressed thus: " Finishkd Marble. G. Oujs, L'.MON, X. Y." Dr. Boynton was satisfied with his discovery thus far. The Originator of the CardilT Giant. — The originator of the Cardiff giant was a man named Hull. After Hull had shipped the box from Chicago, he had not determined its exact destination nor where il was to be buried. In the course of his investigations on that subject, he learned of a newly discovered cave in Salis- bury, Conn., and imniediately went there to ascertain whether it would be the proper location to place his petrifaction, and after a full inspection decided that it was exactly the right place, but was discouraged by the price demanded. After further thought, it occurred to him that some years previously there had been discoveries of fossil remains in (Jnondaga County, near Syracuse, X. Y., and that a nephew of his brother's wife, named William C. Xewell, was living in that locality. Hull, therefore, started thither at once. After a full conference explanatory of the object in view, a satisfactory arrangement was made with Xewell. The two men, after looking over the farm, decided the exact spot where the petrifaction was to be buried, and arranged all the details as to how it was to lie transported from the Erie Railroad car to XewelKs farm. Dr. Boynton's further investigation indicated that the large box had been taken from the platform-car during the early evening, and placed on a large truck-wagon, which was drawn by two teams of heavy horses, and transported to the Newell farm. Dug the Well to Bury the Giant. — Xewell had employed a number of lalxircrs to dig a well alongside of his barn, which had been fully completed, and was therefore ready to receive the giant upon its arrival. .Ml the implements fcd over the newly covered grave. Here the giant was allowed to rest for a whole year. 96 HISTORY OF SKANBATELES. Ordered to Dig up the Giant. — On October lo, 1869, Hull wrote to partner Newell that it was time to dig up the giant. Consequently Newell employed another set of laborers, mosth- neighboring farmers, avoiding the former laborers who dug a well for him the previous year, as it would not do to employ them! Well, these new workmen dug a well alongside of Newell's barn, and it was not long before one of them struck a rock, and, upon further investigation, Gideon Emmons discovered a massive stone foot, when he exclaimed : " Jerusalem, Nichols! It's a big Injun!" Following up the big foot the big Injun was soon uncovered. Newell immediately invited the four physicians of the neighborhood to view the big Injun. Their names were Dana, P'arker, AIcDonald, and Randall. They all concurred in the opinion that it was a petrifaction. A gentleman from Syracuse, who had inspected it, and who was known as a man of antiquarian research, otifered Newell $10,000 for the big Injun, which, under Hull's instruc- tions, was refused. Hull finally directed Newell to state that only three-quarters of it could be purchased at the rate of $30,000, the owners reserving one-quarter. A Sale was Made. — On these terms a sale was effected within a few days, the purchasers being: Alfred Higgins, Agent of the American Express Company of Syracuse; Dr. Amos Westcott, a wealthy dentist, and ex-Mayor of the city of Syracuse ; a Mr. Spencer, Simeon Rouse, Amos Gillette, and Messrs. J. M. Ellis and B. F. Fitch, bankers, all of Syracuse, N. Y. A showman was at once placed in charge, and for an advertisement invitations were sent out asking Professor Agassiz, Professor Hall, New York State Geolo- gist, and Stephen A. Woolworth, Secretary of the Board of Regents of the University, to come and scientifically examine the fossil man. F'rofessor Hall, in his opinion, believed it to be of great antiquity. Professor Henry A. Ward, who fills the chair of the Natural Sciences in the Rochester Uni- versity, was also present at the examination, and wrote on the subject : " Although not dating back to the stone age, it is nevertheless deserving of the attention of archeologists." Some of the expressions of opinion at tliis early date (that is, before the "humbug" was made public) were quite enthusiastic. One clergyman wrote: " This is not a thing contrived by man, but is the face of one who once lived like all on earth, the very image and child of God." The following ai)])reciative poem ap])eare(l in the .Skaneateles Democrat: The Stone Man. Egypt, renowned for her antiquities, Columns and pyramids of Time defiant : Turn back thy gaze from by-gone centuries, And view our strange Colossus the Stone Giant. The Sphinx, with patient face and earnest eyes. Looking for ages o'er its burning sands, Might start with wonder at our mysteries, To see this great stone face in distant lands. HISTOKi ^,r M^ASEATELES. >>: Gloomy the figures the Eg)plian wrought, And rude the sculpture of the centuries Of Scandinavia's myths and gods, and fraught With mystery is this man of stone. " Xo Indian ! " says the red man, for he sees Xo weapons in the tomb of war or chase; Its striking form, profound repose and ease, Denote the semblance of another race. Of holy men the heralds of the Cross, Fearless of want, of perils, and of strife; Who for the love of souls count all things loss, If they may break to them the Bread of Life. Wert thou not formed for some Cathedral grand? Where in some lofty niche that " calm, grand smile " Would seem a blessing to some little band Of worshippers, who knelt in its broad aisle? Since brought to light within this quiet vale. Thousands of wonder-stricken people come. For years will sires and grand-sires tell the talc Of the Stone Man and Ncwell's humble home. Skaneateles, November 29, 1869. A Deliberate E.raiiiiiialion. — On November 3 a large delegation of gentlemen from various parts of the State came to the tent to make a deliberate examina- tion. On inspection, they pronounced the " find " to be a statue, and, as the stone was of a quality different from any to be found in the neighborhood, that it must have been brought from a distance. The story of the unearthing of the giant and the surmises of the learned scientists were printed in the Syracuse newspapers, and the news was thereafter copied in all the newsjiapers throughout the United Stales and in Eur(i])e. Up to this time the giant was still under the tent at Cardiff, and, at tifty ceiit.^ admission, Hull, Iliggins & Co. were doing a large business, and a profitable one too. The large crowds of sightseers were daily in attendance. The great mis- take of the owners of the giant was, in the first place, in refusing Boynton an interest, and, secondly, in removing the giant from the profitable tent to Syracuse for exhibition there. The prevailing idea among many who came to the tent was that it was a petrifaction, its removal from where it was discovered (?), on the IxDttom of what had been apparently the I>cil of a river, therefore indicating its petrifactive quality. .\ftcr its arrival in Syracuse, "the great and only I?annnn " appeared, and desired to purchase the giant, but in vain, as it was toii>pKii'ii Hi iraud had bccomo so general thni the revenue began to decline, and after a few months the Cardiff giant passed out of public notice. THE RE\IVAL OF THE SUBJECT during the past year by discussion in some quarters in this country and Europe, and the reconsideration of its merits in some scientific circles, has perhaps made it worth while to present this simple connected statement of facts occurring in the history of the CardiflF image from its origin to the close of its career. These facts being all capable of verification may thus aid in refuting the errors that will be likely to arise where the attempt is made to dignify this Cardiff giant by considering it as anything more than a clever hoax." Rczerscs. — Successful and profitable up to this time, the tide of success had been unchecked. But now came a series of reverses, which resulted in slowly but surely establishing the true character of the humbug, and consequently in dimin- ishing the revenue. Professor U. C. Marsh, of Yale College, gave the first telling blow to the empiricism that had vouched for the giant's antiquity in the name of science, by stating that although gypsum is soluble in four hundred parts of water, yet the surface of the giant was smootii and Httle dissolved, though surrounded by wet earth, thus proving that tiie burial must have been recent. Professor Marsh also found other indications of newness which had escaped the learned scrutiny of others, such as recent tool-marks in places where they could not be easily effaced, and in places close by water-worn surfaces. Soon, also, there were letters, one after another, written l)y various persons who had seen the four-horse wagon carrying the large box to Cardiff. Then came other letters from Fort Dodge, Iowa, detailing the history of the stone quarried out and shipped to Chicago by Hull. July 27, 1868. Finally, the statement of the Chicago stone-cutter Markman came forward. The following extended history of the exposure of the fraud by Professor Marsh, copied from the Syracuse Post Standard, April 10, 1899, is of particular interest in connection with this subject: EXPOSED \ LOC.\L FR.VUD. Prof. Marsh of Yale Denounced the Cardiff Giant. PROMISED TO write A BOOK. The Famous Paleontolocist Has Recently Died— Circumstances Unmr \\ iiiii iIk Came to Syracuse to Visit the .\lleced " Petrifaction "—Had a Quarrel With Scientists and Theologians, but the Laugh Came His Way at Last— The Contro- versy With Dr. McWhorter and What Came of It. The recent death of Prof. O. C. ^[arsh of Yale, the famous paleontologist, who first exposed the Cardiff giant fraud, revives a reminiscent interest in a subject over which not only every citizen of Syracuse and Onondaga County, but for that matter, scientists, theo- logians and laymen the world over, were once wildly excited. Prof. Marsh often said he intended to write a book of reminiscences in which the Cardiff giant would be a prominent figure, but whether he left the ni.inusrript of such a work is not generally known. .\n old Yale man. who knew Prof. Mar-h intimately, relates in the New York Sun lh<- circumstances under whi
  • urn and continued until 1847. when it was united with the Cayuga Patriot. 102 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. Ihe Cayuga Patriot was started in Auburn in 1814. The Cayuga Neiij Era was afterward published for a short time. The Advocate of the People was published in 1816. The Cayuga Republican commenced in 1819 ; in 1833 it was united with the Auburn Journal and Advertiser, and in 1846 it was issued as the Auburn Journal. The Auburn Free Press commenced in 1824. Note. — Of all these early newspapers none of the files are known to be in existence, except a file of the Cayuga Tocsin, which is now in the private library of the late William H. Seward. There are two numbers of the Cayuga Patriot, dated 1818, now in our Skaneateles Library, bound in with other old local news- papers. These two Cayuga Patriots were collected and presented to the Skan- eateles Library by E. N. Leslie. Charles Good.-\ll. — Charles Goodall was born at Draycott, Somersetshire, England, December 20, 1824. His father, George Goodall, was a farmer. Charles as a boy worked for his father at ordinary farmwork, and so continued until the news of the bright prospects of the land beyond the sea reached the seclusion of the village farm and had stirred up longings which could not be quelled. And so, at the age of sixteen, with one companion somewhat his senior, the young man left the quiet scenes of rural England, and, sailing in the good ship Adirondack, Captain Hackstaff, safely reached New York, on May 11, 1841. With characteristic energy he lost no time in the uncertain efforts of city life, but, sailing up the Hudson to Albany, and going thence to Syracuse, he traveled on foot in search of such employment as his early home life had fitted him for, and, undeterred by several unsuccessful eft'orts, he finally secured employment, spend- ing the winter in the employ of an English farmer. In the spring of 1842 he commenced his travels on foot for more desirable employment, until' he happened to reach Skaneateles, at which place he secured farmwork by the month with an old ship captain named De Cost. The year spent in the employ of Captain De Cost, and hearing him relate sea-yarns, interested Ojodall, so much so as to awaken the idea that he must go to sea and to follow that for a living. When, therefore, after he had spent one year on the captain's farm, it was sold, and it had passed into the possession of new owners, Goodall then found that his opportunity had come. The stepson of Captain De Cost, Edward B. Coe, had also an inclination to go to sea. and both had often talked the matter over. Goodall made his way to New Bedford, and, ascertaining that Edward B. Coe had previously shipped on the same vessel, engaged for a three years' whaling voyage in the ship Milo. The voyage extended to three years and nineteen days, and was quite successful, as the ship returned with a full cargo of oil. When he again stood on terra firma. the young sailor found himself pos- sessed of the enormous sum of one hundred and eighty-three dollars as his portion of the proceeds. But this sum was the most insignificant of the rewards of that first voyage. It had opened his mind to the possibilities of his future life. It liad given him the benefit of travel, and of visits to the Western and the Cape HIMUIO (II- SK.l\l:.\ 1 l:l.l:S. 103 \tTd Islands, Chili, Peru, Bolivia, Alaska, the Sandwich Islands, Society Islands, Mas-a-fuera, Juan Fernandez, and other places which had been visited by the ship Mile during her long voyage. It convinced him that his sphere was not in plowins,' the soil, hut rather plowing the ocean over the keel of a well-freighted /^^ ^^^^^^^^ vessel, and, consequently, reaping the harvest of marine commerce. Intelligent and anxious to learn and to profit by the experiences of others, the associations formed during this whaling voyage enabled him to remedy the defects of his limited early education. Soon after the arrival of the Milo at New Bedford and his return to Skan- eateles, the exciting and extraordinary news from California which produced the I04 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. " California gold fever '' of '49 determined Goodall at once to go there. xVs all his capital then consisted of the money received from his whaling voyage, he could not afford to go by way of Panama across the Isthmus, and therefore took passage on a schooner via Cape Horn to San P'rancisco, where after a long passage he arrived January 25, 1850. From San Francisco he went up to the " gold diggings," and for eight months used pick and shovel with but little success. He went back to San Francisco, and obtained employment on a water-boat, which brought pure spring water from Saucelito, on the bay, and supplied the shipping lying at San Francisco. He care- full}- saved his wages, purchased a water-boat, and continued the same business of supplying ships with pure spring water. Not long after he had purchased the water-boat, a small steam-tug, which had been shipped to San Francisco to be sold, was purchased by Goodall. Instead of supplying the shipping with water, he soon acquired the business of towing the ships about the harbor, and towing them out to sea when necessary owing to adverse winds. He became very popular with the merchants and captains. He had the reputation of never using profane language to his assistants, never pas- sionate, always gentle and kind. These traits, especially with the merchants, made him many friends and made his business profitable. An opportunity oft'ering to ship on a trading voyage to the South Pacific Islands, he made it convenient to accept it, and shipped on the vessel, thus utilizing his knowledge of seafaring life. The vessel first stopped at Panama, then the Fiji, Friendly, New Hebrides, and other islands, as well as Australia and the commercial ports of China. While stopping at the Fiji Islands, Goodall made the acquaintance of Chris- topher Nelson, who had been wrecked and thrown among the Fiji savages. He with the rest of the crew was rescued and brought away by the vessel on which (joodall was. Mr. Nelson was a native of Denmark, and had become an American by adoption. They both returned to San Francisco. In the mean time, Goodall ascertained through his intimacy with Nelson that a partnership with him would be desirable, consequently the firm of -Goodall & Nelson became established in San Francisco. Their lousiness was a limited one, owing to the want of capital. Note. — In writing the life of Charles Goodall, and reading of his success in life, starting from his residence in Skaneateles, in 1842, being at that time em- ployed as a farm-laborer by Captain De Cost, it is impossible to ascertain, from newspaper statements or any other published sources of information, the details of his business life from the time that he landed in San Francisco in 1S50. Of course, no person can make a success in life except by strict integrity in all his intercourse with his fellow citizens, strict economy, strict morality, strict attention to business, and good health. Such were the characteristics of Charles Goodall. In the year 1S70, the firm of Goodall & Nelson associated with them Air. George C. Perkins, a native of Kennebunk, Maine, who in his early years fol- lowed the sea, preeminently fitting him for the duties which devolved upon him HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. 105 as a member of the new firm of Goodall, Nelson & Perkins. Mr. iVrkins had long been known as a successful merchant at Oroville, Cal., and as State Senator of Butte County, possessed thorough business qualifications, and a disposition and integrity of character which commanded the respect of all with whom he came in contact, \\hile discharging his duties as State Senator, he met Charles Goodall, who, in the year 1870, had been elected to the State Assembly from San Francisco. The acquaintance thus fonned soon served to develop a warm mutual attachment, which eventually resulted in the formation of the copartnership of Goodall, Nelson & Perkins. In the year 1876, Mr. Nelson disposed of his interest in the firm, and gave place to Edwin Goodall, a younger brother of Charles, since which event the style of the firm has been Goodall, Perkins & Co. In a letter written to the author, dated about five months previously to hi> death, Charles Goodall stated that the business of the firm " has of course enlargol. so that now it embraces Mexico and ' The Land of the Midnight Sun,' which is served by about twenty-five steamers, and a half-dozen whalers that pursue their avocation in the Arctic Ocean. The fleet is engaged in the capture of whales for the whalebone mostly, caring very little for the oil, which is the reverse of m\ experience when I was on board the Milo, in the years i84'>49. Another brancii of the firm's business is engaged in catching salmon and canning the product. The purport and labor called for is about equally divided between catching whales and salmon. I have the honor to be president of the company, with a capital of $2,500,000, but I am happy to say I do not own it all." The success of Charles Goodall has been acquired by slow degrees, step by step, during the interim of the fifty-eight years since he was a farm-laborer in Skaneateles, and, if he had shown no greater cnerg}- than a mere hope of some day doing something better, it is most likely that the Pacific Coast would never have known this one of the most reliable business men and prominent citizens of California. During his business life in San Francisco he entered actively into public affairs. In 1861-62 he was Harlx)r-^[astcr at San Francisco, and in 1870 he was elected to the Legislature. He was at one time President of tlic Chamber of Commerce. He was also Trustee of the Loland Stanford Jr. University. He was a religious man, and his many gifts testify to his spirit of generosity. He was a member of Simpson Memorial Church, Honorary President of the City Church E.xtension Society, Trustee of the University of the Pacific, and wa< always identified with the Young Men's Christian .Association. He was par- ticularly generous to religious societies. The Howard Street Methodist Church received thousands of dollars from him, and many smaller churches shared in the generous disposition of his wealth. The L'niversity of the Pacific received more than $20,000, Simpson Memorial Church $4,500, and the episcopal residence $7,500. On June 10, 1899, he left San Francisco, accompanied by his wife. It was to Ik a trip for both health and pleasure, and it was intended to visit several cities on io6 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. the Continent before their return. He and his wife had previously made a tour of Europe during the year 1884, and a series of letters from him descriptive of his travels was published in the California Christian Advocate. These letters were afterward published in pamphlet form for the use of Charles Goodall's friends. They were written by a plain business man, who wrote as he saw, thought, and felt, without any attempt to follow guide-books or other men's tracks. When he and his wife left San Francisco, June 10, 1899, he first went to Draycott, Somersetshire, England, his old home where he was born. It was during his soiourn there, and only about a month after he left San Francisco, that he died, on July 13, from heart disease, superinduced by rheumatism. The following from the San Francisco Argonaut gives the particulars of Charles Goodall's last will and testament : ■' His executors were George C. Perkins, Edwin Goodall, and C. M. Goodall. The total value of his estate is $1,010,362.74. The residuary devisees and legatees to whom the properties now in the hands of the executors will be dis- tributed are : Mrs. Caroline J. Goodall, decedent's widow, and his children, Charles Minor Goodall, Flora A. Bland, Serena T. Kell, and Harry Walter Goodall." Note. — Charles Goodall, in the year 1892, presented to the Skaneateles Library Association three hundred dollars. Old Accounts.- — The following is a running account between a farmer and Winston Day, who was an early merchant in the village. The money repre- sented as pounds, shillings, and pence was really the divisions of the Spanish milled dollars. The pence were the ordinary pennies ; the shillings were in value twelve and a half cents ; and the pounds were twenty shillings of twelve and a half cents each. Dr. to Winston Day, September, 1805, William J. Vredenbubg : i s. d. To sawing one night 100 To three white ash logs 12 o April, 1805. To three hemlock logs, 767 feet 7 To taking a deer down to you 6 Dec, 1812. To 15H pounds of beef at 6d 6 9 The following is another account : Winston Day, Dr. to Eli Clark. i s. d. To 32 bushels house ashes i i 4 53 bushels field ashes ' i 6 6 70 bushels ashes i 15 o March, 1803. To S bushel & 43 pounds wheat i 7 o Among the accounts is the following item: "Warren Hecox, Sept., 1811, Dr. To sheepskin, hogskins, cowhides, oats, potatoes, etc." HISTORY Of SK.lXn.lTELES. CHAPTER IX. Earlv Reminiscenxes. Celebr.\tio.\ of the Fourth of Jllv Sevextv Ye,\rs Ago.— We copy from the Skaneateles Telegraph of June 29, 1831, the following abstract of a grand celebration held in this village at that early period, without giving all the details, which fill a column of the paper. It was about that time that the Pres- byterian church had been built and finished : " At 10 o'clock A.M., a gun will be fired as a signal for forming the procession, at which hour the procession will form, under the direction of the Marshal of the Day and his assistants, in front of Isaac W. Perry's stage-house." The details of the procession are here omitted. ■ The procession will march up Market to Xorth Street, up Xorth Street to Academy Street, down Academy Street to Main Street, and up Main Street to the Brick Church. On arriving at the church the procession will open to the right and left, and face inward, and march into the church in inverted order. At the church the exercises will take place in the following order: I'rayer. Music. Reading of the Declaration. Music. Oration. Benediction. " At the close of the exercises in the church the procession will form in the order specified in the bills of the day, and move up Main Street to Hamilton Street, and thence to the boat-yard to witness the launch of the steamboat. After the launch the procession will form according to the same directions, and march to Main Street, to the inn of Isaac \V. Perry, where dinner will be prepared. A President and Vice-President appointed by the committee will preside at the table. At sunset an evening salute of thirteen guns will be fired. In the evening an exhibition of fireworks and the ascension of balloons are announced. " The committee give notice that the doors of the church will be open from 6 to 10 A.M. for the admission of ladies, who are requested to take scats on the east side of the church." Then the veterans of the War for Independence residing in our vicinity were invited, and the officers of the Militia of this State were invited to appear in their uniforms on this occasion. io8 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. " The committee further sohcit the citizens of this and adjoining towns, who feel an interest in the dissemination of hberal principles or the prosperity of this village, to lay aside their usual vocations, to banish sectional and political jealousies, and unite Avith us in the commemoration of this birthday of our Independence. " It is with peculiar pride and pleasure that the committee announce to those residing at a distance that the launch of the steamboat erecting in this village, forming such an interesting epoch in the history of this place, will also add to the interest of the celebration. Warrex Hecox, Edw.ard Sandi-ord, Samuel Porter, H. W. Allen, Phares Gould, Joseph Battiiv, Stephen Horton, Nelson Hawlev, F. G. Jewett, B. S. Wolcott, Daniel Kellogg, E. H. Porter.'' John Lego, The oration at the celebration was delivered by a prominent }oung attorney, a notable citizen. On this occasion the wife of Captain Kirby Smith, who was a Miss Jerome, was present and an interested listener. She recognized the oration as in part a plagiarism, which she afterward made known to her particular friends. Mrs. Kirby Smith had in her early girlhood been a pupil at the " Hive " boarding-school, kept by Lydia P. Mott, of Skaneateles. The First New.spaper. — The Skaneateles Telegraph was first issued July 2/v.i.N/:.ii£L£5. 109 excellencies of their table and bar, and the most assiduous attention of all belong- ing to the establishment will render it a pleasant retreat for travelers or parties of pleasure. ■■ X.B. — Seals may be taken every day in the different stages running to Homer, Ithaca, Jordan, Syracuse, Buffalo, and Albany." Dr. Parsell opened an office for the practise of medicine at the hotel. John H. Johnson was Sheriff, and Joseph Dascomb was his deputy. rhe following marriage notices appeared : ■ July 6, 1829, Mr. Holland W. Chadwick was married to Miss Matilda Earll. " )^^h' i< Joseph S. Mott to Miss Mary Thome, daughter of Nicholas Thorne. ■ In Elbridge, July 4, E. D. Wheadon to Miss Sarah Man-in."' AiJVERTiSEXiENT. — Here is a characteristic advertisement of this time: One Cent Reward. Ran away from the subscriber on or about the 24th ult. an indented boy in the farming business, named Norman Hodges, aged 14 years. Whoever will return said boy to the sub- scriber shall receive the above reward. .Ml persons are forbid harboring him or trusting him under penalty of the law. John Carpenter. Marcellus, Jan. 11, 1830. Gexer.\l Tr.mnixg D.w. — Ur. Israel Parson's " Centennial History " gives the following history of " General Training Day " : ■' Previous to the year 1846 a day was set apart for a general turnout of the Militia. This was a product of the Revolution. On this day a regiment would assemble, alternately in this village and the village of Marcellus, ' amied and equipped as the law directs,' for the purpose of military drill and parade. These regimental drills occurred day by day, succeeding each other until all the regi- n'ents in the Brigade had been successively inspected by the Brigadier-tieneral. With the movements of the Brigadier-General and his aids from one general train- ing place to another, there followed a perfect caravan of pedlers, trucksters, and all sorts of people, who would arrange themselves early in the morning in convenient places in the village. These were followed by endless streams of people who were to make up the various actors and si)ectators of the day. •• General Training Day was about the middle of September. With the excep- tion of an independent company of sixty, called the Rifle Company, the others were denominated Bear Foot and Floodwood companies. Probably these names were given them on account of the striking contrast they presented to the Ritle Company, which was a trim, beautiful company of selected men. whose uniform was a dark-pray suit : pants with a black stripe running down the outside of the leg; dress coat, single-breasted, with one row of gilt military buttons set closely together extending from the waist to the neck; a stiff straight collar, with three or four parallel stripes of yellow tinsel lace extending around its whole length; there were also two stripes of same extending over each shoulder and around the no HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. cuffs of the sleeves ; a tall beaver hat, with a thin brass plate ornamented with figures fastened on the front of it, and from behind this plate apparently growing out of the top of it was a tall, bushy red feather. Each man carried a first-class rifle, in complete order, and a powder-flask suspended from a belt fastened around his waist. '■ Occasionally this company assembled on the Fourth of July for the purpose of escorting and doing honor to the old veterans. The ' Floodwood Companies,' although made up of men like the Rifle Company, had the appearance of having emanated from some dark region of the earth, on account of the utter carelessness manifested by a portion of them in dress and personal appearance. Having no uniform, every man was dressed to meet his own views of taste and comfort, so that, when formed into one body as a regiment, there was very much the appear- ance of dazzling light leading hideous darkness. The Floodwood Companies were equipped with musket and bayonet, a cartridge-box hanging one side and a bayonet-sheath the other, each suspended by a strap passing over the opposite shoulder. " Although on Company Training Day ( which was always the first Monday in September) there were many departures in the Floodwood Companies from the regulations of the day, but on ' General Muster ' order prevailed ; for the scrutiny of the higher officers peculiar to this day w-as such that whoever ventured to violate rules was sure to be returned to court martial, and there to meet with a retribution which destroyed all desire ever afterward to repeat the mis- demeanor." An Affair of Honor. — In the year 1812, during the war of that period, there was, about half a mile north of the village of Marcellus, a central point where there were a grist-mill, a saw-mill, and a whisky-still, which in those days was of considerable importance in furnishing a market for surplus grain which otherwise could not find sale nearer than Albany. A wool-carding and cloth-dressing machine here was patronized by the farmers for the purpose of having the product of their families' looms finished for domestic use. A store supplied whisky and other merchandise for the needy who had the wherewith to buy or exchange. The store and the still were owned by Joseph Piatt, and the still was run by Alvin North. There were besides a paper-mill owned by John Herring, and a powder- mill owned by some one else. This collection of mills and the store, together with the still, comprised an attractive business center, where the inhabitants of the surrounding country met for business purposes and to discuss the news of the day. Politics at the time were uppermost in the public mind, and the war of opinions at times was very bitter by members of opposite parties, which on some occasions led to literal knock-down arguments, at other times to fun and frolic or to the ridiculous, especially when both parties w'ere not under the influence of liquor. Reuben Farnham, a resident of Skancatclcs, and a man named Tompkins, who resided in the vicinity of the whisky-still, had a discussion. The theme was politics ; the subject was the Hartford Convention and its purpose and HISTORY Ul- ^K.IXE.-ITELES. m effect. I'arnham had a special weakness for fire-waler and was inclined to inibihe whenever an opportunity presented itself, and the day these two men met he was very noisy and intoxicated. Tompkins was a Democrat, and Farnham a Federal. The discussion was very heated, and Tompkins made such insulting charge* against his adversary that Farnham seemingly tfxik offense, demanded an apology, and, being insultingly denied, challenged Tompkins. He would only meet him again on the field of honor, and pistols were to be the arbiter of the insult. Tompkins accepted the challenge, seconds were selected by each party, Joseph Piatt being one and Alvin North the other, and with them all matters were left to arrange the preliminaries of the meeting, they to furnish and prepare the weapons, place the parties in position, and to give the signal to tire. According to this prearrangement, the duelists met in a large room selected for the purpose, were placed at each end by their respective seconds, the pistols placed in their hands, and at the signal both fired simultaneously. Tompkins fell heavily on the floor, bleeding profusely from the left breast, deluging the room with blood, and after a few struggles and gasps was to all appearances dead. When Farnham realized the scene, he seemed dumfounded, a reaction in his feelings overpowered him with remorse, and he wept like a child, and swore that he would give himself up to the authorities and meet the legal consequences. Tompkins' body was carried off by his friends. The affair caused the most intense excitement in the neighborhood, and preparations were made for the arrest of Farnham ; but before that took place the secret leaked out that Tompkins had not been killed, the duel was all a sham, and there were no bullets placed in the pistols. Tompkins had previously placed a small bladder of some red liquid under his vest, which was punctured at the proper time, and accounted for the profuse flow of blood, especially as he purposely fell on the left side where the bag of fluid was placed. The duel was to all parties, together with the spectators, except Farnham, a practical joke. To him it seemed a terrible reality, seeing blood as it appeared running from the dying man's breast after he fell on the floor. After the company was fully satisfied with the sport Tompkins reappeared as sound as ever. When Farnham discovered that he had been fwned by Mr. Fred Roosevelt. They were on their way to the cantonment at (jreenbusli, on the Hudson River. Samuel Francis. — Samuel Francis was Iwrn in Fair Haven, \"t.. Marcli 25, 1773. He came to Skaneatelcs in 1S14, accompanied by his wife and four sons, Samuel, George, Eliel, and Wadsworth. Two of his .sons learned to manufacture hats with their father, and finally succeeded him in the business under the firm name of S. & G. Francis. The hat-factory was on the siiore of the lake, imme- diately east of the present site of St. James' Church, and, Ifjcated on the south side of the Seneca Turnpike road, in front of the factory, was the store, where the finished stock of hats was kept for sale, anrl in the rear of this building was another small one adjoining, where (ieorgc Francis dressed the hats. On the front of the hat-store was a large, artistically painted sign, illustrating the method of obtaining the raw material used in the manufacture of hats. On the sign, in oil-colors, was a full-length Iiulian, nearly life-size, selling furs to a white man, intended to represent Samuel I*"rancis. standing behind a counter in his store. This illustrated sign was in existence until alwut the year 1842. It was {lainled bv Charles L. Elliott, the artist. The Francis hat-factory .stipplied all this .section 114 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. of country with fur and wool hats, and was the only establishment of the kind in this town. Samuel Francis continued the business until his eyesight began to fail, which finally terminated in total blindness. He purchased the land on which his shop was located from Cotton Denio, an early settler here. Next east of his land was Winston Day's potashery, consisting of about an acre of land. Samuel Francis was a devoted member of St. James' Church, serving both as a vestryman and warden for more than fifty years. His death occurred January 26, 1865, at the ripe age of ninety-two years. Two of his sons, Samuel and Wadsworth, gave up their lives in the defense of the Union, during the war of 1861-65. His daughter, Cornelia, married Nelson Hawley, now deceased, one of Skan- eateles' early merchants. Mrs. Hawley now resides with her family at Kenosha, Wis., and is a suffering invalid, being totally blind, and suffering from a fall. which confines her to her bed, to which she submits with Christian patience, and such cheerfulness as is possible under these conditions. " Nearly all the change she has from day to day is to be lifted from the bed to her chair. If she could only read, it would be such a comfort, and help pass away the time; but it is as it is, and so we must accept it." Mrs. Hawley has many warm friends in Skaneateles, many of whom are not aware of her sufferings in her advanced years, and will receive this intelligence with the deepest sympathy for her. Mrs. Hawley has two sons, one of whom, Butler W., was a resident of Texas for many years, but is now with his mother. He wrote and had published in the Skaneateles Democrat, many years ago, a very interesting description of the attractions of the State of Texas for business men. Another son, George F. Hawley, is now engaged in the wholesale drug trade in Boston, and has been successful. He has a wife and family, and resides in a suburb of Boston. Edwards Family. — The following is a transcript from "The Edwards Genealogy " : Skaneateles' first settler came here in the year 1793. Before the close of that century some of the Edwards family came. The first church was the Presbyterian, situated on Onondaga Street, on the hill, just east of the village corporation. It was dedicated March i, 1809. There were fifteen original members, and of them three were Edwards : Solo- mon Edwards ; Electa, wife of Thaddeus Edwards ; and Elizabeth, wife of Alanson Edwards. Solomon Edwards and family came to Skaneateles the last of February, 1809, and thought they were exceedingly fortunate to be here at the dedication, as that was a notable event. The Presbyterians occupied that building twenty years, then sold it to the Baptist Society, and built the brick church now standing on Genesee Street. The first funeral held in it was that of Simeon Edwards, in 1830. The first child baptized in it was his grandson, Alexander Miller, who was born the day the first paper was published in Skaneateles, July 28, 1829. The first wedding in this house was a double one, and of two of the grand- HISTORV Oi- .^iK.,.,i,.-iTELES. 115 children of Simeon Edwards : Melzer Edwards to Frances Bascom, and Elizabeth Edwards to Stephen A. Gifford. It is thought the oldest native of Skaneateles now living (1886) is Mrs. Evelina Clark, of Marshall, Mich., born September 17, 1805. She was the oldest child of Thomas and Minerva (Porter^ Greves. Her husband was Rev. Calvin Clark, son of Nathan and Lovisa (Edwards) Clark, of Westhampton. They were married in 1835, and went immediately to Marshall. He was prominent in the ministry. He died in 1877. His brother. Rev. Anson Clark, of West Salem, Wis., resided in that State thirty-five years. He quotes to his sons: " Tell me not from what stock you grew, But prove me your stock by what you do." One of the Edwards family, Ebenezer, while living at Northampton, Mass., was killed by a falling tree. Some lines were written on his death : only two are remembered : " Edwards the brave, the generous, and the just. By instant fate is leveled to the dust." Lydia (Edwards) McKay, born in Skaneateles, November i, 1805, was drowned in 1830 by the upsetting of a stage-coach in crossing a stream a short distance from her home in Aurora, while on her way to visit friends in Skan- eateles. Laura Edwards married Alfred Wilkinson, of Skaneateles, August 9, 1832. He was born in 1780, and died July 19, 1859. Wilkinson first married Susan Smith, daughter of Ephraim Smith, of Skaneateles. Another of the Edwards family, Timothy by name, was a grandson of Ebe- nezer, killed by the falling of a tree as above mentioned. He like his grandfather was killed by a falling tree, not instantly, but he lingered four months and died from his injuries. David Hall was born September 16, 1744. He married Mary Petty, who died aged ninety-four years. David Hall died in Skaneateles, in 1816. Ralph Hall was born in Salem, Mass., November i, 1773. He married Abiah, daughter of Farnham Hall. They removed to Skaneateles in 1828. Their eldest child, Sarah, married Rev. George Dana Boardman, and both went as mission- aries to Burmah. She married, second. Rev. Adoniram Judson. She was mother of Rev. George D. Boardman, D.D., of Philadelphia, and of Dr. Adoniram and Rev. Dr. Edward Judson, New York. Their daughter, Harrictte Hall, married Abner Edwards. Ralph Hall's father was Ralph Hall, who was born February 27, 171 7. ant a l>ill of yoods purcliascd \)\ ilic late Dr. Samuel Porter: Skaneateles, Sept. 25, 1806. Sam L' EI, Porter, BuLGiiT ut ::.,..i.r.,. .....liA.M. £ s. d. S'A yds. of calico 2s. 8d.— '4 yd. brown Holland Js. 8d 16 o Pair Shears 2s. 2d. — 4 skeins silk 6d 4 2 Paper pins is. zA.—'A yd. cambric 5s. stick tape is 4 9 I piece linen 18 yds. is. 8d 1 10 o 4i4 yds. calico 2s. 8d 12 o 1 lb. bohea 4s. — i lb. raisins is. 4d S 4 21/2 yds. linen 3s.— 2;< yds. tow cloth 3s. 8d 16 3 Sundries for hired man 1 14 6 I skein of silk 6d.-^i qt. molasses 6s 2 o ',4 lb. pepper 3s. — ' i lb. all^picL• u 1 d Total ' Celebr.\tio.\ (,11 Jm>i.1'E.\i>i;.N(. 1: l)A^ in 1835. — National salute was tired at sunrise. The procession was formed at u A.M. in front of I. W. Perry's Indian Queen Hotel, under the direction of a marshal and his assistants. It passed through the several streets in the village until it reached the Presbyterian Meeting-House, where an oration was delivered to a great crowd of citizens by Benoni Lee, Esq. The procession thereafter reformed and returned to the Indian Queen Hotel, where a sumptuous dinner was set out, at one dollar a head. The meeting was then called to order, and a President, \ice-President, and Secretary were by vote appointed, and after that a general good time was enjoyed by all. W'ithout going into further detail, the names are here given of the committee of arrangements: John Legg George F. Leitch J. R. Wallace Samuel Porter Harrison B. Uodge E. D. Murray Samuel Jacacks Xoadiah Kellogg J. B. Stillson Freeborn G. Jewett Edward O. Gould Charles L. Elliott Nelson Hawley James G. Porter John C. Beach Lewis H. Sandford James McCray George Francis James M. Allen Robert \'an Tine Dorastus Kellogg. Charles J. Burnett, Jr. William Legg St.ages .\xd St.xge- Drivers. — The following items in relation to stage-coach- ing are taken from the " Centennial History of Marccllus,'' written by Israel Parsons, M.D., which are as applicable to Skaneateles as Marcellus: " Before the time of railmads, the running of stages formed quite an im- portant business. These villages along the East and West Road were wonder- fully enlivened day by day by the arrival and departure of the stage-coaclies v the bye laws, the said election may 124 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. be held and made at any time within a month after the day of holding the annual library meeting." Note. — It will be observed from the above proceedings, that Daniel Kellogg held the office of Librarian and Treasurer ten years, and the minutest details of receipts and expenditures are embodied in his accounts. The first item is the receipt of $36.14 " from former treasurer," dated }\Iarch 20, 1806. It would seem from this entry that the library had been commenced before it was formally incorporated. During Daniel Kellogg's administration as treasurer he received $231.20 from subscribers, and $19.12 from fines mostly. some small items from vendues from sales of books. These receipts were mostly expended in the purchase of books, postage, and transportation. There were no other expenses. The librarian, who had charge of the library, was the only active agent, and gave his services gratuitously. "March 5, 1817: Trustees elected: Simeon Hosmer, Phares Gould, Amasa Sessions, Warren Hecox, and Thomas Greves. Simeon Hosmer, chairman. Attest, Alex. M. Beebe, Librarian. "March 3, 1818: Trustees elected: Simeon Hosmer, Phares Gould, Aniasa Sessions, Warren Hecox, Thomas Greves. Phares Gould, chairman. Attest, Alex. M. Beebe, Librarian. "March 2, 1819: Trustees elected: Thaddeus Edwards, Phares Gould, Aiuasa Sessions, Warren Hecox, Thomas Greves. Thaddeus Edwards, chair- man. Attest, Alex. M. Beebe, Librarian." March 7, 1820, same trustees reelected. March 6, 1821, same trustees reelected. March 5, 1822, same trustees reelected. Alexander 1\I. Beebe held the office five years, during which time he received $86.36 balance from former librarian, and $94 in subscriptions and Si 2.94 in fines from members of the library, having received in all Si 1)3. 30, which was chiefly expended in the purchase of books. "March 2, 1824: Trustees elected: William Gibbs, Spencer Parsons, Warren Hecox, Stephen Horton, Freeborn G. Jewett. Warren Hecox, chairman. .\t this meeting Phares Gould was duly elected treasurer and librarian. " March i, 1825 : Meeting held at the store of Phares Gould. Trustees elected : William Gibbs, John S. Furman, Stephen Horton, Warren Hecox, Freeborn G. Jewett. John S. Furman, chairman. .Attest, Ph.-\kes Gould, Librarian. " March 7. 1826: Trustees elected: William Gibbs, John S. Furman. ^^'arren Hecox, Thomas Greves, Stephen Horton. C"ol. W'arren Hecox, chairman. Attest, Phares Gould, Librarian. "March 22, 1827: Trustees elected: William Gibbs. David Hall, John I.egg, ireves, chairman. Attest, Phares Gould, Librarian. H/STORV OF SKANEATELES. uS ■ .Marcli 4. 1828: Trustees elected: Warren Hecox, Thomas Greves, Spencer Parsons. Stephen Horton, John S. Furnian. Warren Hecox, chainiian. Attest, Phares Gould, Librarian. ■■ March 3, 1829: Trustees elected: Warren Hecox, Thomas Greves, Spencer Parsuns, Pliil.i DiMik-, William Gibbs. Thos. Greves, chairman. Attest, Ph.\res Goui.n, Librarian. • .Maii:li J. ii^i. iiu>tLi> liccied: Warren Hecox, Thomas Greves, Samuel Porter, Philo Dibble, John S. Furman. Thomas Greves, chairman. Attest, PiiARES Gould, Librarian. "March 10, 1830 : At a meeting of the Trustees of the Skaneateles Library Company, held at the store of Phares Gould on the loth day of March, 1830. ■■ Resolved, That any person not a proprietor in said library shall be allowed the reading of the books of said library uniUr tin- following rules an. I r.iriila- tions, viz. : ■■ Rule 1st. Such persons shall give security, if required by the lilirarian, for the safe return of all books drawn by him, for the payment of all damages done to books of said library while in his possession, for fines for nqt returning the same on the quarterly return days and for the payment of the whole set if one or more volumes of any work shall be lost or destroyed while drawn out by same person. ■' Rule 2nd. Such persons shall pay in advance to the librarian one dollar per year and in the same proportion for any time not less than three months. Or six cents for the use of each volume. " Rule 3rd. Such persons shall be subject to all other rules and bye laws of said library to which the proprietors are, except the payment of the annual tax. " Rule 4th. Such person after a compliance with rules ist and 2nd shall be entitled to draw one volume at a time semi-monthly. " Rule 5th. Xo person whether proprietor or not shall be allowed to draw books from said library as any fines, damages or annual takes remain unpaid. Any one drawing by the single volume only shall return the same semi-monthly. Pfiares Gould, Librarian." March 29, 183 1, same trustees reelected, same chairman. .March 2^, 1832, same officers elected, except that Stephen Horton was elected in place of Samuel Porter. Warren Hecox was chairman. " At the above meeting a majority of the above trustees appointed a com- mittee of three, consisting of Warren Hecox. John S. Furman and Phares Gould to select not less than seventy-five Iwoks belonging to the above library and sell them at j)ul)lic auction to the highest bidder and the proceeds to be expcnde4 pounds, 36 to the ton." This old map is placed under glass in the Skaneateles Library for l)rcservation. In person. Captain Lee was a man to attract notice. He was six feet in height, but so erect in carriage and well developed that he was commonly supposed to be HISTORV ur mk.i.\ hAlELES. 139 much taller. Compact and muscular, he possessed in his prime unusual physical , strength and vigor, and to the last he was little susceptible to the influence of cold. His hair turned gray very early, and at one time in his early years he wore it pow- dered and tied in a queue. His manners were those of gentlemen of the old school, polite and urbane, but, accustomed as he was for so many years to absolute au- thority on board ship, he required prompt obedience from those in his employ and could not brook contradiction. He had the Englishman's partiality for horses and dogs. He usually had three or four horses in his stable, fine animals, and his daily recreation was a drive, often with an open carriage and pair. The dogs were always eager to accompany him, and, indicating their delight with loud barking, the start of the carriage was often attended with a commotion quite in keeping with his style of life. Sometimes the dogs were shut up to avoid this uproar, but, soon getting to understand this, they would hide themselves before the customary hour, aind, when the equipage was fairly on the road, would come bounding over the fences with delight. Captain Lee always made his frequent long journeys to the Genesee country, where his land was, with his own horses. For these jour- neys considerable preparation was made. He usually took with him a bottle of es- sence of coflfee, made under his own direction, so that he might not be dependent for that beverage upon country taverns ; also some hard gingerbread. He started by early daylight, and made nearly one-half of the day's journey before breakfast, averaging about forty or fifty miles per day. So different was the es- timate then of our territory, that he commonly spoke of his journey to the Gene- see region as " going to the Western Country." Highwaymen were not unknown, and his loaded pistols were fitted into the carriage seat by his side. He was of robust frame and iron constitution. Captain Lee's health for a number of years before his death was far from good. He felt the effects of the hardships and exposure of his earlier life. He suffered from sharp attacks of gout and rheumatism, and a severe fnfluenza in the winter of 1825 gave a shock to his system from which he never fully recovered. In August, 1828, he was seized with what proved to be his last illness, of a dropsical nature. None of his family were with him at the time. He died August 15, 1828, aged sixty-three years. The funeral took place the next day, the warm weather forbidding longer delay. There was a very large gathering of friends and neighbors, and directions left by himself in a letter addressed to S. Horton, Esq., were carried out. The service of the Episcopal Church was read by the Rev. Mr. Hollister. The coffin was placed in his open carriage and drawn by his own black horses, and his remains were deposited in a place chosen by himself not far from the dwelling-house. This piece of ground was afterward enclosed with a heavy stone wall, and was reserved when the farm was sold. The next sjiring a white marble obelisk was placed over the grave, inscribed with his name and dates of birth and death. After the incorporation of Lake View Cemetery, it was suggested to the rela- tives of Captain Lee to have the remains removed to this appropriate ground. Accordingly, on the 23d of September, 1874, the remains were disinterred, in pres- I40 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. ence of and under the direction of his son, Rt. Rev. Alfred Lee, Bishop of Dela- ware, and, together with the monument, placed in the new cemetery. The following obituary notice of Captain Lee's death was published in an Au- burn paper, and was probably written by the late Daniel Kellogg, of this village : " Died, on the 15th of August, at his summer residence in Skaneateles, Benja- min Lee, Esq., of Norwich, Conn., in the sixty-fourth year of his age. His friends have lost a companion endeared to them by his kind and generous nature no less than by his rich and highly cultivated understanding, and his immediate relatives, who felt and knew his worth and goodness, will find a void in their social circle which can never be supplied. Eminently distinguished for kindness and warm affection for his family, he deservedly enjoyed their love and veneration, and their deep sorrow in this bereavement is somewhat alleviated by the sympathy of the community. His condescension, and the open-handed munificence with which he administered to the wants and necessities of the poor around him, can never be forgotten by any who have been guided and consoled by his affectionate counsel, or cherished and relieved by his unbounded charity." Captain Lee's widow survived him nearly forty-three years, and died at Nor- wich, Conn., May 3, 1871, having nearly completed ninety-five years. The early life of Captain Lee was full of adventure and of peril. One in- stance may be related here: In the year 1783 he was a midshipman on board one of Lord Hood's fleet, and while at Port Royal, West Indies, was tried by a court martial for challenging his superior officer for countermanding his humane order relative to prisoners on board his ship. Lee was condemned to be shot. The Prince (afterward the Duke of Clarence, who ascended the throne after the death of George IV.) went to the Admiral, and told him he would not leave him until he had given him a pardon for his brother Lee. This was granted, and Brother Lee immediately quitted the service. On leaving his ship to go ashore at Port Royal, the whole fleet manned the yards and gave him three cheers — an honor never before or since paid to so young an officer. The Late C.\pt.\in N.\sh De Cost. — It is but justly due to the deceased to pay a passing tribute to his memory, for the many sterling and manly traits of character which he so eminently possessed. He was for many years honorably engaged as Captain in Messrs. Fish & Grinnell's line of packets, sailing between New York and Liverpool. His nautical skill as a commander, his untiring perseverance in his ardent profession, and his unbending integrity of purpose won for him many warm and lasting friends in the first commercial circles in England as well as in his native country. Having gained a handsome competency, he retired from commercial pursuits, and removed from New York to Skaneateles, where he devoted himself to agri- culture for many years with that energy which was so prominent in his character. He won here as elsewhere the esteem and confidence of a wide circle of ac- HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. i4< quaintances by liis uprightness of conduct and native goodness of lieart, which will long endear him to the memory of his family and surviving friends. The New York Journal of Commerce, February 2, 1858, says: " Captain Nash De Cost, who died in Skaneateles on the 27th of January, 1858, at the advanced age of seventy-five years, was well known in this city thirty years ago as one of the most popular shipmasters in the ' Swallow Tail ' line of Liverpool packets. Those who had occasion to cross the Atlantic at that period will remem- ber him as commander of the favorite packet ship York. Previous to his connec- tion with that ship, he severally commanded the ships ' Euphrates,' ' Cortez,' and ' Averick,' in all of which he not only gave satisfaction to the owners, but also to those who had occasion to take passage with him. The numerous gifts of silver plate which he possessed and cherished in his advanced years testified to his popularity with his passengers. '■ He was always a good friend of the sailor, and has often boasted that he never had occasion to flog a man w'ho sailed with him in the whole course of his life. He possessed a good heart, and it was always in the right place when ap- pealed to by those in distress. " He was born in Fair Haven, near New Bedford, Alass., February 6, 1783, and commenced life a poor orphan boy. By indomitable perseverance and energy, be pushed himself ahead, without influential friends, and while ' before the mast ' in the whaling service made himself prominent by his daring and dangerous exploits. " In 181 2 he enrolled himself as a volunteer in Captain Storr's company of militia, in New Bedford, but was never in active service. " .^s an affectionate husband, fond parent, kind friend, and good neighbor, he will be missed from his family and from tlie community in which he lived. " Six years ago he had an attack of paralysis which aflfected the right half of his body, and since that time has been confined to his room, and exhibited great patience and fortitude during his long confinement. He was a sincere Christian, and died in the hope of a glorious immortality." Relel S.MITII. — Reuel Smith was born at Sandisfield, Berkshire County, Mass., November 13, 1797, and was the youngest of the twelve children of Joshua Smith, Jr. Joshua Smith, Jr., was the oldest of eight brothers, all of whom, as appears from the records, served in the War of the Revolution, and who were the sons of Joshua Smith, Sr., who made the original survey of the town of Sandisfield, and settled there in 1752. Reuel Smith was brought up on his father's farm, and started out as a boy to work in a country store. From about 1812 to 1820 he was head of the firm of Smith & Stevens, at Sandisfield. In 1822 he married Cclestia A. Mills, of the same place, a daughter of Drake .Mills (also a " Minute Man " of the Revolution), having previously established with Drake Mills, Jr., his brother-in-law, in New York, a general Southern trade in cotton, sugar, rice, etc., untlcr the firm name of Smith & Mills. About 1845 this firm was dissolved, and Reuel Smith retired 142 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. from business. In 1849 ^''^ came to Skaneateles, and purchased from Perry Cornell and others a parcel of land, on which were three small houses, two of which were moved to Hannum Street, and the other one is now used as a studio on the Smith property. After the removal of the small houses, Reuel Smith be- gan to improve the grounds, and to build the dwelling now occupied by his family on West Lake Street. In 1853, Reuel Smith purchased from Lydia Fuller the lot of land lying east of the old burying-ground. Reuel Smith died at his residence, in the City of New York, 27 West Twenty-second Street, September 6, 1873. The Three Sisters. — These three sisters were the sister of the late Butler S. ■HE THREE SISTERS. VVolcott, a former merchant of Skaneateles, who owned and occupied the store next west of the Bank of Skaneateles. Mrs. Hannah H. De Cost, in the center, died. April 27, 18S4, aged eighty- three years. Mrs. Sophia Knibloe, on the right, dii'd Deconilier 31. 1894. aged eighty-two years. Mrs. Eliza A. Candee. on the left, died Xovember 6, 1898. aged eighty-four years. Mrs. Hannah H. Dc Cost was the widow of Captain Nash De Cost, of the HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. i43 town of Skancatcles. She was the mother of Mrs. E. N. Leslie, and also the mother of Edward B. Coe. The ages of the three sisters were relatively eighty-two, eighty-three, and eighty-four years. \\'iLLi.\M Fuller. — William Fuller was born in the town of Galway, Sara- toga County, August 5, 1799. He came to Kelloggsville, or Sempronius, in the year 1810, and went from there to Owasco Village about the year 1820, where he embarked in business with his brother as a merchant. He came to Skaneate- les in 1833, and purchased the Sherwood farm. At one time he owned all the land on the west side of the Seneca Turnpike Road, between the old Sackett house (now the residence of Frederick Shear) and the house of Deacon Potter, opposite J. A. Root's. That strip of land was then an old orchard of apple-trees. Mr. Fuller built the house lately owned and occupied by C. VV. Allis. Harry Allen built the adjoining similar cottage at the same time. Mr. Fuller was elected to the Legislature as representative in the Assembly from this district in the year 1841 or 1842, serving one term. He was always one of the leading farmers of this town, and took a great interest in everything in that line. He introduced many fine breeds of cattle, and was very much interested in all agricultural societies, making many addresses before them. During the latter years of his life he owned and re- sided in the house which was built by John Briggs for a tavern in the year 1806, now the residence of Frederick Shear, on the corner of West Lake and Genesee Streets. He possessed an upright character, was kind and generous in disposition, and had a large circle of warm friends. Mr. Fuller was the Supervisor of this town for a number of years, and Presi- dent of the State Agricultural Society in 1849. He died in Brooklyn, X. Y., November 29, 1864, aged sixty-five years. In tiic year 1833, William Fuller pur- chased the tavern, store (then occupied as a printing-office), and all other build- ings, together with about one and a half acres of land, from Isaac Sherwood. He had previously kept bar for Sherwood, and after he had purchased the property he kept the tavern for several years. The Legg Lot. — The John Legg lot, now owned by Mrs. H. T. Webb, was one of the original village lots laid out by Jedediah Sanger, " agreeable to a map and survey thereof by Mr. Geddes." This lot was No. 6, and the following is a description of the sale of it by Sanger: "January 16, 1801, Jedediah Sanger to Seth McKay, consideration $5, in his actual possession. Village Lot No. Six, 100 feet front and 26 rods back, containing one acre of land." (The above is an abstract.) " July 21, 1802, Seth McKay to Norman Leonard, consideration $200, Village Lot No. Six, too feet front, 26 rods back, one acre of land." About the year 1822, John Legg purchased the above village lot from Norman Leonard, and it has been in the possession of his family ever since. John Legg also owned the Stephen Horton lot, adjoining on the west. HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. CHAPTER XL The Potashery and Other Manufactures. Winston Day's Potashery, Distillery, and Brewery in Skaneateles BEFORE 1816. — There is given below the advertisement of an auction sale to be held at the " Indian Queen," kept by Isaac W. Perry, in the village of Skaneateles, which is an interesting part of the history of the village. The plaintiff in this Chancery proceeding was Liva Peck, who was a rich farmer, and owned and lived on the farm now occupied by Manassah Smith, on the West Lake Road, near the Octagon Schoolhouse. Liva Peck built that house between 1825 and 1830. He probably loaned money to Lewis & Cotton, and took a mortgage on the lot. The other parties named as defendants may have had some lien on the property, a judgment likely. Levi Cuddeback was brother to Simeon and David Cuddeback, and perhaps he had a lien in the form of judgment, also Lewis & Cotton, who were woolen manufacturers at one time at Willow Glen, and afterward up at the village. Their factory was west of the mill dam, near and west of the old stone mill of Thayer & Co. Lewis & Cotton failed, and the property Was sold under foreclo- sure sale, as will be seen by this advertised sale. At that sale the property was purchased by Deacon David Hall and others, and afterward it became " The Skaneateles Woolen Manufacturing Company." The old factory was enlarged and repaired, and was operated by various persons under the name of " The Skaneateles Manufacturing Company," until it was destroyed by fire in 1842. Then Dorastus Kellogg started up the old factory at Willow Glen, and he con- tinued in that business while he remained in Skaneateles. This advertisement of sale states that the premises were by deed conveyed by Thomas Gibbs (deceased) to Winston Day in 1816. Day had his distillery, then, many years before 1816, so that Day must have leased the lot from Gibbs before 1816, and may have purchased from Gibbs the east part then, and owned and oc- cupied the west part before, and intended to build a brewery on the east part of the lot, but the brewery was never built. Winston Day's distillery was there in 1807, at the time Nathaniel Miller first came to Skaneateles. Gibbs had a sawmill about the same time near where the stone mill now stands, and it will be seen by his deed to Day that it conveys the right to take water from the dam to work his pump, situ- ated across the outlet, and the right to lay pump-logs and pump water through them to his distillery, etc. That pump would be situated about where Policy's wagon-shop stands, probably somewhere near the southeast corner of the building. This lot, beginning, as described, in the east side of Isaac Sherwood's garden (which is now the Packwood house grounds, where the barn now stands, and per- haps a little farther north), lay to the north of the outlet and adjoining Colonel HfSTORy OF SKAXEATELES. U5 Warren Hecox's tannery, etc., but did not come up to the mill dam, as Colonel Hecox owned the east side of the Pond, between the bridge and the dam, and a corner of the dam on both sides of the outlet. I Icre is the advertisement of the sale : IN CH.\NXERY. LivA Peck, ~| vs. I L. H. Sandfori), .\Imon Virgil and Cornelia Virgil his wife, Isaac Lewis, George H. [" Solicitor. Cotton, Joel B. Couch, and Levi Cuddeback. J In pursuance of a decretal order of the court of chancery of the State of New-York, made in the above entitled cause, I, the subscriber, one of the Masters of the said court, will sell at public auction, on Wednesday, the thirteenth day of March ne.xt. at two o'clock in the afternoon of that day, at the "Indian Queen," kept by Isaac W. Perry, in the village of Skaneatelcs. "All that certain piece or parcel of land, situate, lying and being in the village of Skaneateles, in the county of Onondaga, and being a part of lot No. Thirty-six, in the township of Marcellus, and bounded and described as follows: Beginning in the centre of the outlet of the Skaneateles Lake, at a point northerly of the east line of the garden ground belonging lo Isaac Sherwood, thence southerly till it strikes the north east corner of said garden ground, thence along the east line of said garden to a point where the north line of land belonging to Warren Hecox, intersects said east line of said garden, thence easterly and southerly along said Heco.x's north and east line until it strikes the north end of a cow shed belonging to said Hecox, at the north end of said Hecox's barn, thence east thirty degrees, north five rods, thence north thirty-three degrees, thirty minutes, west one rod, thence easterly until it strikes a stone set in the ground, marked X described in a deed from Thomas Gibbs. deceased, to Winston Day. dated the twenty-ninth August, one thousand eight hundred and sixteen; thence north fifty-two degrees west to the centre of said outlet, thence in the centre of said outlet to the place of beginning, being the same premises on said lot which the said Day occupied for several years as a Distillery and Pot-Ashery lot, and also the pump and its appurtenances, situate near the mill dam across said outlet, and also the right or grant to take a sufficient quantity of water from said mill dam to work said pump, to convey water for the use of a distillery and brewery on said premises, or which shall be at any time put on the same; and also the right or grant to take a sufficient quan- tity of water from the said dam for the use of the said distillery and brewery, and a right to lay logs in the ground to convey the water to the said distillery and brewery respectively, and also the right or grant of a cartway to and from the said premises above described, to the Seneca Turnpike Road, excepting and reserving the right of using the Skaneateles out- let for the purpose of clearing the bed thereof, and also for the purpose of floating logs down the same; and also the right of keeping the said bed of said outlet free from all obstructions whatsoever." Together with all and singular the hereditaments thereunto, in anywise belonging. D.itfd 30th January. 1833. Richard L. Smith, Master in Chancery. Joseph T.vllcot. — Joseph Tallcot was born in Xcw Milford, Conn., June 12, 1768. In the spring of 1807, he, with liis wife, Sarah Tallcot, and their sons, Richard and Daniel, and daughters, Hannah and Phcbe, moved to Scipio, N. Y. Thence, in the spring of 1823, he with his family came to Skaneateles, and settled 146 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. on a farm adjoining that " beautiful lake." (This farm was the one since owned by the late Elias Thorne.) He remained on this farm sixteen years, during which time he continued actively engaged in promoting the various benevolent enterprises of the day. He was long known as a faithful laborer in the cause of religion and virtue. He was remarkable for the purity and inoffensiveness of his character, and for his love to mankind in general, and more particularly for those in the younger walks of life. The promotion of a sound religious education among the rising generation was an object dear to his heart, and to which a considerable portion of his time was devoted. Though far advanced in life, he retained much of the greenness of his earlier years. The following extracts from his published correspondence indicate his characteristics: " I am ready to tremble for the fate of our free government, when I consider that our institutions, both civil and religious, are founded on Christian principles, and can not be sustained without the prevalence of Christian virtues. Wise, cool- headed, pious old men, who have honorably retired from public life, can not wind up their labors more usefully than in promoting the pious instruction of the rising generation." "Deprive us for only one century of the influence of the Bible, where would be our dignified nation, and all its new flourishing institutions, both civil and re- ligious? " It may not be amiss to mention that he accepted from the Governor the ap- pointment of Inspector of Schools, as a means to aid him in visiting schools through a large portion of western New York, in which service he continued for a number of years, distributing his books and tracts among the teachers and children, addressing the schools in a kind, familiar manner, imparting advice and encouragement, and clearly evincing that it was love alone which prompted him in these labors. Joseph Tallcot was a public benefactor, a man of sterling character, a devout Christian, very thoughtful of others, and was universally loved. In all of his pub- lic and private transactions he manifested sound judgment, strict integrity, and ability. He died at his residence, Ledyard (Tallcot's Corners), Cayuga County, Au- gust 20, 1853, aged eighty-five years. Nicholas J. Roosevelt. — Nicholas J. Roosevelt was a descendant in. direct line from Klass Macteusen Van Roosevelt, who left Holland in 1649 and settled in New Amsterdam. Locally he was a resident of Skaneateles twenty-three years. He came here with his family about the year 1831, and was a continual highly re- spected citizen and always a courteous gentleman, until his death, July 30, 1854, at the age of eighty-seven years. During the period of the following history of his early experiences, associated with distinguished early inventors, he was but thirty- one years of age. Mrs. Martha J. Lamb's "History of the City of New York" gives the following interesting reminiscences of his early life : HISTORV OF SK.IXEATELES. M? ■ The Collect Pond, occupying the site of the present great gloomy pile of pri- son buildings known as the Tombs, was the scene in the summer of 1796 of the first trial of a steamboat with a screw propeller. It was the invention of John Fitch. The boat was eighteen feet in length and six feet beam, with square stern, round bows, and furnished with seats. The boiler was a ten or twelve-gallon iron pot. " The little craft passed round the pond several times, and was believed capable of making six miles an hour. The spectacle was watched with critical interest by Chancellor Livingston, Xicholas J. Roosevelt. John Stephens, and others, who had in common with philosophers and inventors in England and Europe been for some time engaged in speculative study of the steam engine and its prospective uses. The statement that Robert Fulton was present at the trial of Fitch's steamboat on the Collect in 1796 is an error, he being in England at that date. '■ Oliver Evans, who was also present at the trial of Fitch's steamboat, said : ' The time will come when people will travel in stages moved by steam engines from one city to another as fast as birds can fly — fifteen or twenty miles an hour.' And his associates smiled incredulously. " Two years after Fitch experimented with his screw propeller on the Collect in New York, Xicholas J. Roosevelt launched a little steamboat on the Passaic River, and made a trial trip with a party of invited guests, among whom was the Spanish Minister. Roosevelt was of the old New York family of that name, and a gentleman of education and inventive talent. He had become interested with others in the Schuyler copper mines, and, from this model of Hornblowcr's at- mospheric engine, constructed one of a similar character, and also built similar engines for various purposes. Colonel John Stephens, who exhibited far better knowledge of the science and art of engineering, besides urging more advanced opinions and statesman-like views in relation to the economical importance of the practical development of the new invention, than any man of his time, was fre- quently in conference with Roosevelt. In December, 1797, Chancellor Livingston wrote to Roosevelt, saying: ' Mr. Stephens has mentioned to me your desire to ap- ply the steam machine to a boat. Every attempt of this kind having failed, I have constructed a boat on perfectly new principles, which, both in the model and on a large scale, has exceeded my expectations. I was about writing to England for a steam machine, but, hearing of your wish, I was willing to treat with you, on terms which I believe you will find advantageous, for the use of my invention.' The result was an agreement between Livingston, Stephens, and Roosevelt to build a boat on joint account, for which the engines were to be constructed by Roosevelt at his shop on the Passaic, and the propelling agency was to be planned by the Chancellor. So promising were the signs that in March, 1798, the Legisla- ture of New York passed a bill giving Livingston the exclusive right to steam navigation in the waters of the State for a period of twenty years, provided that he should within a year from date produce a boat that could steam four miles an hour. During the progress of the enterprise the correspondence teemed with speculative suggestions. The trial trip, to which reference has been made, oc- I4S HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. curred on the 21st of October, 1798. It was recognized as a failure. Roosevelt had invented a vertical wheel, which he earnestly recommended to the Chancellor without success. Stephens, a few months later, persuaded the Chancellor to try a set of paddles in the stern, which unfortunately shook the boat to pieces and ren- dered it unfit for further use. The inventive instinct of America appears to have been abreast with that of any other country. But no individual as yet had suc- ceeded in taking the final step in the progression which was to make steam navigation an every-day commercial success. " Roosevelt, when asked why he did not anticipate Fulton in the first successful application of the steam-engine to naval purposes, replied : 'At the time Chancellor Livingston's horizontal-wheel experiment failed, I was under a contract with the corporation for supplying the city of Philadelphia with water by means of two steam-engines; and, besides, I was under a contract with the United States to erect rolling works and supply the Government with copper rolled and drawn for six seventy-four gun ships that were then to be built. But by a change of men in the administration, after I had been led into heavy expense, the seventy-fours were abandoned without appropriations, and embarrassment to me was the natural consequence.' " Archibald Douglass. — Archibald Douglass came from Shaftsbury, Vt., in May, 1816, bringing his family, consisting of his wife and five children — two sons and three daughters. He also brought his household furniture and his working- tools. Before he came from \^ermont, he was engaged in the manufacture of thrashing machines, wagons, and fanning-mills or machines. He had previously patented a fanning-machine. On his arrival here he settled at Clift's Corners, and conducted the same line of business that he did in Vermont. Later he removed into the village. He died in the month of November, 1862, aged seventy-eight years. W1LLLA.M G. Ellery. — William G. Ellery was born in Skaneatcles, July 25, 1832. He was a merchant, school teacher, lawyer, and President of the village, being the first President elected as an independent officer. He also served as Town Clerk from 1874 to 1885, except one year. He died in November, 1887. Daniel T. Moseley. — Daniel T. Moseley was born at Onondaga Hill, in 1810. He was the son of the late Judge Daniel T. Moseley, of the Supreme Court. Graduating at Union College with high honors, he came to Skaneateles in 1833, studied law in the office of the late Daniel Kellogg, and was afterward admitted to the bar. He was for several years a partner with Hon. Lewis IL Sandford, which only ceased when the latter removed to the city of New York. During his resi- dence in Skaneateles, Mr. Moseley had filled the offices of County Judge and Su- pervisor for several terms, and Justice of the Peace. In 1850, owing to impaired health, he withdrew from active business, and continued to reside in this village, always taking a deep interest in public affairs. He was universally esteemed, a good citizen, and a kind husband and father. He died February 23, 1883, aged seventy-two years, leaving a wife and two daughters. The funeral ser\'ices were held at his late residence, being conducted by Rev. C. P. Jennings. HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. 149 Al'gcstls Kellogg. — Augustus Kellogg was the eldest son of tiic late Daniel Kellogg, who was one of the most prominent early settlers within the village. His son Augustus was born in the original one-and-a-half-story home- stead, now next east of the old law office, on the south side of Onondaga Street. He was born in the year 1803, and died October 30. 1871, from heart failure. In his earlier years he studied law in his father's office, and after a limited time he was admitted to the bar. About sixty years ago, when he was in the prime of life, he was one of the most prominent members of the Onondaga County bar. Having a classical education, a brilliant intellect, commanding presence, fine oratorical powers, ready at repartee, and possessing a sarcasm which few would wish to encounter, he was formidable in debate. His intimacy with leading men throughout the State, and especially at Albany, became very extensive. He often visited the sessions of the Legislature, and always when there attracted attention by his commanding appearance and knowledge of all public questions. His mode of dress was exceptionally neat, always wearing gold spectacles and a silk hat. He had a ruddy complexion and expressive eyes, while his bright conversational powers always rendered him an attractive com- panion. But he had his infirmities, over which we are disposed to draw a veil, but the history of his checkered life would be incomplete without reference to them. His career took a downward turn, and he was finally discovered, early one Sunday morning, in his father's old law office, in an insensible and dying condition, from which he never rallied, and died October 30, 1871. In early life he married a Miss Hart, of Utica, a beautiful and accomplished lady, who died shortly afterward, leaving an only son, who, inheriting his father's talents and infirmities, died in early life. The identification of his grave, which is not generally known, is as follows: There is no stone over it. It is directly west of the headstone of Helen M., wife of William H. Huxtable, under a partially sunken spot of ground, separated from the Huxtable headstone by an iron fence. In connection with this subject, it may be of interest to state that the late C. Pardee prepared an epitaph, which he designed to have cut on a gravestone to be placed over Augustus Kellogg's grave, but this design was never accom- plished. The original epitaph, in C. Pardee's handwriting, is still in existence, and is here given : AicisTLS Kellogg, Died October 30, 187 1. .Vgeo 67 Years. Born ln Afn.UENCE: Talents and Education of the First Order. Died as the Fool dietii— Buried In midnight darkness by his bequest. With the talents of an .\ncel, a man may de a fool. JouN Snook. — Dr. John Snook, with his son, John Snook, Jr., about the year 1832 came here from England. Before leaving England Dr. Snook had be- 150 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. come famous for his invention of a medical preparation called "Snook's Pills."' To him is due the introduction of the teasel, in this town, about the year 1833. The business of growing and cultivating the teasel plant has ever since been exceedingly profitable, not only to the farming interest, but to the teasel mer- chants, who prepare them for sale to the woolen cloth manufacturers. John Snook, Jr., the son of Dr. Snook, very early after his arrival here established himself in the retail drug and medicine business, connecting it with some other lines of goods, and during his life had a very successful career. Dr. John Snook died in this town, December i, 1857. John Snook, Jr., died at Utica, October 30, 1884, at the age of fifty-one. Dyer Br.^inerd. — Among the inhabitants of Skaneateles the name of Dyer Brainerd appears, and it is related of him in the "Genealogy of the Brainerd Family in the United States," by David Dudley Field, D.D., published in 1857, as follows: Dyer Brainerd, son of Amasa and Jedidah Brainerd, was born May 25, 1774, in East Haddam, Conn. Married Sally Seymour, of New Canaan, Conn., January 26, 181 1. They resided in the city of New York many years, where he was engaged in the wholesale grocery business, but, on retiring from business there, they removed in the year 1832 to Skaneateles, where he died, June 24, 1849, and was interred in the old cemetery on the hill west of the village. Having acquired a competency after being in active business in New York for forty years, he purchased the Livingston farm, on the east side of Skan- eateles Lake, one mile south of the village. This farni contained one hundred acres. Fie took great delight in improving and fitting it up for the home of his family, and where it would be his pleasure to entertain his friends. It was his home for seventeen years, until his death. It was said of Dyer Brainerd that he married at forty, and brought up a family of seven boys, and each boy had a sister. Dyer Brainerd was naturally stimulated with a spirit of enterprise in the interest of the public welfare, and was identified with all the commendable improvements in progress at that period in the circuit of Skaneateles. He was chosen Road Master (Commissioner) in his district for several years, and was the first to originate and use a road scraper, and by its means, smoothing the rutted and rough roads and filling up the holes, made carriage riding a pleasure. " Brainerd's Lake Road" became celebrated throughout this section of country, and was used by those who en- joyed the best and most pleasurable ride to be found in the whole town. It pleased him to see others enjoy his eft'orts in making the East Lake Road en- joyable by all his fellow citizens. His attention was turned from good public roads to the need of a good steamer to traverse the lake, and put life into the beautiful exquisite scenery and landscajjc. His attention was thereafter directed toward having a railroad from the village to the Junction, instead of an out-of-date plank road. Another idea was to induce the general public to organize a rural cemetery in place of HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. 15' an old burying-ground. Many ullier public entL-rprises were projected and vigor- ously presented by him. Dyer Brainerd was quiet, modest, and unassuming, and remarkably con- scientious. It was said of him by John Green, an old Quaker, and a former busi- ness associate: " If there ever was an honest man. Dyer Brainerd was that man in the fullest sense of the word." Many a young man could bear testimony to his disinterested encouragement and friendship, his advice, and financial as- sistance to start in business and maintain his independence. Ch.xrles B. Isbell. — Charles B. Isbell was born in Milford, Conn., October 22, 1803, and came to Skaneateles in 1833, since which time he had, with one or two exceptions, been a constant dweller in this village. His vocation in life was that of a master mechanic, and well did he till that position. Possessed of a rare mechanical ingenuity, there was nothing in all the complicated and nicely fitting rules of his profession of which he was not a master. About the beginning of the California gold excitement, he went to that State, where his time was wholly occupied in superintending the building of steam mills, which now stand as monuments of his mechanical genius for durability and finish. In Canada, also, he was employed in the same business, and, it is needless to say, met with the same success — the approval of his employers, and the satisfaction which an honest mind feels in having done his duty. As a neighbor and a citizen he was valued and respected, and as a husband and a father that deep love which springs from a grateful heart was given him. Industrious to the last degree, his life was one of honest toil which knew no rest, until death folded his hands in a breathless sleep. He died March 24, 1866, aged sixty-three years. Joel Thayer. — ^Joel Thayer was born in Ontario, N. Y., July 18, 1812. He came to Skaneateles in the year 1835, and very soon after became interested with John Legg in the manufacture of carriages, wagons, and sleighs. Although at that time he possessed a very inoderate amount of capital, he had within him the elements that later in life brought his business talents forward as a successful man in the most prominent degree. Not very long after he became a resident of Skaneateles he married Juliette, daughter of John Lcgg. This newly formed relationship caused him at once to become identified with the business interests of Skaneateles. Mr. Thayer was an excellent citizen. He was enterprising and public-spirited, and always willingly aided every public project that was brought to his attention. Upright and honest in every deed, he possessed the entire con- fidence of the community, and often rendered valuable and gratuitous service to those in need of counsel and assistance. There was much sympathy in his nature, as many who have been the recipients of his favor can testify, and to his friends he was as true as steel. His heart and hand were always open to the afflicted and destitute. He was quiet and unobtrusive in manner, and steadfast in purpose, yet his nature was genial and sunshiny, making his life one of pleasure and happiness to his family and friends. The round of the life of Mrs. Thayer was of generous and kindly acts, devoted to charity, and strengthening 152 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. and upholding everything, not only pertaining to the best interests of her hus- band, but to the community at large in which she lived. Mr. Thayer organized the Bank of Skaneateles during the month of August, 1869, with a capital stock of $100,000, and was for twelve years its President, carrying that institution through the experimental period to a substantial pros- perous basis. He was one of the first Board of Trustees of the Skaneateles Savings Bank, in the year 1866. He conducted an extensive flouring-mill at Skaneateles, and became the prime mover and promoter of the organization of the Skaneateles Railroad, of which he was for several years President. Mrs. Thayer died December 4, 1880, and Joel Thayer died May 19, 1881, sur- viving his devoted and affectionate wife but six months. DoRASTUS Kellogg. — Dorastus Kellogg was born on the Obadiah Thorne farm, which is on the direct road to Marcellus, January 10, 1808. He was en- gaged in early life in woolen manufacturing in Baldwinsville, and came to Skan- eateles in the year 1834. For many years he was extensively engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods, at what was then known as Kellogg's Factory, but since that time as Willow Glen. Previously to his locating at Kellogg's Fac- tory, he had a woolen mill in the village, in which he employed about sixty-five hands. This was located on the site of what is now known as the yellow shop, on Railroad Street, west of the stone mill. His mill was destroyed by fire Feb- ruary 4, 1842. At the same fire Spencer Hannum's machine shop, and Earll, Kellogg & Co.'s flouring-mill and storehouse, were burned, causing a loss of about $43,000. On the site of Kellogg's woolen factory, Spencer Hannum erected a foundry, which was afterward burned, January 6, 1850. Dorastus Kellogg was a man of decided character, strong impulses, and had many warm friends. He died from an attack of typhoid pneumonia, in Oswego Falls, February i, 1883, in the seventy-fifth year of his age. His remains were brought to Skaneateles Village, and were met at the railroad depot by many of his old friends and acquaintances to pay their last tribute and respect to his worth and memory. The burial took place in his own family lot in Lake View Ceme- tery. John Kellogg. — John Kellogg, son of Daniel and Laura (Hyde) Kellogg, was born at Skaneateles, April 12, 1807. In his early life he was a merchant at Trumansburg, N. Y. He subsequently became a joint owner of the stone mill with Colonel Earll, and later had a wheelbarrow manufactory, and also a flour- mill and distillery at Jordan, N. Y. Early in the sixties he engaged in the brokerage business in New York, having formed a partnership with Lawrence Jerome, under the firm name of Jerome, Kellogg & Co., at No. 22 Exchange Place. For about twenty years before his death he was not engaged in active business. He died February 7, 1883. Wn.Li.\M MiLLETT Beauchamp. — William Millett Beauchamp was born in the village of West Pinnard, Somersetshire, England, April 5, 1799. He emi- grated to this country during the summer of 1829, and first located in Orange HISTORY uf :^h.i.\t:.UELES. '5J County, \. v., where he leased a farm, and on tliat farm introduced the culti\a- tion of the teasel, but, as the crop required much outlay for labor, and there being at that period none of the later facilities for marketing the teasel, he abandoned the business. He first came to Skaneateks in the spring of 1831, with his family, and settled on a farm about four miles south of the village, on the East Lake Road. While on that farm he planted probably the first hawthorn hedge that was ever set in this section of the State. This hedge is now in a flourish- ing condition after having been planted sixty-eight years. He moved into the village late in the fall of 1832, residing first on the Hoagland place, and after- ward on the present Taylor place (much enlarged since). He entered into part- nership with Richard Ash in the boot and shoe business, but soon gave it up, and established a book-store, in which he commenced a circulating library, which con- tinued in a flourishing condition for more than twenty years. The purchase of the Auburn Banner office I'n 183*; prepared the way for the establishment of the Skaneateles Democrat, the first number of which was issued January 3, 1840. Si.\ years later it was purchased by William H. Jewett, E. S. Keeney (a young man of great literary promise) being editor. He died a few months later, and his brother Jonathan continued the publication, until it was purchased by the late Harrison B. Dodge, in whose continuous possession it remained until his death November 22, 1898, a period of fifty years. William M. Beauchamp took a great and active interest in education, temper- ance, local history, and agriculture, and for many years he made monthly reports 10 the Meteorological Department of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington City, D. C. After giving up journalistic work he devoted himself to the nursery business, and became particularly interested in the importation of hedge-plants from England. Most of the hawthorn hedges, which are a distinguishing fea- ture of Skaneateles scenery, were purchased from his nursery and planted under his direction. He was for many years Secretary of the Farmers' Club, and re- ported its proceedings for the Skaneateles Democrat for publication long after this paper had passed into other hands. He was a communicant of the Episcopal Church, and continually lent his aid to the parish, by which he was elected a mem- ber of the Vestry, which office he retained until his decease. Previous to that he had held the position of precentor of the choir by vote of the Vestry. He was ardently interested in the Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons, and was one of the earliest members of the Lodge in Skaneateles. Nearly all his life, and particularly since he became a resident of the village of Skaneateles. he had kept a diary of events, and from the brief daily entries many valuable and interesting articles have been compiled and published by his only surviving son, Dr. Beau- champ, rector of Grace Church, Baldwinsvillc, N. Y. \N'illiam M. Beauchamp died August 28, 1867, in the sixty-ninth year of his age. Rkiiard T.mxott. — Richard Talcott was born at New Milford. Conn.. July 7, 1791, came to Skaneateles with his father, Joseph Talcott, and family, in 1823. and settled on a small farm of fifty acres, on the west shore of the lake. IS4 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. now known as the Elias Thorne place. September 3, 1825, he formed a copart- nership with Ebenezer Pardee (brother of Charles Pardee), under the firm name of E. Pardee & Co., and conducted a general store in the village. Pos- sessing those qualities which make successful business men, he was always ener- getic, straightforward, and took a keen interest in the advancement of the com- munity and in all matters of public importance, and he at once became known throughout this section of the State as an influential citizen. He was a member of the Society of Friends, of the branch known as Orthodox. In the Society itself, as well as in the community at large, he possessed great influence. He manifested an interest in educational subjects, and no other leading moral ques- tions was prominent in his day. His influence was always for right and justice. A long-continued sickness, which he bore with patience and humility, marked the close of his life. He died at the residence of his son, Joseph Talcott, July 17, 1876, aged eighty-five years. RiSHWORTH Mason. — Captain Rishworth Mason was born March 26, 1794, at Biddeford, Maine. In his youth he was not a strong lad, therefore his parents had him take a voyage to sea for his health. At eighteen years of age he shipped aboard of a ship to perfect himself in seamanship and navigation, and m a few years took command of a vessel. He afterward went to New York, and was in the employ of several of the leading shipping merchants. In 1846 he with his family moved to Oswego, where Captain Mason built three vessels suitable for the lake trade. After residing there for a few years, he was in- duced, through the influence of Thayer & Legg, and others, to come to Skan- eateles, and soon after the steamboat Homer was built. The first trip of this boat was made July 4, 1849. Captain Mason commanded the Homer for ten years. After he sold his interest in this boat he commenced the grocery business in the village, which was continued for ten years, until his death, which oc- curred March 5, 1871. He had five wives, and was the father of fifteen children, seven of them by his last wife, who is now living; but all the fifteen children have passed away — "Have crossed the river." During his early seafaring life, he went to India twice, to Africa twice, and on his first trip with his uncle he cir- cumnavigated the world. He crossed the Atlantic Ocean ninety-nine times. Captain Mason's last wife (now living), whom we all knew, lived with her hus- band twenty years and three months, which was as long again as the previous four wives lived with him. John Legg. — In 18 13, John Legg was the only blacksmith in the village. He made axes principally, and did all other kinds of work, having an extensive business at that period. Merchants in 1813. — Jonathan Booth and Samuel Ingham (Booth & Ingham), Phares Gould, Day & Hecox (Winston Day and Warren Hecox), and Norman Leonard were the only merchants in 1813. Peter Thompson. — Peter Thompson was born at Halifax, Plymouth Co., ATass., August i, 1793. and went to Vermont in 1809, where he lived four years. HISTORy OF SKANEATELES. 155 and then came to Skaneateles in May, 1813. He traveled on foot from Vermont in company with John Bilhngs, both being carpenters by trade. Taverns. — The only tavern in town was on the site of the present Savings Bank. It was then kept by Ezekiel Griswold (brother-in-law of Ambrose Hecox). That was the only public-house until Deacon David Hall built what has since been known as the Lake House. Peter Thompson and John Billings did the carpenter work for David Hall, about 1823-5. Philo Dibble. — Philo Dibble was born in Mount Washington, Berkshire County, Mass., in 1794. His parents removed to Delaware County, N. Y., where he married and removed to Skaneateles, N. Y. Little is known by the au- thor of him, but his name is found as having been elected as a Trustee of the old Skaneateles Librarj-, March 3, 1829, and was successively reelected March 5, 1833, December 4, 1834, November 12, 1835, and March 2, 1836. From this statement it will be observed that he was here in 1829, and was a Trustee of the Library until 1836, seven years. Inhaling the bracing air of the mountains of New England and the hills of Delaware County, he had a strong constitution. He was not brought up in the lap of luxury, but was in early life inured to labor, and consequently acquired habits of industry and economy. His early opportuni- ties for education and mental discipline were limited, but he possessed a well- balanced mind and sound judgment, and exerted considerable influence in the community. He resided in Skaneateles for twenty-two years, and during that time prosecuted business as a mechanic (harness and saddlery), and was suc- cessful in the accumulation of property. He removed from Skaneateles to Marshall, Mich., in 1841. Four out of five children went to the grave before him. He died at Marshall, Mich., December 13, 1871. William H. Jewett. — William H. Jewett was the only son of the late Hon. Freeborn G. Jewett, whose reputation as a jurist, lawyer, and politician was well known and is now a matter of history. He was bom in Skaneateles in the year 1816, and during his minority was both physically and mentally a lad of uncom- mon promise. He was educated at Yale College, and, possessing a splendid intellect, combined with a genial, social temperament, a ready wit, and genuine kindness of heart, he was always a cordial favorite in the extensive circle of his acquaintance. He was elected Justice of the Peace in 1852, and was reelected from year to year until 1857, in his native village, in which capacity ho always acted as a peace- maker, never encouraging petty litigation or quarrelsome suits. He was elected Supervisor of the town in the year 1848 for a full term, until 1849. As heir to his father's wealth (he having been the only child of his parents) he was placed above the necessity of pursuing the profession of the law, to which he was bred, in which under other circumstances he would no doubt have risen to eminence and dis- tinction. He died at Skaneateles. .\ugust 29, 1859, '" ''ic forty-fourth year of his age. His untimely death was universally lamented, more especially by those who knew him more intimately. 156 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. Obadiah Thorxe. — Obadiah Thorne was born in Washington, Dutchess County, N. Y., October i, 1805, and came to Marcellus, where he settled on Mih- tary Lot No. 61, which became afterward known as Thorne Hill in 1828. From there he came to Skaneateles in the year 1854, and purchased the farm then owned by James Balding, where he lived thirty-two years. In 1886 he removed to the village, on Onondaga Street, where he died April 18, 1887. Obadiah Thorne was a man of the strictest integrity and uprightness of life, in his business and social relations he enjoyed the full confidence of his fellow citizens, and was re- spected and loved by all who knew him. Thorne Hill. — Thorne Hill was named from Obadiah Thorne, who was instrumental in establishing the post-office and mail route, and who was for many years a highly respected citizen and widely known as an extensive wool buyer. William H. Pattison. — William H. Pattison was born September 12, 1814, at Palatine Bridge, N. Y., and came here in 1866. He commenced the hardware business by buying out the firm of Middlebrook & Payne, and formed a partner- ship with George D. Downey in same year (1866). The firm name was Pattison & Downey, which continued in business four years, and then dissolved, W. H. Pattison continuing the business in his own name about a year. He sold out partially to Perry Foote, when the firm name was Pattison & Foote. W. H. Pattison sold out his interest in 1874 to Mrs. John M. Nye. He died June 5, 1874. Charles F. Merrill. — Dr. Charles F. Merrill was in his day one of the best known fishermen in this vicinity. Strangers, attracted by the inviting appearance of the lake and its characteristics as a sporting body of water for angling, always sought the services of Dr. Merrill, who seemingly knew the location of all the best fishing-grounds. He spent much of his leisure time on the lake, and as he had much leisure he was always available. His medical practise in the village was more or less limited, but there were many throughout the town who had great confidence in his ability for the treatment of disease. His great forte was in administering simple remedies, which from their nature were particularly successful with nervous patients, many of whom were suft'ering from imaginary complaints. His medicines were of the most simple nature. To explain their simplicity, it may be stated that, by arrangement with one of the drug-stores, he would get quite a large number of vials, from two to four ounce capacity, par- tially fill each one with simple sirup, then would go all over the shelves, and select for each bottle some simple drug which was innocuous and variegated in char- acter. To some he would add coloring matter. In fact, after he completed his stock of curables, and placed all the bottles in the capacious side-pockets of his sack-coat, he was in shape to meet a patient on the street. On such occasions, after learning the distressful symptoms, he would immediately search his pockets for the suitable medicine, taking each bottle and removing the cork, thus as- certaining its peculiar odor, until the correct one came to his attention. Then HISTORY OF SK.-tNEATELES. 157 he would give minute directions how it was to be taken, at the same time direct- ing the patient to refrain from drinking any spirituous liquor, beer, or strong coffee or tea, and to eat simple food, but not to overeat any food. His patients were generally benefited by his medicines and treatment. He made many excursions into adjoining towns and villages. On these occasions he would previously send handbills to be placed in public places, in- viting public notice of his future visit. Here is a copy of one of these : Extraordinary. To my Friends and Patrons : Dr. C. F. Merrill, Will be at the Boutelle House. Amber, Thursday. April 8th, 1875. .■\11 those in need of Medical -Attendance Or Advice Are requested to call at his rooms. Especially those who have been unsuccessfully Treated by other physicians A Specialty, And treated confidentially. Yours truly, C. F. Merrill, M.D. On these expeditions he was always dressed in his best suit, and left this vil- lage in a stylish carriage and a fine span of horses. He was a kind-hearted man, had many friends, and as a physician was quite as successful in the treatment of physical ills as any other physician in this vicinity. EzEKiEL B. HovT.— Ezekiei B. Hoyt, born at Ridgefield, Conn., March 24, 1823, was a son of William and Esther Beers Hoyt, both natives of Ridgefield. In September, 1823, William Hoyt moved with his family to the town of Sennett, Cayuga County, X. Y. Here Ezckiel lived until his eighteenth year, doing such farm work as his age permitted during the sunmier months, and attending the district school during the winter. There were thirteen children in the family- nine boys and four girls. It was the policy of the parents to have eacli son learn a trade. One was a cabinet-maker, and three others worked at the carpenter and millwright trades. The mother concluded that Ezekiei should learn to be a mason, so in 184 1 he was apprenticed to the mason trade with Douglass & Billings of Auburn. In 1847. after his health gave way, he embarked in other enterprises at various places. He with his brother Edward S. Hoyt established a general store at Mottville. N. Y. In 1852 he was married to Miss Mary E. Delano, of Mottville. and in December of the same year he purchased a one-third interest in, and assumed the management of. the foundry and machine shop established by his father-in-law. Howard Delano, in 1832. In 1874 he purchased the remaining 158 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. two-thirds of the property. In after years Mr. Hoyt was engaged in various enterprises within this town, on the outlet of Skaneateles Lake, in all of which his exceptional business ability was most prominent. On January n, 1867, Mr. Hoyt's first wife died. On July i, 1872, he married Miss Mary J. Wheeler, daughter of the late Dr. Jared W. Wheeler, of Elbridge, N. Y., who survives him. He was a man of the strictest integrity and uprightness of life, respected and loved by all who knew him, and whose family life was beyond reproach. He died at his home, in the village of Skaneateles, November 17, 1895. George F. Leitch. — The following notice of our late fellow townsman, George F. Leitch, is copied from the Albany Evening Journal, and will be read with interest by his numerous friends in this vicinity : " George F. Leitch, Esq., of Skaneateles, who twelve years ago was with- drawn from a field of active enterprise and usefulness by the derangement of some of the delicate machinery of life, which caused a dizziness in the head and a partial paralysis of the limbs, died at his residence on the 20th ultimo, aged forty-three years. Mr. Leitch was a gentleman of handsome professional attain- ments and much personal worth. He was much devoted to business when, by the death of his father-in-law, the late Daniel Kellogg, the management of a large and complicated estate devolved upon him. The illness from which he suiifered so many years was probably occasioned by the over-taxation of mind and body. When, in 1843, Mr. Leitch's health required relaxation from business, he went with us to Europe. In London the paralysis began to develop. In Paris he consulted an eminent physician, who, in a written opinion, pronounced the case not only remediless, but one that would terminate fatally. Mr. Leitch, after reading this opinion, very calmly remarked that, though his case was beyond the reach of medical science, he was not to be killed off in that summary manner by a French doctor. On his return, Mr. Leitch passed several years in water cure es- tablishments, by which he was benefited, and at times hoped for restoration. But it was a question of time only. There was no remedy for a disease that had finally worn him out. Though so long lost to the busy world, there are many in it who remember, as we do, the many good qualities of his head and heart." Freeborn G. Jevvett. — Freeborn G. Jewett was born at Sharon, Conn., in 1791, and in youth received only those advantages of education which are com- mon to the children of New England. He commenced the study of law with Henry Swift, of Dutchess County, and completed his course with Colonel Young, at Ballston, being admitted as an attorney in 1814, and as a counselor at law in 1817. He came to Skaneateles and commenced the practise of law, entering into partnership with the Flon. James Porter. In 1815 he was appointed Master in Chancery by' Governor Tompkins. In 1817 he was elected a Justice of the Peace for the then town of Marcellus, which office he held for about six years. In 1822 he was appointed an Examiner in Chancery by Governor Clinton, and afterward to the same office by Governor Yates, and again by acting Governor Tliroop. In 1824 he was appointed Surrogate of Onondaga County by De Witt HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. «5y Clinton, and in 1827 again to the same office by Governor Yates. In 1825 lie was elected to the Assembly of this State, leading his ticket in the county, and in 1828 he was chosen one of the Electors of President and Vice-President of the United States, and cast his vote for the ever-memorable and ever-honorable Andrew Jackson. He was elected a member of the Twenty-second Congress of the United States in 1830, and declined a renomination in 1832, preferring to devote himself to the practise of his profession and to remain in the enjoyment of his own home. In 1832, he was admitted as an attorney and counselor in the Supreme Court of the United States, in 1836 he was appointed by Governor Marcy a Supreme Court Conmiissioner for the county of Onondaga, and again in 1838 he was appointed to the same office, and also one of the Inspectors of the State Prison at Auburn. In 1839 he was appointed District Attorney in and for the county of Onondaga, which office he held for about six months. In 1845 he was appointed by Governor Wright one of the Justices of the Supreme Court, and upon the organization of the Court of Appeals in 1847 he was elected one of the members of that high and honorable Court. In 1849 he was elected to the same position, which he held till 1853, when, in consequence of an attack of that fatal disease which terminated his life, he resigned his place upon the bench. Such has been his career in life. By his own energies and his own merits he rose, if not to the highest political station, to the most dignified and exalted posi- tion in the Empire State. In every place he was equal to the duties he was re- quired to perform, and their performance was creditable to himself and satisfactory to his friends. As a man, he was honorable; as a friend, reliable; as a counselor, judicious; and as a jurist, sound and discriminating. He obtained wisdom by research, and wealth by industry, and was thus an example to the young worthy of their imitation. He died January 27, 1858, aged sixty-seven years. Spe.ncer Hannum. — Spencer Hannum was born in Williamsburg, Mass., in 1799, and came to Skaneateles in 1828. While here he was one of the most enterprising mechanics and manufacturers for thirty-four years. During this period he erected a foundry and machine-shop on the site of Dorastus Kellogg's woolen factory after its destruction by fire. The foundry and machine-shop were afterward burned January 6, 1850. He rebuilt his machine-shop and foundry, and operated it under the name of Hannum & Arnold, in 1850, after which it passed into the possession of Samuel M. Drake. Hannum removcfl to Auburn, and was engaged in business there for several years. Finally, when in declining health, he returned to Williamsburg, Mass., his birthplace, and died on Christmas Day, December 25, 1878, in the seventy-ninth year of his age. The Diefendorf Families in this Town. — Military Lot No. S7 in this town was drawn by the Revolutionary soldier Lieutenant Henry Dicfendorph. A num- ber of farmers of the same name have lived on that lot for many years. A letter of inquiry was recently addressed to the only farmer of that name now re- siding in this town, George E. Diefendorf, who writes that his father, Jacob Die- fendorf. first came into this town in the year 1824, from the town of Sharon, i6o HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. Schoharie County, N. Y., and settled on Lot No. 87. His sons were Abraham, Jacob, Peter, and Barney, all of whom were farmers on Lot No. 87. George E. Diefendorf, who furnishes this statement, now owns the same farm, and states that he never heard of Lieutenant Henry Diefendorph, and does not know that any of his father's family was related to him. James Cannings Fuller. — ^James Cannings Fuller first came from England to Skaneateles in 1834. He purchased the Nicholas Thorne property soon after his arrival here. It was sold at foreclosure sale. J. C. Fuller belonged to the So- ciety of Friends. He was actively engaged in the antislavery, temperance, and other moral and benevolent enterprises, devoting his time and money liberally for their promotion. To natural quickness of perception and energy of character he united an extensive knowledge of men and things. Although his views were radical, which were in conflict with the popular sentiment, he advocated them with an earnest boldness which, if it failed to convince, denoted its sincerity and honest conviction of their soundness and importance. He died November 25, 1847, aged fifty-four years, in this village, while his wife and daughter were on a visit to Eng- land. Only one of his children was with him when he died. Edward B. Coe. — Edward B. Coe was born in the village of Auburn, Decem- ber 29, 1822. A few years thereafter his parents removed to Canandaigua, where his father, Chauncey H. Coe, died, in 1835. Mother and family, which included a daughter, removed to Skaneateles in 1837. About 1846 Edward B. Coe and Charles Goodall went on a three-year whaling voyage to the Pacific Ocean. Soon after their return home in 1849 the California gold fever broke out, and they both decided to go to California. Goodall shipped aboard a vessel bound around Cape Horn, and E. B. Coe took the route across the Isthmus. The following extract from a letter written to the author by Captain Charles Goodall, dated February 9, 1899, gives an account of how and where they met after their arrival in Cali- fornia : " I saw nothing of Edward until I met him in Sacramento, in May, 1850. I was working in the mines, and went to Sacramento to buy provisions and a mule to pack them to the diggings. After paying for my mule and his load, I went down to the river to look at the water, and, while standing up against a wood- pile admiring the beauties of the muddy stream, I heard a voice that I thought I knew. I looked around behind the wood-pile, and, behold ! young man Edward was there. He was captain of a small schooner, and was ordering the chief mate, the cook, and all hands before the mast, which by the way consisted of a single individual, to haul the vessel up to the wood-pile. We had a few minutes' con- versation, finding out as much as we could at the time where each other had been and with what success we had paddled our canoes. The next I heard of Edward was the letter from your good self asking me how long since I had seen him. My reply was as above, and I heard nothing more of him until reading in the Skan- eateles Democrat (which I have taken ever since I have been in California) of his arrival at home. I did not come across the Isthmus with Edward, and I do not fllSTORy or SK.lMl.lTIlLnS. i6i recollect his tellint; inc abuut it ; but I came around Cn\>c Morn in a small schooner called the St. Mary, leaving New < )rleans on the in'i "f March, 1849. and arriv- ing 111 .-^all 1 i.iiicisco on the 25tli of January. 1850. Ix-inp; three lunvlrcd and twenty-two days making the voyajjc. two months of whicii was spent around Cape Horn, in the dead of winter, in the mr)ntlis of .\ugusl and September, with- i62 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. out making an inch of progress toward California. Of course you know all about lidward's subsequently coming to California, and about the unfortunate loss of the steamer Queen." Edward B. Coe did not succeed very well with his little schooner. In the latter part of the year 1850 he shipped on board a ship bound for China, and from that time he was not heard of for the space of twelve years, when he returned home to Skaneateles suddenly. The following account of his adventures was published in a Rochester news- paper many years ago : "A Strange, Romantic, and Interesting Story. — A correspondent of the Lockport Union narrates that Chauncey H. Coe, of Canandaigua, died in 1835, leaving a widow, son, and daughter, with a competence. The widow devoted her- self to her children. The daughter grew up and married. The son, upon at- taining his majority, engaged in a manufacturing business, but in 1849 ^^^^ '^'^ business and went out to California. Soon after arriving, his factory was de- stroyed by fire, and he found himself penniless in the streets of San Francisco. He suddenly disappeared, and for twelve years his fate was unknown. Mean- time, some few years after his disappearance, a childless uncle (Bela D. Coe, of Buffalo) died, and by will left to him and his sister ample property for life, with reversion to their children, but with a provision that, in case of their death with- out issue, the reversion should go to two educational and charitable institutions. Under the will the sister has enjoyed her share of the rents and profits. The share of the lost one meantime was, under the direction of the court, deposited in a savings-bank, until, after some seven years having elapsed, the two reversion- ary institutions instituted proceedings to secure his share of the property. The court, upon a full hearing, decided that after this lapse of time, without his beini; discovered, he must be judicially dead, and that one of the claimants should enlcr u|3on the enjoyment of its portion of the rents and profits. As to the other, its charter not permitting it to take real estate, it was thrown out altogether, and that share, not being legally conveyed by the will, reverted to the heirs at law un- conditionally, who are these same children. " During all this time the sister's husband, with a zeal and pertinacity worthy of all commendation, has been unremitting in his endeavors to find the lost one. He at first obtained from the Department of State at Washington the names and location of all th(j United -States consuls and commercial agents in all parts of the world. A circular was printed in red and black letters offering a reward of two hundred dollars for any information of Edward B. Coe, at the same time giving a minute description of his person, particularly that he had his name. E. B. Coe, tattooed on his left arm. These circulars were mailed to every United Stales Consul in all parts of the world, and also to all American merchants everywhere. The circular requested that it be posted in a conspicuous place. A copy of this circular was advertised in the Whaleman's Journal, which was circulated among all the whalcships in all parts of the world. Aft,or all else had HISTORV Ul- SK.IMiATELES. 163 been cuiupcllcd to believe him long dead, the husband has continued to spend time and money in his discovery. He has received many communications from sea captains and others professing to give information which has proved always erroneous. He has insisted that the lost one was living, while all other persons believed him dead, and by his insistence he has kept up the hope of both mother and sister of eventually seeing the lost son and brother, until at last every en- deavor proved futile, and even a mother's hope discouraged, whose locks have become white in the long, sleepless agony of waiting for the return of an only and beloved son. Within the last month (latter part of 1861J, suddenly, and without the least previous notice, the truant drives up to his mother's door. Alive and well, with face bumed and bronzed to parchment by exposure to sun and wind, he has come back at last to that mother and that sister who have so long mourned him as dead and lost to them forever. 'And there was joy in that house.' " And where upon earth has the truant been hidden, that a mother's and a sis- ter's love could not find him? Why, in about the only part of the globe which has not been searched for him. In South Africa, far up from the Cape for many years. In China at one time. He was employed in the Caffre war. He has hunted elephants and zebras. He has dealt in and drove cattle, and traded with the natives. He has met losses by wreck and fire. He has suffered fevers and the accidents of a wandering life, until at last, in advancing years, the yearning once more to see his native land and embrace his aged mother and his sister became too strong to be resisted. He sailed for Liverpool, and thence to New York, and on his arrival there he for the first time heard tidings of his mother and sister. He was then forty years of age. He remained in Skaneateles alwut twenty years, embarking in various lines of business, and, having been popular, he was elected Supervisor of the town. In his business operations he became in- volved in unsurmountable difficulties which caused him the loss of all his property. Dcforc this tlisaster he married Mrs. Emily R. Hazen, about 1862. The result of that marriage was the birth of a daughter, July 8, 1863. " .\s his old friend Captain Charles Cioodall was largely interested in the con- struction of an ocean steamship at Philadelphia which was destined for San Francisco, he applied to Goodall for a position on board that steamship, which he readily secured. He left Skaneateles for Philadelphia in 1882, at which time the steamer Queen of the Pacific was about to leave for San Francisco. He bid adieu to his family, his mother and sister, and many friends, .\fter a voyage of about si.x weeks, he arrived at San I'rancisco. The Queen then commenced her trips from San Francisco to and from Portland, Oregon, laden with freight and with many passengers. He remained on Iward of the Queen of the Pacific until his deatli, which occurred September 5, 1883. His death was of a melan- cholv nature. He had become low-spirited at the prospect of life before him. as it were, commencing life again at the advanced age of sixty-one. With no bright future before him. he secretly made preparations for death, and on Sep- tember 5. 1883, plunged into the- sea, at a time when the steamship had bcconte i64 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. aground off the mouth of the Columbia River, and while the officers and crew of the ship were engaged in throwing over the cargo into the ocean to lighten the ship. Every effort was made to recover his body, which was unsuccessful. He had previously been ill on board the steamer, which depressed his spirits. His wife, who had previously come to San Francisco, and was there at the time of his death, died in Xew York, May 21, 1887. His only descendant is his daugh- ter, now Mrs. Millie L. Nugent, and her family of four daughters." WT^ ^™^"2r^aB ■^■1 ^^^ # m ^ -W. • / |i||^B','^»-vy|H ■1 . ■ /ii^^^l 1 ^ We herewith jjresent an engraved copy of a recent jihotograph of mother and daughters. .\ii.\EU L.\WTON. — Abner Lawton came to Skaneatcles. from the town of Washington, Dutchess County, N. Y., with his wife and ten children, in the \ear 1829, and settled on the west side of Skaneatcles Lake. The journey from Dutchess County was made by sloop on the Hudson River from Poughkeepsie to .Albany, which was about eighty miles ; from Albany by canal to Jordan, and from [iirdan by teams to the farm, three miles from Skaneatcles Village, which he had purchased from the Fjarbers. wlio liad previously owned the land. Three IIISTORV OF SK.IXE.ITELES. 165 more chililren were born to him after he came here to reside. All of his family were metiibers of the Society of I'riemls. His wife was Phcebe Brownell, who was an aunt of the Hrownell who shot the man wlio killed Colonel Ellsworth, at Alexandria, Va.. during the Civil War in 1861. Brownell was presented with a gold watch for his bravery. Several years ago there was a sketch of General George Washington in Harj)er's Maga- zine, in which was related the fact of his dancing the minuet with the gay I'olly Lawton. Polly was an own cousin of Abner Lawton. Several years ago there was a Miss Hewlett, of Auburn, who had a picture of Miss Polly. Epwakd Osborne Golld. — Edward Osborne Goukl was the son of Phares Gould, who was one of the earliest merchants of this place, and who about the year •838-39 purchased, from Richard Tallcot the dwelling-house and lot now owned and occupied by Charles H. Poor. Edward O. Gould was born in Skaneateles. February 13, 1814. At the age of seventeen years he was a member of the jiarty of sixty ladies and gentlemen which made the first excursion, on board the first steamboat, to the heail of the lake, in the year 1831. He was also one of the com- mittee which organized the public celebration of the I'ourth of July. 1835. I" alter years he was engaged in partnership with his father, after the latter left Skaneateles and went to Camillus, X. V.. in the milling business. That proving to be of too limited a character, he with his father removed to I'ufFalo. where in partnership with Dean Richmond this firm was largely engaged in the elevator business. Edward O. Gould died there July 31, 1858, aged forty- four years, while in the prime of life. Edward O. Gould was in partnership with Colonel Warren Hccox under the firm name of W. Hecox & Co., in the year 1833. Me was also associated in business with William Lawton under the firm name of Gould & Lawton, which firm advertised for sale " lUx)ts and shoes, leather, intlia-ruhber paste, blacking, and shoe-pegs." In his business and social relations he enjoyed the full confi- dence of his fellow citizens, retained warm friendships, universal respect, and high esteem, and his life was in every phase exemplary. Glimpse of Sk.\ne.\tei-es .\ni) it.s StRKoiNDiNCS Xinetv Years .^go. — The following extract is taken from a book of "Travels in the I'nited States of .America, in the years 1806 to 181 1." by John Mclish, Philadelphia, 1812: " .Auburn, the .seat of justice of Cayuga County, was laid out ten years ago, containing about one hundred houses and six hundred inhabitants. The public buildings are a court-house, jail, church, and academy. There are eight stores, three taverns, and a weekly news])aper. " Xovember 9, 181 1. — The morning was cloudy and agreeable. 1 travelerl to Skaneateles. seven miles, to breakfast. The road very muddy, atul black loam and clay; face of the country uneven, but not hilly; the grounds pretty well cleared of timber, except the roots,, which stood up all along the road, so many witnesses that this is a new country. I passed a number of wagons moving west- ward, and saw some travelers walking on foot eastward, one of whom told mc 1 06 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. he was from Grand River, on Lake Erie, and was going to Connecticut, which journey, six hundred miles, he expected to accomplish in twenty days. " Skaneateles is a beautiful little place, situated at the outlet of the lake of the same name. It was laid out fifteen years ago, contains about sixty houses and three hundred and fifty inhabitants. The village lots are thirty by sixty feet, and are worth about two hundred dollars, and the outlots sell for about five hundred dollars an acre. There are four stores and two taverns ; a Congregational church with a handsome spire, situated upon the top of the hill ; two schoolmasters, who teach at two dollars per quarter. The principal occupations are two carpenters, two masons, two blacksmiths, one watchmaker, two cabinetmakers, one tailor, one shoemaker, two coopers, one painter, one dyer, two doctors, four lawyers, one clergyman. " There are falls in the river which issue from the lake, and the water turns two fulling-mills, a grist-mill, and a sawmill. A brick-yard and two distilleries are in the neighborhood. A great quantity of woolen cloth is manufactured here, and manufactories generally are interesting. The situation is healthy, and the view along the lake is beautiful. " After breakfast I passed the outlet by a wooden bridge, immediately below which are the mills and the mill-dam. I observed a boy fishing, and saw several jiretty trout lying upon the bridge. I inquired how long he had been catching them, and he said, ' About five minutes.' Just as he spoke, he pulled up a large salmon trout, and I stopped about five minutes, during which he caught three or four more. It was the finest fishing I ever saw. and the trout were lieautiful." Speaking of Utica he writes : " I proceed to enforce an opinion. The foreign trade is gone never to be recalled to the former state. A new era has com- menced in the United States. Britain is destined to be no longer the manufac- turer for America. The seeds of manufacture are sown throughout the coun- try, never to be rooted out. And so far from the interior being dependent upon the cities as heretofore, the cities will, in all probability, be dependent upon it. The cities have had their day, and now for the country." Skaneateles Lake.— ^Skaneateles Lake is the principal lake in Onondaga County, and is the highest in the county. It is eighty-eight feet above Otisco Lake, eight hundred and sixty feet above tide, and seventy feet above Owasco Lake. It is above the Limestone and among the Hamilton Shales, and is fed largely by springs that are not impregnated with lime, hence the water is pure and soft. Skaneateles in 1830. — The following description is taken from " The Jriuriial of a Tour in the State of Xew York in the year 1830," by John Fowler (London, 1831): "After passing the village of Marcellus, six miles further brought us to Skaneateles, a much larger and more interesting village, very pleas- antly situated, just at the foot of the Skaneateles Lake, along which you have a fine view for several miles. The lake is about fifteen miles in length and half to one and a half miles wide. In its vicinity are several genteel residences, as well as mSTORV Of SK.iXE.niiLES. 167 in till- village. Also, a Friends' Boarding School. The iwpiilation of the jilace is estimated at three thousand." E.\RLY Recollections of Th.vddeus Eiuv.xhds. — Thaddeus Edwards gives the following summary of those in business here in 1810: Store-keepers: Winston Dav, Norman Leonard, Jonathan Booth, and John Meeker. Hotels: The Sherwood Tavern, where now stands the Packwood House; and the Dascomb House, where now stands the Wheadon vegetable grocery. Clergyman: Rev. Benjamin Rice. Carpenters : Seth and David Hall. Masons : Josiah Weston and Daniel McKay. Blacksmiths: Sylvester Roberts and John Legg. Watchmaker: William S. Wood. Cabinet-makers: Spencer Parsons and Luther Clark. Tailor: Thomas Greeves. Hatter: Benj. Hutchinson. Tanner: Colonel Warren Hecox. Shoemaker: Ezra Stephens. Dyer: Aaron Austin. Doctors : Sanuiel Porter and Dr. Pierce. Lawyers: Daniel Kellogg. .\. L. Beebc, John S. Furman, and .\ltnrd Northani. Grist-Mill: Jessee Kellogg. Distillers : Winston Day and Norman Leonard. Coopers : Nathaniel Eells and his son, Sylvester. Brickmaker : Benjamin Nye, whose yard was immediately opposite to where the residence of his son, J. ^L Nye, now stands. The Packw(x.)D C.\rri.\(;e ^L\Nl■FACTOuY. — John I'ackwood began this busi- ness in 1855. The extensive brick building owned and occupied by him was erected in 1865. He was extensively engaged in this business, manufacturing tine wheeled vehicles of all kinds and sleighs, for many years, after which he went to .Auburn, where he died. This carriage manuf.ictory was located on the south side of Genesee Street, immediately opposite the Packwtxjil House, on the lake-shore. About some ten years ago the village authorities purchased this property for a public park, with the intention of using this large brick building as an engine-house for the fire department and for a large public hall, but this was abandoned, the building was taken down, anv George X'andyck alone; Bavey & Baldwin; Stacey & Packwood; and, lastly, John Packwood, who conducted the business a number of years, when lie finally removed to .Xuhurn, where lie flied. The carriage maiuifacturing business was at its highest pinnacle from 1S30 to [70 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. 1850, when it gradually began to decline, and so continued until about 1865, when all the previous manufacturers were out of business, except John Packwood, who continued about twelve years longer. Of course, the business of the mer- chants gradually declined proportionally. There was a more or less extensive local business done by the various builders, blacksmiths, tailors, shoemakers, mil- liners, printing-offices, and other industries. B. & J. Petheram, cabinet-makers, had a furniture-store, at the place now occupied by Feeley & Durkan, from 1836 to 1846. Benjamin Petheram came here in 1832, and died December 9, 1894, aged seventy-eight. Daniel Watson did a large boot and shoe business from 1820 to 1825. Alfred Hitchcock came with Watson as clerk, and afterward went into partnership with him, under the firm name of Watson & Hitchcock. Ut. Watson died a few years later, and Hitchcock continued the business for nearly thirty-five years afterward. IXDUSTRIES IN "THE ToWN OF Sk..\NE.\TELES OuTSIDE OF THE VlLL.\GE. — Archibald Douglass was engaged in the manufacture of thrashing-machines and tanning-mills at Clift's Corners, and carried on a large business there for many years, and until after 1 850. Dorastus Kellogg carried on an extensive woolen manufacturing business at what was then called Kellogg's Factory, but now better known as Willow Glen. He was the original manufacturer of double blanket shawls, and was largely en- gaged for many years in the manufacture of woolen cloth and cassimeres. He had in his employ from one hundred and fifty to two hundred employees, both men and women. About 1861, or at the commencement of the Civil War, he failed. This was a period of great business depression. He afterward resumed the same line of business on a large scale, through the assistance of his New York Com- mercial friends (supposed to be Messrs. Hoyt, Sprague & Co.), at Oswego Falls, about one mile up the river from Fulton, N. Y., and contiiuicd the manufacture there for several years on a large scale, but hard times came on thereafter, arising probably from the panic of 1873. Hoyt, Sprague & Co. took possession of the woolen mill and ran it on their own name. Kellogg did not again engage in wool manufacturing. On the lot where he lived, on the west side of the river, oppo- site Fulton, was what he supposed a valuable quarry of flagstones, which ex- tended into the river. He commenced to work the quarry, but for some cause it proved unsuccessful, and it was abandoned. That ended his business career. He died February i, 1883, aged seventy-five years. M.\bbitt's Mills. — Below Kellogg's Factory a flouring-mill was conducted by John H. Mabbitt, Arthur Mott, Earlls, Kellogg & Co., and afterward by other persons. It was then changed to a distillery, which was run by various parties, among whom were Wickes, Ilorton & Co. After several years it was changed to a paper-mill, and conducted by various firms. It is now conducted by the Skan- eateles Paper Company. Another industry on the outlet was Farll's distillery and linsccd-oi! mill, which were conducted bv Daniel Farll and his successive partners, who were, including HISTORY or SKAXJLITELES. i7' his brothers. John H. Earll, Dclos Earll, his son Leonard H. Earll. Augustus P. Earll. his brother-in-law Charles Tallman of Syracuse, and John Kellogg. This business was probably established about 1820-25, and was continued until about 1870, when it was changed to a paper-mill and passed into other hands. Industries .\t Mottville. — There has been from time to time more or less manufacturing at Mottville. among which was a woolen mill, originally conducted by Arthur Mott (during his prosperous times) and Ansel Frost, and afterward by C. Pendleton and by Charles Pendleton & Sons. These parties managed it for many years, when the building was converted into a flour-mill. Another woolen mill was established in a frame building which was erected here and the business conducted for many years by Thomas Morton and partners. A. R. Reynolds conducted a fork and hoe factory in a stone building at this place, and the business was continued profitably until the introduction of mowers and reapers, when Mr. Reynolds became largely engaged in the manufacture of knives for both mowers and reapers. His skill in tempering the knives secured him a very e.xtensive and profitable business, his largest customer for the knives being B. M. Osborne & Co.. of Auburn, which led Reynolds to remove his busi- ness to .\uburn. .\ brewery was also established here in a stone building, and was conducted by Hunsicker Brothers, and afterward by Elias Hunsicker. .\ wheel-head factory was conducted by .\. Blodgett & Co. Other implements of wood were also made here. It is supposed that Amos Miner had an interest in this manufactory. At any rate, wheel-heail.'; and other inventions under his pat- ents were made there. Howard Delano, for many years by himself and with various partners, con- ducted a large foundry and machine-shop, manufacturing heavy mill machinery, water-wheels, and similar work. It also turned out agricultural implements, such as plows, drags, plow-points, etc. Bki.ow Mottvili^e — Lo.NG Rkidc.e. — .A. flour-mill, originally knmvn as the Weed Mill, was conducted for many years by Lucian Beach. There was a sawmill lower down the outlet. .■\ paper-mill was afterward built on the site of the sawmill, but it was de- stroyed by fire some time after. Immediately below the Weed Mill, on the banks of the outlet, was a tannery in the early days of 1820-30. It is supposed to have been owned by Colonel Hiram Earll. I'.elow the tannery, on the site of the present Sinclair's chair- factory, was a woolen mill, owned by Lucius Mellen and Jeremiah Mellcn (brothers), who conducted it for many years. Below on the outlet, Hiram I'.arll conducted a sawmill and a lime-kiln for many years. Down the outlet, and below Hiram Earll's sawmill, on what was known as the Communitv Farm, the Community built a sawmill. This was conducted for a 172 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. number of years, after the Community dissolved, by Samuel Sellers, and then by Hezekiah Earll when he had purchased the Community Farm. On the decease of Hezekiah Earll he devised the Community Farm to his son George H. Earll, who erected a distillery on the north side of the outlet. It cost about thirty or forty thousand dollars and had all the modern improvements for distilling, but was built too late to be profitable to run, and proved a disastrous investment to him. It was then purchased bv F. G. Weeks, and converted into a paper-mill in i875- South of this site was the oldest paper-mill in town, among the proprietors of which were Reed & Case, Ray & Bannister, Bannister & Hubbard, and, in 187 1, F. G. Weeks. It was destroyed by fire, February 9, 1877, and rebuilt on a larger scale by F. G. Weeks. North of the Earll distillery was, and is, the Morton Woolen ^lill. It was erected by Thomas Morton and E. B. Hoyt in 1867. In 1875 Mr. ]\Iorton be- came sole owner, and in 1879 the plant passed to his son Gavin. The Skaneateles Lime Works was established in i860 by P. C. Carrigan. and afterward conducted by George H. Earll, Eben Bean, and E. B. Coe. Subsequent proprietors were E. B. Hoyt & Co. and P. C. Carrigan & Co. At one period it was a very profitable business. The Skaneateles Iron Works were in full blast here, a full description of which is given in Chapter X\'II. On the outlet a distillery was established and conducted by the firm of Heze- kiah Earll & Co. This was situated on the Hart lot. When Hezekiah Earll came to this town with his father. General Robert Earll, in 1796, the latter built the Red House. Hezekiah, when he was a young man of about thirty years of age and was first married, is supposed to have received from his father the farm now owned by Emerson H. Adams. After living on that farm a while, he removed to what is now known as the Hart lot, and became largely engaged in distilling, milling, and farming. He also had a sawmill there. It was probably not far from the year 1820 that he began business there. The business was conducted for a great number of years under the firm name of Hezekiah Earll & Co., and then under Earlls, Thayer & Co. These partners were his son-in-law Holland W. Chadwick, John Legg, Joel Thayer, and Hezekiah's son Julius. Between 1835 '1"^' 1840 these parties discontinued the milling busi- ness, and confined themselves strictly to distilling, farming, and fattening cattle and hogs. About 1850 Hezekiah Earll purchased the Community Farm, con- sisting of about three hundred acres, moved on it as a residence, and com- menced farming on a large scale, raising large crops of tobacco, the cultivation of which was very materially enhanced by the rich manure obtained from the dis- tillery farm. About 1860-61, or at the commencement of the Civil War, Congress laid a revenue tax of two dollars a gallon on all whisky manufactured after the first (lav of July ensuing after the act became a law, in consequence of which every IIISTOR] ('/ .•y^.tXHATELHS. '73 distillery ihroughout the country, ami particularly the Earll distillery, ran day and night, without intermission, and with all the force obtainable, until the last hour of June 30, thus accumulating a large stock of whisky, which, as if by magic, immediately became worth two dollars a gallon more than it was previously sala- ble for, thus netting the two brothers Julius and Georg..- H. Earll thousands and thousands of dollars. Julius had the largest share of the profits. Shortly after that operation the distillery was converted into the present Hart Lot Paper Mill. George H. Earll invested his share of the profits in erecting the new distillery on the north side of the outlet, next north of the Community sawmill. The invest- ment, however, proved a failure. The Rise .\nd Fall ok Merc.xntile and Industrial Prosperity in Both Town and Village. — The high-water mark of mercantile prosperity culminated about the year 1836, at which time all business throughout the whole country was in a state of the greatest magnitude. The mercantile business here in this village and town barely held its own for a few years after 1837, when it began very gradually to decline, and has continued to decline every year since. The business done here in this village and town in 1836 has never been equaled since, and never will be. The industries within the village were at their greatest height of prosperity between 1830 and 1850, after which date there has been a continual and gradual decline. The industries below the village and on the outlet of the lake have gradually declined since the business panic of 1837, but in not so great a proportion as the village manufactures. The Earliest Industry in this Town. — The earliest industry in Skaneateles was really the traffic in wood-ashes, which was derived from the consumjition of firewood for household purposes. There were two classes of ashes, as appears from the sales thereof in the old account-books, the high-priced being the house- hold ashes, and the low-priced being ashes derived from burning tree-brush in the forest. According to a ledger of 1805, the best ashes were jnirchased by the merchants at sixpence per bushel in trade for household necessities. A few of the early merchants owned potasheries on the lake-shore, and they were jirincipally the merchants wiio purchased the wood-ashes. Other merchants also bought ashes and traded the same to tiic potasheries. receiving potash in payment. This early product. Potash, was the principal commercial article that was sent to Albany, which, being at the head of navigation on the Hudson River and in direct communication with the city of \ew York, was the only market for this output. Our merchants, in return from tlic sales of this potash, received groceries, dry-goods, hardware, drugs, medicines, etc. It took a horse-team at that period, 1805, fourteen days to make the journey to Albany and back, with a load each way. and often much longer. Ox-teams were also used for not only potash, but for produce, particularly to I'tica. The earlv settler immediately cleared ofT some of his lands and cultivated the new grounds for the necessities of his houscholrl. and from year to year kept en- larging the area of his cleared land and raising more crops until he created a sur- 174 HISTORY or SKAXEATELES. plus. The produce for the markets, after the settlers had prospered and were enabled to produce more than for the needs of their families, was shipped to Albany, and traded off for such articles as were needed. The early settlers, on their first arrival here in the forest, after a tedious jour- ney from their old homes, experienced great difficulty in procuring the means of support. The provisions which they had brought with them were not sufficient for the support of their families until they could plant and raise corn and pump- kins, consequently they had to obtain supplies from the towns of Aurelius and Scipio, which had been settled earlier, and at that time were included in Onondaga Coimty. The experience of Warren Hecox, one of our early settlers, is thus related: " In 1795, he stated that there was an uncommon scarcity of grain, and that he had to send to Scipio, twenty miles, and gave two dollars and fifty cents for one bushel of wheat, and he could only raise money enough to purchase a single bushel at a time. He hired a horse at fifty cents a day, and sent a boy eighteen miles to Montville, in Sempronius, to get the bushel of wheat ground, which took two days, because the mills had stopped running at Hardenburgh's Corners (now Auburn) and at Camillus on account of the great drought of that season. This was not a solitary instance, as his neighbors were in the same predicament, and some even were worse ofif, for they could neither get money nor wheat." Another early industry, after the pioneers had begun to prosper and to raise a greater crop of wheat and corn, was the establishment of distilleries for the manufacture of whisky. These industries were enabled to get the raw material, corn and wheat, at a mere nominal rate, consequently they could and did furnish iheir product, whisky, at very reasonable prices. It was the fashion, in those early times, for every family to have set out on some piece of furniture, a sideboard, for instance, a decanter, pitcher of water, and tumblers, as a friendly greeting and invitation for neighbors and other friends. The decanter, of course, was always kept filled with native whisky. The establishment of distilleries furnished a good market for cord-wood, which, according to the old ledgers, was sold at seventy-five cents per cord. The settlers, therefore, in clearing their land had a good market for all their fire-wood, as the distilleries required large quantities of cord-wood, and as the country ad- vanced in prosperity the distilleries increased in numbers, and finally, when the railroads became established, cord-wood became in greater demand than ever, and prices advanced accordingly. The face of the country of the town of Skaneateles shows that the original forests have entirely disappeared, owing to the early de- mand, not only by the numerous distilleries, but also by the railroads. The raising of cattle for sale was among the early industries here. In a ledger of 1805, an entry was made as follows: " Joseph Loss, for driving oxen to Xcw Haven i. 10. o." Whether these figures referred to pounds sterling or Spanish milled dollars and mSTOKi ,.'/• .^r..i.M:.ilELES. 175 their divisions is not known. Later information since this was written sliows that these figures refer to Spanish dollars. Another entry was: ■■ 2 o.xen i6. i6. o." And another : " 2 oxen 21. 12. o." Here is an entry for — •■ 2 bbls. Potash, weighing 7 cwt.. i qr., 18 lb., amounting to. . 17. 15. 8." Here is another potash entry : ■■ 1 bbl. Potash, weighing 3 cwt., 2 qr., 18 lb., amounting to. . 8. 15. 8." We also find the following entry : " Paid Joseph Loss for driving oxen to New Haven, Conn., . . i. 12. o." .\.N Lncident During the \V.\k of 1812. — In the year 1812, during the war .j1 tiiat period, there was about half a mile north of the village of Marccllus a central point where there was a grist-mill and whisky-still, which in those days was of considerable importance in furnishing a market for surplus grain which otherwise could not find sale nearer than Albany. There was also a wool-carding and cloth-dressing machine, patronized by the farmers for the purpose of having the product of their families' looms finished for domestic use. There was also a store to supply whisky and other nierchanilisc for the needy who had the where- withal to buy or exchange. The store and still were owned by Joseph Piatt, ami the still was run by Alvin North. There were also a paper-mill, owned by John Herring, and a powder-mill, owned by some one else. This collection of mills, together with the store and the still, comprised an attractive business center, where the inhabitants of the surrounding country met for business ]niriwscs and to dis- cuss the news of the day. Politics at that time were uppemiost in the public mind, and the war of opinions at times was very bitter by members of opix)site parties, which on some occasions led to literal knock-down arguments, at other times to fun and frolic or to the ridiculous, especially when both parties were not under the influence of whisky. CoMMtNiTY Pl.ace. — Community Place had its inception in a meeting held in Congregational Hall, March 22. 1843, and continued in existence until about 1845. About two miles north of the village of Skancateles, on the line of the railroad, is a locality known as the Long Hridge. I'ormerly a woolen mill was located there, in which Millard Fillmore, who became President of the United States, worked as a " bobbin l>oy." A little west of the bridge, somewhat back from the road, stands a substantial stone farmhouse, which is surrounded with luxurious growths, showing the productiveness of the soil. It is rather a romantic spot, located at the foot of hills which arc almost mountains. This old house and its farm was chosen for a purpose by John A. Collins, a Massachusetts man, who had been an orthodox clergyman, but had relap.sed into socialism and infidelity, and in consequence has a peculiar history. Making a visit to the vicinity in 1843. a"^' lecturing upon socialistic reform to grove meetings. 176 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. Collins picked out this house and farm for the site of a community of free- thinkers, and purchased the property for fifteen thousand dollars. Collins in- vited a large number of free-thinkers to join him in the community, and the mem- bership soon numbered upwards of one hundred and fifty. The foundation of this community movement was in the agitation of Fou- rierism, which was advocated by many prominent men, including William Henry Channing, George William Curtis, Horace Greeley, Charles A. Dana, and George Ripley, but it did not adhere to the religious teachings of the great French social- ists, Collins seeking to stamp the seal of infidelity upon the organization. This was distasteful to many of the members, who, under the lead of Quincy A. Johnson, a lawyer of Syracuse, gave form to the dissent and laid the basis for the ultimate dismemberment of the community. The tendency, also, under Collins' leadership was to free loveism, the attain- ment of a community of property and luve relations, through which plenty and intelligence, happiness, and prosperity might be ultimately secured to all the inhabitants of the globe, being the foundation principles. Disbelief in the revelations of God to man, the assertion that all religions have their origin in falsehood, and, while attributing admirable precepts to Jesus of Nazareth, disre- garding them as binding, placing Sunday on a level with other days, and de- ncnnicing the clergy as impostors, who are teaching doctrines which were relics of heathenism, were avowed tenets. Organized government was regarded as organized banditti, whose authority was not to be recognized, and in this view the communists refused to do military duty, pay personal or property taxes, sit upon juries, or appeal to the law for redress of grievances. While marriage was regarded as a true relation, and licentiousness, adultery, bigamy, and polygamy were repudiated, marriage ties were considered no longer binding when they ceased to promote love and virtue, which was the signal for separation. The doctrine and practise in the society, in large part, was free love. A vegetable diet was adopted, the killing and eating of animals con- demned, together with the use of all narcotics and stimulants. The members of the community were all expected to labor, and each was to receive the benefit of his or her work. It was calculated that four hours of daily manual labor on the part of each member would amply support the community. Mental culture, recreation, and sleep occupied the other twenty hours. Music and dancing were held as being essential to social welfare, and a large ball and lecture room was built. The membership of the community was composed largely of lawyers, physicians, and other professional men, and women of culture and refinement, and the frequent literary exercises were of a high order. The industries pursued were, in manu- factures, a sawmill, chair factory, and blacksmith shop, together with farming and gardening. F.lements of disintegration soon began to ]icrnicate the community. Trouble and faction disagreement prevailed within, and the public prejudice without was HISTORV OF SK.'lXEATELnS. "77 very strong. Tlie management sank deeper and deeper into debt. The members, even those wlio had given all their property to the comniunity, began to desert it. The result was that a formal dissolution took place, and, three years after the community was organized, its property was given over to private parties, who assumed the debts. Collins, the originator, an able, executive man, a fine talker, and agreeable person, quitted the scene reluctantly, and declared that in going from it he sur- rendered hope, home, and friends. Ten years later he was in California gaining a livelihood as an auctioneer. He declared that the community e.xpcriment was in advance of the age, and that, when a generation came that could be educated up to it, it would be a success. It is to be said for the community that, despite all the ugly reports circu- lated about it, the membership was of people of high moral tone, cultured and refined persons for the most part, who were sincere in their experiment. Doctors of divinity, college professors, lawyers, and physicians adopted its theory readily, and labored assiduously in field, garden, and shop for the success of the enterprise, with the avowal that, in the adoption of its principles, a bright and better era would dawn upon the world. Like Brook Farm, the Oneida Community, and other socialistic experiments, the Skaneateles community failed by reason of the falsity of the underlying system. While the Skaneateles community was in operation, a memorable discussion took place between Horace Greeley in the New York Tribune and Henry J. Ray- mond in the Courier and Enquirer upon Fourierism. Greeley upholding and Ray- mond antagonizing it. A series of twelve articles by each of these able journal- ists was published, and the discussion, which presented powerful arguments for and against this socialistic doctrine, attracted the attention of the whole country. Fourierism gradually died out in the United States, and Greeley never af- terward publicly advocated it. E.NRi.v Price-S. — The early settlers, whose only fuel was fire-wood, took good care of the ashes on the hearth, as the potasherics paid eight cents per bushel, in " store pay." Ashes from burning trees and brush in the woods only brought six cents per bushel. Pumpkins were salable at the rate of fifty for six cents. Butter sold for one shilling per pound. Hay sold at six dollars per ton. ^^utton sold at five cents per pound. Cord- wood sold at seventy-five cents per cord. Winston Day purchased corn for his distillery at forty-eight cents a bushel. Honey sold for ten cents per pound. All the prices above named were the regular rates from 1802 to 1806. The Sign ok the Indian Qit.f.x Tavern. — The sign of the Indian Queen Tavern was painted by Pcrley Putnam Cleavcland, who was a carriage painter for Scth and James Hall, about the year 1835 or later. Isaac W. Perry had jt painted. He had changed the name "f the tavern from " Skaneateles Hotel " to the " Indian Queen." HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. CHAPTER XIII. "Protest" Against "Protracted Meetings" and other Reminiscences. The "Protest" given below was printed in an extra Columbian, of which Milton A. Kinney was editor. He was requested to print it in his paper, but finally agreed to publish the protest in an extra, and made a charge of twenty- five or thirty dollars for printing and issuing it from the office. This publication was of a religious character. Kinney himself was a strong Presbyterian, while the parties who signed the protest were, on the contrary, rather liberal-minded on religious subjects. Edward Sandford, whose signature is the leading one, was a remarkably bright lawyer, and was a brother of Lewis H. Sandford, the High Chancellor. It was generally supposed that Edward Sandford was the author of the "Protest." He was one of the unfortunate cabin passengers on the ocean steamer Arctic, which was lost at sea by colliding with an iceberg. Just as the Arctic struck the iceberg, Edward Sandford was sitting with some of his fellow passengers in the cabin, and, when the tremendous shock came, he exclaimed, " Hit her again ! " Within the next few minutes he was carried to the bottom of the ocean. SKANEATELES COLUMBIAN— EXTRA. To THE Public. At a meeting of the inhabitants of the village of Skaneateles and its vicinity, friendly to Peace and Good Order in Society, convened pursuant to notice to that effect, at the house of Isaac W. Perry, in said village, on Wednesday, the isth day of February, 1832, General Robert Earll was chose President, Colonel Warren Hecox Vice President, and George A. Stansbury, Esq., Secretary. The object for which this meeting was called having been ex- plained by Messrs. Hecox and E. Sandford, it was, on motion. Resolved, That a committee of three, consisting of Messrs. Hecox, Sandford and Stans- bury, be appointed to draft resolutions expressive of the views of this meeting upon the sub- jects presented to their consideration. The committee having retired for a short time, came in and reported the following resolutions: Resolved, That the proceedings of some religious denominations in this community re- quire of the friends of Peace and Good Order in Society, an expression of their opinion upon the propriety of holding what are called " protracted meetings," and upon the measures adopted in conducting them. Resolved, That the interests of true religion are not, in the opinion of this meeting, pro- moted by strong appeals to the feelings when the body is in a state of weakness and exhaus- tion produced by protracted confinement; and that, to produce this state of exhaustion, seems to be one of the principal uses of such meetings. Resolved, That religion as well as morality require of us to perform duties to our neigh- bors as well as to our God, and that the devoting successive days and nights to his serv- HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. i79 ice is nowhere required of us in the Gospel, but is in direct interference with the many other duties which are there required of us. Rcsotxcd, That while the groat charter of our liberties continues to secure to us religious freedom of opinion, we will act with the spirit of freemen, and disregard and contemn the insidious epithet of Infidel, which is the ready scourge applied to all those who doubt or ques- tion the divinity of these new-fangled measures. Which resolutions were unanimously adopted. Resolved, That John Legg, David Hall, and Warren Hccox, be a committee to provide a place to which this meeting may adjourn, and that they give public notice of the place they may procure: and that when this meeting adjourns, it will adjourn to Wednesday after- noon next, at 4 P.M., at such place as the said committee shall give notice of. Resolved, That Edward Sandford, George A. Stansbury, David Hall, Warren Hecox. and Daniel Earll, be appointed a committee to draft an address in pursuance of the sen- timents contained in the above resolutions, for publication; and that they report to the ad- journed meeting. The meeting thereupon adjourned. At the adjourned meeting on Wednesday afternoon, at 4 o'clock, the committee appointed to prepare an address not being ready to report, the committee appointed John Sandford, Alfred Wilkinson, Samuel H. Grccnman, and Ashley Clark, additional members of said com- mittee, and gave them power to publish the address when prepared ; and after remarks by a number of individuals present, upon the objects for which the meeting was called, adjourned without day. Robert Earll, President. Geo. a. Stansbury, Secretary. Address. Fellow Citizens : Feeling it to be a privilege we all enjoy, openly to express our sentiments upon all mat- ters of importance to us as a community, and willing to meet the just responsibility of such a step, we beg leave to address you on a subject of no little interest; — upon the propriety of holding what arc called protracted meetings, and upon the measures resorted to in conduct- ing them. We do not appear before you as the members of any particular denominations of Chris- tians, advocating in this public and unusual manner the peculiar tenets of that denomina- tion; nor do we appear before you as the enemies or rcvilers of religion. We are well aware, for the history of similar meetings has taught us, that in the absence of argument and of fact by which to place us in the wrong, the imputation of being infidels, enemies of religion, is the ready answer to the opinions we shall advance. The test applied to try the purity of our religious sentiments will be (for it uniformly has been) our approval or disapproval of these protracted meetings, and other similar means of creating religious excitement. To the application of such a lest of our motives we wholly object, and throw ourselves with confidence upon you as our judges in this matter. You form a jury of the neighborhood, well acquainted with our lives and characters, and will judge us with candor, even if you shall dissent from our opinions. In addressing you on this subject, we are conscientious in the belief that we act as the friends of rational and pure religion, the religion of the Bible; that we oppose only errors and abuses which are creeping in, merely because no voice is raised against them, anl which, by being confounded with religion itself, are creating a strong and but too general prejudice against all religion. We deem it our duty to stand forth manfully and check this abuse, if possible, instead of looking with calmness or indifference on the insidious approaches of this foe in a friendly garb. The course we adopt is admitted to be an unusual one ; immemorial usage has con- fined the public expression of views on subjects connected with religious proceedings, to the i8o HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. pulpit and to our religious instructors : but no usage can confer the exclusive right to this privilege ; it is guaranteed to each of us by our Constitution and our laws, and though min- isters claim to be the ambassadors of the Most High, yet we insist that their only commis- sion is the Bible, which is open for us all to read and judge of the powers it confers: and we arc individually responsible for our judgment, not to our ministers, nor to our neighbors, but to God and our own consciences. Having these opinions of our right to address you and to disapprove of any measures adopted in conveying religious instructions, we hold it peculiarly necessary to do so in the present instance, to combine public opinions against these evils, inasmuch as a weekly, nay, in their protracted meetings a daily opportunity is offered and freely used, of giving to these measures all the weight and support that line upon line and precept upon precept can give them. We would submit, then, to your candid consideration, the reasons we have for holding these unprecedented measures to be unauthorized by Scripture or by reason, and highly detri- mental, from the manner in which they are conducted, to the welfare of conmumity, and of individuals, and to the interest of our pure and holy religion. Protracted meetings are, we all must admit, truly characterized as unprecedented. It is within the recollection of the youngest of us, that they are but of two or three years' stand- ing: our fathers did not worship thus, nor our fathers' fathers in the purest days of the primitive church. It will be said that their novelty is no argument against their utility, for that the same reasoning would check all improvement and undermine at once the splendid schemes of extended usefulness which will stand so prominent in the history of the present age. We hold it, however, to be no favorable view of these protracted meetings, to consider them as introduced in connection with the revival system, with endeavors to prevent the trans- portation of the mail upon the Sabbath, and with the design which we fear is more frequently felt than expressed, of bringing millions of voters to the polls, who in addition to the questions, '' Is he honest? " " Is he capable? " will ask, " Is he a professor of religion? " But whether these apprehensions be well founded or not, there are certainly new and peculiar prin- ciples advanced in support of these measures, which require examination ; and if they are found unreasonable, unauthorized by Scripture, and detrimental to society and to religion, they ought to be suppressed, as they can be by the force of public opinion. In our remarks on this subject, we intend to make no particular reference to the pro- tracted meeting lately held in this village. We would avoid everything which may appear like personal allusions, and shall extend our remarks to the practise as it exists throughout the State. We hear from all directions, of the appointment of ten, fifteen, and twenty days' meetings, and all whom we address must know the way in which they are usually conducted. Where in the Bible do we find a command to appropriate so large a portion of time to public religious services? Nowhere: the command to labor six days in seven is as impera- tive as that which requires us to rest upon the seventh ; and every page of the holy record teems with instructions for the employment of the residue of our time: we are there com- manded to be diligent in business, to labor each in his respective calling, that we may be- come useful members of society ; to apply ourselves to fulfil the duties which devolve upon us from the various relations in which we stand, as husbands, fathers, friends, and mem- bers of a vast family, every one of whom has a greater or less demand on our time and our exertions. , These common cvery-day duties of life, we hold to be sacred duties : there can be no true religion without the regular and quiet performance of them; they strengthen our best reso- lutions by calling them into constant practise, and to check the visionary and inconsistent views of religious duty, which we are too apt to adopt under the momentary impulse of ex- cited feeling, by convincing us of the absurdity and impropriety of carrying those views into our actions, and giving ourselves up to their guidance. JIISTORy OF SKANEATELES. 181 \Vc would not undervalue public worship; but wc would not. on the other hand, attach an undue importance to it; we think that sufficient provision has been made for it in the Bible; and that the protracted meetings of the present day arc not only unauthorized by Scripture or by usage, but are grossly inconsistent with the requirements of that Gospel which we all profess to reverence and obey. But let us advert to the reasons assigned by the more liberal of the friends of this sys- tem, in its defense. They admit that a proper observance of the Sabbath, and the habitual use of the devotions of the closet and of the family are sufficient, if properly improved; but they suggest the lamentable truth that they are not so improved, and do not have the de- sired effect; men do and will neglect established forms and ordinary means, or in using them are left unimpressed and unaffected ; we must bring extraordinary influences to bear upon them, or they will sleep in the midst of privileges : but if men fail to keep one day in seven holy will they be disposed to keep successive days, nay, weeks? The answer is. Yes. they will, they do ; yet the reasoning of the very friends of the system show us why such crowds as- semble to witness the proceedings of these meetings: it is because they are new and uncommon, and hold out a temptation and apology for idleness, absence from home, and a species of dissipation. These means, we admit, are more likely for a time to make a lively impression on the mind, but until you can revolutionize the whole nature of man, the effect produced by them will cease with their use, or the means themselves, by 'being continued, will bccomd established, and ordinary ones, and as inefficient as those which they supplant. The remedy for this evil must be a resort to more exciting influences (if possible), till the established means and ordinances of the Gospel are looked upon as weak and inef- fectual, and all is enthusiasm and passion. But we are told to look at the result, and see how frequently the impression is made, the change wrought, and the work done. We have charity to believe, and we freely admit, that many are beneficially and savingly impressed at these meetings, and continue to give evi- dence in their life and conversation, of a firm and consistent Christian character. But we do not undervalue the importance of religion to the soul, when we express to you our candid belief that there is a great, a dreadful balance of evil resulting from the use of these extraor- dinary measures. We will not bring into the account time, money, labor — for these should never be weighed against the solid infinito good obtained in the creation of one truly religious character. But we would present to your view the moral injury which is inflicted on a greater number than are really benefited. How many of the apparently converted fall away, having been raised suddenly from great coldness or despair to the giddy height of enthusiasm, deserted by their weak sup- port, the vision gone, arc as suddenly let down, and their last state made worse than the first ! How many are held by self-conceit, shame, and dread of scorn, and how many are led to rest in these measures, and think the more they abound the more religion there is, and the better they are themselves ! How many mistake their excited feelings for the substance of religion, and are miserably, fatally deceived ! Retiring from the meetings and finding their ardor subsided in the absence of the causes which produced it, they mistake the depression of exhausted nature for lukewarmness and nnpiety, and sink by degrees into religious melancholy, insanity, and death. A frightful extent of moral evil and desolation is exhibited in the numbers of those who iiffcr under the.'e effects of religious excitement; and wc put il to the conscience of every ■ andid inquirer after truth, who has lived in the neighborhood of a protracted meeting, vhcther these evils do not far outweigh the benefits which the most indulgent charity can ittributc to them. Wc would also present to your consideration, some of the abuses and extravagances which though not perhaps a necessary result of the system, yet arc found so generally prevalent that they may be justly said to characterize the manner in which these meetings are con- i82 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. The great, leading object of these meetings, as they are usually conducted, seems to be that of making proselytes to the profession rather than the practise of religion. When and where has one been called, to enforce upon professing Christians the duties which their profession imposes upon them, of letting their light so shine before men that others, seeing their good works, may glorify their Father who is in heaven? Is not the lead- ing, almost the only duty enjoined upon Christians, at such seasons, that of " coming up to the help of the Lord against the mighty," and of wrestling with God in prayer for the souls of others? Do we hear it enjoined upon them to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling? Do we hear the duty of cherishing charitable feelings for otliers en- forced? But is it not, on the contrary, declared to be a sacred duty to hate those who mani- fest a hatred toward God, by neglecting or refusing to participate in these proceedings? And what are the natural results of such doctrines? We see them but too plainly ex- hibited in every place where these meetings have been held-^destroying the usual intercourse of neighbors and friends, and checking those little civilities and kindnesses which do so much to sweeten and gladden life, beguiling it of its cares, and smoothing our rough passage to the grave. The evil does not stop here : it has grown into coldness and neglect, and has sown and is sowing tlie seeds of enmity and aversion in families and in neighborhoods, and is under- mining, with a ruthless hand, the peace and welfare of society. In the manner of conducting these meetings, we find arts and stratagems and dramatic representations made use of for the purpose of producing effect, which to us are truly shock- ing. While the audience were singing the Judgment Hymn, at one of these meetings, in a state of great excitement, the effect was aided and rendered truly terrible, by a sudden blast of a trumpet from a distant part of the house. Our Saviour is represented as standing in a particular part of the church, and as pass- ing from one pew to another, and subject to being touched and taken hold of. Individuals are called on by name to come forward and take their seats upon the anxious benches. We hear of appeals to every motive that ingenuity can suggest to induce persons to come out — of appeals to our love and respect for relatives and friends ; we are called upon as fathers, mothers, children, to come forward and join those to whom we stand in these relations; by our respect for the ministers of our religion ; for we have heard inducements like these held out: — " Will none of my dear flock come forward? What, not one? " " See that dear ambassador of God, how he sheds tears of anguish, to think that none of all this assembly will come forward here and give up their rebellious opposition to God." When tears and entreaties fail, our fears are awakened by representing what at other times would be called the misfortunes of those who oppose these measures, to be direct visitations of God upon their opposition to him — by slating that those who leave the house without giving up their hearts to God and being converted, will have sinned away their day of grace, and will never have another opportunity of repentance. These and many other methods are resorted to, of a similar character, w-hich we deem unholy and profane — which would not be tolerated if they were introduced in the ordinary service of the sanctuary upon the Sabbath, and which would shock the good sense and de- votional feelings of this whole community, if they were not introduced at these meetings in an artful and gradual manner. We have thus given you, as briefly as we thought consistent with the subject, some of our objections to these protracted meetings. We hope we have done so in a dispassionate and caridid manner. We have endeavored to point our observations rather against meas- ures than men, or classes of men. We do not impute bad motives, but mistaken views ; we believe that for one who is reclaimed by those measures, many are disgusted and driven away from all religion ; that indifference is confirmed, scoffers of religion supplied with new food HISTORY OF SKASEATELES. 183 for their remarks, that skepticism is emboldened, and infidelity shows a more open front; and we believe that if public opinion upon this subject were embodied and made known, these measures would be given up as unprofitable and injurious to society and to true religion. E. Sa.ndforb, W. Hecox, D. Earll, G. A. Stansburv, John Sandford. A. Wilkinson, S. H. Green MAN, Ashley Clark, D. Hall. Committee. The full names of the above coniniittee are as follows: Edward Sandford; Colonel Warren Hecox ; Colonel Daniel Earll ; George A. Stansbury ; John Sand- ford, of Marcellus; Alfred Wilkinson; Samuel H. Greenman; Ashley Clark, of Elbridge, and brother of Foster Clark ; and Deacon David Hall. Daxiel Webster's Visit to Skaneateles. — The Hon. Horatio Ballard is writing up an "Early History of Cortland County," wherein he incidentally re- lates the following reminiscence of olden days in Skaneateles, which we tran- scribe from a copy of the Cortland Standard: " It was at the close of this decade that Lafayette made his tour through the ^lates, and the time for the ceremony of laying the corner-stone of the monument 11 Bunker Hill was approaching. Then rapid traveling from Boston to Lake ILrie was by stage. " It was a splendid morning in the month of May, 1825, when the citizens of ■he beautiful village of Skaneateles heard the 'echoing horn ' of the stage-driver II the elevation just east of the central part of the village. It was not the stated ii'ur for the arrival of the regular line. Soon a coach and four drew up in front ■ f ' Dascomb's Hotel.' On the veranda stood some of the boarders of the iim: Kev. Mr. Converse, the Episcopal clergyman; Lewis H. Sandford, then a student I law, afterward Vice-Chancellor; Ansel Bascom, then a lawyer, afterward a K'islator; Joseph Dascom, Jasper H. Colvin, and the writer of this article, '.lien a student at law in the office of Judge Jewett. The occupants of the coach were two ladies and one gentleman. The gentleman alighted, and, bowing to the group before him, gave expression to his delight at the splendid panorama of the lake, town, and adjacent landscape, as they burst upon the vision from the eastern elevation. His face beamed with intelligence, and his demeanor was graceful, familiar, and persuasive. He plied us with questions relative to the place, and especially about the venerable mansion and its beautiful grounds that were passed as they entered the village. During the interview, we discov- ered the noble form of Daniel Kellogg in the distance, walking along the pave- ment, with hat in hand and his silvery hairs exposed to the morning sun, and by his side a stalwart figure, and both moving with a stately, leisurelv treatl ; and. 1 84 HISTORY Of SKANEATELES. as they approached, our entertainer says to us, ' Now, young men, I will soon in- troduce you to my fellow traveler, who, I believe, will become one of the greatest men this country ever produced.' The man to whom we were thus introduced was Daniel Webster, and he, in turn, introduced us to his fellow traveler — Joseph Story, one of the Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. Then followed introductions to Mrs. Webster and Mrs. Story while seated in the coach. Mr. Webster alighted from the coach opposite the residence of Mr. Kellogg (the old Vredenburg mansion), and introduced himself to Mr. Kel- logg, and asked permission to look through his elegant grounds. " Mr. Webster and Judge Story, with their wives, were traveling, in relays of extra coaches, on a tour to Niagara. Webbing was interlaced beneath the ceil- ing of the coach, upon which were placed books, pamphlets, and newspapers for reading on the journey. In less than a month afterwards Webster delivered his immortal oration at the laying of the corner-stone of Bunker Hill Monument." General Lafayette's Visit to Skaneateles. — William E. Thorne, who is the son of Nicholas Thorne, deceased, who owned the James A. Root place, and who erected the dwelling-house thereon, in a recent letter to a friend here (the author) thus relates a little early history : "As we grow older how much interest we feel toward those we mingled with in childhood and youth, and the value we place upon relics of the past! Lately the upper part of one of mother's china candlesticks was chipped oflf, causing me to say painfully, ' Gracious ! ' That pair of candlesticks was used, and quantities of tallow candles, to illuminate our home in Skaneateles in 1824 in honor of General Lafayette, on the occasion of his return to New York City from a visit through the West. The West in those days was very limited in ex- tent. Coming from Auburn, and seeing from the brow of the hill our house illuminated with tallow candles in every window, the stage-coach was driven up to our gate. The General opened the coach-door and saluted us, waving his handkerchief as the coach drove to the village, which was wholly illuminated with glittering tallow candles. That was a grand occasion, and it made a last- ing impression upon my childhood days. I was then about seven years old, and it is very clear in my memory now." William E. Thorne died a few years ago in one of the Western States. The Great Fire which Occukued in this Vill.\ge in 1835. — We copy from an old Columbian the following particulars of this memorable fire : "As many erroneous statements have been published relative to the late destructive fire, we deem it proper to give a brief account of it, particularly in reference to the amount of property destroyed and individual losses sustained. We have therefore called upon each of the sufferers, and obtained their own statements and estimates, which are given below. " The fire occurred on the morning of the 28th of September, commencing in the large cabinet-shop of S. Parsons and extending rapidly in either direction cast and west, until no less than tliirlccn Iniildings, all occupied as stores, ma- HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. "85 chine shops, etc., and reaching from the brick store of R. Talcott & Co. to the eastern extremity of the block, were in flames, and soon, with more or less of their contents, were a mass of ruins. With great difliculty and untiring exertion the further progress of the fire was stayed, and five buildings of the entire block preserved. Providentially there was only a light westerly breeze during the time. Had the wind blown from the south, as it is very common in this place, the greater part of the village must inevitably have been destroyed. As it was, the buildings on the opposite side of the street were blackened with the heat, and some of them several times took fire. " The total loss of property falls but little short of fifty thousand dollars. This for the size of the place is a heavy sum, although happily no inconsiderable por- tion of it was covered by insurance. "List of Sufferers, Losses, etc. — Building owned and occupied by Spencer Parsons as a cabinet-shop, loss on building, furniture, stock, tools, etc., $4,000. No insurance. This building was on the site of the present Field Block. Work- men emploj'ed by Spencer Parsons, loss in books, tools, etc., $250. " The town records, which were in S. Parsons' office, were entirely destroyed. "Buildings Destroyed East of Parsons' Sliof'. — Building occupied by Nathan- iel Miller as a saddler-shop, loss on stock, tools, etc., $900. No insurance. " Building occupied by W. M. Beauchamp as a book-store and bindery, loss in books, paper, tools, etc., $1,100. Besides property destroyed in his store belonging to other individuals to the amount of $400. No insurance. [Site of the present post-office.] " Building occupied by Beauchamp & Miller, owned by Philo Dibble, loss $1,200. No insurance. " Three large buildings owned and occupied by John Legg as a carriage and sleigh factor)', loss on buildings, carriages, stock, tools, etc., $10,000. Insurance, $1,000. Among the property destroyed belonging to Mr. Legg were several ele- gant carriages, finished, seventy-two carriage bodies, fifteen cutters, etc. [These buildings were on the site of Legg Hall.] ■ Building owned by Mrs. Minerva P. Greves, loss $200. Occupied by M. A. Kinney as the Columbian printing-office, and Robert I Baker as a tailor- shop. " M. A. Kinney's loss in press, furniture, damage of tyiie, paper, etc., $425. No insurance. " Robert L Baker's loss, $50. [Site of the place east of HoUon's.] " West from Parsons' Cabinet-shop. — Store occupied by Ciiarles Pardee as drygoods store, loss $12,500. Insured $7,000. " Building occupied by Charles Pardee, owned by Porter & Pardee, loss $1,200. Insurance, $500. [Site of Hall & Shepard's.] " Buildings owned by Dr. Samuel Porter, occupied on the ground floor bv James G. Porter as a dry-goods store, and by Noadiah Kellogg as a saddler-shop, on the second floor by Dr. Kvelyn Porter as an office. Miss Delano as a milliner- i86 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. shop, and James M. Allen as an office, and on the third floor by William H. Greene as a schoolroom. Loss, $3,000. Insurance, $2,000. " James G. Porter, dry-goods store, loss $1,700. Insurance, $1,500. " Noadiah Kellogg, saddler, loss $200. No insurance. Workmen employed by N. Kellogg, loss in wearing apparel, etc., $50. Miss Delano, milliner, loss $40. Wm. H. Greene and scholars, loss in books, etc., $250. [Site of the present Wil- son & Lawrence store.] " Building owned and occupied by Phares Gould as a dry-goods store. Loss on goods and building, $2,000. Insurance, $1,350. [Site of Allis & Wicks' store.] " Building owned by William Dascomb, occupied by Gibbs & Burnett as a dry- goods store, by C. J. Burnett as post-office, and in the basement story by Dascomb & Dennison as a meat-shop, loss $2,000. Insurance, $1,000. Gibbs & Burnett's loss, $1,600. Dascomb & Dennison, meat-shop, loss $30. " We are happy to state that the whole of the letters, papers, etc., belonging to the post-office were saved. [Site of Hollon's drug store.] " The building owned by Daniel Watson, occupied by Alfred Hitchcock as a shoe-shop, by Charles L. Elliot as a paint-shop, and in the basement by G. Bayne as a private dwelling, loss $1,400. Insurance, $1,000. Alfred Hitchcock, shoe- shop, loss $200. No insurance. Charles L. Elliot, portrait painter, loss $240. G. Bayne, personal property, loss $25. [Site of N. Turner's store.] " R. Talcott & Co., dry-goods store, damage and loss on goods $800. Insur- ance, $450. [The present Foote & Van Orden store.] " N. Hawley & Co., dry-goods store, damage and loss of goods $250. Insur- ance, $95. [The present barber-shop and cigar-store.] " B. S. Wolcott, dry-goods store, damage and loss of goods $100. No insur- ance. [Site of J. Duckett's.]" The stores destroyed were all frame three-story buildings. We find in the same paper the following advertisement: " Notice. — Notice is hereby given that the Trustees of the village of Skan- eateles intend to apply to the Legislature at its next session, for the passage of an act, amending the act incorporating said village, to vest the Trustees with power to prevent the erection of wooden buildings in such parts of said village as they from time to time deem proper, and for other purposes. Dated November 9, 1835. J. M. Allen, Clerk." It would seem that this act was not applied for, as there has been no amend- ment to the village charter to that effect. It would have been wise to have such a power in the village authorities, as then those frame buildings on the old Lake House lot would not have been erected. Frame buildings are dangerous in the business part of the village. We have copied this extended account of the fire of 1835, ^s there is at present no detailed statement in existence, except the old single copy of the Columbian, now in our possession. — Skancateles Democrat. HISTORY or SKANEATELES. 187 Sir James \lkse Bukdette, A Remakkaule Skaneateles Character. — During the month of October, 1861, two well-dressed young men appeared as guests at the Lake House, then kept by D. C. Hadcock, on a Saturday. They immediately made diligent inquiry for a young man, a laborer, by the name of James Nurse, who they stated had inherited a baronetcy in England. The two young Englishmen who were in search of Nurse had the reputation, or had the name, of belonging to the nobility. They brought with them a certain legal docu- ment, on parchment, which authorized James Nurse to draw drafts on certain named parties in England for three thousand pounds sterling. Charles Pardee immediately took James Nurse under his special charge, ad- vanced Nurse money on his sterling drafts, and stated publicly that, in his opin- ion, there was not the least doubt that Nurse was a veritable baronet. The Cayu- ga County Bank, in Auburn, also cashed Nurse's drafts. James Nurse had an un- limited credit with all the Skaneateles merchants. The following is a copy of a check drawn on the Cayuga County Bank in favor of Messrs. Morgan & Daniels of this village : Auburn, N. Y., Dec. 4th, 1861. Cayuga County Bank. Pay to Messrs. Morgan & Daniels or Bearer, Seventy One 29-100 Dollars. \-i.29. James Nurse Burdette. It was very natural, as the old saying is, " Where the carrion is, the vultures will come," consequently all the money-jobbers became very attentive and polite, and even loving, to the newly fledged baronet, and they immediately sought his acquaintance and " drafts." They made just as liberal offers to cash his drafts, and advance him all the funds he wanted, even without his signature. His kindly nature induced him to accept all their offers, and at once he began to ex- pend the proffered money in extravagant purchases. He sent one of his friends, iif whom he had many, to New York with carte blanche, or, in other words, un- limited authority, to purchase an elegant carriage of the most fashionable style, which was accomplished satisfactorily to Sir James Nurse, and he immediately purchased the finest span of carriage-horses that was to be found in this section f the State. Sir James Nurse soon became the most prominent figure in Skan- ■ ateles and surrounding country, riding in his superb equipage. James Nurse was first noticed in the Democrat, June 10, 1861, although he had lived hereabout for a number of years, earning a precarious livelihood by brewing domestic beer, in a hogshead kept for that purpose. September 2, 1861, before he had become a baronet, he was married, by Rev. Mr. Searles, at the residence of the bride's father, Thomas Corley, to Miss Mary Ann Corley, all of Skaneateles. It was not very many weeks before Mr. Pardee began to suspect that there was something suspiri>'>i< -.I...1H ilif tinr\- nf this young sprig of nobility, and he 1 88 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. suggested to Sir James the idea of an introduction to his banker in New York, to which Sir James assented, and without further ceremony they both proceeded to New York. It so happened, luckily for Sir James, that the day after their arri- val a severe northeast rain-storm was prevailing at the time, and the tempera- ture very cold. Sir James trotted Pardee all over the city, and at every place they called Nurse's friends happened to be absent. Nurse kept his bosom friend on the move until he tired him completely out, when, having been unsuccessful in finding the coveted banker, they returned to Skaneateles. C. Pardee then began to consider the propriety of protecting himself against ultimate loss. He did not impart his suspicions to others. On the contrary, he led others to believe that his visit to New York to be introduced to Nurse's banker was a very satisfactory one. He must secure himself, no matter if others who had similar claims were likely to lose. One of the latter class was George Francis, who held a promissory note which Sir James had given to him, in payment for the settlement of a long-stand- ing account due Francis. George Francis boarded at the Lake House at that time, and he had constantly urged Nurse to settle his account, and finally Nurse gave him a note, drawn by MatfClapp, in liquidation of Nurse's indebtedness. It happened that George Francis was not entirely satisfied with this note, being suspicious of its genuine- ness, so he called to see Nurse at his room, for he also boarded at the Lake House. Nurse happened to be absent, but the door of his room was open. Fran- cis entered, and, noticing some writing materials on the desk, and evidently some of the same kind of paper that Matt Clapp's note had been written on, this rather confirmed his first suspicions that the note was a forgery. He then took, the note and compared the edge of it with the edge of the paper on the desk, and found it fitted exactly where it had been evidently torn off. Francis thereupon called upon Sir James' friend, Charles Pardee, and imparted his suspicions as to its being a forgery. Without the least hesitation. Nurse's friend took the note, placed it in the drawer of his desk, took out the amount of the note in money, and paid it to George Francis, to his astonishment. This note to Charles Pardee (although about twenty-eight dollars in amount) was w^orth hundreds of dollars to him. He, of course, made no explanation to Francis. He had the implement, then, to secure himself against all possible loss. It would not do to let this trans- action become public until he had fully secured himself in all particulars. Charles Pardee was well acquainted with Matt Clapp's signature, and knew what he was about when he got possession of the note. George Francis thought that Pardee ought to have had Sir James arrested, but Charles knew better than that, and the payment by him of the note led Fran- cis to think that the signature of Matt Clapp was all right. That is what Pardee also thought. Pardee immediately confronted Sir James, and, exhibiting the note pretended to be executed by Clapp, declared to Nurse that it was a forgery and a State Prison offense, and, further, that, if he did not want it made public, and would at once deliver over his carriage and horses, and, in fact, all his mov- HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. 189 al)le property, lie ^I'ardee) would not prosecute him or make any complaint. Sir Nurse, of course, was astonished and completely broken up, and he at once con- ,-cnted to Pardee's demand, and as a matter of course Charles Pardee became the owner of all Nurse's property. The elegant carriage, then stored in John Pack- wood's shop, was at once secretly shipped to New York, to the party from whom it was purchased, and was sold at a large discount to the original owner. rhe horses were secretly placed in the hands of one of Pardee's reliable friends, who could be depended upon to dispose of them in Syracuse, where the transac- tion would not be known. The other victims of Sir James' duplicity hereabout, who had claims against him, were kept in igorance of this transaction until the property, especially the span of carriage-horses, had been sold, without being made public here, by Pardee's trusty agent. Sir James Nurse Burdette very soon left town, disappeared, and has never been seen or heard of since. Nurse's brother, William Nurse, whose occupation was a house painter, lived here before and during his brother's career, yet received no aid from him, has always been in needy circumstances, and was an inmate of the County Poor House. James Nurse, as before stated, was engaged here in making home-brewed ale before his remarkable career. He used only malt and hops, and without aloes or other drugs, and his production was in great demand by lovers of the pure arti- cle of real English ale. It was unlike that made by the large breweries throughout the United -lates, which use not only aloes, but cocculus indicus, and each has a jjcculiar haracter. Gum aloes is used in place of hops, is peculiarly bitter, much more - > than hops, and its bitterness is very lasting on the tongue and in the mouth of (lie usual beer-drinker. Cocculus indicus is a poisonous drug, is imported from the East Indies, and is probably used especially for the adulteration of beer and .Tie, as it is seldom, if ever, required for medicinal purposes. Being poisonous, it is used very sparingly by the brewers in the adulteration of beer and ale. Its peculiar character is to cause a " swimmy " feeling over the brain in the top of the head, producing a very pleasurable sensation and also a drowsy feeling to persons who drink ale and beer adulterated with this drug. The modem science in the manufacture of Ingcr-licer and other beers and ale is at present at its full height. It may be well to mention that there is no doubt that Sir James Nurse Burdette had plenty of money. This was indisputable, and, further, the source whence he obtained it. His mother died while he was an infant. She had property, and 'ihe made a will bequeathing her savings to this boy when he had attained a crtain age, which occurred at the time he was notified by the two young men who .^me here in the year 1861. The original bequest was not as large as the amount -tated he was authorized to draw against, but, the original sum having in the H an time been invested on interest, it had assumed the proportions of three thou- and pounds sterling. HISTORY or SKAXEATRLES. HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. 19' The Engraving of Skaneateles. (See pttfc igoand the folJiiiB illuslration between pages iqj and iqj.i This copperplate engraving was originally published in the Ariel, a magazine published in Philadelphia, in the year 1830. The following description of the village and of the manufactories on the outlet of Lake Skaneateles was written for publication in the Ariel by the late John J. Thomas, of Union Springs, Cayuga County, N. Y., who also made the original sketch of the village, which was after- ward engraved : " The view herewith presented represents the upper part of the village of Skaneateles, when seen from the main road passing round the west side of the lake. The most prominent building in view is the old Presbyterian church, built when the country was new, but unoccupied at present by reason of its dis- tance from the center of the village. The next that attracts the eye is the Epis- copal church, recently built and furnished with an organ, bell, and clock, standing on the water's edge, on the Main Street, and presenting an imposing appearance when seen from the south or west. The buildings immediately surrounding the church are a few neat private dwellings. Those two more conspicuous on the rising ground are the beautiful mansions of Dr. Samuel Porter and Daniel Kel- logg, Esq. The public buildings not seen on the engraving are a new Presby- terian church, built of brick, and standing nearly opposite the Episcopal church, and an Incorporated Academy, situated a short distance in the rear of the village, presenting a beautiful prospect of the lake and surrounding country. " The village itself stands on the northern extremity of the lake, partly on ground rising in the form of an amphitheater on the east and north, unsurpassed for beauty of scenery. " The lake is about sixteen miles in length, and from one to two in breadth, for the most part very deep, in some places from three to four hundred feet. It is fed by springs from the bottom, which renders the water cold and pure, and well furnished with trout, perch, etc. It is navigated by two large boats, which supply the village with lumber and wood. " For a considerable distance to the south of the village the lands on either side slope with a beautiful declivity to the water's edge, and present the view of well-cultivated farms and a number of elegant and delightfully siluatetl mansions. " There are in the village, besides the Academy (which consists of a male and a female department), one select grammar school, two select schools for young girls, and two large district schools. " There are three hotels, a Masonic hall, and a printing establishment. There are also seven stores, doing a fair and profitable business, and two extensive sleigh and carriage factories, that make about six htmdred sleighs and carriages in the course of the season. " On the Skaneateles Outlet, in and near the village, are five flouring-mills. which on an average will flour and pack seventy barrels per day. There are six sawmills, three linsced-nil mills, two iron foundries, one brass foundry, one ex- I9-' HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. tensive woolen factory (not completed), three clothiers' works, one cotton and woolen machinery factory, besides smaller establishments in every branch of mechanical operation usually found in the country. " The number of inhabitants in the village is upward of a thousand. " Skaneateles is sixty-six miles west of Utica, seven east of the flourishing vil- lage of Auburn, and eight miles distant from the Erie Canal, above which it is elevated about five hundred feet. " The Seneca Turnpike passes through it, and many lines of public stages in different directions. Travelers, especially foreigners, are usually charmed with this delightful spot, and speak in raptures of its interesting scenery. None who have a relish for the pleasant scenes of nature can approach it without admiration, or leave it without regret." — (Copied from the Ariel, July 24, 1830, vol. iv.. No. 7, page 55-) Note. — The original copperplate engraving, published in the Ariel, was seven inches long and four and a half inches wide. It is here enlarged to nine by thirteen inches, which will account for its coarseness. Discovery of the Plate and Description. — The history of the difficulties of obtaining the above plate and description is worthy of recital here (in the first per- son) : " In the endeavor to ascertain if there was in existence a sketch of the old Vredenburg dwelling-house, built in 1804-6, I was informed that Mrs. D. K. Leitch had one. I called on her, and found that she had the engraving herein- before described, which had been carefully framed for preservation by the late D. Kellogg Leitch. The engraving at once seemed to be a very valuable addition to my History, and Mrs. Leitch immediately gave me the use of it. " Thus far there was no letter-press description of the engraving. Therefore I determined to ascertain, if possible, whether any public library in Philadelphia had a copy of the Ariel in its possession. Having no correspondent in that city, I addressed a letter to the Ledger (newspaper). After describing my ob- ject in writing to that paper, asking for the name of some public institution that might possibly have a bound copy of the Ariel on its shelves, the Ledger gave the name of the Pennsylvania Historical Society. The result was that it had four volumes, but in no one of them was an engraving or description of Skaneateles. I then addressed a letter to the Librarian of the Girard College. The reply was that it had no Ariels. I then wrote to the Drexel Institute, with no better result. 1 then wrote to the Franklin Library, with no better result, and lastly wrote to the Library Company of Philadelphia, which was founded 1721. Fortunately this library had the coveted files of the Ariel, and the Treasurer, George Maurice Abbot, obligingly favored me with a manuscript copy of the description of the vil- lage and manufacturing interests on the outlet of the lake, which it would have been impossible to obtain had it not been for the treasurer of this last library, to whom I found it very difficult to express my full obligations for the great favor he had conferred upon me." HISTORy OF SK.INEATELES. i93 I '11 i>;iK<-' "A' ■•> an exact copy of tlic orijfinal copperplate wliicli was piih- lislied in the Ariel Magaaiiie, in Philadelphia, in the year 1830. This engraving lias been made for the purpose of preserving it as it was originally. The enlarged copy, inserted herewith as a folded illustration, may get destroyed by frequent use. It is impossible to obtain another original. Interesting Items. — Alanson Edwards kept tavern here in 1822. He was the father of the late Thaddeus Edwards, and the son Thaddeus kept the bar. This tavern was located on the southwest corner of East Genesee Street and the East Lake Road. Jessee Kellogg, father of Dorastus, was born in Hartford, Conn., in 1758. In the year 1800 he came here to tliis village, and purchased the grist and saw mills. In 1807 he removed to the Obadiah Thorne farm. He afterward pur- chased the Loomis farm on East Hill, near Marcellus, where lie resided until his death, in 181 1. George A. Stansbury was a Judge of Onondaga County in 1847. Ereeborn G. Jewett was Surrogate of Onondaga County in 1824; a Member of .Assembly in 1826; and a Member of the Twenty-third, the Twenty-fourth, and the Twenty-fifth Congress. .\ man by the name of Camp kept tavern here in 1816. The original William J. Vredenburg mansion, latterly the Daniel Kellogg house, was destroyed by fire, August 24, 1872. The Lake House was destroyed by fire, July 19, 1870. The Cardiff giant was first discovered, and published in the Skancateles Democrat, October 21, 1869. Nehemiah H. Earll was first Judge of Onondaga County in 1823 and 1828. Elisha Johnson was a surveyor in this town in 1806. He made a map of Military Lot No. 20 for Samuel Rhoades, and laid out on it the farms of the several early settlers. Columbus Weston, formerly sexton of the old burial-ground, died April 17, 1867, aged sixty-seven years. Samuel Briggs. who was one of the earliest settlers in this town, died April 19, 1867. Hall & Pynchon (David Hall) were merchants in the village in 1820 to 1825. Briggs & Hall were merchants here in 1817. Benjamin Gumaer first settled on the Obadiah Thorne farm. He was the father of Harvey riumaer. formerly of this vicinity. This name has usually been pronounced " (juminore." i'eter E. Gumaer came to this town in 1800. The region of Thorn Hill was first settled in 1799. David Earll, Eleazcr Burns, Nathan Turner, and John Willcts, came in sleighs from Washington County, N. Y. Elijah Parsons, father of Mose.s and John Parsons, came into this town, from Xortli.-tniptnn. Mass.. in l8f).;. lie die2. at'cd ciLdilv-lhrcr ve.irs HISTORY OP SKANEATELES. CHAPTER XI\'. Eakly Merchan ts. Briggs & Hall. — In Ihe year 1815, Isaac Briggs and Deacon David Hall formed a copartnership to get into the mercantile business. Isaac Briggs was the eldest son of John Briggs, who was one of the first settlers here, and he was an older brother of the late Noah Briggs, of Skaneateles. After the partnership of Briggs & Hall was formed, they began business at Ithaca, N. Y.. remaining there two years, when they removed their stock to Skaneateles. In 1818, David Hall bought out Briggs, and pursued the same lines alone until about 1825, when he took in his clerk, George A. Pynchon, as a partner, who was originally from Great Harrington, Mass. The firm then was Hall & Pynchon. A few years HISTORV OF SKANEATELES. 195 later, 1828, Pynclion's health failed him, and he sold back his interest to David Hall, went to Florence, Ala., and later to Mobile, where he became a cotton factor. In 1840, he went to New Orleans, engaged extensively in business there ; •; a cotton factor and importer of foreign salt, became very wealthy, and sub- quently identified himself with the Confederate cause, investing his wealth lii its bonds, which proved disastrous. He afterward died in comparative poverty at Paris, France. In 1828, Deacon David Hall sold out his store and business to Richard Tallcot. This is the first time that Mr. Tallcot was known to have entered into the mercantile business in Skaneateles. He continued in his own name in the to tlie disposal of the produce scnl to Albany to exchange for goods, banuicl Ingham was designated as Meeker's clerk ; at any rate, he conducted the business here. Meeker also owned a potashery here. Potash was the only real staple article of produce made here that always had a ready sale at Albany. Samuel Ingham resided in an unpainted story-and-a-half house that was located at that period where C. H. Poor's dwelling is now. Meeker's transportation of goods and produce was in large canvas-covered wagons drawn by four to six horses. J. BlkNKTT. The time consumed in a trip to .\liiany and return was about two weeks. Potash was the principal production in this section. Ch.vrles J. Blrxett, ]k. — Charles J. nurnctt. Jr., was k>rn in the old Burnett homestead, in the village of Skancateles, August 17, 1808. About the year 1826 he was a clerk or assistant to his father, wlio was postmaster. At that period an advertisement in the Skaneatcles Columbian stated that as agent he would receive subscrijitions for magazines, newspapers, etc., at the post-office. 202 HISTORY OP SKANEATELES. In another issue of a later date he was in partnership with S. Porter Rhoades, in 1S28, under the firm name of Rhoades & Burnett, conducting the business of a general store. This partnership continued several years, and after its dissolution C. J. Burnett. Jr., continued in the same line of business for many years. In the year 1845 he was occupying the store now owned by George P. Lawrence, and continued until William G. Slade purchased the store building, after which Mr. Burnett removed his stock of goods to the adjoining store east of the Slade store. He was elected Town Clerk in 1851, and held the office continuously for six years until 1857. In 1858 he was again elected to the same office. He was a most methodical man of business, conservative, careful, and of the strictest integrity and uprightness of life. Politically he was a Democrat of the old school. He died March 30, 1892, at the advanced age of eighty-four years. William G. Sladk. — William G. Slade was born in Westport, Mass., in 1807. In iiis early manhood he taught the Friends' School at Nine Partners, Cayuga County. After teaching this school he went to North Carolina, and while there he became the principal of a Quaker school, and remained there several years. After leaving there, he came to Skaneateles, in 1844, with Jacob and Eliza Griffin, whose daughter he had previously married. He went into business with Stephen A. Gifford, keeping a general store. The partnership continued several years, and after its dissolution Mr. Slade continued in the same business, until his retirement from active business, in 1855, considering at that time that he had accumulated sufficient means for his future support. He had invested largely in the stock of the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad, and in the great business panic of that year this investment depreciated at a ruinous rate, so much so that its market value was only six dollars a share. Thus he lost a large part of his accumulated savings, which very materially reduced his yearly income. This induced him to commence the study of law in 1855, and after due course of time he was admitted to the bar, and acquired a considerable practise. He died October 5, 1868. William G. Slade was descended from William Slade, who was known to liavc settled in this country at Newport, R. I., August 23, 1659. In 1680 he removed to Somerset. Bristol County, Mass. His own father lost his life while on a vessel bound from Wales (he being a native of that country) to America. William Slade was the first white man to own and keep the ferry known as " Slade's Ferry," formerly run by the Indians. Edward Winslow, afterward Governor of Plymouth Colony, writes of his journey to visit Massachusetts, when ill, March. 1623: " The next day about one of the clock, we came to a ferry, where upon discharge of my piece, divers Indians came to us from a house not far olT, supposed to be Slade's Ferry, between Somerset and Fall River." "At a quarterly meeting of first of Fiftli month. 1639, to Thomas Slade is granted, one house lott, to be built upon in one yr, or be forfeited." " Slade " means a strip of ojicn land in a forest. inSTORV OF SK.IXEATELES. 203 Charles Pardee. — Charles Panlce was born in Skaneateles. March 20, 1798, in a log house that stood near the road a short distance north of the Dyer Brainerd dwelling, afterward owned by W. J. Townsend. Once, while riding with Mr. Pardee past that locality, he pointed out as near as he could where the log house stood, and told me (T. Isom) all about it. Soon after his birth his father, Ebenezer Pardee, bought a farm, of which the Baber farm is now a part. The house stood about where the present Babcr house stands. That farm was some- thing over one hundred acres then. Charles J'ardee's father died of typhoid fever, December, 1S36. and left a large family of young children — eight sons and CHARLES I'ARUEE. one daughter. Charles was the lifth child bom. One of his elder brothers, John, worked the farm and cared for the mother and younger children. Charles and the cider brothers had to shift for themselves, as the saying is. He worked by the montli on a'nother farm for a while, and in summer made several trips to and about Geneva and Canandaigua, iielping buy and drive cattle. -About 1814 or 181 5 an older brotiicr, Sheldon Pardee, had a store in Elbridge, and Charles Pardee then started out on liis commercial career as clerk for his orother. lie remained at Elbridge until 1818, a portion of the time in another store. (This is not a certain statement.) Siieldon Pardee afterward removed his business to Geddes, had a store there, and made salt. In 1832-33 he closed out his business and moved to Michigan. 204 HISTORY OF SKAKEATELES. In 1818, Charles, then twenty years of age, and a young friend of his by the nan:e of Wightnian, left home for New Orleans. They went to western Penn- sylvania until they reached the Alleghany River, where they purchased a row- boat and started down the river. At night they would pull out their boat, turn it over, and sleep under it. Near the mouth of the Ohio River their boat got wTecked in some manner, so much so as to render it unsafe, and they had to leave it. They got on a Hat or tow boat and went to New Orleans in that manner. Seeking employment, they could find nothing to do. It was very hard times that followed the War of 1812, and business of every kind was paralyzed all over the country, and especially at New Orleans. Charles Pardee remained there about six weeks, and, his money beginning to run very low, he came to the conclusion to return home. Wightman thought he would go to that part of Mexico that is now known as Texas, and endeavor to find employment there, but before he could get away he was taken sick, the expense attending which used up all his money, and when he had recovered he had to go to work on the public streets. It took all his slim earnings to get enough to enable him to live and to get away with. But Charles Pardee only remained there about six weeks, when he went to New York by a sailing-vessel. On his arrival there he went to see John Stewart, of the firm of John Stewart & Co., an extensive jobbing dry-goods establishment. Pardee had previously seen and become somewhat acquainted with Mr. Stewart at Elbridge on several occasions w-hen Stewart had been going through the country visiting his customers, as was customary in those days with New York merchants. Pardee borrowed from ]\Ir. Stewart ten dollars to get home with, and after Mr. Pardee went into business he purchased a great many thousands of dollars' worth of goods of him, extending for a year or two after his (Pardee's) return. On his arrival from New Orleans he became clerk for E. B. Shearman & Co., at Utica, N. Y. About the latter part of 1819 or early in 1820 he became clerk for Gibbs & Horton in Skaneateles, and remained with that firm until nearly the time he went into business for himself. If it had not been for a rupture between him and Horton, he (Pardee) might not have gone into business at that time. The rupture occurred in this way: In those days merchants had to send teams to Albany, before the canal, to get their goods that came up from New York by water on the Hudson River. It was customary to load the teams down from Skaneateles with wheat, which they took of their customers there at about three shillings per bushel, and w^ould get about six shillings or upward for it at Albany. In the fall of 1822, when Mr. Horton went to New York, he told Mr. Pardee to send at such a time five or six teams to Albany for the goods he purchased. Pardee asked him if he should load the teams with wheat. In reply Horton told him no, as wheat was low at Albany and it would not pay. Pardee had saved some money from his salary, and had bought notes at a discount, so that he had on hand quite a little money, and he decided to load the teams with wheat on his own account, which he did. In the mean time the wheat market at Albanv had advanced, so that Pardee's wheat netted a nice HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. 205 littie profit. This transaction made Mr. Horton very angry when he got home and found it out, and the next winter, when Pardee's time that he had engaged with Gibbs & Horton expired, Horton would not renew the engagement. Soon after Pardee left them, Mr. James Porter, fatlier of James E. Porter, and Charles Pardee entered into copartnership to go into the mercantile business at Skaneateles, Mr. Porter putting into the firm fourteen hundred dollars, and Charles Pardee six hundred dollars, making the capital stock two thousand dollars, Mr. Pardee to manage and run the business, and profits to be equally divided. It proved to be very profitable for both partners. This partnership commenced business April i, 1823, and within two or three years afterward they were doing the largest amount of trade here. Mr. Porter, of course, knew all about Pardee. He had known him all his life, knew that he was competent and saving, and had the most implicit confidence in his ability. About 1825, Mr. Porter moved to Albany, and became a very prominent man there. He was interested in the Old Canal Bank of Albany, and through him Porter & Pardee could get all the money they wanted at that bank. By 1830 they were doing the largest business of any house in central New York, except Azariah Smith, of Manlius, and Jedediah Barber, of Homer. X. Y. These two concerns each did probably about as large a trade. The business for many years ran from $80,000 to $100,000 per year in sales. The partnership was to exist ten years, but Pardee could not get Porter to come up to Skaneateles to settle, so that it ran on until during 1835. They then came to an agreement to leave the settlement of the business to Azariah Smith, of Manlius. and thus to determine the amount each partner ought to have. There was real estate also, Pardee's individual account, and other extras. Smith came up and helped to take the inventory, etc. The business showed up $80,000 or a little more, so that each had $40,000 assured. Mr. Pardee took the stock, collected and paid off the debts, settled with Mr. Porter, and continued the business under his own name for some years. In 1837, Joel D. Stebbins came from New York as his bookkeeper, ami after a time became a partner, the firm name being C. Pardee & Co. On February i, 1847, they dissolved. Mr. Stebbins went back to New York and engaged in business for himself. Mr. Pardee continued in business alone after that until January i, 1852, when Thomas Isom and Deacon David Hall for his son, Daniel W. Hall, bought Mr. Pardee out; that is, the stock was purchased, and the business was from that time conducted under the firm of Isom & Hall. >Ir. Pardee during his mercantile career stood high, his credit was of the best in New York, and he was an excellent financier and known as a good, prudent merchant. The firm of E. Pardee & Co., which commenced business in the month of July, 1825, was composed of Ebenezer Pardee (brother of Charles Pardee) and Richard Talcott. Mr. Pardee's father's family, including his mother, John Pardee, and the younger members, moved to Ohio in 1828 (date uncertain), and settled in VVads- worth. about three miles south of Cleveland. Charles Pardee had a brother 2o6 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. younger than he named Eljenezer, who was the father of Mary Pardee, now Mrs. Lucien Moses. This Ebenezer Pardee, in 1829 or 1830. perhaps in 1828, was in business in Cleveland, Ohio, under the firm name of E. Pardee & Co., which had large dealing for several years with Porter & Pardee, of Skaneateles, buying goods of them, and shipping to them large quantities of various kinds of produce ; but in 1832 this Ebenezer Pardee was back in Skaneateles as bookkeeper for Porter & Pardee, with whom he remained two or three years, in the mean time got married, went back West to Wadsworth, Ohio, and entered into mercantile business there with his brothers Allen and John, under the firm name of A. J. & E. Pardee. Charles Pardee during his life was actively identified with nearly every interest in both the town and the village of Skaneateles. His career after he sold his stock and business to Messrs. Isom & Hall, January i, 1852, shows that he became a banker, and during the Civil War entered into manufacturing opera- tions for about eighteen months, after which he was interested in various mer- cantile pursuits from time to time. In 1865, according to the* best estimate of his nearest friends, he was worth over all his liabilities from three hundred to three hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and how he became such a financial wreck at the time of his death puzzled his most intimate friends. It has been estimated by those who knew him best that, if he had died at the age of seventy, he would have left a fortune and a good business character. In his early life he was married, in 1828, to Eliza Kilbourn, of New Hartford, Oneida County, N. Y. After his mercantile career and established reputation for so many years, he with others started during the month of March, 1863, the first bank that was ever organized in this town, which was incorporated as the Lake Bank. It had a paid-up capital of $100,000. It commenced business in the month of May, 1863, and was located in what was formerly known as the Hecox Block, a three-story brick building which Mr. Pardee had erected in the year 1850. Its first officers were : Anson Laphani, President ; Charles Pardee, Vice-President ; and Henry J. Hubbard, Cashier. On the first annual election subsequent to its organization Charles Pardee was elected President, Anson Lapham having declined reelection, and C. W. Allis was elected Vice-I'resident. On the 4th of March, 1864, the First National Bank of Skaneateles was organized with a capital of $50,000. Its directors were Charles Pardee, Henry J. Hubbard, Thomas Isom, Jr., Giles M. Lawrence, and Lucien Moses. The first officers were : Charles Pardee, President ; and Henry J. Hubbard, Cashier. No active commercial business was done by this bank until June 15, 1865, when the capital stock was increased to $150,000, when it absorbed all the business of the Lake Bank. In December, 1867, owing to the excessive assessment, and ta.xation, which seemed to its officers to be a discrimination against the bank, the stockholders voted to go into voluntary liquidation, and the business of the bank was afterward carried on with the same capital under the firm name of C. Pardee &Co. HISTORY OF SK.IXEATELES. 207 In llic Cayuga Counlv Dank, in Auburn, wliicli was started in 1833, Charles I'ardce was mucli interested and became a director. He was reelected to the same position every year for over thirty years. In the business panic of 1837 he was sent to New \'c>rk to look alter the interests of the bank in protecting its circulating notes. He remained there about two months, and was eminently suc- cessful by his financial ability in promoting and establishing the solid character of the bank. Mr. Pardee was elected President of the village in the years 1851, 1852, 1853, 1863, 1869, and 1872, six terms, during which time he was actively interested in promoting ilie best interests of the village. It was during his administration tliat Genesee Street, across the outlet of the lake, was widened, filled in, and the stone protecting walls on either side of the street solidly constructed. It was through his influence that the new bridge was built by the State. Charles Pardee was Uie son of Ebenezer Pardee, who with his brother, Charles Pardee, came into this town from Norfolk, Litchfield County, Conn., in the year 1797, and settled on what has since been known as the Perry Foote farm. Here he lived until his death in 1S36, at the age of seventy-six years. riic melancholy death of the subject of this sketch, Charles Pardee, occurred April 9, 1878, at the age of eighty years. In relation tliereto we herewith present a copy of a letter written by a lady of Skaneateles to an intimate friend, then on a visit to the city of New York : ■' I want to write you of Mr. Pardee's fearful end. It has shocked us all very much. He is tlie last man I should ever have dreamed of taking his own life — a man of such an iron will. He was out on Sunday. Yesterday morning (Sun- day) he did not feel very well; thought he would not get up; was dizzy and sick at the stomach. This (Tuesday) morning some better, but seemed lost; a little confused. Took beef-lea and gruel at noon, then soon complained of being drowsy. Wanted Mrs. Moses to go down-stairs so he could get asleep ; she thought she would go down-stairs and get some warm water to w ash him with : waited to heat it ; perhaps it took her some twenty minutes to attend to what she did ; and w hen she went back in the room, her father was not in bed ; was sitting on the floor, with his head on an ottoman, near the washstand, with his throat cut ; she took a towel and clapped it on his throat, and then called the girls ; then his eyes were closed. When she came back she knelt by his side, and tried to raise him ; then he opened his eyes and smiled at her ; and she said, ' O father, father! why did you do this? ' He replied, ' There is no use living any longer." And then he jiut his mouth to kiss her, raised himself up on his elbows, and put his head on her shoulder — gasped twice — and was gone! How awful to think of a man to live to be eighty years old, and then to take his own life ! Why, no one knew. The family say he has been very despondent lately, so low-spirited and depres.scd. I shudder t<> think how Mr. Pardee could have committed the awful deed. They think he attempted the act when they were at dinner. When Mrs. Moses went up-stairs, he had been taking oflF his .shirt, and was lying with 2o8 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. nothing but his undershirt anil drawers on. She asked him how he came to get up. In reply he said he thougl.t l.r would dress, but was so dizzy he had to go back to bed. They think he took his shirt off so as to have his neck clear. He made three attempts — three deep gashes — the last one was very deep. What a shock- ing death ! He took one of his razors out of the washstand drawer. Dr. Benson sewed up the wounds." Aaron Brinkeriioff. — Aaron Brinkerhoff was born in Owasco, Cayuga County, N. Y., March 3, 1817. He came with his father at an early day to Thorne Hill. His education was largely acquired at the old Auburn Academy, after which he served a brief clerkship in Auburn, when he removed to Kelloggs- ville, Cayuga County, where he married Miss Lydia Fuller, daughter of Captain Luther Fuller. About 1840 he removed tc Skaneateles and engaged in the mercantile business. He was in partnership as one of the firm of Brinkerhoff & Willetts (the late William Willetts who went to California during the latv; forties), and afterward as of the firm of Brinkerhoff & Porter (J. Gurdon Porter). On the dissolution of this firm he continued individually keeping a general store. In 1848 he was elected Town Clerk, and reelected a second term. In the year 1850 he was elected Supervisor, and continued to hold that office until 1854. In politics he was a Democrat of the old school. His close friends were Judge Freeborn G. Jewett, William H. Jewett, Charles J. Burnett, Jr., Judge D. T. Moseley, Harrison B. Dodge, Caleb W. Allis, Charles Pardee, Joel Thayer, Elias and Obadiah Thorne, and all the leading men of the day. In the year 1854 he removed to the city of Brooklyn, N. Y., and was engaged for many years in the wholesale dry-goods business in New York. In 1883 he was elected Comptroller of the city of Brooklyn, and was afterward reelected a second term. He was a man of the strictest integrity and uprightness of life, and of exceptional business ability. He won and retained warm friendships, universal respect, and high esteem, and his life was in every phase exemplary. He died in Brooklyn, March 13, 1891. JoNATH.\N Booth. — Jonathan Booth commenced a very early and heavy busi- ness about 1812-14 under the firm name of Booth & Ingham. The latter was Samuel Ingham, who had been a clerk for John Meeker about 1802. The busi- ness was continued for many years, when the management was assumed by Booth & Horton, composed of Zalmon Booth, son of Jonathan, and Stephen Ilorton. Booth was later succeeded by William Gibbs under the name of Gibbs & Horton, which some years after was changed to S. Horton & Co., and eventu- ally became the firm of N. Hawley & Co. It was closed up in 1847-48, Mr. Hawley going lo Troy, N. Y., to engage in the wholesale drug business with his brother. Gkgrge Franci.s.— George Francis was born at Fairhaven, Vt., July 30, 1807. He came to Skaneateles with his father, in 1814, when he was seven years of age. In early adult life he worked in his father's hat factory, and thoroughly learned the trade in all its details, which fitted him for the business he afterward em- /y/-S7(>A')' Ul- SKAMiATIllJiS. 209 l)arkt'iJ in, selling at retail Jiats. caps, furs, buffalo and other robes, gloves, and such other goods as were usually kept in stock in other places. He was pos- sessed of a genial nature, kind and generous to a fault, always had a pleasant smile, and had a large following of personal friends. He had an irreproachable character. He was particularly polite to ladies, especially those who he thought needed assistance in alighting from any kind of carriage in the street or entering a carriage, fastening the horse or such other assistance as migiit be needed. lie exceeded in all these respects all the other merchants of the village. His death occurred very suddenly, April 20, 1874. He had been suffering from sore throat, and while sitting with his fann'ly he exclaimed suddenly, " I can not breathe," and died immediately, without further warning. Phares Golld. — I 'hares Gould was another early merchant and a prominent citizen in Skaneateles. Few persons of this town at the present day are familiar with his name. The following is the most correct history of him that has been obtained : 2IO HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. His father, Jeremiah Gould, resided at Weston, Worcester County, Mass., where Phares Gould was born December 20, 1789. He came to this town about the year 1810. He was contemporary with the late Daniel Kellogg, who was born in 1780, and who came here in 1803. They both became genial and warm friends. Phares Gould married Miss Melissa Osborn, in Skaneateles, March 14, 1813. The following is a copy, or rather abstract, of a deed from John Legg and wife to Stephen Horton, which indicates the residence of Phares Gould in the year 1816, recorded in Liber S of Deeds, page 44: September 16, 1816.— John Legg and Emma his wife to Stephen Horton, Jr. Considera- tion, $1,125.00. Beginning in the Seneca Turnpike road at the South West corner of a village lot, in possession of Phares Gould, on which the store and dwelling house of said Phares Gould stands, Running thence Easterly along said Turnpike to the East side of the store of the said John Legg standing on said lot, thence Northerly on a line parallel with the West line of the said John Legg's village lot, to the North line of the said John Legg's village lot, thence Westerly on the said North line to the village lot of Jonathan Booth, thence Southerly along the East line of the said Jonathan Booth's village lot to the East line of the said Phares Gould's village lot to the place of beginning, containing three-fourths of an acre of land, be the same more or less. In presence of Thos. P. Baldwin. This deed shows where Phares Gould had his store and his adjoining resi- dence on the north side of our Main Street. It also appears that John Legg had a store which was located on the site of the Horton dwelling-house, which store hy the above deed he conveyed to Stephen Horton. The location of Phares Gould's dwelling and store was on the present j\liss Wheeler's house and milli- nery-store lot. Long before Mr. Gould's arrival here a merchant named John Meeker, whose residence was in Cherry Valley, N. Y., had been an extensive trader previous to llie year 1807, and was considered both prudent and sagacious, and the greatest merchant in western New York, having stores in different sections of the State. These stores were established for the sale of general merchandise, such as dry- goods, groceries, hardware, drugs, medicines, etc. He had one at Manlius, of which Azariah Smith was the manager and chief clerk ; another store at Homer, N. Y., of which Jedediah Barber was manager and chief clerk; and another store at Skaneateles, of which Phares Gould became manager and chief clerk. The above named are described as examples of John Meeker's business. He made the purchases for all his stores principally at Albany, which at that period was the headquarters of the wholesale trade for all sections of the State west of Albany. There were some purchases of inferior value made by small dealers at Utica. Meeker also attended to the sale and transportation of the domestic produce sent forward from his various stores. Potash at that time was the prin- cipal commercial product, although other produce, such as wheat, oats, etc., was also forwarded, for all of which groceries, dry-goods, hardware, drugs, dye- HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. 211 stuffs, medicines, etc., were obtained in exchange. Potash was the leading ami most valuable product sent forward to Albany. The same wagons or other vehi- cles which had transported the produce were in turn loaded with the merchandise which had been obtained to be conveyed to his several branch stores. At about this period Pharcs Gould was elected as a trustee of the original Skaneateles Library Company, which had been organized in i8oCi, at which time Daniel Kellogg had been elected librarian. Phares Gould was reelected to this office for ten years, when in 1824 he was elected treasurer and librarian, holding that office for ten years, when he resigned. He was succeeded by James G. Porter, who resigned the following year and was succeeded by E. H. Porter. Phares Gould was at the next annual meeting elected a trustee, and continued as such until the company dissolved, after an active existence of thirty-five years. During the time Phares Gould was chief manager for Meeker's store, after the close of the last war with England, 1812-15, there was a great depression of general business throughout the United States, which resulted in the failure of John Meeker. Azariah Smith assumed the Manlius business, Jedediah Barber took charge of the Homer business, and Phares Gould conducted the Skaneateles business. Both .\zariah Smith and Jedediah Barber became verj' prosperous and leading merchants for many years; but Phares Gould had strong local competi- tors, while the other managers in Manlius and Plomer had none. Porter & Par- dee and S. Horton & Co. here in Skaneateles soon obtained control of the local trade. Consequently Phares Gould's business fell away and became unprofitable. Before this, about the year 1828 or 1830, Addison G. Jerome became Mr. Gould's clerk, and remained as such for several years, when Pharcs Gould re- moved to Caniillus, X. Y., in 1836. Jerome then went to New York, and pro- cured a situation with the large wholesale house of John Stewart, Jr., & Co., and after a few years became a partner of the same firm, which was doing a very heav)' trade at that period. Several years after he dissolved partnership and embarked in the stock brokerage business. Jerome had been a resident of the village for a number of years. His brother, Leonard H. Jerome, had also been a resident for a few years while studying law with Daniel Kellogg or John C. Beach here in the village. In the earlier life of Phares Gould in Skaneateles, after he sold his store and dwelling west of the Horton lot. he built the two-story and attic dwelling-house which was later occupied by Richard Talcott in 1837. and now owned by Charles H. Poor. When Phares Gould gave up his business in Skaneateles and removed to Camillus, N. Y., as before stated, in January, 1836. there being excellent water- power there, he sought a milling business, and, finding that a new grist-mill had been built by Philip Drake only two years previously and was for sale, he secured it for himself and his son. lulward O. Gould, who enlarged it and ran it until 1851, when they sold out to Wilson R. Cooper. Edwin R. Harmon, and ' "melius W. Way. Phares Gould conducted the business under the firm name ■t Pharcs Gould & Son. .After a few years, finding that the business was rather 212 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. limited in extent, both father and son went to Buffalo, and associated themselves with Dean Richmond in a more extensive business connected with grain elevators. While thus engaged in that business, his only son, Edward Osborn Gould, died in Butfalo, July 31, 1858, while in the prime of life, at the age of forty-four years. This great affliction caused him to abandon his business and remove to New York, where he made his home with his only daughter, Julia, the wife of Addison G. Jerome. Phares Gould died there August 24, 1862. As this history of Phares Gould is fragmentary, a portion of his early history is as follows : Seventy-five years ago, March 20, 1825, he purchased from James Sackett the triangular piece of land which Jedediah Sanger (the original owner of Military Lot No. 36, on which this village is located) conveyed to John Briggs August 3, 1804. This triangular piece of land is now the Frederick Shear property. Phares Gould also purchased at the same time from Sackett twelve acres of land on the south side of the Seneca Turnpike Road, now West Genesee Street, located between West Lake Street and John Briggs' land; consideration, $3,000. The cemetery comprises a portion of that John Briggs' land. Gould also purchased a half-acre on the shore of Skaneateles Lake, bounded on the east by a certain board fence, which in 1808 embraced the dooryard of John Briggs, leading from the lake to the road, being the same land which John Briggs con- veyed, August 27, 1808, to John Meeker, now the Waller boat-house lot. The consideration for this last conveyance was $1,000. Phares Gould originally owned the lot on which the present Charles H. Poor residence is. Gould built that dwelling-house, and in the year 1837 he sold that property to the late Richard Talcott. Rev. Albert C. Patterson. — Rev. A. C. Patterson's rectorship of St. James' Church, in the village, began July 7, 1851, and continued until May. 14, 1859, when he resigned. He died at Jamaica Plain, Mass., in 1864. J.\roB W. V.^N Etten.— Jacob W. Van Etten was born at Minisink, Orange Co.. N. Y., in 1779, went to the town of Owasco in 1800, and in 1806 removed to the town of Skaneateles, one and a half miles north of Mandana. He died on his farm in 1850. David Seymour. — David Seymour and Bertha, his wife, settled on one hundred acres in Military Lot No. 37, on the west shore of the lake. He was in occupation of this land in 1804. During that year he sold fifty acres to Stephen Gardner. David Seymour was a shoemaker by trade, and from him Colonel Hecox learned his trade. He also had a brick-kiln on his land. Timothy Coleman and Elizabeth, his wife, owned a ])ortion of Lot No. 37, in 1795. Early Settlers. — All the following early settlers in this and adjoining towns originally emigrated from Peenpack Neighborhood, in the town of Minisink, Orange Co., N. Y. ; Cuddeback; Van Innewcgcn; Dc Witt; Cortright; Van Etten: Gumaer; Depuy ; Cuykendall ; \'an \'lict ; except Dicfcn(K)rl, who came from Schoharie Countv, N. Y. h/STURy or SK.IXEATELES. CHAPTER X\. Recollections, Business, anu Inventions. The CooPER-SHOr'S of Thaddeus Edwards. — For many years Tliaddeus Edwards had two cooper-shops on the north side of East Genesee Street. These -hops were originally built about 1825, on the north side of the old Skaneateles nd Hamilton Turnpike Road, and were demolished in 1876. The work of the irly coopers, besides making tubs, pails, and barrels, was the manufacture of KDWAKIi.'.- c(>oi'i;k .sii >liingles. These were made from while pine, which was abundant in certain sec- lions of tile county. The pine loj^s were sawed into short lenpnming-wheel. This was between the years 1800 and 1803, when he lived on the farm afterward owned by George Clark. Miner also invented the grooved sash. Miner's patent pails were put together with grooves, and his patent bushel and half-bushel measures were constructed in the same manner. He had a machine at one time for cutting out from the log all sizes of wooden bowls. He afterward changed his manufactory to Five Mile Point, on the lake. The gulf back of this place was called ' Miner's Gulf." He then took his machinery to Mottville, and later removed to Elbridge. While at Mottville he was connected in business with Perly Putnam. One of his first efforts at invention was what was called in old times " The Pudding- Mill," at which time this was the only mill in this town for crushing corn for making " pudding " (" supawn " or " spawn "). This pudding-mill was located at a point about half-way between Skaneateles and Otisco lakes. Another of his inventions was known as Miner's pumps. It was said of him that, when he desired any new contrivance, he would wrap himself up in a blanket, then roll under his bed, and remain there until he had completed the invention in his mind. Miner lost the sight of one of his eyes while he was at his first workshop at .Miner's Gulf. He was engaged in hammering a piece of steel, when a small cliip of the metal struck his eye, which totally destroyed its sight. Miner's wife was an own aunt of the late Charles Pardee, and sister of Ebe- nezer Pardee, his father. Amos Miner had nine children — six sons and three cupied by the late Colonel Warren Hecox in the early settlement oi the village, ind subsequently occupied by his son, Thomas W. Hecox, until he removed to Dubuque, about 1853. It has been stated that the first school kept in the village was located in the front room of this iirick building. Mr. Packwood, the proprie- tor of the Packwood House, demolished it to o])tain a better view of the lake and the scenery. In the house were found several copies of the Albany Register, of the dates 1' May and .•\ugust, 1814, edited by Solomon Southwick. These papers were lingy and time-worn sheets, and tiie reading was partly gone. In one of .\ugust 2i8 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. 14, 1814, is an editorial on the burning of the Capitol at Washington and the sacking of the city, and the advance of the British army toward Baltimore. It also contains an official report of the Battle of Bladensburg. Smallpox in the Village. — In the year 1851 smallpox appeared in Skan- eateles, whereupon the Board of Health issued the following bulletin : " Board of Health, November 12, 1851. The Health Officer having certified to the Board, that smallpox is now at the houses of Massilon W. Fay, Alfred Lamb, and Stephen Potter, in said village, the following orders v.'ere unanimously adopted : First. That all intercourse with the houses specified by said Health Officer, or either of them, except for purposes of medical attendance, be prohibited to citizens and the public ; and that the proprietors of the public-houses be required, under penalty of the law, to refuse admittance to all strangers or other persons than their own households, during the continuance of said disease; and all nurses attending said cases of smallpox are prohibited from mingling with the people at large, and physicians attending are required to use every necessary precaution to prevent their conveying the contagion. Second. That the Health Officer be required to examine all cases of disease coming within his knowledge suspected to be smallpox, and when any such cases occur to report the same immediately to the Board. Third. That all other practising physicians be required to report forthwith to this Board any and all new cases of smallpox occurring in their practise. David Hall, RiSHWORTH MaSOX, John Legg, Charles Pardee, Richard Talcott, William G. Slade, Members of the Board of Health." An Offhand Sketch of the Village Fifty Years Ago by a Former Resident, enth■ >.i > i,,^ ,,>.» >. ...-.els. This is effected by placing them spread out on temporary shelves, one above another, in a barn or building which has been prepared for the purpose by removing some of the vertical or horizontal boards from the outside of the building, to allow a free access of the air through the teasels. All the foregoing growth and gathering of the crop has been the work riructing a telegraph line between .\uburn and Oswego, on the line of the Southern Central Railroad. Its promoter was Mr. Squire, of Ithaca, who, failing to pro- cure the necessary capital subscribed, came to Skaneateles, and proposed to change his terminal from Auburn to Syracuse, provided he could get financial aid here sufficient to carry out his project. Previous efforts had been made to get the Western Union Telegraph Company to build a l(X)p from the Junction to this village, but its frequent promises were not kept. The nearest telegraph station was at the Junction, five miles distant, and all messages by telegraph had to be brought to the village by the stage-drivers. Mr. Squire was, therefore, warmly re- ceived and money furnished him, conditioned that the main office should be located in Skaneateles, and that a majority of its directors and officers were to be from this place. The organization as completed consisted of : Henry J. Hubbard, President ; Henry T. We!)h. Secretary ; and Thomas Isom, Jr., Treasurer. On the day that the line was completed the Western Union Company built the loop from the Junction to and from the village, and competition for business at once com- menced. .Ml the little villages located on the main line that had subscribed for a few shares of stock demanded that ofticcs should be opened in their villages, which was done in many instances, with the result that at the end of the year the expenses were greater than the receipts, which, therefore, created a debt. Offices which were not self-supporting were then abandoned, and the line continued, but the debt was a source of contention. The out-of-town directors resolved what seemed sharp practise, but were ciicckmated, and the line came into possession of Messrs. Hubbard & Webb, who subsequently sold it to the Atlantic & Pacific Com- pany, who were the rivals of the Western Union Telegraph Company. The Centr.vl New York Electric Light and Power Company. — In November, 1889, franchises were granted to the Central New York Electric Light and Power Company by the town and village. The electricity is transmitted to Skaneateles Village from the company's plant, near Elbridge, which also supplies the villages of Elbridge and Jordan. George P.arrow is President and Secretary. The Lake Bank. — The Lake Bank was organized during the month of March, 1863, with a paid-up capital of $100,000, and commenced business in May of the same year. The banking office was located on the corner of Genesee and Jordan streets, formerly known as the Hecox Block. Its first officers were: .\nson Lapham, President ; Charles Pardee, Vice-President ; and Henry J. Hubbard, Cashier, On the first annual election subsequent to its organization, Charles 254 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. Pardee was elected President (Anson Lapham having declined reelection) and C. W. Allis elected Vice-President. The First National BANK.^On the 4th of March, 1864, the First National Bank of Skaneateles was organized, with a capital of $50,000. Its directors were : Charles Pardee, Henry J. Hubbard, Thomas Isom, Jr., Giles M. Lawrence, and Lucien Moses. Its first oiScers were: Charles Pardee, President, and Henry J. Hubbard, Cashier. No active commercial business was done by this bank until June 15, 1865, when the capital stock was increased to $150,000, and it absorbed all the business of the Lake Bank. In December, 1867, owing to the excessive assessment and taxation, which seemed to its officers as a discrimination against tlie bank, the stockholders voted to go into voluntary liquidation, and the business of the bank was afterward carried on with the same capital, under the firm name of C. Pardee & Co. The Bank of Skaneateles. — The Bank of Skaneateles was organized during the month of August, 1869, with a capital stock of $100,000. Its officers were: Joel Thayer, President ; Anson Lapham, Vice-President ; and B. F. Stiles, Cashier. Skaneateles Savings-Bank.- — The Skaneateles Savings-Bank was organized April 25, 1866. The first trustees were: John Barrow, Richard Tallcot, Joel Thayer, Charles Pardee, Anson Lapham, Josias Garlock, Joab L. Clift, Caleb W. Allis, Ezekial B. Hoyt, George H. Earll, Leonard H. Earll, Henry J. Hubbard, Thomas Isom, Jr., and Henry L. Roosevelt. Its officers were: John Barrow, President; Richard Tallcot, Vice-President; Henry T. Webb, Secretary and Treasurer; and Edward T. Bartlett, Attorney. November 17, 1866, Joab L. Clift was elected President, and Josias Garlock, Vice-President, in plice of John Barrow and Richard Tallcot, resigned. May i, 1867, H. T. Webb resigned as Secretary and Treasurer, and F. G. Jewett was elected as his successor. January i, 1868, F. G. Jewett resigned as Secretary and Treasurer, and was succeeded by Josias Garlock. Explanation of Charles Pardee's Opposition to an Incorporated Public Cemetery. — After the old burial-ground, originally purchased by the Skaneateles Religious Society, in 1812, had been used for burial purposes by the whole town for sixty years, the late Freeborn G. Jewett proposed, in the interest of the town, to purchase an additional section of adjoining land for cemetery purposes, and, as Charles Pardee previously had experience in the management of the old burying-ground. Judge F. G. Jewett proposed to him to become a partner, and to take full charge of the cemetery. F. G. Jewett and Charles Pardee pur- cliased from James Cannings Fuller, .August 21, 1846, one and twelve-hundredths acres of land adjoining the old burial-ground. Consideration paid to J. C. Fuller, $392, at the rate of $350 per acre. This piece of land was laid out into 224 lots, each measuring 10 by 16 feet, therefore costing $1.75 each. Judge F. G. Jewett established the uniform price per lot at ten dollars. At this rate this piece of land would produce $2,240, or at the rate of $2,000 per acre. In consequence of the great demand for burial-lots and the very reasonable price for them, nearly all HISTORV OF SKAKEATELES. 255 tlie 224 lots had been sold before Judse Jewett's death, which occurred January 2y. 1858. The following; is a copy of the deed sfivcii to purchasers of lots in the ■ Jewett & Pardee " cemetery : This Indenture, made this in the year one thousand eight hundred and between Freeborn G. Jewett and Charles Pardee, of Skaneateles. in the county of Onondaga, of the first part, Witnesseth, that the parties of the first part, in consideration of the sum of dollars to them paid, have sold and by these presents do gram and convey to the party of the second part, his heirs and assigns, all that part of the ground recently purchased by them of James C. Fuller, and which they have l.iid out f..r ?. '• SKANEATKI as lot number with the appurtenances, to be used and occupied by the party of the second part, his heirs and assigns, as a part of such cemetery, and for no other purposL-. In Witness Whereof, the parties of the first part have hereunto sot their hands and seals, the day and year first written. The deeds executed during the lifetiine of F. G. Jewett were executed by the parties of the first part. After Freeborn G. Jewett's death the deeds were executed as follows : " C. Pardee, successor, etc." After the death of James Cannings Fuller, which occurred November 25, 1847. the late Sumner Fuller came into possession of all the lands adjoining and lying to the north of the Jewett & Pardee purchase. Note. — It is deemed proper here to make an explanatory memorandum respect- ing this history of the village burial-grounds previous to the incorporation of the " L^ke View Rural Cemetery .Association," in the year 1871. In the following relation of that history there is no intention to censure either Sumner Fuller or 25 6 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. Charles Pardee. Both were engaged in a legitimate business transaction. Sumner Fuller was the owner of lands which were made valuable by being contiguous to the village cemetery. Charles Pardee individually owned and controlled the village cemetery, and when it became his interest to enlarge its area, as had been previously done, it was imperatively to his interest to acquire Sumner Fuller's lands, as these were the only available ones to be obtained adjoining the cemetery. Of course. Air. Fuller being aware of the largely enhanced value of lands within a cemetery, it was to his interest to obtain the best possible terms of sale. After the decease of the late Freeborn G. Jewett, January 27, 1858, Charles Pardee purchased from Sumner Fuller, September 14, 1861, one and eighty-hundredths acres adjoining on the north the Jewett & Pardee purchase. The recorded deed was as follows : " Sumner Fuller to C. Pardee, in consideration of three hundred and sixty dollars, one undivided one-half of one acre and eighty-hundredths of an acre." This piece of land was laid out into 360 lots, 10 by 16 feet, which were rated at from $20 to $30 each according to location, and at an average of $25 would when sold amount to $9,000. Of course, the inference is, from the condi- tions of the deed of sale, that the profits were to be equally divided between both parties, Sumner Fuller and Charles Pardee. The cost of each lot would be $2, at the rate of $720 for the whole ownership. Nearly eleven years after the above undivided purchase, namely, May i, 1872, according to a recorded deed in the Coimty Clerk's Office, Sumner Fuller and wife conveyed by deed to C. Pardee all the lands lying north of and adjoining said C. Pardee's lands, containing about three acres, also all his (Fuller's) " right, title, and interest in the undivided piece of land which I sold to said C. Pardee, September 14, 1861 ; consideration, $2,750." As Sumner Fuller had been receiving his proportion of the profits from the sale of lots of the undivided piece of land since 1861, nearly eleven years, the addition of the $50 to his price for the three acre lot indicates his valuation of the unsold lots of the partnership land. If C. Pardee actually paid $2,700 for that three acre lot, it was a good business operation for Mr. Fuller to receive nine hundred dollars an acre for lands not worth over one hundred dollars for any other purpose. Charles Pardee was the owner and manager of all the village burial-grounds for twenty years, from 1858 (date of F. G. Jewett's death) to 1878 (date of C. Par- dee's death). As such he made it a profitable business transaction. Under these conditions it was against his interest to allow any interference with his rights, and to oljject to selling his lands, held for sale by him, to the Rural Cemetery Associa- tion, and it was indispensable in order to protect his interests to place every obstacle in the way to prevent any connection with the lands of the opposing new association. During his twenty years of ownership and control of the burial- grounds, no register of interments was ever kept. No rules or regulations for . the good order of the grounds ever existed. Imperfect conveyances were made for sale of lots and plats. Only one memorandum was made, and that was a map of the grounds, made on ordinary yellow wrapping-paper, on which was a diagram of the lots, numbered, and the names of each purchaser placed thereon. Such HISTORV OF SKANEATELES. -\S7 were tlie village burial-grounds, held for speculative purposes, for twenty years, when I, alone, assumed the responsibility of issuing a call, through the columns of the Skaneateles Democrat, June 29, 1871, inviting the citizens of Skaneateles to take such preliminary action as may be necessar>' to organize and establish an incorporated public cemetery. The prestige of C. Pardee at that time wielded a commanding influence in this community. He had previously been President of the village for several years, and was so at tliat time, and was engaged in the bank- ing business. Plis influence was such that there was not an individual in the whole community that had the courage to initiate a movement to establish an incorporated public cemetery. The result of that public call was the establishment of " The Incorporated Rural Cemetery of Lake View." As I was originator and promoter, and the only real active member of the Corporation, I found it very difficult to establish the cemeterj' on a tirm basis, owing to the apathy and indifference of more than half of the menibers of the board of trustees. The influence of Mr. J^ardce was very apparent. When it became necessary to solicit loans, secured by a certificate of indebtedness, not a single member of the trustees offered to take this important matter in charge. No committee was appointed, therefore I assumed the duty, and individually solicited subscriptions from citizens who I thought would be interested in the contemplated public cemetery. It was imme- diately a necessity to have the lots laid out and mapped, in order to be in a position to dispose of them. There being no money on hand to meet the expense, I assumed that duty, and personally laid out all the avenues, and employed a man and team of horses to plow out all of them. I laid out all the lots myself, individ- ually, and mapped the whole grounds. Had it not been for my timely call for a public meeting of the citizens of this village to meet at Legg Hall, July i, 1871, to take such action as may be necessary to establish an incorporated public ceme- tery, the present village cemetery would not now be in existence. In the mean time, the old burial-ground would have continued under its former auspices, in full operation. In order to explain this prediction, it may be stated that the prelimi- naries which were required to obtain the title to the lands belonging to Rcuel Smith, Sr., did not end until .'\pril i, 1873, when the appraised value became due. which was $2,150. There not being money enough on hand to pay this sum, of course I advanced the deficiency, $650, and the $2,150 was paid, which completed the title to " The Lake View Rural Cemetery Association." Reuel Smith, Sr., died September 6. 1873, five months after the title to the lands of the present village cemetery had been acquired. The lands of Reuel Smith, Sr., after his death became vested in such manner that they could not have been sold for any purpose for a long term of years, in consequence of which it would have been impossible to have located a cemetery where the village cemetery is now. I will say here that, although my interests in the establishment of a new cemetery were antagonistic to Mr. Pardee's interest in that respect, in all my intercourse with him I never exchanged an unpleasant or disagreeable word with him. and always saluted him politely, as a gentleman. 258 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. CHAPTER XVIII. Lake View Cemetery and Skaneateles Lake. The Origin of Lake \'iew Cemeteki-. — There are very few persons now in this village who are aware how our beautiful and attractive cemetery originated, and how, without cost to the taxpayers or citizens, it became the property of the village of Skaneateles. It is necessary, in the narration of the following history of this cemetery, to write in the first person. Therefore, I claim to have been the sole and only originator, under the most adverse and opposing conditions, per- severed, and finally completed its permanent establishment, and its final conveyance to the corporation of " The Trustees of the Village of Skaneateles." Noticing for many years the disgraceful old burying-ground that was a re- proach to this community, I determined to attempt the formation of an Incor- porated Rural Cemetery Association, under a general law of this State which authorized the formation of such corporations. In accordance with this deter- mination, I inserted the following notice of a meeting to be held at Legg Hall, which was published in the Skaneateles Democrat, June 29, 1871, and appended the names of such public-spirited citizens as suggested themselves to my mind at the moment, believing that the gentlemen would not object to the use of their names for so commendable a purpose: Pl'blic Meeting. The citizens of Skaneateles arc requested lo meet al Legg Hall, on Saturday next, July i. at 4 P.M., to take such preliminary action as may he necessary to organize and establish an incorporated public cemetery. G. T. Campbell, Richard T.\llcott, C. Pardee, Joel Thayer, An-SON La1'H.\m, Willi.am Marvin, C. W. Allis, S. C. Whe.mjon, E. N. Leslie, E. Reuel Smith, JosiAH Garlock, G. W. Earll, Newell Turner, J. C. DeWitt, L. T. Bartlett, Evelyn Porter, W. J. Amerman, Benoni Lee, Henry T. Webh, F. V. D. Horton, W. H. Patterson, John D.wy, Joseph H. Burnett, Georc.e Francis, John Packwood, Horace Cornell. The following announcement of that meeting was made by the Democrat : Public Meeting. In accordance with the call published in the Democrat, a meeting was held in Legg Hall to consider the subject of organizing an incorporated public cemetery, at wliicb the following HISTORY or SK.IXEATELES. '59 named persons were present: William Marvin, G. W. Earll. \V. Piatt, J. C. iJt Witt. W. 11. II, Crosier, E. N. Leslie, G. T. Campbell, P. O. C. Benson, C. \V. Allis. O. Voung. J. A. Rout, L. Cleaveland, D. Hall. E. B. Palmer, A. A. Brooks. On motion, Hon. William Marvin was elected President, and P. O. C. Benson, Secretary. Mr. E. N. Leslie stated the object of the meeting, and read the State law referring to the subject under consideration. Discussion followed at some length, and, on motion, Messrs. William Marvin, E. X. Leslie, and J. C. De Witt were appointed a committee to investigate the subject of incorporat- ing and enlarging the present cemetery, and the chairman of the committee was empowered to call another meeting of the inhabitants of this vicinity whenever the committee was ready to report. The meeting then adjourned. The cliairman of the committee, William Marvin, called another mcetinjj for Saturday, Aus^iist 27, at 3 P.M.. statinjj that the committee ap])ointed at the ' — ^ pt-:'^ i^ SAT «»«» t)RItilNAI, MAIL AND PASSENGER S T.M .1; i . . \. M is the nriRinal mail ond passenger four-hor«c ataRc-conch. ii-|)rvi.i.niin(; by Isaac Sherwood. (Sec Chapter IV., page ><^) previous meeting had invc^tifjated llie suhjcct in detail and were prepared to present a report, interesting not only to tiie present lot owners and inhabitants of tlie village, but to all others in the adjoining vicinity. In a report of that mcetin^j. the Democrat gave an extended account of the proceedings, in which occurred the following remarks : President William Marvin, in a few remarks, stated the object of the meeting, after which E. N. Leslie read an interesting and extended report from the committee, in which they recommended that immediate steps be taken to incorporate the present village cemetery, and that an association be formed as directed by the Act of the Legislature authorizing the Incorporation of Rur.nl Cemetery Associations, and for that purpose suggested that a board 'if twelve trustees be elected as advised by that act. The report was discussed at length, after «liich it was unanimously accepted and adopted. Tv.elvc Trustees were then elected, anl 26o HISTORY OF SKANEATELES: classified to serve one, two, and three years, after which the name of " Lake View Cemetery Association " was adopted, and other details of the organization were enacted according to law. The next important matter to be considered was the acquisition of adjoining- lands for the new cemetery. Those lands belonged to Reuel Smith, Sr. Another most important subject was that the new cemetery had no money to purchase lands. But the further and more difiicult problem of establishing this cemetery rested entirely upon myself as being its chief promoter. The late Charles Pardee, who owned the old burying-ground, was a determined opponent to the establishment of an incorporated public cemetery. In order to elucidate his strength of oppo- sition, it may be well to give his previous history. Charles Pardee had been an active merchant here for many years, until he sold his stock of merchandise and his business to Messrs. Isom & Hall, January i, 1852. After that he gave his attention to various lines of business, and during the Civil War he was engaged in manufacturing for about eighteen months, and then in various operations from time to time, until he commenced the banking business by the establishment of the Lake Bank in 1863. At that time, according to the best estimate of his nearest friends, he was worth, over all his liabilities, from $300,000 to $350,000, and therefore exerted a powerful influence in this com- munity. His opposition to the establishment of an incorporated public cemetery, and his determination to prevent its accomplishment, made him a powerful oppo- nent. His influence was such as to control a large proportion of the inhabitants of this village. About one-half of the first Board of Trustees elected at the public meeting held August 27, 1871, were adherents of Mr. Pardee, some acting partly and others wholly in his interest. The original twelve Trustees elected by ballot, August 27, 1871, at the public meeting, were as follows : Edward S. Hoyt, George T. Campbell, Jacob C. DeWitt. Joel Thayer, J. Augustus Edwards, E. Norman Leslie, C. W. Allis, Willis Piatt, John H. Smith, P. Oscar C. Benson, Charles Pardee, and Harmon B. Benedict. Their first meeting was held November 19, 1871. The following Trustees were not present : Charles Pardee, C. W. Allis, P. O. C. Benson, and John H. Smith. The following officers were then elected by ballot : Joel Thayer, President ; H. B. Benedict, Vice-President ; and E. Norman Leslie, Secretary and Treasurer. It is impossible to write the history of the establishment of the present cemetery without detailing the various phases of obstruction and opposition used by Mr. Pardee to prevent the combination of all the village burial-grounds into one organization. At a meeting of the Trustees of Lake View, held May 18. 1872, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted: " Resolved, That all the lands now held for sale by any person or persons, ex- cept the lands now held by the Society of Friends, and the lands now held by the Skancateles Religious Society, within the present cemetery grounds, be purchased or acquired by Lake View Cemetery Association. HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. -'61 " Rcsohcd, That Joel Thayer and E. Norman Leslie be a committee to initiate proceedings for the acquisition of such lands." As one of the aforesaid committee, I called on Mr. Pardee, who had possession of a portion of the old cemetery and who held land therein for sale. The first interview was had on Monday, June 3, 1872. In answer to the question as to svhat he asked the Association for the lands unsold, he replied that he would not charge mucii, and, when pressed for a definite answer, said he would look it over and let me know. I then inquired about the lot lying to the north of the cemetery. He said he had intended to purchase it, and had so far completed the arrangement that the deed had been executed, but that he had not taken it, as he had heard that the Association had determined to appropriate it. He said he had agreed to give $2,700 for it, and was desirous that the Association should purchase the same from Sumner Fuller at that price, and he offered to give the Association $250 if they would agree to purchase at that sum. I stated to him that the .Association would not give half that sum for the whole lot. I also refused to take any money on behalf of the Association with any provisos. I then left. On Tuesday, June 11, I again called to ascertain on what terms the land in the cemetery held for sale could be purchased for. Mr. Pardee said he had come to the conclusion not to sell those lands to the Association, unless they would agree to purchase the lot to the north from Mr. Fuller on his terms, namely, twenty- seven hundred dollars. He also said that, if the Association wanted to force him to sell his cemetery lands, he would give the Association all the law they wanted, and as long as they wanted law. This was the substance of the conversation. .\t the next meeting of the Trustees, held July 13, 1872, a general conversation took place in regard to the affairs of the Association. The deterinination of Mr. Pardee to retain possession of the old cemetery was talked over, and the members present regretted that he should have taken this course. Mr. H. B. Benedict, who had had a conversation with Mr. Pardee on the subject, thought that the Associa- tion had better not attempt a forcible possession. Mr. Allis was requested to see Sumner Fuller, who it was supposed owned the title to the lot on the north side of the cemetery, and ascertain whether he would dispose of his title thereto and on what terms. Mr. .\llis accepted the proposition, and the meeting then adjourned. .-\fter organization, the question of finances came up before the officers of the new corporation of Lake View. The only method was to issue certificates of indebtedness. These certificates were conditioned to pay one-half of the sales of lots, and to pay seven per cent, interest until they were redeemed. They were in all respects a first mortgage on the lands to be purchased. Several public-spirited gentlemen subscribed two hundred dollars, and some one hundred dollars each, but the total of these subscriptions was not sufficient to purchase the lands wiiich had been laid out for the new cemetery. These lands belonged to Rciiel Smith, Sr., of New York. On application to him for their purchase, he declined to dis- pose of them ; but, as I was well acquainted witii him, I persuaded him to submit 10 an appraisement by disinterested freeholders, to be appointed by the Court, 262 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. which was accomplished with harmonious and satisfactory results. These lands were accordingly surveyed and staked out. The lands comprised from seven to eight acres, and were so laid out as to make, including the old cemetery, a parallelo- gram. The lands to be purchased were to cost between two and three thousand dollars. The greatest obstacle in the disposition of the certificates of indebtedness was the determined opposition and influence of C. Pardee, who opposed the pro- jected new cemetery. He had been ruler of the village for many years, and he determined, if possible, to prevent the success of the new organization. In con- sequence of the need of money to pay for the lands, while neither of the Trustees offered to advance the necessary funds, I paid $650, which covered the deficiency to pay Reuel Smith, Sr., for his lands, .\fter having the lands in possession, the next requisite was to fence them. I then purchased on account of Lake View Cemetery, from Messrs. Allen & Hoag, between four hundred and five hundred dollars' worth of hemlock lumber, but the lumber merchants had no confidence ^n the Rural Cemetery Association's ability to pay for the lumber, so they charged me with it. I made no objection, and paid the bill. After that all purchases on account of the Association, whether of labor or materials, were all charged to me, individually, and were promptly paid. Air. Pardee, fearing that the Lake Mew Cemetcr}- .\ssocialion would take his lands by condemnation proceeding, concluded to and did organize his lands into a Rural Cemetery Association, under the corporate name of " Evergreen." Efforts, which proved ineffectual, were made in every possible manner to purchase his lands ; but he wanted money, and would not accept certificates of indebtedness which were payable with seven per cent, interest from one-half the sales of every lot sold and paid for. These certificates were as safe as a bond and mortgage. As the original subscription list has not been given, this history will not be complete without its publication. It was circulated by myself, and without assist- ance from any of the Trustees. Only six of the original twelve Trustees sub- scribed. It was commenced early in the year 1S7J. Sl-b.-^cription I-ist. E. Norman Leslie- $200 00 C. C. Wyckoff $100 00 Forrest G. Weeks 200 00 Thos. Y. Avery 100 00 Joel Thayer 200 00 .\nson Lapliam 100 00 Edward S. Hoyt 200 00 William Marvin 100 00 Thomas Morton 200 00 C. W. Allis 100 00 P. Oscar C. Benson 100 00 Ehas Thorne 100 00 William S. Briggs 100 00 Richard Tallcott 100 00 E, B. Hoyt 100 00 Jacob H. .\llen 100 00 James A. Root 100 00 H. B. Benedict SO 00 Julius Earll 100 00 Benoni Lee Legal services IL L. Roosevelt 100 00 Wills Clift 50 00 The total of the above was $-',500. The total subscrijition was .$3,000. Five subscriptions of $100 each were never paid. Tlicrc were several of the original HISTORy OF SK.lXE.iTlLLIiS. 263 Mil)scriLcrs who ditl not pay their subscriptions for from two to six years, cun- ^o^lllently, when the payment to be made Reuel Smith, Sr., became due (April i, 1S73), there was a deficiency of monc\ on hand, not only for the lands, but for ihcr purposes, amounting to $^J50. This deficiency 1 advanced, and tlie amount i le for the lands, $2,150, was paid. Mr. Pardee, havingf organized the old burying-ground into a Rural Cemetery Association. September 25, 1873, and thus being contiguous to the new cemetery, was the cause of continual and determined opposition to the original plan of com- Ipiniiig tlio old with tiie new village burial-grounds. Every possible effort w^as made by the Trustees of the new cemetery to purchase the lauds held by Mr. Pardee for sale, but he would not sell them. On the evening of September 26, 1872, the Trustees of the Presbyterian Society met at the store of Newcil Turner, by my request, when I suggested to ihem the propriety of conveying by quitclaim deed the title to the old burying- ground to Lake \'iew Cemetery .Association, inviting their attention to a law ])assed by the Legislature in 1870, which authorized religious societies holding burial-grounds to convey them to rural cemetery associations. Tliis law was read to the Trustees, and by a unanimous vote they by resolution directed their Treasurer. Newell Turnir. t<> execute a (luitclaim deed (which had been pre- viously prepared ) and to affix the corporate seal thereto. The deed was executed 264 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. the same evening, and it was recorded in tl;e County Clerk's Office on the 28th day of September, 1873. This old burying-ground, an acre in extent, Mr. Pardee claimed as his own, and it composed a large portion of his burial-ground. When he became aware of its transfer to Lake View Cemetery Association, he addressed the following letter to one of the Trustees of the Presbyterian Society : Skaneateles, \. v., June 26, 1875. Mr. James A. Root: In 1862, yourself, Isoni, Hitchcock, and Augustus Edwards i,'ave me the entire control of the ground, originally appropriated for burial purposes, and wliich was placed into the hands of the Trustees of the Skaneateles Religious Society, as trustees for the whole com- munity, with no authority to make sale even as privately as you pretended to do, and put it into the hands of the Episcopal Society. The question is yet to be tested. Very respectfully, C. Pardee. At a meeting held July 28, 1873, on the cemetery lands, the project of opening an avenue into the old burial-ground was discussed, and, as some of the Trustees were desirous that it should be done, C. W. Allis, who is one of the Trustees of the Friends' Burial-Ground, consented that such an avenue should be opened on the western part of such burial-ground. As this required some preliminary work, Mr. Pardee, suspecting the design, immediately placed a section of iron fence across the roadway in such a position as to prevent its use as contemplated, although at that time, 1873, the old burial-ground had been deeded to Lake Waw Cemetery by the Trustees of the Presbyterian Society, September 26, 1872. At the ne.xl meeting of the Trustees of Lake View, held August 21, 1873, the following resolution was passed: "Resolved, That Jacob C. DeWitt have, and hereby has, such power to nego- tiate with Mr. Pardee for the sale of all his interest in the old burial-ground, also the lot in front, and that he make the best terms he can for the Association, payment to be made in scrip not to exceed two thousand (2,000) dollars." At the following meeting of the Trustees, held August 2?^, Jacob C. DeW'ilt reported Mr. Pardee's reply to the resolution : " Mr. Pardee declines to sell the lots held by him for sale, with this exception : he will sell the front lot, and the control of the old burial-ground, for two thousand (2,000) dollars, to be made payable at sorne specified future time. That time he will leave the Trustees to name." This being unsatisfactory to the Trustee.^, it was, on motion, rcsoKi-il that Dr. Campbell be associated with J. C. DcW'itt to negotiate further with Mr. Pardee, and they were requested to get the proposition in definite shape to be presented to the Board of Trustees at a special meeting, if possible, on Thursday. at same hour and place. During the month of May. 1874. the fence separating the avenue leading to the old burial-groiHid from tlK\;i\c-iiue of Lake \'iew was taken down by my JUSTORV OF SKANEATELES. .^65 direction. In a lew days thereafter a section of an iron fence set in stone ba^s was placed across the roadway, by direction of Mr. Pardee, to prevent the use of the avenue. In addition to this iron fence there were several mounds of apparent graves placed in the middle of the road. On August 26, 1874, Mr. Pardee had a new board fence erected in place of that which was taken down during the previous May. After making every endeavor to purchase Mr. Pardee's lands, the committee were requested to call and ascertain from Mr. Pardee on what terms he would sell his burying-ground. This effort was made September 6, 1877. In reply he refused to sell llie lands held by him for sale on any terms. Witliout detailing the many obstructions placed by his orders to prevent the connection of the new avenues of Lake \'iew with those of his cemetery, it is only necessary to mention the principal one, that is, the avenue near the large elm-tree which now connects the new cemetery with the old. His se.Kton, Charles Read, was directed to use tlie avenue as a potter's field. Eleven burials were made in this roadway, only about one foot of earth covering them, except one, a woman who had died of ship-fever, and this grave was dug the usual depth. Grave mounds were made over each of these graves. Only one of those buried there has been removed; the remainder are under that roadway yet. After the melancholy and distressful death of Mr. Pardee, in April, 1878, the late Joel Thayer and his wife Juliette proposed to purchase all of the late Charles Pardee's ownership in the old burial-ground included in the Evergreen Cemetery. An act of the Legislature was necessary to authorize one or both of the two cemeteries to sell their lands to any person or persons, on condition that within one month after receiving a deed therefor the said person or persons should deed one or both cemeteries to the corporation of the village of Skan- eateles, and by the same act of the Legislature tlie Trustees of the village were empowered to receive one or both cemeteries in the same manner as if the village had purchased them, and they were to receive them under Chapter 209 of the Laws of 1847. ^^^- Thayer purchased the Pardee interest for $800, and the new Lake View Cemetery gave him its seven or eight acres, conditioned that he was to deed them to the village. Thus the present attractive cemetery became the property of the village. Five months after Lake View Cemetery Association became vested in possession of the lands of Reuel Smith, Sr., he died, and those lands could not have been obtained after jiis death for fifty or more years by the [irovisions of his will. Therefore, the present Lake View Cemetery would not lie in existence, liolding the eight acres, had it not have been for my efforts and persistence in calling a public meeting and carrying out my original design. I assumed full charge of all the detail of establishing the cemetery, as the original Trustees of the Rural Cemetery Association were in general very apathetic and ti'ok little or no interest in the success of the Association. I kept all the accounts 'y double entry, opened an account with the Bank of Skancatelcs under the name f " Lake \'iew," all checks were signed in my handwriting, and all moneys were deposited to the credit of that account. In fact, I took chart'i- ^^f •'' • 266 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. receipt and payment of all moneys, and issued all deeds for sale of all lots. I made it my business from the commencement to succeed in establishing the new- Incorporated Cemetery Association. It has been accomplished under many diffi- culties and determined opposition. Continuing the history of the Rural Cemetery Association of Lake View, its last meeting was held April 3, 1880, when the following resolution was adopted: " Resolved, That the President and Treasurer be, and are hereby, authorized to cause the corporate seal to be affixed, and to execute a deed of conveyance, covering and including all the lands df the Cemetery Association, incorporated under tiie nanu' and st\ eatelos, under and by a The meeling tlun accordance with the nt \ieu-.- tn Jncl Thayer, of the village of Skan- Lbapur 5_' i.l the Laws of iSSo." The detd was executed .\pril 9, 1880. In l/hajner 52 of the Laws of 1880. Joel Thayer and wife conveyed all the lands he had received by deed from the Rural Cemetery Associations, he having previously purchased the Evergreen Cemetery, to the cor- poration of " The Trustees of the Village of Skancateles." Thus the cemetery became the property of the \illagc of Skaneateks. Cemetery Conunissioucrs were first a]i]iointe(l b\- tlie village 'i'rustees. .April 26, 1880, as authorized bv law. Their first nieetnig was held .Mav 21, 1880, at HISTORY OP SKAXCATELES. 267 which they organized. At the second meeting:, 'icld June 4. 1S80. the following notice was ordered publislied in the village papers: Notice to Lot Owners i.n the Cemetery. .Ml persons claiming to own unoccupied lots or plats in the Ccnicliry, now owned by the Trustees of the village, arc rei|uired to present or exhibit deeds or title to the same to the Clerk of the village, for the purpose of having the same properly recorded. No inter- ments will be allowed on such lots until after they are recorded. By Order of the Co.\i.mission-ers. The next meeting of the Commission was lield September 6, 1881. Joel Thayer having died May 19, 1881, the village Trustees appointed J. C. Willetts t.) fill the vacancy occasioned by his death. Willetts proved to be a disturbing element, and just the opposite of Joel Thayer. At that meeting Beiioni Lee was present as counsel, and he read the statute which authorized the appointment of Commissioners, which eliminated the powers of the Commission. It was found that their powers were more restricted than had been anticipated, and it was suggested that an ordinance be prepared and submitted to the Trustees of the village for their approval and action, giving to the Commission such additional powers as would enable them to conduct the affairs of the Cemetery in a manner creditable to the village. That suggested ordinance was neither prepared nor passed by the Trustees of the village, consequently the Commissioners possessed no power to sell lots, receive or pay out money, or do anything but lay out and beautify the grounds for five years only. The law under which they were appointed was Chapter 696 of the Laws of 1871, which defines their duties and powers. The village Trustees, when they appointed Commissioners, named as such the previous Trustees of the Rural Cemetery .Association, and, as they did not know of any change of powers, they continued to sell lots, receive and pay out money, just as they thought proper. As soon as I ascertained that they possessed no power to receive or pay out money, I offered a resolution as follows : "Resolved. That Mr. Wills Clift, one of the Commissioners of Lake \'iew < "emetery, acting as Treasurer, who has now a balance of money on hand, which I'clongs to the Trustees of the village of Skaneatclcs, be, and is hereby, directed to pay the said balance to the Treasurer of the village, and thereafter such money will be only subject to the order of the Trustees of the village." Commissioner J. C. Willetts objected, saying that, as the Commission had been in the habit of receiving and expending all the mnney, there was no reason why that course should not be continued. The last regular meeting of the Commissioners that I ever attended was held November 24, 1885. Sk.\ne.\tf.lf.s Lake — .As it .Art-EARF.D whf.x This Part of the Country AS Visited nv the Pioneers. — In 1793-94 when the first settlers reached its liores, its dense forests reached almost to the water's edge. There were numer- ■iis points jutting from the shores on cither side covered with trees and under- 268 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. brush, the most prominent of which was at the terminus of what is now known as the Shotwell Brook, which at that time was a very considerable stream of water. This point projected far into the lake, and it was from about this locality that a sand-bar ran across to near Mile Point, over which a man could wade across from shore to shore v.-ith his head above water. All the points before mentioned were the terminus of inlets into the lake, all of which carried a much greater volume of water than they do now. At that period, while the forests were intact, the springs on the hillsides flowed all the year round. The rays of the sun had but little effect on the surface beneath, and the snows of winter remained on the ground until late in the spring months, the gradual melting of which, together with the rains, which were much more abundant than at the present time, supplied the springs with water throughout the year, with occasional interruptions in the summer months during a dry season. As a result of this the level of the surface of the lake was generally very uniform. On occasions of a very rainy season the rise would not average over one foot, which gradually subsided from the natural flow through the outlet. The line of shore at the lower end of the lake ran from about the northern boundary of the Lapham place in nearly a semicircle, where James E. Porter now resides, or perhaps a little further to the east. The southern terminus of the present coffer-dam was the outline of the original shore. Between that and the present shore, in the rear of the brick stores, was a swampy flat, interspersed with pools of water, and very similar in appearance to the woodland now on the direct road to Auburn, beyond the county line. This flat was covered with old forest trees, principally elm and red oak, and considerable underbrush. The outlet ran through this flat, and was filled with driftwood, the debris which had accumulated there from time immemorial. This driftwood formed a bridge for the first settlers to cross the outlet. It is presumed that the upjicr end of the lake was similar in apj^carance, but more rugged. The first dam was constructed of logs, and was about upon a line with the north end of the present bridge. It did not raise the water more than three or four feet, and was constructed by Jesse Kellogg for Judge Sanger about the year 1797. Sanger built the first grist-mill, and Jesse Kellogg built the first sawmill, which were both supplied with power from this dam. The first name given to Mile Point was Barney's Point, named from Bar- nabas Hall, who settled on the military lot adjoining. There was very early a log house erected on this point by a man named Bebee. After his death his widow, called by the boys " Granny Bebee," lived in it for many years. She was called a witch, and all the boys and girls were afraid of her. After her death a man by the name of McMullen lived in it. His wife, Katy McMullen, worked for many people, particularly Zalmon Booth. The effect of raising the water in the lake by the dam was to flood not only the swampy flat at this end, Init nearly all the picturesque points which were HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. 269 covered witli trees, the stumps of which could be seen for many years thereafter, particularly at this end of the lake. Another effect was the continual washing away of the shores undermining the roots of the trees, causing driftwood and snags in the body of the lake and on its shores. This gradual washing away has greatly enlarged the surface from what it was originally. At the present time the rise and fall of the water from extreme to extreme is about seven feet, so that, when the water is at high-water mark, the whole surface of the lake is full seven feet higher than it was when Abraham A. Cuddcback came here in 1794 and settled on the west shore. The first building on the lake-shore in the village was a large traveler's barn Mile Point in the distance to the South, on the Host Shore of (he Luke l)clonging to Elnathan Andrews, who kept the old tavern. Another one was put up by John Legg for a blacksmith's shop on about the present site of Legg Hall. \ frame harness-shop followed, by I'hilo Dibl)le. A frame one-story lawyer's iiice was then built by Alfred Xortham, which was east of Dibble's shop. Aboriginal Name of Skaneaticles Lake. — Skancateles I^ikc was called Skahneahties." meaning " Very long lake." The stream which leads from it the Seneca River was called " Hanautlee," "Water through thick hemlocks." r " Hemlock Creek." A map in the Historical Society Library has it " Skau- itcdic Lake." Charlevoix's map gives it "Lac Sceaneatcrcs." The Historical -^ oiety Library gives for the outlet, or river. " Hanauto." 2 70 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. Skaxeateles Lake — A Later Descrittion. — Skaneatcles Lake is the gem of all the inland waters of the State of New York. Its waters are as limpid as those from the springs on its hillsides. Its velvety sloping shores commence at the village, gradually rise and extend to the southernmost end of the lake, where the shores become abrupt and almost mountainous, wooded and rocky, thus making the landscape wholesome and inviting to the admirer of Nature. From the village the eye measures nearly three-quarters of the length of the lake to the south, the distant wooded highlands interspersed with cultivated fields, these being particularly the feature of the distant view from the village. The Glen Haven Water Cure, situated at the extreme southern end of the lake, under the overhanging highlands, with its numerous cottages, is the cool retreat of numerous guests from the Eastern and Southern States, a resort for health, rest, and recreation during the summer season. Everywhere the shores and bottom of the lake are of gravel and sand, neither bogs nor swamps existing on its shores. The waters of the lake have been stocked from the State fish farm at Caledonia with the most approved food fish, and at the same time game fish, among which are the California salmon trout, the Lake Michigan trout, black bass, and pickerel, not to mention the native perch. Brook trout are to be found in the various mountain streams on the hillsides. Row and sail boats owned by the proprietors of the Water Cure are always available for its guests. Water fowl, such as ducks and wild geese, sometimes alight on the lake while on their migrating tour, but the absence of cover of marine growth deters them from frequent visitation. Skaneateles Lake covers 8,320 acres, and is ID feet higher than Otisco Lake. 122 " " " Keuka Lake. 172 " " " Canandaigua Lake. 275 " " " Lake Erie. 393 " " " Seneca Lake. 463 " '■ " Erie Canal at Syracuse. 433 " ■' " Cayuga Lake. 463 •• •• " Oneida Lake. 470 " " ■■ CYoss Lake. 520 " " Onondaga Lake. 6oy " " '■ Lake Ontario. 747 " '■ " Lake Champlain. 860 " " " Ocean level. 60 feet lower than Cazenovia Lake. 353 " " " Otsego Lake. 451 " " " Chautauqua Lake. The excellent view of Skaneatcles Lake given on the jjreccding page indi- cates the bold highlands on its shores, and the consequent salubrity of its atmos- phere and the limpid purity of its deep waters. Glen Haven, the haven of //^ 3 I 272 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. seekers for health and aquatic pastime, is located a few miles beyond the high- land on the right. It attracts numerous visitors from various portions of the United States, who are continuous from year to year, and appreciate its attract- iveness, in every respect. For a full century Skaneateles Lake has e.xerted a direct, potent, and whole- some influence upon the growth and prosperity of the town, and especially the handsome village that bears its name. Its pure, cold waters, gushing from per- petual springs, originally afforded food to the aborigine, and subsequently fur- nished the tables of white settlers and visitors. Large numbers of lake trout and other varieties of desirable fish have been taken from its depths, its glisten- ing surface has borne every variety of craft, and its waters have turned the wheels of numerous industries. The beautiful scenery adorning its shores, the purity of its atmosphere, the aquatic pleasures on its surface, have spread its name far and wide, and attracted hither scores of both permanent and summer residents. The name Skaneateles whether of lake or village has become a synonym of one of the most attractive and inviting places to locate a home or for a summer vacation that is to be found throughout the United States. The Pe.\t Bog Speculation. — In the year 1863-64 a valuable bed of peat was discovered on the lands of Mrs. Baber, in 28 Swamp, which the late Jessee Simmons purchased at a nominal price. Simmons then formed a stock company, issuing twelve shares to various parties, among whom were James R. Oilman, Alfred Hitchcock, L. H. Earll, and Thomas Isom. Immediately after the formation of this company another peat mine was discovered on the Joe Bassett farm, which was purchased by the stock company. It consisted of eight acres. The company paid for this bog $1,400, and bought it for the purpose of con- trolling the peat production. After the stock company had fully developed the Baber bog. Oilman declared that the company could declare a dividend of fifteen per cent, from the profits of the first season's sales. ' Peat was in demand during the winter of 1867, at which time coal was selling here at fifteen dollars a ton. Peat was sold at about six dollars a ton. Thomas Isom used it in his store. Another stockholder also used it in his dwelling. Various persons purchased small quantities to experiment with, and the result was that the whole village was perfumed with the delicate aroma of peat during that season. The result was a general condemnation of the article for domestic purposes. One of the experiences of those who had purchased it was that it took a boy all the day long to carry off the ashes, and to supply the peat to the fire. The peat stock company expended about $1,300 on the Baber bog, nearly all of which turned out to be a dead loss. The survivors of the stock company offered to sell to Joe Bassett the eight-acre bog for $350. Bassett accepted the oflfer, but the sale was not consummated in 1872, owing to the fact that the survivors of the stock company could not deliver a perfect deed, which needed the signature of an un- known stockholder. It is now said that the title of these eight acres remains in the stock company. HISTORY OF SK.IXEATELBS. 27J Anotiikr I'liAT SrECOLATiox. — Thc following statement is based on rumor, and its truth is not vouched for: '■ Dr. Sumner Rhoades secured a lease from Henry Moses for a small portion of his farm at the rate of $300 per annum for five years, with the privilege of .removing the soil, earth, stones, etc. This lease was completed without inform- ing Moses of its object. Ahcr the papers had all been completed, thc lessee then informed Moses that it was peat that he was interested in, and offered Moses an interest, which was declined by him, saying that he luid plenty of such l.ind IMPROVED STAGE-COACH AND A ROADSIDE TAVERN'. ivc an improved stai;e-coach, which came into use after the foiesi had bci-n i is patronized by pcmona who could afford a more comfortable conveyance. He ; an illustration of a roadside tavern, or. as formerly named, an inn. ■ II. The peat, however, was never developed, but Mr. Rhoades paitl for the !sc according to its terms, amounting in all to $1,500." Pork Point. — Pork Point, on Skaneatelcs Lake, took its name from the pillowing incident: Thc first merchant at IJorodino was Daniel Burroughs, who had the reputation of being a great swimmer, and on one occasion, on a wager, swam across Skaneatelcs Lake, from Mandana to Pork Point, a distance of three miles. It may be mentioned here that Pork Point was .so named from the fact that thc first barrel of pork ever bronglit to Borodino was unshipped there. HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. CHAPTER XIX. Bonding Skaneateles Defeated. — Early Missions and Religious Denominations. Defeat of the Attempt to Bond Skaneateles in behalf of a Railro.-\d.^ In March, 1872, the citizens of Skaneateles were requested to attend a public meeting to discuss their interests in the building of the New York Western Midland Railroad, according to the following notice : The New York Western Midland Railroad. The citizens of the town of Skaneateles are requested to meet a't Legg Hall, at 2 o'clock P.M., and at Gamble's Hall, Mottville, at 7 P.M., on Friday, March 8, to discuss our interests in the building of The New York Western Midland Railroad, a line connecting with the New York and Oswego Midland Railroad, at or near Hancock, Delaware County, running thence northwest through the counties of Chenango, Broome, Cortland, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Wayne, connecting with the Lake Ontario Shore Railroad at or near Sodus Bay, forming the third trunk line from New York to the Great West through the State. Hon. D. C. Littlejohn, Hon. Perrin H. McGraw. and other members of the Board of Directors will be present and address the meeting. A full attendance is requested. Meetings to discuss the same project will be held at Spafford Corners, on Thursday, at 2 P.M., and at Borodino, at 7 P.M. On tjie 1 8th of April, 1872, D. C. Littlejohn made a speech at Legg Hall to induce the people of the town of Skaneateles to bond the town for $250,000 in aid of this railroad. The scheme of the Board of Directors and the interested parties here in Skaneateles was as follows : " We propose to build this road from Weedsport, through Brutus, Elliridge, Skaneateles, Spaflford, along the east side of Skaneateles Lake, and through Scott and Homer, to Cortland, expecting at the latter place to receive coal from the Cortland and Ithaca Road, which can be shipped to Weedsport on the canal, and at Fair Haven on Lake Ontario. They also expect to have trackage from Weedsport to Fair Haven over the Southern Central, and thus connect with the Lake Shore Road, which was then being constructed. The distance from Homer to Weedsport is thirt> -three miles. These 'gentlemen are assured of $50,000 of voluntary subscriptions, $75,000 from Brutus, $125,000 from Ell)ridge, $200,000 from Skaneateles, besides five miles of road already con- structed, in all $340,000; also $100,000 from Spafford, and would like Homer to bond for $100,000. With such amounts they think there would be no mortgage on the road, and therefore the towns would own it permanently. On account of the difficulty beyond Glen Haven, their Skaneateles friend thinks the Auburn and lli)mer Road would cost at least one-third more than the one to Skaneateles and Weedsport. .Also that. Auburn being so nuich larger than Homer, a road to HISTORY OF SKAXEATELIIS. 275 Auburn would carry business away from Homer, instead of brin^inp; business to it, w liereas Skaneateles would not. The Skaneateles friend says : ' We intend to build the road, when or how soon depends somewhat upon you and others. We are looking to you, and hope to realize from you. Your neglect, however, will not necessarily prevent the construction of the road.' Since the letter received from Skaneateles was written, a new organization has been perfected, which has Hancock on the south, and some place near W'olcott on the north, with its objec- tive point on the south connecting with the Midland, and on the north with the I Ontario Lake Shore Road, a distance of about one hundred miles." Such was the plan of these gentlemen whose interest in and love for Skan- eateles was to persuade the people of the town to bond for $250,000. Aftf'r the bonding was complete, then these niterested gentlemen would allow Skaneateles to look out for itself. Their interest would cease immediately. Hon. D. C. Littlejohn addressed the public meeting in such cunning manner, representing, among otlier matters, that shippers of produce would be immensely benefited by selling such produce directly to the consumers in New York, without the inter- vention of middlemen ; in fact, his flowery speech bewildered the audience in such maimer that they were ready to bond immediately. The managers, anticipating this result, had previously prepared to receive the signatures to the petition. Any town desiring to bond in aid of a railroad was obliged by law to procure the passage of an act of the Legislature permitting such town to bond and appoint ■ >mmissioners, with other details. .\ bill, therefore, was drawn for the purpose and presented to the Legislature. While this bill was before the Legislature, there were many prominent citizens in the town opposed to the bill becoming a law, and were more particularly interested in protecting the town from assuming such an < normous indebtedness as $250,000, the annual interest on which would have been >i 2.000 or $15,000. Prominent among the opposition were William Marvin, ML. Roosevelt, F. G. Weeks, C. W. Allis, and myself. As the ])romoters of this scheme to persuade the people of this town to bond for this road were more inter- rsted in their own profit than in the town, I endeavored to oppose the passage of this law through the Legislature by correspondence only, but, having no political " pull," it j)assed both the Senate and .Assembly, and was before the Governor for his signature. I immediately addressed a protest to the Governor, aniscoi'.\L Missions. — The first Episcopal services held in Onondaga County appear to have taken place at the house of David Hibbard, Pompey, about 1795. The officiating clergyman was the Rev. Daniel Xash. Nash was the original " Mr. Grant," the clergyman m Cooper's novel of " The Pioneers." He did not visit this settlement. Subsequently the Rev. Philander Chase, afterward the eminent Bishop of Ohio, journeyed in the Onondaga region. The real apostle of Onondaga, however, was the Rev. Davenport Phelps. Pie was born in Con- necticut in 1775. and was the neplicw of Dr. Eleazar Wheelock, President of Dart- mouth College. .After graduating at Yale he engaged for a considerable period in secular pursuits, but finally became a convert to the Episcopal Church and ultimately took orders. He was the first regularly appointed missionary to western New York. He took up his residence at Onondaga Hill, in July, 1804. From the year 1806 to 1809 he visited this settlement, and held services in C. J. Burnett's house, in Jonathan Booth's store, and in the upper hall of Mr. Vreden- burg's house. There were temporary seats arranged for the people, and it was customary in those days for all denominations to attend missionary services. Rev. Benjamin Onderdonk afterward held services in a yellow building which stood on the ground where St. James' Church now is. One-half of this building Aas partitioned off for the purpose. The other half was used as a store and iir the village post-office. \\. J. Vredenburg, C. J. Burnett, John S. Furman, .md Samuel Litherland were lay readers on ordinary occasions. .-\mong the members of the church residing here at that time were VV. J- Wedenburg, C. J. Burnett, and Jonathan Booth, and their respective families, and also John S. Furman and Alexander R. Beebe. The yellow building above mentioned was afterward moved to another part of the village and fitted for a store, and a man by the name of Ltivcjoy occupied it for a short time, and then removed to the western part of the State. Religious Denominations. — It has been very difficult to obtain a full and complete history of the different religious denominations in this town. Much of the following has been copied from D. \V. Mason & Co.'s " History of Onondaga County," published some years ago. The SciiANEATr.T.ES Religious Societv. — The following is copied from Vol- ume -A. page 34, from the Book of Miscellaneous Records in the County Clerk's Office : 28o HISTORY or ' SKAXEATELES. " Makcellus. October 29, 1801. — At a meeting of the Schaneateles Religious Society holden at the school house, the usual place of meeting for Public Worship, for the purpose of establishing a Religious Society, agreeable to law in such cases made and provided, for which purpose Ebenezer R. Hawley and Aaron Cook was unanimously chosen to superintend the said meeting. " Xiiw we, the said Ebenezer R. I[awle>' and Aaron Cook, do liereby certify llial the said Society being so meet, did elect and chuse Ebenezer R. Haw ley. Joseph Clift, Judah Hopkins, Peter Putnam, and Daniel Cook, to be trustees for the said Society, and that the said society should forever after be known and distinguished by the name of ' The Schaneateles Religious Society.' " CHURCIIE.S. — The first church in the village, named " The Eirst Congregational Cluirch of Marcellus." was organized bv the Rev. Aaron Bascom. The Articles HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. --m ot Faitli and Covenant were subscribed tn by Joshua Cook, Solomon Edwards, Simeon Hosmer, Asa Harwood, Daniel Cook, and Aaron Cook. They were incorporated as " The First Church of Christ " in Marcellus, and the same day on which the church was organized the following persons were received : James Porter, Mary Cook, Elizabeth Edwards, Lucretia Hosmer, Electa Edwards, Anna Clark. Hannah Annice, Martha Seymour, and Rebecca Cook. At the same time Aaron Cook was elected Clerk of the church. The first church edifice was erected in iSoS, and was dedicated March i, 1809, The following are the names of the clergymen who have served as pastors of this church: Revs. Swift. Benjamin Rice, B. B. Stockton, Alexander Cowan, Samuel \\ . Brace. Samuel W. Bush, Selden Haines, William B. Dada, A. Mandel, and M. X. Preston. In January. 1818, it was unanimously resolved to adopt the Presbyterian form of government, and the church was received under the care of the Presby- tery of Cayuga. By the new boundaries of presbyteries established by act of General Assembly in 1869, this church was separated from Cayuga Presbytery and became a part of the Presbytery of Syracuse. The Society erected a new brick house of worship in the year 1830. The manse was purchased in the year 1832. Among the deacons of this church were Eli Clark, Joshua Cook, Samuel Bellamy, James Porter, Ebcnezer Warner. ChestLT Moses. Philip Crosby, Foster Clark, Henry T. Hooker. W'iiliam Clark, and Sereno Field. Three members of this church became missionaries in foreign countries. On July 25, 189 1, the corner-stone of the present brick church was laid on the site of the old structure. Protestant EpisroiwL Church. — The first church families who settled in the village and the immediate vicinity were General Robert F.arll in 1796, Jona- than I'looth in 1801, and William J. Vredcnburg and Charles J. I^>urnctt in 1803. During these later years Rev. Davenport Phelps, a noble missionary of thi- Church, visited Hardcnburgh's Corners, near Auburn, and officiated there It is believed that he visited Skaneatelcs. The first remembered services were held in the house of Charles J. Burnett, in 1803, and in the Red House, the residence of General Robert Earll, during the same and the following years. Services were also held afterward in a small frame building situated on the site of the present church edifice. One-half of this building was used for the first post-office, and the other half was occupied and fitted for church purposes. Charles J. Burnett, William J. Wcdcnburg, John S. Furman, and Mr. Litherland read the services. St. Peter's Church, in .\uburn, was organized in 1807, and the Rev. Daven- y)ort Phelps became tlie rector. The church building there was consecrated August 22, i8t2, by the .saintly Bi.shop Hobart. Mr. Vredcnburg was one of the wardens of that church, and Jonathan Booth a vestryman. The church people here very generally attended church service in Auburn. Rev. Davenport Phelps 282 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. while rector of St. Peter's frequently came here and officiated. His first services were held in the upper hall of the Vredenburg mansion, seats being arranged for the people, who very generally attended the services. Mr. and Mrs. Burnett in this house received their first communion from the hands of the Rev. Davenport Phelps in 1809. He also baptized their first child. Mr. Vredenburg died in 1813. Services were held more or less regularly by lay readers, or an occasional missionary visitor, among the latter the Rev. William A. Clarke, who followed Mr. Phelps as rector of St. Peter's Church, of Auburn, until the year 1816, when the first written record of the life of this parish appears. This is the act of incorporation of St. James' Parish, Skaneateles, attested by Mr. John Ten Eyck, one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas, bearing date January 4, 1816. At the same meeting of the incorporators and others the Rev. William A. Clarke presided. Jonathan Booth and Charles J. Burnett were elected wardens, and Edward G. Ludlow, John W. Livingston, Zalmon Booth, Stephen Horton, John Pierson, John How, Samuel Francis, and William Gibbs were chosen vestrymen. Rev. William A. Clarke was ordained in 1812. He resigned St. Peter's Church in 1814. In 1816 an attempt was made to build a church, a conditional subscri])tion being raised for the purpose, but as only fifteen hundred of the two thousand dollars required was subscribed the en.terprise fell through and the organization was abandoned, although lay-reading and occasional visits from clergymen were continued with more or less regularity. On the 19th day of April, 1824, the parish was reorganized under the same name, and the organization was attested by Levi Mason, of the Court of Com- mon Pleas, and R. L Hess, Clerk of the same court. At the same time the following gentlemen were elected officers of the society : Wardens, Jonathan Booth and Charles J. Burnett; Vestrymen, William Gibbs, John Daniels, Stephen Horton, John Pierson, Charles Pardee, J. W. Livingston, Samuel Francis, and Klijah P. Rust. The meeting for the election of these persons was presided over by the Rev. Augustus L. Converse, of whose after history we can learn nothing. Another blank follows until the 27th day of March, 1826, when a meeting of the congregation was held, at which the Rev. Amos Pardee presided. The same vestry was elected, with the exception of John Daniels, who was replaced by John Furman. The following year. 1827, the Rev. Amos Pardee was still officiating, and the name of James M. Allen appears among the vestrymen. Although there is no mention made in the proceedings of either of the last- mentioned meetings of the project of building a church, yet we find a paper, bearing date August 3. 1827, which is a contract between the wardens and the vestrymen of St. James' Church and Enos P. Root, in which Mr. Root agrees to build the church and make it ready for occupancy. Of the same date there is also a subscription paper, on which is subscribed the sum of $2,595. Messrs. Burnett and Gibbs were this year the wardens, and Butler S. Wolcott's name ajipcars among the vestrymen. HISTORY or SK.-i\EATELnS. »83 In the report of the Rev. Amos I'ardee to the Convention of the Diocese, held in Trinity Cliurcli, \'e\v York. October 17. 1827, appears the following: " In Skancateles the past year our members liave increased, and our prospects are very much improved. A church was commenced in the last summer, and is now nearly or quite enclosed." On the 25th day of January of the following: >ear. 1828, the Rev. .■\lgernon S. Holister was called to officiate as rector for one year from the following Easter, and Timotliy Haker and -Augustus Kellogg were elected to the vestry. The following from Hishop Hobart's address to the Convention of 1828. held in Trinity Church, New York, October 16 and 17, shows at what date St. James* Church here was consecrated : " On Tuesday, tiie 23d of September. I consecrated the church at Skancateles. wlierc a small congregation has for several years been kept togelluT, and at last by extraordinary exertions have erected a neat edifice for worship." On the 26th of May, 1834, the old parsonage and grounds were purchased of Mr. Lucas, and an additional strip of land from Alanson Edwards. Under the same date the thanks of the vestry are tendered to the " Circle of Industry " for the donation of one hundred dollars toward the purchase of a parsonage. In .\ngust, 1845. ''ic necessity for the enlargement of the church was first discussed by the vestry, indicating very clearly the growth of the jjarish. The old parson- ai,'e was sold in March. 1846. ami with the proceeds, and $100 from Bishop De I Micy. $300 from Trinity Corporation. New York, and the pn^ceeds of a sub- ription, the building was enlarged and improved in 1847. '" '^53 a 'ot and lioiisc adjoining the church were purchased of Mr. Vowles, and in tiic following month the house was improved and arranged for a parochial schord. In Feb- ruar\. 1854. the Ladies' Society saved the schoolhousc from sale under fore- 284 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. closure of mortgage by paying through the treasurer, Miss Harriet J. Gibbs, the sum of $150, for which the vestry returned a sincere vote of thanks. The corner-stone of the present St. James' Church was laid by the Bishop iMay 30, 1873, and was consecrated January 6, 1874. The following have been rectors of this church : Augustus Converse, Amos Pardee, Algernon S. Holister, Joseph T. Clarke, Charles Seymour, Albert C. Patterson, Edward Moyses, R. M. Dufi", Thomas Smith, John A. Staunton, and C. P. Jennings. The following have been among the prominent members, wardens, and vestry- men of St. James' Parish : Messrs. Dyer Brainerd, Nash De Cost, J. Gurdon Porter, Dr. Evelyn H. Porter, Thomas Yates, L. Bartlett, William M. Beau- champ, John Snook, Jr., Nicholas J. Roosevelt, Ramson Crosby, Justin Redfield, Daniel T. Moseley, R. I. Baker, E. Norman Leslie, William H. Jewett, Butler S. Wolcott, George Francis, John Humphreys, Edward B. Coe, Joseph H. Bur- nett, John S. Furman, James M. Allen, James Bench, Nelson Hawley, Robert I. Baker, and others, vestrymen, all before 1850. Charles J. Burnett, Nicholas J. Roosevelt, Samuel Francis, William M. Beauchamp, William Marvin, E. Reuel Smith, and others served as wardens. E. Norman Leslie served as vestryman forty years, and as treasurer thirty-nine years, having been elected to both positions in the year 1856. The church property was valued at $30,000, and the rectory at $4,000. Society of Friends. — The west side of the lake was very early settled by the members of the Society of Friends, who exerted a wholesome and permanent influence upon the subsequent development of the town. Bringing with them their quiet, ennobling characteristics, they impressed upon the community a last- ing regard for institutions of an elevating nature, and firmly implanted their doctrines among the settlements. About 1812 a society was organized in the community, among whose members were Joseph and Russell Frost, Abner Law- ton (died January 20, 1855), Warren Giles, Silas Gaylord (died January 31, 1843), and William Willetts. Soon afterward an edifice was erected near the Octagon Schoolhouse. In 1828 a division in the Society occurred, the " Hicks- ites " retaining the meeting-house, and the " Orthodox " branch moving their services to the village, where a meeting-house was built on the farm of Richard Talcott, who, with his two sons, Richard and Daniel, were prominent members. This building was torn down in 1873 and another erected. Sarah Talcott was (he first minister of this Society. The first minister of the Hicksites after the separation was Adin Cory. Other prominent Friends were Valentine Willetts, Jolin Milton Arnold (who with Mr. Willetts engagetl in the foundry business in Skaneateles in 1843), and Liva Peck. We lierewith present engravings showing Mrs. Abner Lawton and Mrs. Russell Frost in their usual costume, which was typical of the plainness of the ajiparel of the Society of Friends forty years ago. Mrs. Lawton died December 30, 1868. Mrs. Frost died September 6, 1871. HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. :85 We {rive, page 287, an illustration of Mrs. William R. Taber, who was born July 4. 181 1, and is the only member of the Society of Friends in the town of Skaneateles who maintains the original simplicity and plainness of dress. Ihe First B.M'tist Societv. — The origin of the First Baptist Society in the village of Skaneateles is shown in the following record : " Skaneateles, June 27th, 1831. — This may certify that on the 27th day of June, 1831, at a meeting holden at the old Presbyterian Meeting-Housc, in the village of Skaneateles, convened agreeably to previous notice, for three Lord's Days, successively, previous to said meeting, according to law. " Notice having been given according to law — .\ meeting of those who have ordinarily met in the old Presbyterian Mecting-I louse in .Skaneateles and the schoolhouse near by, favorable to the Baptist sentiment, was held at the meet- ing-house as above, and proceeded to make choice of Mr. Ralph llall as modera- tor ; C. M. Fuller, clerk. " I. Voted — That it is expedient to form a Baptist Society in this place. " 2. Voted— That Ralph Hall and Thomas B. Phelps shall preside at the first election of officers. "3. Voted — .^mnsa Sessions. AUon \\'it;litinaii. K'.ilph il.-ill. Trimii'i-s 286 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. " 4. Voted — That tliis Society shall be known by the name of ' The Baptist Society in the Village of Skaneatelcs.' " 5. Voted — That our annual nieetmg be held on the fourth Monday in June annually. Ralph Hall, Moderator." Sej)tember 26, 1831, David Hall and Lucena his wife conveyed by deed to the Trustees of the Baptist Society the old Presbyterian church and land, con- sisting of two acres. On the 9th day of October, 1841, the Baptist Society purchased, from John Snook and Mary his wife, Noah Feck and Electa his wife, James Hall and Persis his wife, and Nathaniel Taylor and Electa his wife, the lands on which the present church edifice is built. October 23, 1841, an order from the Court of Chancery was obtained by the Society, giving them permis.sion to take down the old meeting-house and to convert the materials as far as possible toward erecting a new edifice, and to sell the land on which the old building was situated, and to use the proceeds toward paying the expenses of the new church. Methodist Episcopal Church. — For several years previous to 1832-33, the circuit preachers of the Methodist Episcopal Church held religious services in a schoolhouse located nearly opposite the former parsonage on West Genesee Street. A class was early formed, which was largely increased in 1832-33 through the means of a revival conducted by " Father Bibbins." Following this revival was a movement for the building of a chapel to better accommodate the needs of the growing society, which resulted in the purchase of a lot on the south side of West Genesee Street, and the erection of a building thereon in 1S34, under the pastorate of Rev. Lyman R. Redington. In 1853 this chapel was enlarged and beautified at a cost of about eight hundred dollars. At the completion of these repairs the expense was all provided for with the exception of seventy-five dollars. To meet this indebtedness the society resolved to hold a reopening service, at which an effort would be made to liquidate the debt. Rev. C. P. Bragdon was secured to manage the financial part. Rev. C. D. P.urritt, a former pastor, preached morning and evening, and Rev. Mr. Dcnison, jiaslor of the Baptist church of the village, in the afternoon. Through their united efforts the necessary amount was raised. The society was well accom- modated in this chapel until 1859, when David Hall, Esq., built at his own expense a plain brick church on Jordan Street, at a cost of about $5,000, and I)resented it to the society. The trustees to wdiom this conveyance was made were Richard Huxtable, David Hall, John Burridge, Lorenzo Driggs, Jacob Iloagland, Forest G. Weeks, and Spencer A. Daniels. In 1868 the church edifice was enlarged, remodeled, and refurnished at a cost of about $9,000. Rev. William C. Steele delivered the address at the laying of the corner-stone of the first brick church, and Bishop E. S. Janes delivered the dedicatory sermon. At the rededication of the church after its enlargement, Dr. Jesse L. Peck, now Bishop, delivered the dedicatory sermon. HISTORV OF SKAMIATELES. .87 Tlic follow insj-naincd pastors have served the church here: " latlier Bib- bins, Lyman R. He(lin,irt'>'i. Jesse L. I'cck, Selah Stocking. I. Hutchinson. Joseph Cress. C. \V. Harris. W m'. Corvoll. Tohn i:. K,.bie, ^^■alt^r Hare, Thomas H. WILLIAM R. TAHKR. ^ poKc jUj.I IVarne, Isaac I'arks, John H. Mitchell. Charles I). lUirrilt. James Hartwell. William N. Cobb. ( ). Hesler. S. H. r.rown. K. \. Ciiyken.lall. \V. H. Miller, Isaac Fo-ii.r. William Searles. Willi."n \ l:„rr Willi.m. Il.vl.v \1 '^ W .ll. 288 . HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. T. J. Bissell, William Reddy, R. Redhead, and G. S. White. Present member- ship, 170. Number of Sunday-school scholars, 170. Ministerial support, $1,104. Benevolent collections for the year, $400. The Skaneateles Falls IMethodist Ei'iscopal Church. — The first meet- ings of the Skaneateles Falls Methodist Episcopal Church were held in the house of M. B. Banister, class leader, late in 1867 or early in 1868. Rev. D. W. Beadle, then supplying the Methodist Episcopal Church at Elbridge, delivered the first sermon. He was soon followed by Rev. T. J. Bissell, pastor of the church at Skaneateles Village. In 1873-74 the schoolhouse was occupied for religious services, and from 1875 to 1877 inclusive a room in the brick block provided by Thomas Martin. A legal organization was effected November 12, 1877, A. G. Borden and H. C. Templar being presiding officers, and George Attyee, Joseph Hunt, Levi Starr, Marquis Giles, and H. G. Borden being elected trustees. A very creditable church building, 24 by 40 feet, with base- ment, has been erected at an expense of $1,500, chiefly through the aid and enterprise of F. G. Weeks, of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Skaneateles. The Methodist Episcopal Church ov Mottville. — The Methodist Epis- copal Church at Mottville is comparatively young as a distinct society, though the place has been a Methodist appointment with more or less regularity for about twenty-five years. Meetings were held in private houses or the school- houses until 1873, when, under the supervision of Rev. William Reddy, D.D., pastor of the church at Skaneateles, the old schoolhouse was purchased, moved to its present site, and fitted up for church purposes, at a cost of about $1,000. The dedication occurred January 24, 1873. Among the original members were O. Coleman, Chester Benton, Mrs. Catharine Biodgett, Mrs. Marie Hunsicker, William Barber, Mrs. Esther Young, and Mrs. Charlotte Bradley. Congregational Society. — In April, 1841, a Congregational Society was organized in pursuance of a call issued by Chester Moses and Thaddeus Edwards, and for several years occupied the Congregational (subsequently the Lyceum) Hall. It finally became extinct. Roman Catholic Church. — .\bout 1845 the Roman Catholics began to he lid services in the village, and in May, 1853, ^ church edifice was commenced. It was dedicated September 7, 1856, and cost $2,500. Rev. William McCallion was pastor until his death in 1864. Rev. F. J. Purcell, the present pastor, assumed charge in June, 1865. Their church was destroyed by fire Alay 23, 1866, and on June 30, 1867, another edifice, costing $11,000, was constructed of brick. This Society is known as St. Mary's of th.e Lake, and connected with it is St. Bridget's Chapel, at Skaneateles Falls, which was organized and built by Father Purcell, cost $5,000, and was dedicated September 20. 1874. St. Mary's Temperance Society, founded by Father Purcell January 7, 1869, has continuously exerted a practical and useful influence along the temperance lines, and is one of the few organizations of its kind which hnve maintained an un- interrupted existence. HISTORV OF SKANEATELES. 289 CHAPTER XX. Yachting, Sketches, and Official Histukv. The First Real Yacht Built. — A former merchant of the city of Xew York and one of the early settlers in this village was William J. Vredenburg, who became a resident in the year 1803. He selected for the erection of a dwelling-house a prominence at the eastern boundary of the village, which over- looked the whole expanse of the lake. At that period there were no trees on the lake-shore to intercept the view of the whole lake and its surrounding shores, and the intermediate lands were then under cultivation for farm products. The dwelling he erected was a most magnificent structure, exceeding any private residence within many hundred miles from this portion of the State. It was commenced in 1804 and completed in 1806. On the following page is given an illustration of the original Colonial mansion of Colonel William J. Vredenburg, which was erected in the years 1804-6. It 'Aas afterward known as the Daniel Kellogg house, and subsequently as the Lorge F. Leitch house. It was destroyed by fire in 1872. After locating his family in his new home, he considered the subject of having a pleasure-boat constructed for his own and his visitors' use, for he had numer- ous acquaintances from the city who were traveling through the State, Skan- cateles being located on the great route traveled by the mail-stages. For several years after 1806 he often thought of the idea of constructing a pleasure-boat to be built on the most approval model, as there never had been any sailing craft on the lake except of the most crude description. It was not until the year 181 1 that he fully determined to carry out his premeditated design of having a pleasure- boat constructed on the shore of the lake near his residence. .\t that time there were no skilled workmen nearer than the city of New York. He must neces- sarily procure an efficient ship-carpenter from the city of Now York, but, as preliminary to engaging such needed professional authority, he anticipated the necessity of procuring suitable timber and lumber for construction. Conse- quently, during the winter "f 1811-12, he procured the selection of the necessary kinds of suitable timber from the surrounding forest, not only in quality, but in shape of limb and body, for the construction of the various shapes of the frame of the boat, and giving some time for it to season before commencing work. All this material was transported to the lake-shore where the boat was to be constructed. It was not until rather late in the spring of 181.' that he had completed his arrangements to go to New York to procure an efficient ship-carpenter who was 290 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. not only a good workman, but a practical modeler, and with the knowledge of planning out the necessary sails and spars ; in fact, the man he needed must be an adept in all that concerns the full construction and fitting out of the con- templated boat in all its details. Mr. A'redenhurg must necessarily make the 3&.*- VKKDKN'RL'KC COLONIAI- MANSION, 1804-73. (See page sSq.t journey lu New \'ork in his own carriage and with liis best team dt horses, intending to leave abtuU the isl of June, as the roads previously to that date had not become .sufficiently dry, dwing tn a late spring. The weather on the ist of Jinie was storiny, consequently he commenced his tedious journey toward Albany on Tuesday, Jime 2, 1812. It is not necessary to detail this journey, principally through the forest, but after many inconveniences and interruptions he arrived fflSTORY OF SKANEATELES. 29' ill Albany, and. placiii:; liis carriage and horses in safe cliargf, he embarked in a sloop to go to New York by water route, instead of journeying in his carriage. Arriving in New York, he at once commenced his search, first by inter- viewing his former friends and associates as to the proper course to be pursued to obtain an experienced ship-carpenter. Although he was referred to a num- ber of such professional workmen, lie encountered much difficulty in obtaining one. as tlie principal objection was the leaving the city to go over three hundred miles in tlie interior of the State, and the disadvantages arising therefrom; but finally he secured exactly the man he wanted, who singularly bore his name — Vredenburg ! A formal contract was executed, and, without detailing the return jouniey to Skaneateles, and other arrangements for the transportation of the necessary tools, implements, and materials, the latter needed in the course of construction of the yacht or boat (as the word "yacht " was not known in those times), in due time Skaneateles was reached, and the work immediately com- menced to build the boat. All the local house-carpenters, especially those accus- tomed to hewing out timber for framing houses, were engaged. These were employed to properly dress the timber which was at hand. The New York expert executed a full plan and design for the new boat, and made patterns for shaping each timber of the frame, with which the local workmen were to be guided. After all these timbers had been completed, the frame was set up and properly braced, and secured for the next operation of planking. Owing to the thickness of the outside planking, and the necessity of having them thoroughly steamed to make them more pliable and therefore easily bent to shape of frame, the expert carpenter constructed a steaming apparatus, using a potash kettle to generate the steam. The work of construction went on during the summer and fall and a portion of the winter, of course slowly amid the many difficulties attendant on such an enterprise, and until the death of William J- Vredenburg. which occurred May 9, 1813, in consequence of which all further work was abandoned. A temporary shed was erected over the incomplete structure. It remained on the lake-shore for a few^ years, and finally the executor of Mr. Vredenburg's estate, the late Charles J. Burnett, Sr., disposed of the unfinished boat to some local parties who had been much interested in the enterprise, for a mere nominal sum of money. They had the boat, which had been nearly fully planked, drawn on sledges over the ice in the winter time. It was so removed to the lake-shore about where Legg Hall now stands, for the con- venience of better access for calking, painting, and rigging. The boat was finally fully completed m the year 1816. Its dimensions were about forty or forty-two feet in length, ten feet beam, and it was rigged as a sloop with main- sail and jib. Little is known of the after-life of this pleasure-boat, but it was often used as an excursion-boat for pleasure parties, consisting mostly of farmers and their families. The only recorded drowning of a well-known citizen was that of a farmer named Chester Tolles, who, while sailing on this Ixiat. was knocked overboard bv the main boom and drowned in the ve.ir 1817. Tolirs 292 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. at that time owned and worked the farm occupied in recent years by Thomas Bradford, on the east side of the lake, about three miles from the village. — Historical Collections of E. N. Leslie. Additional Items on Colonel Ykedenburg. — A correspondent under the initials " E. R. S." thus discourses entertainingly on the article given above : " In looking over the article on ' The First Real Yacht Built,' drawn from E. N. Leslie's historical collections and published in the Skaneateles Democrat of September 2, I am reminded of a few items not therein mentioned, but which may be of interest to your readers. The first of these is that, to assist at the ' raising ' of the Vredenlnirg mansion, the Chief of the Onondagas came ATT A— THE START, 1850. (Sec page cii from the reservation with a hand of Indians, who for several weeks were encamijcd upon tlie grounds. 'J'his was not only a recognition of the greatness of the undertaking, but a mark of special friendship for Colonel Vredenburg, who had much influence with the Indians, and was known to them by the name of Gan-ha Gan-ge Gu-ahna, which is interpreted to mean ' The Great Clear Sky.' " The second item is the name of the boat which your correspondent has failed to give. The ' first \ acht ' to grace the waters of Skaneateles Lake was ' The Foin- Sisters.' thus designated in honor of Colonel Vredenburg's daughters, Maria, Eliza, Cornelia, and Evelina. Maria was married to Charles J- Burnett. Sr., who established on the outlet of C)tisco Lake a milling station, which he called in honor of his wife ' Marietta.' Eliza became the wife of Hon James Porter, of Skaneateles. Cornelia married \\'altcr Weed, Sr.. of .\uburn, who built the first flouring-mills at what is now known as \Vecdsi)ort. Evelina mar- HISTORY OF SK.IXEATELES. 29i riod Governor Enos T. Tliroop, of Auburn, in lienor of wlioni Tliroopsville is named."' Regattas Firrv Years Acq. — Who has forsottcn the fast sailboats that were carted from C.iyuga and Seneca lakes to capture the silver cups and other prizes offered by the sporting citizens of Skaneatelcs? Our own craft, well known at that time, were the Island Queen, the Ashland, and the Blue Bell, built by Captain Charles F. Hall, near the bridge, and Dr. Lord's Sea Gull, Roosevelt's Julia, and E. Potter's Gilt. They are all boats of the past, and few are left to remember those days. There may be a few who remember Ed Potter and some of his old bachelor parties out at the farm home, and who got SKANEATEI.ES REGATTA-THE START, 1P51. (.Sec puKc a headache there like some others, fifty years ago. This was when Peter \\ iiii- tlesey lived in the De Zeng house. It was just alx)ut that time that a few friends took Captain Dc Cost to the town fair, in the village, on a stone-boat, sitting on a chair, but paralyzed on one side and unable to walk. Those were happy days. It is a pleasure to remem- ber them. On the preceding page is given an illustration of the Start of the Skaneatelcs Regatta in 1850. made from a sketch drawn by Rev. William M. Bcauchamp from a daguerreotype taken by Jonathan Edwards. On the right hand arc tiirec boats from other waters. The nearest, the Dart, is from Owasco Lake, and those next to the Dart, the Ashland and the Island Queen, are from Cayuga L;ike. All the others are Skaneatelcs boats. Up to the year i88j all but one of the boats of this sketch had disapi)eared. This sketch represents the start from 294 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. the pier of the steamboat Homer. One minute was allowed for every foot of length. On page 293 is presented an illustration of the Start of the Skaneateles Regatta in 1851, made from a sketch enlarged from a daguerreotype which was taken by J. Secomb. There was but little wmd. Our boat, the Isabella (shown behind the little schooner), was at one time a mile ahead of all the boats, but became becalmed and was passed by four boats. Notwithstanding we got the third prize. The Ashland and Island Queen were again present and took the leading prizes. A Notable Yacht. — One of the most notable yachts ever ])laced on the lake was the Wild Wave, which was brought from New York in the year 1863. It was built at Keyport, N. J., about 1S54, for a club in New York, and was con- structed of the best materials in every respect. The hull was of white cedar, and all the metal work was of brass and copper. The mast was hollow, it having been bored out. It had two suits of sails, one of which was jib and mainsail, and the other a cat-rig. Her length was thirty feet, beam eight feet, center- board. This yacht proved to be the fastest boat on the lake, especially in the heaviest south winds. She had the best model of any craft ever placed on the lake. In all contests with other yachts the owner of the ^^'ild Wave always was the sailing-master. Years Ago. — The following highly polished descriptive communication was published in the Skaneateles Columbian, April 14, 1842, signed " Secretary of the Navy," which was written by the late Dr. II. R. Lord of this village. It is now republished for the edification of the degenerate officers of the present naval fleet on the lake. "Pleasure-Sailboat. — The beautiful yacht Onkahyc, Jr.. is the facsimile of Air. Stephens' yacht of New York, which is 250 tons, with an iron keel of ..(.o tons, The tonnage and iron keel leverage of our boat are about in exact proportion to thai whicl; is said to be the fastest sailer ever floated, sailing twice as fast as any other craft. The Onkahye, Jr., is fitted out right. In the first place, she can not upset; for, if knocked down by a squall, her keel, being iron and weighing nearly 600 pounds, with such a leverage will right her again (if I may so say) before she gets down. If she drinks in two-thirds full of water, which is all she can ship, she has air-boxes, scats, and pipes sufficient to float 1,200 pounds — twice the weight of her keel — hence she can not sink. To prevent shipping water, she has a board twelve inches wide that fits either side, and hooks on solid, to keep the water from dashing in ; and when on the lee side, no land lubber whatever (as the sailor would say) could ship water in our hardest blows and squalls. She has been tried. The model of the Onkahye, Jr., is also not unlike that of Mr. Stephens' yacht — entirely new — combining more buoyancy with sharpness than any other craft I ever saw. It has a tendency to make her sail well in a heavy sea, and, so far as I can judge, a most capital sea-boat she is, and the fastest sailer that ever floated of her inches. I mean in a full-sail HISTORY OP SKAXEATELES. !95 breeze ; and ilicre i> nothing that wears rags can catcli her, fur slie will carry twice the amount of canvas that any other boat can of the same tonnage, unless got up in the same way. "Mr. Stephens has said his boat was dry. It can not be (not wishing to doubt the gentleman's word, however). Our little craft is the reverse; for, see her in a gale, the wind howling over her windward bow, every timber squeaking, her windward rigging stretched not unlike the sinews of the strong man and singing like the Aeolian harp, dashing forward, not stopping to play with a surge, but cleaving it down, and in her mad career leveling all before her, her heavy keel hugging her to almost a straight line, bellowing, reeling, and throwing the boiling surge into a white foam, saying, ' Clear the track ! Gaff- ney's coming!' She, however, rides a sea beautifully, in a conmion full-sail breeze, making no fuss, and playing over it like a duck. In fine, she was got up for those to sail in who are afraid of getting drowned, particularly the ladies. Any one is safe in her as he would be by his own tireside. It will be recol- lected that this is the best boat that the Messrs. Roosevelt brought up from New York last summer, and soUl to a company in this place. Ilcr amount of 2 96 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. canvas has been increased this spring, she now having more sail than ever she had, but not nearer her decks. I have said that she is as handsome a model as ever I saw ; but I think she might be improved on as to her sailing, though, for a pleasure-boat on our lake, buoyancy, and safety, she can not be bettered. " Now, then, I want all, far and near, from the Atlantic cities, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, etc., to come and see our beautiful village, the healthful- ness of our climate, the fine, sparkling lake, as pure as spring water, and the hills from all sides gently sloping into clear, sandy shores for six miles up from the outlet. Here commences a railroad, running north and intersecting the Auburn and Syracuse Road. The romantic scenery as you pass up the lake is not to be surpassed in any part of the world, having very much the appearance of the Highlands on the Hudson. The lake is sixteen miles long and about one mile wide, some places two, running north and south. As you pass along up the lake, on each side, about midway, you come in sight of a natural embank- ment or offset, having the appearance of an artificial breastwork or fortification. .\ long distance on the west side our boats may approach these ledges with great depth of water, the trees hanging over our heads, protecting us from the rays of the sun, and in many instances from the heavy showers of rain; below, some five or ten feet of water, clear as crystal, and fish playing about in ever)' direction. These hills or oft'sets are composed of silex, slate, pudding and green stone, and some specimens of gypsum. About half a mile up the New Hope Creek is a perpendicular fall of eighty feet. This is well worth visiting, espe- cially from the lake up. As you pass up still further, the bluffs rise abruptly into mountainous hills. On the east side, about mi(hva\- u]), there are many valuable roots and herbs not to be found elsewhere in this State. Often the land on each side abounds with all kinds of fruit congenial to the climate, espe- cially berries. On and about the lake arc all kinds of game, fishing, etc. SECrosts, and boards are al)oiit used uji, the tiinlier gone, and iron or hedges iiave got to take their places. There is more hedge in this town than in any other in the county, and this is partly from the fact that the inhabitants know Ijeltcr how to manage it than in other sections. Here the hawthorn, under F.nglish cultivation, has succeeded. Experience is the best teacher in this as in all other pursuits, and the farmers of Skaneateles are learning wliat to tlo for fences. A well-lrimmcb sleighs, of all Ascriptions, and produces from twenty-five to thirty thousand dollars' worth annually. The pay-roll will average about one thousand dollars a month. A't'tt' Bridge. — The inhabitants of .'skaneateles contemplate building a new iron bridge over the outlet in the village. It will be. as they have laid out the work, a little over thirty feet span, and one hundred feel up and down stream. A stone arch of from fifteen to twenty feet span would take no more stone than they have already in the abutments of the old one, and if the outlet is lowered, as is now contemplated by the State, it will weaken those old foundations materially, aiul they are none too good now. Ily lowering the foundations some three feet, an anil y of about seven years of age, there stood a two-story frame house on the west shore of the lake which had been occupied as a tavern. The house was painted a dingy brown, and near by stood a small barn for tiie accom- modation of travelers' horses. This house had the reputation of being haunted. A well-known pcdier had disappeared, and the last that was seen of him was in that house. With ail the vivid stories of the ghostly apparitions which took place in that house every night that were floating around the village, particularly among the boys of my age, 1 became imbued with awe and hardly dared to go out after dark. However, I was obliged sometimes to go to the stores from my home, which was in the eastern |)art of the village. One evening I recollect distinctly passing on the south side nf the turnpike along the shore of the lake between 3'o HISTORY OF SKAKEATELES. what is now Legg Hall and the Episcopal Church. I looked up the lake shore, and was horrified by the sight of two rows of flittering lights passing in opposite directions through the trees and bushes. One row of lights was going directly from the haunted house in nearly a straight line clear down to the lake and into the water. Another row, 1 should judge about ten feet from the other row, was running from the water to the house. I could not see that there were any per- sons carrying the lights, and came to the conclusion that, owing to the rapidity of the lights through the bushes, it was not done by human agency. " At the time of the disappearance of the pedler, folks said the family had not a very good name. By-and-by the family moved away. The next man who lived there, while one day digging the refuse accumulations out of the cellar, found the pedler's bones, at least everybody supposed they must have been the pedler's as nobody else was missing at that time. Nobody claimed them, and the man chucked them in the corner of a pasture-lot near by. The boys used to visit the location in the daytime and amuse themselves by kicking the bones around for fun. Some of the boys cracked butternuts with the pedler's shin-bone, at least that is what they said. The man who found the bones moved his family into the house. They had not got fairly settled before the chairs began to tumble around, the dishes rattled in the cupboard, the doors would not stay shut, and the windows rattled and banged, as if some one was all the time shaking them. The man of the house said that every night some one he could not see kept shaking something about his ears that sounded like bones in a bag. Then a big yellow dog with red eyes got to appearing in the house, and, when any of the family would go near him, he would not be there, sometimes going up into the air, and sometimes fading away right where he stood. This is what the family said, and everybody believed them. The circumstance of the man's treating the pedler's bones so unchristianlike as to throw them in the corner of a lot was sufficient cause, in the opinion of everybody, for the house being haunted, and there was no use of having any peace in that family until the bones were buried decently, and everybody told the man he had better do it. So he went to work to see if he could get the pedler together and lay him to rest in the graveyard. He found a few of the bones and buried them decently, to see if the advice he had received from every- body proved true. The doors and windows banged and the chairs kept moving around as usual, but the bag of bones did not rattle so much, and the eyes of the mysterious yellow dog that looked all along so fierce-looking changed to a mild blue after the few bones had been plantcti, and just before he disappeared he gave his tail a little wag. " This encouraged the family, and they went to work hunting for more of the skeleton. They offered the boys ten cents a bone for all they could find, and the family joined in the search until they got all but the skull. W'ell, these were all buried with the first ones. The effect was that the chairs kept still and the windows and doors did not bang so much, and the bag of bones quit entirely ; but the queerest result was the action of the dog, which the children could H/STORV OF SKAXEATELES. .?'■ almost get to play with tlicni, and they said he looked so pleased when he dug out and went into the air with a playful skip. " The family now only wanted the skull, but with the most careful search it could not be found. Some time after, a boy was picking berries along the fence TAIN JAMKS KALI,. .I'TAIN jAMKs Mali. wu» one i.f the most prumincnt nionufucturcrs of cnrriiiKi-» iini, and died at Skaneatelco. October, iBj?. not far from where the bones had been originally thrown, and he stepped on a rolling stone, which threw liim on tlic ground in the brush, when to his surprise he discovered that he had stepped on the pedler's skull, which every boy in the neighborhood had been searching for. He immediately carried it to the man, who gratefully rewarded him for finding it. The skull was buried with the col- 312 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. iection of the other remains of the unfortunate pedler, and from that day the house was perfectly quiet, and the family lived in peace thereafter. '■ I do not vouch for the truth of all these stories, as I had no personal expe- rience, being too small a boy to join the larger ones in kicking around the bones, but I heard the details from the other boys. Perhaps some of the old inhabitants who were then living hereabout may dispute some of the circumstances above related ;'but it must be borne in mind that I was a small boy then, and could not take any active part with the larger boys who kicked the bones around for fun, and that my information was principally derived from hearsay. My ears were always open, and any statement made by the boys made an indelible imprint on my youthful memory. In after years, I used to hear the frequenters of the old tavern (which stood next east to the present residence of Mr. Jvlarvin) talk about the haunted house, and relate circumstances identical with those I have detailed." We now come to one of the most interesting personages described in this history — Daniel Ludlow. On October 4, 181 1, James Ennis (who married Hannah, daughter/ of Abraham A. Cuddeback, the earliest settler in this town) conveyed the 223.84 acres to Daniel Ludlow, and to Richard Harrison as trustee, with power of sale for the benefit of said Daniel Ludlow ; consideration, $5,800. The author, having observed many years ago an old marble monument in the old burying-ground formerly owned by the Schaneateles Religious Society, sought out its history and published it in the columns of the Skaneateles Democrat, per- haps forty years ago, as follows : " A Relic of History. — Near the southwest corner of the old burying-ground, now included in the village cemetery, is an old marble monument, surmounted with a dilapidated, weather-worn, moss-covered urn. The inscription on this monument reads thus : Sacred to the memory of DANIEL LUDLOW, ESQ.. of the City of N. Y., Born August 2, 1750. Died Sept, 26, 1814. " Daniel Ludlow came to Skaneateles from New York about the year 1810, and purchased a place then owned by Jacobus Annis, and situated on what is now known as the Anson Lapham place. The following interesting history of Mr. Ludlov«, copied from a hook published many years ago in Xcw York, may be of interest to your readers : " ' Daniel Ludlow was born in 1750. He married about 1773, and had several children — Harriet, Daniel, Jr., Robert C, Frederick, and Edward G. Ludlow. The father of the above children was sent when young by his father to Holland about 1765, where he went into the counting-room of Crommeline & Son, in Am- sterdam. There he thoroughly learned business in the good old Dutch way, and HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. 3>3 was also obliged to leani the French and German languages as well as the Dutch. He returned to New York after an absence of four or five years, and entered into business here with his father just before the Revolutionary War. His father died in 1769. After the war he went into partnership with Edward Goold. The store of I-udlow & Goold was at 47 Wall Street. This firm dissolved in 1790. Mr. Ludlow continued in business at 38 Greac Dock Street (now Pearl;, in his own name. In 1793 he took in Guilian, his nephew, at 42 Wall Street. His residence was at 56 Broadway, corner of Garden Street. The house was built by the old merchant, and nearly a cargo of marble was used in its construction. It was a large double house. Twenty years ago it was standing and used for the Waver- ley house. Daniel Ludlow was appointed Navy Agent by President Jefferson, and continued to hold that ofKce during his whole administration. In after years, when he was established in business in New York, he went abroad to form com- mercial connections in different parts of Europe. It happened that he was in I'aris at the time Louis XVI. and his queen. Marie Antoinette, were executed. He saw both these illustrious personages guillotined, and it made a deep impres- sion on his mind. He used to relate all that took place. He said the king e.\hibited fear and that his fortitude forsook him ; but not so with the queen. He said she looked with the utmost scorn upon the people during the procession and upon the guillotine. The crowd made Ludlow wear one of the rosettes. He wa.s in London, and lodged in the same house with Paoli, the celebrated Corsican. In the course of his travels for business purposes Mr. Ludlow saw every crowned head in Europe. He established the largest business that was done at that time in the city of New York. He was agent for the Holland Land Company, and all their business in this country was done by him. Daniel Ludlow & Co. were engaged largely in the East India trade. They had a branch house there. They largely imported East India drugs, gums, .etc. Mr. Ludlow lost nearly half a million dollars by underwriting in the first quasi French war. At one lime there were but two insurance companies in the city, and consequently it became a matter of necessity that private underwriting should be undertaken. The largest underwriters in the city were Daniel Ludlow, John B. Church, and John Delafield. They all lost immensely, and the I'resident, Washington, in one of his messages stated that their rights should be protected : yet these losses have never been made good. He also lost an immense sum by the Berlin and Milan decrees of Bona- parte. His ships were trading to every port in Europe, and to the East and the West Indies. In 1806 he lost several thousand dollars by the celebrated General Miranda and the transactions of Samuel B. Ogdcn. Mr. Ludlow was a genuine "1(1 school merchant. He had his house in town and his country-seat. The latter was afterward sold for $28,000. He owned the store at No. 19 South Street, where he was for so many years. He did almost all the hospitality of New York to strangers. There were six or eight places kept at his table every day for the use of those who might drop in unexpectedly. General Moreau, Hyde dc New- ville, and other distinguished gentlemen were visitors at his house.' " 314 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. On November i, i8i2, Daniel Ludlow, of Skaneateles, and Richard Harrison, of the city of New York, by deed dated May 14, 1812, mortgaged to Robert C. Ludlow, Jr., and Ferdinand Ludlow all that piece of land, being parts of Lots Nos. 35 and 37, beginning at the northeast corner of Abraham A. Cuddeback's land, containing 223.84 acres; consideration, $8,000. On July I, 1812, there was a mortgage sale to -Robert C. Ludlow, Jr., and Edward G. Ludlow. On September 30, 1815, Robert C. Ludlow, Jr., and Edward G. Ludlow con- veyed to Ben Miller the same lands ; consideration, $7,500. Daniel Ludlow, who died in Skaneateles in the year 1814, had a remarkable genealogj-. The Ludlows, who for nearly two centuries have formed an influential element of the wealthy and substantial population of New York, descended from the eldest gentry in the kingdom of Great Britain, and their pedigree is remark- ably clear and distinct. It may be traced on one side without a break to Edward L of England (in the year 1272) and his second wife, Margaret, daughter of Philip in. of France. The minutest detail of this descent, from Margaret, the second wife of Edward I., is fully given in Mrs. Martha J. Lamb's " History of the City of New York," down to George Ludlow, thence to Gabriel Ludlow, who settled in New York in the year 1660. As in this genealogy there are many Gabriels, the successive ones will be numbered. Gabriel 2d, sixth child of Gabriel 1st, married, (i) Frances, daughter of George Duncan, (2) Elizabeth Crommeline. Among his numerous children Gabriel 3d married Ann, daughter of Guillian Verplanck, whose son, Gabriel V. 4th, married Elizabeth Hunter, and their son Daniel was a wealthy banker of New York and President of the Manhattan Bank, who owned a country-seat at Barretto's Point, on the East River, whence he drove four-in-hand to Wall Street every day. Daniel's wife was Arabella, daughter of Thomas Duncan, and their children were: i. Harriet, married George Wright ; 2. Daniel ; 3. Robert, married Mary Peters ; 4. Dr. Edward G., married Mary Lewis, granddaughter of Francis and Elizabeth Ludlow Lewis, and great- granddaughter of Governor iMorgan Lewis. This detail of the genealogy of the Ludlow family shows what an important personage Daniel Ludlow was before he came here from New York and became a resident, and here he died, and was buried in the old burying-ground on the hill. That such a prominent personage, such a wealthy merchant, such a well-known citizen of New York, should have settled in this far-distant portion of the State seems unaccountable. It has been learned since writing the preceding remarkable history of Daniel Ludlow that he failed in business, and gave up all his property to his creditors. Flis purchase of the 224-acre farm here was held in trust by Richard Harrison (his cousin). It was subsequently purchased from the trustee by Edward G. Ludlow, his son. Daniel Ludlow finally failed in business owing to the many losses heretofore detailed, and at last to large losses by " The French Spoliations." His former country home was at Barretto's Point, up the East River, on Long Island Sound. It was one of the most beautiful and elegant residences of its time. IS n ) AM ■ F SK.lXE.i TELES. 3i6 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. Dr. Edward G. Ludlow, above named as the fourth child of Daniel Ludlow, was an early merchant here in the village, whose store in 1812 was on the north side of the Seneca Turnpike, at about the present location of Miss Wheeler's millinery store. Edward C. Ludlow's further history will be found in Chapter XIV. It was stated heretofore that Robert C. Ludlow^ Jr., and Edward G. Ludlow conveyed the mortgaged lands to Ben Miller, September 30, 1S15; consideration. $7,500. On September 18, 1819. Ben Miller sold to George Thorpe, of Charlotte. \"t.. 2.23.84 acres; consideration, $7,500. On March 22, 1823, George Thorpe sold and conveyed the same lands :o Richard Talcott; consideration, $6,000. A large portion of this land was covered with original forest, heavily tim- bered. Richard Talcott soon commenced the erection of a dwelling-house, for the frame of which he used his own forest trees. He built a stately mansion, which was located exactly where the present more stately mansion is now. Tal- cott's dwelling was two stories, with portico, ornamented with four supporting Corinthian columns, which were constructed of solid red-beech wood. The term " red beech " is explained by the fact that only the heart of the tree after trim- ming ofif the exterior was used in the construction of these columns. The man- sion was also surmounted with a cupola, and had two wings, the southerly one of which was used for a private school. The teacher of this school, whom Richard Talcott had procured from Philadelphia, was Benjamin Valentine, who was a half- brother of Mr. Talcott's wife. The school was exclusively for the education of pupils of the Society of Friends. The first scholars were Daniel Talcott's three children, two children of Slocum Rowland, of Scipio, and there may have been others. Of course the school was a Hmited one. During Mr. Valentine's resi- dence here both he and the late Augustus Kellogg became intimate friends. Kellogg at that period was a young man about twenty years of age, commencing the study of law in his father's office. The next succeeding owner of this property was Richard L. De Zeng. He had previously been a resident of Oswego, N. Y., where he had accumulated a large property as a speculator in real estate previous to the year 1837. It would seem that he was extremely fortunate in ending his large operations at that particular time, as the following year, 1837, a panic overspread the whole country, bringing ruin to all classes of people, especially real estate speculators. He thus escaped the general depreciation in values, came to Skaneateles with his money, and purchased the Richard Talcott property, as shown in the following record : On June 2, 1838, Richard Talcott conveyed 223.84 acres lo Richard L. Dc Zeng; consideration, $12,000. De Zeng purchased this property with the intention of replacing the Talcott mansion with a more modern and stately building. He therefore sought a pur- chaser for the Talcott house, and have it removed from its foundation. II. \\'. HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. 3'7 Allen, of Skaiicateles, possessed a very stylish span of carriage horses, the very best ill this section of the State. These Mr. Ue Zeng admired and desired to l)ossess, and in order to do so he offered H. \V. Allen the Talcott mansion in trade for his span of horses, with only one condition, and that was that the house was to be removed within a stated time. The offer was accepted by Allen, w ho very soon after sold the Talcott mansion on the same conditions to J. Gurdon I'orter, of Skaneateles, and he at once prepared to have the buildings taken down l)iecemeal with the intention of having the materials transported to a vacant lot which he owned in the village. After having the building carefully taken down and the materials transported to their destination, the mansion was immediately reerccted, e.\aclly as it stood overlooking the lake (except the two wings), on one of the most prominent locations in the place, which overlooked the village, . jn a pinnacle of rising ground exactly suited to its original design. The solid red- beech columns are there, supporting its portico in the same relative position as lliey were originally. This handsome structure is now the residence of Russell D. Wheeler, on Lcitch Avenue. Mr. J. Gurdon I'orlcr unfortunately met with some losses in his mercantile business, soon after he had completed the erection of this building, and was obliged to dispose of it. One of the original wings, which was used by Richard Talcott for school purposes, is now located on Leitch .\venue as a dwelling, and is owned by Miss M. E. Beauchamp. The other wing nuw forms the rear addition to the Wheeler dwelling. -After Mr. De Zeng had had his architects complete the design, plans, and .-pecitications, he gave out the contract to (jeorge Casey, of Auburn, N. Y., who employed Frederick Douglass, of Auburn, to do the mason work. The first foundation stone was laid in the month of May, 1839. The contract with George ( "asey was for $18,000. The roof having been changed to copper, this with some other changes in details was not included in the contract price. Parsons. Hewsoii & Co., of Auburn, had the contract for completely furnishing the house at a cost of Si 1. 000. Richard L. De Zeng occupied the mansion until his death. On the 8th of September, 1841, he sold 108.55 a<-'''<-'s to Francis M. Potter; consideration, $9,226.73. It is not known exactly when Mr. De Zeng died, but his will was ])robated July 20, 1848, and witnessed bv William I. I'.urnett ami David 11. Kel- Ingg. De Zeng's executors. lulward Dc Zeng. Josepii C. 1 laight, and Sarah De Zeng, after advertising the pro()erty extensively, finally requested John I-cgg to make ;in offer for both house and furniture. He made the offer of $10,000. and on September 20, 1849, the offer was accepted, and John Legg became the owner. On October 31, 1849, Jo''" Legg sold to Peter Whittlesey 113.78 acres; con- -ideration. $10,500. Mr. Legg in the mean time removed most of his furniture. 111(1 thus received an advance of $300 and the furniture. Peter Whittlesey retained possession of the properly eight years, during which he sold the north half of the farm on the west side of the highway, con- taining 101.78 acres, to Eastwood .Mien, at about .seventy dollars per acre, thus 3i8 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. retaining the twelve-acre lot containing the De Zeng mansion. On March 23, 1857, Peter Whittlesey sold the twelve acres to Seth J\I. Hale; consideration, $9,000. The next year, August 17, 1858, Seth M. Hale sold the same lot to Anson Lapham for $8,000. Anson Lapham, by his last will and testament, devised the twelve acre lot to his wife, Amie Ann Lapham. Amie Ann Lapham, on November 20, 1878, sold the same grounds to William R. Willetts; consideration, $20,000. On September 24, 1892, William R. Willetts conveyed this lot to E. M. Padel- ford; consideration, $20,000. The Skaneateles Libeary Association. — The Skaneateles Library Asso- ciation was incorporated on October 20, 1877, by Joel Thayer, E. Norman Leslie, Henry T. Webb, John H. Smith, Charles S. Hall, E. B. Coe, John C. Stephenson, George T. Campbell, Shuler D. Conover, Edwin L. Parker, C. ^^'. Allis, Prof. A. M. Wright, Joseph C. Willetts, John Plumphreys, and William Marvin. Library rooms were opened in the Legg Block, and in 1880 the present handsome and commodious stone library building was erected. It is one of the chief attrac- tions of the village, and was dedicated February 27, 1890, Hon. William Marvin presiding. ^Nliss Lydia A. Cobane has been Librarian ever since its incorpora- tion. The officers are: William Marvin, President; J. C. Willetts, \'ice-Presi- dent. It has been an almost general query by strangers visiting the village why that small brick building on the prominent corner was allowed to interfere with the ensemble of the library structure and proper design. It has been currently reported that Benoni Lee, the original owner, who devised it to the Library Association, made a provision in his will that it should not be removed. The following, copied from his last will and testament, dated August 17, 1885, does not show that he made such a provision : " Fourth. I give, devise, and bequeath to the Skaneateles Library Association all that tract or parcel of land, situate in the village of Skaneateles, county of Onondaga, and State of New York, being the whole of Lot Number 23, and part of Lot Number 22, in Block 13 of said village as designated on the map thereof made by R. Griffin, Jr., in 1870, and bounded on the south by Genesee Street, on the west by State Street, and on the north and east by lands owned by William Porter at the time of his decease, with my law office thereon, and my law library, including all my law books, both bound and unbound, and the book- cases, iron safe, and writing-desk, and all furniture belonging to or used in said office." Another Library. — The late W'illiam M. Beauchamp established a circulating library in the year 1832-33, which continued successfully for more than twenty years. A Snow Storm. — The snow-storm illustrated in the engraving herewith oc- curred on February 7, 1891. The snow fell to the depth of one foot, and was HISTORY OF SK.-1XEATFJ.es. f:Sf^ •■-BiBW"r^*r»^«l 320 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. a wet snow. It covered the naked limbs of the trees in perpendicular ridges, and, there not being any wind, even the very smallest branches of the trees were covered about an inch in depth. The evergreens, such as the Norway spruce and balsams, were so heavily laden with the snow that the limbs hung straight down alongside their trunks. The following day, Sunday, there was not a breath of wind, and the trees throughout the village were a magnificent sight to behold. This engraving is made from a photograph taken in front of the residence of Frederick Roosevelt. The day was overcast. A few rays of sunshine would have produced a sight of unusual splendor. The First Organ. — We present below a copy of the subscription list for the first organ in St. James' Church : Subscription to V.w for the First Organ to be Constructed for St. James' Church. We the subscribers do hereby agree severally for ourselves to pay to Ellsworth Phelps the sums set opposite our respective names, in pay for an Organ in and for the use of St. James' Church in Skaneateles, which Organ is to be furnished with a good and well- finished case suitable to enclose the same. The front to be made of mahogany, with gilt front show pipes. The price for the Organ and case to be $200.00. Skaneateles, June 30, 1828. William Gibbs $2S-00 S. & J. Hall $8.00 S. Horton 25.00 Thomas W. Hecox 2.00 Samuel Francis 10.00 John S. Furman 10.00 Charles J. Burnett 25.00 George Arnold 2.J0 Enos T. Throop, by C. J. Burnett.. 10.00 Noadiah Kellogg 2.00 John Legg 8.00 A. B. Keeler 2.00 J. S. Perry 4.00 Nelson Hawley 3.00 A. Kellogg 10.00 Joseph Dascomb 5.00 Charles Pardee 10.00 Timothy Benton 2.00 J.M.Allen S-OO F. G. Jewett 500 A. S. HoUister 10.00 Hezckiah Earll 300 J. II. Colvin .". 6.00 B. S. Wolcott 5.00 $202.00 S. Porter Rhoades 5. 00 How A Wealthy Citizen was swerved from his Purpose ov- establishing A Free Public Library in Skaneateles. — During the early part of the month of June, 1875, I (the author) took occasion to carry out a design which had pre- viously suggested itself to my mind to make a personal call on the late Anson I.aphani at his residence. This was intended to interest him in the establishment of a Free Public Library in the village of Skaneateles, as a memorial of his only (laughter, Elizabeth Anna, whose death occurred at Brooklyn, N. Y., December 28, 1864, at the age of twenty-five years. Her name Anna was her mother's maiden name, Anna D. Thorne. To my suggestion he immediately replied that he had never thought of that before, and he at once expressed his feelings of gratitude for introducing the subject of a memorial to him. -Anson Lapham's first wife was the daughter of Jonathan Thurnc, who was a successful Icallior merchant in the citv of New York, and had a residence in or H/STORV Of- SK,l.\r.,niilJlS. 321 near Poughkcepsic. Slu- was very wealthy when she married Ansoii Laphani. They had two children — a son and a daughter. The son died of yellow fever at kio Janeiro. Mrazil. about 1855. The daughter accompanied him to Skaneateles in the vear 1857. She was a very bright and attractive young lady, and had many intimate friends here, who admired her for her loving i|nalities. .\nee Public Library. This met his views, .\fter this I bad a long and pleasant conversation with him on the subject generally, in which he seemed to take much personal interest, and he took occasion several times to express his obligations for my -iveral suggestions. Finally, he invited me to call again the following afternoon, which I promised to do. After leaving Mr. Lapham, 1 met Mrs. Lapham in the front hall, and took occasion to explain to her the object of my visit, anrennr in 1883, he returne Kelloggsville. remained there a short time, then came to Skaneateles, an entire stranger, without consulting the resilient members of the profession. He hired an oftice in the sect)nd story of the Shear Block, which office was at the end of a long cntryway. and very inconvenient in every respect for his business. A friend, an entire stranger to him. who !iantlagratioii of September 28, 1835, which coiisunicd thiricen frame stores, car- riage and cabinet sliops, comprising the principal liusiness i)orlion of the village, the details of which, and tlie losses incurred, will be found in another chapter. With characteristic energy- the lot-owners constructed new brick buildings in nearly every instance, and those structures were built in such manner to prevent a tire from spreading by having heavy division walls which extended above the roofs. The next serious fire occurred February 4, 1842, when Hurasius Kollogg's woolen mills, employing about sixty-five hands, Spencer Hannum's machine- shop, and Earll, Kellogg & Co.'s flouring mill and storehouse were destroyed, causing a total loss of $43,000. Karll, Kellogg & Co. rebuilt the grist-mill and placed it in operation early in 1843. On the site of Kellogg's woolen factory Spencer Ilannum erected a foundry, which was destroyed by fire Januarv C\. 1850. \".\I.UABLE FlI.KS nr \jnW. l'\ .■Kl<> — TIr- |..11..«'; , '' . ^ '■ AMMl.rr. liav been collected, bound, and presented to the Skaneaieles Lilirary .Association by E. X. Leslie, of this village, and are now in the Library : Skaneateles Coliiiiibiaii, one volume, from 1834 to 1853, very imperl'ect. Skaiieateles Democrat, eleven volumes, all very imjierfect — 1843 to 1848, 18417 to 1851, 1832 to 1856, 1859 to 1861, 1863 to i8fK>, 1864 to iSr^i. iS-M 1,, iS-:;. 1 87 1 to 1873, 1857 to 1869, 1876 to 1878, and 1879 to 1880. One volume of miscellaneous, local, and neighborhood paper,*-. The following volumes have just been received from the bookbintlcr ,iiid h.nc not as yet been placed in the Library, but are at Mr. Leslie's oftice : One volume of the New ^'(lrk Weekly Joiinuil of Commerce, from ( )ctober 30, 1889, to December 30, 1891. This volume is complete. Seven volumes of the Skaneateles Coliiihbiaii, dating from 1830 to March 24, 1853. This series is almost complete and is very valuable. Four volumes of the Skaneateles Pemocrul, dating from 1844 to i8(')9, but very incomplete. The period which is nui.st valuable is contained in the volume from 1863 to iSfrT), containing but thirty-seven papers, whereas to be perfect within those dates there should be 327 papers. 334 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. Nine volumes of the Skaneateles Free Press — a complete file from the com- mencement, and all in perfect order without mutilation — March 21, 1874, to Jan- uary I, 1892. All these comprise thirty-four volumes, which have been collprted from various sources for many years past by Mr. Leslie, and were carefully put in order for the binder, the expense of binding costing $2 per volume, which has been paid by him. All the above will find a place in the Skaneateles Library Association, thanks to Mr. Leslie's generosity. A Beautiful Memorial Tablet. — E. N. Leslie has placed on the east wall of the interior of St. James' Church, in this village, a beautiful memorial tablet to the memory of the sons of that church who lost their lives in the defense of the Union. The tablet is forty-two by twenty-eight inches, and is made of heavy brass plate, upon which the lettering of the inscription is placed in black and red enameled letters, with a very neat border of oak and holly leaves. The brass plate is bolted to a black marble back, which shows a chamfered edge of two to two and one-half inches, and all securely fastened in the wall. The inscriptions are as follows : To THE Glory of God, and in Memory of the Sons of St. James' Church WHO LOST their LIVES IN DEFENCE OF THE UnION. Lieutenant Benjamin H. Porter, U. S. N. Killed at the storming of Fort Fisher, Va., January 15, 1865. Aged 21 years. 2d Lieutenant Stanley Porter, N. Y. Vol. Mortally wounded at Bull Run, Va., Aug. 30, 1862. Aged 20 years. Private Albert De Cost Burnett, N. Y. Vol. Died at Harrison's Landing, Va., Aug. 4, 1862. Aged 16 years. Private William H. Baber, N. Y. Vol. Died from the efJects of exposure April 8, 1865. Aged 26 years. Private Wadsworth B. Francis, N. Y. Vol. Killed at the storming of Port Hudson, Miss., June 14, 1863. Aged 51 years. Private Samuel Francis, Wisconsin Vol. Died at Alexandria, Va., Sept. i, 1862. Aged 57 years. The workmanship on the tablet in all its details is of the finest kind, and it is truly a work of art. Mr. Leslie has spared no expense in erecting this beautiful memorial to the sons of the church, and we wish others would show as much respect for those who helped save our Union and see to it that a Soldiers' Monu- ment worthy of our town be reared to their honored memory. The Baidwinsville Gazette printed the following statement in their issue of the time: " Mr. E. N. Leslie has placed a brass tablet in St. James' Church, Skaneateles, as a memorial of six Union soldiers and sailors, members of the congregation. He has also presented thirty-four bound volumes of local papers to the Skaneateles Library. He likes to do just such things." HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. 335 SuNDAV-ScHOOL CELEBRATION. — Tlic following program of the celebration of Fourth of July, 1832, by the Sunday-School of St. James' Church, was carried out with great enthusiasm : FIFTY-SIXTH ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE. Skaneateles, July 4, 1832. Washington — The Father of his Country — Born 1732 — Died 1799 — Aged 68 years. — " First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." Robert Raikes — The Founder of Sunday-Schools — at Gloucester, England, 1782. — " The righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance." Sunday-School Celebration. ORDER OF exercises AT THE CHURCH. Prayer. Address to Parents and Guardians by Rev. Mr. Clark. Ode. Columbia I A lovely clime ! 'Tis the high place of Freedom's birth ! God of our fathers, make it thine — A holy clime — the joy of earth ! Thy glorious name, on golden lyres. Strike all the tuneful choirs above I And boundless nature's realms conspire To celebrate thy matchless love 1 I would not change my native land For rich Peru with all her gold I A nobler prize lies in my hand Than East or Western Indies hold! O King of saints I O Triune God! Bow the high heavens and lend thine ear : Oh! make this land thy fixed abode, And let the Heavenly Dove rest here I John W. Livingston. — John W. Livingston was an early owner of the Dyer Brainerd Farm, on the East Lake Road. He was appointed United States Mar- shal for the Northern District of the State of New York in the year 1822. He came here in 1815, and was a resident for many years. His wife was the daughter of Lieutenant-Governor John Broome, who held that office in 1804. This lady brought with her from Albany an elegant pianoforte that her father had imported from London, England. It was at the time of its importation one of the finest instruments in the city of Albany. Mrs. Livingston after making her home here in Skaneateles enjoyed playing her piano, for she was a skilful performer. Taking an interest in the daughter of her father's family physician, she proposed to Dr. Hopkins to instruct her in the use of the piano, to which assent was given. 336 HISTORY OP SKAXEATELES. In the course of time the daughter became very proficient, and at the time the Livingston family were about to remove from Skaneateles Airs. Livingston, having become much interested in the advancement and excellent proficiency of Aliss Hopkins in the use of the instrument, made her a present of this elegant pianoforte. She is now the widow of the late Dr. Levi T. Bartlett of this village, and has taken unusual care of the instrument ever since, and it is in the same con- dition it was when she received it from the donor. It is undoubtedly the most ancient pianoforte now in the County of Onondaga! The Jerome Family. — Although the Jeromes were not of Skaneateles, yet the name has been more or less connected with the early days of Skaneateles. The Jeromes originated as very early settlers in the town of Pompey. John Jerome was elected a trustee of the first Religious Congregational Society of Pom- pey in the year 1800 and 1801. This Society held their services in barns, dwell- ings, and schoolhouses. The Pompey Jeromes were farmers, who made a spe- cialty of making large quantities of most excellent cheese every year. Their cheese had a great reputation all over this section of the State. Much of it was brought here for sale to Skaneateles dealers. Addison and Leonard H. Jerome were residents in Skaneateles many years ago. Addison was a clerk for Phares Gould about the year 1828, and Leonard H. Jerome studied law in the office of John C. Beach in this place. Both Addison and Leonard H. while here boarded with the late Nehemiah Smith, about the year 1839. It is, therefore, through the Jerome family that Lady Randolph Churchill is in a manner identified with Skaneateles. She has never been here, but her father, Leonard H. Jerome's brother, Addison, was Lady Churchill's own paternal uncle. Addison Jerome died in the city of New York, December 30, 1864, aged fifty-three years. His. wife was the daughter of Phares Gould, and visited Skaneateles many times during her life. The L.\ke House. — The Lake House, which has been known by this name to the later inhabitants of both town and village, was erected in the year 1824-25 by David Hall. The builders were Peter Thompson and John Billings. Its first name was " The Skaneateles Hotel," and its first landlords were the firm of S. & J. Hall, who were succeeded by Caldwell & Wallis. Its name afterward was changed to " The Indian Queen," in 1835, a"<^l 'ts landlord was then Isaac W. Perry. The next landlord was H. W. Allen, who held it in 1837, and was followed by Smith & Harvey in 1840. It was enlarged in 1858, and for many years contained the only public hall in the village. After the year 1840 the name was changed to " The Lake House." It occupied the site of the present Shear Block, built in 1881-82, on the corner of Genesee and Jordan streets. The Lake House was totally destroyed by fire July 19, 1870. A cut is shown opposite. Mrs. Elizabeth T. Porter Beach. — Mrs. Elizabeth T. Porter Beach was the daughter of James Porter, an early settler of this village and a very prominent citizen as an attorney and merchant. Mrs. Beach was also a granddaughter of William J. Vredenburg, known as an early and prominent settler, who built that HISTORY OF SKASEATELES. iil noble Colonial mansion, the only one of its cliaracter in this village. A native of Skaneateles, Mrs. Beach attained considerable distinction in literature. She wrote " Pelayo: An Epic of the Olden Moorish Time," in recognition of which the Queen of Spain sent her one of her own bracelets, mounted with an Oriental topaz, on which was the royal monogram set in diamonds. The Empress Eugenie also sent lur a s^'-old niod.il, mu tl'.e (iIivitm- siilc nf which was the I-'nipress' own THE OLD LAKE HOUSE. The original Frnmc Tavern, built by David Hall in 1834. (Sec page 336.) head, and on the reverse side the following inscription: " To Mistress Elizabeth T. Porter Beach." The following editorial reference to Mrs. Beach was printed in the Skan- rateles Democrat of July 12, 1866: " The author of ' Pelayo,' Mrs. Elizabeth T. Porter Beach, is constantly receiving evidence of the regard in which her accomplished pen is held by an appreciative public. The epic poem above alluded to has been adopted as a text- book in the Packer Institute, Brooklyn, N. Y., and several other seminaries. The scene of this poem, it will be remembered, is laid in Spain, and so charmingly and skilfully did the author accomplish her task in graceful rhyme that the Queen 'if Spain and the Empress of France both showed their appreciation of it by send- ing truly royal presents to Mrs. Beach. Our town readers will learn with pleasure nf this new tribute to the merits of ' Pelayo.' No longer will it be only read in the drawing-room, but will hereafter be studied in the schoolroom." 338 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. Mrs. Beach wrote the following lyric : "The Last Broadside." The following lines were written upon hearing of the heroism of the crew of the frigate Cumberland, in the engagement at Hampton Roads, who bravely fired a last " broadside " while the ship was sinking, in compliance with the order of their commanding officer, the gallant hero, Lieutenant Morris: "Shall we give them a broadside as she goes?" " Shall we give them a broadside, my boys, as she goes ? Shall we send yet another to tell. In iron-tongued words, to Columbia's foes. How bravely her sons say ' Farewell ' ? "Aye! what though we sink 'neath the turbulent wave, 'Tis with DUTY and right at the helm I And over the form should the fierce waters rave. No tide can the spirit o'erwhelm I " For swift o'er the billows of Charon's dark stream We'll pass to the immortal shore, Where the ' waters of life ' in brilliancy beam. And the pure float in peace evermore! " Shall we give them a broadside once more, my brave men ? " " Aye, aye ! " rose the full, earnest cry. " A broadside ! A broadside we'll give them again I Then for God and the Right nobly die ! " "Haste! haste!" For amid all that battling din Comes a gurgling sound fraught with fear, As swift-flowing waters pour rushingly in. Up ! up ! till her portholes they near. No blenching! No faltering! Still fearless all seem. Each man firm to duty doth bide. A flash ! and a " Broadside ! " A shout ! A careen ! And the Cumberland sinks 'neath the tide! The " Star-Spangled Banner " still floating above, As a beacon upon the dark wave! Or Ensign of Glory, proud streaming in love. O'er the tomb of the " Loyal and Brave ! " Bold hearts ! Mighty spirits ! " Tried gold " of our land ! A halo of glory your meed ! AH honored, the noble-souled Cumberland band ! So true in Columbia's need! The above were not her only writings, but these are the most prominent tliat can here be presented. HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. CHAPTER XXIII. Enrolment List of Skaneateles. Provost Marshal's Office, Twenty-third DiSTRicr, State of New York, Syracuse, December 2, 1863. LIST OF MEN ENROLLED IN SUB-DISTRICT NO. 24, In the Twenty-third District of New York, composed of the Town of Skaneateles. First Class, Twenty to Thirty-five Years. age Adams, Frank 20 Austin, Frank E 26 Amos, Stephen 29 Adams, Emerson H 25 Albring, Charles 26 Albring, Jerome 24 Adams, Joseph 21 Bradley, Horace 34 Brenan, John 23 Brooks, George 25 Barnable, John 27 Bell, Robert 22 Babcock, William H 23 Barrow, George 24 Barber, Manford 20 Benson, P. Oscar 22 Branch, Caleb A 31 Burch, .Xbram 20 Brown, David C. P 22 Bailey, Price W 27 Bartley, Joseph D 24 Bartlett, Edward T 22 Bimill, Horace 21 Bush, Harrison 23 AGE Buston, Thomas 21 Bean, Eben 34 Benedict, Thomas A 30 Burston, Henry 23 Bassctt, Joseph 34 Badman, James 23 Birch, Warren 27 Badman, William 20 Bradford, Gilbert C 32 Burrows, Charles 32 Bassett, Thomas 29 Baker, William 26 Brock, William 26 Bun, William N 31 Burns, Dennis 20 Burch, Alexander 23 Bradley, Peter 30 Britt, Thomas 26 Benedict, Sidney L 33 Burgess, Edwin 27 Burgess, Herbert 29 Burgess, Valentine 31 Blodgctt, J. L 21 Byrnes, Thomas 34 Bell, James 24 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. AGE Clark, Charles 34 Cuddeback, Alfred 33 Clark, Arthur ' 25 Curtis, John P 30 Carpenter, Charles L 25 Clapp, Joseph 26 Cooper, James 24 Cole, William 30 Cole, Charles 25 Cuykendall, Elias 31 Cawley, James 29 Clark, Joseph 34 Canan, Michael 21 Corway, James 31 Cottle, William 34 Curtis, George D 25 Cullen, Francis 21 Chrysler, Henry 20 Carroll, Timothy 24 Caxton, William 20 Cuddeback, E. Gurdnn 29 Chase, Charles 29 Coon, William H 21 Cleaveland, Hubbard W 21 Canable, Andrew 20 Church, David S 23 Cook, Mahalon 32 Clark, Perry 28 Chatfield, Clark 34 Clary, Michael 28 Cook, Sidney 22 Chase, Martin 34 Custin, Patrick 20 Degan, Dennis 29 Dunham, Dwight 26 Dewitt, Andrus 27 Day, John M 22 Dodge, Harrison 23 Daniels, Spencer H 31 De Witt, Martin 23 De Witt, Charles W., Jr 22 AGE Davenport, Charles 28 Dougherty, John H 27 Dwyer, Patrick 33 Doriohen, Timothy 30 De Witt, Hiram 31 De Witt, Hiram V. B 22 Dove, Thomas 22 Dye, William W 23 Dye, Charles H 26 Dalton, William 22 Duckins, Patrick 28 De Groot, Gabriel 32 Daniels, Willard W 28 Doharty, Michael 24 Edwards, Albert L. . .- 22 Enos, John 32 Earll, George W 27 Elsore, Charles 21 Eggleston, Theodore 33 Earll, George H 34 Earll, Augustus P 33 Earll, Leonard H 31 Earll, Andrew J 25 Earll, Clarence M 23 England, Charles 24 Freelaiid, Willis 23 Fowler, Thomas 23 Fowler, George 30 Fowler, Augustus 21 Fox, Morrison 2t Fibbciis, Elias 29 l-'isher, Edward 27 Fisher, John 24 Fisher, Joseph 29 Fisher, Isaac 26 l'"argctty, Martin 25 I'oster, Charles 33 Foster, John A ' 27 Ferley. James D 22 Fix, Rudolph H 35 Fisher, George 40 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. AGE Greenway, Peter 26 Greenway, Sebastian 22 Gibbons, Worthy 30 Graham, William 34 Godwin, Edward M 20 Gregory, George A 20 Gregory, John H 30 Gregory, John E 23 Goodyear, Albert 21 Gillett, Edwin H 24 Greenman, Beach 29 Gennings, Christopher 20 Gonsallus, Isaac 31 Ganley, John R 24 Goodgraw, William 22 Gambel, John 25 Gregg, John 28 Giles, Marcus A 25 Giles, William J 22 Granger, Leonard 24 Galligan, Patrick 30 Godfrey, Michael 32 Gager, George H 27 Probably Yager. Hatch, Asa W 34 Hanis, Thomas W 20 Haight, Charles U 21 Haight, Arthur 31 Haws, William 27 Horle, Job 25 Hall, John C 20 Hearse, James 31 Hcmcnway, George R 23 Harris, Philip 28 Huxford, Henr)' D 27 Hubbard, Henry J 23 Hall, Lyman 27 Home, Edward 23 Houragan, John 22 Hough, Thomas 21 Hough, Hiram 23 AGE Harvey, Isaac M 33 Hunsicker, Thomas J 23 Hamlin, George A 32 Horsington, Arthur 25 Hewitt, Henry 30 Henderson, Cornelius 34 Harwood, Mortimer 33 Hill, John 26 Harwood, Alanson C 21 Holmes, Cyrus D 33 Hefty, John 32 Horll, George 36 Harwood, Herbert 20 Isom, Thomas, Jr 33 Ingalls, Jasper E 21 Irish, Jedediah 31 Jay, John D 20 Joyce, Clement 20 Jackson, Andrew 34 Jennings, Isaac 25 Jones, Charles 31 J , John 30 Kedder, Woodsworth 27 Kellogg, William W 24 Kelley, Thomas 34 Kelly, Daniel 28 Krebs, Charles 33 Kenyan, Jonathan 29 Kilbourn, Lucien F 34 Knowles, George 30 Kctchum, Levi B 33 Le Fever, Silas J 28 Leitch, D. Kellogg 28 IxKimis, Jcssee 31 Lewis, John W 30 Livingston, Nathaniel M 31 Lc Fevrc, Aaron 23 Lawton, Edwin F 31 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. AGE Le Fevre, Matthew 21 Lawton, Frederick A 23 Lukins, Thomas P 20 Lewis, George W 28 Lewis, Addison S 22 Leitch, Valentine 20 Lawrence, John 33 Luddington, Edward R 35 Lee, Orlando 26 Leonard, Patrick 31 Lamb, George B 22 Mil ford, George F 24 Milford, William 22 Marshall, John B 32 Manley, William H 21 More, William F 21 Murphy, Paul 25 Mabbitt, Richard 28 Main, William 25 Marshall, William 21 Moore, William 33 Morton, Orson B 26 McCollum, Thomas 31 Morse, Walter 28 Munn, Brainerd F 25 McKnight, Edwin 20 Masters, Stephen 31 Mayhew, Thomas 29 Mason, Edward G 24 Muth, Robert 24 Mason, Charles M 23 Mapstone, Henry 26 McWilliams, Henry 24 McGuire, John — Muth, Philip 22 Mulholland, John 25 Muth, Valentine 34 Moreland, Parley W 26 Morton, Hugh 2T McElroy, John 24 Moreland, Lewis P 30 AGE Mclntire, John 29 Mayher, Michael 34 Morton, Gavin 21 Memecain, Andrew 26 Memicarri, Andrew 20 Morton, Alexander — Northrop, Daniel B 27 Northrop, Elihu C 26 Nellis, Philo 34 Newell, Munson 29 Newell, Harvey 24 Newell, Mortimer 31 Northway, William 21 Nicholson, John 21 Northrop, Elmer B 20 Noonan, Peter 33 O'Brien, James 22 O'Niel, Charles 28 O'Hara, Henry 21 O'Harra, John 34 ]''cnnell, Franklin 22 Palmer, John 33 Purcell, Michael 33 Patten, Edwin 27 Preston, Marcus X 27 Poole, Thomas 27 Packwood, William 31 Polley, Henry S 29 Pople, George 28 Porter, Edward E 20 Porter, James — Paul, James 25 Powell, Benjamin 23 Prince, Jacob 20 Parks, William 20 Powell, Henry T 27 Pantically, Gabriel 28 Pardee, Amos R 35 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. AGE Reed, Westly 28 Rawlins, George 23 Rhoades, William P 27 Rhoades, Benjamin F 33 Rhoades, Washington 21 Ruoff, Edwin 21 Russell, Charles 25 Russell, John 31 Rhoades, Edmund V jo Ryan, James J5 Roger, George 20 Sutphen, Lewis ^l Steames, George 23 Stearnes, Charles 25 itacey, Richard M 32 Stark, Thomas 31 Shearston, Edward 34 Shaliish, Jeremiah 32 Shallish, Thomas 30 Sullivan, Michael 27 Smith, Francis 29 Smith, Edward 25 Smith, Edwin W 25 Smith, Welcome 27 Smith, Charles 30 Smith, Thomas R 26 Smith, Charles M. 31 Smith, Edmond R. — Slater, Mason 2C) Slocum, John B 32 Shanlin, Martin 20 Sheehan, Patrick 30 Sales, John 33 Stock, James 34 Strong, Henry 20 Sweeting, Charles, Jr 22 Stock, Aaron 25 Springstead. Albert 20 Springstead, George 26 Stran, Stephen 20 Shepard, Nelson R 22 AGE Stephenson, Mather 34 bamuels, Thomas 26 Signor, Isaac S 20 Stephens, Molt 23 Sullivan, Jeremiah 33 Simmons, James 37 Simmons, Forrest 35 Sherwood, Asa L 41 Thornton, Philo S 22 Thorne, R. Barckley 28 Thome, Chauncey B 30 Taylor, Lucien A 33 Tate, John 34 Tucker, Henry 29 Taylor, William E 21 Titterington, Thomas 22 Turner, Darling 29 Turner, Charles 25 Turner, Mortimer 31 Titterington, David 21 Taylor, James 24 Urcli, James 20 Uncless, William 34 Van Dyke, George 27 Vanderburg, Thomas 30 Van Saun, Anson 31 Vary, Henry H 22 Vickny, Robert 32 White, Job 27 Walts, Olin 20 Wilson, Stephen H 34 Winter, John A 27 Weston, George H 25 Wheeler, John 33 Wilsey, John 31 Williamson, George H 30 Wyant, Robert 21 Webb, Henry T 34 Williams, Benjamin 21 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. Wheadon, James P 20 Wheadon, Edward D 23 Watkins, Williams 21 Welling, Eli 23 Willetts, William R 22 Weeks, Stephen J 23 Weeks, Forrest G 30 Whitfield, William H 20 Washburn, Lorenzo 29 Williams, John 25 Williams, James 22 Wiltsey, Charles H 31 AGE Wright, Parker 29 Weeks, John 29 Weeks, Lewis 24 Weeks, Ovid 21 Watson, Hull 34 Wood, James 26 Weymouth, Philip 25 Weymouth, Jacob 32 Wylie, Thomas 27 Withey, Octave 31 Weymouth, John 22 \\h\\.t, Robert P. 25 Second Cia&s. Austin, Kellogg . . Ashpole, William Austin, Dor Austin, Anthony . AGK 38 27 36 4-' Allen, Joseph 42 Austin, George 35 Aldrige, Robert 39 Banker, Francis P 35 Bushman, Charles 39 Bennett, John H 35 Bench, James 40 Beauchamp, William ]\1 36 Beatty, John 35 Bradt, Alonzo 40 Buckley, Almon 43 Bradford, Thomas C 43 Baker, John S 36 Baker, Simeon 42 Barber, Samuel 44 Berry, Henry 36 Briggs, Cortland 37 Baker, Jonah 37 Bannister, Melzer B-. 44 Butler, James 44 Billings, Richard 40 Benedict, Harmon B 44 Cornell, David 37 Coe, Edward B 41 Cuddeback, Isaiah 43 Curtis, Alfred 42 Carr, Robert 40 Campbell, George B 36 Credon, Timothy 38 Conover, Mortimer 36 Cornell, Horace 42 Chappell, James 36 Cuddeback, Lafayette 37 Cole, Alvin T 41 Clark, George H 41 Clutsom, Henry 41 Conover, Shuler D 39 Chapman, James 43 Cole, Jefferson 40 Canan, John, ist 37 Canan, John, 2d 43 Chatfield, Albert L — Cogan, Patrick 36 Clark, Joseph 35 Coburn, Thomas 35 Carr, George 44 Catton, Thomas 44 Coleman, Anthony 37 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. AI-.E Decker, Anthony 43 Diefendorf, Georpc ^j Doyle, William T,y Dove, George 43 Dando, Henry F 35 Dare, Alfred 44 Depiiyster, Abraham 35 Dougherty, Daniel 44 Dwyer, John 44 Dougherty, Kiel 36 Durkin, John 36 Durston, William 41 Earll, Deluscus 36 Edick, Michael 39 Edwards, Jonathan 37 Edwards, J. Augustus 34 English, Michael Z7 Ford, Alexander . (4 Fisher, Thomas . . ,Vi Foote, Chauncey 38 Folts. Harvey 39 Fuller, John W 43 Fulton, Heman B 40 Fitzgerald, Patrick 43 Finnerty, Timothy V) Feelcy, John 41 Feeley, Patrick ... .\\ Fuller, Sumner ... V Gardner, Myron 3S Gorton, William R 4 J Grecnway, William 3'') Gillman, James R 42 Giles, William P 4^ Gregor)', George 40 Gane, Joseph 36 Grant, John J 41 Glas«;. Daniel 39 Grant. Henry D 41 AGE llarse, Henry 38 Hall, George B 39 Horle, Thomas 42 Hoag, Wellington S 35 Hoag, George D 35 Humphreys, John 40 Hall, William 38 Hunt, Henry 41 Holben, Joseph 37 Harvey, John 36 Hill. William D 41 Hare, Joseph 42 Hardwich, James 43 Hoyt, Ezekiel B 40 Hoye, Frank 35 Hcmmings, James 38 Ilemmings, John M 36 Hubbard, Daniel 40 Hewlett, James S 43 Kinney, Abner G j 1 Kine, Thomas 41 Kccbler, Frederick 39 Kctcham, John H 36 Kcllcy, Thomas 44 Lcfcvcr, John 38 Lefever, Nathaniel J 41 Lee, Seth 40 Looey, Abraham 40 Lewis, Sand ford 43 Lampson, Daniel . . V' Mofiitt, Lewis 43 Mcnill, Robert J 35 McLaughlin, James 35 McLaughlin, 35 Moyses, Edward 36 Mason, Martin 40 Morse. James T 37 McMachan, George . t,7 346 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. AGE Merrell, Charles F 43 Moses, Henry 42 Mulrooney, John 44 McDonald, John 43 Maconey, Jeremiah 32 McGuire, John 36 Major, Charles 36 Miller, Joseph 35 McPeak, Hugh 40 Martin, Milo 2>7 McDonald, Peter 35 Masters, William 44 Mclntire, William 44 McNally, Edward 43 Mitchell, James 35 Nurse, William 35 Nye, Henry S 36 Norton, Thomas 41 Odell, Dwight 39 Parsons, Thomas 39 Price, Daniel P 35 Pulman, John 44 Parish, John 37 Potter, George V 35 Packwood, John 38 Pardee, Amos R — Porter, James E 36 Piatt, Willis 40 Palmer, Ashley PI 35 Patten, James W 44 Palmer, Samuel B 40 Riggins, Thomas 35 Richardson, Stephen D 41 Roberts, James 38 Reed, Andrew 42 Reed, Thomas 37 Reed, Charles 40 Reed, Ogleby 43 Root, James A 35 AGE Reddish, Byron B 37 Roundley, Nelson 40 Richardson, Erastus 35 Stafford, Gardner 35 Stoner, William W 39 Stoner, Marcus H 36 Scantlebury, Thomas 35 Stacey, William 44 Smith, John H 42 Slocum, George W 35 Snow, William 39 Starr, Lewis 36 Simmonds, Henry P 44 Shotwell, Walter F 44 Skahn, William 36 Sullivan, Jerry 40 Strong, Isaac, Jr 37 Springstead, Henry W 40 Stephenson, John 44 Stephenson, Samuel 37 Stenson, John 37 Stuart, George 35 Singleton, Thomas 41 Tucker, John T 38 Turner, Newell 42 Talcott, Joseph 43 Thompson, Levi M 44 Tuhcy, Michael 41 Temple, Robert 43 Turner, William S 40 Vanderburg, John H 41 Vokcs, Robert 41 Van Schoick, William 36 Wyant, Thomas 35 Wellington, Lewis 42 Wheeler, Daniel 42 Williams, John 39 Williams, Jessee 36 Williams, Joseph 38 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. 3 AGF, ACli Waldron, Daniel H 35 Youngs, John D 38 Wyckoff, Christopher C 40 Young, John C 42 Winter, John 38 Young, Orson 41 Provost Marshal's Office, Twenty-third District, State of New York, December i, 1863. PubHc notice is hereby given that every person enrolled may appear before the Board of Enrolment at any time before the 20th inst., and claim to have his name stricken from the list, if he can show to the satisfaction of the Board that he is not, and will not be, at the time fixed for the next draft, liable to military duty on account of : 1st. Alienage. 2d. Non-residence. 3d. Unsuitableness of age. 4th. Manifest permanent physical disability. Persons who may be cognizant of any other person liable to military duty whose name does not appear on the enrolment list are requested to inform the Board of Enrolment of the names of such persons. By order of the Board of Enrolment. Anson W. Evans, Assistant to Provost-Marshal General, President of the Board. William Andrews, Commissioner. John H. Knapp, Surgeon. List of Drafted Men, 1863. Albring, James. Canable, Andrew. Amos. Stephen. Cuddeback, Gurdon E. Adams, J. Curtis, George D. Chase, Martin. P.ritt, Thomas. Caxton, William. Barrow, George. Carpenter, Charles L. Barrow, Edward F. Cuykendall, Elias C. Burstone, Henry. Clark, Joseph. Burrit, Horace. Cawley, James. Burgess, Valentine. Benedict, Thomas .'\. Dunham, Dwight. Brock, Joseph. Dey, William \\'. 348 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. Doyle, John. Dalton, William. Doherty, Michael. De Witt, Charles W., Jr. Elson, Charles. Earll, George H. Earll, Augustus P. Elphic, John J. Earll, Clarence M. Fowler, George. Fisher, John. Gregory, John E. Gregory, George A. Gibbons, Worthy. Goodyear, Albert. Giles, William J. Gambel, John. Greenway, Peter. Gonsallus, Isaac. Hall, John C. Hall, Lyman. Hewett, Henry. Harwood, Alanson C. Haight, Charles H. Haley, Edward. Hough, Thomas. Hovey, Joseph. Hamlin, George A. Harris, Philip. Home, Edward. House, James. Holmes, C. D. Harvey, Isaac M. Jay, John D. Jennings, Christopher. Kellogg, William W. Loomis, Jessee. Lee, Orlando. Long, Henry. Lewis, Addison S. Leitch, D. K. Leonard, Patrick. Morton, Orson B. Memecain, Andrew. Muth, Valentine. Mapstone, Henry. Milford, William. Muth, Robert. Munn, Brainerd. McKnight, Edwin (Colored). Milford, George F. McCollum, Thomas. Marshall, William. Newell, Monson. Newell, Mortimer. North, William. Pennell, Franklin. Porter, James. Polley, Henry S. Ryan, Morris. Rhoadcs, Wm. P. Rawlins, George. Russell, John. Sherwood, Asa L. Stacey, Richard M. Sweeting, Charles. Stephens, Mott. Shallish, Jerry. Simmons, Forrest. .Stock. Thomas. Smith, E. R. Lefever, Aaron. Loveland, Henry. Tate, John. Thome, C. B. HISTORV OF SKANEATELES. 349 Thome, R. Barclay. Weston, George H. Taylor, Liicien A. Wright, Parker. W'illetts, William R. L'rch, James. White, Robert B. Uncless, William. W'atts, (Jrlin. Wiltsey, Charles H. W'elling-, Eli. Withey, Octave. Wheeler, William B. Williams, James. Yager, George 11. Sk.\ne.\teles Roll of Honor. Following is a record of the men who entered the volunteer service during the war of 1861-65 from the town of Skaneateles, together with the names of other natives of this town who enlisted elsewhere, and the names of present residents who enlisted and resided elsewhere during the war. The Free Press was furnished this list by E. N. Leslie of this village, who has been at great pains to make it as correct and accurate as possible. This list of names was used for the inscription in the Soldiers' Monument, and was the only complete list in the town. It was begun at the commencement of the Civil W^ar, by E. N. Leslie. Abbott, Daniel C, private, Co. C, 75th Infantry. .\dams, Jerome L., private, Co. C, 7Sth Infantry. Ashpole, William, private, Co. K, 15th Engineers. Andrew, Benjamin F., private, Co. I, 99th Infantry. Albring, James, private, Co. K, I22d Infantry. Amidon, Miles B., sergeant, Co. G, 149th Infantry. Agard, Charles H., private, Co. E, 9th Heavy .Artillery. Babcock, Charles, private, Co. I, 9th Heavy Artillery. Blodgett, Charles, private, Co. I, 9th Heavy .Artillery. Brown, John, private, Co. I, yth Heavy .Artillery. Barber, John .A., private, Co. I, 9th Heavy .Artillery. Bassett, Thomas, private, Co. E, 9th Heavy .Artillery. Bassett, Joseph, private, Co. E, 9th Heavy Artillery. Boyle. Peter, private, Co. I, 3d Light Artillcn-. Butler, Thomas, private, Co. G, 3d Light Artillery. Burridge, Edward M., private, Co. E, 3d Light -Artillery. Barton, George W., private. 3d Light Artillery. Bristol, Charles H., private, Co. A, 3d Light Artillery. Bnrnett, Byron, private, 3d Light Artillery. Brokaw, Charles W., private, Co. A, lyfh Infantry. Benson, James B., private, Co. G, loth Infantry. 350 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. Barber, Benjamin S., private, Co. G, 19th Infantry. Bell, Henry, private, 50th Engineers. Blodgett, Royal D., corporal, Co. C, 75th Infantry. Benedict, M. D., surgeon, 75th Infantry. Barry, Robert, private, Co. A, 75th Infantry. Baber, William H., private, Co. A, 75th Infantry. Burton, William, private, Co. F, 122A Infantry. Brown, Emmett J., private, Co. C, 149th Infantry. Brokaw, Daniel, private, Co. G, 149th Infantry. Brown, O. L. F., captain, Co. G, 149th Infantry. Benedict, Thomas A., ist lieutenant, Co. G, 149th Infantry. Battams, Robert B., private, Co. G, 149th Infantry. Brankham, David, private, Co. G, 149th Infantry. Bright, William J., private, Co. A, 146th Infantry. Benedict, Daniel J., private, 193d Infantry. Barrow, Arthur M., private, 193d Infantry. Brooks, Joseph, private, (particulars of service unknown). Burnett, Albert D. C, private, Co. I, loist Infantry. Bailey, David J., captain, Co. I, 99th Infantry. Burridge, John, Jr., private, 194th Infantry. Bradley, George C, private, Co. H, 22A Infantry. Bradley, Daniel, private, Co. G, 76th Infantry. Brownell, Irving, private, Co. I, 61 st Infantry. Benson, James, private, Co. G. 3d Light Artillery. Berry, Augustus A., private, Co. K, 3d Heavy Artillery. Burridge, George W., private, Co. E, 13th Michigan. Branch, Caleb, private, (particulars of service unknown). Beebe, Frank, private, (particulars of service unknown). Banks, Ezra, private, Co. G, 2d Cavalry. Cleveland, Maltby E., private, Co. I, 3d Cavalry. Chinnock, Thomas H., private, Co. F, 3d Light Artillery. Campbell, Henry E., private, Co. D, 3d Light Artillery. Cook, Benjamin C, private, Co. H, 5th Michigan Infantry. Church, Frank L., private, Co. li, 15th Engineers. Crosier, William H. H., sergeant, Co. G, 149th Infantry. Claxton, William, private, Co. G, 149th Infantry. Cottle, James, private, Co. G, 149th Infantry. Cook, Frank C, private, Co. G, 149th Infantry. Cullen, Joseph, private, Co. G, 149th Infantry. Cross, William, sergeant, Co. G, 149th Infantry. Carrigan, Patrick, private, Co.G, 149th Infantry. Chapman, Thomas, private, Co. G, 149th Infantry. HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. Clark, Coy, private, Co. A, 75th Infantry. Cook, Frank, private, Co. I, 99th Infantry. Coleman, John P., private, Co. G, I9tli Infantry. Clark, Joseph, private, Co. K, I22d Infantry. Cannan, Austin, private, Co. K, I22d Infantry. Clapp, William H., private, Co. B, 112th Infantry. Cahill, Patrick, private, 185th Infantrj'. Claxton, George, private, Co. G, iiith Infantry. Cannan, Thomas, private, Co. B, 69th Infantry. Cook, William, private, Co. I, 9th Heavy Artillery. Cooper, Georpe W., private, Co. L, 9th Heavy Artillery. Coleman, Obadiah P., private, Co. F, 3d Light Artillery. Campbell, Samuel H., private, Co. A, ist Michigan Sharpshooters. Chase, Horace W., private, Co. F, 9th Heavy Artillery. Curry, William E., private, Co. B, 3d Light Artillery. Chapman, James, private, Co. G, 19th Infantry. Creedon, John, (particulars of service unknown). Carr, Robert, private, Co. D, 3d Light Artillery. Cuydendall, Martin, sergeant, Co. I, 9th Heavy Artillery. Dunning, Theodore L., private, Co. G, 19th Infantry. Durbin, Edwin, private, Co. G, 149th Infantry. Dunn, Michael, private, Co. I, 99th Infantry. Dougherty, Owen, private, Co. I, 99th Infantry. Dunn, James, sergeant, Co. I, 99th Infantry. Delano, Duane H., corporal, Co. G, 75th Infantry. Durston, Edward, private, Co. F, 75th Infantry. DeWitt, Earned, private. Co. A, 75th Infantry. Durston, Edward F., private, 75th Infantry. Duckett. Walter, hospital steward, private K, 9th Heavy Artillery. Davey, Irving, sergeant, Co. F, I22d Infantry. Dillingham, D. S., drum major, I22d Infantry. Duckett, Benjamin E., private, Co. K, 9th Heavy Artillery. Dove, Henry, private, enlisted 75th Regiment. Durbin, Alfred, private, Co. B, 3d Light Artillery. Defendorf, Edwin, private, Co. E, 9th Heavy Artillery. Defendorf, Jacob, private, Co. D. 193d Tnfantr>'. Dove, Thomas G., private, ist N'. Y. Battery. Dumond, Loren, private, Co. B. 3 Light Artillery. Dalton, John, private, Co. K, 3d Light Artillery. Davis, John, private, 22d Cavalry. Davidson. Duncan, private, 22d Cavalrj'. Defendorf, John J., (enlisted in .-Xuburn). 352 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. Earll, Almerson H., sergeant, Co. C, 75tli Infantry. Earll, Frank D., private, Co. K, 122A Infantry. Elson, George, private, Co. K, I22d Infantry. Edwards, George, private, Co. K, I22d Infantry. Evans, Richard, private, Co. C, 75th Infantry. Evans, Reuben, private, Co. G, 149th Infantry. Edwards, Sylvester, private, Co. G, 149th Infantry. Elphic, John J., private, Co. K, 19th Infantry. Edwards, Henry P., private, Co. D, 6th California Infantry. Elson, Henry, private, Co. I, 9th Heavy Artillery. Evans, Edwin, private, Co. C, 3d Light Artillery. Francis, Wadsworth B., private, Co. A, 75th Infantry. Forward, George L., private, Co. A, 75th Infantry. Flynn, James, private, Co. A, 75th Infantry. Furman, Zalmon B., private, Co. G, 149th Infantry. Fish, John J., private, Co. G, 3d Light Artillery. French, George, private, Co. I, 9th Heavy Artillery. Freer, Austin, private, 9th Heavy Artillery and i88th Infantry Francis, Samuel, wardmaster, Co. K, ist Wisconsin Infantry. Groom, Flolland E., private, Co. B, 3d Light Artillery. Groom, Alexander, private, Co. B, 3d Light Artillery. Groom, Volney, private, Co. D, 9th Heavy Artillery. Groom, Miles, private, Co. H, 75th Infantry. Groom, Charles, private, Co. G, I22d Infantry. Gillett, Edgar E., private, Co. G, 19th Infantry. Gillett, Edson D., private, Co. G, 19th Infantry. Gamble, William, private, Co. G, 149th Infantry. Grant, Minor, private, 193d Infantry. Graves, Harvey, private, Co. D, 25th Infantry. Gould, George, private, 9th Heavy Artillery. Gale, Edwin, private, Co. E, 9th Heavy Artillery. Green, Adelbert E., private, Co. C, 3d Light Artillery. Gunning, Patrick, private, 50th Engineers. Gilson, Joseph L., private, 2d Cavalry. Grible, Ferdinand, private, 50th Engineers. Gregory, William B., private, Co. A, 25th Missouri. Green, D. C, Co. K, 9th Heavy Artillery. Horle, Joseph, private, Co. G, lOth Infantry. Heenan, Patrick, private, Co. G, 149th Infantry. Harwood, George B., private, Co. G, 149th Infantry. insroRY or skaneateles. 3S3 Hunipliryes, Robert B., private, Co. F, I22(J Infantry. Harris, George L., private, Co. A, 75111 Infantry. Hatch, Albert, private, Co. A, 75tli Infantry. Hares, Henry, private, Co. J, "Stli Infantry. Hilliard, Charles H., private, Co. .\, -5th Infantry. Hunter, Charles R., private, 21st Infantry. Hatch, Lester S., private, 185th Infantry. Haniman, Thomas, private, 193d Infantry. Holsehaw, Henrj-, private, iy3d Infantry. Howard, Justin A., ist lieutenant, Co. 1, i22d Infantry. Hilliard, Van R. K., from quartermaster-sergeant to captain, 48th Infantry. Hoge, Jesse A., private, Co. I, 2d Cavalry. Hays. E. Davis, private, 2d Cavalry. Hall, David, private, Co. G, 139th Illinois Infantry. Hickey, John, private, Co. I, 9th Heavy Artillery. Hu.xford, Amit B., private, Co. K, 3d Light .Artillery. Hickey, Michael, private, Co. I, 9th Heavy Artillery. Hayhoe, Henry, private, Co. L, 9th Heavy Artillery. Horton, Clarence, private, Co. I, 9th Heavy Artillery. Hummings, Michael, private, 50th Engineers. Harris, James G., private, Co. G, 3d Light Artillery. Huxford, H. D., private, Co. K, 3d Light Artillery. Hatch, George B., private, ist N. Y. Rifles. Harvey, Isaac M., corporal, Co. G, 3d Light .\rtillcry. Hall, William, private, Co. H, 6th Cavalry. Hall, Charles, private, 9th Heavy Artillery. Ilaskins, George, private, Co. F, 37th Infantry. Hoxie, Theodore, private, Co. K, I22d Infantry. Holmes, George P., (particulars of service unknown). Ingerson, A. P., private, Co. H, 184th Infantry. Isom, James A., private, Co. I, Union Coast Guard; rcenlistcil. Co. K, 103d Ohio Infantry; reenlistcd as lieutenant, I3lh Inf.uiirv \ \' in, Henry, orderly sergeant, Co. A, 20th Illinois. J.'ickson, Andrew, private, Co. K, 9th Heavy Artiliiry. Jay, Abraham, private, Co. K, 193d Infantry. Jay, Joseph, Jr., lieutenant, Co. G, 149th Infantry. Jones, Andrew H.. private, Co. F, I22d Infantry. James, William, private, (particulars of service unknown). Keegan. Charles J.. i)rivate, Co. H, 20tli Infantry. Kennett, William C, private, r.. i'. 1 ■',! lui'iTnrv 354 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. Kelley, Garrett, private, Co. K, I22d Infantry. Kelley, Patrick, private, Co. K, I22d Infantry. Kochenburber, Henry, private, Co. F, I22d Infantry. Kelley, Thomas, sergeant, Co. K, 15th Engineers. King, Henry, Jr., private, Co. D, 3d Light Artillery. King, Henry, Sr., private, Co. B, 3d Light Artillery. Kidder, Monroe C, private, Co. A, 8th Cavalry. Kellogg, Mortimer, chief engineer, U. S. Navy. Loss, Rial, private, Co. G, 19th Infantry. Loveland, Henry, private, Co. A, 19th Infantry. Little, Henry F., private, Co. G, 19th Infantry. Livingston, John, private, 15th Infantry. Little, George F., private, Co. C, 75th Infantry. Lansdown, John, private, Co. K, 75th Infantry. Leonard, Patrick, private, Co. A, 75th Infantry. Law lor, Martin, private, 185th Infantry. Leonard, George, private, 193d Infantry. Loss, Hurlburt H., private, Co. D, 3d Light Artillery. Lynch, Barney, private, Co. G, 3d Light Artillery. Loveland, Alonzo, private, Co. E, 3d Light Artillery. Lewis, George L., private, Co. K, 3d Light Artillery. Loss, Franklin A., private, Co. G, 3d Light Artillery. Lewis, Albert, private, 3d Light Artillery. Loveland, George, private, Co. E, 9th Heavy Artillery. Little, Isaac, private, Co. I, 9th Heavy Artillery. Lee, John E., private, 9th Heavy Artillery. Loss, Samuel E., corporal, Co. G, 33d Illinois Infantry. McCord, Daniel, Co. I, 149th Infantry. Mclntire, James, private, Co. E, 51st Infantry. Mclntire, William, private, Co. E, 121st Infantry. McPherson, John, private, 193d Infantry. Mclntire, Edward, private, 193d Infantry. Mclntire, Patrick C, private, Co. K, ist Cavalry. Murray, Patrick, private, Co. C, 75th Infantry. McMillen, James, private, 75th Infantry. More, Reuben, private, Co. K, looth Infantry. Martin, Thomas, private, 2d Cavalry. Morar, Thomas, private, 50th Engineers. Masters, Albert, private, Co. E, Battery Artillery. Mower, Lewis H., captain, Co. L, 3d Light Artillery. McPeak. Thomas, private, Co. D, 3d Light Artillery. HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. McPeak, John, private, Co. D, 3d Light Artilkry. Monroe, Henry C, private, 3d Light Artillery. Millicr, John J., private, Co. I, 9th Heavy Artillery. Marshall, William, private, Co. E, 9th Heavy Artillery. Mallon, James, private, Co. C. 149th Engineers. Millier, William, private, Co. C, 75th Infantry. McNair, Hugh, corporal, Co. D, 26th Infantry. McPhail, Lachlan, private, Co. G, 3d Light Artillery. North, David, private, Co. A, 75th Infantry. North, Thomas, private, Co. C, 75th Infantry. Newell, John, musician, Co. B, loist Infantry. Northway, Thomas, private, Co. K, I22d Infantry. Northrop, Homer A., private, Co. G, 149th Infantry. Naracong, William B., private, Co. K, 3d Light .Artillery. Nugent, Owen, private, Co. D, 3d Light Artillery. Nuttle, Edward, private, ist Light Artillery. Orr, Robert, (particulars of service unknown). O'Hara, Patrick, private, Co. K, I22d Infantry. Ostrander, John H., private, Co. K, i22d Infantry. Olin, Jonathan, private, Co. E, 138th Infantry. Olin, Russell W., private, Co. E, 138th Infantry. Pardee, Joseph B., (particulars of service unknown). Parish, Seth A., sergeant, Co. C, 75th Infantry. Parish, Edgar, private, 75th Infantr>'. Pimm, Jesse, private, Co. C, 75th Infantry. Pearce, George, private, Co. I, 3d Light Artillery. Potter, Edward S., private, Co. G, 149111 Infantry. Pierce, Willard, private, 9th Heavy Artillery. Penner, John W., private, 2d Cavalry. Payson, DeWitt .\., private, ist Veteran Cavalry. Porter, Stanley, 2d lieutenant, Buffalo Regiment. Porter, Benjamin H., 1st lieutenant. U. S. Navy. Potter, Edward E., brigadier general. Quinnan, Thomas, private, ist Veteran Cavalry. Richard, Stephen C. private. Co. I. 9th Heavy .\rtillcry. Reynolds, John, private, Co. I, 9th Heavy Artillery. Rhoades, Charies C, private. 9th Heavy .Artillery. Riby. John, private, Co. I, 9th Heavy .Artillery. 356 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. Richards, William, private, Co. G, 3d Liglit Aniller\-. Russell, John, private, Co. C, 3d Light Artillery. Rhoades, J. Beach, private, Co. H, 15th Engineers. Rodgers, Patrick J., private, 50th Engineers. Riley, John, private, 12th Pennsylvania Infantry. Royce, Francis L., private, Co. A, 141st Infantry. Riley, James, private, i6oth Infantry. Rice, George, private, 185th Infantry. Rice, Samuel, private, 193d Infantry. Riley, Patrick, private, 52d Infantry. Reed, B. F., private, Co. A, 75th Infantry. Reed, Wesley, private, (particulars of service unknown). Rock, William, (particulars of service unknown). Ryan, Morris, private, Co. I, 19th Infantry. Rice, John, private, 9th Heavy Artillery. Rice, William, (regiment unknown, killed in battle). Rice, Henry, (regiment unknown, killed in battle). Smith, Franklin D., private, Co. B, 19th Infantry. Stacey, Anthony, corporal, Co. G, 19th Infantry. Stacey, John, private, Co. I, 99th Infantry. Spaulding, Earll, private, Co. G, 149th Infantry. Smith, James M., private, Co. G, 149th Infantry. Shaw, Milton, sergeant, Co. C, 75th Infantry. Simmon, Albert, private, Co. H, 75th Infantry. Sinclair, Albert, private, Co. C, 75th Infantry. Sinclair, D. M., private, Co. C, 75th Infantry. Stebbins, Phinneas S., private, Co. K, i22d Infantry. Stebbins, Menzer, private, Co. K, I22d Infantry. •Smith, Lyman, private, Co. K, I22d Infantry. Stinson, John, private, Co. K, I22d Infantry. Springstead, Austin, private, Co. F, i22d Infantry. Sage, Henry S., private, Co. D, I22d Infantry. Smith, Lyman, private, I22d Infantry. Shillinburg, Peter, private, I22d Infantry. Sherman, Alfred, private, Co. K, I22d Infantry. Seymour, George B., private, Co. K, I22d Infantry. Shaw, Amos, (particulars of service unknown). Stevens, George, drummer boy, Co. K, I22d Infantry Stephens, Jason, private, 185th Infantry. Snyder, Henry, private, 185th Infantry. Sloan, James, private, 91st Infantry. Sherman, John H., private, 81 st Infantry. HiSTORV OF SK.ixn.iTnLrs. ^itK-Iair. Charles, private, 1931! Infantry. Shepard, Jolin, private, 193d Infantry. Solomon, Judson M., private, 193d Infantry. Sinclair, William, lieutenant, Co. L, 9th Heavy .\rtillcry. Sinclair, I'rank A., private, Co. I, 9th Heavy Artillery. Sayles. John B., private, Co. I, 9th Heavy Artillery. Shaw, Stephen, private, Co. E, 9th Heavy Artillery. Smith, Martin N., private, Co. I, 9th Heavy Artillery. Smith, John F., private, 9th Heavy Artillery. Snow, William, private, Co. E, 9th Heavy Artillery. Strong, Henry, private, Co. E, 3d Light .Artillery. Springstead, Albert, private, Co. E, 3d Light Artillery. Stokes, James W., private, 3d Light Artillery. Stone. William A., private, Co. A. 3d Light Artillery. Stowell, James, private, Co. C, 3d Light Artillery. Stacey, James, private, Co. K, 15th Engineers. Shattuck, Charles L., private, 2d Cavalry. Sullivan, John, private, Co. C, 26th Ohio Infantry. Sinclair, James P., private, Co. L, 9th Heavy Artillery. Stoner, Charles M., private, enlisted in a Missouri regiment. Samuels, Thomas, (particulars of enlistment unknown). Thorpe, Stephen B., private, Co. F, i22d Infantry. Thurlow, James, Jr., private, Co. I, 9th Heavy Artillery. Turner, Charles, private, Co. I, 9th Heavy Artillery. Thomas, William H., private. Co. L, 1st Mounted Rifles. Tallan, James, private, Co. I, (further particulars unknown). Taylor, Cornelius T., private, Co. H, 96th Infantry. Unckless, John A., private, Co. I, U-'il Intaiilry. VanCuflder, Harry C. private, Co. K, 21st Artillery; rccnlisted 184111 Infantr; V'anCiuilder, George W., private, Co. C, 134th Infantry. VanDyke, Augustus, private, Co. G, 3d Light Artillery. \'an(lcnburg. Thomas, lieutenant, Co. I), 3(1 Light Artillery. \'anCamp, Ransom, private, Co. E, 9th Heavy Artillery. \'eder, Elisha, private, Co. G, 12th Infantry. \'anSchoick. William, private. Co. I, 20th Colored Infantry. W'headon, Edward D.. private, Co. .\. 3d Light .Arlillfry. White. Richard S.. private. Co. .\. 3d Light .Vrtillcry. Wheaton. Charles W., private, Co. K. 3d Light .Artillery. Weeks, Reuben, private. Co. K. 3d Light .Artillery. 3S8 HISTORY OF SKAKEATELES. Watts, William, private, Co. E, 3d Light Artillery. Welling, Eli E., private, Co. I, 99th Infantry. Whitfield, William H., private, Co. G, 149th Infantry. Whitfield, Charles W., private, Co. I, 99th Infantry. Warner. George R., private, Co. E, 149th Infantry. Wait, Addison G., 1st lieutenant, loth Infantry. Wayne, John, private, Co. K, 122A Infantry. Whitworth, William W., private, Co. K, 1226. Infantry. Weeks, Emanuel, private, Co. E, 1226. Infantry. Withers, William, private, Co. C, 75th Infantry. Wakely, William, private, Co. A, 75th Infantry. Wheadon, George, private, Co. C, 75th Infantry. Walker, E. W., hospital steward, Co. A, 75th Infantry. Wheeler, W. H. B., sergeant, Co. G, 19th Infantry. Waldron, Sylvester, private, Co. I, 9th Heavy Artillery. Waldron, Augustus, corporal, Co. I, 9th Heavy Artillery. Waldron, Aaron, private, Co. I, 9th Heavy Artillery. Waldron, David H., private, Co. E, 9th Heavy Artillery. Waldron, Ephraim, private, Co. I, 9th Heavy Artillery. Waldron, Wayland, private, Co. A, 15th Cavalry. Warner, Stewart H., private, Co. I, 22d Cavalry. White, W. C, private, 2d Cavalry. Watson, Thomas, private, Co. L, 9th Heavy Artillery. Wood, Hiram, private, Scott's 900. Walters, John, private, 185th Infantry. Williamson, Simeon H., private, 193d Infantry. Webb, James W., hospital steward, 12th Infantry, 15th Cavalry. Willetts, Charles, lieutenant colonel, 14th Kansas Cavalry. Wayne, Robert, private, 9th Heavy Artillery. Zimmermann, A., private, enlisted Syracuse. The above list contains 374 names. The Soldiers in the Late War. The list of names, alphabetically arranged, with all the particulars of service, printed in this issue of the Free Press, has been in process of collection ever since the war closed, as being an interesting part of the history of this town. It is a noble enumeration, and very creditable to Skaneateles, showing conclusively its part in the war for the preservation of the Union. The difficulties in preparing this list in all its minute particulars have been very great. Many names which seem to be unknown to old residents are to be accounted for from the fact that many enlistments were made b_\- operatives in our maiuifacturing estab- HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. 359 lishments and by hired laborers on the farms in the town, many of wliom were only temporary residents. There are undoubtedly many errors in the particu- lars of service, which it has been impossible to verify, although every effort has been made to perfect the list in all particulars. Every native of Skaneateles should secure a copy while it can be had. It would be further interesting to have the names of those who were killed in the service, those who died of disease in the service, those who died in the rebel prisons, and those who have since died at home or elsewhere. But ns the list published to-day can not be The youngost volunlii; o( hit cuuntry. again duplicated, these particulars must be made out separately, if ever, in another list. E. N. Leslie. ^"IJllERS WHO CUE UP THEIR LiVES IN DEFENSE OF THE UnION WHO BELONGED TO THE Town of Skaneateles, N. Y. The following call for information was published in l)oth the village papers, by the author during the month of November, 1875, and other similar calls for information were subsequently made at various times. " Information Wanted. — We are requested to obtain from our townspeople the names of all the soldiers who went from this town and took part in the late 360 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. war, the number of the regiment to wliich they belonged, and to what com- pany. If killed, wounded, or died in the service, the particulars thereof are wanted in each instance. Persons who can give any of the particulars desired are requested to leave the same at the office of the Free Press." The following are the names of those born in or belonging to the town of Skaneateles who lost their lives in defense of the Union in the Civil War of 1861 to 1865: Albring, James. Amidon, Allies B. Aldrick, James. Baber, William H. Boyle, Peter. Bradley, Daniel. Brockrow, Henry. Browning, William. Burnett, Albert D. C. Burridge, Edwin. Burridge, George W. Burridge, John. Brankan, David. • Campbell, Samuel H. Cleaveland, Maltby E. Claxton, George. Dunn, Michael J. Dunn, James H. ( Both the above died in ville Prison.) Doherty, Owen. Durbin, Alfred. Dillon, John. Earll, A. H. Francis, Samuel. Francis, Wadsworth B. Fish, John Jay. Fisher, George. French, George. Gillett, Edgar B. Gregory, William E. Hayho, Henry. Hill, William. Hayne, Henry. Hatch, George B. Hilliard, Charles H. Isom, Henry. Isom, James A. Kelley, Garrett. Kelley, Caney. Lynch, Barney. Loss, Franklin A. More, Reuben. Northway, Thomas. O'Hara, Patrick. Ostrander, John H. Olin, Russell. Porter, Benjamin H. Anderson- Porter, Stanley. Potter, Edward S. Ribey, John. Royce, Francis L. Seymour, George H. Shaw, Milton. Snow, William. Springstead, Austin. Stacey, John. Smith, Lyman. Sayles, John B. \'an Guilder, George W. Whitworth, ^^■illiam W. Williams, Charles. HISTORY uf Mx.i.\hATELES. 361 Albert De Cost Burnett. — Albert De Cost Burnett was the youngest volunteer from the town of Skaneateies in the War of 1861-65. ^''^ enlisted as a private in Company I, loist Infantry, at the age of sixteen years. He died of liisease at Harrison's Landing, Va., .August 4, 1862. His remains were Wrought home. He was the only son of the late Charles J. Burnett, Jr., and was the brother of the late Mrs. E. D. C. Smith, of Skaneateies, and grandson of the late Captain Nash De Cost. The Skaneateles Educatio.nai. Societv. — The Skaneateies Educational Society was organized May 3, 1838, by Phares Gould, President; Alfred Wilkin- son and William Gibbs, Vice-Presidents; Milton A. Kinney, Secretary; Abner Bates. Treasurer; Joseph Talcott. J. T. Clark, Stephen E. Maltby, William H. Greene, Dr. Evehii H. Porter, Luther I'ratt, and Archibald Douglass, Managers. Committees were appointed to visit the twenty schools in town and report their condition, and by systematic work a new impetus was given to local education. The Skaneateles Anti-Slaverv Society. — Contemporary with the above organization was the Skaneateles Anti-Slavery Society, whose officers were: Alfred Wilkinson, President ; Thaddcus Edwards and Daniel Talcott, Vice- Presidents; James Cannings Fuller, Secretary: Stephen E. Maltby, Treasurer; Smith Litherland, James Rattle, John Snook, Chester ^[oses, Abner Bates, and George Pryor, Executive Committee. The organization was an able auxiliary to the County Society. Elnathan S. Andrews. — Elnathan S. Andrews was here in 1808. He built the original meeting-house for the Skaneateles Religious Society, on the hill, and afterward was the landlord of the original tavern, which stood on the site of the present Savings Bank, on Cienesee Street. James Sackett. — On March 20. 1828, James Sackett owned all the lands in the village east of the outlet of Skaneateles Lake, and south of the Seneca Turnpike Road, except the several pieces or parcels of land heretofore sold and c(jnveyed by said Sackett to John Legg, Edward G. Ludlow, Spencer Parsons, Perley Putnam, David Hall, Seth & James Hall. Moore & Edmonds. William S. Wood, James Porter, and William Easton. James Sackett purchased from Jedediah Sanger all lands south of Seneca Turnpike, from the west line of Winston Day's potashcry. which was located west of the present C. If. Poor residence, to the outlet of Skaneateles Lake. Bethl'el Cole. — Bethucl Cole was here in 1804. and was a farmer, black- smith, and tinker of all work. He traded in the village in March, 1805, and was charged with four bushels of wheat, wanting four quarts, in payment for lx)arding Mr. Kneeland, at twenty-four shillings. He was a meml^r of the Grand Jury in 1-97. He lived on the Tunis Van Houghton farm, which was the next farm south of Welch's. An Early Carpenter and Contractor. — Elijah Manlcy was the contractor and builder of the Dr. Samuel Porter dwelling, which w.ts located on the present H. L. Roosevelt place. 362 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. CHAPTER XXIV. Introduction of Merino Sheep, Early Merchants, and Steamboat Excursions. Correl Humphreys. — By request, the following autobiography was written by Correl Humphreys : Fair Haven, May ii, 1882. Friend E. N. Leslie : Sir: Your communication came safe to me last month, but my eyes pre- vented my reply till now. Correl Humphreys was born in the town of Simsbury (now Canton), Hart- ford County, Conn., May 13, 1804, and was educated at the District school when quite young, but in succeeding years attended the Academy for several winters, likewise a select school taught by the Rev. Pierpont Brackett. I went to my trade at the clock factory of Messrs. Birge, Case & Co., Bristol, Conn. I traveled for several years for the Erastus Case Clock Company through the States of Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky. I have now in my possession a watch they presented me upon my return home, " For faithful serv- ices " rendered them in their clock company, in the above named States. I like- wise carried the same watch through the Seminole War in Florida. I then went for my elder brother, Tracey Humphreys, now dead, to Virginia for several seasons in the clock business ; returned back to Connecticut ; from thence I went South over the ground again repairing clocks ; passed through the Shenandoah Valley and over my old ground, occupying several years, to Memphis, Tenn. ; went down the Mississippi River to Carleton, a short distance above New Orleans, where I stopped for a short time with a friend. When there the gen- tleman whose house I was at went down to New Orleans. Upon his return he brought a handbill giving the account of the massacre of Major Dade and his command upon the Choctawhatchee River, Florida. General Edmund P. Gaines, commanding the military district, stationed at New Orleans, served a notice upon the Governor of Louisiana, who called upon the citizens of the State and all others to volunteer and protect the women and children from the bloodthirsty savages. The Indians were killing women and children indiscriminately. I went to the city of New Orleans next day, and found business nearly suspended, and flags flying from all public buildings, and notices in print calling upon all to rally. I was one of the first to volunteer. In the course of the day from fifteen hundred to two thousand men were enrolled and officers elected. Percifer F. Smith, a gradu- ate of West Point, was elected General of Volunteers. We landed at Pensacola HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. 363 and drew our rifles; from thence to Tampa, upon Tampa Bay, where we landed near Fort Brooke, around which were encamped a great many women and chil- dren. We soon landed, and marched past the fort to the rear of the town and encamped. Xext day we started for Dade's battle-ground. When we arrived upon the spot, a horrid sight met our view. The blackened forms of more than one hundred men lay exposed to the beasts and vultures, which had mutilated them. Our company of riflemen, commanded by Captain Henry L. Thrisel, was detailed as a guard to protect those who were collecting the mutilated remains of those who had fallen in that contest. A man by the name of Clark, from Steu- ben County, X. Y., was the only survivor. He died in a few years from wounds received at that time, and was buried at Bath, with the honors of war by the mili- tary of that section. When our time had expired, we were taken to Charleston, S. C, and were honorably discharged, after being escorted by several companies of the City Guard to quarters. Next day we were paraded, and an address was read to us from Governor McComb, General in Chief of the United States Army, returning thanks to us for our patriotism in protecting the citizens of Florida in their hour of trouble. Then came the saddest performance — to take by the hand our old companions who had shared with us and braved the battle- fields for the last time, and bid one another farewell. I have been working at my trade about forty years clock repairing, and, with- out vainly boasting, handled as many clocks as any one now in the State. My grandfather, William Humphreys, served through the Revolutionary War; was with General Richard Montgomery when he fell before the walls of Quebec, and was at Saratoga at the surrender of Burgoyne, and with General Anthony Wayne when he stormed Stony Point. My sister has written you con- cerning my father. I was admitted into the Masonic Fraternity in the year 1827, and the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows in 1846. I first came to Skaneateles in the year 1827. I have been a practical tem- perance man for forty-five years. Very truly and respectfully, CoRRF.L Hu.MPHRF.VS. CoRREt- Humphreys' Ancestors and their connection with Interest- ing Events. — Correl Humphreys was descended in a direct line from Michael Humphreys, who came from England in 1643 ^"f 37° HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. our native lakes with the aid of steam, all served to render the scenes of the day among those upon which in other years we shall be disposed to look back with increased pleasure. We had intended to glean a few sketches from our rough notes relating to the various incidents of ' The Day,' but have only time at present to advise all those who wish to enjoy the pleasure of a jaunt upon the water, to gaze upon some of the most romantic scenes to be found in this region of hills and waves, of rocks and trees, or who wish to breathe for once the health-in- spiring breezes of the mountain, and at the same time suitably to encourage the spirit of enterprise so laudably exhibited by Captain Wells, to make up a party of our citizens, and upon the first fair day accomplish all these objects in the man- ner in which we have suggested." Matches. — Following the uses and description of the tinder-box on page 8 of this volume, the following further appliances were in use at the period named : Next to the tinder-box came small sticks of wood, dipped first in sulphur, and then in a composition of chlorate of potash, flowers of sulphur, gum or sugar, and cinnabar for coloring. Accompanying these was a vial containing sulphuric acid, into which the match was dipped, when it immediately ignited by the chem- ical action induced between the acid and the chlorate of potash. The other in- gredients were added merely on account of their combustible qualities. To this match, which first succeeded the tinder-box, next came the lucifer match in 1827-29, which was invented by John Walker, in England. Peat, or Muck. — Peat, or muck, is found in the swamps and low grounds of the town. The conditions for its productions are permanent moisture, with a subsoil of either clay or marl, impermeable to water. It is formed of successive growths of vegetation, which have died and become brown or black. It is spongy and retentive of water, and by successive growths has raised its bed, so that it appears in mounds and hillocks. In some localities this is aided greatly by deposits of this constantly forming beneath it. Usually the surface is soft, yield- ing to pressure, and trembling when walked upon. In the town of Clay, in this county, are extensive beds of peat, which, judging from experiments made, promise to be of great importance as fuel. Abraham Cuddeback. — Abraham Cuddcback was the father of Abraham A. Cuddeback, the first settler in this town. Although he never lived in this town, he died at Minisink, Orange County, N. Y., July 24, 1783. It is stated that our first settler, Abraham A. Cuddeback, brought his father's remains when he first came into this town, and interred them on his land. Elijah Manley. — The original Dr. Samuel Porter dwelling, which stood on the present H. L. Roosevelt property, was built by Elijah Manley,' carpenter and contractor. He was one of the first carpenters of Skaneateles. John Briggs built the tavern on the corner of Seneca Turnpike and West Lake Road (Shear place). He was Mrs. Hitchcock's father. He died June 25, 1839, aged eighty-two years. HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. CHAPTER XXV. The Skaneateles Water Works Company and Local History. The Skaneateles Water Works Company. — The first appearance of the Skaneateles Water Works Company in Skaneateles was recorded in the Book of Records of the Trustees, November 29, 1884, as follows : " A petition of out-of-town gentlemen for the privilege of erecting public water works came before the Board, upon which no action was taken." These out-of-town gentlemen proposed to the Trustees that, if they would bond the village for an amount to be agreed upon, they would put in a system of water works which would belong to the village, and which was to be perfectly satisfactory to the village authorities before being paid for. The contractors would accept either the bonds or the money arising from the sale of the bonds. If the Trustees had accepted that proposition, all the litigation which has since been before the courts would have been avoided. No further reference in the record is to be found until the month of May, 1887, when a petition was presented to the Trustees, by John E. Waller and others, " in regard to forming a water works company." The next entry on the record was July 5, 1887, when a franchise was granted by the Trustees to John E. \\'aller, George H. Wicks, Lewis B. Fitch, Edwin E. Hall, J. K. Knox, John McNamara, Benjamin F. Petheram, and George Barrow. These persons thus, by being granted a franchise, became a corporation, under the name of " The Skaneateles Water Works Company." They stated in their petition to the Trustees that the proposed capital stock of the Skaneateles Water Works Com- pany was forty thousand dollars, to be divided into four hundred shares of one hundred dollars each. Now, as a matter of interest, the law under which these water companies are authorized to issue stock is as follows: Chapter 313 of the Laws of i88i provides that the capital stock shall be paid " in the manner and within the time provided by Chapter 40 of the Laws of 1848." Section 6 of this chapter reads as follows : " It shall be lawful for the officers to call in and demand from the stockholders, respectively, all such sums of money as by them subscribed, at such times and in such payments or instalments as the officers shall deem proper, under the penalty of forfeiting the shares of stock subscribed for." It may here be stated that in the testimony before the courts, in the litigation undertaken by this powerful corpora- tion to compel the village of Skaneateles to pay that Water Company heavy dam- ages, there was no evidence produced before any one of the courts, from the Referee to the Court of Appeals, that a single share of the four hundred shares n.nmrd in ilm iictition to the Trustees had ever been paid for! It was not ncces- 37^ HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. sary for the officers to demand any money from the stockholders, as they had re- ceived the stock without any consideration, except for services rendered — paid for in services rendered, not money. The officers did not need any money, as the bonds issued had not only paid for the construction of the plant, but paid the promoters, " The American Pipe Manufacturing Company of New Jersey." The next record of the Skaneateles Water Works Company is copied from its certificate filed in the Onondaga Clerk's Office, as follows : " Authorizing that company to issue bonds, etc., for the purpose of constructing and perfecting its plant, needs to borrow additional capital, and it is deemed desirable to secure the same by means of first mortgage bonds. Now, therefore, we, Edward S. Perot, owning 370 shares, C. H. Jackson, owning 5 shares, James P. McQuade, owning 5 shares, and owning more than two-thirds of the capital stock of said company," etc. This meeting of the Skaneateles Water Works Company was held August 21, 1890. These individuals who claim to own two-thirds of the capital stock of the Skaneateles Water Works Company did issue to the American Loan and Trust Company of New York (under the Laws of 1873, passed June 12) eighty bonds of $500 each ($40,000), with interest coupons attached. These bonds were dated September i, 1890, to become due August 31, 1920. These bonds were executed by Caleb H. Jackson, President, and James P. McQuade, Sec- retary. Now the question arises. Were the names signed to the bonds, amounting to $40,000, the " Skaneateles Water Works Company" ? What right had these men to issue $40,000 worth of mortgage bonds? The only Skaneateles Water Works Company known to the citizens of the village of Skaneateles were John E. Waller, George H. Wicks, Lewis B. Fitch, Edwin E. Hall, J. K. Knox, John McNamara, Benjamin F. Petheram, and George Barrow. How is it that these incorporators, who obtained the franchise, and in whose possession it was, should have allowed Jackson and McQuade to execute in the name of the Skaneateles Water Works Company $40,000 mortgage bonds? This question has never been answered or explained. The above-named incorporators stated in their application to the Trustees that the capital stock was $40,000, in shares $100 each. As a corporation they had the power to issue that amount of stock, but, really, they did not issue any. They were not incorporated for that purpose! Another interesting phase of the subject under consideration was a letter writ- ten by J. W. Hawley, President of the Water Company (as the company had several presidents, George Barrow was one). That letter was dated April 6, 1896, in which was the following paragraph : " These water works were built for the Skaneateles Water Works Company partly by a company in New York City, who were unable to complete the same, which was done by the American Pipe Manufacturing Company of Philadelphia, who held the stock issued. The bonded debt was $40,000, which was spent entire on the works and was not sufficient to complete the work. I purchased of the inslOKV Ol- SK.hXEATELES. 373 American Pipe Company $20,000 of the stock of the Company, and afterward $10,000 of Mr. Hall, of Skaneatcles." That letter of J. W. Hawicy's is a curiosity in many dircctiuiis. He says that the water works were built by a company in New York city. The evidence be- fore the Referee at Syracuse, at the commencement of the litigation, shows by the testimony of the chief incorporator that there never was such a company which put in the works. Hawley also states that the American Pipe Manu- facturing Company of Philadelphia, who owned tlie stock issued, completed the ,I,AGE OF SKANEATELES FRO.M WEST SHORE, NEAR BOAT-lIUlSE. Surface of the Lokc forms a Mirror, which reflect* the Shore. works. .Now, this American Pipe Manufacturing Co. was a Xew Jersey corpo- ration, and J. W. Hawley was one of the incorporators (nine in number), and only subscribed for two shares of its stock. The capital stock of that corporation was $1,000,000. The incorporators only subscribed for twenty shares in all. These shares were $100 each. There were 10,000 shares, at $100 per share, and the in- corporators, including J. W. Hawley, only subscribed for twenty .shares. It is very doubtful whether there ever was a Skaneateles Water Works Company, except the village incorporators who received the franchise from the village Trustees. Ever since these incorporators transferred that franchise to the American Pipe Manu- 374 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. facturiiig Company of New Jersey, that company and its agents has been the Skaneateles Water Works Company. Jackson, McQuade, and Perot, who mort- gaged the plant for $40,000, are in all probability stockholders or agents of the New Jersey Corporation alluded to. The first annual report of this company, as required by the laws of this State, was filed with the Secretary of State at Albany. In this report we have the names of the president and a majority of the directors of the Skaneateles Water Works Company, who are named as follows : George Barrow, Charles E. Bar- row, Edwin E. Hall, Edward S. Perot, W. H. Perot, Jr., James Skeen, Jr., James W. Hawley, and The American Pipe Manufacturing Co. The Pipe Company is named in the report as a director. The President is probably George Barrow, being first named. Five out of the eight named are the specu- lators who comprise a majority of this board of officers of the Skaneateles Water Works Company. The annual report further states that the capital stock is $40,000; actually paid in (?) $40,000. (This a deception.) Invested here in the village thus far: Assets, franchise, plant, cash $80,000 (from record). Here follows another record: Skaneateles Water Works Company. Certificate of Increase of Capital Stock. We, the undersigned, George Barrow, Chairman, and John Burton, Secretary, respec- tively of a special meeting of the stockholders of the Skaneateles Water Works Company, a domestic stock corporation, held for the purpose of increasing its capital stock, as adver- tised in the Skaneateles Democrat, December 4, 1894. James W. Hawley N. H. Thompson George Barrow W. S. Perot C. E. Barrow. Three out of the five were probably the representatives of the American Pipe Manufacturing Company of New Jersey. Hawley and Perot were certainly. The amount of stock issued so far as known, according to evidence before Referee : George Barrow, for services as counsel $30,000 J. W. Hawley, who is now said to be President of the company, 33,ooo Edwin E. Hall, who had no knowledge of how he got it. . 10,000 The seven incorporators, $1,000 each 7,000 Here is $80,000 worth of stock, besides the stock held by the American Pipe Manufacturing Company of New Jersey. HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. 375 In one of J. W. Hawley's letters as published, dated February 7, 1895, the fol- lowing pastoral effusion occurs : " For the feeling of the company toward the village is of the kindest, and we only ask for help during the emergency." The lion had the kindest feeling for the lamb! J. W. Hawley, in his letter to the Water Commissioners, stated among other items that the American Pipe Manufacturing Company held all the stock of the Skaneateles Water Works Company. This is considered as a matter of course. The evidence before the Referee at Syracuse indicated that not a single share of stock was paid for in money. George Barrow obtained his 30,000 shares for legal services, and probably other stockholders were in other ways useful to the American Pipe Manufacturing Company. The Village Trustees made a contract with the Water Company, April 23, 1889, for five years. This was effected without consultation with the taxpayers. It has always been the practise on previous occasions, when any extraordinary matter was brought to the attention of the village officers, to consult the tax- payers by taking an informal vote for advice; but in this instance the taxpayers were not consulted, and the contract was executed accordingly. Soon after the contract became publicly known, two petitions were presented to the Board of Trustees protesting against the action of the Trustees, one of which was signed by one hundred and sixteen taxpayers, of which the following is a copy : " We, the undersigned taxpayers of the village of Skaneateles, hereby protest against the contract heretofore entered into by the Trustees of this village with the Skaneateles Water Works Company without the knowledge or consent of the taxpayers. And believing such contract was unauthorized, and that the public in- terests do not demand so great an outlay, and that the question should have at least been submitted to a vote of the people, we hereby ask your Honorable Board to disaffirm and rescind such contract, and refuse to act under it, unless legally compelled to do so." The Trustees took no action upon this formidable protest, which comprised a large majority of the taxpayers. They merely ordered the Clerk to place it on file. The other petition was also a protest from other taxpayers, worded dif- ferently. The want of official courtesy and decent action in the reception of such formidable protests would seem to show that the issue of unlimited shares of stock had not been issued in vain. The promoters, C. H. Jackson, James P. McQuade, and Edward S. Perot, having issued $40,000 in six per cent, mortgage bonds, representing themselves as the Skaneateles Water Works Company, by so doing, and claiming to hold two- thirds of the capital stock of the company, carried off (not to New Jersey, but to Philadelphia) the bonds and the two-thirds of the stock as their profit in this business. The next persons to get paid for their work in promoting this Water Company were the original incorporators, through whose industry the franchise was ob- tained. They obtained the franchise under several conditions, two of which were, 376 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. first, that the plant and works were to be completed and in full working order within two years, and, secondly, that such franchise was not to be sold to any person or persons outside of the village of Skaneateles. Neither of these condi- tions was obeyed. In respect to the first one, the plant was not attempted to be put in within two years. It was very probable that the promoters advised the in- corporators how they could get their share of the profits of establishing the Skaneateles Water Works Company by selling the franchise to outside parties, and to various firms throughout this and other States who make it their business to buy franchises. This plan was, perhaps, adopted, and much correspondence took place with that end in view ; but it seems that these firms had no confidence in the purchase of a franchise given by the Trustees of the village of Skaneateles. If the exclusive use of the streets had been included in the franchise, undoubtedly it would have been salable to the contracting firms. Therefore, the promoters of the Skaneateles Water Works Company were here at the date of that pretended meeting, December 14, 1889, according to the Free Press "Rambler," which stated as follows: " Representatives of the water company which put in the works at Jordan were in town last week, and I hear they secured the right and title of the Skane- ateles Water Company, together with an extension of the franchise of the latter company and its contract with the village. The works are to be put in this sum- mer." These speculators in all probability made arrangements to have a record placed on the Book of Records of the village Trustees which would make it authori- tatively appear that the franchise had been legally extended. They knew that the franchise would become extinct after the expiration of two years. Anticipating that event, they came here and made arrangements to have that record placed in the book (in the opinion of the author). It is very probable that the chief incor- porator protested very decidedly against the statement of the "Rambler," which would be very natural. There is no external evidence that that meeting of the Trustees to extend the franchise of the Skaneateles Water Works Company was ever held. Neither of the village papers published it. John D. Barrow, whom the pretended meeting, by resolution, appointed as Clerk pro tem., had been summoned as a witness at a term of the Supreme Court, at Syracuse, April 17, 1S98, and stated to the court and counsel (not being on the witness stand) that he had not the least recollec- tion of attending any such meeting of the Trustees, or having been by resolution elected Clerk pro tem. He could not be persuaded to be sworn as a witness (as understood by the author). T. Kelley, at the same time, while testifying as a wit- ness, insisted that at all meetings of the village Trustees there was always a Presi- dent pro tem. appointed when the President was absent, but he had no recollection of that meeting. When S. E. Benedict was on the witness stand, he was asked by counsel to take the book of minutes and look them over, and state what was done at that meeting. Benedict replied that " there was no vote taken, except on the HISTORY or SKAA'EATELES. 377 motion to adjourn." Xo vote taken on the resolution to extend the francliise of the water company for one year! At that remarkable (pretended) meeting, there was no President present, no President pro tem., no chairman. Although the record stated that T. Kelley made a motion to extend the franchise, it was not seconded. Under the rules of the Board of Trustees, and under the custom, a motion not seconded is never brought before the meeting. Xo vote was recorded in the minutes. None was taken ! Now, if the above is not sufficient to prove that the franchise was not ex- tended, the following further statement will convince the most skeptical : " The Referee, at the commencement of the water company's litigation, de- cided, from the evidence brought before him, that the franchise was renewed." Evidence shows that the franchise was not renewed. The following is an exact copy of the record of Trustees : " Now, therefore, the said company having applied for a renewal and extension of said franchise and term. " Resolved, That said franchise as recorded in the village Record be, and the same is hereby, renewed, and the term of the completion of the work is hereby extended until De- cember I. i8go, on condition that said franchise shall be void if said company shall not have completed its work within one year from December i, 1889; it being understood that the contract made by said village with said company shall continue to be binding upon said company, and this franchise is renewed upon that condition. " The resolution was thereupon adopted. " On motion of Mr. Kelley, seconded by Mr. Shepard, the meeting then adjourned sine die. " Accepted. " J. D. Barrow, Clerk pro tem." The following is copied from the printed evidence by authority of which the Kcferee decided that the franchise had been extended by the Trustees: " Now, therefore, the said company having applied for a renewal and extension of said franchise and term. " Resolved, That said franchise as recorded in the village Record be, and the same is hereby, renewed, and the term of the completion of the work is hereby extended until De- cember I, 1890, on condition that said franchise shall be void if said company shall not have completed its work within one year from December I, 1899; it being understood that the contract made by said village with said company shall continue to be binding upon said company, and this franchise is renewed upon that condition. " The resolution was thereupon adopted, on motion of Mr. Kelley. secundcd by Mr. Shepard. " The meeting then adjourned sine die. " J. D. Barrow, Clerk pro tem." Notice the difference between the closing paragraph of the above copy of the printed evidence that was brought before the Referee, and the actual copy of the 378 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. Record first above printed. These paragraphs can be better understood by here printing them : " On motion of Mr. Kelley, seconded by Mr. Shepard, the meeting then ad- journed sine die." " The resolution was thereupon adopted, on motion of Mr. Kelley, seconded by Mr. Shepard. " The meeting then adjourned sine die." In order to give a full history of this subject, it will be necessary to make the following statement personally. Immediately after I first saw the printed evidence in the matter of the litiga- tion by the Skaneateles Water Works Company against the village of Skaneateles, I had a negative taken from the Book of Record, from which negative I had four copies printed of different sizes of print. These were intended to prove my asser- tion that the sentence in the record, " the resolution was thereupon adopted," had been subsequently added to the Record. After receiving the photographs, I found that the Record was the very best evidence, because the handwriting showed that the added sentence had been written at a different time from the pre- ceding, there having been a gloss on the preceding writing, while the sentence criticized had no gloss. Having these photographs on hand, I desired to inter- view Mr. Morgan, the stenographer. I called on him at his office in the Court House, Syracuse, showed him the printed evidence and the photograph, and asked him if the printed evidence had been copied by him. He replied that it was not copied by him, but by Mr. Comstock, the stenographer of Justice Hiscock. I asked where I could find him. Morgan then showed me Judge Hiscock's office near by. I at once went into that office, and asked to see Mr. Comstock, when he came out of an adjoining room. I showed him the book of printed evidence taken before the Referee, and the photograph copy of the Record, and asked him if he copied the printed evidence from the Record Book. He replied immediately that it had been dictated to him ! This dictation was made to appear, " The resolution was thereupon adopted on motion of Mr. Kelley, seconded by Mr. Shepard." This dictation to Stenographer Comstock, printed in the evidence taken be- fore the Referee, which had not previously become known to me until I read it in the printed evidence, and which was false, and known to be false by the Water Works Company, had passed before all the courts in this State up to the court of final resort. All the courts have decided against the Water Company even with this false and important evidence in its favor, which was unknown until I discovered it. The Attorney of the Skaneateles Water Works Company took the Book of Records from the village Clerk at the hearing before the Referee, and a dicta- tion from that Record was given to Stenographer Comstock by an agent of the Pipe Company as official evidence. It was, in my opinion, dictated by Attorney Barrow. HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. 379 The representatives of the Jordan Water Company, mentioned in the Free Press' '• Rambler's " statement above, were Caleb H. Jackson, James P. McQuade, and Edward S. Perot. It was to these three persons were sold the franchise of the Skaneateles Water Works Company, and the extension of the franchise, and the contract with the village. They were non-residents of the village, decidedly so. Therefore the original conditions of the grant of the franchise by the village Frustees were broken, which rendered the franchise null and void. The following is a copy of the certificate filed in the County Clerk's Office, which authorized the issue of $10,000 bonds by the Skaneateles Water Works Company. This certificate was never recorded; it was only filed. Its date of filing was Januarj* 22, 1895 : " Consent of stockholders to mortgage to the Delaware County Trust Com- pany, etc. The following are the names of the stockholders : B. W. Hawley, owning 237 shares. George Barrow, " 145 " N. H. Thompson, " 5 " A. M. Hawley, " 5 Chas. E. Barrow, " 5 Edward S. Perot, " i " " Here are 398 shares, represented by si.x persons, four of whom are not resi- dents of Skaneateles. Now, in respect to the Jordan Water Company, a prominent business gentle- man of Jordan states : " The Jersey Pipe Manufacturing Company came to Jor- dan in 1888 and organized a company, called the Jordan Water Company, the stockholders being all of Philadelphia and New York city men, and put in a system of water works. After their work was completed in Jordan, they went to Skaneateles and put in the pipe for your people. The Jordan company sold their bonds in New York, and the bondholders sold the system to parties in Auburn and Moravia, who still own and operate it in Jordan, under the name of the 'Jor- dan Water Company.' " It would secrh from the above statement that the bond- holders were the parties who sold the right and title, the extended franchise, and the contract with the village to the representatives of the Jordan Water Company. That must have been the way that the Skaneateles Water Company was sold. The presumption, therefore, of the foregoing history of the Skaneateles Water Company is that its franchise is and was void, and that the evidence brought be- fore the Referee at Syracuse was false, and knowingly so by the person who dic- tated the pretended copy of the record of the minutes of the village Trustees to Stenographer Comstock. Now, it will be of further interest to the people of Skaneateles to know some- thing about the American Pipe Manufacturing Company of New Jersey. In one of J. W. Hawley's letters he stated that this was a Philadelphia company. In order to get some information about this company, I wrote to the Secretary of 38o HISTORY OF SKASEATELES. the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, at Harrisburg. and requested a copy of the charter or organization of the American Pipe Manufacturing Company of Phil- adelphia, and to state what the charge would be. In reply it was stated that the Pipe Company was not a Pennsylvania corporation, but a New Jersey corpora- tion ; and that the American Pipe Manufacturing Company had filed a certificate in his ofificc, under a law of the State entitled " An Act to prohibit Foreign Cor- porations from doing Business in Pennsylvania without having Known Places of Business and Authorized Agents." I received a copy of this certificate, which is filled out by Jos. J. Keen, Jr., Vice-President of the Pipe Company, stating that the principal office of the company was at Camden, N. J., and that " the object of said corporation is the manufacture and sale of wrought iron pipe lined with HISTORY or SK.lMi.lTELES. .?8i cement, &c." This " &c." covers a multitude of powers, as will be seen by the following powers of the American Pipe Manufacturing Company of New Jersey, a full copy of whose certificate I obtained from the Department of State at Tren- ton, X. J. : " That the objects for which the company is formed are as follows: namely, for the pur- pose of carrying on within the State of New Jersey, and the adjoining State of Pennsyl- vania, and the other States and Territories of the United States of America, and every portion thereof, the manufacture of Phipps' patent hydraulic pipe, and other pipe, for the use of water, gas, electric light and power, or natural gas companies, or for use for sewers or drains, or any other purpose; and the business of selling and disposing of the same, and also the business of contracting with any person or persons, or any corporation, municipal or otherwise, having the riglit, power, or franchise to build and construct water supply works, gas works, electric light and power plants, or natural gas plants, or any other works of improvement within said States and Territories, or either of them, to build, construct, enlarge, or complete such water supply works, gas works, electric light and power plants, or natural gas plants, or any other works of improvement, or any part or portion thereof, and to receive in payment, in whole or in part, therefor shares of the capital stock or bonds of any of the above described corporations, or securities issued by any government. State, county, city, or other corporation, municipal or otherwise, and to sell the same; and to lease, purchase, hold, assign, convey, mortgage, and exchange real or personal property or contracts, and for the purposes of said business to issue bonds secured by mortgage or mort- gages upon the property and franchises of the said company, together with the right to pur- chase and hold any patents, or reissues, renewals, improvements, modifications, and exten- sions thereof, and the right to manufacture, use, and sale of devices or appliances applicable to the business of the said company, and the right of sale or other disposition, whether ter- ritorial or otherwise, of the same, and together with all and everything incidental to the promotion of the objects and purposes aforesaid. "The principal office of the company will be located and maintained in the said city of Camden; and the portion of the business of the company which is to be carried on out of this State in the said City of Philadelphia is such portion thereof of an ordinarily adminis- trative character, as can be conveniently and legally transacted there. "That the total amount of the capital stock of said company is one million dollars; the number of shares into which the same is divided is ten thousand, and the par value of each share is one hundred dollars; the amount with which the said company will commence busi- ness is two thousand dollars, which is divided into twenty shares, of a par value of one hundred dollars each." The above quotation is copied from the official organization of the American Pipe Manufacturing Company of New Jersey, and it is explanatory of the " &c." .ippended to its certificate filed with the Secretary of the Commonwealtli of Penn- -\lvania, hereinbefore copied. Tlie copy that I have of tiie organization of this •mpany in Xew Jersey is a certified copy by the Secretary of State, with the tlicial seal attached. It is particularly interesting in connection with our local Skancateles Water Works Company. All the preceding sliows conclusively to my mind that the local incorporators were mere deputies (to haul the chestnuts out of the fire) for the American Pipe Manufacturing Company of Xew Jersey. Tiieir whole duty was, in the first place, to secure a franchise from the village Trtistees, and after that was secured 382 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. the next duty was to file a certificate in the office of the Secretary of State at Albany. After that 'was accomplished, the incorporators became a domestic stock- corporation of the State of New York. The incorporators having hauled the chestnuts out of the fire for the American Pipe Manufacturing Company, their duties ended here. They never had any power to put in water works within two years; never had power to issue stock; in fact, the local incorporators at once became extinct as a corporation. From the time of their extinction, the Ameri- can Pipe Manufacturing Company of New Jersey became in all respects the Skaneateles Water Works Company, and in all the litigation through all the courts of this State against the village of Skaneateles, myself, and other officers, this Jersey company, under the guise of the name of the Skaneateles Water Works Company, has been the actual plaintiff in all the proceedings against the village. The names of the persons who have represented the Skaneateles Water Works Company are as follows: George Barrow, as its President, signed the contract for five years with the village President, April 23, 1889. Edward S. Perot, James P. McQuade, and C. H. Jackson issued $40,000 mortgage bonds, August 24, 1890. The bonds were executed by Caleb H. Jackson as President, and James P. McQuade as Secretary. There is no recorded evidence by whom the $40,000 of stock was issued. In a letter written by James W. Hawley, as Presi- dent of the Skaneateles Water Works Company, dated April 6, 1896, he states that the American Pipe Manufacturing Company held all the stock issued (which is undoubtedly true), and that he purchased from that company $20,000 of its stock, which is very doubtful, as he was one of the incorporators, and he had pur- chased $10,000 of stock from Mr. Hall, of Skaneateles. The annual report of the company, dated January 15, 1892, was signed by its President and a majority of its Directors, as follows : George Barrow, Charles E. Barrow, Edwin E. Hall, The American Pipe Manufacturing Company, W. H. Perot, James Skeen, Jr., James W. Hawley, and Edward S. Perot. (Presi- dent's name not designated.) The meeting to increase the capital stock to $10,000 was held December 4, 1894, and was signed by James W. Hawley, N. H. Thom- son, W. S. Perot, George Barrow, and C. E. Barrow. The conclusion from the foregoing statement is that the organization hereto- fore known as the Skaneateles Water Works Company has no franchise. Such was not extended by the village Trustees, as claimed at a meeting pretended to have been held December 14, 1889, consequently this pretended water works com- pany has no standing in court. The American Pipe Manufacturing Company of New Jersey has been the actual plaintiff in all the proceedings against the village of Skaneateles, depending for its authority to prosecute this village upon a false dictation from the record before the Referee at Syracuse, at the commencement of this extended litigation. In order to meet any adverse decision by the Supreme Court of the United States, to whom the Skaneateles Water Works Company have appealed, which is now before that court at the present writing (February, 1901), against the vil- HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. 3>i3 lage of Skaneatelcs, E. Norman Leslie, as President and individually, et al., I have placed in the safe of the Skaneateles Savings Bank for safe keeping two propositions of legal evidence in courts of record of the State of New York, by which a new trial can be had under newly discovered evidence by the village, by which the Skaneateles \\'atcr Works Company will eventually be defeated. As a part of the history of the Skaneateles Water Works Company, it will be of general interest in this connection to include a communication, written by my- self and published in the Skaneateles Democrat, March 4, 1896, at which time I had been nominated for the office of President, with John E. Waller opposed : " The Only Question now is. Municipal Ownership of a Water Plant, Either by the purchase of the present plant, at a sum not exceeding $30,000, or an entire new one of our own. This is the real question to be decided at the next municipal election for officers of this village for the ensuing year. It would be a fatal error not to settle this momentous subject now, while we have no contract with the water company and are consequently free from its domination or in- fluence. " The whole question of municipal ownership will now rest with the voters of this village, to whom by their votes they will intrust this present subject to the persons whom they will elect as officers of this village for the ensuing year. '■ All the nominations made by the people's party have been made solely to meet the subject of municipal ownership, and the persons so nominated are a unit on that as well as on other questions affecting the people's rights. Some of our people, who do not understand the situation, are impatient at the inaction of the present Trustees respecting the water question. Such parties must under- stand that an effort is now being made by the water works companies to get a law passed by the present legislature to forever prevent any village from put- ting in their own plant, and also to compel villages who want to purchase the old works to pay from two to three times what they had originally cost. If this becomes a law, our ownership will become impossible. So we must be pa- tient and fight this bad bill. " If I should be selected for the office of President for another year, my whole energies would be devoted to municipal ownership. It may not be generally known that I alone have been in active charge of the subject for the defeat of the Malby bill now before the Legislature, without assistance from any other person, except persons employed at my expense. I am satisfied that my efforts in this direction have been successful. The Syracuse Standard, from the fact of my letter to its editor, has been of great assistance in educating the public on the necessity of defeating the passage of this effort to pass this law. " I am heartily in favor of continuing the present condition of not making a contract with the water company. The houses and dwellings of this village are unusually safe against destruction by fire, just as much so as we were safe from fire before the present water works were placed in our streets. We are safe 384 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. from the fact that nearly all the present dwellings were constructed in earlier times when balloon frames and cheap work were unknown, and, besides, our housewives have always been very careful about fires. " An important item is that the only fuel now used is anthracite coal, and the stoves for its use are perfectly safe from danger, and it is very doubtful whether there are now any wood fires used for household purposes. In my opinion, any large fire insurance company could take all the risks in this village at half what is now charged, and make money, and without loss, if a proper inspection should be made, would be safe beyond question. " But as it is now, we have no remedy but to submit to pay heavy rates to benefit the large cities. E. Norman Leslie, President." The voters of the village indorsed my views as expressed in this communica- tion, and elected myself President at the election immediately following the pre- sentment of my position in reference to municipal ownership. Had I been de- feated, the Water Works Company would have been in full sway, and the village would now be paying fifty dollars annually for every hydrant, and private takers would pay double rates for every faucet, and never afterward would the village be able to purchase the plant, including its miserable cement pipes, at a less sum than $150,000 or $200,000. Scraping the Snow from the Sidewalks in Winter. — How it origi- nated. — During the winter of 1866-67, snow fell to the depth of four feet, oblig- ing pedestrians to wade through it to reach the post-office and other parts of the village. This was the experience of the author, and in order to provide for any future contingency of this character he drew up a bill, and had it introduced into the Legislature of 1867. The bill became a law. It was an amendment of Chap- ter 148 of the Laws of 1867, as follows : " Section 5. The said Trustees shall have power, and it shall be their duty, to cause the removal of snow, ice, or other obstruction from the sidewalks in said village, and to defray and pay the expense of the same, and to keep at least one sidewalk of each street free from obstruction at all times for the use of pedes- trians. It shall be the duty of the Treasurer of said village to reserve and set apart from the moneys received by him from the annual highway tax the sum of two hundred dollars, which shall constitute an exclusive fund for the payment of requisitions on him by the Trustees for the aforesaid purpose. The said Trus- tees shall not pay or cause the Treasurer to pay out any money from the said exclusive fund for any other purpose than is herein provided, until the first day of April in each year ; after which the balance of said fund may be appro- priated by the Trustees to any other purpose consistent with the provisions of this act." This law went into eflfect immediately, and every year since 1868 two hun- dred dollars has regularly been appropriated by the Trustees for clearing the side- HISTORY or SKAXEATELES. 3«S walks from snow and ice, until within the past five years, when the appropriation by the Trustees has been lessened in amount, without cause. There are eight and a half miles of streets in the village, consequently there are seventeen miles of sidewalks on both sides the streets, and, owing to competi- tion by men owning teams of horses having no other source of employment, the terms per single trip over the eight miles of sidewalks in the whole village have been reduced by competition to two and a half dollars. One trip requires the TEN MILE POINT, WHICH I.S IN THE FOREOROUNU, LOOKINO NORTH. It is on the Eom Shore of the Lake. The Small Propeller happened to come within ran^e of the Camera by accident. It indlcatea one of the Plcaaurable Pa.stimei> of Skaneatele^ Lake. lal)or of two men and two horses. Sometimes when the snow becomes covered with ice two horses on one scraper, together with a plow lashed to the side of the scraper, are required to do the work properly. This grand scheme of clearing the sidewalks from snow and ice during the winter season is not known or practised in any other village in the State. It is a purely Skancateles invention. The effect of this great convenience is that every sidewalk througiiout the village has a path four feet in width, ctit like a canal through the snow and down to the surface of the sidewalk, at early daylight 386 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. every morning after a snow-storm. Those who secure the contract for the season have acquired perfection in the work, cutting the paths very straight. Early com- petition for this work brought in poor men and poor horses at very low rates. The Trustees then supposed they were economizing by accepting low bids for the work. The consequence was that the work was not done properly, and pedes- trians were continually making complaint. The Trustees have since learned to employ the best men and the strongest horses. At any other time during the year the same men and their teams could not be had for double the money they receive in winter time. There is no other expenditure of money received from taxation that all the residents of the village get more value from and more comfort from than the cost of scraping the snow from the sidewalks here in the village of Skaneateles. All ordinances and all laws enacted by any Board of Trustees making it the duty of every person to keep the sidewalks in front of his premises clear of snow or other obstruction have been, as a general rule, disregarded and have never been enforced, therefore the snow-scraper has met with universal ap- proval. Jonathan Kneeland. — Dr. Jonathan Kneeland was born February lo, 1813, in a log cabin between Skaneateles and Otisco Lake. He was a precocious youth, devouring everything he could find in the way of literature. When eleven years of age he became a student in medicine under Dr. Jeremiah B. Whiting, of Cayuga County, but soon returned to his father's log house. When sixteen he again left home, this time without leave, and attended district, select, and academic schools. He then weighed ninety pounds. He taught two winter terms of school of four and five months each, and experienced all the questionable delights of " boardin" 'round." In after-life he never resided in this town. In the old ledgers and other account-books which gave the names of early set- tlers and others who traded here are found the following names of Kneelands : Amasa Kneeland, who taught school in the vicinity of Nathan Leonard's inn (Joab Clift's) ; Asa Kneeland, who traded here in 1805, taught school, and, ac- cording to Nathaniel Miller, was a carpenter and joiner in 1807. Horace and Warren Kneeland were here in 1818. Samuel C. Wheadon. — Samuel C. Wheadon was born in Marcellus, October 19, 1802, removed to Mottville in 1824, and died in Skaneateles June 8, 1881. He engaged in the foundry and manufacturing business, kept a hotel, served as Deputy Sheriff several years, and in 1848 became a merchant, and continued so until his death. The Civil War. — On June 25, 1862, the Ladies' Aid Society was organized, with Mrs. Anson Lapham, President ; Mrs. William H. Jewett, Vice-President ; Mrs. H. Piatt, Secretary, and Miss E. A. Lapham, Treasurer, for the purpose of assisting soldiers at the front. They performed a noble work in forwarding cloth- ing and supplies and ameliorating the hardships of army life. An Illustration of the Uncertainty of Human Life. — The ravages of relentless time are exemplified by the signatures of one hundred well-known citi- HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. 387 zens of the village of Skaneateles to a public document thirty-eight years ago. The names are as follows : Newell Turner Horace Hazen J. H. Vanderburgh Peter M. Pelle Thomas Dyer John Grime Worthy Gibbons Orson Young A. Hitchcock S. C. Hemingway G. T. Campbell Jason Reed John Packwood S. B. Hitchcock Benjamin Forshee S. C. Wheadon Harry Briggs C. W. De Witt Charles B. Isbell L. D. Wait John Rossiter Schuyler Moore Sereno Field George R. Ashpole Samuel Stewart Daniel Wheeler George B. Hall Richard Huxtable Augustus Kellogg Stephen Vanderburgh Susan Newton D. A. Rupp Eastwood Allen George Paul Henry D. Huxford F. E. Austin Chester Moses John Beatty Joseph Bird James M. Brown M. Schooley Thomas A. Benedict John Wheeler William Packwood John Day John Kellogg E. E. Austin Daniel Hall William G. Slade Harvey Piatt P. Harris L. Hall F. G. Weeks Richard Talcott S. A. Daniels H. Cornell Thomas Drakcford Lyman Loveland Jerry Shallish Elias Thorne Lois Kellogg Thaddeus Edwards C. K. Leitch Columbus Weston Simon Cook Fayette Allen John Dwycr John Winniel G. C. Bradford N. S. Spencer Peter Thompson D. R. Banks W. M. Beauchamp D. Kellogg Leitch J. W. Sternes M. S. Butler A. T. Deuel S. Hannum Daniel Kellogg James Fitzgerald Nicholas Potter James A. Welling William R. Gorton Eliza Griffin Salmon Sherwood E. L. Stiles George Davis B. B. Reddish Z. B. Furmaii Joseph Jay James Tyler Alonzo Gillett Richard E. Loss L. Bartlett Henry Webb John Hudson Rebecca Lithcrland John Roudley Benoni Lee Charles Smith Of the above lengthy list of names, who were well known, only nine are now living, as follows : Newell Turner F. E. Austin George B. Hall John Rossiter F. G. Weeks G. C. Bradford Jerrv Shallish L. Hall George Davis. 388 HISTORY 01- SK.IXEATELES. The village officers were : Harrison B. Dodge, James A. Welling, Benja- min Petherani, and H. Q. Knight. All these have passed away. The recital of the above is cause for reflection as to the uncertainty of human life. "Time is the mighty master of us all : Upon his coming and his going wait Love, and swift death, and day and night — and fate." Early History. — The closing century brings to mind that more than one hundred (107) years have passed since the earliest pioneers came into this sec- tion of the State, principally from the New England States and the eastern sec- tion of this State. The author obtained, about forty or more years ago, four early ledgers, which had been kept by as many early merchants, dating respec- tively 1805, 1806, 1812, 1815 and 1825-8, also one daybook kept by an early farmer, dating 1800, and another daybook kept by an early merchant, dating 1825. The ledgers having been kept by single entry, it has been difficult to obtain the names of the merchants to whom they belonged, there being no stock accounts or other fictitious accounts, sttch as obtain in dotible-entry ledgers ; but it has been ascertained that the earliest, 1805, was kept by Winston Day. Another of 1806 was kept by the agent of John Meeker (who did not reside in the town), who furnished the capital, not only for this village, but for other villages or places in various parts of the State, appointing a trusty agent or having a partner to con- duct the business, while he (Meeker) made the purchases in Albany or Utica, and attended to the sale of the shipments of produce sent from his various stores. Another ledger of 1812 was kept by Norman Leonard, and another by Day & Sherwood, 1815, whose name was written inside of the cover. From these ac- count-books have been obtained over twelve hundred names of persons who made their various purchases here, and who resided probably within a radius of from fifty to one hundred miles from this locality. These names have been al- phabetically arranged, and were submitted to the late Nathaniel Miller, who set- tled in this village in 1807, and whose memory of events and persons was much clearer than any other accessible person in this vicinity, and his identification of many of the names contained in the old ledgers will be found in this publication. Of course, the larger proportion of the names of early purchasers, comprising many hundreds, have not been located by Nathaniel Miller, and consequently are in obscurity. Those particularly in this town and in this village have been identi- fied. Whenever it has been possible to obtain either from old settlers personally or from their immediate descendants the particulars of their journey from their old home through the forest to this section of the State, many such have been ob- tained, and will be found in this volume. But these are comparatively few in number, owing to the fact that generally the immediate descendants of original settlers have but little recollection of the experiences of their fathers' hardships. HISTORY or Sh'AXn.JTr.LFS. 389 CHAPTER XX\I. The Chlrches and thk Liukarv. St. James' Chlrch. — The corner-stone of the new edifice of St. James' Lhurch was laid on May 30. 1873. and the church dedicated on January 6, 1874. It contains a number of memorial windows, placed as follows: In the East Wall. — The Porter window, in memory of the family of James Gurdon Porter. The Horton window, in memory of Stephen Ilorton. The De Cost window, in memory of Captain Xash De Cost. The Earll window, in memory of Maria Earll. In the West Wall. — The Roosevelt window, in memory of Nicholas J. Roose- velt. The Schuyler window, in memory of Lydia Schuyler. The Gihbs window, in memory of William and Grizell Gihhs. The Burnett window, in memory of Charles J. Burnett. In the Sorth Wall. — The circular window, immediately above the front en- trance, in memory of Reuel Smith and family. The two Leslie windows, on either side of the main entrance : In loving remembrance of Millicent Anna Leslie. In loving remembrance of Hatmah H. De Cost. In the Chancel. — The chancel contains the following memorials: The Organ is in memory of Lydia M. Roosevelt and Henry Latrobc Roose- velt. The Brass Rail is in memory of Mary L., Julia A., and Ellen Roosevelt. The Brass Pulpit is in memory of John and Mary 'Snook. The Lectern is in memory of Harriet Jane Gibbs. The Baptistery is in memory of Mrs. Julius Earll. The Brass Cross is in memory of Gallic Marvin Poor. i'he Brass Book-Rest is in memory of Hannah H. De Cost. The Sanctuary is in memory of Robert M. Grinnell. The Rood-Screen is in memory of Dr. S. H. Hurd. The Alms-Basin is in memory of Mrs. D. T. Mosclcy. The Leslie Memorial Windows. — In a conversational manner, a visitor thus describes these windows : " My attention was called to two memorials recently placed in the front wall and near the main entrance, in memory of an aged mother and her daughter, Iwth 1 whom had been constant members and worshipers here for a long series of 390 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. • " As these particular windows impressed me with their exceeding beauty of de- sign and modest color, I will describe them more particularly. They are both uni- form in their general characteristics, and have full allegorical female figures in the center panels. " On the window in memory of the mother are represented Resignation and Hope, at least that is my own idea of the design. Resignation is portrayed by the figure, with hands crossed on the breast, and its general attitude, while the lower panel represents the Anchor of Hope. All the colors used are of the soft N|-\V SI'. j.\MES' CHURCH. antique tints, and the drapery is unusually well executed in its drawing and shad- ing. The inscription, in plain Roman at the base of the window, is as follows: In Loving Remembrance of Hannah H. De Cost, DIED April 27, 1884, aged 83 Years. " In the window above described the lower panel also represents the waves of the ocean, in which is appropriately represented the Anchor. " On the other window the representation, I think, is Victory— victory over death. The palm branch over the shoulder, supported by one hand, and the drapery, are unique, in harmonious colors. The design in the lower panel is a HISTORY OF SK.IXBATnLES. THE I.ESI.IK MliM'iKlAI. WINDOWS IN ST. JAMES' CHLRCII. 392 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. faithful representation of the waves of the ocean, in which is a mythological Dolphin. (This, I am told, is the private crest of the family.) The inscription, also in Roman, is as follows : In Loving Remembrance of Millicent Anna Leslie, DIED March 15, 1890, aged 63 Years. " Those two words, 'Loving Remembrance,' are a sermon of themselves, and convey a deep meaning to those who are bereft — 'The heart bereft of the living originals.' " All the colors in both windows are of the soft antique tints ; the designs and execution of the work are admirable ; and on the upper panels of both win- dows are artistic Gothic canopies, in harmony with the architecture of the church." A photograph of the Leslie memorial windows was sent to Mrs. Juliet C. Patterson, the widow of a former rector of the church, who thus expressed her acknowledgment : " With many thanks, I write you that the beautiful photograph of the memo- rial windows has reached me safely, and I am sure nothing could have given me more pleasure, as a work of art and memorial of two loving and lovely Christian friends, already in Paradise. The very expression of their countenances indicates the joy and peace of their believing. I never saw any likenesses on glass more tender and significant of the characters represented on it. No one could fail to see in Mrs. De Cost that the attitude of repose she stands in is in keeping with every fold of her garments, and the sweet expression of her face, so like herself in life and marking her character — while Mrs. Leslie, her daughter, as turning toward her mother to follow her with her palm branch in her hand, with a little eagerness that always characterized her movements toward her mother in life, is very expressive and touching. The likeness and attitude could not be im- proved in any way — it is so artistically done, and it represents my ideal of what a memorial window should l)c. I can only think how very thankful you ought to be that you have been able to secure two such treasures to place in the church in Skaneateles. The moment Merbert looked at them he exclaimed: ' IIow beauti- ful those two windows are, and how striking the likenesses, and everything about them so very significant in every way ! ' " The Presbyterian Church. — The new Presbyterian Church contains a number of memorials, situated as follows : Sotillt Wall, over Front Entrance. — Memorial of Peter and Sarah Thompson. Memorial of Warren and Hannah Austin. Memorial of Henry and Eliza Adams. Memorial of Egbert D. Cuddeback. Memorial of Thomas and Martha Patcrson Kclley. East Wall Memorials.— ^\Ux^^\ Hoagland. \\'illiain ll.nmh. illMolx)' or SK.IXE.ITELES. 39,5 George Fleming and Catharine Kellogg Lcitch and tlieir children: Daniel Kellogg Lcitch, Laura, George I-'leniing, Katherine, and Laurence. Mrs. Penniniah Thompson. Mrs. Orland J. Austin and Miss Jennie Thompson. Dr. and Mrs. Levi Bartlett. Mr. and Mrs. Theodore F. Andrews. Dr. Judah B. and Mrs. Hopkins. North Wall, All Wiiidozvs over Pulpit.— ^W. and Mrs. Alfred Hitchcock. West Wall.— Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Kly Cromwell. Mr. and Mrs. Augustus K. Sloan. Mr. and Mrs. Elisha \V. Hopkins. Mrs. Ann Eliza Loveless. Charles B. and Harriett Woodruff 1 shell. Charles Wiltsie and daughter, Grace. George and Almira Morrison Austin. Mr, and Mrs. William Fuller. In the Church. — The Memorial Communion Table is in memory of Chris- topher Columbus Wyckoff. The Memorial Baptismal Kneeling-Stool is in memory of Xehcmiah and Han- nah Higby Smith. The Pulpit and Chairs are in memory of Theodore F. Andrews and Dr. George T. Campbell. Mud L.\ke. — Another lake in Skaneateles, known as Mud Lake, is situated in the northeastern part of the town, and not far distant from the farm of Silas P.u«h, In extent it is estimated to cover about fifteen acres. Its shores are swampy and boggy. Cranberries grow on its surroundings. Its depth is es- timated at forty feet. It is filled with fish, such as bullheads, sunfish, and suckers, but no perch. There are crude rowboats on the lake ; in fact, only ordinary scows. The peculiarity of its shores is that, on removing the boggy surface, the mud which is beneath is so limpid that, if a man should step on it, he would im- mediately disappear out of sight ; in fact, drown in the mud. No pole that has ever been thrust into it has been of sufficient length to reach the bottom. There is an outlet from this lake which, after running about twenty rods, disappears in a rocky formation. It has no inlet. L'ndcr all tiie above conditions, it is ap- propriately named. There is a rivulet in the vicinity of Mud Lake, but not in any manner connected with it, that starts from a spring on the Irving Davey farm, and comes to the surface on land belonging to N'alcntine Leach. It runs in a westerly direction until it reaches the lands of Elmer \'an Camp. From the Gidf it continues south to Nine Mile Creek. The water in this rivulet flows throughout the year, even in a drouth. It is used by the farmers through wliose lands it runs for household purposes and for watering stock, it being especially pure and limpid. 394 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. A Tourist's Observations. — A Tourist makes the following remarks while strolling through the village : " At a corner we were gratified with a glimpse of the great engineer engaged upon the fortifications of our city, who seemed to be lost in contemplation of something, the exact nature of which, whether shade-trees or telegraph-pole or flagstaff, we could not exactly determine. We were gratified to sec in him the picture of health and longevity. May he live a thousand years ! " The above refers to Augustus Kellogg. The tourist further sees more of interest: " At a palatial residence we were met by the warbling of a thousand birds of varied plumage, while the stately pavilions, the cool summer houses, the hang- ing flower-baskets, the tropical luxuriance of the aloe and the cactus, the patter- ing of cool fountains, and the inmiense pleasure-grounds reminded us of Kublai Khan and the groves of Damascus. " At various places the Star-Spangled Banner was flung to the breeze. Crowds of the beauty and the fashion thronged the sidewalks, and at the Lake HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. 395 House we were saluted by the band playing the air, 'See! The conquering hero comes ! ' " Erastus M. Beach. — Erastus M. Beach was a native of Sandesfield, Mass., a nephew of the late Reuel Smith, St., and an intimate friend of the late H. L. Roosevelt, of this village. He came here on a visit in 1853, at which time he owned a valuable lake-lot in the village. He as well as Mr. JI. L. Roosevelt had previously been engaged in mercantile business in Charleston, S. C. In the year 1855-56 Mr. Beach purchased the property now owned by R. B. Wheeler in this village. He thereafter came regularly with his family from Charleston to spend the summer months in this village, and during his residence here he entertained many of his Southern friends, among whom was his uncle Mr. Otis Mills, who was a prominent business man in Charleston, and owned some very costly granite (stone) docks, also the Mills House, a leading hotel there. This property was afterward, during the Civil War, confiscated by the Confederate Government, in payment for which he received Confederate bonds. Another well-known visitor was Captain Maffit, an officer of the United States Navy, who afterward became famous during the Civil War as cominander of a Confederate cruiser. The Beach family were very prominent here while they were residents during the summer season, and became famous for entertaining a great deal of company, composed principally of their friends in the village, of which they had many. This continued during the Civil War, until some mischievous person or persons circulated and sent to the Government at Washington a report (originating here) that Erastus M. Beach was a rebel, whereupon the Government immediately seized and held his property here in the village, and placed it in charge of a Deputy United States Marshal (a resident). During the time that this marshal had it in charge, Mr. Beach's dwelling was allowed by this officer to be shame- fully looted of all its furniture of every description, especially during the night. The general prejudice existing among many of the villagers against a rebel was such that the deputy marshal seemingly enjoyed the looting and destruction of Mr. Beach's property. Every closet throughout the house was looted of its contents. Every bureau, its drawers being locked, was broken open at the back, and thence the contents were taken. A large manhole was cut through the floor in the front hall to reach the wine cellar, through which the looters reached and drank all the wines. In fact, without further detail, every article of the least value was stolen from the house while it was in charge of the deputy repre- sentative of the United States Government. Soon after, the Government confis- cated Mr. Beach's property. Eventually, when the Government became better informed of Mr. Beach's loyalty and of the untruthfulness of the reports which nriginated here, his property, his real property, looted as it was, was restored to him. After the war, the Government, in recognition of the fact that he had been unjustly accused and abused, gave Mr. Beach a position in the Custom House in New York, which he held during his after-life. 396 HISTORY OP SKANEATELES. Erastus M. Beach had an irreproachable character in his business relations as well as in his private life, was possessed of a genial kindness of nature, a stead- fast, reliable friend, and in every relation of life an admirable character. Be- fore the extraordinary and shameful false reports circulated in the village by malicious persons afifecting his character as a loyal American citizen, and the utter destruction of his property, for which the village of Skaneateles was re- sponsible, his intercourse with his fellow citizens was at all times courteous and affable, and always gentlemanly. No one knew him but to respect him. The Skane.\teles Libr.vry Sphin.x. Say, canst thou tell me what and why thou art, Rare Sphinx, that doth in all thy ruin smile? The Cynosure of all. yet like the part That ends the Little Bear in heaven's pole. This "Sphinx," which is now located on the most prominent corner of the two principal streets in the center of the village, is the old brick law office of the late Benoni Lee, which was occupied by him until his death, in December, 1886, and was, by his last will and testament, given, together with all its contents, to the Skaneateles Library Association. The sudden and unexpected death of his wife, June 16, 1885, caused by heart failure, and the precarious state of his own failing health, were warnings that induced him to execute his will two months after the death of his wife, dated August 17, 1885. He had no interest in the perpetuation of his office, or of its ever being used for a law office, or occu- pied by an attorney, or for any other purpose, being unfitted from the nature of its material and build to remain on the principal corner of the village. Benoni Lee's evident intention was that his old law office should not be retained by the Association, but removed. This, together with his knowledge that the Library Association had, only eighteen days before the execution of his will, purchased all the adjoining lands, afforded him the opportunity to devise his lands to the Association, in order that the new building to be erected should be extended over the office lot to the extreme limit of the boundaries of both the adjoining streets. It would seem that the directors of the Library Association entertained a different view of the gift from what Benoni Lee himself did. Exemplified thus : The President of the Association in one of his annual reports stated: " It was the voluntary decision of the directors to let the little law office on the corner remain intact, as a monument to his respected memory." It does not seem possible that these directors should have fully considered the future consequences of establishing permanently this questionable antiquated building in the very center and most prominent location in the village. As a nioinmient to his respected memory it was entirely out of place, as the directors did not appreciate the spirit in which it was given. Benoni Lee had had erected in Lake View Cemetery just before his death an expensive monument, which H/ STORY or SK.IXnATELnS. 397 was constructed under his ininiediate supervision day by day, and which by the provisions of his last will and testament, he anticipated might not be completed (hiring his life. It was an offense to his memory to subject it to such a degrada- tion as this modern Sphinx. The directors having permanently established the old law office as a monument, and it being an entirely distinct building from the library proper, they commissioned a well-known gentleman of the village to procure an outside attorney to occupy it as a law office, for which purpose of THE SKANEATI iitliers of a like ciiaracter its original owner never indicated in any manner that it was to be used. Such a tenant was procured from a neighboring county, who had been recently admitted to the bar, and jxissesscd neither practise nor law library. He was induced to leave a prosperous village to come to Skaneatelcs by the offer of the law office of Henoni Lee with its law library of eight hundred viilumes, together with all its furniture, including fire-proof safe and desk. He- les all these was the accession of Benoni Lee"s office business, which had been tablished for fifty years, and which amounted to about $3,000 annually, at 398 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. a nominal rental of one hundred and fifty dollars a year, thirty dollars of which he was authorized to expend for the purchase of the standard reports of the State courts as they were issued, which were for his exclusive use. The local at- torneys as a class were not members of the Association. They were not con- sidered in the distribution of these valuable " plums." He was also offered the attorneyship of one of the village banks. (He got them both.) The contempti- ble income of one hundred and twenty dollars per annum was apparently the only excuse for the mutilation of the costly ($18,000) Library building. IHKARY nUILDINU AND In order to furnish an authoritative official reason why this ofTensive Sphinx was not immediately removed, the following extract from an annual report of the President of the Library Association, is here quoted : " This desire was greatly increased by the fact that, soon after the purchase of the lot, the late Benoni Lee gave to the Association, by his last will and testa- ment, the small lot on which his law office stood, situated on the corner of State and Genesee streets. This acquisition rounded out the grounds, and made them the most desirable spot in the village on which to erect our new building. He gave also his law library. His gift came to us absolutely without restriction or condition of any kind, so that the little brick structure on the lot might have been properly removed." The best interests of the Library would have beefn promoted, and the memory of the late Benoni Lee preserved, if, as the President stated, "the little brick HISTORV OF SKANEATELES. 399 structure on the lot might have been properly removed," and the law library to- gether with the furniture of the office had been sold, which would have produced fully $3,000. This sum would have been a respectable memorial fund, from which all books purchased from its annual income should have had a printed label, placed on the inside cover of each book so purchased, denoting the char- acter of the gift in memory of the late Benoni Lee. Such a disijosition of his gift would have avoided the disgraceful appendage now permanently established. The Library building should have covered the whole property of the Associa- tion, and facing buth streets, thus making an ornamental, creditable, and spacious home for the future exiiansion of the Library, more floor room for its book- selves, and a more commodious hall for its cxliibition purposes. The Sphinx is the most prominent feature of the costly Library building, as there is not a point of observation in any part of tlie village from wliicli the 400 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. Library building can be seen but from whicli the Sphinx attracts not only curi- osity, but inquisitiveness. The architects who designed the Library building had a very difficult and per- plexing problem before them — to disfigure the costly Library building in order to allow the Sphinx to remain intact, and next to design a frame shed, which has since been named a " piazza," supported by heavy stone butments, as a cover to the principal entrance to the Library building on Genesee Street. Another entrance on State Street, in the immediate rear of the highly valued Sphinx, is similarly covered with a frame shed, supported on heavy stone butments. Both of these covered entrances, together with this appendant Sphinx, destroy the en- semble of the costly Library building, whereas, if the Sphinx had been demol- ished as it should have been, a building creditable to the Library and to the vil- lage would have been constructed. The architects included in their plan an en- trance from the Library into the law office, but, such being opposed by the oc- cupant, it was abandoned, leaving to him the exclusive use of his office. The expression " costly Library building " indicates that it was an unusually extravagant structure, in comparison with other buildings of a like character elsewhere. Examples of costly, elaborate structure are the tall rubblework stone chimneys. Information from an authentic source indicates that there are no chimneys of the like character in Syracuse. There are other examples of un- necessary extravagance in the use of money donated by various persons for a substantial and creditable building suitable for the locality of Skaneateles. In one of the President's annual addresses, he stated that the building com- mittee was all the directors. Joseph C. Willetts was appointed chairman, and authorized to make all contracts for labor and materials. Under these condi- tions, there was no necessity of there being but one member of the building com- mittee. There is a silent, not publicly expressed, feeling among some of the directors that the Sphinx should be removed, or that possibly the " little structure " may be hidden by building over it another story. The illustrations herewith accompanying this article, six in number, confirm the statement heretofore given, that the degrading appendage, the Sphinx, is the most prominent feature to be seen in the vicinity of the Skaneateles Library. In connection herewith the author desires to make the following personal statement : My interest toward the establishment of a I'ul)lic Library has been growing ever since I obtained the manuscript records of the original Library Company, which was organized in the village in the month of March, 1806. The present generation would not have known of that organization if I had not published in the Skaneateles Democrat, twenty years ago, a full account of tliat Library, and the names of all its officers and all of its subscribers, who were jirominent citizens of the town and village of Skaneateles. This Library continued tliirly-five years. For a full history of it see Chapter iX. of this volume. msTORv or skaxeateles. 401 Before any suggestion liad been made to establish a Public Library since the collapse of the Skaneateles Library Company in 1841, I called on the late Anson Lapham, early in the month of June, 1875, with the view of suggesting to him the establishment of a Public Free Library as a loving memorial to his deceased daughter, Elizabeth Anna, or, as she was familiarly called, " Lizzie," who died in 1864. at the age of twenty-five. The interesting particulars of this interview with Mr. Lapham are detailed in Chapter XXL of this volume. THE SKANEATELES I.IBKARV BLII-DIS Under present conditions, I assume that I am justified in criticizing the man- agement in the degradation of the present Library building by the retention of the old law office on its original site from a maudlin sentiment. It was my intention from the commencement of the present Library to do all in my power to advance its interests. My first gift was over six hundred hmics on all educational subjects, and not a single volume of fiction. A por- II of these books was one hundred and fifty uniformly bound volumes of Harper's P'amily Library," embracing all subjects of interest. As the books in the Library are divided into general subjects, there is not a subject on its shelves but contains some of the volumes of " Harper's Family Library," such is 402 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. the diversity of educational subjects to be found in them. A gentleman visiting the village, desirous of obtaining knowledge respecting the kingdom of Thibet, which he had been unable to obtain in many libraries which he had previously tried, found it in one of the " Harper's Family Library," and, observing my name in the volume, called on me, and thanked me for placing that book in the Library. I have been in the habit of presenting books and other valuable mementos every year. In 1892 I gave twenty-one volumes ; at another time I gave forty volumes, and continued giving from year to year many volumes. Besides books, I gave many maps, including a large map of the State of New York, with its accompanying Gazetteer; an original map of the Military Lots; Captain Benja- min Lee's original map of Skaneateles Lake, giving its diflferent soundings and persons' names who owned lands on its shores, and its fanciful outline in the form of a " Beautiful Squaw." At various times I gave carbonette or platinotype copies of ambrotypes or daguerreotype likenesses of old citizens of Skane- ateles, which were exact copies of the originals, without crayon or other human handwork. In 1893 I gave, mounted in a frame, a full set of new fractional currency, which I had retained from its first issue; also, Confederate fractional currency and banknotes, Internal United States Revenue stamps, Columbian postage stamps, and a card of admittance to the L^nited States Senate at the impeachment of a President of the United States, April 8, 1868. This card of admission was not used by me, but retained as a memento of the only occasion where an attempt was made to impeach a President of the United States. All other cards of admission, which were used by the holders, were destroyed, this one being the only known one in existence. The fractional currency of the United States in this exhibit gives not only one side, but both sides of every one of them, and all of them are as much legal tender as the day they were issued. While in California, in 1887, I obtained a pair of the largest known sea- shells, called in San Francisco " Bear-claw shells." Their technical name is the genus Tridacna of the species Gigantea. The selling price in San I>"rancisco was from five to ten dollars a pair. These shells belong to the clani family, and arc only found among the South Sea Islands. Those I ])resented to the Library came from the Samoa, or Navigator's, Islands. I purchased the largest pair of these shells that was to be had, and, being very bulky and heavy, I had them packed in a box, placed on board of a ship bound for New York around Cape Horn, and thence by express to Skaneateles. I also presented many relics of the Civil War, which proved to be of interest. At one time I procured through a friend, who was a United States Paymaster at Philadelphia when the troops were paid-off at the close of the war, a Spencer carbine, which was a magazine gun carrying nine Minie cartridges without reloading. 1 was particular to have the Paymaster get a carbine that had been carried by a suldier all tlirntigh the war from 1861 to 1865. For this carbine 1 |Kiid ten dollars, and had it sent In- express to Skaneateles for the sole purpose of inesenting it to the Library. On its arrival I took it to the Library, and, giving it to the " lUiilding Committee" HISTORY OP SKASEATELES. 403 {':), it was refused with the reply, "We (?) don't want any guns." Conse quently I have retained it in my possession ever since. The most vahiable donation, and most appropriate for tlie Skaneateles Li- brary, was a collection of all the early newspapers that have been edited and printed in the village of Skaneateles. These contain the advertisements of the early merchants and manufacturers of the town, and the marriages and deaths. as well as a few local items. The first newspaper printed in the village was the ■5^ r Telegraph; the next following was the Columbian, and then the Deinoerat. As a rule, neither the Telegraph nor the Columbian ever i)ul)lishcd local news or items. \\. B. Dodge, editor and publisher of the Skaneateles Democrat, was the originator of publishing local items and local news. Unfortunately the files of this paper which have been cnllected are very incomplete. The etiitors and pub- lishers of the newspapers above named have all " passed over to the majority," and so have the advertisers of the Telegraph and the Columbian. This collec- tion of the earliest newspapers has been in the course of collection by me for 404 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. nearly fifty years. They were carefully repaired where injured, and bound sub- stantially at my expense. Together with our own local papers I collected a few Cayuga and Onondaga County newspapers of an early date, which were bound with the other journals. In addition to the very early newspapers, I presented a complete bound set of the Free Press from its commencement to 1891. I have presented so many books and other appropriate articles to the Asso- ciation that it seems impossible to recollect them all. For instance, when I was :;kaneateles library kuiluing and stly Library Building, showing its Uisgra on the Extreme Right. in California in 1887, and while I was at Oroville (the original gold diggings), I purchased froin the only bank in the neighborhood the largest gold nugget that was to be had, costing me about four dollars, and brought it home purposely to present it to the Library, and did present it, and it is the only natural nugget now in the Library collection, and without the name of the donor attached to it. Besides my various gifts to the Skaneateles Library Association, I con- tributed toward the erection of the building and the purchase of the building lot five hundred dollars, among others who made various contributions of money for the same purpose. Under ordinary conditions, in the construction of public HISTORY OF SK.l.XL.lll.LES. 40s buildings witli money contributed for the purpose, it is always customary to con- sult the promoters of the enterprise who furnish the money. I was never con- sulted as to the design or any of the details of erection, and I doubt whether any other of the promoters were. Neither was I consulted in the retention of the " Sphinx." Therefore I claim an inalienable right to criticize all the proceed- ings relative to the initiation of the Libran,-. Besides the many contributions I have made, I now add six half-tone engrav- ings of the Library building, which are expensive illustrations, to exemplify my criticisms, especially in respect to the retention of the old law office. In my estimation, I have heretofore presented more suitable volumes for li- brary purposes than any other one individual. The influence which was intentionally exerted over the late Anson Lapham, in the year 1875, had the effect to cause him to abandon his cherished intention of establishing a Free Public Library in memory of his only child and daughter, thus depriving the town and village of Skaneateles from having a self-support- ing educational institution worthy of the name of " The Lapham Memorial Library." Items of Interest. The firm of Ansel Frost & Co. was dissolved December 19, 1829 (Arthur Mott the company). Ansel Frost continued the business of the furnace at Mott- ville, manufacturing castings, stoves, and potash-kettles. Jacob W. Breed, Februarj- 2, 1830, offered six cents reward for the return of an indented apprentice boy, named John Ward Barteens, of about fifteen years of age. E. Sherman Keeney, editor and proprietor of the Skaneateles Democrat in the year 1844, died August 17, 1847. Israel Sabins, by trade a blacksmith and tinker, resided on the Hodges place, near Mandana. Eli Barnes was here in 1806, and was the miller in William J. Wcdciiburg's flour-mill. The Douglass patent threshing-machims were made to order by James McCray. Daniel Watson was here in 181 1, and was said to be a wi3ol-cardcr. Aaron Austin was charged for renewing fence 7/3. July 26, 1806. Weeks & Bristol were here or in this vicinity in 1805. Mr. Phelps was a tanner and currier here in 1828. John Rowal traded here from 1807 to 1815. William Clift traded here in 1807. Dr. Wanier was here in 1816. Dr. Samuel Porter had five chiUlren — four sons and one daughter. The sons tre Evelvn H., J. Gurdon, Sydenham, and Mortimer. The daugiiter was Mrs. ' icorgc Geddes. 4o6 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. CHAPTER XXVII. A Great Century's EiNding. — The Nineteenth Century and its Discov- eries. — Other Subjects of General Interest, none of which have ANY relation TO SkaNEATELES OR TO THE GENERAL SUBJECTS OF THIS VOL- UME. — The Transmission of Meridian Time by Telegraph. — Predic- tions FOR the year 2000. A Great Century's Ending. As only a few weeks of the nineteenth century remain, it is of interest to note that the twentieth century is to be welcomed in Paris and elsewhere with ap- propriate ceremonies. Paris has decided that the present year ( 1900) belongs to the nineteenth century, and will not dismiss it without a masked ball, December 31, in which each participant will by his costume personify, so to speak, one of the great inventions or events of a marvelous century. There is to be a series of festivities, but the dance of the symbolic characters will doubtless be the most entertaining — a german, in which the railway, automobile, phonograph, type- writer, sewing-machine, street-car, and telephone waltz through giddy mazes with the steamboat, telegraph, cotton-gin, Boer war, Mergenthaler's linotype, relief of Pekin, antitoxin, aseptic surgery, battle of Bull Run, Waterloo, liquid air, Sedan, the lithograph, daguerreotype, and Hoe printing-press would be entertaining, if not instructive. The century now ending has been full of sad events, but it has also produced more than all preceding centuries to make human life easier and happier. Dis- covery, invention, education, and culture have at the same time multiplied the food supply and the comforts of life for the masses of the people, and have de- veloped philanthropic sentiment to such an extent that the hard conditions of former times are largely obsolete. Ignorance, poverty, suffering, and imprison- ment are now mitigated greatly by the increased material prosperity of most civilized races, and by the increased disposition of individuals and states to share with the unfortunate the proceeds of the enhanced productiveness of labor helped by machinery. The luxuries of the rich in 1800 are the necessities of life for the poor in 1900. There has been in this regard a large amount of progress in the century now ending. So far as the happiness of life depends upon material conditions, it has been greatly promoted. Looking back over the changes of a hundred years, one cannot but see reason to expect farther desirable modifications in the condi- tion of mankind in the century to come. WEATELES. The Tkansmission oi Mikidian Time pv Telegraph. .\kritlian time is marked by simultaneous cooperation in the principal cities of this country. It is a rule on the Western Union lines that, just before twelve o'clock each clay, all business must cease on the wires, and three minutes before noon an unbroken chain of communication from Washington around the utter- most boundaries of the United States is formed, which is called " an unbroken national circuit." Thus a smooth track is made, along which the electric mes- sage may flash, encompassing the Union and announcing the time of day. Ten seconds before the time-bell strikes comes silence, and then an electric current pulsates from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from the chief Metropolis to the Golden Gate, announcing the fact that the sun has passed over the seventy-fifth meridian and that it is noon at Washington. The time-balls fall, and the electric clocks connected with the telegraph system record the hour of midday. I.v THE Year 2000. Among the startling prophecies concerning human developments in the twentieth century, now only thirty days distant, are one by President Pritchett, of the Boston Institute of Technology, and another by Sir Robert GifFen, the eminent English statistician. According to the first-named scholar, the population of the United States will be increased to nearly 95,000.000 in 1910; in 1950 to over 190,000,000. He does not estimate it for the year 2000, but at the rate of growth which his esti- mate for 1950 assumes — namely, 150 per cent, for the fifty years beginning with njoo — the American people one hundred years hence will number 475,000,000. Sir Robert Giffen says that the rx)pulations of Europe and of European origin — in which he includes the United States .ind all other countries settled by descendants of European stock — have increased from 170,000,000 in 1800 to 300,000,000 in 1900. And he predicts that at the end of the coming century I 2000) the 500,000,000 will have become 1,500.000,000 or more. It is not conceivable that the twentieth century will be more warlike and de- structive of human life than the nineteenth, which has been more crowded with wars than any previous century of the Christian era. Therefore, the threefold increase of the populations of Europe and of countries of European origin and sympathetic civilization which has occurred in the present century is not unrea- sonably anticipated in the next. Meantime, the yellow and black races are not increasing at all. Time and tide fight on the side of " the noble Caucasian." But try to think of the .American jyeoplc of A. D. 2000 — 473.000,000 of them 1 What a Presidential campaign they will have when that year rolls round! 4o8 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. CHAPTER XXVIII. Local History as Elaborated by the Newspaper Press of Syracu; From The Syracuse Herald. Justice McLennan and a jury in the Second Division of the Supreme Court are being enlightened upon Skaneateles poHtics to-day. The action on trial is one for libel brought by Norman O. Shepard, at present Supervisor from Skane- ateles/ against E. Norman Leslie, one of the oldest and wealthiest men of the village. It is claimed that Mr. Leslie wields a vitriolic pen. It also is urged that he uses it with telling effect upon his political enemies. The means through which he enlightens his neighbors and others is a publication, which appears semi- occasionally and irregularly, called the Sun. It is in the Sun that Supervisor Shepard claims he was attacked " falsely and maliciously." At the head of the Sun's editorial page appears the assur- ance that " The Sun will continue to shine, striking deviltry where it exists, and striking when the iron is hot." Mr. Shepard charges that Mr. Leslie has from time to time written slurs and allegations reflecting upon his good name in connection with the two most im- portant political " scraps " that have come up in the village in its recent existence. One was in regard to the cemetery association and the other the water works con- troversy. In the former matter Mr. Leslie made an application to the Attorney- General, which was dismissed upon the opposing affidavits, one of which was made by Mr. Shepard. Then Mr. Leslie, in the Sun, called the other a bad man and his affidavit " a lying one." Then came the trying matter of water. It was decided by the village to own its water works, and a litigation with the water company was the result. This was a hot fight, and the Sun shone pretty regularly in its early stages. One of the spicy things selected by Mr. Shepard as libelous is this : " Barrow got $30,000 for his services as attorney for the company, which wore not nearly so valuable as N. O. Shepard's services in procuring the extension of the franchise for two years — the interesting particulars of this last disgrace- ful affair will be given further on — for without the franchise, and especially the extension of it for two years, the water works company would have collapsed. Shepard's services must have been worth to the ' out of town gout lemon ' at the very least $50,000." Again, Mr. Leslie wanted to know if any of the Sun's readers doubted that Mr. Shepard got $2,000, which was purported to have been paid to his partner, Edwin E. Hall, for $10,000 worth of stock in the water company. HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. 409 In his answer to the complaint, which asks damages for $10,000, Mr. Leslie asserts that he believed it his duty to publish the facts as he understood them, and did not intend to charge perjury or to bring Mr. Shepard into infamy and disgrace. About the only thing that was admitted outside the pleadings on the trial was that both parties to the action are wealthy, and that each has been, at one lime. President of the village. The plaintiff was the first witness sworn this morning. He said he had had the matter of Leslie's effusions in the Sun " thrown up " at him time and time again, and he had been kept very busy making people understand that he was not a criminal. On the cross-e.xamination it developed that Mr. Shepard had not a very vivid recollection of what was contained in his affidavit, which was used in the proceeding before the Attorney-General in the cemetery matter. He believed, however, that everything he said was true, although he did give Mr. Leslie a little rap that the latter took exception to. He declared that he had not at any time owned stock in the Skaneateles water company, but that his partner, Mr. Hall, had been the owner of such stock. He admitted that Mr. Hall, besides being his business partner, was a close personal friend. George Barrow, the well-known Skaneateles attorney, was the next wit- ness. He was president of the Skaneateles water company, and verified Mr. Shepard's statement that he (Shepard) had never had any stock in that con- cern. Mr. Barrow was also questioned regarding Mr. Leslie's standing in the community, and declared that he was a man of influence and aflluence in Skane- ateles, living on his income and devoting his time to no business in particu- lar. This evidence, it was explained, was introduced for the purpose of prov- ing that what Mr. Leslie said would have a greater effect than what an or- dinary individual might say. For the same purpose, presumably, it was shown that Mr. Leslie owns a fine house, keeps servants, and also is interested in a Buffalo hotel. Edwin E. Hall, Mr. Shepard's partner, was also sworn as to that water com- pany stock, and he was positive that his partner never had anything to do with it and that he was the sole owner. He said he paid money for it, but could not remember just how much. The case of the plaintiff was closed this afternoon, and ^L E. Driscoll began his opening address for the defendant. Mr. Driscoll appears with Ciiarles L. Milford for Mr. Leslie, while F. E. Stone, with A. T. Benedict as counsel, looks after the plaintiff's interests. From The Syracuse Herai.m. Without the offering of any evidence by the defense, tiie libel action growing out of the political differences of E. Norman Leslie and Norman O. Shepard, of Skaneateles, the latter being the plaintiff, the case was summed up in Justice 4IO niSTORV OF SKAXEATELES. McLennan"s court yesterday afternoon, and in twenty minutes after retiring the jury came in with a munificent verdict of six cents for the plaintiff. Mr. Driscoll made very hght of the action in his address to the jury. He thought Mr. LesHe had acted in entire good faith in the whole matter, being justified by a high sense of his duty as a citizen as well as an editor. F. E. Stone summed up for the plaintiff, and wanted big damages. He said Mr. Les- lie did not dare go on the stand for fear of the cross-examination that would re- sult, and in which it would be shown that he had actual malice in his attacks upon Mr. Shepard. In his charge to the jury. Justice McLennan asked the jury to consider the issues the same as if the litigants were hod-carriers instead of wealthy men. If the affair was nothing more than a neighborhood scrap, no more weight should be given it than it deserved. There must be a verdict, however, he charged, for at least nominal damages of six cents. From The Syr.\cuse St.\ndard. The answers in the libel suits against E. Norman Leslie, of Skaneateles, have been served. Mr. Leslie does not make the usual general denial, but says that the charges he made against N. O. Shepard, former President, and S. E. Bene- dict, former Clerk, of the village of Skaneateles, were made in good faith and without malice ; that he believed the charges were true when he made them, and that he believes so still. The cases will go on the calendar at the next term of the Supreme Court, and, as both sides are equally anxious for an early trial, the workings of Skaneateles village politics are likely to be well aired this fall. The truth of the charges made by former President Leslie will be practically the sole question at issue, and to determine their truth will mean the ventilation of the whole Skaneateles water deal. The cases are two. N. O. Shepard sues for $5,000 for an alleged libel published in Air. Leslie's campaign paper, the Sun, January 30. Mr. Leslie, over his own signature, said that the Skaneateles water company, a corporation which put in the present water plant, had given George Barrow and E. E. Hall stock in the company — Mr. Barrow for law services and Mr. Hall simply " for services rendered." Mr. Hall was the business partner of N. O. Shepard, who was village Trustee and later village President when the water works company were after their franchise, which they secured and under which they put in their plant. When the village decided upon public control of the water works Mr. Shepard opposed the scheme, and Mr. Leslie's suggestion was that the stock really belonged to Mr. Shepard. Mr. Shepard in his complaint alleges that the intimation of the article was that he. while an official of the village or later, received stock in the company, for which he must have given favors in return. HISTORY or SK.lXRATELllS. 4ii In his answer. Mr. Leslie says that Mr. Shcpard's design in bringing an action to prevent the village from establishing water works of its own in competition with the established company, " as this defendant then believed, was to compel people to receive a supply from the Skancateles water company, and that the said company was bonded and stocked for more than it was worth and more tiian it cost, and the object was to compel people to pay more for the plant than it was worth, and that in the said articles the defendant simply set forth the facts as he understood them, and that he understood from common report that the plaintiff was the owner of $10,000 of stock, which was in the name of E. E. Hall, his partner, and it was also reported that no money was paid for such stock, and that those who received it did so for such services as they may have rendered the com- pany and said plaintiff for his services in the interest of the company." The second case is for $10,000, and is brought by Samuel E. Benedict, Clerk of the Board of Trustees at the time of the granting of the water franchise. Mr. Leslie, in the Sun, February 13, charged substantially that Mr. Benedict was not present at a meeting of the board when privileges were granted the water company, but that he did at a later date make changes in the minutes of that meeting, kept by a Trustee as Clerk pro teni. There is no charge that the water company profited largely, in fact, or in their case against the village by the change. " Defendant discovered the facts," says Mr. Leslie in his answer, " as set forth in the alleged libel, and published them as he found them. He believed then and now believes that the plaintiff did add to the recorded proceedings the words, " The resolution was then adopted.' And he believes that the record shows it, and in his discussion of such change in the record he simply said that the addition of this sentence by this plaintiff was dishonest, as plaintiff was not present at the meeting. And the defendant further says that the other changes in the record were made in the manner set forth," and, further, " that the paper written by him, the defendant, and published for the information of the people upon matters of public importance, was a privileged communication, and that he was justified in writing and publishing it. and ilirit lie wa« free from malice in doing so." From The Syracuse St.vndari). E. Norman Leslie, publisher of the Sun, a campaipfii newspaper of Skan- cateles, has answered the suits for libel brought against him by N. O. Shepard, a former President of the village, and S. E. Benedict, a former Clerk. The trouble arose out of the new water works plant. Mr. Leslie makes no de- nial, but claims the alleged libelous statements were made in good faith and without malice; that he believed the charges to be true at the time, and believes so still. HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. From The Syracuse Courier. Skaneateles politics have reached the lawsuit stage. E. N. Leslie, for two years President of the village and candidate for a third term, as he does not receive the support he wishes from the village papers, prints a paper of his own at election time, the Sun. The sheet is devoted entirely to village politics, and Mr. Leslie's name is printed at the end that there may be no question as to whose opinions are expressed. The Sun has criticized severely the record of some village officials of the past, and these former officials threaten libel suits. N. O. Shepard, former President of the village, has retained Attorney F. E. Stone, of Skaneateles, to sue President Leslie for libel. He charges sub- stantially that Mr. Leslie accused him in the Sun of holding stock in the Skan- eateles water works Company, and of opposing village ownership for that reason. Samuel E. Benedict, village Clerk for several years, has consulted with Rider & Benedict of this city, with reference to a suit against President Leslie for charging him with making changes in the minutes of a meeting at which the question of village ownership of water was under discussion. That suit has not yet been begun. From The Syr.-\cuse Courier. A hot political scrap of Skaneateles type, a warm " Sun " shine action for slander, occupied the attention of Justice McLennan's court yesterday. Norman O. Shepard, of Skaneateles, Supervisor, said that E. Norman Leslie, in his somewhat irregular periodical, called the Sun, whose motto is, " The Sun will continue to shine, striking deviltry where it exists, and striking when the iron is hot," falsely and maliciously attacked him, and he felt injured to the extent of $10,000, but the jury, in harmony with perpetual sunshine, allowed him six cents. When the water works fight occupied the stronghold of Skaneateles, the Sun said : " Barrow got $30,000 for his services as attorney for the company, which were not nearly so valuable as N. O. Shepard's services in promising the ex- tension of the franchise for two years — the interesting particulars of the last disgraceful affair will be given later on — for without the franchise, and espe- cially the extension of it for two years, the water works company would have collapsed. Shepard's services must have been worth to the ' out of town gentle- men ' at the very least $50,000." Again, Mr. Leslie wanted to know if any of the Sun's readers doubted that Mr. Shepard got $2,000, which was purported to have been paid to his part- ner, Edwin E. Hall, for $10,000 worth of stock in the water company. Mr. Leslie, in answer to the complaint, said he did not intend to charge per- jury, but he believed it his duty to publish the facts as he understood them. HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. 4'.; Mr. Shepard was the first witness. He said that at no time had he owned stock in the Skaneateles water company, but his partner, E. E. Hall, had. Mr. Hall later corroborated this in his testimony. George Barrow, president of the water company, also testified to Shepard's not owning stock. From The Syr.vcuse Courier. One of the most interesting cases to be tried this term will commence this morning in Supreme Court, probably before Justice Williams, unless something unanticipated takes place. The action grows out of the kind things said by E. Norman Leslie, of Skaneateles, about his political friends — with a crochet hook after it. Mr. Leslie belongs to the aristocracy of aristocratic Skaneateles. and takes more than a passing interest in local politics. When questions of im- portance to the government of the village by the lake come up, Mr. Leslie issues a newspaper of his own, the Sun, which scintillates with sharp things, so sharp, in fact, that Mr. Leslie is about the only one who cares to say them on his own responsibility. When the village, something over a year ago, proposed to put in a water plant of its own and thus practically force the old water company out of busi- ness, occasion was furnished for the publication of the Sun. In it Mr. Leslie discussed Norman O. Shepard, now the McKinley League Supervisor of the town, and then an ex-President of the village. Mr. Shepard was fonnerly a partner of E. E. Hall in the undertaking and furniture business. Mr. Leslie is accused of having said regarding Mr. Shepard that, while he was village Presi- dent, his partner, Mr. Hall, received capital stock from the old water company, and that this fact had an important bearing on the granting to the company of a franchise which was of considerable value. The inference which it was intended that the public should make is plain. Mr. Shepard accordingly brought an action against Mr. Leslie for libel, asking damages in $10,000. The attorneys are F. E. Stone for the plaintiff and Charles R. Milford for the defendant. M. E. Driscoll, of this city, will act as counsel with Mr. Milford. There is another action brought by S. E. Benedict against Mr. Leslie of a similar nature. Mr. Benedict was village Clerk, and the Sun told the public that certain changes had been made in the minutes of the village board which showed that resolutions had been passed which, it was claimed, had never been passed in fact. The statement above is extracted from Monday's Syracuse Standard. The trial during its progress l>efore Justice McLennan was not strikingly different from many another similar action brought in the same court. The only feature in which it may have differed from the trial of other actions for libel was in the fact that, without attempting to offer a single word of evidence in re- buttal, the defense rested their case at once with the jury after the prosecution 414 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. had completed the examination of their witnesses. This move of the attorneys for the defense was undoubtedly good strategy, since it is doubtful if Mr. Leslie would have stood with perfect equanimity the rigorous cross-examination to which he would probably have been subjected. The history of the case as it was developed during the trial by the testimony of the witnesses is so thoroughly familiar to all Democrat readers that it does not require recapitulation here. Judge McLennan had evidently never been a victim of the satirical shafts of journalism which have served to so thoroughly distinguish Air. Leslie's oracle. The jury, after deliberating some twenty minutes, came to the conclusion that the " Sun which shines for all " couldn't really hurt much, -and accordingly returned a verdict of si.x cents for the plaintifif. From The Syk.\cuse Courier. The announcement of the verdict was about as funny as the entire suit. Jus- tice McLennan had adjourned his court when the jury found itself ready to re- port, and it was received by Justice Williams. The foreman was a rather elderly farmer, who had a peculiar voice and apparently a bad state of fright. He rose and said, " We find for the plaintiff, in the sum of six cents." The Judge laughed when he heard the peculiar noise, and so did the people in court. From The Svr.\cuse St.\nd.\rd. One of the most interesting cases to be tried this term will commence this morning in Supreme Court, probably before Justice Williams, unless something unanticipated takes place. The action grows out of the kind things said by E. Norman Leslie, of Skaneateles, about his political friends — with a crochet hook after it. Mr. Leslie belongs to the aristocracy of aristocratic Skaneateles. and takes more than a passing interest in local politics. When questions of im- portance to the government of the village by the lake come up, Mr. Leslie issues a newspaper of his own, the Sun, which scintillates with sharp things, so sharp, in fact, that Mr. Leslie is about the only one who cares to say them on hi< own responsibility. When the village, something over a year ago, proposed to put in a water plant of its own and thus practically force the old water company out of busi- ness, occasion was furnished for the publication of the Sun. In it Mr. Leslie discussed Norman O. Shepard, now the McKinley League Supervisor of the town, and then an ex-President of the village. Mr. Shepard was formerly a partner of E. E. Hall in the undertaking and furniture business. Mr. Leslie is accused of having said regarding Mr. Shepard that, while he was village Prcsi- HISTORY Ui- SK.IXI:.! I J:LLS. 4'S (lent, his partner, Mr. Hall, received capital stock from the old water company, and that this fact had an important bearing on the granting to the company of a franchise which was of considerable value. The inference which it was intended that the public should make is plain. Mr. Shcpard accordingly brought an action against Mr. Leslie for libel, asking damages in $10,000. The attorneys are F. E. Stone for the plaintiff and Charles R. Milford for the defendant. M. E. Driscoll, of this city, will act as counsel with Mr. Milford. There is another action brought by S. E. Benedict against Mr. Leslie of a similar nature. Mr. Benedict was village Clerk, and the Sun told the public that certain changes had been made in the minutes of the village board which showed that resolutions had been passed wliicli. it was claiTiu'd. liad never been passed in fact. From The Svi<.\cl'se St.\.\d.\rii. Before Justice McLennan yesterday morning in the trial term of the Supreme Court the case of Samuel E. Benedict against E. Norman Leslie was taken up. This is the second case which has resulted from statements published by Mr. Leslie in his Sun, an organ which periodically appears in the stormy sky of Skaneatcles village politics. Mr. Leslie is sole editor and proprietor, and he says just what he has a mind to. and puts the facts just as strong as he has a mind to. In fact, he rejoices in the freedom of the press, and never intends to be throttled from voicing his opinions, no matter if he is the only one who holds them. In law Mr. Leslie has been as successful as he was as a Xew York T'l. reliant or as an editor. In the first suit which was brought for $25,000 dam- to character, reputation, and feelings by reason of alleged slanderous and ■ us publications in Leslie's Sun. \. O. Shcpard received a verdict of six cents as the measure of damages sustained. Mr. Benedict was hardly so suc- cessful, for the jury in his case said that there was no cause of action. The plaintiff was village Clerk, and the article in question accused him of being dishonest in that he changed the minutes of the Board of Trustees by first adding to the report made by the Clerk pro tem. when he copied them on the record, and then by changing the record he had made. The change was in re- gard to the passing of a resolution in 1889 extending the franchise of the Skan- eatcles water company. The defense \nn in no evidence and made no denial of the publication. M. E. Driscoll, who appeared with Charles R. Milford. stated that they would rest on the facts as shown. In summing up, he saiil that Mr. Leslie was President of the village, and it was his duty to present the facts as they were regarding the water company. The publication, he said, was during a political campaign, and the man who took exception to the statements must he very thin-skinned. The jury was out but a few minutes. 4i6 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. From The Syracuse Standard. In E. Norman Leslie's defense to Norman O. Shepard's libel suit, there was no evidence put in. M. E. Driscoll chose to sum it up on the evidence for Super- visor Shepard. He made light of the whole business, and that is no joke, be- cause the libel was published in Leslie's paper the Sun. F. E. Stone for Shepard said he wanted Leslie muzzled. Justice McLennan referred to it as a neighbor- hood scrap. And the jury gave six cents damages after twenty minutes' con- sideration. Tempest in a teapot. 'Rah for Skaneateles! From The Syracuse Journal. " Unfathomable " is a word found in the dictionary, but it is seldom cor- rectly used, and, as science progresses, its use is becoming more restricted every year. It can only now be applied to some parts of the southern Pacific Ocean and Skaneateles politics. It may be restricted as to the former, but hardly as to the latter, even if Justice McLennan and a jury did start in to fathom one part of it this morning. It was in the libel action of Norman O. Shepard, now Super- visor from that township, against E. Norman Leslie, one of the oldest, sprightli- est, and wealthiest men in the village. During political stresses of weather Mr. Leslie has published a paper called the Sun, that bears the slogan that " It shines for all." It shone on Mr. Shepard, and he now asks $10,000 damages for the shining. Semi-occasionally and tri- irregularly this sheet has appeared, and in it is the announcement that it " will continue to shine, striking deviltry where it exists, and striking when the iron is hot." Mr. Shepard says it has wickedly and maliciously struck him, but he doesn't say in which section of his anatomy. One " slap " came in the ceme- tery association affair, and another in the water works controversy. Mr. Les- lie went to the Attorney-General with one " scrap," and it was dismissed on the opposing affidavits by Mr. Shepard. Then the Sun called Mr. Shepard a bad man, and his affidavit " a lying one." When the water works fight was on, and the village was trying to own one of its own, the Sun did a lot of shining. A shining remark that Mr. Shepard kicked on was this : " Barrow got $30,000 for his services as attorney for the company, which were not nearly so valuable as N. O. Shepard's services in promising the extension of the franchise for two years — the interesting particu- lars of this last disgraceful affair will be given later on — for without the fran- chise, and especially the extension of it for two years, the water works com- pany would have collapsed. Shepard's services must have been worth to the ' out of town gentlemen ' at the very least $50,000." IIlSTORy or SK.IXEATELES. 417 At another point, the writer wanted to know if any of the Sun's readers doubted that Mr. Shepard got $2,000, which was purported to have been paid his partner, Edwin E. Hall, for $10,000 worth of stock in the water company. Mr. Leslie answers that he believed it his duty to publish the facts as he un- derstood them, and he did not intend to charge perjury or bring Mr. Shepard into infamy and disgrace. The only admissions were as to the wealth of the parties, and that both had tried their hands at being President of the village. Mr. Shepard went on the stand first. He had heard again and again of the Leslie charges, and he was kept busy denying them. He didn't remember all that was in his affidavit before the Attorney-General, when it came to the cross- examination. He believed that everything he said was true, and he had said some things that Mr. Leslie took exceptions to. He said he never owned stock in the water company, but his partner, Mr. Hall, had. He admitted that he was a close personal friend. George Barrow, the president of the Skaneateles water company, was a wit- ness, and verified the statement that Shepard owned no stock. He said that Mr. Leslie was a man of influence in the community and wealthy. Edwin E. Hall said that he owned the stock and not Shepard, and he was sure his partner never had anything to do with it. He paid the money for it, but didn't remember how much. Before the noon recess the plaintiff rested, and with the openintj of the afternoon session the defense was commenced. Fro.m The Svr.xclse Post, March 29, 1898. A nominal verdict was obtained before Justice McLennan yesterday in the Sec- ond Division of the Supreme Court in the case of Norman O. Shepard, the pres- ent Supervisor from Skaneateles, against E. Xorman Leslie, one of the oldest and wealthiest residents of that village. The. suit was to recover damages for an al- leged libelous article claimed to have been written by the defendant, and which appeared in what is known as the Sun. a publication of that village. The announcement of the verdict was about as funny as the entire suit. Jus- tice McLennan had adjourned his court when the jury found itself ready to re- port, and it was received by Justice Williams. The foreman was a rather elderly farmer, who had a peculiar voice and apparently a bad state of fright. He arose and said: " We find for the plaintiff in the sum of six cents." The Judge laughed when he heard the peculiar noise, and so did the people in court. The claim of Mr. Shepard was that he had been injured by articles in the paper, and that allegations had been made reflecting uihui his good name and rh.irn. I. r Th.- complaint asked damages in the sum of $10,000. 4i8 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. CHAPTER XXIX. An Inside History of Lake View Cemetery, Which Has Never Before Been Made Public. Previously to the establishment of the Incorporated Rural Cemetery Associa- tion of Lake View in the year 1871, all the burial-grounds in the village of Skane- ateles were controlled by private persons, who used the income or profits for their own individual benefit, except Freeborn G. Jewett, Sr. I was the originator, pro- moter, and organizer of the present Lake View Cemetery. I first issued a call for a public meeting June 29, 1871, which was published in the Skaneateles Demo- crat, and without consultation appended thereto the names of such public-spirited citizens as suggested themselves to my mind at the moment, well knowing that the gentlemen named would not object to the use of their names for so com- mendable a purpose. Before the advertisement appeared, however, I made known the project to a few of the persons named, all of whom fully indorsed the use of their names to the call for a public meeting. The call was as follows : Puni.ic Meeting. The citizens of the village of Skaneateles are requested to meet at Legg Hall, on Satur- day next, July 1st, at 4 P. M., to take such preliminary action as may be necessary to organ- ize and establish an Incorporated Public Cemetery. I was fully aware of the determined opposition to be encountered from the proprietor of the old burial-ground. Such opposition was incurred, as has been fully described in Chapter XVIII. of this volume. The late Charles Pardee, who owned the old burial-ground, was opposed to the incorporation of a new cemetery. His nearest friends at that time estimated him as being worth $350,000. His opposition to a new cemetery was a power not to be despised. His influence in the community at large was supreme. Money was only required to fully establish a new cemetery against all opposition, and such money was by m\self advanced, as will be recited hereinafter. The result of the public meet- ing was the Incorporation of the Rural Cemetery Association of Lake \'iew. which took place August 27, 1871. Now is recited the inside history. T assumed the position of both Secretary and Treasurer, in order to be in a position to carry out my original intention of establishing on a firm basis an In- corporated Public Cemetery, under ".\\^ .Xct atithorizing the Incorporation of Rural Cemetery Associations, passed Aiiril 27, 1847. and the Acts amending the same." This act required that a public meeting should be held, and that twelve trustees must be elected bv ballot, and after such election they were to be divided into HISrURy OF SK.IXEATHLES. 419 three classes: One class to serve one year; the second class to serve two years; and the third class to serve three years, and in every succeeding year thereafter there should be elected by the lot-owners, three trustees, to serve three years. Twelve trustees were balloted for and elected. ,\ majority of those elected were unfortunately the friends and adherents of the late L". Pardee, who was opposed to incorporatingf a cemetery. At every mectinp of the newly elected trustees IlKAINICKU (Si,- puif. thereafter f(jr business ])urposes. there was a want of interest manifested, and oc- casionally a word of warning fnjm one or more of C. I'ardce's friends not to do anything to displease him during tiie organization of the new cemetery. After the lands had been negotiated and staked out for the new cemetery, money to make the payment for them had to be (>btaine.03 $1,881.15 Oct. 9, 1872. My subscription to lean, paid in cash 200.00 March 10, 1880. Interest on this loan to date 102.56 $2,183.71 March 10, 1880. Interest on the above four loans from their several dates 892.04 Total loans, with interest added $3.07575 Offsets as follows : Offsets to Monev Advanced bv Me. M iich 10, 1880. I charged myself with my burial lot $108.60 • «:h 10, 1880. I sold two lots, one of 559 feet and the other 400 feet, in all 950 feet, and charged myself with the money received I43-85' ' mber 15, 1877. I charged myself with ijS-OO ■ 3, 1878. I charged myself with 83.67 12, 1873. I charged myself with 92.16 I. 6, 1879. I charged myself with 100.00 Much 10, 1880. I charged myself with 3000 Total of offsets $71328 ince of total loans, with interest added as above $3i07575 t^eis deducted as follows 7'3a8 Balance due K N. Leslie up to March 10. l8«o $2,362.47 The above stateinent of account shows conclusively that the Cemetery Asso- .ition was indebted to me, on March 10. 1880, $2,362.47. At various times during the pendency of the floating debt, I charged myself with several Inirial-lots, which I marked on the map of the cemetery with my initials: 424 HISTORY OF SKAKLIATELES. Oct. I, 1878. I charged myself with Lot No. 125 in Section 2 $ 93.75 Jan. 10, 1880. I charged myself with the following four lots : Numbers 5, 6, 7, and 8, in Section 4 120.00 Total $213.75 Although charged to me, 1 never received the money for which the lots above were sold, consequently I did not enter their cost as an offset of the floating debt. Repayment Assured. — The eventual repayment of the loans advanced by me was fully assured by the terms of the act authorizing the incorporating of Rural Cemetery Associations, passed April 27, 1847, Chapter 133. I therefore did not hesitate to make necessary advances from time to time to insure the final completion of Lake View Rural Cemetery against the determined opposition which was encountered. Chapter 133 of the Laws of 1847 reads thus: " Section 7. One-half at least of the proceeds of all sales of lots or plats shall be first appropriated to the payment of the purchase money acquired by the association until the whole purchase money shall be paid, and after the payment of the purchase inoney and the debts contracted therefor, and for surveying and laying out the land, the proceeds of all future sales shall be applied to the improve- ment, embellishment, and preservation of such cemetery, and for incidental ex- penses, and for no other purpose and object." As I was not only Treasurer, but also Secretary, I kept the detail of the ex- penditure of all the money expended, and whenever there was an opportunity to make an oflfset against my loans, which I termed in my accounts a " floating debt," I did so. Sucii offsets were known to the Trustees of the Rural Cemetery Association, and they knew also of my advances of money, not only to pay for the lands, but for laying out the grounds. This mode of offsetting toward the liquidation of the floating debt, contin- ued until the Rural Cemetery Association was donated to " The Trustees of the Village of Skaneateles," which as a matter of course was obligated to assume all the pledges and indebtedness of the Rural Cemetery Association, including not only the certificates of indebtedness, but my loans to the association for the pur- pose of paying for the lands and for laying them out. The conditions of the Act of 1847, Section 7, provided that one-half at least of the proceeds of the sales of lots shall be appropriated, not only to pay for the lands, but to the payment of the debts, and for surveying and laying out the lands. The village Trustees held possession of the cemetery, after having ac- cepted the gift of Lake View Cemetery Association, until they appointed cemetery conmiissioners, whose only duty it was to lay out, beautify, and improve the lands. As the Rural Cemetery Association had already laid out, improved, and beautified its lands, there was no necessity of appointing cemetery commis- sioners to do the same work, nevertheless cemetery commissioners were appointed, who were the agents of the village Trustees. It therefore became their duty to HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. 425 notify the owners of certificates of indebtedness and others who had loaned money to the association that they had money on hand for the payment pro rata pledged to the repayment of such indebtedness. Neither the village Trustees nor their representatives, the Cemeterj' Commissioners, have ever attempted or even intended to pay such indebtedness. The commissioners have ever since the first record of their proceedings (meaning the present commissioners), dated March i, 1892, had continually large balances of money on hand, and carried them forward from year to year as follows: March i, 1892, balance, $908.24; March i. 1893, $537.70; March I, 1894, $654.44; March i, 1895, $904.62; March i, 1896, $946.18; March I. 1897, $1124.31; March i, 1898, $1364.71 ; March i, 1899, $1484.30; March i, 1900, $1555.68; March i, 1901, $1881.52! Here is an average of $1,136 per year, a total of $11,361.70 for ten years. Every year since March i, 1892, until July i, 1897, the village Trustees have passed a resolution similar in effect to the following: " Resok'cd, That the sum of (naming the balance on hand) be appropriated and turned over to the Board of Cemetery Commissioners, and that a draft pay- able to the order of said Cemetery Commissioners be drawn on the Treasurer for the same." Thus the large income derived from the cemetery was diverted by the Trus- tees of the village from their obligations to pay the pledges and indebtedness of the Rural Cemetery Association when they accepted the gift of the cemetery from Joel and Mrs. Thayer, April 9, 1880. Since July i, 1897, when the new village Law went into effect, the annual bal- ances of the cemetery commissioners have been paid to the Treasurer of the vil- lage, subject only to the order of the Trustees of the village. The presumption is, therefore, that the Corporation of the village of Skaneateles, which owns the cemetery, and has received all the income and profits arising therefrom, is re- sponsible for all the pledges, debts, and other obligations of the Rural Cemetery Association which have not been liquidated, and arc now a just claim against the Corporation of the village of Skaneateles. Although Chapter 133 of the Laws of 1847 provided only that one-half at least of the proceeds of all sales of lots or plats shall be first appropriated for the debts, laying out, etc., still, under present conditions, where there is an out- standing indebtedness, all surplus income can be appropriated for the liquidation of long-standing indebtedness. My advances of money to the Rural Cemetery Association have no docu- mentary evidence, except as Treasurer, where in my accounts I made entries where and how such loans were expended, and as Secretary I kept all the pro- ceedings of the officers of the association, and in a few instances when there was a meeting I reported the sums of money I had advanced for laying out and .)ihcr improvements, which were by resolution adopted. Tli.^ hil.-iti, ,• rltie to me up to March ID, 1880. $2362.47. 426 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. There was due, same date, to Thomas Y. Avery, $149.25. Neither of which has been Hquidated in any manner. The existence of Lake View Cemetery as it is to-day would have been an im- possibility, without the loans of money which were made by me to complete the purchase of the lands, and to pay the expense of laying out the grounds, and fully completing the cemetery in all details. There was no other money used for this purpose but the money advanced by me. The corporation of the village of Skaneateles is the owner of the cemetery, which came to it as a gift, and which has never cost its taxpayers any money, and it is justly responsible for all the obligations of the Rural Association, from whom it accepted the cemetery as a gift. It, through its appointed agents, the cemetery commissioners, has received large profits from the use of the cemetery, as has heretofore been stated, and is justly responsible to pay me the sum due me March 10, 1880, $2,362.47, and also the full amount due Thomas Y. Avery from the date of his original loan of $100, with interest to date. The submis- sion of a proposition to the qualified voters of the village, under Section 59 of the village Law, directing the Trustees of the village of Skaneateles to pay the said indebtedness from the income of the cemetery (excepting income from trust funds), would be a lawful proceeding, as T have been informed by the Commis- sion of Statutory Revision on the question of granting a franchise which is not specifically mentioned in the village Law. The qualified voters would un- doubtedly vote favorably on such a proiiosition. after having become assured that such proposition was a just claim against the ])rofits of the cemetery only, and not to cost the taxpayers a single dollar. The late Joel Thayer had been President of the association until August. 1879, when he declined reelection, as he had at that time ])urchased the C. Pardee interest in the old burying-ground. for the purpose of conveying it to the Trustees of the village of Skaneateles. At a meeting of the trustees of the Association of Lake \'iew, held April 3, 1880, the following resolution was unanimously passed: "Resolved, That the President and Treasurer be, and are hereby, authorized to cause the corpo- rate seal to be affixed, and to execute a deed of conveyance covering and includ- ing all the lands of the Cemetery Association, incorporated under the name and style of 'Lake View,' to Joel Thayer and Juliet L. Thayer, of the village of Skane- ateles, under and by authority of Chapter 52 of the I^aws of 1880." That was a great mistake, as the Rural Cemetery Association ought to have been continued, and have been an independent corporation, which would have re- deemed all its certificates of indebtedness, and also the $3,073 wliich \ loaned the association, from one-half of the sales of lots, according to the terms of the loan. I 'nfortunately, I assented to the transfer of Lake View lands to the Trus- tees of the village of Skaneateles. under Chapter 52 of the Laws of 1880. The corporation of the village Trustees has never paid a single certificate of indebtedness itself, or by its appointed officers the Cemetery Commissioners, nor HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. 4»7 has the money loaned by nie to the Rural Association ever been paiil, since March ID, 1880! The village of Skaneateles, therefore, became the owner of the whole cemetery, without being taxed for its purchase. The village Trustees thereafter appointed five Cemetery Commissioners for the term of five years from April 26, 1880, and their whole duties were to lay out and beautify the lands. Those appointed were Joel Thayer, K. Norman Leslie, James A. Root, T. Kelley, and Wills Clift. These commissioners had all been trustees of the Rural Cemetery Association, which was an independent corpora- tion over which the village Trustees had no control. As trustees of an inde- pendent corporation, they had full powers to sell lots, plats, and graves, and to retain the moneys received, and to expend such moneys as they deemed for the interest of their association, entirely independent of the Trustees of the village. Having been trustees of an independent corporation, they only knew that their names or titles had been changed to Cemetery Commissioners, and were not aware that their powers as such commissioners had become very limited, consequently, after their appointment, and. without having been informed by the village Trus- tees, that their whole powers as commissioners consisted in laying out any new grounds that may be purchased by the village Trustees. In consequence of their being in complete ignorance of their limited powers, they continued the same powers as they had as officers of a Rural Cemetery Association, sold lots, plats, and graves, kept the moneys, and expended it just as they thought best, and, in fact, assumed control of the cemetery, independent of the village Trustees, who were seemingly quite as ignorant as was their appointed Cemetery Commis- loners of the latters' powers and duties. Moti'. — The author deems it of importance at this point of the inside history ■ I I^ke \'iew Cemetery to insert an explanaton,- paragraph. There having been five cemetery commissioners appointed by the Trustees of the village, they were public officers — " public functionaries," under the opinion f the court, in 81 N. Y.. pp. 1 16-126. which reads as follows : " We are of the opinion that the official act of a public functionary may be freely criticized, and entire freedom of expression used in argument, sarcasm and ridicule upon the act itself: and that then the occasion will excuse everything hut actual malice and evil purpose of the critic." — Foi.oer, J. One of the five cemetery commissioners was particularly active as a public func- tionary in the further details of this inside history'. It has. therefore, become necessary to indicate him by the word officiol in criticizing his acts as such com- missioner. It was only after his apf)i)intmcnt that opportunities ceased to ofTsct the moneys loaned the Rural Cemetery .Association. The death of Joel Thayer, who hafi been an active and interested member of the Rural .Association from its commencement, occurred May 19, 1881. The official, whom the village Trustees appointed to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Joel Thayer, first attended a meeting of the commissioners held Septcnilxr f' 1881. It was soon noticed that li<- .-is-iiimf. Henry James 50.00 43. Estate M. A. Harris 50.00 23. Mary T. Porter loo.oo 44. Angeline A. Benedict 150.00 24. Captain Benjamin Lee 50.00 45. Helen A. Young 50.00 25. F. G. and J. H. Austin 50.00 46. Helen A. Young 50.00 26. Estate Benjamin Petheram 50.00 47. Catharine C. Groom 50.00 27. E. B. Rhoades 50.00 48. Mary A. Charles 80.00 28. Sarah E. Horton 50.00 49. C.C.Bradford 100.00 29. Minerva Voorhees 50.00 50. Elizabeth A. Bums 50.00 30. Sarah W. Shotwell 80.00 51. F. C. Lawrence 50.00 31. Willis Piatt 50.00 52. B. B. Northrup 80.00 32. Thomas Corley 50.00 53. Matilda Clark 50.00 33. Maria M. Morgan 100.00 54. Jane Harwood 50.00 34. C. W. Allis 80.00 55. Laura A. Rhodes, etc 93.50 35. W. B. Lawton 50.00 56. Eliza Holben 50.00 36. H. J. Gibbs, Estate 150.00 57. James W. Webb 50.00 37. Newell Turner 80.00 58. Eliza P. Sandford 125.00 38. W. P. Baker 80.00 59. Estate E. A. Campbell 100.00 39. Phoebe J. Sampson 200.00 — Miss Hetty Kennedy 30.00 These fifty-nine trusts consist mostly of non-residents of the village of Skaneateles. Most of them were bequests by last will and testament • a few in person during life. The cemeter)' belongs to the inhabitants of the village. Very few of their names are to be found among the depositors of these trusts. Where are the names of the workingmen — the carpenters, the masons, the painters, the iron-workers, the merchants, the clerks, the day-laborers, and other residents of limited means? All those thus enumerated compose mostly the en- tire population. Their interest in the future care of their burial-lots in the vil- lage cemetery is as close to their hearts as those named in this list of trusts. The last name on the list, Miss Hetty Kennedy, as will be noticed, is not num- bered, being next to No. 59, and not received as a trust. It is explained by the fact that the cemetery commissioners would not receive thirty dollars in trust for the care of a little lot. Thirty dollars, at savings-bank interest, will earn $1.05 per year. The cemetery commissioners would charge only one dollar per year for the same lot if paid in cash annually. The iron rule — made, in my opin- ion, by the official — seems to be the guide of his associate commissioners, whose antecedents would naturally favor the working population. A few years ago, I endeavored to make an experiment relative to depositing trust moneys with these boss commissioners. I as an executor had one himdrcd and fifty dollars to be deposited in trust, and also thirty dollars for the same purpose. Besides these I contributed five dollars for a friend, to be deposited in trust as the foundation of a ftind to be a IIV Till; AITIIOK—Sce pogc 4H lisliing mv name as a commissioner in the public newspa|K-rs. to indicate that 1 iiad been a continual commissioner since 1885. Seven years after November 24, 1885, when I last acted as commissioner, had terminated, and during those seven years I had never acted as commissioner or attended a meeting, the official assumed to orr tli-it ,lr.t.- probably, the official had Wills Clift appointed treasurer I 436 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. had been treasurer and secretary of the Rural Cemetery Association until the vil- lage Trustees appointed commissioners, and thereafter until November 24. 1885, I kept all the records of the meetings of the Trustees of the Association of Lake View and of the Cemetery Commissioners until the date I last attended a meeting of them, November 24, 1885. Wills Clift had not up to that date been treasurer. Seven years after 1885 was the first recorded meeting of the present five com- missioners, as entered on the record of their proceedings, and it is a singular fact tliat no record of the sales of lots or the proceedings of the commissioners has been kept and recorded. A seven years' vacancy of cemetery receipts, cemetery meetings, cemetery expenditures. It was during these seven years that the official, Clift, Kelley, and Root were commissioners, who kept no record of proceedings until Alarch i, 1892. Although my name was advertised as a commissioner in 1890 and 1 89 1, I was not there, but these are the two years that the official watched for me on the sidewalk, and insidiously asked me to sign the annual re- port, which I did to accommodate him, as he particularly wanted my name signed to the reports of 1890 and 1891. The present commissioners have no record of the commission, except the first one on their record book under date of March i, 1892. This is the date which this official selected, after persuading me to sign two annual reports of commis- sioners, in order to make it appear that I had been a continual commissioner since November 24, 1885, the date that I declined associating with him as a commis- sioner, and never personally attended another meeting of commissioners. After I had expended my time and thousands of dollars to establish the Rural Cemetery Association of Lake View, after all opposition to the formation of an incorporated cemetery had passed, the following manifesto was published in the Free Press, March 5, 1892. which, in my opinion, was written by the official : the words italicized are so nKule prominent by myself in order that T may explain their meaning as I understand them : Lake View Cemetery Retort. The yearly report for 1891 of the Lake View Cemetery Association is very flattering to the management of the Board of Cemetery Commissioners. It is very pleasant, at a time when so many institutions and associations are not only running behind in financial re- sources, but are being robbed by defaulting treasurers and trusted officers, that we have an organization among us that is such a credit to the community. And the efforts of the com- missioners to keep up and beautify our resting-place for the dead deserve the thanks of all interested, and we know that their work is duly appreciated by the whole community, for every one points with pride to this beautiful spot. The work of recording all burials ever made in the grounds is going on, and the public is asked to help all it can by giving Sexton Marshall a memorandum of all burials they may have any knowledge of. Especially is as- sistance asked of those who arc remaining of the older inhaliitants. The unusual style of type in which the above was printed indicates that it was not editorial. Tn my opinion, the italicized words above indicated express HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. 437 an accusation by the otticial that I, as treasurer, and as a trusted officer, had been robbing the association by charging myself with money " offsets " on ac- count of the ■■ floating debt." No intelligent person can read that boastful mani- festo, written and published, in my opinion, by the official, without understanding iiis evident purpose to injure my character. Previously there had never been reported any Rural Cemetery Association, which had been robln-d by a defaulting treasurer or by a trusted officer. The official was very cunning in inducing me to sign my name to reports of ihe cemetery commissioners, two reports, for 1890 and i8yi, which 1 had never attended, and he knew it. He was e.xceedingly desirous of having my name to them, and then to have my name published as a commissioner. It should be par- ticularly noticed that, after all the adverse experiences 1 encountered in establish- ing the present cemetery, and the money I loaned to the Rural Association, the present cemetery commissioners came into full possession of a complete ceme- tery, when all opposition had ceased, without having contributed a single dollar toward the great expenses attending its final establishment, and by a series of conflicting laws, which conferred upon them very limited powers, they assumed life tenor of holding office and life tenor of holding the cemetery lands. No re- newal of appointment as commissioners has been made since the original appoint- ment by the village Trustees, April 26. 1880, except, perhaps, when the official, by written order, required the Trustees to order E. N. Leslie out, who was not at that date a commissioner, and had not been such during the previous seven years. The Trustees of the Village of Skaneateles are required by law to appoint annually one cemetery commissioner for the term of three years, which they do not obey ; and they are responsible for such commissioners' arbitrary denial of the inalienable right of every adult inhabitant of the village to deposit any sum of money in trust according to the terms of the gift, as per Chapter 139 of the Laws of 1881. It has been indispensable in this inside history to individualize one cemetery commissioner as an official who has made himself prominent in an endeavor to disgrace my character by an intimation that I had been dishonest as a trusted oflicial. This individualization would not have occurred had it not l>een that he carelessly left in his own handwriting, in my opinion, an apparent wrder directing the village Trustees to discharge ine from an office which 1 did not hold at the time; but such order indicated a treacherous intent to inflict a disgrace. .Self- rispect has been a necessity to individualize him as an oflficial. .^s a counterpart of the handwriting engraving illustrated on i>age 431. the following statement is relevant: The official employs an attorney, who is a resident of Skaneateles. This attorney prosecuted an action for lil)el against me in the Supreme Court at .'^yracuse, March j8. 1898. which terminated to the discomfiture of the altornev. .\fter the trial had ended, ami while the court-rr fnture comment. The first sentence itahcized was, " to be dci'oted to tin- {f said villaRe, who shall, during their lertiis of office, Iiotc exclusive control and manuKcmt-nt of the laying out. beautifying and improving of anv lands which may lie purchased hy said trustees, as pro- vided by section one of the act hereby amended. ■' ' The members of such conuiiission shall hold their office for fixe years from and after their apf ointment, and when vacancies occur in such commission, llw same shall be filled hy ■ul trustees from the resident freeholders of said vdlage. .Ml moneys appropriated by I trustees for the improvement of such lands shall be placed in the hand^ of said cxm- >^ion, to be expended by them in such laying out, l)eautifying and improving: and said 442 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. commission shall, on the ist day of March, in each year during their term of office, make a report, by items, of their expenditures, and stating the objects thereof, to said trustees, which report shall be in writing, signed by a majority of the members of such commission, and verified by their oaths." The above is a portion of the Attorney-General's prelude to his opinion. Another portion was the third paragraph of this chapter, commencing with the sentence, " It appears from the papers," etc. This prelude was not his opinion, which is to follow hereafter. When I approached the highest law officer of the State of New York with a sworn application, containing 148,000 words ( 1,480 folios), which was intended to and did meet every possible argument that could be raised in opposition to grant- ing the prayer asked for, I was a novice, and therefore approached the leading law representative of the State unth awe, believing him to be the authorised repre- sentative of true Justice. His Opinion. " I am of the opinion that this language [referring to the prelude above quoted] creates a continuing office. (l) An office having been created, must be presumed to be continuing unless limited by the terms of the act or by the nature of the duties to be performed. (2) I find nothing in the language of the statute under consideration which limits the duration of the office to the term of five years. '■ In my judgment the language is applicable merely to the term of office of an in- cumbent, and not to the duration of the office. I am the more impelled to this opinion from the portion of the section which reads as follows : ' When vacancies occur in such com- mission the same shall be filled by said trustees from the resident freeholders of said village.' The word ' vacancy ' in this clause includes one arising from the expiration of the term of office as well as one from any other cause. (3) Moreover, there is nothing temporary in the duties to be performed by said commission. (4) The beautifying, the laying out and the improving of lands devoted to cemetery purposes are by no means tem- porary employments. Rather are they continuous in their nature. " I am, therefore, of the opinion that the present incumbents of the office of cemetery commissioners of the village of Skaneateles, N. Y., were lawfully appointed, and may properly perform their duties as such. " The application must therefore be denied. T. E. Hancociv, Attorney-General." This pretended official opinion was immediately forwarded to the opposing attorney, who immediately had it published in the Skaneateles Democrat, a local newspaper, under the title: "Cemetery Commissioners All Right. The At- torney-General denies the Application of E. Norman Leslie." This was the first knowledge that I had that a decision had apparently been made. On reading it over carefully, I immediately discovered a misquotation of Section i of Chapter 696, Laws of 1871, which it did not seem possible that the Attorney-General could have made. Without making my discovery public, I immediately requested a friend resident in Albany to procure for me the Annual Report of the Attorney-General to the Legislature for the year 1896. The mis- HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. 443 quotation named appeared to me to have been an invention of the opposing attorney, as my previous experience with him proved that he was an inventive genius. In due course I received the Annual Report of the Attorney-General for the year i8f)6. and owing to the insignificant character of the apphcation I found it difficult to reach it in the book. When 1 really did discover it, 1 was ver>' much surprised to see, on page 322, that the Attorney-General himself had made the misquotation! It was this misquotation on which he apparently hinged his adverse decision, in my opinion. That such a prominent official of the State of New York should allow such an important public document to leave his office for publication is most extraordinary, especially as he had many deputies, who ought to have carefully examined this important paper before it left the office. Under the circumstances, I considered that he had abused his discretionary power. I, therefore, wrote him a letter, stating that in my opinion he had favored the opposing attorney. I did not keep a copy of this letter, therefore I can not state exactly what I wrote. However, in reply I received a letter from one of his deputies, in which the following allusion was made : " I desire to further state that the determination of the Attorney-General in this matter was not made to please any individual, but it was according to his judgment 01 the law in the premises. Very truly yours, Frank A. Parsons, [Dated March 16, 1806.] Deputy Attorney-General." I judge from the above letter that it referred to another subject — that I had complained of the fact that the opinion had been immediately forwarded to the opposing attorney, and that I had not been favored with even a copy, while, in my opinion, I ought to have been first favored, instead of being neglected entirely. The main portion of the above letter endeavored to explain ti/iy the opinion was not sent to me, as follows: " Your letter relating to the application made by you for leave to brinu an action against the cemetery commissioners of Skancatclcs. etc., was mislaid until now. and I hasten to reply by inclosing you a copy of the opinion in the matter written by the Attorney-General, which I supposed had been forwarded to Mr. Barrows, as it appears by our records that a copy w.is sent him." The said opinion which I received from the Deputy Attorney-General accom- panying the above-named letter is a curiosity in many ways. Primarily, it was nit an official copy, as it had not the autograph of the Attorney-General attached, - was the opinion forwarded to the oppr>site attorney. It was a carlK)n copy liy. Having hereinbefore copied the prelude (or introduction), and the official pinion, copied from his printed report to the Legislature, it is not ncces.sary to I. peat the copy in carhon. Hut it differs in a few respects, which I will now iltscribc. 444 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. Ill Ihe copy of the opinion wliicli was forwarded to the opposing attorney, and which had the autograph signature of the Attorney-General, the misquota- tion was included in his copy of Section i of Chapter 696, Laws of 1871, and was italicized. It was the word " terms." Singularly, in the unofificial carbon copy that word appears as " term," which was the correct reading of the statute. The word " terms " was used by the Attorney-General in his opinion. " I am of the opinion that this language creates a continuing office." That is, he meant the word " terms." The next sentence in the carbon copy was quoted as follows: '■ An office having been created must be presumed to be continuing, unless limited by the terms of the act or by the nature of the duties to be performed." People vs. Addison, 10 Cal., 1-7. This reference to 10 Cal. was not included in the opinion sent to the opposing attorney which was printed in the village newspaper. Neither were the quotation- marks included! I looked up that California case, which was another curiosity. It reached back to the period when the vigilance committee in San Francisco were hanging people in the streets, and Kearney and his gang of rowdies had possession of the Sand-lots ! The Legislature, May 3, 1852, passed an act entitled " An Act to provide for the Appointment of a Ganger for the Port of San Francisco." By the first section of this act, " The Governor is authorized and directed to appoint, by and with the advice of the Senate, a ganger of wines and liquors to reside in the city of San Francisco, and to continue in office for two years." This act does not include the word term of two years, so that the definition of the word term was not necessary to determine the precise signification of, as it is in this case. The power by the Governor, to a])i)oint a successor, under the above act of the Legislature, was disputed, and it was lirought before the court. The opinion of the court was as follows : "The office having been created, must be presumed to be continuing unless limited by the terms of the act, or I)y the nature of the duties to be performed." This i)aragraph was in the carbon C(ii)y quoted as I have copied it. from the carbon. I now continue the opinion of the court : ■' There is nothing temporary in the duties of the office, nor is there anything in the lan- guage of the act limiting the duration of the office." " The period of two years mentioned in the last section, limits only the term of the officer and not the duration of the office." These two paragraphs, which are not (|noted in the carbon copy, appear nearly as they are in the opinion of the .\iti)nu\ -( ieiieral, almost word for word. HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. 445 111 the opinion of the Attorney-General was the following: ■ hi my judgment, that lanf^iage is applicable merely to the term of office of an incum- bent, and not to the duration of the office. I am the more impelled to this opinion fronj the portion of the section which read> as follows: "When vacancies occur in such commission the same shall be filled by said trustees from the resident freeholders of said village.' The word ' vacancy ' in this clause includes one arising from the expiration of the term of office as well as one arising from any other cause." Just here I xvant to turn over a nczc leaf temporarily, as I desire to comment upon and also criticize the arguments of the opposing attorney (.f) — thereby meaning the Attorney-General. I find that I am criticizing the highest " Public Functionary " in the State ■ f Xew York, without giving hiin my authority to do so. After receiving his opinion in the case under consideration in this chapter, I desired to criticize him publicly, but. being a layman. I did not know exactly how far I could go, so I interviewed the biggest, the most learned, and the eldest lawyer in the village of Skaneateles. I explained to him my intention to criticize the Attorney-General of the State of New York. He immediately warned mt- not ■ lo so, and stated his reasons, which were prolific, and which arc not necessary reproduce here. Suffice it to say that they covered my inquiry. Even with the depressing warning and advice received from the learned professional of Skaneateles, I determined to ascertain, if possible, from the opinions of the most learned Judges of the Court of Appeals nf the State of New York, the power and authority of a common layman to criticize a public officer who, in my opinion, had exercised his authority against the interests of the people. I, therefore examined the New York Reports (Court nf Appeals), and, without enumerating my determined efforts to discover exactly what I desired, / found it, in 8i N. Y., pp. 1 16-126. The head-notes gave but little prospect of what was desired, so 1 turned tn the opinion of the court, on page 126. // covered the ■ivhole ground. I was so much interested in my discovery that I immediately wrote a private UT to the editor of a daily Syracuse newspaper, saying to him that here was a liject which was of interest to ever}- editor in the State of New York. He apparently was so pleased with the important discovery that he publishefl my private note as a communication, and added thereto the opinion of the court. It then became common property with all his exchanges, and was very thor- .hly published in nearly or quite all the newspapers in the State. Some person known to me sent a Pinghamton journal, in which was the following marked inicle: " Legal Right to Criticize. " [From the Buffalo Courier-Record.) " E. Norman Leslie, in a recent communication to the Syracuse Courier, has performed a public service by furnishing for publication an opinion of the laic Chief Judge Folgcr. of the Court of Appeals, with reference to the right of newspaper criticism. In these days 446 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. when so many people are holding up their hands with horror at the idea of an editor pre- suming even to question the finding of a court, the following extract from an opinion of one of the ablest jurists New York State ever produced is timely and pertinent: '■ ' We are of the opinion that the official act of a Public Functionary may be freely criticized, with entire freedom of expression, used in argument, sarcasm and ridicule upon the act itself: and that then the occasion will excuse everything but actual malice and evil purpose of the critic. 8i N. Y. ii6, per Folger, J.' " The Judge of any court is certainly a public functionary." — Ed. And I may say here that the Attorney-General of the State of New York is a pubHc functionary. This opinion of Justice Folger has, ever since its publication, been freely used by attorneys whenever there was occasion. In my own criticisms of this act heretofore, and will be subsequently, I have not been actuated by actual malice or evil purpose. It is my impression that I never met the Attorney-General personally but once, on which occasion I studied his physiognomy to ascertain if possible his predomi- nant idea in the determination of the application presented for his consideration. The contour of his face indicated a kindly nature, which, together with the limited conversation we had, gave me courage to believe that he was a synonym of the emblem of Justice, which in my mind's eye appeared as a female figure, standing with scales in her hand evenly balanced. Under all these conditions, I felt that justice would prevail as a result of my application. Now, to commence at the page on which is the title of this chapter, in which italicized sentences are printed with the object of commenting on the sentences thus made prominent. These sentences are indicated by letters of the alphabet in parentheses. (A) " To be devoted to the purpose of a public Cemetery." This sentence is not to be found in Chapter 696, Laws of 1871. It was sur- plusage, not relevant to the case, except to indicate that the emblem of Justice holding the scales had become unbalanced. The Attorney-General had been apprised by the applicant's sworn statement that the lands had for many years previously been devoted to the purpose of a public cemetery, and firmly estab- lished. The next sentence, not italicized, is, " that their successors were appointed." Chapter 696, Laws of 1871, does not provide for the appointment of successors, therefore that sentence now quoted is surplusage, indicating unbalanced scales. (B) The word "board" does not apply to the cemetery comtnissioners, as that term is not to be found in the statute. The commissioners were not ap- pointed as a board, but as individuals. The words " contended " and " The eontention " in the following paragraphs succeeding (.B) are not proper words to be used by a just judge, who favors neither side to a controversy. In the first paragraph, the sentence, " It is contended on the part of the HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. 447 .lii.uw.iiL. i..LiMi have been more justly expressed by writing, "It is claimed by the applicant." In tlie following paragraph, the words " The contention " would have been 1 tetter expressed by the words " The claim." These words. " contended " and " contention," in this connection, do not indicate equitable treatment, as would naturally be expected from the AttornL-y- General of the State of New York. (C) "And upon the language of that statute." Exactly, that is the claim 1 make, and is the most important subject under consideration. No just judge can read that statute undcrstandingly without reaching the conclusion that the commission were appointed for only five years. The following sentence is quoted from Section i of Chapter 696, Laws of 1871 : " The members of such commission shall Iwld their ofHce for five years from and after their appointment, and when vacancies occur in such commission, the same shall be filled by said trustees from the resident freeholders of said village." In this same section it is stated that said commissiuners " shall, during their term of office." From the above language no other meaning can be intelligently understood than that five years was their full term of office. No layman can read the portion of the above paragraph which reads, " shall hold their office for five years from and after their appointtnciit." without deciding in his own mind that five years was to be the extreme limit of the appointment. IVhy the w ords " from and after," if they were not intended as a limit? Again, another sentence from the same paragraph : " and when vacancies occur in such commission." . . . "Stop — Stop — Stop — Stop — Stop — Stop — Stop — Stop!" Thus ejaculated a friend at my elbow, further saying: "Don't you know that you are butting your head against a ' Big ' stone wall ? And that stone wall is the ' Big ' Attorney- General of the ' Big State of New York,' which can not be smashed by your inferior cranium? This Attorney-General is a Lawyer, always a class to be feared by any layman seeking common justice! \\>u apparently don't know that he can not be beaten, under any conditions! He is not, as you have supposed, an Emblem of Justice holding evenly balanced scales ! The ' Big ' laws of the ' Big ' State of New York confer upon his particular self (and no other magnate) Discretionary Power, and that particular description of power is illustrated by the term, ' unrestrained exercise of his own will ! ' from whicii you have no right of appeal! He evidently disposed of your application, in his own niiixl, imme- diately upon its presentation. To lie sure, you had discovered in his nfficial printed report to the Legislature of the State of New York in 1896 that he had misquoted a very important part of the statute, 'and evidently from that mis- quotation, in your opinion, had made his decision by refusing this applicatinn. \?aiii, he bad adopted the official opinion of the California court (which in his 448 HISTORY OF SKAXEATELES. opinion he had quotedj — had adopted this as his own opinion, as his own, without (juotation-marks. In either case, it did not matter. Having unrestrained dis- cretionary power, he could do anything that suited his purpose, could misquote any other statute, and could adopt any other person's opinion as his ow-n. Such was his ' discretionary ' unrestrained privilege, given him by a law of the State of New York. You evidently thought that, by repeating these innovations upon common decency, when you intended to publicly criticize his adverse determina- tion of your application, he might relent and reconsider his refusal to allow you to commence an action. Y'our own attorney ought to have known of the trap he was leading you into, but it would seem that he, too, was quite as ignorant as was his client. You only intended to criticize the act of the Attorney-General, and to keep entirely within the authority given in the published opinion of Folgcr, }., and that you neither had actual malice nor evil purpose as a critic." Laivycrs. " ' Woe unto you al>o, ye lawyers ! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch nut the burdens with one of your fingers. " ' Woe unto you. lawyers 1 for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered." — St. Luke -\i. 46 and 52. " In mousing over Mary Cowden Clarke's Concordance of Shakespeare, 1 find the man who so successfully ran the Wieting Opera House had small use for attorneys. He refers to lawyers just eleven times, and seems to hold that to take a tainted plea and season it with gracious speech so as to obscure the show of evil ; to set decrees at naught ; pluck down justice ; trip the course of law, and liiunt the sword that guards the peace and person — these things are the work and occupation of lawyers. " To put it more briefly, Shakespeare regards a lawyer as otie whose business it is to show people how to evade the law. " The only lawyer that Shakespeare speaks well of is Portia. And then, as if to take it all back, he allows this woman attorney to deal in subterfuge, evasion, and quillets that are pure quibble. Shylock is the peer, in point of dignity and worth, of anybody in the court-room. The gang that got him in tow robbed him of every ducat that he possessed, and kicked him penniless into the street. They liorrowed money from him, and then found an excuse for not paying it. Not only did they fail to return Shylock the money they had borrowed, ])ut they resurrected a blue law for the occasion and confiscated all his property, giving half to the man who was owing him and half to the state. The original loan was for the benefit of Bassanio, so that he could marry Portia. This fact, one might imagine, would have touched the woman's heart; liut no — she wanted all the money Shylock had, and how much of tlie final swag went to i'ortia Shakespeare does not say — he lets us imagine." HI STORY OF SK.iNEATELES. Another .Idvcniure ivilh a Different Variety of the Legal Fraternity — The Official Stenographer of a Court of Record. Chapter XW'III. of this volume elaborates my experience with the legal fraternity and their witnesses in their prosecution of two libel suits against me in the Supreme Court at Syracuse, in the year 1898. One of these libelants claimed as damages ten thousand dollars. The jury awarded him six cents. The other libelant claimed damages of five thousand dollars. The jury decided, " No cause of action." After the termination of these trials, the stenographer was requested to furnish me his minutes uf both suits, under Section 84 of the Code of Civil Procedure, namely : " Duties of Court Stenographers." Section 84, Code: "The original stenographic notes, taken by a stenographer, art- part of the froccedings of the Court, and unless they are filed, pursuant to an order, made as prescribed in the last section, they must be carefully preserved by the stenographer for two years, after the trial or hearing: at the expiration of which time he may destroy them." ■' Section 86. Each stenographer, specified in this act, must likewise upon request. furnish, luith all reasonable diligence, to the defendant, to a party, or his attorney in a civil cause, in which he has attended the trial or hearing, a copy, written out at length, from the stenographic notes, of the testimony and proceedings, or a part thereof, upon the trial or hearing, upon payment, by the person requiring the same, of the fees allowed by law." After a request was duly made, this court stenographer replied that " such notes would not be furnished, 'without an order by the Court." This was a bluff! Thus, as an officer of a court of record, he disgraced his office. Continuous requests for his notes were made during a whole year, without effect. Finally, the stenographer furnished the notes of the inferior libelant, where the jury decided, " No cause of action " ; but as to the six-cent libelant, the stenographer refused the request continually, and never has done his duty under Section 86. As an excuse for not furnishing a copy of his stenographic minutes, he sent ine through the post-office the following: [copy.] SvRAcuse, May 34, 1899. \0RMAN Leslie, Esq, I^car Sir: I have to-day expressed to your address transcript Benedict vs. Leslie, and I enclose bill for same. Regarding the case of Shcpard vj. Leslie, I have been unable to find my minutes. About the time that case was originally ordered (March .^o. i8g8) the c.irpenters and masons were here for a period of ^r-v^- •>'<•'•'• i..-^l< . .m,..;, .l,...rc .l,t..,..,l, 450 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. partitions, plastering, decorating, etc. Some of my minutes at that time were knocked off my desk on the floor and swept up and carried away. This case must have been so disposed of. I have an index of each case reported since 1877, and the case of Shepard vs. Leslie is not indexed. I have examined thoroughly the files of my cases since the time of the trial of that case down to the present, and it is not on file. I have examined in every place where it would be at all likely to be. If there is any desire on your part that I should do so, I will make an affidavit embodying the above facts, supported by the affidavit of my associates in the office. Yours very truly, (Signed) * * * * * * The name of the stenographer is omitted for the reason that I have no unkind feelings against him. He was evidently influenced. It will be noticed from the above communication that the request for his minutes was made March 30, 1898, whereas the date of this communication is Alay 24, 1899, one year and three months after the request was made for a copy of his minutes. In the mean time, no explanation was made respecting his loss of them when the masons and carpenters were at work in his office. Under the conditions above recited, it can not be said that the stenographic minutes were carefully preserved, under the requirement of Section 84, "' they must be carefully preserved by the stenographer for two years, after the trial or hearing," by leaving the records of the court lying around on a desk, then going out, when laborers were at work, and claiming that under such circum- stances the minutes were lost. The Skaneateles attorney and the libelant seem to have had a great influence over the stenographer to induce him to use all kinds of subterfuges to evade doing his duty. No doubt, the Skaneateles attorney did not want the stenog- rapher to note his proclamation, before a crowded court-room, that " I had been kicked out of the cemetery commission," etc. That was a dangerous libel, and he did not want the official testimony by the stenographer. HISTORY OF SK.-IXE.ITELIIS. CONCLUSION. " Gentle Reader : These sketches and reminiscences have been prolonged to an unwarrantable length. Imperfect from the nature of the various subjects, we know them to be. Correctness and truth have been aimed at throughout every part: if these have been departed from, it arises from false information, not fmni a desire to mislead, or underrate, or overdraw. If they have been the means of affording you the slightest gratification, the object of the author is accomplished. One hundred and eight years have rolled around since the first permanent while settlement was made within the borders of this town ; one hundred and eight years have added their periods to the flight of time since the ax of civilization has been successfully applied to the tree of barbarism in this land; one hundred and eight years have gone by, and the face of things is entirely changed. What unlooked for events in the great wheel of human life shall rise before another one hundred and eight years shall succeed, it would be in vain for us to inquire. But when that remote period shall come, not one of us, not one of our children now on earth, shall be found among the living. Our hills then, as now, will catch the first glimmerings of the morning, and the last rays of evening will linger on their bald and ragged brows, and then bright the sun will shine as to-day; but of all that our hands have wrought, and our hearts have loved, not a vestige will remain as we now behold it. What future good or ill, what storms of civil violence may pass over this land, we know not ; but so may me live, that the inheritance we have received, of freedom, truth, intelligence, virtue, and faith, may be handed down unspotted to those who shall succeed us." The above is copied from the " Conclusion " at the end of the second volume of J. V. H. Clark's " History of Onondaga County." Its sentiments being fully approved, it is, therefore, included in this ending, and constitutes a prelude to the following subjects of interest, which are related by the author in the first person : During my fifty years' residence in the village of Skaneateles, I have en- deavored to be a useful citizen, not only to the village, but to the town. My first experience was as a Trustee of the village during the fifties, when I established the precedent that a public officer could not be held responsible for his acts as such in the line of his duty. Although my experience on that occasion is not included in this volume, a reference to it is to In; found on page 387, which gives the names of one hundred well-known citizens of the village who were opposed to refunding to me one hundred dollars which had been ()aid by me as a Trustee of the village. The one hundred names were signed to a rcmonslrance, as follows: Tn THE Legislature ok the State of New York : The undersigned, citizens .ind taxpayers of the village of Skancatclcs. respectfully rcp- riscnt that they have just le.iriied that a hill hn^ l>ecn reported to the As^rmhly from the 452 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. Coinniiltee on the Affairs of Villages, for the sum of one hinidred and eighty-eight dollars to be paid to E. Norinan Leslie on account of a certain judgment recovered against him by Thaddeus Edwards for an alleged trespass arising out of the collection of the expense of making a sidewalk in said village, and they hereby earnestly remonstrate against the passage of any such bill, for the following among other reasons : First. That it would establish a dangerous precedent to remunerate a public officer for the amount of judgments obtained against him for maladministration of public affairs. Second. That the suit against said Leslie was brought against him as a private trespasser, and not as Trustee of the village of Skaneateles ; that he was found guilty of such trespass in a Justice's court; and that he paid the amount of damages adjudged against him without an appeal, thus admitting the rightfulness of the judgment. Third. That the village of Skaneateles was never, and is not now, in any way, law- fully or equitably, bound to pay for the expense of making the sidewalk of said Edwards, because at the time said walk was built the village charter required that all persons should construct, relay, and keep in repair all sidewalks opposite their respective lots, in such time and manner and of such materials as the Trustees should by a by-law, resolution, or ordinance for that purpose direct; and in case of neglect or refusal on the part of such owners so to construct, etc., it was made lawful for the Trustees to cause such sidewalk to be so constructed, etc., for and on account of such owner or owners, and to collect the expense by tax upon every such lot, which tax was also made a lien thereon. (See Session Laws, 1850, chapter 229, page 424, section 6, " Sidewalks.") Your remonstrants would, therefore, suggest that, if Mr. Leslie failed to collect the cost of making a sidewalk for Mr. Edwards upon this double remedy against the rightful party, he should not be aided by the Legislature to get the money from other persons who are not now, and who never were, under any obligations to pay it. Tliis remonstrance was sent to the Legislature against the passage of a bill for the reHef of E. Norman Leshe that was then under consideration. The Legis- lature, having been fully apprised of all the details of the proceedings of the Board of Trustees, gave no countenance to the remonstrance, and passed the bill, which included not only the one hundred dollars paid by me, but also all expenses of every nature since the original payment, and interest on the one himdred dollars. In order to make this experience fully understood, that a public oliticer in the line of his duty can not be held responsible, it will be o£ interest here lo insert the law which was passed by the Legislature: Chapter 295. An Ait for the Relief of E. NoR\rAN Leslie, and to Authorize the Trustees of the Village of Skaneateles to raise One Hundred and Eighty-eight Dollars by Tax. Passed April 17, 1862, three-fifths being present. The Pcofle of the State of Nck' York, rc!>rcsented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as folloius: Section i. The Trustees of the village of Skaneateles shall assess, apportion, and raise by tax in said village the sum of one hundred and eighty-eight dollars, in addition to any and all sums they otherwise might raise by law, and it shall be lawful for said Trustees to assess and cause the said tax to be collected and enforced in the same manner as other taxes are assessed, collected, and enforced in said village ; and, when the Treasurer shall have collected the taxes under the tax-roll and warrant to be delivered to him, it shall be the duty of the said Treasurer to pay to E. Norman Leslie the said sum of one hundred and eighty-eight dollars, on account of a certain judgment (together with the interest and expenses HISTORY UP SKAS'EATELES. 453 :.coriiecl thereon) recovered against him by Thaddciis Eilwards for an alleged trespass arising out of the collection of the expenses of making a sidewalk in said village, which sidewalk was made under the direction of the Board of Trustees of said village, of which the said E. Norman Leslie was a member. Sectio.s- 2. This act shall take ciTect immediately. My next experience was as a private citizen in the year 1872 (sec pafje 2741. when the town of Skaneatelcs became bonded fur $250,000 in behalf of liie New York Western Midland Railroad Company. The bonding had apparently been fully completed luidcr tl'.e decision of the County Judge. For further par- ticulars, sec page 277. My discovery of the defection of the County Judge fur- nished two gentlemen — Forrest G. Weeks and C. W. .Mlis — with evidence on which to file an appeal against the judgment of the County Judge, which resulted in a judgment declaring the illegality of the bonding. Thus the town of Skan- ■ .".teles was fortunately saved from a debt of $250,000. It was during my term of office as President of tiic village that the Inter- L rban Trolley Railroad made application for a franchise. I was heartily in tavor of granting such franchise, although great opposition existed from the village merchants and some other persons. I could see in the future that the village of Skaneateles would be greatly benefited in many directions, and it was through my instrumentality with the other Trustees that a franchise was finally .rranted. I, therefore, drew the franchise myself, first obtaining copies of fran- liises from other villages which had granted franchises, I paying the expense of pying them. The franchise was carefully drawn to protect tiic interest of the illagc in the proper care of the streets in the construction of the track, and jire- ribe the weight of its rails per yard and other regulations respecting the road- '. ay next to the track. I was very careful not to embarrass the company by ' 'Mipelling it to pay a percentage on its gross receipts, as is often done in nthcr laces. The village desired a well constructed road, and in all other particulars up-to-date'" equipments. These have lieen completed i)y the company. The itect of the completion of the road has thus far produceil an encouraging im- iricssion that this village, so long imprisoned, as it were, from the outside world. will henceforth take its proper position among the most attractive villages in the State. It was solely by my individual persistence against the most determined op- |iosition of the late C. Pardee, together with my advances of money to pay partly IT the land, and for all other expenses attendant on laying out the grounds. ' ncing. etc., that the village of .Skaneateles now owns one of the most attractive rmetcries in the Stale of Xew York. It has never cost the taxpayers a single dollar of taxation. On the contrary, the village has received large sums of money, net profits from the use of the cemetery, from its ap|>ointccs, the Cemetery Commissioners. My advances of money to the original Rural Cemetery Ass- i. i8r.il amendments, (giving authority to cities and villages to build their own waterworks,) impaired the obligations of the contract existing between the \illagc and the company. The contract to which reference is made is not the one which was entered into in 1891 between these parties for the term of five years, because that contract was fully carried out and had expircil by its own limitation in February, 1896, but it is the contract which the plaintiff in error claims was implied by reason of its organization and incr>rporation in 1887. in pursuance of an application made to, and with the consent of, the village authorities, and under the provisions of chapter 7^7 of the laws of \ew York of 1873. and the acts amendatory thereof. It is said the village at the time of plaintiff's incorporation had the election to do the work itself under the above act of 1873. or to confer upon a private company like the plaintiff, luuler the act of 1873. the right to do it. and when with these two different methods for obtaining a supply of water the village chose that which called for a supply by a private company, it impliedly contracted that it would not itself thereafter •nlso the other method for obtaining such supply, unless it Ixiught the plant of the •npany or condemned it under the provisions of the act of 1875. This, it ^ •^aid, was implied in the grant made by the village. Sections. I, 2, 3. 4 and 5 458 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. of the act of 1873. under which the plaintiff was incorporated, are set forth in the raarsjin.* * Chap. 737, Laws of 1873. Sec. I. Any number of persons not less than seven may hereafter organize in any town or village of this State a waterworks company, imder the provisions of this act. Sec. 2. Whenever any persons to the number of seven or more shall organize for the purpose of forming a waterworks company in any of the towns or villages in this State, they shall present to the town or village authorities an application, setting forth the persons who propose to form said company, the proposed capital stock thereof, the proposed number and character of the shares of such capital stock, and the name or names of the streams, ponds, springs, lakes or other sources and their locations, from which water is to be supplied. Such applications shall be signed by the persons who propose to form said company, and shall contain a request that the said town or village authorities shall consider the application of said company to supply said town or village of this State, or the inhabitants thereof, with pure and wholesome water. Upon the presentation of such application, the authorities of any town or village, w'hich authorities are for the purposes of this act defined to consist for incorporated villages and towns, the board of trustees and supervisor, and for all other tovwis, the supervisor, justices of the peace, town clerk and commissioner of highways. Said authorities shall within thirty days of the presentation of said application determine by a vote of a majority of the authorities of said town or village, whether said application shall be granted ; and the authorities of any town or village in this State are hereby authorized and empowered to make such determination, and when the same shall be made, to sign a certificate to that effect, and immediately transmit the same to the person making such application or either of them. Duplicate certificates of such determination shall be filed in the office of the clerk of said town or village, and in the office of the county clerk of the county in which said town or village granting such application shall be situated. The persons named in such application shall thereupon meet and organize as a waterworks com- pany under such corporate name as they may select. They shall file in the office of the secretary of State a certificate of such organization. Said certificate shall contain the name of the corporation, the names of the members of said corporation and their residences, the amount of capital stock, the location of the office of said company. Such certificate shall be subscribed and sworn to by the president of said corporation, and shall be attested by the secretary thereof. Upon the filing of said certificate said waterworks company shall be known and deemed a body corporate, and shall be capable of suing and being sued by the corporate name which they shall have selected, in any of the courts of this State. The capital stock of said company shall be paid in the manner and within the time provided by the " Act to authorize the formation of corporations for manufacturing, mechanical or chemical pur- poses," passed February seventeenth, eighteen hundred and forty-eight, and the several amendments thereto, and the stockholders of said companies shall be personally liable for the debts of said companies in the same manner and to the same extent as is provided by said act and the amendments thereto. Sec 3. Said corporation shall have power to take and hold real estate for the purpose of their corporation, and may have, hold and occupy any of the waters of this State ; provided, however, that nothing herein contained shall be deemed to infringe upon any private right which shall not have been the subject of an agreement and lease or purchase by said corpora- tion. Provided, that said company shall have no power to take or use water from any of the canals of this State or any canal reservoirs as feeders or any streams which have been taken by the State for the purpose of supplying the canals with waters. Sec. 4. Any corporation organized under the provisions of this act may, and they are hereby authorized and empowered, to lay their water pipes in any streets or avenues or HISTORV OF SK.l.\l:.m-:Lf:S. 459 Under tlie act of 1875. cliap. 181, the village was authorized to erect and operate its own works. I'rovision was made in the act in detail for the orgfanization of a lx>ard of water commissioners and the building of waterworks, the mode of paying for the same, and other matters connected with the supply of water. That part of the twenty-second section of the act in regard to the taking of the property of a private company, is set forth in the margin.* Pursuant to the provisions of the act of 1873. certain persons on July 5, 1887, ; 'lied to the village authorities for permission to organize a water company -upply the village with pure and wliolesomc water, and on that day the author- ..xs granted the request. On .August i, 1887. a certificate was duly filed in the office of the secretary of State at .Mbany. by which the corporation was formed under the name of The Skaneatelcs Waterworks Company. .'Subsequently tu the incorporation of the plaintiff it built the waterworks and entered into a contract with the village authorities to supply water to the village for five years from February i, 1891. It would seem to be clear, under the decisions of tliis court, that the plaintiff in applying to the village and filing its certificate with the secretary of State under the act of 1873 acquired no contract right, expressed or implied, to any exclusive privilege of using the streets of the village for supjilying it with water. (Charles Rhcr Bridt^c Company v. Warren Bridge Company, 11 Pet. 420; Long Island Water Supply Company v. Brooklyn, 166 U. S. 683. 696; Walla Walla City v. Walla Walla U'ater Company. 172 Id. i, 13.) The Court of Appeals of Xew York held to the same effect in regard to a provision in the charter of Syracuse relating to the rights of a water company, the provision '"^ing similar to the charter here involved. (Syracuse Water Company v. City 'lie places, in any streets or avenues of an adjoining town or village, to the town or village where their application shall have been granted. Sec S. Said corporations are authorized and empowered to supply the authorities or in- h.nbitants of any town f>r village where they may have organized, with pure and wholesome ti-r. at such rates and cost to consumers as they shall agree upon. • Part of Sec. 22, Chap. 181, Laws of 1875. Sec. 22. " Whenever any corporation shall have been organized under the laws of this 'r for the purpose of supplying the inhabitants r,f nnv vilbpr with wntrr. nnd it shall ine or be deemed necessary l)y the board of •.• Iiori/ed to rcated, that the rights, privileges, grants aiil iulf the property of the plaintiff without due process of law or without compensation. It has not taken any of the property of the plaintiff in any aspect of the case. Its action may have seriously impaired the value of the plaintiff's property, but it has taken none of it, and such decrease in value, caused by the village exercising its right to build and operate its own plant, furnishes, under the facts in this case, no foundation for the plaintiff's claim. {Lchig,h Water Com- pany v. Easton, 121 U. S. 388, 390.) In Pumpdly v. Green Bay Company. (113 U. S. 166,) the land of the plaintiff had been overflowed by water under a claim of right under a statute, and it was held that such cuntinuous overflow and user amounted to a taking of the plaintiff's property. This is not such a case. The property of the plaintiff remains wholly untouched. Its value has decreased because the village no longer takes water from it. and the inhabitants will probably also take their supply from the village works, but the plaintiff's property has not been taken, as that term is understood in constitutional law. What the village ought to do in the moral aspect of the ■nse is. of course, not a question for us to determine. The Court of .Appeals has held in this case that the provisions in the statute r the taxation of the property of the company in common with other owners I property to pay the obligations incurred in the construction of the works the village, and all discriminating taxation of the patrons of the company r>- invalid. See al.so Warsaw Walcru-orks Company v. Village of Warsaw. .1 N. Y. 17^. 'I The plaintiff is, therefore, freed from the obligations imposed those provisions. 464 HISTORY OF SKANEATELES. The views above expressed show that there was no such contract as claimed by the plaintiff, and consequently no impairment of the obligations of any contract, and there has been no taking of plaintiff's property, nor has it been denied by the State the equal protection of the laws. The judgment of the Court of Appeals of New York is right, and must, therefore, be Afjirmcd. True copy. Test: (Signed) James H. McKenney, Clerk Supreme Court, U. S. [seal.] Another instance of the benefit derived from my exertions for the interests of the village was the system of clearing the snow from the sidewalks by horse- power during the winter season. This was introduced in the year 1867. For a full account of this, see page 384 of this volume. Therefore, I assume that my experiences as an officer of the village and as a citizen of both town and village, and my public services as such, have been bene- ficial to the community. As an item of my individual history, the following may be of interest in connection with the w'ork accomplished in writing the contents of this volume and of collecting a comprehensive history of Skaneateles: I was born in New Bedford, Mass., August 13, 1817, now nearly eighty-five years of age. " For the structure that \vc raise, Time is with material filled: Our to-days and yesterdays Are the blocks with which we build."— Longfellow. Edmund Norman- Leslie. ADDHNDUM iM MARVIN. JL'DGI-: WILIJAM MAUMX. Jiuljjc Mars ill was l>orii at l"airticl(l. llcrkiiiiir Guimy. April 14. i^jH. His father was ScKkn Marvin and liis motlur Cliarlntte Pratt, of Sayl)r<»k. Cuiin. lie was a lineal descentlant nf Keinuld Marvin, who came from l-lii|.;laiul to Lyme, Conn., in 1633. Wlicn he was an infant the Juinted him I'nited States Jmlge, and when I'lorida was admitted into the I'nion as a State he was apjHiinted I'nited States Judge for the State by President Polk. He held that Judgeship until i8<.3, when ill health caused him to resign. Through all the difficulties pn-ceding and during the first part of the Civil War Judge Marvin maintained a I'nion (.ourt against all difficulties. The State had seceded, but the I'nion (lag lloated over the Court 1 louse. GOVER.NOK 0|- Fl.oKIl).\. In i8()3 Judge Marvin went to New York, but in 18^)5 he was sent back to Florida by President Johnson, who ap|H)iiUed him Provisional ( lovernor of I'lorida. During the six tuonths that he was Provisional Coventor he brought alniut the reconstruction of the State government very materially. Then the cari)etbag government followed, and the Judge, like many others, was opjntsed to negroes voting. He was elected United States Senator by the whites, hut In-cause the negroes were not allowed to vote another election was held, and the Judge refused to stand as a candidate. In 1846 the Judge married Harriet N. Foote, of Cooperstown, who died a few years later. In 1867 he married Mrs. Eliza Riddle Jewett, of Skaneateles. Soon after Judge and Mrs. Marvin moved there, and from that time until his death Skaneateles was his home. Judge Marvin was always a great student of history and of the Bible, and wrote much upon those subjects. He was for thirty years honored and revered by all in Skaneateles. Until the day of his death his mind was clear, and few men there are living who could speak as he could from personal experience of Adams, Van Buren, Jackson, Clay, Webster, Calhoun, Jefiferson Davis, and the other great men of days long gone by. Judge William Marvin died July 9, iyo2, the l)est loved man in Skaneateles, a jurist of distinction, a churchman of devout faith, and a student of theology, a man interested in public affairs, a party man, yet one who put his sense of duty so far above party that after voting for every Democratic President from Jackson to Cleveland, he openly disavowed Bryan. Judge Marvin had been ill for several days with i:)neunionia. His years were so many that he could not bear up under it. His life was despaired of for twenty- four hours before his death. Mrs. Marvin died in 1901. His son-in-law and daughter. General and Mrs. M. I. Ludington, were with him at the last. The Judge died at the home he has occupied for a generation — the Jewett homestead in Genesee Street, originally the home of Freeborn Garrison Jewett, first Chief Judge of the Xew York State Court of .Appeals. A Democu.\t UxTir. i8i/). Judge Marvin was a Democrat. He voted for the seventh 1 'resident of the United States, Andrew Jackson, the hero of Xew Orleans, and he voted the Democratic ticket until 1896, si.\ty-ninc years. Then he repudiated Bryan, and then ancl once again voted for the Republican candidate. William McKinlev. INDHX OF NAMHS. Adams, Emerson II .... 21 Allen, Eastwood . . 317 H. W 195. 3fy.. .u6. 317. 336 James M 186, 282, 284, 320 Joseph 306 Allis, C W.. &Co 195 Caleb W II. 195, 206, 208, 275, 277. 306, 318, 322, 453 Moses & Huxtable 195 Rhoadcs & Hall 195 Thomas 229 & Hall 198 & Morgan 195 & Wicks I9S Andrews, Elnathan 269, 361 .Arnold, George 320 Henry 78, 1 12 John Miltnn 284 .•\itstin, Aaron 32. 37. 62, 405 Dor . . 20 Bacon, .\-.t Baker, R.J Timothy Bannister &• Hubbard Weeks & I.eilrh Barnes & Colcnian Eli Barrow, C. E George John John D Bartlett, Dr. I.tvi T Bassett, Joseph Bates. Abner Beach, Elizabeth T. Porter Erasi,,. M 296. • 23. 35- 284, 336. PACE. Bcaiichamp. Miss M. E 317 Rev. Win. .\l 4. 152, 293, 396 Wm. Millett 284, 318 Bccbe, .Mex. R 6a, 124 Bellamy, Samuel 23. 68, 281 Bench, James 284 Benedict, Dr. Isaac 326 Dr. Michael 1" 327 Peter 326 S. E 376 Dr. Samuel 134, 326 Bennett. Nate 70 Benson, Alanson 25 Dr. P. Oscar C 327 Billings, John 31 Blodgett, A 304 Booth, Jonathan 35. 198. 208, 281, 282 Zalmon 268, 28a & Ingham 134. 198, 366 Bowcn, Almeron '. . 14 Benajah 13. 14 Elijah 13, 14 Brainerd, Dyer 23, 1 50, 284, 335. 419 Bramble, Grant 227 Breed, J.icob W. . . 405 Briggs, Widow . 15 Daniel '>2 I.saac 144 John 1.=;. 3-i. 36. 77. "32. 370 Noah 194 Samuel . (S8. 133 & H.ill .... 194 Brinkerhoff, .Aar..ii .208 & Porter .>o8 & Willetts . . -•..« Bristol. John (<7 Burdict. '■ Old " David 219.324 Burnett. Allwrt De Cost 35a 361 Mrs. C. J 67 Charles J 23. 26. 38. 33, 1.^. 218, 281, 383. 306, 330 Charles J., Jr 30l, 3o8 466 INDEX OF NAMES. PAGE. Biii-nott, Joseph H 284 William J 3I7 Burridge, John 286 Burroughs, Daniel 20, 273 Bush, Silas 23 C. Campbell, Dr. Geo. T 35. 318, 325 Candee, Mrs. Eliza A 142 Carpenter, John 308 Carrigan, P. C, & Co 172 Caulkins (a cooper) I5 Chadwick, Holland W 172 Champ, Alfred 438 Child, W. H 108 Clark, Ashley 183 Mrs. Calvin 368 Charles (Parsons) 215 Chester 20 Eli 8, 15, 52, 95, 281 Foster 15. 52, 281 William 281 Clift, Joab 15' Joseph 280 William 62, 78, Qi- 405 Cobane, Miss Lydia A 318 Cody, Mrs 30. 120 Coe, Edward B 160, 171, 172. 284, 318 Noble 214 Cole, Bethuel 15. 361 Collins, John A I7S Colvin, Jasper II 183, 320 Conover, Shuler D 318 Cornell, Perry ^20 Cory, Adin 284 Cotton, George, & Owen 366 Willard 366 & Lewis 79 Crosby, Phillip 281 Ransom 284 Crosier, Tip 276 Cuddeback, Abraham 370 Abraham A 1 1, 13. 36, 269 Lafayette 81 Cuykendall. Henry 19 Moses 19 D. Daniels, John 282 Dascomb, Joseph 23, 136, 183, 320 PAGE. Davey, John, Jr 306 Day, Rowland 33i Winston 14, IS. 23, 25. 30, 32, 33. 35, 144, 168. 177. 388 & Hecox 154 & Sherwood 48. 388 De Cost, Mrs. Hannah H 142, 390 Capt. Nash 140, 284, 293, 298 Delano, Howard 171 De Witt, Jacob C 306 De Zeng, Richard L 316, 368 Dibble, Philo 23, 136 Dickerson, McKendree 225 & Kennedy 305 Diefendorf , Geo. E I59 Daniels, Spencer A 286 Dodge, Harrison B 72, I53. 208, 306, 331 Douglass, Archibald 17° William B 78 Drake, Samuel 168 Dullard, Mr 34 Dunning, Moses B 331 E. Earll, A. J 304 Abijah 21, 22 Augustus -, 22, 171 Daniel 16, 21, 22, 170, 183 David 195 Delos 171 George H 22, 172, I73 George H., & Co 303 Dr. George W 328 Hezekiah 21, 22, 172, 320 Hezekiah, & Co 172 Hiram '71 J. Horatio 22 Jonas 17 Julius 20, 22, 172, 173. 276 Kellogg & Co 333 Leonard H 22, 171, 272 Nehemiali H 16, 17, 18, 22 Robert 16, 17. 18. 21. 22, 32, 172, 281 Thayer & Co 172, 305 & Tallman 305 Edwards, Alanson 16. 23, 52, II4. "6 Jonathan 293 Simeon ' 'S Solomon I'S Thaddeus 16. 23. 1 16, 213, 367 Eells, Nathaniel 28, 213 /.\7)/:.Y OF X.IMES. PACE. Ellcry, William (i .306 Elliott, Charles L. 2g6 Ellsbury, George II 221 Ennin, James 312. 367 F. Farr, Archibald 135 Fay, Massilon 2ip Field, Sereno 281 Fillmore, Millard 175 Fitch. Lewis B 371 Fitzgerald, William 1 1 Flink, Dr 70 Foster, Sol 70 Francis, George 188, 208, 284 Samuel 113, 168. 221. 282, 320 Wadsworth 71 Frost, Ansel 171, 405 Joseph 284 Russell 284, 28s Fuller, C. M 285 James Cannings 150, 368 Sumner 255 William 143, 306 Furman. John S 281, 282, 284, 320 G. Gardner, James 20 Garlock. John G 20 Gaylord, Silas 284 Gibbs, Miss Harriet J 283 William 282, 30.'), 320 & Hannum 168 & Horton 198 Gifford, Mrs. S. A 368 Stephen A. J02 (;iles. W.-irren . 284 I .illctt, Edson D. jo7 Hale, Seth M .318 Hall. Charles I- 393 Charles S 318 f'a^'<> «83. 194. 195. 218. 219. 286. 336. 337 Edwin E 371 George B 18 James 219, 286, 306, 31 • Dr. Jonathan 326 Ralph 85, 115. 219. 286 Seth & James 130, 169, 320 Will T 33, & Pynchon 194 Hammond, Dr. Alex 338 Hannum. Spencer 306, 333 Hawley, Nelson 284. 306, 320, 331 Hccox, Thomas W 320 Warren 174, 183 & Tinkhani 78 Hicks, Elias 367 Hitchcock, Alfred 272, 370 Hoagland, Jacob 286 Hopkins, Dr. Judah B 280, 326, 335 Horton, Alexander 306 Stephen 198, 282, 329. 331 Howe, David 79 John 382 Hoyt. Edward S 157 Ezekiel B 173. 3^- M' 23 Caleb \V 79 E. C 368 Francis M 317, 368 Powell, Thomas 226 William 226 Pratt, Dr. William 326 Preston, M. N 281 Price, Elijah 367 William 16, 17 Purccll, Rev. F. J 288 Putnam. Perley 36 Porter & Leonard 41, 49 Pynchon. George A 194 R. Ray & Bannister 172 Rcdfield, Justin 284 Reed. Hiram 30, 118 & Case 172 Reynold^, A. R 171 Rhoades, S. Porter 52, 320 Samuel 5a Dr. Sumner 273 & Burnett a02 Robbins, Daniel C 367 Roberts. Sylvester 35. 169,214 Robertson, Samuel 30 Roo.;evcIt, Frederick 113.320 H. L 275 Nicholas J 146. 219, 284 Root. Henry IS James A 36. 306 Joseph IS. 78 Rowal, John 405 Rust. Elijah P aga S. Sabins. Israel . ; Sackett. James 70, t ai S.indford. Edward 178 John 183 I^wis H 178. 183. 214, 306 & Mnsriey 148 Samuel*. Mr 16 Sanger, Jedediah 168. ata. a6B Sartwell. Levi afi. 3a Selover. Isaac 33. 35. 7^, 113 INDEX OF NAMES. Sessions, Amasa 23. Ebenezer Seymour, David Shailish, Jeremiah Shear, Fred Shepard, Edward John N. 306, Sherwood, Isaac 27. 28, John Milton John P Shotwell, Walter Sinclair & Hubbard Skaneateles Manufacturing Co Slade, William G 202. Smith, Amasa 14. John H Nehemiah Reuel Sidney Snook, Dr. John 149. John, Jr 149, 150, Thomas Stacey & Packwood Stansbury, George A 183, 193, 234, Stephens, Levi Stephenson, John C Stiles, B. F Tabcr, Mrs. William R 285 Talcott, Daniel yg. 284. 306, 316 Joseph 145 R., & Co 195 Richard 153, 168, 19s, 200, 218, 284, 316, 367 Sarah 284. 285 & Allis 130 & Gridley 130 Talman, Charles 22, 171 Taylor, Aaron 15, 78 Nathaniel 286 Thayer (artist) 33' Joel 151, i6g, 172, 208. 216, 306, 318 Joel, & Co 30s Thompson, John 11, 12, 15 Peter 79- IS4 Thome, Elias 79, 208 Obadiah 136. i93. 208 Nichola.s 184 William R 184 PAGE. Tolles, Chester 291 Townsend, W. J 203 Turner, Newell 263. 306 Tyler, James 219 V. Valentine, Benjamin 316 Van Dyck, George 169 & Davey 169 Van Etten, Jacob ig, 212 Van Houghton, Tunis 20 Vredenburg, Wm. J.... 8, 16, 26, 28, 31, 32, 33- 34- 35. 48, 89, 113, 281, 287, 289 W. Waldron, David 23 Waller, Daniel 41 John E 306, 371 Warner, Dr 405 Watson, Daniel 16, 17, 170. 186, 405 John 14 Watts, William 20 Webb, Henry T 318 Weeks, Forrest G. 172, 275, 277, 286, 367, 453 Webster, Hon. Daniel 183 & Bristol 405 Welch, David 19, 20 Samuel 20, 26 Weston, Josiah 16 Jonathan 16 Wheadon, Samuel C 386 Wheeler, Benedict & Co 304 R. B 317 Whitman, Miss Edey 16 Whittelscy, Peter 317 Wicks, George H 195, 371 Wightman, Allen 285 Wilkinson, Alfred 183 Joab 70 Willetts, Joseph C 306. 318 Valentine 284 William 208. 284 William H 306 William R 318 Wolcott, B. S., & Co 197 Butler S 197, 282, 284 320 & Porter 130 Worden, L. S.. & Co 169, 217 Wright, A. M 318 Wyckoff, C. C 13 INDEX OF SUBIF.CTS. A. PAGE. Aboriginal Name of Skaneatelcs Lake. . 269 Account-Books of Early Merchants. . .8, 388 .\ccounts, Old io6 Address of Red Jacket 244 Address to Indians by Miss Stansbury. . 243 Address to Indians by the Moravian Bishop 243 Adventures Around the World, Re- markable 103 Advertisement, Old 109 Affair of Honor 1 10 Agriculture of Skaneatcles 300 " A Hundred Years Ago." poem 133 " Ariel," Its Account of Skaneateles in 1830 191 Arthur's Experiment to obtain Kisses... 236 Artist, Struggles of and Portraits by an. . 296 Artist Thayer 77. 33' Attorney-General, Author's Criticism of Opinion of 44° Author's Adventures with the Legal Fra- ternity 440 B. Ballrooms and Music "2 Bank of Skaneateles 254 Banks 253 Bear Story 66 " Beautiful Squaw " S' "Bees" 9 Before Photographs were known 228 Bill of Goods in 1806 3«. "17 Bonding of Skaneateles 274 Bonding of Skaneateles defeated.— Early Missions and Religious Denominations. 274 Bounty I^nds to Soldiers 1 Bowen Road «3. 88 Boy Life on a Farm in Skaneateles 215 Brick House, The Hccox... Brick first made by Nye Bricks, Kelsey's Stamped Bricks, Order for, in 1814 Bridge, New British Prisoners Brother of Traitor Benedict Arnold a resident of Village 78, " Burdetle," Sir James Nurse, a Re- markable Character Burglary, A Sensational Burial-ground of 1846 Burial-Place, Earliest Burial-Places, Early, and General His- tory Business, Early, in Skaneatcles Business Firms, Early Business in 1834 Business Men in 1830 Men in 184 1 C. Canoe, Bark, found in mud 16 Cardiff Giant, History of the 94 Cardiff Giant and the Indians 101 Carriage Factory 305 Carriage-Shop, Seth & James Hall's 130 Caterpillcrs. Old-Time, in 1708 92 Celebrity of Mrs. Eliial«-lh T. Porter Beach i3b Cemetery, Evergreen 4J2 Cemetery, 1 jkc View 258 Cemetery. Lake View, and itj Inside Hi»- tory 4«8 Ccmelery. Opposition to an Incorporated Public 355 Census of Skaneaicle.* 301 Central New York Electric Light and Power Company 253 INDEX OF SUBJECTS. PAGE. Century's Ending, A Great 406 Chair Factories 304 Champ, Alfred, and the Civil War 438 Chancery, Sale in, Copy of — Description of Part of Village 145 Changes in Property Ownership and Es- tablishment of Libraries 309 Child. First, born of Parents residing in Skaneateles 14 Chipmunk Story by Sam Francis 221 Church Diversion 367 Churches 280 Churches and Library 389 " Circle of Industry," Thanks to 283 Civil War, Draft during the 339. 347 Civil War, Roll of Honor of Volunteers during the 349 Civil War, Soldiers and Sailors who gave up their lives in the 359 Coaches 29, 259, 273 Coach. First, from Utica to Canandaigua. 47 Coin, old One-Cent 8 Cold Summer in 1816 92 Collect Pond and Fitch's Steamboat 147 Colored Man's Plaint 89 " Columbia," Ode 335 Community Place 175 Conclusion 451 Congregational Society 288 Conveyance to F. G. Jewett 78 Cooper-Shops 213 Criticism of Opinion of Attorney-General. 440 D. Dam, Breaking and Sunday Repairs.... 45 Dam, Breaking and Sunday Repairs, An- other Version 85 Dam, The First 16 Dark Day, The 113 Death, A Melancholy 207 Decision against Water Works Company. 454 Deer Skins, Manner of Dressing 62 Defeat of the Attempt to bond Skane- ateles in behalf of a Railroad 274 Defeat of the Skaneateles Water Works Company 74 Description of Skaneateles, Earliest Re- corded, by Rev. T. Dwight 247 Description of Skaneateles Village in 1809 84 PAGE. Description of the Village in 1842 296 Description of Village by John J. Thomas in 1830 191 De Zeng - Laphani - Padelford - Roosevelt Property, History of 309 Diefendorf Families in this Town 159 Discovery of the Plate and Description of Skaneateles in 1830 192 Distillery 305 Division of Marcellus 93 Doctor, A Colored 70 Doctor's Handbill 157 Document discovered by the Author.... 431 Draft during the Civil War 339, 347 Drays, Home-Made 90 Dress, Simplicity and Plainness of. ..285, 287 Dryden, Groton, and Moravia Telegraph Company 253 Duel, A Practical Joke no E. Earliest History, The i Earliest Industry in this Town 173 Earliest Recorded Visit to Skaneateles Lake by Missionaries 3 Early History 112 Early History, Various Items 134 Early Merchants 194, 366 Early Physicians and Local History.... 326 Early Pioneers II, 63 Early Recollections of Thaddcus Ed- wards 167 Early Reminiscences 107 Early Settlers 212 Early Settlers before 1803 and before 1815 S3 Early Settlers in Skaneateles 68 Educational Sources and Early Schools. 229 Edwards Family 114 Elections in 1836 91 Elevation of Skaneateles Lake 270 Elm-Tree, The Large 32 Engraving of Skaneateles in 1830 191 Enrolment List of Skaneateles 339 Enrolment of Ablc-Bodicd Men in Town of Skaneateles who were subject to Draft in the Civil War, with their Ages, and List of Drafted Men. ..339, 347 Episcopal Missions 279 Epitaph on Charles Oxley 225 INDEX BJECTS. lACE. Epitaph, Proposed 149 Erie Canal, its Effect on this Town.... 2.24 Evergreen Cemetery 432 Excitement, The First 85 Execution of Louis XVI. and Marie An- toinette. Daniel Ludlow's Account of the 313 Expedition to Australia in 1852 in Search of Gold 216 F. Farmers' Daughters 84 Fences and Buildings 301 Fire Department, Origin of the Village. 332 Fire. Great, in the Village in 1835 184 Fires and Cooking 7 First Baptist Society 285 First Child born of Parents who were Residents of Skaneateles 14 First Cuddeback, The 69 First Events, etc 16 First Industries in Town and Village. Commencing with the Village 168 First National Bank 254 First Organ 320 First Resident of the Village 16 First School 229 First Schoolhousc erected 230 First School taught in this Town 16 First School under St. James' Church.. 230 First Settler of Skaneateles 11, 83 First Steamboat Excursion to the Head of the Lake, with Names of the Party. . 367 First Steamboat on Skaneateles I^kc. . 77 First Yacht 292. 3<59 Fisherman, A Patient 71 Fish, Young, placed in Skaneateles Lake. 223 Flouring-Mills 304. 305 Forest, A 85 Forests, The Original, in this Town.... 86 Foundry and Machine-Shop 304 Fouricrism ^77 "Four Sisters." The First Yacht 292. 369 Fourth of July, 1831. Grand Celebration of <07 Fourth of July, 1832, Celebration of 335 Fourth of July, 1835, Celebration of 117 Fragments of History 78. 79 Friendj, Society of 284 Gardener, .X . R4 General Training Day . . 109 Geology of Skaneateles agg Gin, Legend concerning a Jug of 34 Glimpse of Skaneateles and its Surround- ings in 181 J 165 God's .Vcre 132 Goods, Bill of 117 Goods, Original Bill 01. .31 Graveyard, The First . 88 H. Hamilton and Skaneateles Turnpike. .88, 91 Haunted Tavern, Legend of 309 Headquarters for Emigrating Families.. 13 Historical Collections 247 History, Fragments of 331 History, Local, as elaborated by the Newspaper Press of Syracuse 408 History, Official, of Skaneateles 306 History of the Daniel C. Bobbins Place, now the Mingo Lodge 367 History, The Earliest I " Hive," The, A Quaker School 247 Horses, Use of, in Traveling 30, 1 19 House divided and transported 317 How a Wealthy Citizen was Swerved from his purpose of establishing a Free Public Library in Skaneateles 320 L Illustration of the Uncertainty of Human Life 386 Indian Massacre in Florida 362 Indian Oratory 49 Indian Queen Hotel 238 Indians, Cardiff Giant and the 101 Indians, Missionary Work among 241 Indians, Reception, Addresses, and Re- plies 240 Industries at Mottville, and Below 171 Industries in the Town of Skaneateles Outside of the Village 170 Inside History of I-ake View Cemetery, which has never before been made public 418 Interesting Items 193 INDEX OF SUBJECTS. PAGE. Introduction of Merino Sheep, Early Merchants, and Steamboat Excursions. 362 Inventions by Miner 37. 46 Inventions, Wonderful, of Grant Bram- ble 227 Iroquois Indians. Journey to Philadel- phia 240 J. Journey for Assistance. Woman's 21 Journey through the Wilderness. .\ Woman's Remarkable 30. 120 Judges' Traveling Party 89 K. Kirkland, Dominie, Adventures of 49 Kirkland, Rev. Samuel, Life and Mission- ary Work among the Indians 241 Kisses obtained through Disguise 236 Knocker, The Patent, a Wonderful In- vention 215 L. Ladies' Aid Society during the Civil War. 386 Lafayette, General, Visit of, to Skane- ateles 184 Lake Bank, The 253 Lake House, The 336 Lake, Map of, the Outline of a Female. 138 Lake Surroundings 138 Lake View Cemetery and Skaneateles Lake 258 Lake View Cemetery, Origin of 258 Lake View Cemetery, Its Inside History. 418 Lawyers, The Bible and Shakespeare concerning 448 Legal Experience of E. N. Leslie 408 Legal Fraternity, Author's Adventures with the 440 Legal Right to Criticize 445 Legend of the Haunted Tavern 309 Leonard Family 82 Leslie Memorial Windows 389 Libraries 318 Library Company of 1806 400 Library, established by W. M. Beau- champ 318 Library, Free Public, proposed as a Me- morial 320 Library of Skaneateles and its Sphinx. . . 396 Library of Skaneateles, Presentations to. 401 Library, The First 120 Log Houses 9 Log Storehouse, The First 14 Lord, Dr. H. R., His Report as " Secre- tary of the Navy " 294 Lots laid out by Judge Sanger 85 Ludlow, Daniel, Very Interesting His- tory of 312 Ludlow's Account of the Execution of Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette.... 313 M. Mabbitt's Mills 170 Mail-Carriers and Stage-Coaches, The First Ill Mail Routes, Post Office 29 Mail, The First 83 Mandana 302 Manufactories, etc 302 Marcellus and Skaneateles Organized... 2 Marcellus, Division of 23 Marysville Woolen Factory 304 Matches, Original 7, 370 Medal presented to Red Jacket by George Washington 244 Medicines, Simple 156 Memorial Library, Proposed. . . .320, 401, 405 Memorials in St. James' Church 389 Memorials in the Presbyterian Church. 392 Memorial Tablet of Soldiers and Sailors in St. James' Church 334 Memorial Windows by Leslie 389 Merchants and Mechanics in 1828 128 Merchants in 1813 154 Merchant, The First 15 Meridian Time, Transmission of, by Telegraph 407 Merino Sheep, Introduction of, into the United States 362 Methodist Episcopal Church 286 Methodist Episcopal Church of Mott- ville 288 Military Lot No. 35. owner of 330 Military Lots i Militia 91 Miner, Amos, Remarkable History of. . ^7 Mingo Lodge, History of 367 Ministerial Items 62 Miscellaneous Fragments of Early His- tory 79 INDEX OF SUBJECTS. VACt. Missionaries, Earliest recorded Visit to Skaneatcles Lake by 3 Missionaries, Record of Early 278 Missions, Early, and Relipous Denomi- nations 278 More Pioneers 52 Mott, Lydia P., who conducted a Board- ing School Eighty Years ago 232 Mottville 302, 368 Mottville Burying-Ground 133 Mottville Woolen Mill 304 Mud Lake 393 Municipal Ownership of a Water Plant. . 383 N. Name, Aboriginal, of Skaneatelcs Lake. . 269 Names of Persons who made Purchases up to 1828 compiled 388 Names of Revolutionary Soldiers who were Original Owners of Lands in Town 2 Newspaper Press of Syracuse on Local History 408 Newspapers in Cayuga County, A List of Early 101 Newspaper, The First 108 O. Observations by a Tourist 394 Offhand Sketch of the Village Fifty Years ago 218 Official History of the Village of Skane- atcles 306 Official Stenographer, Adventures with an 449 One Hundred well-known Citizens 38O Opposition to an Incorporated Public Cemetery 255 Organ, The First 320 Owners, Original, of Lards in Town. ... 2 P. Packwoftil Carriage Manufactory 167 Paper-Mills 302, 304, 305 Papers. Valuable Files of Local 333 Peat Bog Speculation 272 Peat, or Muck 370 Peat Speculation, Another 273 Pedlcr, Disappearance of a 309 PACE. Pccnpack Neighborhood, Settlers from.. 212 Pettis House and Henry .Vrnold 78 Physicians, Early, in Vicinity of Village. 326 Pillions 30. 120 Pioneers, Continuation of the History of the as Pioneers, How they came 6, 63 Pioneers, The 9, 63 Pioneer Women 10 Pleasure-Sailboat 394 Pork Point, Origin of Name of 273 Porter Family. Origin of the 116 Potash, Principal Commercial Article.. 173 Potashcrirs and other Manufactures. .15, 144 Pounds. Shillings, and Pence, Official Definition of 8. 214 Preface iii Presbyterian Church 392 Presentations to the Library by the Au- thor 401 Presidents of the Board of Village Trustees 306 Pricct, Early 177 Prices in 1825 227 Propeller Ben Porter 228 " Protest " against " Protracted Meet- ings." and Other Reminiscences 17S Protestant Episcopal Church. .^1 Q. Quaker School, " The Hive " ^47 Quakers, or Society of Friends 284 R Real Estate Values. . Recollections, Business. .Tiio iii\cnti>jns. . iij Recollections. Early, by J. R. Kellogg, a8, 44. 49 Recollections of Mrs. C J. Burnett. Sr. . 67 Recollections of C. J. Burnett, Jr aij Rcro1|ection« of FH Tbrk 93 ■■ " ' .rds 70 .ird».2i3. 367 ■■'■ 35 K.-,-.,r.l-. 1 Mr l'...rlv . 91 Red House i'-. 17 Red Jacket. Address ■' i 244 Red Jacket's Medal 244 Regatta on the I -ike in i860 220 Regattas Fifty Years Ago 293 476 INDEX OF SUBJECTS. PAGE. Relic of History 312 Religious Denominations 278 Revolutionary Soldiers and the Military Lots I Rhoades, S. Porter, Family 52 Rise and Fall of Mercantile and Indu'^- trial Prosperity 173 Roads 87 Roll of Honor of Volunteers during the Civil War 349 Roman Catholic Church 288 Royal Presents to Mrs. Beach 3^7 S. Sash and Blind Factory 304 Sawmill 304 Sayings and Doings of Olden Times, Interesting 70 Schaneateles Religious Society. . .85, 131, 279 Schoolhouse demolished my Sol Foster. . 71 Schoolhouse, First, Erected in the Vil- lage 230 Schoolhouses, Log ID Schools 229 School, The First 229 School, The First, taught in this Town. . 16 Sea Letter by George Washington 137 Select Schools 232 Select School, Subscription for 231 Servants, Old-Time 84 Settlement of Skaneateles, Earliest Ac- tual 63 Settlers, First Actual, in this County. .11, 83 Settlers before 1803 and 1815 53 Shepard Family, History of the 66 Shepard Settlement 66, 167 Sherwood's House 228 Sidewalks, Clearing from Snow and Ice, A Skaneateles Invention 384 Sign of the Indian Queen Tavern 177 Sisters, The Three 142 Situation of Skaneateles 298 Skanadoah, Indian Chief, his Life and Oratory 49 Skaneateles and Marcellus 2 Skaneateles Anti-Slavery Society 361 Skaneateles Community and its Pro- moter, John A. Collins 175 Skaneateles Democrat, The Editor of. . 331 Skaneateles, Description of 35, 302 Skaneateles Educational Society 361 P.-^GE. Skaneateles Falls Methodist Episcopal Church 288 Skaneateles' First Settler 11 Skaneateles High School 231 Skaneateles in 1830 166 Skaneateles Iron Works 251, 302 Skaneateles Lake 166 Skaneateles Lake, Aboriginal Name of. 269 Skaneateles Lake, a Later Description.. 270 Skaneateles Lake Park Company 252 Skaneateles Lake, when first seen by the Pioneers, 1 793 267 Skaneateles Library Association 318 Skaneateles Library Company, The First one here, 1806 120 Skaneateles Library Company, List of Subscribers 127 Skaneateles Library, Presentation to.... 106 Skaneateles Library, Presentations by the Author to 401 Skaneateles Library Sphinx 396 Skaneateles Religious Society. . .85, i^l, 279 Skaneateles Savings-Bank 254 Skaneateles Sketches in 1865 298 Skaneateles, The Ariel's Description of, in 1830 191 Skaneateles Water Works Company 250 Skaneateles Water Works Company, its Inside History, and Decision against. 371, 454 Skaneateles Wood-Working Company. ; 252 Sketch of the Village in 1850 218 Slade's Ferry 202 Smallpox in the Village 218 Snow, How the System of Removing from Sidewalks Originated 384 Snow Storm, A 318 Society of Friends 284 Society of Friends, Plainness of Apparel, 28s, 287 Soldiers and Sailors, Memorial Tablet of. 334 Soldiers and Sailors of Skaneateles who gave up their Lives in the Civil War. . 359 Soldiers in the Late War 358 Soldiers who Originally Owned this Town 2 Soundings of the Lake 138 Spinning- Wheel, Improvement in.... 38, 46 Stage and Passenger-Coach, Original, before Railroads ill INDEX OF sUi-iJiii. /.>. PACE. Stagc-Coaches 29, 259, 273 Stages and Stage-Drivers 117 State Street first opened 231 Steamboat Excursion, First, to the Head of the Lake 367 Steamboat of Fitch on Oillect Pond 147 Steamboat of Roosevelt on the Passaic River 147 Steamboat on Skaneateles Lake, The First 77 St. James' Church 134. 282, 389 Storehouse. The First Log 14 Storj-, .\ Strange / . . 162 Strange, Romantic, and Interesting Story. 162 Subscribers to the Skaneateles Library Company 127 Subscription by Leading Citizens for a Select School 231 Subscription List for a Sexton 89 Subscription to pay for the First Organ for St. James' Church 320 Sunday-School Celebration, 1832 335 Sunday Surprises 367 Supreme Court, U. S., Decision of 454 T. Tavern, .\n Old Log 77 Tavern, Haunted 309 Tavern on Seneca Turnpike 37° Taverns ISS Taverns, Town Meetings held in 308 Teasel, a Skaneateles Industry 248 Teasel Industry, Various Corporations, and Banks 248 "The Last Broadside," Poem 338 "The Maples of Mott Cottage," Poem.. 237 " The Stone Man," Poem 96 Three Sisters, The 142 " Through the Deep Wilderness," Poem. 63 Tinder-Box. Description and Use of the Original 7. 370 Tourist's Observations while passing through the Village 394 Town Meetings, held in Various Tav- erns 308 Town of Skaneateles was bonded for $250,000 in behalf of the New York Western Midland Railroad, and the Fraud was Defeated and by whom 274 Trading- Place, Skaneateles the most .\t- fr.ictivc. in the Nineteenth Century . . 88 I'AGE. Traitor .Vrnuld's Brother a Resident. .78. 112 Traveler on his way to Niagara describes the Village in 1804 247 Traveler's Description of Village of Skaneateles in 1830 166 Trees, Variety of 86 " Trowbridge Girls " 45, 50 Tuition Paid 86 Turnpike, Hamilton and Skaneateles. .88, 91 Two Peculiar Characters 226 U. Uncertainty of Human Life, Illustration of 386 V. Village described 35 Village Plots 8s Village Property rather low in i8ao 228 Volunteers during the Civil War. Roll of Honor 349 W. War of 1812. Incident during the 175 War of 1812, Incident of II3 War of 1812, Repulsing the British dur- ing the 113 Washington. George. Sea Letter by 137 Water-Lime 93 Water Plant, Municipal Ownership. .383. 454 Water Works Company, Decision against. 454 Webster. Daniel. Visit of, to Skane- ateles 183 Wheel-Head Manufactory 9' Who were here in 1803 35 Why has Skaneateles Retrograded? 76 Willow Glen Woolen Mills 30S Woman's Journey for .Xssislance 21 Woman's Remarkable Journey through the Wilderness 30. «» Women of Early Days 10 Wood-Ashes. The F-irlicst Industry.... 173 Y. Yacht. A Notable 294 Yachting. Sketches, and nm.i.il lllvlory. 289 Yacht. The First Re.il .289 Year aooo. In the. . . 407 Years .-Vgo in Yachtinw J04 AUG 27 1902 ,C0fYOEl.T0r,AT0.V. A'.JG. 28 1902 JBRARY OF CONGRESS 014 221 074 5