Class Book. J_Li, Copyright ]^° COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. ^^a^cri,^-,,,^-;, -^.'- l^■'^,- ''.<;",: THE LYDIUS HOUSE, Reproduced from, a dra^vin^ made by Mr. Anger, King's Surveyor, 1732. This house stood at the junction of Fort Edward Creek and Hudson River. ...THE... FORTEDWARDBOOK CONTAINING SOME HISTORICAL SKETCHES WITH ILLUSTRATIONS, AND FAMILY RECORDS. By ROBERT O BASCOM, h MEMBER OF NEW YORK STATE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION, AND OP THE VERMONT HISTORICA.I, SOCIETY. PUBLISHED BY JAMES D. KEATING, Fort Edward, N. Y. 1903, Two CciBicc BfctKiiF^ DtASS '^' XXo, No. Copyrighted, igoj, by James D. Keating. PREFACE. No one can know better, no one can more deej)ly regret, than the author, the defects and omissions of the present vohime. If it has any virtues, they should be ascribed to my esteemed friend, Mr. James D. Keating-, the publisher; except for his encourage- ment, enterprise aud industry, it had never been printed ; its faults, and they are legion, are all my own. Some of them might have been avoided, but most of them are due to reasons impera- tive in their nature. The following pages will be found to contain some historical material never before published. For all that is most valuable the author is indebted to many kind friends, and this indebted- ness the reader will generally find acknowledged throughout the subsequent pages, but to dare to hope that I have always ade- quately expressed my obligations in this regard, would be perhaps to dare too much. The subject, "Fort Edward," furnishes a theme sufficientl}^ attractive for the pen of a "ready writer." That the town has never had a local historian must be a subject of regret. That some day there will be written, and published, a history of Fort Edward that shall be worthy of the name, is the earnest hope of one who now gives to the world some of the huml)le gleanings of an unskilled stroller along a classic highway. R. O. B. Fort Edward, N. Y., Nov. 1, 1903. CONTENTS. PAGB. Introduction . . . . . . . .5 PART L CHAPTER I. The "Great Carrying- Place." Early Eng-lish Expedition to Canada. 1690, 1691. Primeval Fort Edward . . 11 CHAPTER II. Sir William Johnson's Expedition. The Lydius House . 21 CHAPTER III. The Dellius and Lydius Patents . . . . .31 CHAPTER IV. Lot Owners in the Arg3'le Patent ... 35 CHAPTER V. The Story of the Death of Jane McCrea. The McCrea Family 43 CHAPTER VI. Who Killed Jane McCrea? . . . . . . 61 CHAPTER VII. The Jones Family . . . . . . .74 CHAPTER VIII. The Legend of Duncan Campbell .... 80 CHAPTER IX. Diary of Ensign Hay ward of Woodstock, Conn., kept princi- pally at Fort Edward, in 1757 . . . . .89 CHAPTER X. Justice Court in Early Days. List of Jurymen. Some Early Marriages ....... 103 CHAPTER XI. Reminiscences by an Old Resident of Fort Edward , . 109 ^ The Fort Edward Book. chapter xii. Fort Miller. Its Early Settlers. The Duer House. . . 115 CHAPTER XIII. PAGE Taxation and Assessments, including' some of the Principal Tax- payers in Early Days. Supervisors' Unique Records . 133 CHAPTER XIV. Civil List. Supervisors of Arg-yle 1771, down to 1818, when Fort Edward was set off from Argyle. Early Town Meetings 149 CHAPTER XV. Churches — Episcopal, Methodist Episcopal, Presbj'terian, Ro- man Catholic, Baptist ..... 168 CHAPTER XVI. Masonry in Fort Edward. Washington Lodge. Fort Edward Lodge Fort Edward Chapter. Other Fraternal Organ- izations. ....... 197 CHAPTER XVII. Fire Department of Fort Edward .... 220 PART IL Famil}' Records ....... 231 ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS. The Lydius House ..... Frontispiece Jane McCrea House ...... 53 Jane McCrea Memorial ...... 68 Jane McCrea Headstone ...... 73 Duncan Campbell Headstone ..... 80 Outline Map of Fort Edward ..... 12 Outline Map of Argyle Patent . . . . .36 INTRODUCTION. 'Tf^HE town of Fort Edward was erected b\^ an act of the ^^ legislature of the state of New York, April 10, 1818. Prior to that time, the territory now comprised within the limits of the town of Fort Edward was a part of the town of Argyle. The Argyle Patent was granted in 1764, and the terri- tory was thereby incorporated as a township, to be named Argyle. The grant was made to Duncan Reid, gentleman ; Peter Middleton, physician; Archibald Campbell, merchant, of the City of New York; Alexander McNaughton, farmer, of (5range county, and Neil Gillaspie, farmer, of Ulster county, as trustees. The land was deeded by the trustees to the original grantees, 107 in number. This patent is of record at Albany, in Book of Patents, Vol. 4, page 3. The Argyle Patent included not only the present town of Argyle, the northern part of Fort Edward, a small portion of the town of Salem, but also a large part of the present town of Greenwich. The record of the first town meeting of the town of Ar- gyle is dated April 2, 1771, and Duncan CampbeU was the first supervisor (A list of the supervisors from 1771 to 1818 will be found in another place), yet before the Argyle Patent was granted Fort Edward was a place of considerable mil- 1 • itary importance; a fort having been constructed at this place in 1755, which was called Fort Lyman, but the next year the name of the fort was changed to Fort Edward in honor of Prince Edward of the royal family of England. Prior to the construction of Fort Lyman there was an En- 6 The Fort Edward Book. glish settlement at this place which was established by Col- onel John Henry Lydins, as early as 1732. The establish- ment of Colonel Lydius was one of some consequence and the early records constantly abound with references to "Lydius's house," as the place was then called; and as early as 1709 the English had built a stockade here which was called Fort Nicholson. This was, as far as the writer is in- formed, the first English fortification erected at this point, yet because of its geographical location, being situated at the point where the Indian war parties were accustomed to leave the Hudson river and strike across to the head wa- ters of Lake Champlain, in ancient times, what is now called Fort Edward, was known as the "Great Carrying Place." The trail of this "Carrying Place" from Hudson River to Lake Champlain did not difier greath^ in its direction from the course now pursued b}' the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company's railroad between Fort Edward and Whitehall. Whether the country- now under consideration, prior to the advent of the white man, was ever peopled by a race superior in civilization and intelligence to the Iroquois In- dians must apparently remain forever a subject of indefinite conjecture. All of our knowledge of the ancient Indian races that once dwelt here is vague and uncertain. Their dwellings are vanished and even their burial places are un- known. The ploughshare of the husbandman and the spade of the laborer not unfrequently, even to this da^^, uncovers arrow heads of flint, axes, tomahawks, chisels, o-ousfes, pestles for grinding corn, and other implements of the stone age; while now and then some objects of adornment, or, perhaps, even of worship, rudely shaped, but wrought with some skill, are occasionally discovered. The location was clearly marked out and described as early as 1G90 by General Fitz John Winthrop, who marched ihiongh here with an armv of New York and Connecticut Introduction. 7 men on his way to Montreal. In 1745 the settlement of Colonel Lydius was destroyed b}^ the French and Indians under Marin ; and ten years later, in 1755, in the old French and Indian war. General William Johnson was here with a large army, and General Phineas Lyman built the fort, which was afterwards called Fort Edward. Probably the earliest permanent settlement in Fort Ed- ward was that of Nathaniel Gage, who settled in that part of the town near what is now known as Fort Miller, about 1762. Patrick Smyth and James, his brother, in 1764, set- tled in the present village of Fort Edward, and from the timbers of the old fort they erected a house which was afterwards successivel}^ occupied by Schuyler and Burgoyne. This house is no doubt the oldest one in Washington Count3% and is still standing in the lower part of the village, and is commonly known as the "Old Fort House," taking its name from Colonel Abram Forte, who repaired it. During the Revolution, the vicinity of Fort Edward was the scene of much military activity, and the tragic storj' of the death of Jane McCrea, murdered by the Indians on her way to meet her lover in the British army, lends to the lo- cality a romantic interest. To preserve, as far as possible, the history of these stirring times long since past, and to gather together into a convenient form an account of some of the principal events that have occurred here, as well as to present a picture of the locality as it exists today, are the principal objects of this volume. PART I FORT EDWARD, CHAPTER I. THE "GREAT CARRYING PLACE." EARLY ENGLISH EXPEDI- TION TO CANADA. 1690-1691. PRIMEVAL FORT ED- WARD. The causes that led to what is known as "King Wil- liam's War" it is not our purpose here to discuss. It existed, and there was a constant and long continued struggle be- tween the French colonies in Canada and the English colon- ies in New England and New York for the control of this part of our country. In February, 1690, occurred what is known in history as the massa?cre at Schenectady by the French and Indians who came up Lake Champlain to what is now Whitehall, thence up Wood creek to what is now Kingsburv, thence down the valley of Fort Edward creek, to the Hudson river, and thence to Schenectady. The set- tlement there was completely wiped out and such cruelty practiced as to awaken the whole province of New York. Other French and Indian depredations in New England, part of the same campaign against the English settlements, awakened all the English colonies to a sense of their danger, and led to such concert of action among them that in April of that vear the first colonial congress was held in New York bv the several English colonies in America. One of the results of this congress was, that the several colonies under- took to organize an expedition against Canada, both by land and sea. The latter part of this scheme we ma\' dis- miss wath the single observation that it was a failure. 12 The Fort Edward Book. The expedition b J land is of more interest to us for it came here to Fort Edward, and from these early visitors we learn something of what our town was then. This expedition was under the command of Major General Winthrop, a son of Governor Winthrop of Connecticut. General Winthrop says he left Hartford (Conn.) Jul}^ 14, 1690, and in seven days, by a tedious march through an almost impassable wilderness, reached Albany, where he found Captain Joseph Fitch and Captain Johnson's companies from Connecticut; the design against Canada "poorly contrived and little pros- ecuted," and not above 150 men from New^ York, which had undertaken to raise 400 men. Rev. Mr. Walker of Wood- bury, Conn., who came with Winthrop, "to preach to the army," and Mr. Chauncey Chapman, went back on the 29th of July with letters to the governor of Connecticut re- specting "the difficulty of our affairs and increasing of the small pox in the army. " July 30th the three comj^anies of Connecticut men and a company of their Indians marched from Albany. The Dutch companies marched two days before. General Winthrop says: "August 1st, earl}^ in the morn- ing, I followed the army and quartered this night at a place called the Still Water, soe named for that the water passeth soe slowly as not to be discerned, yet at a little distance both above and below is disturbed and rageth as in a great sea, occationed by great rocks and great falls therein." August 2d, he reached a place called "Saraghtoga, " where there was a block house. There he overtook Mr. Wessells, Recorder, of Albany, with some Albau}^ volunteers, and here he received a letter from Peter Schuyler, the maj^or of Albanv, then up in the country- (the vicinit}^ of Whitehall), that "cannoers were making for the army. " Thus far the way had been very good, "onely foure great wading rivers, one of them dangerous both for horse and man. " He sent Captain Nichols to Albany with "some horse," Early English Expedition. 13 to hasten up the "provition." August 3d, they remained at Saratoga. August 4th, he marched to Little Carrying Place (now Fort Miller), "where the water passeth soe vio- lently, by reason of the great falls and rocks, that canoers cannot pass, soe were forced to carry their canooes and pro- vition on their backs a pretty way to a passable part of the river; our course N. by E." "August 5th, the English sol- diers marched with their provition on horses to the Great Carrving Place (now Fort Edward), where we overtook the Dutch compan\^es, carrying their canooes over the Great Carrying Place on their backs, about twelve English miles ; very bad and difficult passing. This hardship the Burgers and Dutch souldiers performed vigoroush^ and without an}^ repining, wch made me think nothing would be difficult for them to performe. Our way this day, a continual swamp, abounding with exceeding tall, white pine, fit to mast any ship. Noe grass for our horses this day ; our course has been north." "August 6th, we marched over tl^e Carrying Place, twelve English myles, and encamped at a branch of the Woodcreke called the Falk (Fork), that leads into the lake, and is accounted part of the lake water, and it constantly payeth its tribute. In this creek canooers pass into the lake called Coders ( Corlears ) — (Champlain). Our way, a contin- ual swamp of stately white pines. From this place horses can pass noe further. Our course this day, east, north east." The next day Governor Winthrop sent thirty horses, under the command of Ensign Tomlinson, back to Saratoga for provisions. He left the main body at the Fork, under Cap- tain Nichols, and taking Captain Fitch and Captain Prentis, with some "musketiers in birch conooes managed by some of the Burgers, and the New England Indians martching by the river side, commanded by Captain Stanton, to the Wood Creke or Houtkill," where he met the mayor of Albany. The next day he had a council of war with the Indians. The day after (August 9) Captain Johnson, who some days 14- The Fort Edward Book. before had been sent to Albany for a further supply of pro- visions, returned with word that no provisions could be ob- tained, and he further brought word that certain Indians who were to join his forces further north could not do so because of the small pox breaking out in' their midst. On the 10th of August General Winthrop got word that the sol- diers he had left at the Fork were taken sick daily. August 11, he asked the mayor of Albany to go about six miles further down the river with some Burgers and Indians, and "to tr}^ if more canooes can be made." He heard that Lieu- tenant Hubbell was sick at the Fork with small pox and others likely to be, and some were sick from other causes ; accordingly he sent the Dutch doctor to see them. By the 13th he found that the bark would not peel and no more canoes could be made, and he had not half enough for the "Christians." On the 15th he decided to abandon the expedition as originally designed, and to send John Schuyler with forty "Christians" and one hundred Indians to try and surprise some of the Canadian settlements. Accordingly, they marched back to the Fork, and, taking the best care they could of Lieutenant Hubbell, they marched to the head of Wood creek and in the evening Lieutenant Hubbell died. "August 16, this morning we buried Lieutenant Hubbell with all the respect wee could. After this seremony we martched over the Great Carving Place, twelve myles, with one of our souldiers sick withe small pox, upon a little frame carved b}^ four souldiers at a tyme." It would appear from this account that General Win- throp, when he left the Hudson at Fort Edward, followed substantially the course of Fort Edward creek. The ground was swamp_y. Had he taken a course up the Fort Edward hill through Sand}' Hill he would have, to some degree, avoided the swamps, but his course lay along the valley of the Fort Edward creek until he came to the Fork, a "branch of Wood Creek," now called the Half Way creek, which The First Buriai.. 15 empties into Wood creek near the site of tlie present village of Fort Ann. Here was his camp and here Lieutenant Hnb- bell was taken sick, and at the head of Wood creek (prob- abh' when the\^ left Wood creek, struck off for Fort Ed- ward)- they buried him, "and no man knoweth his sepul- chre," even unto this day. This was the first recorded bur- ial in the country. "A very good and expert officer" and he was an ancestral relative of the Hubbells who yet reside in our town. But little remains to be said of the expedition We have alread}' seen that in its main purpose it failed. Captain John Schuyler returned from his trip on Septem- ber 2, having killed twelve men and taken fifteen men and four women prisoners, and a few days later General Win- throp returned to Flartford, Conn. There was no settle- ment then at the Great Carrying Place. It was simply a spot on the globe, with no other name or designation. The sturdy white pines which covered the swamps "As the winds against a storm}' ^ky Their giant branches tossed," sang a mournful melodv above Lieutenant Hubbell's lonelv grave. A few dead trees denuded of their bark marked the place where the mayor of Albanj^ had attempted to build canoes, and now and then the mouldy remnant of some cast off camp equipage, a few half covered spots with traces of ashes and charcoal marking the place of soldiers' camp fires. These were all the traces that the white man left here then ; but if the English were not successful they were stubborn and not easily discouraged, for the next year there was another expedition marching up through here on their way to Canada. Major Peter Schuyler's Expedition, 1691. It was in June, 1691, that Major Peter Schuyler, mavor of Albany, a Dutchman, came up this way with some sol- 16 The Fort Edward Book. diers and Indians. They were on their way to Canada to harass the settlement of the French there. Major Schuyler came here from Albany. His journal, from the time he left Albany for a few daj^s, with its odd spelling and misspellino-, may interest some. It runs as follows: "June the 21st, 1691 , we sett out from Albany with our Christians for Can- ida; travelled about twenty-four miles until we came to the still water in the evening. We met about sixty of the River Indians. 24th, we marched to Saraghtoga, sixteen miles distance, and encamped about 2 of the clock afternoone. "25th. We continued at Saraghtoga: foul weather, where we were joyned by 12 Mowhawkes commanded by one Schagavanhoenden. "26th. We marched from thence to the first and second carr\nng place tenne miles distance where we met two River Indians come from hunting with two bears and one deer. "27th. We remained at the second carrying place where we killed to young bears and one deer. "28th. We all marched over to the last carrying place, being 12 miles b\^ land and tenn miles by water, in good health and order, accompanied onU' with 12 of the Schach- ticooke Indians the rest having taryed at the last carrying place to attend their sachems, being sick. The Mohawks also tar\'ed with them." So it appears that at that time the hunting was good here, and bears and deer were plentiful in the great pine forest. The Mohawk Indians had their camp here while their chiefs were sick ; perhaps they had too much English firewater. Just where that camp was we can only con- jecture now ; probably it was not far from where Fort Ed- ward creek empties into the river. The Indians liked to be near their canoes and near the water; besides there was, and is today, a little high ground there, a convenient place for a camp. The deer would come there to eat the hlly pads in the creek, and, no doubt, they went hunting for the bears Major Schuyler's Journal. 17 in the great pine forest that then clothed the hills towards Sandy Hill. The Colonel does not tell us very much more about Fort Edward, but a few more facts from his diary may serve, not only to complete the story of his expedition, but will also help us form our judgment as to these early pioneers, and to understand the conditions under which they lived and labored . To resume the narrative: "June 30th we begun to make canoes; felled several trees that could not be peeled ; in the evening came up to us tenn of these Indians we left at the second carying place and told us the Mohawks we had left there were gone a hunting to the eastward and promised to meet us again at the falls, at the end of Wood Creek." They, no doubt, struck off from Fort Edward through Ar- gyle, Hebron and Granville, following the Granville river down to Wood creek. On July 1st they made eight canoes, "some of seven, eight, ten and twelve men" (I suppose these figures refer to the capacity of the canoes). He "sent Lieut. Abraham Schuyler and Gerryt Lucas to towne (Albany) to see where the Maquase stayed. Three of the Maquase that had parted from us came up in the alternoon and said that they lay about two EngHsh miles to the eastward of us. I sent out two Indians to spy as farr as the Wood Creeke, that returned and saw nothing." He continued to send out "spvs," sometimes they were Indians and sometimes "Chris- tians," and all the time kept building canoes. This work seems to have delayed them because the bark would not peel and in consequence some days they only made one. On July 5th some of the River Indians saw a French Mohawk and shot at him three or four times, apparently without result. Some of the Indians went home, some ran away, and on the 9th of July enough canoes were made for the "Christians." He received some "bisketts" and "pease" from Albany, and on the 15th of July he received a thousand pounds of bread from Albany. By thel7th he had reached Ticonderoga, where he stopped to make more canoes, some having been broken on the 18 The Fort Edward Book. wa}'. He was at Crown Point on the 22d, and had with him there twenty-two Mohawks and sixty-six River In- dians. He says "wee then held a counsil of warr, how to discover Fort Laprarie and to take a prisoner, if possible, and concluded to send out nine men." The next day these men "spyed fyeres" on the eastern shore ol' Lake Champlain — so many that it seemed as if there might be quite an army. He then sent out nine scouts, and if there was an enemy at hand he was resolved "by the Grace of God to withstand them," but nothinor appeared that night ; in the meantime he built a small stone fort, breast high, evidently not intending to trust all the ibrtunes of war to the grace of Providence. They were getting up into French domain by this time (23d) and their spys now and then had an en- counter with the French scouts. On the 30th they left their canoes and wounded in charge of a detachment, and that night they encamped within ten miles of "Leprarie." The Journal continues: "Aug. 1st, we resolved to fall upon the fort. By break of day went to prayers and march- ed." They came to a wind mill near Fort Leprarie when they saw a fire. "The fire was stired three times to cause a flame, which we conceived to be their sign to the Fort." This proved to be the case and the French received them warmly. A sharp fight ensued and after various skirmishes, Schuyler says "we engaged them in the plain ground and fought them fairly until we drove them into their fort in great disorder and took three French prisoners." The French greatU^ exceeded in numbers the forces that Schuyler had. They attempted to cut oft" the retreat of the English to their boats and with such a degree of success that the English had to fight again, "a pretty close, until we made them give away, then drove them by strength of arm 400 paces before us and to say the truth we were all glad to see them retreat." In the melee the three French prisoners attempted to escape and were "knocked on the head by our Primeval Fort Edward. 19 Indians." Scliu\'ler made his escape successfull\' and on Auw. 2nd says "we took our march homewards and found five elks in the way, which refreshed our whole company." On the 9th he arrived at Albany with all his wounded. His forces as stated by him consisted of, "Christians 120, Mo- hawks 80, R. Indians 66." A total of 266 men. He lost in the expedition 21. "Christians 16, Mohawks 6, River In- dians and the wounded in all 25." This arithmetic is a little obscure but it is the best we have. A kind of postscript adds that "6 Christians and Indians thought to be killed are returned" and they all thought they had killed 200 French and Indians. Thus ends the story of the second expedition which passed through here, and from these two journals we draw a picture of our town as it was in 1690 and 1691. It was covered with great white pine trees, a dense swanp in the low lands. On the uplands grew some hard wood trees perhaps, and along the water courses gigantic elms, and on the hill side great white birches, all the haunt of deer and bear. Wolves prowled in the thicket and panthers, for a hundred years then following, crouched in the tangled deeps of the primeval forest. Indians, hardly less wild than the numerous quadrupeds, made it their hunting ground. At night, from the top of some monarch of the forest, the "moping owl did to the moon complain." An eagle nested in the tree tops, perchance, where now the "busy tide of trade and traffic presses." The Hudson rushed and roared over rocks and falls, unfettered in its way to the sea; Fort Edward creek, now almost vanished, was nearly as large then as the Hudson now is in summer time. All east of Broadwa}^ was a vast swamp and in high water the creek, overflowing its banks, washed across into the river where now^ is DeForest's store. Up higher a trout brook came down off the sand hill, through the ravine near Rev. Cicero Barber's house and ran into the river. Above 20 The Fort Edward Book. the Institute was a reedy marsh, the home of wild ducks. The river, on the village side, cut more into the eastern bank, and where the paper mills now are (on the south), where Judge Wait's house and the Presbyterian church now stand, wnth a oood share of the west side of Broadwav, was all river then. The hill from the old canal feeder to the resi- dence of Fred McNaughton was steeper and more abrupt. Now and then an Indian hunting or war party came through here on their way to Lake Champlain. They were armed with bows and arrows, clubs and spears with points of stone. It was the wild home of wild beasts and wilder men. "Unbroken over inarsb and hill The rounding shadow la}', Save where the river cut at will A passage to the day." CHAPTER II. SIR WILLIAM Johnson's expedition, lydius house. While in the north the zealous and adventurous follow- ers of the Lily of France were, with bold hands, advancing the standard of their faith and the banner of their king southward by every practicable avenue; the adherents of St. George's cross, with equal faith, even if with less skilful hands, pressed northward, along the same avenues, seeking to enlarge the realm where their faith should reign and where their king should rule. Of all that great and eventful campaign, only that portion of it can be noticed which was enacted in the immediate vicinity of Fort Edward. August 15, 1755, General William Johnson, writing to Lieutenant Governor Delancy, dates his letter at the "Great Carrying Place" and says, "I arrived here yesterday. This morninor j called a council of war." Continuing, he says, "the troops are not all here yet," but he expects 2,850 men fit to march against Crown Point. The French were in possession there. This army was encamped above and be- low the Fort Edward Creek, and part of it on the Island. Col. Cockroft, with his regiment, had not arrived. He was escorting the bateaux up the river. General Johnson sent thirty wagons from the Carrying Place to Stillwater to lighten the bateaux because the water was so shallow^ there. There was a herd of cattle and a drove of sheep belonging to the army, to furnish fresh meat. For a moment let us look at the council of war: There were present. Major General Johnson, Major Gen- eral Lyman, Colonels Ruggles, Titcomb and Goodrich, Lieutenant Colonels Gilbert, Bagly, Pomero}^ Pitkin, Whit, ney and Cole, and Captain Peter Wraxall, secretary to 22 The Fort Edward Book. General Johnson. General Johnson presided and informed the council that the lieutenant governor of New York had written him that New York would send 400 rein- forcements. General Lyman had a letter from Governor Fitch, of Connecticut, desiring to know if the council thought he should send reinforcements. "Hereupon Gen- eral Johnson put the question: whither the above reinforce- ments should be sent to join the armv v/ith all possible dis- patch and are needful for the good of the present service. Agreed in the affirmative. Nem. Con." They also voted to send to Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire for additional troops. While waiting for reinforcements to arrive the troops were not idle. They were building a road to Lake George, so the army could march and so the bateaux could be drawn over- land from the river to Lake George, upon wdiich to trans- port the army through the lake. Three hundred men were constantly at work building Fort Lyman under the direction of Captain Eyre. In ten days' time the road was in such condition that General Johnson planned to march 1,500 men to Lake George, the heavy artillery and baggage to follow as soon as they could. During these ten days the Lidians began to arrive in small squads. On August 24 there were sixty of them, but that day and the next 200 more were to arrive, and in all 400 Indians were expected. September 3, General Johnson was at Lake George; he had 250 Indians then. There was some trouble between General Johnson and Gov- ernor Shirly, of Massachusetts, about the management of the Indians, and Governor Shirly employed "one Lydius" to go among the red men, to General Johnson's great disgust — the very man the Indians had complained about. General Johnson began to erect a fort at Lake George. There was none there before, not a rod of ground cleared. Before this time Lake George had been called Lake St. Sacrament. Sending Out Scouts. 23 General Johnson changed the name to Lake George in honor of the King of England. September 3, the bateaux had not yet arrived from Fort Lyman. It is not diffi- cult to imagine that it was slow work transporting these bateaux overland to Lake George, and there were 600 of them in all. General Johnson now had 3,100 men, and was expecting more from New England. Sunday evening, Sep- tember 7, some Indian scouts came to General Johnson and informed him that a considerable body of the enemy had marched from South Bay on Lake Champlain towards Fort Lyman. There was onK^ 250 of the New Hampshire troops there under Colonel Blanchard, with five New York" com- panies. A wagoner, named Adams, volunteered to ride to Fort Lyman with the news, and to carry General Johnson's orders to Colonel Blanchard to retire into the fort. About one hour afterwards two Indians and two soldiers set out on the same errand. By midnight the Indians and soldiers returned and said they saw the French about four miles from Fort Ljmian. They were then in Kingsbury. This body of French and Indians were under the command of Baron Dieskeau. The scouts said they heard the report of a gun and heard a man cry out; they thought it was Adams. The next morning Gen. Johnson sent 1,000 men with 200 Indians towards Fort Lyman to intercept the French, either as victors or vanquished. These men were under the com- mand of Col. Williams, and they left Lake George between 8 and 9 o'clock on the morning of September 8th. The night of the 7th Dieskeau had encamped three miles from Fort Lyman. The next morning he wanted to attack the fort. The Indians did not want to ; they did not like to attack a fort where there was cannon. Accordingly he was com- pelled to change his plans and march against the English at Lake George, where they understood there were no fortifica- tions. About 10 o'clock that forenoon Dieskeau, having got word from his scouts of the movements of Col. Williams, 24 The Fort Edward Book. laid plans to ambush the English; his plans were successful. This engagement occurred near the spot where the Williams monument now stands on the road from Glens Falls to Lake George. Near this place Col. Williams fell. The firing was heard at Lake George, and" directly the Indians and men began to return from the field of action to the camp. A bloody and fierce engagement ensued, and only its re- sult can be stated. The French were repulsed; Dieskeau was wounded and taken prisoner. Gen. Johnson was wounded also, after which Gen. Lyman commanded. About 8 o'clock on the evening of the 8th, 120 men from New Hampshire and 90 men from New York set out from Fort Lyman to re- inforce Gen. Johnson. This party was under command of Capt. McGinnis. They fell in with a party of between 300 and 400 of the French and Indians, who were scalping the men killed in the engagement with Col. Williams in the morning. A severe engagement ensued, the French being finally driven from the field. Dieskeau told Gen. Johnson that he had on the morning of the 8th, 200 grenadiers, 800 Canadians and 700 Indians. His aid de camp said they had about 2,000 men. Some of the prisoners said thc}^ had 2,300 men. The English estimated the loss of the French at between 500 and 600 men. Thc}^ took 30 prisoners and 70 scalps, and on the 9th, when Gen. Johnson wrote his report, there was a large number of French and Indians unscalped. The English loss was about ISOmen killed and 60 wounded; missing several. Of the officers they lost Col. Williams, Col. Titcomb, Maj. Ashley, Capts. Ingersoll, Porter and Farrell, a brother-in-law of Gen. Johnson, Stoddard, McGinnis, Stevens, the last four being Indian officers. Hendrick, the crreat Mohawk chief, was killed in the same engagement in which Col. Williams fell. The English Indians said they lost about fortv men killed. The English and French reports of the engagement differ greatly, but the grand results cannot be obscured. The English triumphed, and the star of French Notes on The Expedition. 25 dominion in the New World was fast hastening to its set- ting.^ Notes From Various Sources. Dieskeau wrote Commissar}^ Doreil August 16th, 1755, from Montreal, "I start in a moment for Fort Frederick (Crown Point) to place myself at the head of a body of about 3,000 men to meet an English force of 4,500 men, whose design is to seize Forts Frederick, St. John, Chambly, and afterwards advance as far as Alontreal. I shall try, however, to mar this plan." ^ The Chevalier de Montreuil writing to Count d'Argenson under the same date, says that 3,000 English are coming to besiege Fort St. Frederick. That Vaudreuil in consequence sends thither 1,800 men and 400 Indians. Dieskeau puts himself at their head. His intention is to attack the Eng- lish near Lake St. Sacrament. "I am going to join him * ^ * I am much attached to him. He appears tome to be a very good general and aver\^ excellent soldier." Dieskeau on the 14th of September, 1755, after he was taken prisoner and while in the English camp at Lake George, wrote to Count d'Argenson, saying the Indians had been treacherous to the French, and that on the 27th of August, a Canadian scout informed him that there were 3,000 English at Lydius House (Fort Edward) where they were constructing a fort that was pretty well advanced ; that he immediately resolved to advance, and upon doing so an Indian, who had been scouting, brought in an English prisoner who said that the body of the English army had moved from Lj'dius and that there was only 500 men left there to finish the fort; that 2,400 men were expected, who were to march to Lake St. Sacrament and build a fort there. On hearing this Dieskeau determined to take a picked force 1 Doc. Hist. Vol. 2, 678 to 695, 2 COl. Hist. Vol, 10. 26 The Fort Edward Book. and by rapid marches surprise Fort Lydius and capture the 500 men encamped there without its walls. He says, "My force consisted of 600 Indians, 600 Canadians, and 200 Reg- ulars." It will be noticed that in this account he places the number of his men at something less than in his account to General Johnson. Dieskeau says, "The Iroquois refused point blank to attack the fort," but discovering that he was determined to do so, they apparenth' acquiesced and at once set out taking the lead. His plan was to reach the fort by nightfall and at once attack it. The Indians misled him, so that by nightfall, he was a league from the fort. "A Cour- ier" (Adams) was then killed, whose dispatches were brought to me, and some prisoners that were brought in gave intel- ligence that about 3,000 English were encamped near there." The question as to which fort they should attack was left to the Iroquois and they decided to make the at- tack at Lake St. Sacrament. The next day after a march of about 15 miles, about 10 o'clock on the morning of the 8th of September, a scout informed him that a large body of men were marching from the Lake to the Fort (This was Colonel William's force). He at once ordered the Indians to throw themselves into the woods "to allow the enemy to pass, so as to attack them in the rear, whilst the grenadiers took them in the flank, and I should wait for them in front with the i-egular troops." He complained of the treachery of the Indians ; that thev did not join in the attack; that he, with the regulars, pursued the English into camp and at- tacked them there; that the regulars were killed, almost to a man, and he was knocked down bv three shots, while a fourth passing through both hips perforated the bladder. He says he received everv attention from General Johnson to be expected "from a brave man full of honor ai'id feeling." M. de Yaudreuil in a letter to M. de Machoult, written on the 25th of September, 1755, says, that the garrison at Fort Frederick consisted of 3,573 men. That Dieskeau "had Notes on the Expedition. 27 information on the l.st of September from scouting parties, that they had seen the English encamped in three divisions in front of L^^dius; that the fort which was erecting there was in an advanced state: that the English were busy cut- ting a road to Lake St. Sacrament Carrying Place, and another to that which leads to the Grand Marais.'' The Great Marsh, or "The Drowned Lands." near Whitehall. Continuing, this narrative says that on the 6th scouts were sent towards Fort Lydius and Lake St. Sacrament. On the 7th, two o'clock in the afternoon, the scouts sent towards Lydius returned and reported that there were about 50 tents outside the fort. By sunset he had reached the Hudson river about three miles from the fort. The next morning a courier was killed and from the dispatches found on him it appeared that General Johnson was warning the command- ant to be on his guard, that the French would attack him during the night. Just then 12 baggage wagons passed on the way to the Lake, and two of the teamsters were taken prisoners, who said there were 4,000 English and 400 In- dians at the Lake. Dieskeau said the more there was "the more of them would he kill," then having dispatched them he would go and take the fort. On the 8th, by break of day, Dieskeau set out for the Lake. Flis troops marched in five columns. He, with regulars on the road, and on either hand a column of grenadiers and Indians, the columns 30 paces apart, the grenadiers and Indians in the woods. Want of space compels the omission of the French account of the at- tack upon Colonel William's troops and the fight at Lake George. It is outside the hmitations set for this work. Dieskeau, wounded, refused to leave the field and com- manded his Aid to leave him. On the retreat, the narrative continues, the Canadians and Indians "having followed the high road fell into an ambush laid by the English, who had come from Fort Lydius. Many were killed. Baron de Lon- gueuil, who led the Indians, was wounded and was seen no 28 The Fort Edward Book. more. Towards evening a second ambuscade depleted the French ranks. On the 9th they reached their canoes (on Wood Creek). On the 10th they reached Grand Mar ais.'' "My grief," saysVaudreuil, "at the result of this campaign, is inexpressible." He says further, that the English loss was 500 men, besides 120 Indians, among whom was "White Head, a great Mohawk Chief" (Hendrick). The Indians rifled him and found on his person a commission from the KingofEngland appointing him "General Sachem." The In- dians also brought in 20 commissions taken from the dead. The French lost 100 killed, 130 wounded. A Description of Fort Lydius in 1755. An account of the works at Fort Lydius, abstracted from the accounts of the evidence of two prisoners taken from the English by the French and examined before M. de Vaudreuil and annexed to his report September 25th, 1755 : "What they are building at Lidius are called storehouses; an entrepot and not a fort. This depot is in this form : "This house has an enclosure. formed by a ditch 14 feet wide and eight deep. The earth from the ditch is thrown up towards the Fort and on the embankment pickets 12 feet high are set up, inclining outwards, that is to say, fraised. The ditch does not continue on the river. There are onl\' pickets on that side. * * * there are two gates on the river side, and one small one at the north * * * the house is at the extremity of the inclosure in the angle formed by the river and another small stream (Fort Edward Creek). Fort Lydius. 29 It is constructed of square timber, one piece on the other. * * * Eight cannon are in the field at the Fort, within seven or eight paces of the inclosure, but one is mounted at the little gate leading towards the north, in which vicinity they are excavating a passage which will open in the rear * * * Within the inclosure are 24 or 25 mortars, placed in regular order mounted on carriages. The shot and shell are between the house and the pickets on the river side. The powder is on the opposite side in a store. The 500 men at the Fort are all outside; within there is only one sentinel, in a sentry box, opposite the little gate. There is plenty of bis- cuits, pork and rum, but only a few beeves. There are no Dutch among the troops. There are 20 wagoners and 200 two horse teams, and some often for the transportation of the artillery, which was brought by land." The prisoner who gave some of the account of the forti- fication of Fort Lydius was taken by some Abenakis Indians, about the 29th or 30th of August, a short league from the Fort. In this account Lydius House and Fort Lydius are the terms constantly employed in speaking of Fort Edward. He says, there are between 500 and 600 men at the Fort for the purpose of guarding and finishing it. 250 of them are workmen. 'Tis an intrenchment flanked a redan about 600 feet long and 800 feet wide, with 10 or 12 redans in its con- tour, of different dimensions, from 80 to 150 feet from point to point. The rampart, 17 feet high, on the ditch side follow- ing the natural slope of the ground, and from 10 to 12 feet thick on top. The foot of the rampart fraised by pickets ten feet above the ground, so inclined as to form an angle of about 60 degrees with the bottom of the ditch. The ditch, 10 to 12 feet wide at the bottom. The counterscarp eight feet high. The rampart and ditch are only on the land and creek side. On the river side there are only pickets 15 feet high, and not yet completed though the army has been at work on them for more than a month. The garrison of from 500 30 The Fort Edward Book. to 600 men is still encamped outside. They were not to en- ter until the work was done. There was then finished a storehouse, guard house, powder magazine, hospital and wash house. Several huts were to be built. The cannon were not in battery, except to defend the gate; the others were outside the gate. They had eight brass pieces, eight and ten pounders; 25 thirtj^-two and forties of iron were ex- pected. There were about 20 mortars and a great many shells from 6 to 12 inches in diameter. Beeves are rarely killed, but when they slaughter, the soldiers as well as the officers get a share. There are 400 batteaux along the river, of a capacity of from four to 20 raen.^ 1 Col. Hist. N. Y., Vol. 10, 333. CHAPTER III. THE DELLIUS AND LYDIUS PATENTS. The Dellius Patent was the earHest grant of lands that included what is now Fort Edward. It was so called from the name of the orantee, Rev. Godefridus Dellius, the "Dutch Minister"! at Albany. It would appear from the records of an extraordinary court held at Albany, August 6, 1683, that the Rev. Godefridus Dellius arrived in that city on August 2nd, of that year, pur- suant to the request of that court to the Venerable Classis of Amsterdam. 2 It seems that he was an assistant to one Dom. Schaets, of Albany, and that according to the terms of his contract, dated the 20th of July, 1682, he came for the term of four years; beginning "as soon as the ship on which he would leave Amsterdam had gone to sea, outside Texel." His salary was to be 800 guilders a year, payable in beaver skins at 8 guilders each, or 600 skepels of wheat, at his op- tion, besides a free house. Now Dellius having his full share of the spirit ot thrift, so abundant in those days, in conse- quence of having missed the first ship on which he should have sailed, stipulated that his term should commence on the day when he intended to sail, August 15, 1682, and end onthatday, 1686, while the agents of the wealthy commis- saries of Albany, with like thrift, stipulated that his salary should not commence until he actually did sail with Skipper Jan Gorter. It was further agreed that if the dominie should marry he was to receive 100 guilders in beavers more, and if Dom. Schaets should die, then Dellius was to have the same salary he had, and the reverend gentleman experiencing 1 Macauley, Vol. 2, Py. 411. 2 Doc. Hist., Vol. 3, Pff. 887. 32 The Fort Edward Book. some uneasiness about beaver skins forhispaj', which he was not overly acquainted with — on the 13th of August, 1683, it was determined that he should enjoy yearh^ the sum of 600 guilders, Holland currency, paj^able in pieces of eight at 48 stivers each, or in merchantable beavers, counted at two pieces of eight each, payable quarterly, on condition that if Dom. Schaets should grow feeble or die, Dellius was to per- form the whole duty, and if the magistrates should agree with the people at Schenectady then he was to take his turn with Dom. Schaets, once a month or so, and "edify said con- gregation" there without additional charge. The worthy commissaries also sent a message of thanks to their agents in Holland "for the trouble they have taken in finding out the Rev. pious and learned Dom. Godefridus Dellius, who ar- rived here on the second instant, to the great joy of every one, and whose preaching was heard with the greatest sat- isfaction and contentment." In 1685 the Dom. Dellius said he had a call to go home, and he resigned his pastorate. The court did not like this action and refused to give him a demit, "it being contrarv to the will and inclination of the congregation," so he concluded to remain a while longer. This brief account of Dellius is given to afford some insight into the character of the man. On September 3, 1696,^ he obtained from Governor Benjamin Fletcher a patent to all that tract of land commencing at the northern boundar\^ of Saratoga and extending northerlv to Rock Rossian (called by the French Rochi Fender), now known as Split Rock, in the present town of Essex. It lay on the ea.st side of the Hudson, is said to have been seventv miles long and twelve miles wide;^ if so it contained 537,600 acres of land. The Earl of Bellomont at one time understood this grant to contain about 900,000 acres upon a report that it was 86 miles long and 16 miles broad. This, however, was a guess, 1 Holden, Py. 449. 2lMacaulejs Vol. 2, Pjjt. 411. The Dellius and Lydius Patents 33 and the Earl says, ^some Dutch who have traveled that way assure him that they judge it to be 25 miles wide, and if so, it would contaiii 1,376,000 acres; it extended on both sides of Lake Champlain, "a prodigious tract of countrv to grant away to a stranger that has not a child, that's not deni- zened, and in word a man that has not any sort of virtue or merit" says Bellomont. Therent reserved was 100 raccoon skins per annum. This grant was, in consequence of the ef- forts of Bellomont, cancelled by the assembly in 1699.2 Smith, in his History of New York, says it was fraudulently ob- ■ tained and a careful reading of the depositions of the Indians who were examined in relation to it, will lead the candid reader to concur in this judgment. Dellius spoke the Huron language and had considerable address, but appears not to have been as discreet in his intercourse with the Indians and others as so "pious and learned" a man should be. He was deposed by the Reformed Dutch church of Albanv, May 12, 1699,^ for irregular practices in obtaining land grants. y^ In 1700 there was not a Christian resident on this grant. ^ The territory embraced in this grant included almost all of what is now Washington, Warren and Essex counties. Af- ter the cancellation of the patent, Dellius still continued to claim to be the owner. He returned to Holland, and many books say that he transferred his rights to the Rev. John Lydius, who was the minister of the Dutch church at Albany from July 20, 1700, until his death, March, 1709. ^ His son, Colonel John Henry Lydius, is said to have continued his father's labors among the Mohawk Indians and to have ob- tained from them, on February 1, 1732, deeds of two tracts of land lying on Otter Creek (in Vt.,) and Wood Creek (in Washington county), described as follows: "Beginning at 1 Documents, Vol. 4, Pg-. 826. 2 Macauley, Vol. 2, Pg-. 411. 3 Munsill's Annals of Albany, Vol. 1, Pg-s. 82, 89, 95. 4 Documents, Vol. 4, Pg. 883. 5 Munsill's Annals, Vol. 1, Pg. 95. 34 The Fort Edward Book. the mouth of Otter Creek, where it empties into Lake Cham- plain, and runs easterly six Dutch miles (six Dutch miles was equal to four English miles), then runs southerly to the up- permost falls on Otter Creek (Rutland), being about fifteen Dutch miles, be the same more or less, then westerly six Dutch miles and thence northerly to the place of beginning. The other on Wood Creek, beginning two and a half Dutch miles due north of the place called Kingscjuaghtsnock (the portage between Wood Creek and F'ort Edward Creek, near Moss Street, in Kingsbury )i to the lalls on Wood Creek, and thence runs westerl\^ to the falls on Hudson river, going to Lake St. Sacrament; thence down said river four Dutch miles; thence southerl}^ five Dutch miles, and thence north- erlv to the place of beginning." (The curious are recom- mended to attempt to lay out these lands on maps of the present day). Lydius claimed that his Lidian title was confirmed by Governor Shirly of Massachusetts; if this was true, the evidence of it seems to have been lost, but cer- tain it is that his claims extended to immense tracts of land in this locality and his establishment here was, no doubt, the first settlement within the bounds of what is now the tov^^n of Fort Edward. Some of the early set- tlers here bought lands of Lydius and afterwards had to buy over again. In old deeds Lower Broadway was called L^^dius street, and the Durkees among our earlier settlers bought lands of Lj'dius, and the given name Lydius, still extant in our town, is a memento of Col. John Henry Lydius. 1 Evans' Analysis, Pg. 19. CHAPTER IV. LOT OWNERS IN THE ARGYLE PATENT. The following list of names of the original farm lot own- ers of the Argyle Patent is principally made from the orig- inal parchment map of the patent, now in possession of Mr. Donald Reid, of Argyle. This map is indorsed as follows: "Diagram of Argyle Township, granted to 107 persons; Emigrants from Scotland, with Captain Laughlin Campbell, in the years 1738-1739 and 1740, and surveyed in the year 1762 by Messrs. Arch. Campbell and Christopher Yates." The patent contained 142 farm lots, of which one of 500 acres was set apart for the "Minister and Schoolmaster" (The Glebe), the remainder are numbered from one to 141. There were also 142 "town lots" corresponding in number with the "farm lots." The town lots were one tenth the size of the farm lots, i. e., if the farm lot contained 250 acres the corresponding town lot contained twenty-five acres; sev- enty-one town lots were laid out on either side of the "Street." This street ran from east to w^est, through the center of the town. It was twenty-four rods wide, and it was designed that the settlers should build their residences on the street while their farming domains were to lie in the rear. This scheme, it is needless to say, was never carried out in all its original glory, although a trace of it is yet to be found in the east and west road in the town of Argvle, which is still called the "Street." That the original scheme was not developed as contemplated, was due probably to certain natural obstacles in the way of hills approaching to the magnitude of mountains, and some of the town lots\vere, doubtless, uninhabitable. The farm lots were not regularly numbered throughout the town. Seventy-three farm lots 36 The Fort Edward Book, were situate on the south side of the "Street." Of the farm lots, the ten following were afterwards set off in the town of Fort Edward, when it was organized, viz: 128, 129, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141. These lots extend from the Hudson river to the eastern boundary of the town, and include all the northern part of the town of Fort Edward, ex- tending as far south as the southern boundary line of farm lot 141, which line is said to be situate between the present (1902) residence of Ur. G. R. Ball and that of Hon. Edgar Hull, on Broadway, in the village of Fort Edw^ard. Northward is lot 141, extending to about the present residence of A. C. Hodgman. North of this lie lots 140-139 and 138, which last reaches to the Kingsbury line; these four lots compre- hending 1,350 acres, border on the Hudson river and have their greatest extent from east to west. The remaining six lots have their greatest extent from north to south. Three of these six farm lots border on Kingsbury and are num- bered, beginning at the east, 128, 134, 137; lot No. 128 bordering on both Argyle and Kingsbury. South of this tier are three other lots numbered 129, 136, 135; lot 129 bordering on Argyle; these six lots comprehended 1,800 acres. Lots 14 L, 136, 135 and a part of 129 are bounded on the south by the Bayard Patent; lot 129 being bounded on the south byBa3^ard's and Schuyler's Patent. In examining the map it must be borne in mind that the figures indicating the number of acres in each farm lot include not only the farm lot but also the area of the corresponding street lot as well, i. e. : Farm lot 141, ot David Torry, is marked as con- taining 300 acres, but they were in two parcels, one of 270 acres in the farm, and one of 30 acres on the "Street ;" hence, it will be seen that the ten farm lots in the town of Fort Ed- ward, while nominally containing 3,150 acres really con- tained but 2,835 acres, the remaining 315 acres being on the "Street." But few of the "Street" lots were claimed or occupied by the original grantees, and in time they were squatted OUTLINE MAP OF ARGYLE PATENT, with names of the Lot Owners, now first pnblished from the orig-intil survey, made in 1764 by Archibald Caniv>bell and Christopher Yates. The Argyle Patent. 37 upon and conveyed by means of quit-claim deeds, and even to this day, in the conversance of lands on what is still called the "Street lots," it is customary to except them from the covenants of warranty. The ten lots in the present town of Fort Edward and originally part of Argyle were: No. of Lot. Name of Owner. No. of Acres. 128 Duncan Shaw 300 129 Alexander McDougall 350 134 John McArthur 300 135 John Mclntyre 350 136 Catherine Mclltender 250 137 Mary Hammel 250 138 Duncan Gilchrist 500 139 John Mclntyre 350 140 Mary McLeod 250 141 David Torry 300 The farm lots were deeded to the owners by the five trustees of the Argyle Patent. These trustees were Duncan Reid, of the City of New York, gentleman; Peter Middleton, of the City of New York, physician; Archibald Campbell, City of New York, merchant; Alexander McNaughton, farmer; Neil Gillaspie, farmer. The original deeds are on parchment, and few, if any of them, were ever recorded in the clerk's office. Names of grantees on the south side of the "Street" : No. of Lot. Name of Owner. No. of Acres. 1 Catherine Campbell 250 2 Elizabeth Cargill 250 3 Allan McDonald 300 4 Neil Gihaspie 450 5 Mary Campbell 350 6 Duncan McKernan 350 7 Ann McArthur 250 38 The Fort Edward Book. No. of Lot. Name of Owner. No. of Acres. 8 *Mary McGowne :^00 9 Catherine McLean 10 Mary Anderson, Jun 300 11 Archibald Mcllfender 300 12 Dougall McAlpin 300 13 Daniel Lindsay 250 14 Elizabeth Campbell 300 15 Ann Duffee (McDuffeej 350 16 Donald McDoigall 400 17 Archibald McGowne .300 18 Lienor Thompson 300 19 Duncan McDuftee 20 Duncan Reid 600 21 John McDuffee 250 22 Dougall McCaller 550 23 Daniel Johnston 350 24 Archibald Campbell 250 25 William Hunter 300 26 Duncan Campbell, 3rd 300 27 ^Elizabeth Eraser 200 28 *Alexander Campbell 350 Minister and Schoolmaster 500 29^ Daniel Clark 350 30^ Angus McDougall 300 31p- Donald McLitvre 350 32^ Alexander McNachton 600 33^ John McCore 300 34o- WilHam Eraser 350 35o- Mary Campbell 250 36^ Duncan Campbell. Sen 450 37^'- Niel McPhaden 300 38o- Mary Torry 250 * Not on the orig-inal map. "• Lots now in Greenwich. The Argyle Patent. 39 No. of Lot. Name of Owner. No. of Acres. 39g Maroaret McAllister 250 40^ Robert Campbell, Jr 450 41^ Catherine Shaw 250 42^ John McGuire 400 43^ Elizabeth Campbell (McNiel) 300 44^ Duncan McArthur 450 45 John Torrey 300 46 *Malcom Campbell 300 47 Florena McKenzie 200 48 *John McKenzie 300 49 *Jane Cargill 250 50o- John McGownan, Sr 300 51^ Charles McArthur 350 52^ Duncan McPhaden 300 53^ Roger Read 300 54^ JohnMcCarter 300 55^ Ann Campbell 300 56o- Archibald McCoUum 350 57g Alexander McArthur 250 5«^ Alexander McDonald 250 ■ 59^ John McEuen 500 6i)g *John McDonald 300 61 James McDonald 400 62^ Mary Beton ( Belton) Baine 300 63^ Margaret Cargyle 64^ Niel McEachern 450 65^ Hugh Montgomery 300 66^ Isabella Livingston 250 67s Catherine xMcCarter 250 68s Margaret Gilchrist 250 69^ Hannah McEuen 400 Not on the original map. Lots now in Greenwich. Lots now in Salem. 40 The Fort Edward Book. No. of Lot. Name of Owner. No. of Acres. 70g John Read 450 71g Archibald Niven 350 72 Rachel Niven (Nevin) 300 Following" are the names ot the grantees on the north side of the "Street:" 73 James Cargyle 300 74 John Cargyle 300 75 Duncan McDougall 500 76 Alexander Christie 350 77 Alexander Montgomery 600 78 Marian Campbell 250 79 *John Gilchrist 300 80 Angus McDougall 300 81 Duncan McGuire 500 82 Edward McCaller 500 83 Alexander Gilchrist 300 84 Archibald McCollum '..350 85 Archibald McCore 300 86 John McCarter 350 87 Neal Shaw 600 88 Duncan Campbell 300 89 Roger McNiel 300 90 Elizabeth Roy 200 91 James Nutt 200 92 Dougall (Donald) McDuffee 350 93 George Campbell 300 94 Jane Widrow 300 95 John McDougall 400 96 Anna McCart (Archibald McCartee) 300 97 Charles McAllister 300 98 William Graham 300 99 Hugh McDougall 300 ff Lots now in Greenwich. * Not on the orig-inal map. The Argyle Patent. 4-1 No. of Lot. Name of Owner. No. of Acres, 100 James Campbell 300 101 George M cKen zie 400 102 John McCarter 400 103 Margaret McNiel 200 104 Malcom McDuffie 550 105 Florence McVarick 300 106 Archibald McEuen 200 107 Niel McDonald 500 108 James Gillis 500 109 Archibald McDougall 450 110 Marian McEuen 300 111 Patrick McArthur 350 112 John McGowne 250 113 John Shaw, Sen 300 114 Angus Graham 300 115 Edward McCoy 300 116 Duncan Campbell, Jun 300 117 Jennet Ferguson 250 118 Hugh McEloray 200 119 Dougall Thompson 400 120 Mary Graham .300 121 Robert McAlpine 300 122 Duncan Taylor 600 123 Elizabeth Calwell 250 124 William Clark 350 125 Barbara McAllister 300 126 Mary Anderson, Sen 300 127 Donald McMullen 450 128f Duncan Shaw 300 129f Alexander McDougall 350 130 John Shaw, Jun 300 131 *Duncan Lindsay 300 f Lots now in Fort Edward. * Not on the orig-inal map. 42 The Fokt Edward Book. No. of Lot. Name of Owner. No. of Aces. 132 Daniel Shaw.. 350 133 John Campbell 300 134/" John McArthur 350 135f John Mclntyre 350 136f Catherine Mcllfender 250 137r Mary Hammel 250 ISSf Duncan Gilchrist 500 139/ John Mclntyre 300 140/ Mary McLeod 250 141f David Torrv 300 /. Lots now in Fort Edward. Note. Thirty-four of the farm lots or jiarts of the farm lots of the Argryle Patent were set off to the town of Greenwich when that town was organized in 1803; the numbers of the lots, which either entirely or in part were thus set off were numbered 29-44 inclusive, 50 to 50 inclusive, 62 to 71 inclusive. E.xcepting- b7 and 68 in the town of Salem, CHAPTER V. THE STORY OF THE DEATH OF JANE MC CREA. — THE MC CREA FAMILY. The locality where Jane McCrea was killed may well command a moment's consideration. 5 The present village of Fort Edward, comprehending about three thousand souls, is situate on the east bank of the Hudson river, at the junction of the Glens Falls branch of the Delaware & fludson Canal Company's railroad with the main line. To-day the waters of the Hudson are here harnessed to the powerful machinery used in the manufac- ture of newspaper in the gigantic mills of the International Paper Company, and the manufacture of pulp and paper con- stitute the principal industry of the village. To-day the vil- lage supports one National Bank, and five churches exist here. It has two public school buildings and is the seat of the well known Fort Edward Collegiate Institute. The principal thoroughfare is called Broadway, a con- tinuation of the road commonly called the "River Road," which extends from Fort Miller, about eight miles south of Fort Edward, to Sandy Hill, about two miles north of Fort Edward. This street is of some importance in connection with our narrative, and that beautiful village, long known by the unpoetic name of "Sandy Hill," and celebrated in lo- cal annals as the place of "no stated preaching," is also closely connected with some of the incidents of this narra- tive. The principal part of the village of Fort Edward is situ- ate at the foot of a steep hill, called "the Fort Edward Hill," on top of which, to the north, are the "Plains," 44 The Fort Edward Book. and beyond the "Plains," and northerly on the same level is the aforesaid village of Sand}' Hill, at which place to-day va- rious paper products are manufactured under the control of one of those modern contrivances known as the "Bag Trust;" and it also boasts of other gigantic paper mills, which, no doubt, belong to other trusts. A trolley road now connects the villages of Fort Ed- ward, Sandy Hill and Glens Falls, and indeed the trolley ex- tends on northward to Warrensburgh, and southerly to Troy and Alban^^ This trolley line, as it passes through Broadway in Fort Edward, passes directly by the spot where the house of Mrs. McNeil once stood, from whence poor Jennie McCrea went to her death. And it also passes the ancient and traditional "Jane iMcCrea house ;" the spot where she was killed; the place where her bod\' w^as found; the Jane McCrea spring; the monument erected by the Daughters of the American Revolution to mark the lo- cality of her death ; the place where she was first buried ; the place of her second burial, and the cemetery where her re- mains now repose, let us trust, in peace. The old fort in our village stood at the junction of Fort Edward Creek with the Hudson river. Unfortunately the State has neglected to provide for the care or protection of the ruins, and the patriotism of private citizens has not been sufficient to protect it from the hand of the despoiler. In times of high water some portions of the old fort ground are nearlv or quite inaccessible, except by the aid of a boat, al- though formerly there was a picturesque bridge from that part of the village known as "Hoboken" to the old fort grounds. Some three miles south of Fort Edward stands what was once called the "Black House," a famous hostlery in days of yore, and this locality was, in ancient times, known as "Fort Edward Center." Not far from the Black house Jane McCrea was first buried ; afterwards her remains w^ere Killing of Jane McCrea. 45 removed to the old cemetery on the east side of what used to be called "Old Canal Street," in the village of Fort Edward, which street now boasts of the more pretentious name of "State street." In this old cemetery, now largely given over to sumac and alder bushes, and overgrown with briars and rank weeds, where laughing school boys on sum- mer afternoons play hide-and-seek, there once reposed the re- mams of Duncan Campbell oflnverawe, alongside those of many a Revolutionary and Continental soldier, as indeed thereto-day sleeps Mathias Ogden, magistrate, lawyer and first postmaster of P^ort Edward, with Mary, his wife, and other forefathers and mothers of the hamlet. In 1852 the remains of Jane McCrea were exhumed and reburied in the Union cemetery on top of Fort Edward hill, and at this time it is said that some of her bones were stolen and kept as "souvenirs." In the Union cemeterv the thoughtful, loving care of a relative erected a suitable stone above the grave of Jane McCrea to mark the spot and "make it holy ground," but vandals, kin to the Goths that robbed the grave, have chipped and hacked and mutilated the stone that they might carry off in triumph a piece of senseless marble that stood on the ground that covered the remaining unfilched bones that were once a part of Jane McCrea. In recent years the bounty and patriotism of public spir- ited citizens, together with the contributions from the school children in Fort Edward and Sandy Hill, have erected a high and substantial iron fence about the grave to protect the stone from further desecration by modern Goths and vandals. On top of Fort Edward hill is what is called the Jane Mc- Crea spring, and on the west side of Broadway near the spring, stands the monument erected by the Jane McCrea Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and though the celebrated Jane McCrea tree stood near this 46 The Fort Edward Book. spring and near the monument, it is altogether probable that Jane McCrea was killed upon the east side of Broad- way and a little distance to the south of the monument. In the village of Fort Edward, a little way north of where the steam railroad crosses Broadway, stands the house of Albert Y. Pratt, Esq., on the west side of the street. On this lot, no doubt, once stood the real house of Mrs. Mc- Neil from which Jane McCrea started on her illstarred jour- ney. It was a log house, and the last lingering traces of it long since disappeared. I am not unaware that tradition has ascribed the loca- tion of this house of Mrs. McNeil to another spot, namely: that occupied bv the unique residence of the late Dr. Robert Addison Linendoll ; a little way north of the residence of Mr. Pratt, and on the same side of the street. This house has the fame and reputation for being the "Jane McCrea house," and as such its picture has been taken and sold far and wide. And indeed there are those that relate traditions and tell tales that puzzle the judgment and make us doubt but that this last mentioned spot is, in truth, the genuine and Simon pure locality; but the late Judge Hay, who in his da}^ and generation spent much time and care to preserve the history of the past, was very sure that the residence now oc- cupied by Dr. Geo. R. Ball, was built by Major Peter Bailey Tearse; and this location of the McNeil house upon the lot now occupied by Mr. Pratt, accorded with the under- standing of the late Edwin Crane, an old and respected citi- zen of this place, who, while not himself personally ac- quainted with the facts, yet derived his information from those who did remember and had personal knowledge of the situation. Edwin Crane was a man of great carefulness and scrupulous exactness, and many times I have talked the matter over with him and he has pointed out the spot to me where the McNeil house stood, as upon the lands now occupied by Mr, Pratt. Killing of Jane McCrea. 47 It may not be without interest here to note that a few years since, when the Linendoll house was repaired, that quite a number of bullets of considerable apparent antiquity rattled out from under the eaves when the old boards were removed, and up to a few years ago there stood in front of this house, now occupied- by Dr. and Mrs. Ball, a gigantic elm, which Miss C. S. Scovel of Watervliet, told me was set out by Polly Hunter and Major Tearse, after their mar- riage, when they came here to live. This was a family tradition. In the days of the Revolution the street leadmg from the old fort, toward Sandy Hill, did not follow^ the course of the present Broadway; it was farther to the east and crossed East street in the vicinity of where the Catholic church now stands, and united with what is now^ called Burgoyne avenue, on top of the hill. The face of the countrv was somewhat different then from what it is now; marshes have been filled up, and the hills have been cut down; and what is now called the "Fort Edward Hill" was, in ancient days, two hills. On top of the first hill and at the foot of the second one, as the traveler goes north, above what is now called the "Feeder," was an earthwork, and on top of the second hill, on the property where Alfred Case now^ resides, stood a block house, and in the southern part of the village below the fort, was another block house; across the river on the Moreau side was yet another. The exact location of these block houses is perhaps to-day unknown, but thev cer- tainly once existed. There w^as a foot path from the fort in nearly a direct line to the earthworks on top of the first hill ; this foot path ran along the high ground near the bank of the Hudson river. Betw^een the foot path and the main road was a marsh, and the foot path joined the main road b\^ a causeway' not far from the house where Mrs. McNeil lived. The house of Peter Freel, which was called "The Old Baldwin House," stood not far from the present location of 48 The Fort Edward Book. the "Mansion House," better known as the "WilHman House." This house, it is said, stood close under the walls of the old fort. The Jones family lived on the Moreau side of the river, at or near what is now generally known as "The Rogers Place." Other members of this family lived in Kingsbury, and within what may reasonabh^ be called modern times, de- scendants of the Jones famih^ made an unsuccessful effort to recover some part of their ancestral estate, which was con- fiscated toward the close of the Revolution by the United States Government. Farther down the river on the Sara- toga side, and nearly opposite the mouth of the "Moses- kill," was the residence of Colonel John McCrea, some three miles distant from Fort Edward. Jane McCrea at the time of her death was, her tomb- stone says, seventeen years of age. Wilson, in his life of Jane McCrea says she was born about 1757, and Nielson says she was twenty-three years old at the time of her death. While these discrepancies exist as to her age, all accounts aoree that she was more than ordinarilv attractive. She lived with her brother, Colonel John McCrea, at his resi- dence above mentioned, and some accounts say that she was related to Mrs. McNeil. If this be true, the relation- ship is unknown to the writer. She seems to have been well acquainted with Mrs. McNeil and to have freely visited at her house in Fort Edward.. Jane was large of stature and her hair is described as having been of uncommon length and great beautv. Polly Hunter, the granddaughter of Mrs. McNeil, was the companion and associate of Jane McCrea. Jane's mother died while Jane was an infant, and after the death of her father, Jane came to live with her brother, Col- onel John McCrea. General Gates in his letter to General Burgovne says, that "she was a young lady, lovely to the sight, of virtuous character and amiable disposition." Loss- ing describes her as graceful in manners and so intelligent in Killing of Jane McCrea 49 features that she was the favorite of all who knew her. The sexagenary says he was accustomed to see her often, and we may therefore, legitimately infer that she was well known in the locality where she lived, and was generally admired and beloved by those who knew her. Mrs. McNeil was a widow, and in fact she was twice that; her maiden name was Sarah Fraser. She was born in 1722, in Invernesshire, Scotland, and was the daughter of Alexander Fraser, of Balenabe. She married, at the age of seventeen, her first husband, Archibald Campbell. Archi- bald Campbell and Sarah, his wife, had one daughter, Cath- erine Campbell, who married Robert Hunter; the\^ had one daughter, Mary, better known as Polly Hunter. Robert Hunter died in New York, and Mrs. Sarah Fraser Campbell came to this country from Scotland and brought her grand- daughter, Polly Hunter, with her. Mrs. Campbell married second, James McNeil, who died in New York, and I am informed, never came to Fort Edward. Mrs. McNeil either bought or inherited lands in the vicinity of Fort Ed- ward, and came here to reside before the Revolution, and tradition says, that she was cousin to General Fraser, and very likely this was true. Polly Hunter came to Fort Edward with her grand- mother, Mrs. McNeil, and was the associate and companion of Jane McCrea, and it is said that she had been to Argyle on horseback the day before the tragedy and did not re- turn until after the attack on Mrs. McNeil's house. While living at Fort Edward she formed the acquaintance of Ma- jor Peter Bailey Tearse, a young surveyor, then in this part of the country, and to whom she was afterwards mar- ried. Many descendants of this marriage are still to be found in this part of the State. David Jones lived with his mother on the Moreau side of the river as above mentioned. He was loyal to the gov- ernment of England at the time when many of his neigh- 50 The Fort Isdward Book. bors were patriotic rebels, but he does not seem to have been actively identified v^ith the royal cause until the near approach of Burgoyne's army. Tradition's legend, tune and song, surmise, and inference, all unite to say he was the betrothed lover of Jane McCrea. Sure it seems that in and out and through the web and woof of their two lives, there ran the silken thread that, since the flight of time began, has been the token of afiianced hearts. This is the way the rec- ord has been made up, and though perhaps the critic may say the story lacks the proof, yet it is still the way that human minds will understand the circumstances, and human hearts explain them. David Jones became an officer, a lieu- tenant, in the "Royal New Yorkers," attached to Burgoyne's army of invasion, and all accounts agree in ascribing to him high and manly qualities; and the tragic death of Jane Mc- Crea came like a funeral knell to all his hopes and all his aspirations. Peter Freel was one ofthose men whose names are some- times and somehow written on the pages of history and then thev disappear, and no man knoweth whence he came or where he went. He is said to have lived in the "Old Bald- win House" above mentioned, and one account says that Jane McCrea, the night before her death, remained at his house. There was also one Alexander Freel, perhaps a son, perhaps a brother of Peter, who figures in a kind of mysterious man- ner in this tragedv. He is said to have been the bearer of a message from David Jones to Jane McCrea, but this seems doubtful ; and beyond a few distant and mysterious men- tions of these men, who they were and the parts they played in the tragedy, is all unknown. Samuel Standish was a soldier at Fort Edward in the Continental army at the time Jane McCrea was killed. He said that he saw the capture and was present at the death. He was on picket duty that morning on top of the hill. Standish was wounded in the engagement and taken pris- Killing of Jane McCrea. SI oner. He recovered from his injury, was exchanged and af- terwards Hved in Granville, Washington county, N. Y. He was a lineal descendant of the redoubtable Miles Standish, the Puritan captain, and descendants of his are yet living in the west. 4 Lieutenant Van Vechten was in command of a squad of about a dozen of the Patriot array and doing picket duty at the block house on top of Fort Edward hill on the day that Jane McCrea was killed. In the engagement that morning he and five of his men were killed and scalped by the In- dians; four others were wounded. The next da}^ his bodv was found not far from that of Jane McCrea. About 1885 some workmen on top of the Fort Edward hill uncovered a human skeleton in the sandbank in the locality where this skirmish occurred. The skeleton was that of a full grown man, and its condition indicated extreme antiquity. LeLoup was the name of the Indian who tomahawked and scalped Jane McCrea. There has been considerable re- search expended to locate the particular tribe to which he belonged, but without any very satisfactory result. The name signifies "the Wolf," and it seems to have been ap- propriate enough. For all the common affairs of life doubt- less, it is enough to say he was simply an Indian, engaged in Indian warfare. Duluth, was the name of the Indian in command of the party, if there was such a party, that David Jones sent to escort Jane McCrea from the house of Mrs. McNeil to the British camp. Wilson says that there was a tradition that he had white blood in his veins, and from all accounts it is fair to say that he struggled hard to escort Jane in safety to the British camp. It is not the purpose of this work to enter upon any his- tory of Burgoyne's campaign, but a few words seem neces- sary in order to explain the situation at the time of Jane's death. Lieutenant General John Burgoyne at the head of the 52 The Fort Edward Book. English army of invasion had come down from Canada in- tent upon reaching Albany. The army had advanced as far as Moss Street, in the town of Kingsbury. The British camp was at the "Jones farm," on the "Pitch Pine Plains," about ■two miles above Sandy Hill. The patriot army, after the disaster at Ticonderoga, assembled at Fort Edward. Gen- eral Philip Schu3der was in command. Schuyler was shortly after this superseded by General Gates. The patriotic in- habitants of the surrounding country flocked to Fort Ed- ward and to Albany for safety, and to lend a hand in the approaching struggle. The Tories generally joined the army of Burgoyne, or remaining at their homes, relied upon the promises of Burgoyne that they should not be molested. As the British army advanced the Americans prepared to re- treat down the river toward Stillwater. The inhabitants of the country for the most part abandoned their homes and buried their propertv in holes dug in the ground in order to preserve it alike from friend and foe. There is one of these excavations yet to be seen on the road from Fort Edward to what used to be called "Moreau Pond." The progress of the British army toward the south was slow ; the road was rough and, in places, almost impass- able. The day before the McCrea tragedy the Allen family in Argyle were all killed by a band ot Burgoyne's Indians, an incident which has been vividly described by the late Arthur Reed in his "Reminiscences of the Revolution." After the Allen tragedy in Argyle, there was a camp of Royalists upon the large dome shaped island in Cossayuna lake. The country was filled with scouting parties, and with bands of Indians who did not very nicel}^ distinguish between friends or foes. Old Fort Edward was at this time dilapidated and did not afford sufficient protection to war- rant the Americans in making a stand at this place. It does not seem certain that at this time there were more than three dwellings in the present village of Fort Ed- ■:q Killing of Jane McCrea. 53 ward. The McNeil house, the Freel house, and the Old Fort House ; and then there were the three block houses above tnentioned, and on the road toward Sandy Hill there were at least two dwellings, viz : that of Albert Baker and Wil- liam Griffin. We have now seen the situation of the countrv, the posi- tion of the res|)ective armies, and the several persons most prominently identified with the storv of the death of Jane McCrea, and it only remains to relate the events of the trag- edy' as history has recorded them, and as tradition has handed them down to us. In undertaking the relation of this tale, the author is not unaware that it has many difiler- ent versions, each of which has its zealous adhe- rents, and in the discussion that has ensued as to the man- ner of her death, peojile have sometimes lost their temper, and sometimes fancy, imagination and conjecture have sup- planted the apparent facts of history, but the tale as here told is substantially the one which seems to be best authen- ticated by the earliest writers and historians, and it has all the force, if force it may be called, of local tradition, fane McCrea was killed by the Indians. Such is the faith of people. On the 26th of July, 1776, Jane McCrea was at the Baldwin house, and on the morning of the 27th of fuly she proceeded to the residence of Mrs. McNeil. On top of the b^'ort Edward hill, at the block house in the woods. Lieuten- ant Van Vechten, with about a dozen men, became engaged with a band of Indians about 9 o'clock in the morning. Samuel Standish, one of the pickets, saw the Indians ap- proaching and fired, and then fled down the road toward the fort at the foot of the hill; he was intercepted bv three Indians, was wounded, taken prisoner, and removed by them to the top of the hill. Another band of Indians rushed toward the house of Mrs. McNeil. Thev captured her and Jane McCrea and started back up the road toward 54 The Fort Edward Book. the north. They either caught or had with them two horses, and on these horses they attempted to place their prison- ers. Jane McCrea was easily seated, but Mrs. McNeil was old and corpulent, and after one or two unsuccessful efforts to place her on the back of the horse, the Indians gave up the attempt. The horse, with Jane, was led up the road toward the top of the hill by the Indians ; others remained behind urging Mrs. McNeil along; in this manner the two women were separated. In a few moments Jane McCrea reached the spot where Standish was. A group of Indians surrounded her, and an altercation ensued between them. After a few moments discussion one of the Indians, said to be LeLoup, leveled his gun at the young lady and shot her in the breast. As she fell the savage seized her by the hair of the head and, with a yell, tore off her scalp. The savages, in the delirium of rage that followed, stripped her body of its clothing, and, with their accustomed brutality, inflicted upon her lifeless form numerous wounds with the tomahawk and scalping knife; one of these crushed in the skull of the unfor- tunate girl. The Indians, after having despoiled and muti- lated her body, hurried toward the camp, taking Standish with them. This account of the tragedy is substantially that told by Standish himself in his life time to Jared Sparks, the celebrated historian. Mrs. McNeil was hurried forward on foot to Eraser's camp, and when she arrived there she too had been stripped of her clothing, and upon inquiring for General Eraser she was shown into his presence and roundly denounced him for permitting his "rascally Indians" to thus misuse her. The General attempted to supply the deficiencies of her wardrobe from that of some of the ladies attached to his camp, but she was so large that no gar- ments suitable for her could be found, and she was finally clothed in General Eraser's own great coat, until clothing for her could be made. Soon after, among the trophies displayed by the Indians, she saw and recog- Killing of Jane McCrea. 55 nized the scalp of Jane McCrea. No attempt to pursue the Indians or to recover the body of Jane McCrea was made until the next day, when her body, with that of Lieutenant Van Vechten, was found in a small ravine near b}' the McCrea spring, slightly concealed by the brush, and the bodies were removed and buried near the "Black House." Stone, in his "Life of Brant," and in his more recent His- tory of Washington County, has given another and differ- ent version of this story, but the account in the History of Washington County contains so many statements that are palpabh^ wrong, that I am constrained to believe that this eminent and scholarly historian has, unintentionalK% in this particular, fallen into error. Gates, in his letter to Burgoyne, charged that the girl had been murdered by Indians in the employ of the British, and Burgoyne, in his reply, said, "I obliged the Indians to deliver the murderer into my hands." Burgoyne certainly would not have admitted that the Indians attached to his armv were responsible for her death unless the proof was over- whelming to that effect. That she was killed and .scalped by the Indians is not only the declaration of both Gates and Burgoyne, but it accords with the statement of Standish and of Albert Baker, a reputable citizen of Sandy Hill, who also had some personal knowledge of the transaction, and this story accounts for the gun shot wound in the breast and for the condition of the skull when the poor girl's re- mains vv'ere exhumed, and such is the local tradition, even unto this day, in the locality where the catastrophe oc- curred. It is substantially the way Bancroft understood it, and the other versions that have sprung up since the time of the tragedy, are capable of being explained in an en- tirely satisfactory manner without impairing the truthful- ness of the foregoing narrative. Few events in the Revolution attracted greater atten- tion than the death of Jane McCrea, and few^ since that 56 The Fort Edward Book. time have been the occasion of more general notice. A tree which is said to have stood near the spot where her bod}^ was found was, many years since, cut down and manufac- tured into canes and snuff boxes, and it is no uncommon thino- among the old families hereabout to-day, to find in their possession a Jane McCrea cane. The tree was a large pine, and it obtained a place in history by grace of Lossing's "Field Book of the Revolution," which contained a picture of it. The celebrated spring, known as the "Jane McCrea Spring," is still visited by multitudes of people, yearly. The McCrea Family. The father of Jane McCrea was the Rev. James McCrea, ^ a Pi-esbyterian clergyman at Lamington, N. J., where he was ordained August 4th, 1741. He was twice married. His first wife was Mary Graham^ of Lamington. The name of his second wife is unknown. He left seven children by the first wife and five by the second, they were: I. John, who graduated at Princeton, 1762, studied law 1 Rt'v. James McCrea was the son of William McCrea, who was born about 1688, in Scotland. He immigrated to Delaware and was an elder in the White Clay Creek Church, near Newark. He had at least two sons, one of whom became a law3er, and one a minister, the Rev. James, who was born in 1710; he died May 10, 17o9, ajifed 59 j'ears. Rev. James McCrea studied at the Log- Colleg-e, Neshaminej', Pa., and was licensed by the New Brunswick Presbytery, November 7th, 1739, without a certificate from the synod, the Log- Colleg-e and Tennants holding- a certificate to be unnecessary. This heresj' caused the seism in the synod of 1741. He was called to the large circuit of Lenetunk (Lam- ing-ton), Lebanon, Peapecli, Rediiigton and Bethlehem, April 1st, 1740; ordained and in- stalled Aug-ust 4th, 1741, at a yearl_v salary of fortj' pounds, wliich, after eig-ht j'ears of ser- vice, was raised to sixty pounds. The Bethlehem branch became self-supporting about 1747, and the remaining- one hundred families constituted Mr. McCrea's charge until 1766, when he resigned. Rev. James McCrea lived during- this time, and died on a farm of about fifty acres, located on the south bank of the north branch of the river, aliout one and one- half miles from and west of Pluckenin villagre in Somerset county. The quaint house in which he lived, and in which it is said Jane was born, long since disappeared, and a few frag-ments that a neighboring ladj' saved, in memory of Jane, were sold as souvenirs about thirty-five j'ears ag-o, the money beings donated to the Women's Foreign Missionary Societj'. The church records of this jiarish were destroyed in 1S09 and the records of the town were burned in 1844. 2 Marj' Graham was a member of the Tennant church of Free Port, N. J.; she died September 17th, 1753, aged 31 years. Her tombstone is still standing in the old cemetery at Lamington, N. J. The McCrea Family. 57 and was admitted to practice in Alban}^ 17G6, married Eva Beekman. In 1763 he removed to the town of Northumber- land, Saratoga count}', and settled on a farm nearly opposite the mouth of the Moses Kill. He resided here when the Revolutionary war broke out, and October 20th, 1775, he v,'as commissioned as a colonel in the 13th Regiment of Infantry from the Saratoga District of Albany County. It was at this home, in Northumberland, that his sister, Jane, came to reside with him, and it was here she is said to have met with David Jones; from here she went to visit Mrs. McNeil, at Fort Edward, when she was captured by the Indians. Col. McCrea resided at this home until the near approach of Burgoyne's army rendered his further stay dangerous; he then removed to Albany. After the war Col. McCrea returned to his home and resided there until the "great burning" in 1781. His wife died in 1780. After his house was burned, and about 1783, he removed to Salem, N. Y., where he married his second wife, Eleanor, daughter of John McNaughton ; Col. McCrea was clerk of Washington countv from April 16th, 1785 until February 24th, 1797, and it was through his efforts that the County Records that had been carried away by the Tory, Patrick Smyth, were returned to the office. Col. McCrea died at Lisbon, St. Lawrence county, about 1811. His children by his first wife were : Sarah, married Alexander J. Turner of Salem. John, who removed to Delhi, N. Y., was twice married. He died in 1863, leaving three sons and a daughter.^ Mary, who married Aretas M. Hitchcock; they lived at Fort Covington, N. Y., where he died in 1838; she subse- 1 John McCrea, sou of John McCrea, and grandson of Col. John, was born 1788 at Fort Coventry ; died at Potsdam, N. Y., September 23d, 1S72, at the home of his dauffhter, Mrs. Jane McCrea Cox, who was named hi memory of the unfortunate Jane. Mrs. Cox was born May 15th, 1819, and at the date of the last information was still liviujr. 58 The Fort Edward Book. quenth^ removed to Chicago where she died, in 1878, leaving two children, Alexander B. Hitchcock and Mary T., who married Valney G. Hatch, at LaSalle, 111. Maria McCrea, second child of Col. John McCrea, and John B., third child, are said to have both died in infancy. James, fourth child of Col. John McCrea, was a lawyer and settled in Essex county, N. Y.; was surrogate of that county from 1801 to 1807; removed to Ballston Spa and was a member of assembly from that county in 1824 and was one of the county judges, of Saratoga county. He married, 1802, his cousin, Ann McCrea, they removed to Columbus, Ohio, and then to York, Ohio. vShe survived her husband and left one child, Mrs. A. McNeil. Eva McCrea, youngest child of Col. John McCrea by his first wife, married William G. Eraser of Canada, where she went with him to reside. The children of Col. McCrea bv his second wife were: Jane, married a Mr. Cramer; Evelena, Samuel, John Jr., who married Harriet Bronson and had issue; Henry, Harriet, James, Ebenezer and Louisa. H. Mary, oldest daughter of Rev. James McCrea, married, 1760, Rev. John Hanna, of Pittston, N. J., whose school she had attended in a log school house that was just across the river from her father's home. Mary died januarv 18, 1782. Rev. John Hanna was pastor, until his death in 1801, of the Bethlehem Presbyterian church, near Clinton, N. J. They had lour children : James, John, William and Sarah. James and John graduated at Princeton, during the Revolution. Sarah, was adopted by Stephen McCrea; she married a Payne and lived on the farm in Northumber- land, where Col. John McCrea formerly resided. She caused the remains of Jane McCrea to be removed to the Union The McCrea Family. 59 cemetery where they are now buried, and she erected the headstone that marks the final resting place of Jane McCrea. III. William McCrea, third child of Rev. James, married Sarah, daughter of Alexander Gordon, ofBallston; he was lieutenant in the patriot army during the Revolution (12th Albany Regt.). He died in New York city; he had two children, Robert, who died young, and Maria. IV. James McCrea, fourth child of Rev. James McCrea, was a soldier in the patriot army (12th Albany Regt.). He married, 1770, Maria Hoyhing;died at Ballston, 1826. His daughter, Ann, married her cousin, James McCrea, son of Col. John McCrea and Eva Beekman. V. Samuel McCrea was a private in Col. Van Schoon- hovens, 12th Albany regiment, in the Revolution; lived near Ballston, N. Y.; married a daughter of William Sloan, of Lamington, N. J. VI. Jane McCrea, youngest daughter by his first wife, of the Rev. James McCrea, was born at Lamington, N. J., about 1757. After her father's death she came to reside with her brother. Col. John McCrea, who then lived in the town of Northumberland, opposite the mouth of the Moses Kill. The Jones family shortly afterwards settled a few miles north of there on what is now known as the Rogers farm, opposite Fort Edv^^ard. She is said to have been possessed of an amiable disposition, agreeable manners, well formed figure, beautiful face and of a lovable disposition. She became affianced to David Jones, who, during those troubled times espoused the cause of the king, and became an officer in the British army under Burgoyne. She was killed at Fort Edward on Sunday, July 27th, 1777, by the Indians. VII. Stephen McCrea, son of Rev. James McCrea, 60 The Fort Edward Book. was a surgeon in the American army. He married a sister of Col. Henr}^ Rutgers. He adopted as a daugliter, his niece, who afterwards became Sarah Manna Payne. After the Revolution Stephen settled in New York city and, no doubt, died there. VIII. Robert McCrea, eighth child of Rev. James, was a loyalist, and an officer in the Queen's Rangers; after the war he went to England. IX. Philip McCrea was an officer in the Revolution- ary patriot army and was killed in the service by an accidental shot. X. Gilbert McCrea, was a member of Lamington church as late as 1800. No other information. XI. Creighton McCrea, born 1763; died at Bound Brook, N. J., December 10th, 1818; was a loyalist ; after the war he went to England and then to India, afterwards re- turning to New Jersey ; he lived with and made a home for the widow of his brother, William, and her daughter, Maria, who inherited his fortune. XII. Catherine McCrea went to Ohio with her brother, Gilbert, and there married a Mr. McDonald. I am largely indebted to the valuable research of the late Hon. James Gibson of Salem, N. Y., for much of the forego- ing. I should also acknowledge my indebtedness to Dr. Gardner Cox, of Holyoke, Mass. CHAPTER VI. WHO KILLED JANP: MC CREA ? The following article is from the unpublished Mss. of Dr. Asa Fitch, now in the possession of Mr. James Gibson, Jr., of Salem, N. Y. Dr. Fitch in his life time was well known to the people of this county. His character, his reputation, as a careful, painstaking investigator, need no commendation from me. His Mss., entire, is here published in order that all may know the doctor's exact w^ords on this subject of so great interest, not only to the people of this locality but to the world at large, for few events in the history of this or any other nation have attracted more attention than the death of Jane McCrea : "Who killed Jane McCrea? The Indians or the Ameri- cans — a tomahawk or a bullet?" That horrific incident of the War of Inde{jendence, the murder of Jane McCrea by the Indians whom (as I think) her lover had sent to escort her — finely dressed, like a bride on her way to the altar — to him in- the British camp, or more probable to the house of his elder brother, who was residing in the immediate vicinity of the camp, has been re- told in so many ways, and has had every circumstance which imparts a peculiar interest to it so much controverted, that it is difficult to determine which of the accounts is the most authentic. Col. John McCrea, the brother with whom the unfortunate maiden had been residmg, having been a lawyer, professionally skilled in obtaining evidence, judging of its credibility, and giving to every circumstance its due weight, and having also been a person of the first respecta- bility, the clerk of the county, and emp]o3^ed in several other 62 The Fort Edward Book. positions of public trust, it can not be doubted, would know directly or indirectly ever^^ incident of this transaction which could be known — and that his statements in reference to it would probably be as correct and reliable as any we can have. But as he removed, within three or four years, from the neighborhood where the tragedv occurred, to Salem, N. Y., and thirty years later to Lisbon, St. Law- rence county, where he died, the accounts w^hich he gave of this affair are but little known, except locally among his more intimate friends in the places where he resided. Caleb Baker of Sandy Hill, one of the part\^ which went out from the fort and found the bod}^ and who assisted in bringing it in and conveying it next day to its place of interment, was one of the best sources of information on this subject, but, as he resided some three miles distant, and another person "who could tell them every thing about it" was more convenient of access to tourists, history- mongers, newspaper reporters and other penny-a-line visitors in hot haste after material for making a lucrative book or magazine article, and having neither time, taste nor talent for any patient, careful researches, he was but occasionally consulted, and but a few of the published ac- counts have been derived from his statements. Samuel Standish, of North Granville, N. Y., whose state- ment of any fact (his old neighbors assure me) would be perfectly reliable, in his application for a government pension makes oath to his having been an e\^e witness to the murder and scalping of Miss McCrea ; and Dr. Sparks, in his life of Arnold, with unhesitating confidence gives Mr. Standish's version as being the most authentic, yet, after all, I cannot divest myself of doubts respecting it. Mrs. Sarah McNeil, who was captured by the Indians at the same time with Miss McCrea and was taken to the British camp, having subsec|uently long remained a resident of Fort Edward, became the principal person who was Who Killed Jane McCrea? 63 sought after by those who were anxious to know the particulars of this shocking afifair, and most of the published accounts have been derived from her statements. She is thus so much involved in this subject that, I find \\nth regret, it is impossible to avoid speaking of her somewhat freeh^ and in a manner which, perhaps, may not be pleasing to some of her descendants, who have already occupied a most responsible position in society. But to suitably vindicate the truths of history, leaves me no alternative. She was as I have been informed, a corpulent, elderly lady, of a romantic turn of mind, and a great talker, relating everything with much assurance and self confidence. She was, moreover, not a little proud of being so much referred to as oracular authorit}^ on the subject of Miss McCrea's death, and was vain of the reputation of being able to answer every inquiry which could he made in relation to that affair. It is easy to perceive that such a person would soon become weary of iterating and reiterating the same statements, and, on coming to notice how eagerly attentive her hearers became, and how deeply interested if anything was given them as being new and never told before, and that mere surmises and conjectures, which had on reflection been formed in her mind but never till then communicated to anyone, were received with more satisfaction than any other part of her recital, the temptation was strong and to her it was irresistible to interpolate some novelt}^ into each successive rehearsal of the story. And these surmises and conjectures, after a few repetitions, were liable to become wrought into her mind as being authentic facts which she well remembered and had often told before. And thus, as will be seen on comparing the numerous "authentic accounts" which have been derived from her, her statements gradually varied, until the recital as told in her latter years came to be wholly unlike that which she at first was accustomed to give. 64 The Fort Edward Book. When she was advanced to extreme old age a new im- pression became fixed in her mind, nameh% that an examina- tion of the skeleton, at the time that Miss McCrea's remains were exhumed and transferred to the Fort Edward burying ground, had brought to light the fact that she had been shot and had not been killed by a tomahawk, as had often been stated. And she accordingl^v related this as being an important fact which had newly been brought to light, although Mr. Baker's account had already been that he and others in the fort, watching the Indians in their flight, as they were disappearing beyond the top of the hill, heard the report of guns and saw Miss McCrea fall from the horse. Finally, this new item in its turn becoming stale by repe- tition, and some other new gloss to the story being desirable to revive an interest in it, the old lad\% evidently from ruminating upon the supposed new fact that Miss McCrea had assuredlv been shot, hit upon another sensational addition to the tale, and began to report that upon casting the subject over in her mind she thought it was cjuite doubtful whether Miss McCrea had been killed at all by the Indians, as the soldiers at the fort were firing upon them at the time, she thought it was most probable a bullet from their guns that hit and killed her. This was the last brilliant vagary of Mrs. McNeil's feeble imagination — like the flame of the exhausted candle blazing brightly forth just as it is expiring, and hereby this shocking affair, which for so many years had been world renowned for its peculiar atrocit}^, would become dwarfed down into a mere casualty of little more importance than any of the other sad incidents which are of daily occurrence. But this, the last of the hundred and one variations with which Mrs. McNeil's prolific invention has travested this thrilling episode in our country's history, is rejected so decidedly by facts with which every careful reader of the annals of our Revolu- tionary struggle is familiar, that I am astonished to see Who Killed Jane McCrea ? 65 some of the late compilers of historical and biographical works favoring this absurdity and giving it currency in their publications. It attests how very superficial these writers are, and what little weight their names must have a^ authority upon historical subjects. A single statement of Burgoyne's, which is copied in most of our American histories, conclusively shows Miss McCrea to have been slain bv the Indians. Says he "upon the first intelligence of the event, I obliged the Indians to deliver this murderer into my hands." How were they able to do this if Miss McCrea had been killed by a bullet from the American guns? No, the very wretch who had killed her was well known among them and was instantly produced upon Burgoyne's demand. If they had not killed her, would they not one and all have asserted, "it is impossible for us to produce the murderer, she was killed by the guns fired from the fort. Not one of us had any hand in causing her death ? " Upon my asking my esteemed friend. Judge Hay, who firmly beheves Mrs. McNeil was correct, how he accounted for it that the Indians did not thus, with united voice, protest their innocence of the deed with which they were charged, the judge replied, that they undoubtedly did so. But I find no shadow of evidence that they made such a protestation. "They undoubtedly did so (said the judge), but Burgoyne did not credit their statements." That is passing strange! Men are prone to believe what it's for their interest to believe. And Burgoyne more strongly than any other man in the world was interested in believing or pretending to believe that Miss McCrea was killed, not by his Indians but by the Americans, what a load of odium would this, were it so, take from him and the armed force under him, and the cause in which they served, and as he did not believe it, did not even intimate a suspicion that her death had thus been caused, to expect us at this late day to believe it, is expecting- quite too much. 66 The Fort Edward Book. This topic has been brought to my attention and I am led to notice it so particular^, from having recently observed an anonymous article going the rounds of the nev^spaper press, taking Mr. Bancroft to task because, in the volume of his History lately published, he has failed to look upon this incident through the concave lenses of old Mrs. McNeil's spectacles, and has wholly ignored the new light which the writer thinks she has shed upon this subject. And I have just now been perusing a second article in the same strain, published in the first number of the Galaxy for the present year, and subscribed by one of my valued acquaintances and friends, Wm. L. Stone. I may here observe that twenty j^ears ago, the New York State Agricultural societ}^ engaged me in taking an agricultural survc}' of this (Washington) County, in which, among other things, I was required to report the date when the different towns of the county were first settled, and from whence the settlers came, and in investigating this subject I became much interested in the early historical incidents of the countv, and carefully gathered and noted down from the aged people their recollections of the occurrences which here transpired in their youth. Among other topics was this of Jane McCrea's murder. Ever\' circumstance relating to which, I treasured up with the more avidity, from being aware how much many of its incidents were controverted. Of the mass of matter which I accumulated upon this subject, much is so authentic that it is only those who are obstinately opinionated who will fail to be convinced b}^ it. I, of course, have formed pretty decided opinions upon the several incidents of this affair, and after reading it over a second time, I am obliged to say of this report of the "Jane McCrea Tragedy," in the Galaxy, that, unless I have been singularly unfortunate in the conclusions to Vk'hich I had arrived, there is not a statement in the whole commun- ication which is correct, even if a sentence commences with Who Killed Jane McCrea? 67 a truth, the writer, before he comes to a period, invariably manages to weave in some matter which is apocr3^phal, and what are mere inferences and conjectures of the writer are narrated as being authentic and well ascertained facts. A candid, correct writer of history never abuses his readers in this manner — giving them the figments of his own brain as "well established facts." As a proof of what I have said, the following clause may be cited: "The well established fact that Jones had sent Robert Ayers with a letter to Miss McCrea, asking her to visit the British encampment and accompany its commander-in-chief, with his lady guests, on an excursion to Lake George, etc." How does the writer know the contents of that letter? Would he have us infer that the bearer of it w^as such a scroundrel that he pried into it and ascertained and divulged its contents ? And how ridiculous is the idea of Burgoyne's taking his lady guests on pleasure excursions to Lake George ! Did he take them in carriages ? Well, he, it is true, did have gun carriages; yes, and a company of "sappers and miners" to head the train and open a way for it through the woods, and bridge the swamps. And then the fact that Burgoyne was so delayed in opening and making passable the road from Fort Ann, south to Fort Edward, and was so deficient in teams for moving his supplies forward, may be adduced as being "confirmation strong as proof from holy writ," that he did make such excursion, whereby a portion of his force was diverted from the regular service, causing those well known delays and embarrassments. Much of the reasoning in this article is of a character quite similar to this. Now, my information respecting this letter and its bearer is materially different. In mv note book it reads as follows: "Ransom Cook, Esq. of Saratoga Springs, informs me that his father-in-law, Robert Ayers, as he has heard him say many times, was the bearer of a letter from Jones to Jane McCrea. He was 68 The Fort Edward Book. an orphan boy, living at that time with a Tory family, probably in Kingsbury. The letter was brought from the north to this famil\^ and he was requested by his master to take it to Miss McCrea — with many strict instructions and cautions as to the route he was to go and the manner he was to proceed in carrying this letter and delivering it into her hands." Not a word was given me, it appears, respecting the contents of that letter, as would have been, no doubt, if they had been known to Esq. Cook. And as this is the onlv source from which such information could come, we are obliged to regard this "well established fact" as being pureh^ a coinage of the writer's brain. By thus boldly proclaiming them to be well known he evidently designs to forestall all conjectures upon the contents of that letter.. Now, I judge its purport to have been wholly unlike what is stated. I am confident that communication was something to the following eft'ect : "After so long a separation I am most anxious to see you again. As I cannot go to you, you must come to me as soon as it l)ecomes possible. We shall advance to the pine plains (Moss Street) in Kingsbury, on Saturday the 26th, where I can the next day get a horse from Brother John and send down to Mrs. A/TcNeil's to bring you to me, so do not fail of being at Mrs. McNeil's on Sunday forenoon. And shall we ever have a more favorable time than this for our long contemplated marriage? When (instead of some boorish conntrv justice of the i)eace) we can have the accomplished Chaplain P.rudenell t(^ perform the ceremony, with Generals Burgovne and Fraser, "and many a knight and baron bold,' and 'courtlv dames of high degree' to grace our bridal." Now, I am willing to enter the lists with Mr. Stone, or any other person, and show there are more circumstances for believing this to have been the purport of that letter, Marker, erected by Jane McCrea Chapter, D. A. R. near spot Avliere Jane McCrea Avas killed. Who Killed Jane McCeea ? 69 with the safe conveyance of which Mr. Ayers was so strictly charged, than that it was a mere invitation to a pleasure excursion on Lake George. This article in the Galaxy ostentatiously claims to be " The correct version of the Jane McCrea tragedy, gathered from the statement made by Mrs. McNeil to General Bur- goyne on the 28th of July, 1777, in the marquee of her cousin, General Frasier." But it is no such thing. It is the statement given by Mrs. McNeil to Judge Hay some forty years or more after the time mentioned. It is wholly differ- ent from the statement she gave to Burgoyne. That hide- ous ogre, the " Wyandott panther," the "fierce Wyandott," the "ferocious Wyandott," was never once mentioned in her account then — for the very good reason that there vi^as prob- ably no such character among the Indian auxiliaries of the army — it having been, it seems, a Winebago chief, not a Wyandott, that was particularly involved in this murder. One who sat at the same table with Mrs. McNeil during most of the two weeks the army of Burgoyne was encamped at Fort Edward, and heard her repeatedly tell the circum- stances of this affair — for her tongue, he says, was running incessantly upon this subject — and who probably never heard her recital afterward, gave me, I doubt not, the most correct version of her statements at that time, which it is possible to obtain. And on comparing his report with this in the Galaxy, I find they do not correspond in a single par- ticular. I have not time at present to enter into any detailed account of this tragedy and a refutation of the errors of this article. I hope at no distant day, to draw up a full history of this transaction, adducing the evidence on which my opinion respecting each of its incidents is grounded, and which will, I think, relieve much of this subject from the doubts now resting upon it. I must limit myself at this 70 The Fort Edward Book. time to a notice of a single item, that which forms the lead- ing point in Mr. Stone's communications. Both in his newspaper article and in this account in the Galaxy, he is after Mr. Bancroft "with a sharp stick," as the saying is, for the statement he makes in the last volume of his History, that one of the Indians who had charge of Miss McCrea "sunk his tomahawk into the skull" of this unfortunate young woman, whereas, Mr. Stone says Judge Hay writes him that Mrs. McNeil said Dr. Norton told her that he, the said "Doctor William S. Norton, a respectable and very intelligent practitioner of physic and surgery, examined her skull and found no marks whatever of a cut or a gash." Testimony which passes through so many hands be- comes dubious in its character, and the question arises, is Mr. Stone correct in his statement, or is Mr. Bancroft right? Was Miss McCrea killed accidentally by American bullets, as Mr. Stone affirms, or purposely by an Indian tomahawk, as Mr. Bancroft states? In glancing over my manuscript notes, I quite unexpectedly meet with some evidence bearing upon this point — evidence which I had wholly forgotten — not having been aware at the time of writing it down, that this was a mooted subject. I will copy in the words, in which I find them in my notes, the entire statements received from two persons, thinking they will interest the reader, although but a part of the matter bears upon the point in issue. The first is from one of the most candid, honest men in the town, an aged farmer and justice of the peace, who, from infanc\^ had lived within little more than a stone's throw of the spot where Miss McCrea's remains were first interred : "Warren Bell, Esq., informs me (Nov. 19, 1847) that he 'pointed out the exact spot where Miss McCrea was buried, when they came to disinter and remove her remains many years ago, and saw them dig down to her coffin. The coffin Who Killed Jane McCrea? 71 was made with wrought nails three inches long. The bones were in a good state of preservation. There w^as only a little hair about the back part of her head, fine, short and red, like horse hair. (Incipient decay always changes the human hair to the color stated.) Her clothes were all decayed and gone. On the most projecting part of the back of the skull, the bone was fractured and driven in; a portion of it, shaped like an inverted letter V, two inches long, had its apex driven in, its two lower angles holding it in its place. I crowded this depressed apex out into its natural position, as much as I could with my fingers, but could not get it perfectly back. Dr. Norton was present, to examine the skeleton, and can give you a better account of it. The officer, VanVechten (so he is named, I find, by the Fort Edward people generally), who was buried beside her, was also dug down to, and the coflSn opened, to make sure there was no mistake. It was plainly a male skeleton, and thus left no doubt we had got the right remains. Some thought we might find arms of some kind inclosed in his coffin, but there were none.' (Night approaching, I left Esq. Bell, pur- posing to visit him again, and have him go with me to the identical spot whence the bones were taken)." The other statement is that of my old professional neighbor and friend, Dr. Wm. Shepperd Norton, "a reputa- ble and very intelligent practitioner of physic and sur- gery." "Dr. Norton says (evening of Nov. 19, 1846): 'Miss McCrea was disinterred in the year 1823 or '24, in the spring of the year, when flocks of pigeons were coming over; I remember, for Rev. Hooper Gumming was here from Albany some days, and amused himself with hunting them. His address on this occasion, I think, was never published. The leading persons in removing the remains were myself, George Simpson and George R. Barker. The grave was about the usual depth — about four feet. The coffin was 72 The Fort Edward Book. made of white pine boards. My recollection is not very dis- tinct as to the particulars of the skeleton. The bones were of a large size, and this excited a doubt whether we had got the right skeleton, or whether it was a female's skeleton. But upon inquiry, we learned Jenny was of a large frame. I think there was no hair in the coffin — there certainly was not much. The natural color of her hair was black, I have been told. There was a fracture of the skull on the top of the head, about the middle of the sagital suture, taking a portion of both sides of the suture; it was some two or three inches long, quite too large to have been made by a bullet, as I remember was particularly remarked at the time, for the accounts said she had been shot. We thought the fracture had been made by the head of a hatchet. The fractured part, it strikes me, was shivered and prettj^ much decayed.' (Dr. Norton's memory is so vague that I place far less reliance upon it than on Esq. Bell's. The subject had evidently been out of his mind for some time, wherebv he required to pause and reflect before replying to my in- quiries)." P. S. Esq. Bell tells me (July 1, 1848) that Jane McCrea was originally interred exactly under the east corner of the south abutment of the canal bridge over which the turnpike passes, a few rods north of the Black House at Fort Ed- ward Center. The officer at her side was laid west of her, and his remains still lie under the embankment thrown up against the abutment at the point where the earth meets the planking of the bridge — for in digging the canal, no bones were come upon, though the excavation passes within a few feet of the spot where his remains are lying. These two were the only persons ever buried here. The spot was always regarded as sacred, and in plowing the ground, a plot of grass about eight feet square containing these two graves, was aUvays left, their mounds continuing to be per- ceptible until old Sol. Emmons ran his plow over them, he -p O t) Who Killed Jane McCrea? 73 then owning the spot and being the landlord of the Black House the eleven last years of his life. I think, with this testimony, no one will henceforth doubt it was the Indian's tomahawk that dealt the unfortunate Jane McCrea her death blow. From the statements of Mr. Baker and Mr. Standish, I suppose she was first shot and fell from the horse, and being still alive, was dispatched with a tomahawk. Mrs. McNeil, it is evident, remembered that the skeleton had furnished important evidence, but mis- remembered what the evidence was ; and one mistake fur- nishing to her a stepping stone to another, the public for nearly a score of years, has been plied to receive as authen- tic, historical truths, what are the mere vagaries of a garru- lous old woman's dotasfe. CHAPTER VII. THE JONES FAMILY. This family is of Welsh descent, and one or more mem- bers of it settled in America some time before the Revolution of 1776-83. A descendant whose first name is not known, and who was one of twenty-one sons, married Sarah Dun- ham. At or before the commencement of the Revolutionary War, she had become a widow. At one time the family resided on the Rogers farm opposite Fort Edward, and Mrs. Jones also resided with her son, Daniel, in the town of Kingsbury, and removed thence to Canada after her son had gone there. In Upper Canada she lived with her son, Dr. Solomon Jones, on the north side of the St. Lawrence river, a few miles from Ogdensburg, N. Y., and is said to have died in 1806. The widow, Sarah Jones, had seven sons and two daughters. The eldest son, Jonathan, was a Captain of Engineers in a Provincial corps during the war, and after its close, re- ceived half pay. He removed to Nova Scotia, and died there at a good old age.^ The second son, John, was a captain in the "Royal New Yorkers" in the British service, and after his retirement from it, received half pay. He married a sister of General Trotter, of Albany, and settled in Upper Canada in the Township of Augusta, and resided there until the time of his death. The third son, Daniel, was the only one who did not serve in the King's army, He owned lands in Kingsbury and Oueensbury — over 2,000 acres — and resided in the former 1 Jonathan settled at Baddeck, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. His son, William, served with the British in war of 1812-14, and was with General Brock at taking' of Detroit. A descendant is, I believe, still living' in Nova Scotia. The Jones Family. 75 place, and occasionally at Glens Falls, of the water power of which he was one of the owners. Having been accused, albeit as he claimed, unjustly, of sympathy with the British, proceedings were taken against him, and to avoid difficulty, he went to Canada. He eventually settled on the north bank of the St. Lawrence, where the Town of Brockville now stands, and died there in 1820. His first wife was Deborah Wing, daughter of Abraham Wing of Glens Falls, and his second wife was a daughter of Captain Covill, who had at one time lived in Duchess county, N. Y. By the first mar- riage, there were two children, Richard, who went from home, as is supposed, to sea, and was lost sight of, and a daughter, who by a second marriage, became Mrs. Simpson, and died many years ago without issue. By the second marriage, Mr. Daniel Jones had six children — two sons and four daughters. The sons were named David and Daniel, and both were lawyers, and both were for a time judges of a District Court, and both for a time, but not at the same time, held the office of registrar for the County of Leeds. David Jones at one time, represented the County of Leeds, and afterward the Town of Brockville, in the Upper Canada House of Assembly. He married Catherine E. Hayes, who died in 1874. Mr. Jones died in 1870 at Brockville. The second son, Daniel Jones, Jr., was twice married, first to Miss Morris, second to Clarissa Hayes, a sister of his brother David's wife, who died at Brockville in 1837, at the early age of 25. He visited England, and in 1836, was knighted at St. James Palace by King William the Fourth. Sir Daniel Jones died at Brock- ville on the 26th of August, 1838, aged 44 years. Of the four daughters of Daniel Jones, Sr., one became Mrs. Char- land, one Mrs. Corse, one Mrs. Hawley, and one remained unmarried; All are deceased. To David Jones, son of Daniel, were born several chil- dren, of whom four daughters survive. They are Ida 76 The Fort Edward Book. Clarissa, married to W. H. B. Smythe, Thornton Cliffe, Brockville; Imogene Augusta, married to F. A. D'Espard, The Echoes, Rosedale, Toronto; Emma Matilda, married to Herbert S. McDonald, Woodlawn, Brockville, and Edith Catherine, inarried to George E. Dnggan. The fourth son of the widow, Sarah Jones, was named Thomas. He was a captain in the British Army, and was killed during the Revolutionary War. The fifth son, Dunham, was a subaltern officer in the same service, and was either killed or died from disease con- tracted in it. The sixth son, David, was a lieutenant in the "Royal New Yorkers " of General Burgoyne's army, and was betrothed to Jane McCrea, whose sad death when on her way to be married to him, is a well known event. He may be said to have been broken hearted owing to this shock and the grief which he felt. He removed to Canada and set- tled there, but did not long remain, having died in or about 1790, when about 35 years of age. The seventh son, Solomon Jones, was an assistant sur- geon in Sir John Johnson's corps, and when Gen. Burgo^^ne's army surrendered at Saratoga, was serving with it. He was not made a prisoner, and effected his escape to Canada, where he served as a surgeon at Three Rivers and Montreal until the close of the war. He then went to the Township of Augusta, in the County of Grenville, Upper Canada, where he settled on land beautifully situated on the bank of the River St. Lawrence. Dr. Jones practiced his profession for inany years in the settlements along the St. Lawrence, from Cornwall to Kingston. He was a member of one of the early parliaments of Upper Canada, and for some time a District Judge, which appointment he held until his death in 1822. He married Mary Tunacliffe, a native of Derbyshire, England, and at the time of her marriage, a resident of Rich- field, Otsego county, New York. By this marriage there The Jones Family. 77 was a large famih', none of whom now survive. One of Dr. Solomon Jones' children was the late Dunham Jones, who was born on the 24th of April, 1793. He served his countr\^ actively in the war of 1812-14- as an ensign in the 1st Regi- ment of Grenville Militia, and again as a captain in the same corps during the insurrection of 1837-38, and was engaged in the action of the Windmill. Subsequently, he was ap- pointed lieutenant colonel of the 2d Grenville regiment; was a justice of the peace for many years, and for nearly the last thirty years of his life, was collector of the port of Maitland. He died at the old homestead in Augusta on the 16th of September, 1876, in the 84th year of his age. Chil- dren and grandchildren survive him, and some of them still live in the house which Dr. Solomon Jones built in 1805. Of the daughters of the Widow Sarah Jones, one married a Mr. Lock wood, and removed to England, where she died in 1822. The other married a Mr. Hawley, and died leav- ing an only child, an infant daughter, who was brought up by her grandmother, married a Major Reid of the British army, and went to England, where she died. Herbert Stone AlcDonald, Judge of the County Court of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, and ex officio Judge of the Surrogate Court, and Chairman of the Court of General Sessions of the Peace, was born at Gananoque, Ontario, Canada, 23d of February, 1842. His father, the Hon. John McDonald of Gananoque, was born at Saratoga, N. Y., on the 10th of February, 1787, almost immediatelv after the arrival of his parents from Scotland. The familv settled not far from Warrensburg, on the opposite bank of the Hudson, in Athol. John McDonald attended school at Fort Edward or Glens Falls, and subsequently went into business at Troy, N. Y., during a portion of which time he was in partnership with Honorable Townsend McCoun. In 1817, he removed from Troy to Gananoque, Canada, and died there in 1860. 78 The Fort Edward Book. Herbert S. McDonald graduated at the University of Queens College, Kingston, Canada, as B. A., in 1859, and as M. A., in 1861. Having studied lav;^, he was called to the Bar in May, 1863. In 1871 he was elected to the Legisla- tive Assembly of Ontario, for the South Riding of Leeds. In 1873 he was appointed Junior Judge, and in 1878 Judge of the County Court, a position he still holds. In 1864 Mr. McDonald was married to Emma Matilda Jones, daughter of David Jones of Brockville, Canada, for some time M.P. P. for Leeds and Brockville, and for many years Registrar of the County of Leeds. Mrs. McDonald is a granddaughter of Daniel Jones, whose lands in Kingsbury and Queensbury, N. Y., were confiscated at the time of the Revolution, and a grandniece of David Jones, the betrothed of Jane McCrea. For much of the information contained in the foregoing account of the Jones family, the author desires here to ex- press his indebtedness to his friend. Judge Herbert S. Mc- Donald of Brockville. Judge McDonald has in his posses- sion the original of the following appraisal of lands belong- ing to Daniel Jones, formerly of Queensbury. This appraisal appears to have been made in a proceeding, the object of which was to secure compensation from the State of New York for the property of Daniel Jones, which was confis- cated at the time of the Revolution. There was consider- able litigation subsequently, as to the title of the Jones land. Those who are interested in the subject will find some addi- tional information in Wilson's "Life of Jane McCrea." The appraisal is as follows : "We, the subscribers, on the request of Mr. Daniel Jones, formerly residing in Queensbury, but now living in Oswe- gatchie, do appraise his lands and tenements in Kingsbury and Queensbury; do appraise four lots formerly owned by said Jones, containing nine hundred and seventy acres, at sixteen shillings per acre, and the bouse and improvements at sixty The Jones Family. 79 pounds, and one town lot containing fifteen acres at fifteen shillings per acre, and the half of two saw mills in Queens- bury at three hundred and fifty pounds, and one house and stable and garden at one hundred pounds. The whole amounting to one thousand, two hundred and ninety-seven pounds, five shillings, as land would sold in the year 1774. "Appraised by us at Kingsbury, 26th day of Feb'y, 1787. Seth Sherwood, Wm. High, John Moss." On the next page is the following : " County of \ Washington/ " Personally appeared before me, Albert Baker, one of the Assistant Judges for the s*^- County, Seth Sherwood, William High and John Moss, the within signers, and made oath that the within written is a true estimation according to the best of their knowledge. "Sworn before me at Kingsbury, this 26th day of Feb'y, 1787. Albert Baker, Assistant Judge." "I do hereby certify that judgment was entered against Daniel Jones, formerly of Oueensbury, the 23d day of Oct., in the year one thousand, seven hundred and eighty, in the Supreme Court, on his indictment. Albert Baker, Assistant Judge." CHAPTER VIII. LEGEND OF DUNCAN CAMPBELL. Whether in old times the human soul was endowed with powers which it does not now possess, or whether, as some believe, it still possesses powers of so subtle a nature as to elude definition and classification, must, perhaps, forever remain a matter of vague and visionary conjecture. Cer- tain it seems, that among the Scottish clans, there have, from time to time, appeared individuals endowed with gifts that enabled them to say, with no great stretch of poetic license: " 'Tis the sunset of life gives me mystical lore, And coming- events cast their shadows before." One of these tales of premonition — of second sight — or of anticipatory vision, call it what you will, has cast a kind of mvstic halo around the gray, grim walls of Ticonderoga — affluent with realistic memories of historic emprise and heroic adventure. This story of the troubled life and death of Duncan Campbell, which takes its rise in the land of the heather and the clan, and finds its consummation before the walls of Ticonderoga, is one of the links that not only binds the Old World to the New, but seems to unite this world, which is visible and material, with that which is invisible and imma- terial. On the western coast of Scotland, where the shore line is broken by the indentation of the Great Glen, which extends from Iverness to Loch Linnhe, on the eastern side of the loch, in that part of Scotland commonly known as Argyle- H^rc Lyes The Bo%ofOiin4 C ariipDC ll of InversawT^ sq *" N4ajor"B TIte old Hig)iiaii<] eorsi: of Ttie fol^^il^mtf: ®f :j Headstone, Duncan Campbell of Inverawe. Union Cemetery, Fort Edward. Legend of Duncan Campbell. 81 shire, dwelt the Stewarts of Appin. To the south and east of the Stewarts dwelt the Campbell clan. Not far from where Loch Linnhe enters the main land, an apparent branch, a little to the south, cuts in and is called Loch Etive — a sea loch, with rugged shores covered with tangled wild wood. All the country hereabout is rough and wild, abounding in lochs, rivers and glens, hills and vales, and over all towers the majestic peak, Ben Cruachen. Nearby the river Deergan, "the river of the red stain," debouches into Loch Crieran. The valle}^ through which the river falls is precipitous, and at its mouth some four or five large boulders in the bed of the stream are called stepping-stones. This place is still known as the "murderer's ford," and the glen itself is called Glen Saleach — the "dirty pass." The second of the stepping-stones, tradition says, is the spot where Donald Campbell was murdered by Stewart of Appin, and the tragedy is known as the " murder of Loch Crieran." Following down the stream and crossing the foi-d at Loch Etive and ascending the hill be^^ond, Liverawe is reached, situate upon a slight eminence overlookmg the River Awe, not far from where it empties into the Loch Awe. Here, surrounded by hills, and at the foot of Ben Cruachen, stands the old castle — the home of Duncan Cam])bell — Laird of Inverawe. It seems that about 174'2 Duncan Campbell, an officer of the Highland regiment, known as the Black Watch, was sent to Lorn, in Argyleshire, to harry and distress the ad- herents of Prince Charles Edward. Returning from the dis- charge of this unpleasant duty, he was separated from his followers, and, night falling rapidly, he lost his wav among the many mountain passes; when turning sharply into a ravine, he was startled to find himself confronted bv a stal- wart Highlander, with black hair and piercing eyes. Each grasped his sword, when the stranger accosted him and de- manded his errand. Duncan replied that he had lost his 82 The Fort Edward Book. way and required a guide; a voice from behind said, "He is alone, else we would not have suffered him to pass." Whereupon the stranger escorted Duncan to an unknown camp in the recesses of the mountains, gave him food to eat, and shared his couch with him. The stranger refused to reveal his name, but it was apparent that he knew who Duncan was, and his errand in that part of the Highlands. When day broke the Highlander escorted his guest past the sentinels and set him on the road toward his own home. Inverawe expressed his gratitude in fitting terms, and vowed he would repay the kindness shown him, if the op- portunity ever afforded. In time he came to know that his benefactor was none other than Donald Campbell, a mem- ber of the same clan as that to which he himself belonged. This adventure, which is strikingly similar to that of Fitz James and Rhoderic Dhu, had become well-nigh forgotten, and years afterward, when Inverawe asked for and obtained leave of absence from his military duties, one night, while sitting alone in his castle, he was startled from his reverie b}^ the sound of hasty footsteps at his door, accompanied by loud and hurried rappings. Answering the summons, he was surprised to find at his door, Stewart of Appin, a man for whom he had but little love. In hurried words, Stewart told his host that in a feud he had slain a man ; that he was pursued; his life was now in danger; he besought Camp- bell to give him sanctuary, and asked an oath of secrecy. His distress, the extremity of his need and evident terror prevailed. Duncan Campbell gave the required oath and received Stewart of Appin into his castle, where he w^as secreted in an underground room. Scarcely had Campbell returned from this errand, when a second alarm, louder and more imperative than the first, called him again to his door, where he was confronted by a band of his own clansmen, who told him that at the stepping-stones in the ford of the Deergan, his kinsman — Donald Campbell — had been slain Legend of Duncan Campbell. 83 by Stewart of Appin; not in open, manly fight, but treach- erously, and by a blow in the back ; the assassin had made his escape; the hue and cry raised, and the murderer fol- lowed through difficult and obscure passes in the direction of Inverawe. Campbell, sick at heart at the thought of con- cealinor the murderer of one of his own clan who had thus been foully slain, and to whose chivalric generosity he owed his life, yet mindful of the obligation of his oath, gave an evasive answer to the pursuing party and sent them away. That night, after he had retired to his chamber, which is still called the "Ghost Chamber" at Inverawe, in the "dread, vast and middle of the night," he was awakened by a light "like that which never shone on land or sea." It filled the room, and he distinctly saw the manly form of Donald Campbell of Lorn — his murdered clansman, his jet- black hair disheveled, his clothing disarranged and soiled with blood. He instantly recognized the apparition as that of his former benefactor. The consciousness that beneath his own roof he now gave shelter to the cowardly murderer, filled his soul with remorse and regret. The silence was broken by the ghostly visitor, who said: "Inverawe, Inverawe, blood has been shed; shield not the murderer." After which the vision disappeared. When morning broke and "The dawning- beam Purpled the mountain and the stream," the memorv of the vision of the man and of the voice troubled the mind of Duncan Campbell. He sought Stewart ' of Appin in his hiding place and plainly told him that, while by reason of his oath he would not betray him, yet he could no longer shelter him. Stewart reminded him of his prom- ise, and at his entreaty, Duncan led him to a secure hiding place in the solitary mountain passes of Ben Cruachen. But 84 The Fort Edward Book. the recollection of the horrors of that night haunted him through his waking hours, and the second night, as he sat before his fire reading, as was his custom before retiring, his hound, his sole companion, trembling in every limb, began to howl in that low, dismal tone which indicates the pres-« ence of the sense of terror in the brute creation. Raising his eyes from his book, he again saw the ghostly form of Don- ald Campbell of Lorn standing before him, radiant in the sheen of the same weird light. There was the same un- earthly presence; the black hair, the piercing eyes, the same disheveled dress, the same ghastly blood-stain ; the hands were outstretched as if asking for aid. The hound's broken whimpering sank almost into silence, and again the appari- tion spoke: "Inverawe; Inverawe; blood has been shed; blood must atone for blood ; shield not the murderer." And m a moment the vision faded in the air and was gone. All that night the sense of horror of the supernatural presence filled the soul of Duncan Campbell, and the recollec- tion of the spoken words lingered long in his memory. In the morning he sought the spot in the mountain wilderness where he had left the murderer, but he was gone. All the second day the memories of the past, the vision, the voice and the gesture of the apparition harassed his soul, and the third night, weary with watching, he sought his couch, but as the midnight hour approached, he was again awakened by that undefinable feeling which accompanies the conscious- ness of the presence of an invisible person. And the third time he saw the vision accompanied with all the customary demonstrations, but this time the voice was not one of warn- ing, nor was the attitude of the apparition that of supplica- tion, but on the contrary, the tone and appearance were threatening, and the spoken words were: "Inverawe, Inverawe; blood has been shed; blood Legend of Duncan Campbell. 85 must atone for blood. We shall meet again at Ticon- deroga." At this time the name of Ticonderoga was wholly un- known in that part of the Old World ; yet the name of the final meeting place with the wraith of the man of Lorn, remained with Duncan Campbell, and he made diligent inquiry of his acquaintances as to the location of Ticonder- oga. The name, unusual, troubled his mind, and haunted his memory. "It sang- in his sleeping ears; it hummed in liis waking head, The name Ticonderoga, and the warning of the dead." Time passed, and in 1758, Duncan Campbell had become a major of the Forty-second Highlanders. There was war between England and France, and the Black Watch was a part of Abercrombie's expedition directed against the French encroachments to the northward. As the army ap- proached Ticonderoga, Abercrombie, hearing the name of the fortress, recalled to mind the story of the vision of Dun- can Campbell, and, summoning the officers of the Black Watch about him, he privately directed them to call the fortress they were about to assault. Fort George, and to conceal its true name from Campbell. The night before the eventful attack which resulted so disastrously to the Eng- lish, Duncan Campbell, while engaged in examining the field of the prospective engagement, near dusk, while crossing the bridge which at that time spanned the outlet of Lake George, distinctly saw before him the apparition of the man of Lorn. There was no mistaking the presence. Instantly it flashed upon his mind that this must be the final ren- dezvous. Upon making inquiry, he learned that the place was called Ticonderoga, or Carillon. He reproached his brother officers with having deceived him, and said: " I have seen him again ; this is Ticonderoga." 86 The Fort Edward Book. His mind was filled with the most dismal forebodings, and he told his friends that he should not survive the mor- row's fight. He accordingly made all his arrangements in contemplation of approaching death. In the disastrous and deadl}^ assault the next day, upon the fortifications which occupv the slight plateau between the silvery waters of Lake George and the tawny billows of Lake Champlain, wdiere "in the audience of ages," Abercrombie and Mont- calm "crossed the swords of France and England ; " where the lily of fair France in the New World sprang to greater growth, from this soil, drenched and fertilized by the blood of those who fought and followed beneath the banner of the combined crosses of St. Andrew and St. George, all the offi- cers of the Black Watch were either slain or mortallj^ wounded. Duncan Campbell, in the agonies of approaching death, was removed by the retreating army to Fort Ed- V ward, where on the 17th day of July, 1758, on the ninth day after the battle, he died and was buried. In later years, his remains were removed from the old burying-place in Fort Edward village to the iJnion cemetery on top of the Fort Edward hill, where they now repose within the inclos- ure of the Gilchrist family lot. The headstone, apparently of red granite, quaintly decorated and carved with curious conceptions of immortality, old and moss-grown, and to some extent disfigured by the vandalism of unappreciative visitors, bears this inscription : "Here Lyes The Body of Duncan " Campbell of Inversavv, Esqr "Major To The old Highland "Regt^ Aged 55 Years, Who Died "The 17th July, 1758, of The Wounds "He Received In The Attack "of The Retrenchments of "Ticonderoga or Carillon, Sth Ju-Y. 1758." Within the same inclosure are two other Campbell head- Legend of Duncan Campbell. 87 stones; one erected "In memory of Mrs. Ann Campbell of Balenabe, and consort of Mr. Duncan Campbell, who died August the 10th, 1777, in the 74th year of her age." The other reads : "Ann Campbell, daughter of Mr. Archibald and Mrs. Florence Campbell, who died August 11th, 1777." The contiguity of graves and the identity of names, of course, suggest, while they do not prove, consanguinity. It would be interesting to venture upon the almost wholly un- explored field of genealogical research in this connection, did not time forbid, yet perhaps it may be permitted to say that the family to which Duncan Campbell belonged traced its origin back through many Archibalds, earls and dukes of Arg\de, to Archibald, the eighth earl, who placed the crown on the head of Charles II, at Scone, and to Archibald, the second earl, who fell at Flodden's fatal field, back to the Campbells of Lochow^ first ennobled as barons in the fif- teenth century, who then received the estates and titles of the rebellious MacDonald. This legend, so intimately con- nected with Ticonderoga, like all such supernatural tales, has many versions and variations. Fact and circumstance of time and place, conflict battle and sudden death, the struggle of nations, the onward sweep of civilization and the majestic march of events have conspired to light up the ruins of the ancient fortress, with all the glamour of history and tradition, and they lend to the grave of Duncan Camp- bell, on the beautiful hilltop at Fort Edward — "Far from the hills of heather, And far from the isles of the sea." a mysterious interest that leads us to the very verge of the unknown world. The foregoing account of the Legend of Duncan Camp- 88 The Fort Edward Book. bell is reprinted from Vol. II, of the Proceedings of the New York State Historical Association. The author embraces this opportunity to acknowledge his indebtedness to the in- teresting articles upon the same subject by C. F. Gordon Gumming, in the Atlantic Monthly, September, 1884; Dean Stanley, in Frasier's Magazine, October, 1880; Robert Louis Stevenson, in Scribners Magazine, December, 1887, and to the account by Francis Parkman, and also to that in Win- sor's Critical and Narrative History of the United States. The Gilchrist family, within whose lot the remains of Duncan Campbell now rest, were of Scotch descent. Alex- ander Gilchrist, the emigrant, came to this country about 1740, and undoubtedly was one of the Loughlin Camp- bell colony, and the original owner of Lot No. 83 of the Argyle Patent. He married Catherine McNeil after he came to this country. He died in 1768, leaving two sons — Alex- ander and Archibald. Alexander married Sarah White of Argvle, about 1794, and lived and died upon his father's farm. Archibald came to Fort Edward and purchased a farm east of the present village of Fort Edward. From these two brothers have sprung large families. They were men of position and character in the community. Alexander Gilchrist claimed, it is said, to be related to Duncan Campbell. If the tradition be true, the relationship is not known to the author, and whether or not the many Campbell families now residing in this and other localities may trace descent from Duncan Campbell, is perhaps uncer- tain. A very accurate cut of Duncan Campbell's headstone with the inscription thereon, as it now stands in the Union cemeterj^ at Fort Edward, may be seen herein. CHAPTER IX. DIARY OF ENSIGN HAYWARD OF WOODSTOCK, CONN., KEPT PRINCIPALLY AT FORT EDWARD IN 1757. The great interest taken at the present time in the mili- tary service of our forefathers is a sufficient apology, if one is needed, for the publication of this book. It was in the early French and Indian wars that the founders of this nation gained the experience and education that in a later day fitted them for the more severe and long continued struggles with Great Britain. They were bred to arms and inured to the hardships of the march, the camp and the bat- tlefield. The early and scant records they left behind sug- gest little familiarity with the culture of military schools, and but meagre acquaintance with the craftsmanship of red tape. The original manuscript volume, of which a copy is set forth in the following pages, was, when it came into possession of the writer, yellow with age, and in places diffi- cult to decipher. Original methods of spelling and hand- writing not over plain, combined to render the task of the copyist somewhat difficult and arduous. Nevertheless, care has been taken to make a faithful transcript from the origi- nal. The iac simile signatures that appear therein were made from the original autographs signed to orders for the payment of money, contained in the book, some of which are herein set forth. These orders, excepting only dates and amounts, are for the most part exactly identical in phrase- ology, from which it may be inferred that after the first was composed, it was thought expedient to use it as a precedent. That the form w^as an original composition may be confi- dently believed. It has not the polish of the scholar, nor the 90 The Fort Edward Book. elegance and precision that might characterize the model from a book, yet it has all the material parts of a valid order for a payment of money. The more we contemplate the early colonial histor}^ of our countr\', the more we shall admire the talent and ability of the men who, while they were denied to a great extent the advantages of what we call a liberal education, yet comprehended the essentials of every transaction and every situation, and who when they were without a precedent, were competent to make one. The campaign in which Ensign Hay ward served is notable in our history by reason of the massacre at Fort William Henry. We can, in this book, very plainly follow the route of the 3^eomen of Connecticut to the site of warfare in the Province of New York. The entries in the original book do not follow each other in chronological order, and indeed in the manuscript there doesn't seem to be any order, from which it would appear that such events only as attracted the especial attention of the Ensign were made the subject of memorandum by him. The death of an old acquaintance, the discharge of a comrade, the auction sale of a dead sol- dier's effects, a skirmish with Indians, a detail to Saratoga, the capture of Fort William Henry, were all events in the ex- perience of this soldier, which he thought worth while to record. Most of the entries appear to have been made at Fort Edward. At the time in which the book was wn"itten the fortifica- tion at Fort Edward had been but recently constructed. The fort was of earth and timber and mounted a number of guns, and an army of respectable dimensions was assem- bled here. Faint traces of the former location of the fort remain. The grass grows green upon its ancient escarp- ments; the destructive influence of time and the more destructive vandalism of human greed have united to level its ancient parapet, and to fill up the moat. Alders, wil- lows, rank underbrush and weeds grow in the ditch that Diary of Ensign Hayward. 91 once surrounded its walls. The underground passage to the river has been wholly obliterated, the stockade is gone, and not even a tablet to-day marks the spot where once stood an important military post. The soldiers' graves are overgrown and all unknown. The storehouses once filled with munitions of war have disappeared, and little besides the name remains of this ancient fort. Numerous relics of a war-like people are still found in the vicinity of Fort Ed- ward. There was, in 1876, an old cannon on the Island in the Hudson river at this place, which had an ancient date upon it, earlier than 1750, and for all we know, that very gun may have been, as it probably was, one of the defenders of Fort Edward in the old P>ench and Indian wars. Tradi- tion indeed ascribed to it an English origin, and connected it with the history of the fort, but no one certainly knew whence or how it came here; for a hundred years or more, it lay in the sand on the Island, an object of wonder to small boys. It was of considerable size, by which I mean that its weight was nearly 4,000 pounds, and in latter times it was a gun of reasonably steady habits. True, on the 4-th of July, it would speak in tones of thunder when solicited thereto by patriotic youths, but all of the rest of the year it lay quietly sinking into the sand. The patriotism of the voung men who in 1876 attended the Fort Edward Col- legiate Institute, proved too much for the old gun, and in the "middle of the night" it was exploded by bad boys of the Institute; students, they called themselves, some of whom have since become clergymen, doctors, lawyers and professors, legislators and statesmen. On this eventful night in 1876— it must have been in June— the students at the Institute removed this relic of Revolutionary fame from its resting place on the Island to the campus of the Institute, and notwithstanding the caution and prudence of Dr. King, who then, as now, was principal of that institution, at sometime about the hour of midnight, after the five strokes 92 The Fort Edward Book. had sounded, and when law abiding students should have been in bed, with irreverent hands thev loaded the old gun to its muzzle and discharged it. The Institute bell, that dur- ing all its previous life had been wont to summon the stu- dents to class and chapel, with the decorum becoming a well behaved bell, on this eventful night tolled by invisible hands, rang the death knell of the old gun, and on the campus a funeral pile was lighted. The old cannon wrought havoc in its expiring throes, and there are those who yet remember with what mighty and destructive effect this old war dog gave up the ghost as it spoke its last piece, and burst into a thousand fragments. It was one of the last relics of Fort Edward that had survived the vicissitude of time and change, and the writer can but express his regret that thus was destroyed one of the most interesting memen- toes connected with Fort Edward and the war-like days of old. Not many 3^ears since, an underground room was uncov- ered on the site of the old fort. It was constructed of brick, each of which was rudely but plainly marked, "1757." It is not improbable that these brick were burned in this vic- initj'- by the men who built the fort. Clay and sand suit- able for such purposes are still found hereabouts. Cannon balls and shells of various sizes are often found, as are also lead and iron musket balls, gun flints, bayo- nets, swords and sometimes articles of personal adornment, fragments of glassware that suggest the convivial hoard, Indian spears, tomahawks, arrow heads, images perhaps of worship ; stone pestles, skinning implements, rubbing stones, rude specimens of the Indian pottery. French, Spanish and English coins of copper and silver with ancient dates are not infrequently found ; and bones of wild animals by the remains of ancient camp fires and cooking implements have at different times been uncovered. Some of these are relics, no doubt, of the Revolutionary period, and some of them Diary of Ensign Hayward. 93 are of the era of the French and Indian wars, and some are traces of the occupation of this country by the aboriginal inhabitants. The rank of ensign no longer exists in the American army. The duties of the office are now discharged by the color sergeant. Benjamin Ha3'ward was a resident of Woodstock, Conn., and it was from a relative of his family that the original book was obtained. The entries suggest that he acted at times not only as an auctioneer, but that he also discharged the offices of a banker in addition to those of a soldier. No one can regret more than the writer that the means and time at his command have not permitted more research as to the soldiers mentioned in this book, and the writer knows full well that it falls far short of all that could be desired, but if it shall serve the purpose of rescuing from oblivion the names and service of some of those brave men who, in the days of long ago, at great sacrifice, fought the good fight for God and native land, it will not have been published wholly in vain. We set out from whome^ April ye 14th. ^ got to har- ford^yelS! Marcht from harford 21 Day to farmunton* 1 Benjamin Hayvvard's home was in Woodstocli, Windham county, Connecticut, a small town in the northeastern part of that state. 2 1757. 3 Hartford. 4 Farming-ton, Hartford county, west of Hartford. 94 The Fort Edward Book. 10 myle. the 22 from farm to harwinton,^ 23 from Har- wington to Litchfield- 9 mile, ye 24 day Litchfield 12 m3de to Cornwall^ 25, from Cornwall to Salisbury.'*' from Salis- bury to Anacram^ 15 myle, 27 to Levenston^ 14 myle, 28 day Irom Leavenston to Claurick'^ 8 mvle. Moved from Clauack May 3'e 13 to Clanterhook^ 22 mile ye 14 day to Greenbush^ 13 mile ye 15 dav we crost ve River ^*^ above Alban\' and went by land to mile on the west side of the River, and then crost ye River ^^ to VanDerKedens at ye flats, ^- y^ 21 day we moved from the flats 12 mile. The 22 day we moved to Long Medder on the greate fly 12 mile, ye 23 day to Salatoge 8 mile. The 27 day went one to the River to the Fort. We had a scimage with Indians ye 10 dy of June ^^ and we lost 9 men. 5 Kiled that we found and Capuated 4. Aug 26, 1757 Limeon Kennedy Died. Joseph Bacon died Sept 16, 1757. Thomas Stanton died Oct. 2, 1757. Sarjant Park's and Samuel Wheeler and Seth White went whome Oct. 14. Oct. 20 Edward Cole went ofwhome. John Povller went off to go home Oct. 25. William Farnam, Liman Stephens and Martin Answorth, and William Wake- field, all of them are gone. John Fooler and Samuel Colfix 1 Harwinton, Litchfield coiinti', to the northwest of Farming-ton. 2 The next town west of Harwinton. 3 Cornwall is northwest of Litchfield. 4 The extreme northwest town in Connecticut. 5 Ancram, Columbia countj'. N. Y., the southeast town in that county. 6 Livingston, Columbia county, on the Hudson to the northwest of Ancram. 7 Claverick, north of Livingston. 8 Kinderhcxjk in the northwestern part of Columbia county. 9 Greenbush, south of Albany in Rensselaer County. 10 The Hudson. 11 The Mohawk. 12 The exact place seems uncertain. 13 On June 10, 175", M. de Bourlamaque, a sergeant, seven soldiers and 90 Indians, a part of the French army, attacked an English pioneer party near Fort Edward. They t^>^<^> Capt Putnam's men Dr. to Capt. Barry: £ s d Samuel Sabins, 1 3 11 Arnold Smith, 5 5 John Day, 1 7 Benoney Barnes, 1 2 5 John Stone, 13 4 Samuel Barret, 8 Moses Durkee, 8 Will Farnam 5 11 Samuel White, 2 8 Josah Cory, 2 8 Jonathan Thompson » 5 3 Squier Priest, 5 3 Caleb Enmon, 5 3 David Cleaveland, 17 John Brown, 5 1 John Green, 4 2 Joseph Ruttan, 5 3 Jabish Parkiss, 15 Samuel Colefix, 4 8 Michael Hulit, 5 3 John Williams, 9 7 John Pooller, 8 9 Elisha Edd3% 5 William Eavens, 2 Arnold Smith, 1 6 A Provisional Return for the Detachment of ye Connec- ticuts. Salatoge for fore days, commencing 3^e 14th and ending ye 17th September. Diary of Ensign Hayward 101 Roster. Ensign, Benjamin Hayward. Sergeant, Elisha Cady. Sergeant, Israel Nobles. Captain, John Donaghy Francis Summers, Matthew Waller, Daniel Boge, Asel Webster, Joseph Roe, John Mills, John Hubbard, Timothy Lankton, Elisha Cook, William Farman, John Eggelstone, Othmel Moses, Elisha Humphrey, John Gurley, Hezekiah Carpenter, Thomas Henry, Simane Zauarcy. John Vergerson, Daniel Fowler, Joseph Palmer, William Wallbridge, Samuel Morgin, Moses Dickason, Russel Hubbard, Samuel Hubbard, Ruben Hubbard, Joseph Beaman, Benager Beaman, Luke Gridley, Jacob Fuller, Alexander Grant, Nathan Lyon, Ashbel Moses, Vitualing Return of Capt. Israel Putnam's Company, Commencing Sept. 20, and ending the twenty-third — both Days encluded : 1 ensign, 2 Rations 40 privates, 40 do Total, 42 rations Reed of ye Quarter Master Ripley, provisions, all speacis, it Being for fore days allowance for each of ye above rations. Sept 20, Fort Edward, 1757. BENJA. HAYWARD, Ensn. 102 The Fort Edward Book Camp at fort Edward, July ye 7th, 1757. Mr. Pomeroy, the SettUer, Dr. for money lent, 1£ 7s 8d Lawfull money. Sept. ye 9th, 1757. Went Into the woods to Git Timber with 1 Sargt. and 20 privates. Salatoge, Sept. ye 16th. I Reed, ye first letter after father went from hear, Dated ve 10th of This Instant. Fort Edward, Oct. ye 5th, 1 757, I Changed firelocks with Asa Humphrey for ye time we continue in the service. My firelock was a very long won and his was won of ye King's arms and when we are Dis- charged we are to Return each other his fire lock. CHAPTER X. justice's court in early days — LIST OF JURYMEN — SOME EARLY MARRIAGES. Matthias Ogden, the first postmaster of Fort Edward, was appointed Justice of the Peace, March 18, 1795. He was admitted and licensed to practice in the Court of Com- mon Pleas of Washington County, on the 15th day of February, 1792, and on the 21st day of November, the same year, in Saratoga County, and at the October Term, 1794, in Clinton County. The first entry in his Attorneys' Register is as follows : "Washington Common Pleas. "Elisha Kilburn, Junr., vs. James Jackson, James Sharp, James McWrithe, Abraham Sharp, Catherine Sharp, Eleanor Sharp, Abraham Utter and Andrew Sharp, Jacob Sharp, John Sharp, Jermima Sharp, Mary Sharp and Stephen Sharp. Ejectment for lands in Hampton. Lovett for plain- tiff. I am of counsel with Honey wood, who is attorney for defendant. Retained 3rd February, 1792. Morehous has become defendant, together with Kilburn. " From the entries in this register, it would appear that Mr. Ogden had a lucrative and extensive practice in his pro- fession. His Justice Docket is also before me as I write. It would seem that a large part of the litigation in these days was before the Justice of the Peace. Many of the entries indicate that he was accustomed to hold his Court at "Baldwin's Inn''^ at Argyle (Fort Edward), kept by Alexander Baldwin and later by Samuel Baldwin. 1 Baldwin's Inn stood on or near the site of the Mansion House on Lower Broadway. 104 The Fort Edward Book. The following are the names of jurors who served on juries before Justice Ogden. They were, no doubt, residents and freeholders of Argyle at that time. The figures set op- posite their names indicate the year in which they first served. Baldwin, Alexander , 1796 Gillis, James 1796 a i. > " " John " " Cornelius, la b'r, " Gilchrist, Archibald t i Baker, Caleb " Alexander 1798 " Lyman Hopkins, James 1796 Blany, John Kilmore, Adam t ( Bristol, Ames Lawrence, John <( Silas 1798 Matthewson, Isaac 1798 William 1796 McDougall, Alexand er 1796 Brown, Alexander " " Daniel 1798 " Daniel " Mclntyre, Peter 1797 " John (< Moses, Enum 1798 Bush, Lebadiah " Powell, Joseph a Carey, Moses t i " Ebenezer a Cowan, William (( Reid, John 1796 Dunham, Joseph W. 1797 Richardson, Francis 1797 Durkee, James 1798 Stebbins,Sol., blksmi th 1796 John 1796 Roberts, Ezekiel 1798 " Lidius « 1 Ptosseter, Russell 1797 Nathan 1798 Selbridge, John 1796 Egelston, John G. 1796 Scovil, Thomas 1798 Stone, John 1797 Smith, John 1796 Smith, Jonah 1798 Willoby, Robert 1797 Some of the entries in this docket are interesting. The vast volume of the litigation was brought on accounts and promissory notes. Andrew Squire is plaintiff in many actions, and as in some instances, his complaint is "on a book account for victuals and drink found and provided. "' He doubtless was an innkeeper. Justice's Court in Early Days. 105 In June, 1796, Samuel Scovil,Jr., sued John Furman, Jr., on a promissory note for 8—5-8 pounds sterling, and the defendant produces an account against the plaintiff of "3-3-0 pounds for running seven rafts over the Fort Miller Falls." The same year, Alexander Baldwin sued Stephen Scovil " for drink found and provided, and for boarding Roswell Western, Esq., at his request. Dr. 1-14-11 pounds." Roswell Weston was a lawyer at Sandy Hill, N. Y. The same year Daniel HamHn brought an action against Austin Waterhows "for that whereas the defendant, on the 15th day of December, 1795, promised the plaintiff at Saratoga, that is to say at Argyle, and in the County of Washington, to draw two hundred dock logs of the plaintiff from off his land in Saratoga, between that time and the last day of April, then next, and deposit them on the bank of Hudson's River opposite to a place called and known by the name of "Deadman's Point, "^ in consideration that the plaintiff should permit defendant to take one hundred of the saw logs and should cut them as fast as the defendant should want to draw them, which defendant has neglected to do, although the logs were cut as foresaid by the plaintiff. Damages $10." Defendant pleaded to set off "for divers dock sticks drawn to the rafting place on the west side of Hudson's River, opposite to Deadman's Point; for cash lent, for two bushels of corn sold 16s; and for damages on failure in not having certain dock sticks ready according to agreement ; and also for divers dock logs drawn to the place above mentioned and used by the plaintiff. " This is the earliest mention found of Deadman's Point, Samuel Scovil, Jr., brought an action against Simeon Coates because he had failed to deliver 2,100 "good mer- 1 A well known locality in tjie upper part of the present villag-e of Fort Edward. 106 The Fort Edward Book. charitable timber withs" at the then dwelling of the defend- ant in Queensbury. August 24th, 1796, upon the complaint of Warren Ferris, Esq., it appearing that a dog belonging to Perry Sturtevant in Kingsbury, had attacked Ferris as he was peaceably traveling on the highway, the Justice in pursu- ance of the statute entitled, "An act to encourage the raising of sheep and to prevent injury b}' dogs, " passed February 13th, 1789, made an order directing the said Perry to kill the said dog. It was of a "light brindle color with a short tail." May 15th, 1797, Ogden administered the oath of office toLidius Durkee, as overseer of the highway of Argyle, and May 19, the like oath to Joseph Pettis, and June 15, '97, to John Peterson; June 24, '97 to Peter Sanders, and in 1798, he swore in the following: Peter Sanders, John Lawrence, Harris Hotchkiss, Solomon Stebbins, Silas Dibble, Murphy Mclntyre, Lyman Baker. July 23, 1798, John Eddy sued Francis Belong in trespass "for breaking and entering plaintiff's close and with defend- ant's horses heading down, eating up and destroying grass there growing of 50s value. Dr. $10. Defendant confesses damage to the amount of one cent. Judgment for the plaintiff for the same and seventy-two cents. — total dam- ages 73 cents." Early Marriages From the Justice Docket of Matthias Ogden. . "August 18th, 1796, Elephilet Eglestone was in due form joined in matrimony to Mary Edd}^, by me, the parties both residing in Argyle." "November 13th, 1796, Edward Ball and Mary Odell Some Early Marriages. - 107 were in due form married by me, at Kingsbury, in the County of Washington. The bride resides in Queensbury." "November 15th, 1796, Martin Hopkins and Sarah Pettis, daughter of Mather Pettis, both in the County of Washington, were in due form married by me, at Argyle, aforesaid, this day." "24th November, 1796, Thomas Greorery of Argyle, in the County of Washington, was in due form joined in matrimony with Anne Moon, alias dictus Anne Dickinson, by me this day, at Argyle, aforesaid." "Kingsbury, County of Washington, 2nd day of Jan- uary, 1798, Ebenezer Powell and Hetty Durkee, a daughter of Solomon Durkee, both of the town of Argyle, were in due form married by me." "30th day of January, 1798, Joseph Powell and Jillive Scovil were in due form married before me." "February 27th, 1798, Thomas Scovil of Argyle, and Ester Richardson of Kingsbury, were in due form married by me." "22nd March, 1798, Ezekiel Roberts and Jillinance Scovil ( the elder), both of Argyle, were in due form joined in marriage by me." "2nd August, 1798, Asa Green and Christeen Worden, both of Argyle, were duly married by me this day." "28th August, 1798, John Sloan and Eunice Durkee, daughter of James Durkee of Argyle, were in due form mar- ried before me this day." "25th February, 1799, Silas Hewitt and Patty Warner, both of Argyle, in the County of Washington, were married before me this day." 108 The Fort Edward Book. Matthias Ogden and his wife are buried in the old ceme- tery in Fort Edward village. The inscription on their tomb- stone is as follows : In Memory of MATTHIAS OGDEN Who Died Nov. 25, 1825 In the 44th year of his ag-e In Memory of ESTER ogden; Wife of Matthias Og-den, Who Died July 6th, 1822 In the 42d year of her age Their monument was erected by their affectionate daughter, Catherine Ogden. Mrs. Ogden was, so the writer is informed, a daughter of Col. Robert Cockran, the Revolutionary patriot. CHAPTER XI. REMINISCENCES BY AN OLD RESIDENT OF FORT EDWARD. The late Captain Silas S. Hubbell, who, at time of his death, was one of the oldest residents of the village of Fort Edward, one day gave the following description of the village, as he remembered it, in 1845, and this narrative, as the Captain dictated it, is reproduced here: "In IS-iS, above where the railroad now crosses Broad- way, the buildings were as follows: Where Aaron Kinne's fruit store formerly stood, was a small frame dwelling. Next was the St. James Church ; above that was the brick house where the Washington Count}'^ Advertiser now is. George Deuel, father of the late George A., lived there; then came the brick house, now the residence of Mrs. J. F. Harris, Charles Harris lived there; he was a contractor and lum- berman. Then, what is now the Cheesman house, William Pardue lived there ; he was a son-in-law of Joseph DeWolf. Then came a little frame store, where Harry Bennett now keeps; this building, remodeled, is now used as a barn by A. P. Hill; then came the Fort Edward Hotel, owned and kept by Edward Washburn; this extended from the corner of East street south, as far as the Mabbett building. Above East street was the "brick row" owned by D. W. Wing; it was a tenement building with accommodations for five fam- ilies. This building had a basement, and stairs on the out- side led to the first floor; then came the residence of E. B. Nash, a story-and-a-half frame building on the lot now owned by E. N. Sanderson ; then came the residence of Tim- othy Stoughton, who lived in the house now occupied by Miss Caroline Stoughton. There was no Washington or 110 The Fort Edward Book. Liberty streets then, and that part of the village was a swamp; above the Stoughton house, was, I think, the resi- dence of Daniel Carswell, where Mrs. Robert Montgomery now lives; then came the residence of Samuel Cook, on the site of Mrs. Hoj^sradt's house. On the top of the hill was the Case house. On the west side of Broadway stood the home of Dr. William F. Norton — the house now occupied by A. V. Pratt. This house was built by John Miller, who after- wards removed to Whitehall; going north, a little low building stood where P. C. Thebo's store now is; John Reeves, brother of Hiram Reeves, kept this; then came the place of Joseph DeWolf, where Edgar Hull now lives; then came the Walter Rogers residence, now occupied by Dr. Ball; then the house where B. M. Tasker now lives; next came a little building where Somers Block stands; John Crawford, father of William J. Crawford, had a harness shop there; the postoffice was kept there when James Mcln- tyre was postmaster; this was afterward a tailor shop, and office of Mr. Mclntvre when he was Justice of the Peace. There was a red tenament house that stood about where the harness shop of A. B. Cahee now stands; then came a store kept by John Finn, where the Baptist Church now is; then the dwelling occupied by Peter Finn, where the stores of the Fort Edward Company now are; then a frame house that stood on the site of the brick building now occupied by A. Kinne & Son. This house is the one now occupied by me (Mr. Hubbell) on East street. Then came a little frame store, where is now the drug store of Contryman & Wing; James Cheesman kept this store; where Wing's Exchange is now, stood a brick story-and-a-half building, kept by D. W. Wing, a general store, and the principal one in town; then came the residence of D. W. Wing, where H. Davis Northup now lives. Next came the Timothy Eddy place, where the dwelling now owned by F. B. Davis stands. There was a little paper mill where now stands what is Reminiscences. Ill called the "Old Mill;" a small dwelling stood near by; there was a saw mill and a dwelling near it, farther up on the Point. This was all there was north of the railroad. On the hill there w^as a house where A. C. Hodgman now lives; when I first remember it, I think the father of Ed- ward Groesbeck lived there. Above that on the Sandv Hill road was the house that George Stevens now lives in. I think Sandy Robinson, the father of Mrs. Seth Parish, lived there then. There was a stone house back from the road where John Parry's father lived; he was called 'Priest Parry.' That was all till the Sandy Hill line was reached." Captain Silas S. Hubbell, who gave the foregoing de- scription of Fort Edward, as he first remembered it, was the son of Jonathan Smith Hubbell, who was born December 5th, 1804, the son ot Erastus Hubbell and Rachel Smith, a lineal descendant of Richard Hubbell, the emigrant who came to this country about 1645. Jonathan S. married in 1824, Eliza Butler of Lanesboro, Mass; he came to Fort Edward in 1840, from Sheldon, Vt., and lived in a little house which is still standing in the lower part of the vil- lage of Fort Edward, opposite Hilfinger's potter3% and now owned by Mrs. Amos L. Sargeant. In March, 1841, he re- moved to the house now occupied by Julius B. North, on East street, where he carried on a canal grocery and hotel, and where, in 1848, he established a livery business, which he thereafter carried on during the remainder of his life. This place he bought of Hyman Cool, a brother of Kizer P. Cool of Glens Falls. His children were: Caroline, who married John E. Mclntyre; Cornelia S., who married Caleb Wells, and Silas S. Hubbell, born July 14th, 1837; he mar- ried Mary T. Finn, daughter of Peter Finn of Fort Ed- ward ; she died July 18th, 1875. Two children were born by this marriage — Laura S. and Mary C. He married. 112 The Fort Edward Book. second, Anna S. Brown, daughter of James N. Brown of Chicago. He died January 22nd, 1902. He was a soldier in the War of the RebelHon, having enlisted in the 93rd New York Volunteers, October 19th, 1861. He was com- missioned as second lieutenant, Januar}^ 30th, 1862; he was first lieutenant the same year, and Captain, June 10th, 1869, and was mustered out of service November 13th, 1864. At the battle of North Anna, May 24th, 1864, when a color bearer of his regiment, Robert Wallace, was shot, Lieutenant Hubbell, in the face of the enemy went forward to the bridge where Wallace was killed and brought off the colors. This feat has been erroneously attributed to Lieut. William Ball of Company K, but Lieutenant Ball was not in this engagement. R. S. Robertson, the author of this unintentional error, has since been satisfied that he was mistaken in attributing the above mentioned deed to Lieut. Ball. Some of the items from the account book kept by Jona- thans. Hubbell in 1841-42 are of some interest to us to-day, and are here given as showing not only the stock kept by Mr. Hubbell, but also the prices paid for merchandise at that time, viz: 1 pint lamp oil $ .15 1 jug $ .19 2 lbs. candles 32 2 lbs. butter 29 2 lbs. brown sugar 21 5 sheets paper 05 1 light glass 04 2 cakes soap 04 2 pieces pie and one 1 head comb 13 beer 11 1 g^^- molasses ".19 1 peck fine salt 22 1 peck beans 25 1/2 lb. pepper 06 1 gal. vinegar 19 1/2 lb. Y. H. tea 38 1 oz. black thread .15 8bu. oats 3.00 1 pint rum 13 2 pair yarn mittens.. 1.00 1/2 paper pins 06 1 lb. saleratus 13 1 pt. port wine 31 Reminiscences. 113 1 almanac 04 5 drinks 15 1 pt. best gin 19 1 pt. wine 13 1/2 lb. tobacco 13 V2 ton hay 7.50 1 pt. whiskey 06 1 lb. coffee 16 V4 lb. snuff. 09 1 back comb 10 V2 bu. potatoes 16 1 bbl. flour 6.75 1 bed cord 25 1 pk. dried apples 31 9 lbs. codfish 38 2 lbs. raisins 16 6 pipes 03 1 bunch matches 02 113 lbs. ham 7.91 59 lbs lard 4.13 1 bbl. pork 12.00 V^ bu. corn 38 4 lbs. nails 28 3 papers garden seeds .18 52 hemlock boards... 3.12 V2 doz. lemons 19 And the names of his customers as they appear upon his account book were as follows: William McCormac Seth Scovil Peter Mills Samuel E. Cook J. Mclnhill John A. Miller David McEachron Daniel Mclnt3^re Charles Durkee John McDougal Richard Hall Ora Elmore Peter Sanders Daniel Carswell Myron Rozelle R. W. Pratt Stephen Harris Charles Durkee Duncan Mclntyre James Austin Albert F. Hall James McDougal C. Gregory Harve\^ Miller George Wheeler Jas. H. Gilchrist Philander Buck Medows Brock Roswell Grant K. P. Cool Alex. Gilchrist James McCoy Hugh Duffy " Robert McCoy Jonathan Pike John Donaldson Samuel Wilcox Milton E. vShaw David Taylor Chris. Van Duzen John Pierce James Gray Wilham Bibbins Edward Fulling^ton William Hitchcock Sanford Case Chas.N.Quitterfield Asahel Green Nicholas Mclntyre Thomas Pike Hugh King Jacob Pike James Powell James H. Ingalls 114 The Fort Edward Book Wm. J. Crawford Wm. Eddy Charles Harris Humphrey Durkee Walter Rogers Samuel T. Andrus Wm. S. Norton Timothy Eddy Archibald Durkee Abijah Williams James H. Robinson Jonathan Potter Morgan Wells Wm. Blakely Israel Bennett Wm. Bliss Wm. Co wen Wing, Alden & Co. Philip Pike Wm. J. Padden Charles Peterson John S. Crawford Jeremiah Nichols Abraham I. Fort John Linendoll Chas. M. Gilchrist Wm. McLane John Squires Orval Quitterfield James R. Gandal John Rozelle Leonard Sanders Charles Paine Gardener Fowler Jacob Hagaboom Benj. Stevens Alex. Peterson G. & E. Howland John J. Demorest James Henderson Billings Grant Edward Smith J. M. Reeves Elijah Town Nathan Wood Lyman Woodward Halsey Grant William Pardu Horace Harris David Matthews Solomon Haviland John Hiland E. Crane Austin Elmore David B. Smith D. W. Wing Ephrium Tasker Oliver Hunter Robert Perry Walter Bell CHAPTER XII. FORT MILLER — ITS EARLY SETTLERS— THE DUER HOUSE. The settlement here was made at some time previous to the Revolution. William Duer had his residence on the hill, east of the village, and a saw-mill a few rods north of the present pulp mill. Noah Payne came about 1766; the Crocker family came about the same time. On the west side of the river, Wvnant, Nicholas, John and Cornelius Van Den Burg and Peter Winnie settled and lived there before the war. There was a saw-mill and grist-mill there when the}^ bought of Jessup. There were two wing dams on that side. These Van Den Burgs were not all brothers; W3mant Van Den Burg's wife and Peter Winne's wife were sisters. On the east side of the river on the farm now occupied by Wil- liam LinindoU and owned by Jesse Billings, lived a family by the name of Dove, and one by the name of Zebec. On the next farm north lived another family, Wiley by name. Solomon Smith built a large house in 1799 on the south- west corner of Schuyler's patent, near the mouth of Stony Kill; here he kept Smith's Inn. He sold to Ira Bragg, after the war of 1812, and here the first postoffice was kept. This house was in the present town of Greenwich. Smith served in the legislature in 1803. The house burned in Nov- ember, 1893. Samuel Bennett and John Patterson came in 1799 and did business for many years. Bennett died in 1865 and Patterson in 1867. A man by the name of Nath- aniel Gage lived here in 1783; his widow afterwards lived on the bank of the river in the rear of the site of the present hotel, near where Frederick Jakeway lives. Peter Winnie, who afterwards bought on the west side, lived a few feet from the east end of the present pulp mill, and was agent at 116 The Fort Edward Book. one time for William Duers. Isaac Raymond kept tavern near the line between the towns of Fort Edward and Green- wich, but it was then all Argyle. The building that Ray- mond owned is now, after two or three remodelings, and a removal from the west to the east side of the road, occupied by A. S. Trumble. Raymond was a hatter by trade. In 1810 Samuel Bennett built the store now occupied by G. T. Hunt. Isaac Crocker built the house just south of the store in 1807, and Charles Switzer built the one opposite in 1808; the latter burned in 1890. Philip Macadoo built the main part of A. F. Nichols' house very early in the cen- tury, and Philip G. Viele, grandson of the blacksmith, occu- pied it for many j^ears. One Beers built a house and kept a tavern on the ground where the present hotel stands; it was, in 1806, kept by William Wilson. At the same time Thomas Carpenter kept a store on the opposite side of the road, a short distance north of the tavern, and a few feet south of the house now occupied by Mrs. Oscar M. Bassett ; this afterward burned, and the house now occupied by Mrs. Bassett was built, I think, by Gleason. John Patterson lived in it for many years and kept store in the south end. Ashabold Meacham lived opposite and conducted a tavern in a part of what is known as the Tefft house, just north of the Reformed Church. Meacham and Bleeker of Albany were at one time partners in the ownership of the water power and the land on the west side of the road. They divided in 1809. In 1804 Thomas Lamb went into the tavern which Simon Kittler (or Kittlehine) built. Lamb died in 1806; his widow afterward married George Jake- way, who lived about one and one-half miles south, in the town of Greenwich ; he died in 1817. After his death she came back and remodeled the old house and kept it for many years. During her absence it was kept by Stearns. It is the large house just north of the Baptist church and is now owned by George Rice. Fort Miller. 117 The war of 1812 made things lively along the road, for not only must the troops be moved, but all the supplies for them had to be drawn by horses. People who remem- bered said that the roads were crowded with teams all the time. Before a post-office was established at Fort Miller, the nearest post-office was at DuMont's Ferry, (Fort Miller bridge). The mail was carried on horse-back twice a week. Soon after the war of 1812, Stephen L. Viele came from Pittstown and built and kept a store on land now owned by Anna Galusha, just north of where Henry Wait's black- smith shop now stands. When the canal was dug Viele built the store now occupied by A. F. Nichols ; he moved his former store near the south side of the new one and used it for a storehouse; it was afterwards moved on to the ridge by or for Harry Cuvler, and now, after serving as a dwelling house, is still standing on the farm of Emmons Williams and is used as sort of a storehouse. Viele did business here until his death, October 26th, 1840. In 1821 he leased the waterpower of Bleeker^ for ten years; he was to build a dam and saw-mill and make certain improvements. Bleeker was to have the right to make other improvements and to have the use of as much water as was necessary. Viele was to pay 10 pepper corns a year for the first five years, and |75 per year for the next five years. Under this lease Viele built a dam in connection wath the State, and a saw-mill, which was torn down when the State abandoned and tore out its dam in 1853 or 1854. He built a grist-mill, about 1824 or 1825 for Bleeker, which burned in 1893. It stood between the present pulp and paper mills on the site of the Peebles saw-mill. This saw-mill was built by Garret Peeble, who got his title from Duer ; his was the second saw-mill; 1 Barent and John R. Bleeker of Albany, were larg-e land owners in the vicinity of Fort Miller. 118 The Fort Edward Book. Duer's being first, Viele's third, and one built by Hosea Nich- ols in 1865 being the fourth. The Viele mill stood where the Duer mill formerly was, and Nichols' mill where the pulp-mill now is ; these mills, and on the west side two saw- mills and a grist-mill, all got their power from the upper falls. There was at one time a grist-mill on each side of the river, and two saw-mills out in the river which got their power from the lower falls, but when the State built the dam at Saratoga falls, in 1821, it ruined the lower power with back water. The grist-mill on the east side belonged to Asha- bal^ Meacham. Some of the mill stones are now in the foundation of the present boiler-house at the paper mill. In the division between Bleeker and Meacham (they owned what lav west of the road from the creek near where Hunt's store now is, north to the Argyle road — in other words, to Benjamin Payne's southwest corner; this was the first farm north of the village), Bleeker took from the north side of the Reformed church to a little below the paper mill, Meacham taking the rest. Bleeker afterward bought what Meacham owned south of the church. Early in the 19th centurv Garret Viele came across the river and lived in a log house that stood just east of Duer's mill and a httle north- east of the pulp mill, another log house stood north-east of the Meacham grist-mill and a few^ rods south-east of the paper mill. The foundation of the chimney w^as still a heap of bricks and stone as late as 1863. t'revious to the build- ing of the canal more of the business was done below the falls, or in the lower part of the village, in order to shun the falls in rafting, but when the canal was built, that, in a measure, did away with running the falls, and so the business moved up street. The digging of the canal also did away with many of the taverns, as they were then called. Daniel Viele, father of Sheldon Viele, said he remembered the 1 This name appears on preceding pag-es as "Ashabold", which we have learned since to be incorrect. Fort Miller. 119 following: Daniel Payne kept an inn about a mile north of the village on the farm now owned by his grandson, Robert Payne. Mrs. Lamb, afterward Jakeway, kept at the north end of the village; Meacham, north of the Reformed church; Wm. Wilson, and afterward Alexander Sutherland, where the present hotel stands; Isaac Raymond at the town line; Smith, and afterward Bragg, at the mouth of Stony Kill; John Perrigo, and afterward James Bassett and George Jake- w^ay at the east end of Fort Miller bridge — ten taverns in a little over three miles ; these taverns and the stores all sold liquors. A large part of the business at that time was lumbering and rafting. The long timbers w^ere made into rafts and run down the river. The shorter logs were sawed into boards and rafted to market. The cordwood and staves were put on to rafts called float sticks. Lumbering, with the chopping and drawing of logs in the winter, furnished work for the in- habitants, and as soon as the snow failed the making of the rafts began, followed, when the ice was gone, by running the rafts to Albany w^here they were made up into larger rafts and sent to New York. It was not always profitable. Often the market was over-stocked. The men engaged in it were a tough, hard}' lot and able to endure a large amount of toil and hardship. A man who knew the channels and was a good pilot was in demand and made good w^ages. They would leave Fort Miller, or DuMont's Ferry, in the early morning and tie up their rafts in Albany that night ; then stay in Albany or Troy over night ; next morn- ing they would walk to Troy or Waterford for breakfast ; then walk to Fort Miller for a late dinner; after dinner get another raft ready for the next day, making the trip in two days. Among the men engaged in this business were Peltiah Harris, John, Jacob and David DeGarmo, Abel Pot- ter, Thomas Ellis, Sanford Case, Pasley Lang, Matthew and Wynant DeGarmo, Barnc}- Yiele, Garret Yiele and his 120 The Fort Edward Book sons, Philip, Nicholas, Garret, Jr., and Barney, second; also his brothers, Wynant, John, Alexander, William, Volkert and Daniel, besides VanDerwerkers and VanDenBur^s innumer- able, and many more whose names are forgotten. Garret Viele and his son, Barney, have been known to walk from Albany to their home in the town of Moreau, 54 miles, in a day. Shad were plenty in those days. Daniel Viele said that he had known nine seines to be in use at one time between Fort Miller and Saratoga Falls, or DuMont's Ferry, a short three miles. The owners of the seines had one-half for the use of them, and the men doing the work had the other half, but when the Troy and Saratoga dams were built the shad stopped coming up the river. Considerable attention was paid to education, in those days. Besides the two schools at different times in the vil- lage, there were others outside; one known as the Crocker school house, at Crocker's Reefs, is now owned by Edward Newton; another stood against the hill, a short distance north of Levi P. Galusha's present home. It was after- ward moved to the Wm. G. Watson farm on the road to- ward Wm. E. Doig's, and occupied as a dwelling house; still another stood a short distance east of where S. D. Baker now lives, on lot No. 23, owned by Mr. McDougall. A school house was built at Fort Miller in 1832; it stood where H. L. Roger's barn now stands. L. S. Viele built it. Benjamin Ward was the first teacher there, and Jane Payne the last ; it was abandoned in 1871, when the present one was built. Another school house stood just north of the cemetery, and a Mr, Biglow kept the school ; David Carswell taught there after him, also later in a school house that stood a little south of A. F. Nichols' store. The foundation of the chim- ne\^ was removed in 1866. Carswell was a patriot and had been confined in a British prison. He said that he had Fort Miller. 121 brought dispatches from Salem to Fort Miller, when he came through the woods on foot and found his way by blazed trees. Teaching in that early day was different from the present ; the testament was the text book and no fault found with it. The ferule was in common use. One boy, the son of a tavern keeper, used to get a whipping with it every day. He, in revenge, tried to burn the school house; that was the one that stood near A. F. Nichols' store. Taylor Lewis, afterward Professor Lewis, of Union College, was among the early scholars at the Payne school house. He afterward had an office a little south of the Reformed church, and practiced law, which he abandoned to become a teacher; his wife was Jane Payne, also a scholar, daughter of Daniel Payne. Samuel Lewis, father of Taylor, was a soldier in the Revolution. He died in 1822, aged 74 years. Amono- the early settlers on the farms was William Harper and his son-in-law, Goodwin ; they lived in a log house a short distance north of the house now owned and occupied by Mrs. J. H. Viele. A great-great-grandson of Harper's, William E. Doig, now owns part of the farm. A man by the name of Bissell lived in a house that stood where the rear barn on Mrs. Raymond Baker's farm stands; the house is a part of Mrs. J. H. Viele's residence. The barn used in connection is still standing on Mrs. Viele's farm. Benjamin Hamlin from Dutchess county, came to Fort Miller in 1809 and lived in the Bissell house; he afterwards lived in a house just south of the ruins of the Duer house; his son Jehial, who died in 1887, said that when his father moved there the ruins covered an acre of ground and that they burned up the trash and afterward picked up a cartbody full of nails. James Doig, a young Scotchman, also came in 1809. He married Betsy Goodwin and ac- quired the east half of Goodwin's and Harper's 200 acres. His grandson, WilHara E. Doig, now lives on and owns the 122 The Fort Edward Book farm. James' son, William, died in December, 1900, in his 79th year, and he said, a few months before his death, that he had never, in all his life, been off the farm for more than three weeks at a time. He served the town a number of years as assessor. Thomas Galusha, a Revolutionary soldier, came here in 1809 from Colerain. He had six sons — Samuel, Thomas, John, Reuben, Russell and William, and one daughter, Sally, who married Edward Bristol. Pasqua Whaley came in 1812 from Rhode Island, and settled on part of lot No. 20, of Schuyler's Patent. The house stood on the premises now occupied by Henr^^ Taylor — the fourth one built on the place. The first two were log houses ; one stood a short dis- tance east of the present house, the other was nearer the present site of the house, but to the west and near the road. It has been gone about forty years. The two frame ones are still standing. Mr. McKibbon had a house and saw-mill on lot No. 21, a little south of Whaley 's. David Randall now owns the place. When the town of Argyle was divided into Argyle and Fort Edward, in 1818, Alexander Viele drove a four-horse team from Fort Miller to Argyle to carry voters, and when returning that night the bridge across Moses Kill, below McKibbon's saw-mill, was under water, and Samuel Potter took the forward team by the heads and lead them across. The da}^ had been very stormv. Ephriam Crocker is said to have stood in the street electioneering in favor of the division, until the rain water filled his boots; he had said that he would have the town divided if it cost him half what he was worth. Whale\^ had four sons — Stephen, who lived and died where S. D. Williams now lives; Thomas and Samuel and John, who all lived to be old men, died on the farm their father owned. Thomas had a son David liv- ing a short distance west. He says that Gideon Whaley was his grand-father's brother. Mary Colier, who is a sister-in- Fort Miller. 123 law of John and Thomas, says he was his nephew. David also says that Pasqua's father, Samuel, came with him and lived in the log house east of the frame one, but afterward went back to Rhode Island. Pasqua's mother died here and is buried in the Hopkin's cemetery. Andrew Abercrombie, and his brother John, were Revolutionery soldiers, and came from Pelham. They are buried at Fort Miller. Aber- crombie had four children— Andrew, who died young; Mar- garet Wait, Mary Tubbs, and Sarah, who never married. Arthur Wait came from Vermont, it is said. John Aber- crombie never married. Jerry Tubbs lived on a lot north of his brother, Daniel, and latar moved to Lake George. Abner Tubbs lived west of where John Skelly's barn now is; he died in a house near the canal, April, 1865, eighty-five years old. Daniel Tubbs died January 13th, 1857, aged eighty years. He has a grand-son, Andrew Tubbs, living south of Stony Kill, in the town of Greenwich. Mrs. William Colier, who lives on the "ridge" is a daughter of Arthur Wait, and a grand-daughter of Andrew Abercrombie. There were two families of Paynes; Noah and Daniel. Daniel bought lot No. 2. He had at least three sons— Daniel who had forty acres of what is now Robert Payne's farm ; he was killed while drawing timber in North- umberland ; Moses, who lived where Andrew Chase now lives; Reuben, who lived where Frederick Folger now is, and a step-son, Mills, who lived in a log house a short distance west of Moses Payne's. James Robinson lived where Wm. G. Watson now resides; he and a family of W^heelers, who lived on the same farm, were relatives of Reuben Payne's family. Reuben Payne's wife was Johanna Swift. In 1817, Samuel T. Sheppard bought the Benjamin Payne farm where Mrs. P. E. Hatch now lives. He came from Argyle and lived nearly all the time till his death, March 30th, 1862, in or near Fort Miller. He was a law- 124 The Fort Edward Book. yer by profession and served the town in different ways. He w^as justice of the peace a number of years. His young- est son, James, died in June, 1902, in sight of the place where he was born. Joshua Lake built the house now owned by Anna Galusha, early in the nineteenth century. Ralph Clark came from Argyle in 1826 and bought the Switzer place, and built a store across the road from Ben- nett's; he was here but a few years; his daughter, Eveline, was Vice President Colfax's first wife. Just across the line was Simeon Odell, and his brother John. Simeon was a great humorist. About a half mile south of the town line, John Perrigo built a house and kept tavern ; he sold it in 1809 to James Bassett. The place is now owned by A. A. Hunt. Michael Phalon was the tailor for many years. Marcus Button was the hatter; his shop stood on the west side of the road, opposite where Clarence Sanders now lives; he afterwards moved it east of the village and it is now^ oc- cupied by his grandson, G. B. Button; he died November 21st, 1872, aged 75 ; he was for some years a justice of the peace. Wait Sanders and Josiah Livermore were two Revolutionary soldiers, who lived near by in the town of Greenwich. Livermore was said to have been engaged in Shay's Rebellion. He came from Massachusetts soon afterward, or soon after the war, to DuMont's Ferry, and afterward to Fort Miller. Josiah Livermore has a grand- son, Josiah H. Livermore, now living in Greenwich, not far from the town line, and a great-grandson, John W. Livermore, in town. Mrs. James Baldwin (Esther Liver- more), of Fort Edward, is a granddaughter. His grand- son, Josiah H. Livermore, says that he sold his Massa- chusetts property and took his pay in Continental money, which, by the time he reached DuMont's Ferry, was worth- less. Wait Sanders lived just north of Nathan Ketchum's house. Fort Miller. 125 Solomon Smith bought the island near the mouth of Stony Kill from the State, in 1803, for fifty dollars, but was to allow the mooring of rafts to it free of charge. Wynant Van Den Burg and his wife, Martha, with their two daughters, Katherine, (afterwards Mrs. Garret Van Den Burg, of Schaghticoke, N. Y.) and Mary, (afterwards wife of Philip G. Viele), slept on this island for six weeks before they left to go to Albany, fearing trouble from the Indians that were with Burgoyne. When the Water- ford and Whitehall turnpike was built, Jehial Hamlin and Leman Gray, graded and graveled five miles of it, from Daniel Payne's south line to near the present powder house. Hamlin also cleared and graded the most of the road in this town that leads to South Argyle. Shepherd Norcross, the carpenter who built the Re- formed church, and many other buildings of that dav, was an eastern man. Archie and Jesse Patrick were also among the early settlers, and kept a store opposite where G. T. Hunt now keeps. Among the early physicians was Dr. Lighthall from DuMont's Ferry. Afterward Dr. John Collins of North- umberland, was in great demand. One of the earliest, if not the very first to settle at Fort Aliller v^as Dr. John De Garmo; he had his office in the house now occupied bv Mrs. Oscar M. Bassett. John Bostwick was a physician here at least as early as 1822, and probably sometime before. Dr. Joseph Stewart was practicing here in 1828. Dr. Reuben Blawis came after Stewart left, in 1870. Many ot the names once common in this neighborhood, are now rarely seen; among them are those of Dove, Zebec, Wiley, Dunwoodv, Meacham, Glazier, Burlingame and Lake. Among the early comers was Arthur Wait, Abner Tubbs, Daniel Tubbs, Jerry Tubbs, Andrew Abercrombie and John Abercrombie; they came from Rhode Island. Daniel Tubbs 126 The Fort Edward Book. and Arthur Wait married sisters, dauf^hters of Andrew Aber- crombie. Andrew Abercrombie and Daniel Tubbs lived on a farm now owned by Jessie Billings and occupied by Wm. Linindoll. The last of the Aborigines left here were "Peggie" and "Silas"; they lived in a hut on land now owned by Ralph Button. Another who used to travel about the country was called "Baucha." She was killed by the cars at Balls- ton. She once tried to hire James Doig to kill her son-in- law; she offered him a quart of rum. Doig, who was a total abstinence man, and no murderer, did not take the job. One of the excitements of the village was when the state dam was torn down. It caused a division in the Reformed church which closed that edifice for a number of j^ears. James Fuller, one of the deacons, said, "the church all went over the dam." When the trouble began, and for some time thereafter the main subject for conversation was "dam" and "anti-dam." Another excitement was during the cholera epidemic in 1832. The cholera broke out among a number of Welsh emi- grants, who were passengers on a canal boat and were taken off at this place. They were placed in an old cooper- shop that stood near where Fred Lee now lives; nine of them died — four in one day. Four of the residents died during the epidemic. Th^ emigrants were taken to Green Island on a boat, by Peter and Barney Viele. Liquor was then the cure- all. Barney steared the boat. On the way south one woman was ver^^ sick in the cabin, so Barney to keep off the disease, had a jug of liquor in front of him, on the cabin deck, which he partook of freely. Among the societies existing here was the Sons of Tem- perance, revived in 1867 with G. W. Ingals as worthy patri- arch. Thev held meetings for about three years and a half. Fort Miller. 127 There was at one time a lodge of Odd Fellows here, also a lodge of Good Templars. A public library was formed at an early day. Ephriam Crocker and Ashabal Meacham were among the incorporators. For the foregoing article we are indebted to Mr. Sheldon A. Viele, whose ancestors were among the pioneers that settled in Fort Miller, as the following biography shows: Viele — The first of their name to live in this town was Philip G. Viele, a blacksmith, sixth in descent from Cornelius Corhelison Viele, a French Hugonot, who fled from France to Holland, and thence to America, sometime in the middle or latter half of the 17th century. The eldest son, Arnot Cornelius, of this emigrant, acted as an interpreter between the Indians and the Livingston famiU^ in a land purchase in 1683. Philip G. Viele was one of Garret Viele's two sons; the other, Andrew, was in the American army at West Point at the time Arnold turned traitor; he was at Fort Miller in 1809, but it is not known what became of him. Garret, father of Philip and Andrew, was baptized in the First Re- formed Church of Kingston, in 1710; his wife was Kather- ine Bratt. Philip's first wife was Maria Bratt ; they were living in Schaghticoke at the time of the Revolution. After the war, and after the death of his first wife, Philip went to Northumberland and on January 21st, 1787, married Mary Van Den Burg, daughter of Wynant and Martha Van Den Burg. He had seven children by his first w^ife, three dj'ing in infancy; one, Philip, Jr., dying at seventeen; two, Barney and Garret, lived to be old men. Barney married Sarah Putnam. A great-grandson of his, Fred C. Viele, keeps a drug store at Glens Falls. Garret married Susan Van Den Burg; they had ten sons and one daughter — Mrs. Archibald Stanton. Two of the sons, Johnson and Truman, are now 128 The Fort Edward Book. living. Philip G. had one daughter by his first wife; her name was Katherine, and she married Asa Daniels. Bj the second wife he had seven children — Wynant, John, Mary, Al- exander, William, Volkert and Daniel. The daughter died when a child; Volkert was drowned October, 1832; Wil- liam died at Ballston in 1845; Wj'nant died at Gansevoort in 1856; John at Glens Falls in 1846; Alexander at Fort Miller in 1867; Daniel at Fort Miller, November 3d, 1880. Philip G. Viele at one time had a shop on the west side of the river, opposite Fort Miller, near the lower falls. He removed to the east side (Fort Miller) in September, 1806, and worked in a shop across the road from Ray- mond's Tavern, at the town line. He died May 31st, 1807. Plis name is mentioned as being in Ouackenbush's regiment at Bemis Heights. When he came to the east side of the river there was but a half acre of land cleared where he set- tled, a short distance below the falls. He secured from Mr. Bleeker a life lease of all the land he might clear, and soon after he died Bleeker gave the widow a life lease for fifty cents a vear, if he should call for it, which he never did. Mrs. Viele died April 10, 1853, in her 91st year. After her death, her son, Daniel, purchased the home, and it is now owned by his son, Sheldon A. Viele, who is the only one of Philip's descendents now living in the town. William C. Viele, a grandson of William Viele, lives at Sandy Hill. At one time, about 1827 or 1828, there Were fifteen voters in the town by the name of Viele; there is now but one. The rest of Philip's descendants are widely scattered over differ- ent sections of the United States. Philip G. Viele came from Livingston Manor, Dutchess county; he was born Septem- ber 15th, 1747. Soon after the war of 1812 Stephen L. Viele (a distant relative, but not a descendant of Philip G. ) came to Fort Miller from Pittstown, Rensselaer county; he served as a captain at the time that the call came for men to go Col. William Duer. 129 to Plattsburgh, in 1814. Becoming disgusted with the dilatory movements of the regimental officers he hired teams to transport his company ; they reached Granville and there met the men returning with the good news of an American victory. His onh' son, Stephen, is now living at Dayton, O. He had six daughters — Maria, unmarried; Jane (Mrs. George Sturdevant); Harriet (Mrs. Sidney Sutfin); Lucy (Mrs. John Thompson of New York); Laura (Mrs. Archi- bald Hubbard of Brooklyn); Caroline! Mrs. William Ostram of Watervhet). The three first named are buried at Fort Miller. His wife was Laura Stearns; her father kept the upper tavern after Mrs. Lamb married George Jakeway. Soon after Stephen came, his brother, Simon, came from Pittstown. He bought 320 acres of land here, part of which is now owned by the widow of his grandson, Mrs. J. H. Viele. Simon had four sons — Lodowicus S., Piatt C, John C. and Hiram. Lodowicus did business with his uncle, Stephen, for many years. His wife was Leville Stearns, sis- ter of Stephen's wife. Stephen and Lodowicus both were members of the legislature. The only representatives of this family in town are the widow of J. H. (son of John C.) Viele, and three children. Mrs. George Washburn of North- umberland, is a daughter of Piatt C. Simon Viele's wnfe was Jane Carpenter. Simon and Stephen had a brother, Charles, unmarried. Their father's name was Lodowicus and their mother's name was Effie Toll, a descendant of Carl Hanson Toll, a Norwegian settler of the colony. Col. William Duer, prominently mentioned in the early part of this chapter, was born -March 18th, 1747, in Devon- shire, England. He was educated at Eton, entered the army and saw service in India, and came to this country in 1768, bringing letters to Lord Sterling and General Philip 130 The Fort Edward Book. Schiiyler. Upon Schu\'ler's recoinmendation lie purchased land in the vicinity of Fort Miller, including the falls at that place, where he built a saw-mill and afterwards a large grist- mill, and at the breaking out of the Revolutionary war he erected a powder mill. About 1770 he constructed a man- sion at Fort Miller. It stood in front of the bluff rising from the Hudson river, and was fift^^-tvvo feet square, two stories high ; the lower story being eleven feet and the upper one ten feet in height, with a high basement, in which was the kitchen and other rooms. There was a wide hall through the centre of the house upon each floor, with two large square rooms on either side and the staircase on one side of the lower hall, which is said to have been elegantly finished. The windows on the upper story were all bow windows. The roof was nearly flat, built in four triangles, running each wa}'. The house faced toward the west and on the rear, or east side, was a wide, two story veranda, the entire length of the house. On each end was a wing, twent^'-two feet square and one and one-half stories high. The frame of the house was of heavy oak timber, the walls being lined with two-inch plank and filled in with brick, over which was lathing and plastering. The windows were all hung with chains and leaden weights. The main part had a cornice carved all around. This building was finished and occupied b\' Col. Duer before the Revolution, and during the Revolution was occupied by General Burgoyne, and many British papers and letters were dated at the "Duers House." The building was taken down in 1810 and the material was used in the erection of buildings in the village. A hotel, saw-mill and several dwellings contain much of the material taken from this house. Col. Duer, in 1772, was one of the commissioners of high- ways for the county of Charlotte, and one of his associates was Col. Philip Skene. In 1773, he was appointed Associ- ate Judge for the County of Charlotte, with Col. Schuyler. First Term of Court. 131 Judge Duer opetied and held the term of court at Fort Ed- ward on the 19th day of October, 1773, being the first term of the court held at Fort Edward. Archibald Campbell was foreman of the grand jury. The assistant judges were Pat- rick Smyth of Fort Edward, who was afterward county clerk of this county; Ebenezer Clark, ^ Jacob Marsh, Ben- jamin Spencer and Alexander McNaughton. The subse- quent terms of court were held b\^ Judge Schuyler until the 21st of March, 1785, when Judge Duer again presided. This was, perhaps, the most tumultuous court ever held within Washington county and it is spoken of, in some of the early records, as "the Fort Edward mob." Such was the vio- lence displaj'cd b}^ the angr}'' crowd assembled that it was thought it would be necessary to adjourn the court. This term of court was only eight days later than the term held at Westminster, in Cumberland county, as it was then called, (now Vermont,) where William French was killed. Judge Duer, however, was equal to the occasion, and pre- sided with such dignity and firmness that he was able to dispatch the ordinary business of the court without the oc- currence of any serious violence. Judge Duer was the first subscriber to the Association of the Patriots ot Charlotte County, in the town of Argyle. He was appointed Deputy Adjutant General by the Provin- cial Congress of New York on July 27th, 1775. In 1776 he was elected one of the delegates to the Provincial Congress of New York, and was one of the committee to prepare a Constitution for the State of New York, and in 1777, was appointed first judge of the County of Charlotte; was after- wards elected senator. He married Catherine Alexander, a daughter of William Alexander, Titular Earl of Sterling, and his wife is familiarly called "Lady Kitty." Col. Duer was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury under Alexander 1 Ebenezer Clark was the son of Dr. Clark of Salem, and the father of Ralph Clark of Fort Miller. 132 The Fort Edward Book. Hamilton. Col. Duer, with his family, for a number of years resided in his mansion at Fort Miller, and it was there that the celebrated John Lovett, one of the early lawyers of this county, acquired his profession, acting as a tutor for the children of Col. Duer and as his a^ent in the management of his large estate. Subsequently the family moved to New York, Mr. Lovett remaining behind to care for the property and occupying the mansion as a residence and law office. Col. Duer died on the 7th day of July, 1790, survived by eight children. CHAPTER XIII. TAXATION AND ASSESSMENTS, INCLUDING SOME OF THE PRIN- CIPAL TAXPAYERS IN THE EARLY DAYS.— SUPERVISORS' UNIQUE RECORDS. The earliest assessment roll preserved in the town clerk's office is for the year 1820, by which roll it appears that there was at that time in this town, 161 resident taxpayers and eight non-resident taxpayers. Forty-six of the resident taxpayers were assessed for personal property. William Finn was the largest land-owner in town at that time. He was assessed for 4738 acres of land and his personal assess- ment was for |;3,000. The land throughout the town was assessed at the uniform rate of $1.00 per acre, and Mr. Finn was therefore assessed for $7,738, upon which assessment he paid a tax of |30.56. He was not only the largest land- owner, but he was also the largest taxpayer in town. In 1826 the town raised for the support of the poor, $150; for town expenses, $199.85; for the support of com- mon schools, $95.04; for county tax, |352.22, and for the collector's fee on school tax, $4.75, making a total levy in town of $801.86. The next year the levy was something less, being only f 743.22. In 1830 the aggregate valuation of the resident tax- payers was $177,630. This valuation was reduced four per cent, by the Board of Supervisors, and Ira Parmely, Super- visors' clerk, certified that "there is to be levied in Fort Ed- ward this year (1830) for town expenses, $133.13; for the support of common schools, $101.58; for county tax, 134 The Fort Edward Book. $622-40; for collector's fees on school tax, |5.08, a total of $862.19." In 1831 the total assessed acreage was 15,733. The valuation of the real estate was $163,482; the personal as- sessment was $16,409; the aggregate valuation $179,891; and the total tax was |515.92. In 1832 the aggregate valuation was $195,409, and the aggregate tax this year was $830.56; the amount being somewhat larger than usual because of the fact that $200 was raised for bridges. The amount raised by tax and the purposes for which the same was raised, between 1834 and 1838, both in- clusive, appears in the following table : 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 County tax $440.87 $422.64 $468.88 $496.20 $489.74 Town expenses... 119.75 127.96 144.13 144.31 148.35 School tax 94.61 94.61 90.29 90.29 225.72 Col. fees, sch'l tax 4.73 4.73 4.51 4.51 11.28 Bridges 100.00 100.00 150.00 150.00 Rejected tax 1.26 .... .... .... Interest on same .08 .... .... .... Total $759.96 $651.28 $807.81 $885.31 $1025.09 In 1842 the amount of tax raised in town had risen to $1,256.97, and during the next decade it rose to $1,991.19 in 1852, and in 1854 it was $3,034.93. Barent Bleeker and John R. Bleeker of Albany, in 1820, were the owners of numerous lots of land in Schuyler's Pat- ent in the vicinity of where is now Fort Miller, including what was called the "mill seat on the upper falls." Philip Schuyler was also the owner of various lots of land in the vicinit}^ of F'ort Miller at that time. Among those who were assessed for |1,000, or more. Taxpayers of Early Days. 135 upon real estate, were the following. The year which fol- lows the name is that in which the name first appears, or when the assessment first amounted to $1,000: Year Albert Baker 1820 John Bevoort, Jr Sanford Case Ephriam Crocker John Crocker Jaspar Deuel Asa Eddy Timoth\^ Eddy John Ellis, Jr Solomon Emmons George Ford Edward Fullerton John and Reuben Galusha " Thomas and Samuel Galusha. Benjamin Hamlin Henry Hanaman Martin Hopkins Margaret Jakeway Ashabel Meacham Jos. Howe and Stephen Mead " John Miller " Joseph Miller John McDougall Duncan Mclntyre Francis McMurray John Montgomery Nathan Alunrow Daniel Payne John Peterson, Jr Samuel Reynolds Acres Valua'n 1,824 $2,097 1,416 1,416 1,184 3,056 1,335 1,590 2,208 2,208 1,632 1,632 1,152 1,152 1,632 1,632 1,056 1,056 2,880 2,880 2,621 2,621 1,344 1,344 1,920 1,920 1,459 1,459 1,440 1,440 1,066 1,066 2,498 2,498 2,285 2,348 1,000 1,920 2,100 1,498 1,668 691 1,037 1,382 1,382 1,152 1,152 1,040 1,223 2,184 2,184 1,459 1,459 1,296 1,356 136 The Fort Edward Book. Year Acres Valua'n James Robinson 1820 1,339 $1,339 Walter Rogers " 1.920 2,106 JohnS. Squier " 1,306 1.306 Pasqua Whaley " 1.382 1,382 Daniel W. Wing " 2,592 2.592 Daniel W. Wing & Asa Eddy.. " 861 2,364 Joseph Wright " 2,184 2,184 Barent and John Bleeker 1826 35 4,136 Sanford Case & H. Emmons.. " 150 1,034 William Goodwin " 244 1.645 Jacob Hogaboom " 160 1,128 Samuel Houston " 184 1,175 Abel Potter " 350 2,350 Abijah E. Smith " 1 1.692 John C. Stewart " 113 1.500 Resley Taylor " 1 1.400 Simon Lodowicus Viele " 4 1,081 Eddy, Martin & Wheeler " 4 2,820 John Mclntyre & Bibbins 1829 125 1,200 JohnMcMurray " 100 1,060 Jacob Pike " 150 1,200 Alexander Robertson " 290 1,534 John Stewart " 155 1,700 Piatt Viele " 320 2,850 Stephen Viele, saw-mill lot " 4 3.500 John R. Bleeker 1830 30 3.360 Lavina Case " 150 1,056 Russell W.Pratt " 1 1.221 Chauncey Fort & Morris 1831 150 1,555 John Mclntyre & Harper " 143 1,387 John Robertson Mclntyre " 125 1,045 Thomas Coverdale ' 1832 176 1,524 Sally Payne " 265 3,325 Taxpayers of Early Days. 137 Year Acres Valua'n Ira Whipple 1832 150 $1,200 Archibald and Wm. Gilchrist. 1833 152 1,751 Rev. Joseph Parry " 1 2,800 Elizabeth Ford 1834 1.400 Georo^e Hall " 2,200 2,360 Company Mill " % 2,790 John McDougall " 190 1,800 E. D. Pratt & Cook, (tavern) " lot 1,150 John Shaw " 116 1,005 James Stevenson " 200 1,000 Joseph Stewart " 285 3,500 Richard Warren " 150 1,200 Calvin Y. R. Woodworth " 335 2.700 Fort Edward Bridge Co 1835 stock 3,224 GaUisha G. Bradley " 165 1,080 Joseph Utter " 150 1.305 Nelson Buck 1836 150 1,500 Payne & Rowland " 200 2,200 Gotham Pike " 159 1,200 John Mclntyre 1837 lot 1,100 (Schoolhouse lot) " 145 1,100 William DeWitt McLean " 150 1,450 Merritt & Warren Sprague.... " 113 1,800 Barent and John R. Bleeker....l838 4 1.500 Taylor, Payne & Howland.... " 200 2,000 Hosea Nichols " 10 1,200 WilHam A. Rozell 1839 150 1,200 Arod Sprague " 111 1,115 James Stott " 100 1,000 H. & D. Baker 1842 213 1,900 George E. Cuyler " 170 1,360 Seth and Elias Durkee " grocery 1,000 Elliot Higley " 150 1,125 Martha Miller " 173 1,384 138 The Fort Edward Book. Year Acres Valua'n James Stevenson Jr 1842 200 $1,600 Daniel Baker 1843 213 1,704 Merchant Hall " 170 1,190 Thomas Hopkins " 127 1,016 Rowley Beach 1848 100 1,000 Rebecca Bradt " 166 1,000 Bradley & Underwood " 1 1,700 Bristol & Galusha " 360 2,100 H'ds'nRv'rIr'n& Mchn. Co. " 2 3,000 John W. Miller " 180 1,300 Joseph & David Miller " 180 1,300 David Roberts " 113 1,000 Winfield Sherwood, saw mill. " lot 1,500 Daniel P. Walker " 332 2,350 Robert and William Allen 1849 % 1,600 Jonathan S. Beach (saw-mill). " 1,600 Samuel Mott " 215 1,200 Amos Smith " 332 2,350 William Allen 1850 1,000 David Underwood " lot 2,300 Saratoga & Washington R.R. " 13,050 John and Samuel Whaley " 172 1,330 Bank of Fort Edward 1852 101,093 Merchant Bradt " 157 3,173 Samuel Buck " 159 3,159 Alfred Case " 60 1,000 Cyrus G. Smith " lot 1,200 Cheesman & Hodgman " store 1,300 Elisha Ferris " 86 1,950 George Harvey " 70 2,500 S. M. Howdand " y2 1,000 Sherbal Lyons " 80 1,800 Calvin Metcalf " 85 1,600 Alexander McDougall *' 60 1,200 Supervisors' Proceedings, 1785. 139 Year Acres Valua'n. Daniel McQuarrie 1852 141 $3,000 Ebenezer Qua " 1 2,500 William D. Shaw ^' 80 1,500 Alexander S. Kelly " lv50 2,100 Merritt Williams " 78 1,500 Babcock & Lee 1854 1/2 1.000 DeGarmo, Nichols & Co " 2 1,400 t^t. Edward and Argyle road. " 3,600 Ft. Edward Paper Mill Co.... " 15,000 Reuben Gamble " personal 1,000 Harvey, Potter & Co " lumber yd. 1,500 Hodgman, Wing & Lee " ¥2 3,250 Jeremiah Jepson " 21 2,243 Stephen B.Lee " V2 1,400 Sam. Lewis (N. Payne farm). " 90 2,000 Smith & Hubbell " 1 1,100 S.R.Potter " 1 1,000 Andrew Wait " 109 1,809 Daniel W. Wing " V2 4,500 While engaged in the preparation of the foregoing arti- cle there came to the hands of the author a manuscript copy of the proceedings of the Board of Supervisors for the county of W^ashington for the years 1785 and 1786. These proceed- ings, while they may be regarded by some as foreign to this work, are, nevertheless, of so interesting a nature that it seems as if the record should be perpetuated, and as it has some local interest, the record is given below. For this the author is indebted to the kindness of Mr. Asahel R. Wing, whose valuable and interesting collection of manuscripts has been kindly placed at his disposal:^ 1 In printing the proceedings we have endeavored to follow the original manuscript as near as possible, both as to spelling and capitalization. 140 The Fort Edward Book. Friday, the 14th January, A 1785, Whitcrick.i met agreabel to apointnient members present Lemuel Mech^ (Mede) greenfield^ Daniel Pain, fort Edward* Capt. Seelye^ Queensbury Duncan Mcarty^ ] Capt. Tearse^ }>Arguil^ Capt. Battey9 j 1 Salem was called White Creek at this time and this meeting- was doubtless held there. 2 This may be and probablj' is intended for Lemuel Hyde. The MSS is indistinct. No trace can be found of any one by the name of Mech or Mede, in Greenfield at this time. 3 This is what is now Hampton. It was org-anized by an act of the Legislature March 3d, 1786 ; before that it was called Greenfield. 4 Fort Edward was not organized as a town until April lUth, 1818. In 1785 it was called the Fort Edward District, but was a part of Argyle. 5 Capt. Seelye— This was Nehemiah Seelye. In 1783-4-5-6 there were two super- visors elected in the district of Queensbury. Abraham Wing was the other supervisor in 1785. Seelye was assessor in Queensbury in 1772-3-5 to 1779, inclusive. He was overseer of the poor of that town from 1775 to 1778. Collector, 1783 and 1784. Fence viewer, 1772, 1773, 1775, and 1778. He was one of the early settlers of Kingsbury, and one of the original mem- bers of the Masonic Lodge of Fort Edward in 1787. He was second lieutenant in Capt. Asa Richardson's Company from the Kingsbury District. In Col. John Williams Dorset Regi- ment, Charlotte County Militia, 1775, he was a Captain, 1778. 6 Duncan McArthur was one of the original grantees of the Argyle Patent, and drew lot No. 44, of 450 acres. He was one of the Campbell immigrants. He settled in Argyle in 1765. He was a brother-in-law of James and Alexander Campbell. His daughter, Mar- garet, married John Reid. His son was Deacon John Reid. Duncan McArthur was one of the supervisors of Argyle in 1784, and apparently in 1785, although his name does not ap- pear in the town records as such for that year. He was one of the three supervisors in 1786. He died in 1813, aged 84 years. He was a soldier in the Revolution, a private in Col. Fred Fisher's Third Tryon County Regiment, Capt. Little's Company. 7 Major Peter B. Tearse was born about 1753. Was adjutant in Col. Goose van Schaick's Albany Regiment. He saw service at Fort Edward and Fort Stanwix. He built the house in Fort Edward where Dr. R. A. Linindoll now (1897) resides. He married Mary Hunter, a granddaughter of Mrs. McNeil, of Jane McCrea fame. After the Revolu- tion he lived in Fort Edward for a time, then removed to Queensbury, where he held numer- ous town offices ; thence he removed to Lake George, thence to Ballston, where he died in 1802. He was one of the assistant judges of Washington County, and was appointed sheriff of Washington County, Februarj' 24th, 1789. Member of Assembly from 1786 to 1789, inclu. sive. Appointed one of the justices of the peace for this county, January 23d, 1786. A mem- ber of the Masonic Lodge here in 1787. His daughter, Mary, mairried William Finn, of Fort Edward. Peter T. Finn, married Mary Cozzens, of Easton. Elizabeth, his (Fmn's) daughter, married Hon. George Scott, of Fort Edward, 8 Aru-yle was organized as a town by the original Patent in 1764, but not by the State government until 1786. The first town meeting was in 1771. It then included the present town of Fort Edward and a part of Greenwich and Salem. 9 James Beatty appears to have been one of the three supervisors from Argyle in Supervisors' Proceedings, 1785. 141 Capt. Sherwood^*^ Kingsbury^^ Moses Martini-^ j 1st voted Capt Sherwood Moderator 2d voted Esq. Martin, Clark 3d voted that Sarah Brown and her two children bee suported by the destreckt of fort Edward or s^^ destrickt shall Remove them to their place of abode or former of residence. 1783. The other two were John McNaug-hton and Peter B. Tearse. In 1784, his associate was Duncan McArthur. In 1785 he appears to have been sole supervisor, and he was one of the three ag-ain in 1786, the others being- Duncan McArthur and John McKnight. 10 Capt. Seth Sherwood was supervisor of Kingsburj' in 1782, 1786, and 1788. He was quartermaster of the Charlotte County Regiment. A lieutenant of the forces raised for the defense of the frontier, June 16th, 1780, and from October 10th, 1780, to November 11th, 1782, he was captain of a company of Exempts in Col. Webster's Charlotte County Regiment. Kingsbury was then thickly settled with Tories;. Capt. Sherwood suffered severe losses, (over §10,000 of property) during the Revolution, and received no compensation therefor. He seems to have been a sterling patriot. He was an early settler in Fort Edward and a mem- ber of the Fort Edward Masonic Lodge in 1787. 11 Kingsbury was organized as a township by Royal Patent, Mas' Hth, 1762. Its limits have remained unchanged. The town was recognized by the State government, March 23d, 1786. 12 Edward Savage lived in Salem, and at this time, doubtless, the White Creek Dis- trict embraced the town of Salem. This conjecture is strengthened by the fact that when the tax was extended, no tax is assessed to Salem. The next year a tax is levied upon Salem and the White Creek quota drops out. Edward Savage was the son of John Savage, of Pelham, Mass. Edward had a brother James; both settled in Salem. Edward had one son, John, who was Comptroller of the State in 1821— 23, and Chief Justice of this State in 1823-37. Edward was member of the Council of Appointment in 17'J0, 1802, 1807. He was supervisor in 1801, 1802, 1803. A member of the Constitutional Convention in 1801. Presi- dential Elector in 1824. Surrogate in 1783-87, and 1810-13. Sheriff in 1777-78. State Senator in 1788 for four years, and in 1801 for six years. Member of Assembly in 1784-S-7-9, and 1795 to 1801, inclusive. He was second lieutenant in Capt. Eben'r Clark's Company of Dr. John Williams' Regiment of Charlotte County Militia, known as the Dorset Regiment. He was an elder in the Presbyterian Church from 1789 to 1833. 13 Moses Martin seems to have settled in Salem before the Revolution. He was a brother of Col. Adam Martin of Stockbridge, Mass., who came to Salem after the Revolu- tion. Adam was assistant supervisor of Salem in 1782. Moses was an adjutant in Col. John Williams' Regiment of Militia of Charlotte County, and flrst lieutenant in Joseph McCrack- en's Charlotte County Company, of Col. Goose van Schaick's Second Regiment New York Continentals, 1775, and as appears from the above, was the first clerk cf the Board of Super- visors of Washington County m 1785, and also for the next year, 1786. He was justice of the peace in 1786, 1789, 1792, 1795. and 1818. Adam Martin was Member of Assembly in 1787, and justice of the peace for many years. He removed to Martinsburgh, Lewis County, N. Y., and became prominent there. Moses Martin was a member of the Masonic Lodge at Fort Edward in 1787. 142 The Fort Edward Book. 4th Unanimush^ voted that the supervisors of the dif- frant destricts shall lay a tax on a Differant Collom from the County Tax and shall pay their supervisors, assesors and other contigent charges arising in his or their Destrict ought of the monies arising from s^ Tax. 5th voted that Mr. Durkee's bill bee aloued £25-9-0 for takino- of a sick indion named Thomas Abner — that s^^ bill is Considered as a County Charge. 6th voted that Capt Seth Sherwood act be alloud £10-3-4 it being a note given to Colon webster by him and a nomber of Committe men A 1775. 7th voted that their shall be a Tax Laid on the County for the sum of £120 for to defray the Contiegent Charges of the County, such as wolves and the like. 8th voted that the place known by the name of Fort ann^ be a Destrict agreabel to the Potision signd by Isaiah Bennit, Destrict Clark. 9th voted that the Differant Cotoes of the £120 shall be as follows : Whit Crick Destrict, £37 Black Crick2 do 20 Granvel" do 18 Greenfield do 2 1 Fort Ann was organized as a town, March 23d, 1786, undet the name of Westfield. It then included Hartford, Putnam, and Dresden. Hartford was set off in 1793. Putnam, including- Dresden, was setoff 1800. Isaiah Bennett was in January, 1781, elected super- visor and town clerk at a meeting- of the "inhabitants of the Artillery and Provincial Patents." He was town clerk in 1784. These were the days of the Hampshire Grants, and town governments were a little informal, sometimes. 1 The Black Creek District embraced what is now known as the town of Hebron. This District was organized as the town of Hebron in 1786. 3 Granville was organized as a town in 1786. It was the District of Granville before that. The District was in hearty sympathy with the Hampshire Grants in the early years of that controversy. Some of the early settlers bought lands of Lydius, the son of the Dutch Minister of Albany. Supervisors' Proceedings, 1786. 143 Skeensborougli^ do 11 Fort ann do 2 Kingsbur}^ do 9 Queensbury do 5 Fort Edward do 4 Arguil ■ do 12 10th voted that Each DifFerant Destrict shall Notefy their assesors forthwith to asses their respective Destricts and that the above tax be paid ( Here two lines are illegible). For Queensbury Destrict. MOSES MARTIN, Supr. Clark. At a meeting of the Supervisors of the County of Wash- ington, held at the house of Dr. John Williams- at Salom on the secont tusday, that is to sa}^ on the ninth dav of may, 1786, persuant to an act of the legislature of this State, Entitled an act for reasing the sum of 200,000 in Bils of Credit for the pupose therein mensiond, pased the 18 day of April, 1786. 1 Skeensboroug-h was erected into a township by the Patent, to Philip Skeen in 1765. The first town meeting- was in 1778. The name was changed to Whitehall in 1786. Skeen's Patent included a tract of 25,000 acres. Eventually, Col. Dr. John Williams became the owner of the whole of it by purchase growing out of the confiscating sales following the Revolution. 2 This was the house of Col. Dr. John Williams, still standing in Salem village (Salem book, page 192). He was perhaps the ver3' foremost man of his day and generation in this part of the state. An Englishman by birth, he was an ardent supporter of the pa- triot cause during the Revolution. He was a man of fine presence and of great personal and political influence. He was the ancestor of the Williams family in Salem. Many of his de- scendents have become distinguished in various spheres of activity, and all, so far as the 144 The Fort Edward Book. the supervisors from the several townships of the county apeared as folows: Adam Martin for Salom Alexd. Webster^ Hebron writer is informed, have been respected and honored members of the communitj' in which they lived. Dr. Williams was born in Barnstable, England, in 1752, and died in Salem in 18—. He settled in Salem in 1773 and was a member from Charlotte Count}' of the first Provincial Congress (Assembly) of New York, which met in New York city May 23, 1775 (Lossing's Empire State, pag-e 216). February 19, 1776, he was appointed Colonel of the Dorset Regiment of Charlotte County Militia, which office he held until June 25, 1778. He was a surgeon in the New York Continental service, a member of the Council of Appoint- ment in 1789 ; a Regent of the University in 1784 ; Member of Congress, 1795 to 1799 ; State Senator from 1783 to 1795, inclusive ; Member of Assembly, 1781-82. He was a member of the convention which ratified the federal constitution. Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, be- sides being often supervisor of his town and holding other minor offices. During the Revo- lution large tracts of land belonging to the Royalists were confiscated and sold. At these sales Col. Williams was a large buyer and thus became the owner of immense tracts of land in this county. The following letter written by him to Abraham Wing of Queensbury, while Col. Williams was in Congress, has not heretofore been published. Mr. Wing had been a sufferer from the depredations of the Continental Arm}' during the Burgoyne inva- sion and was seeking compensation for propertj' taken by General Schuyler. Besides the local interest the letter is interesting as showing the condition of the county at that time : "New York, 9th January, 1791. "Sir : — I expected to have seen 3'ou before I left home on account of the papers of yours in my hands. From what I have been able to collect, your relief (if any) must come from Congress. If you think proper to intrust me with your name I can forward the papers with my observations to my Friends in Congress. Of this you will please inform me. In the meantime I shall take care that no Opportunit}' be lost if anything can be done here for you. "I have the pleasure to inform 3'ovi that our Treasury is rich. There is now ^81,000 cash in it, and bj' the first January, 1793, there will come into it ^300,000 from the sale of waste lands. Exclusive of this, vve have a principle of Certificates, the interest of which will amount to 55,000 Dollars annually, and Deferred Stock after 1801, ;^44,000. Add to this our bank stock, duties on vendues, &c., which will amount to a large sum. "We made a House cm Tuesday last. The Governor's speech is much in our favor re- specting Canals, and I hope we shall proceed therein with spirit. "Please give my respect to your family and friends and make known the state of our Treasury to all, and believe that I am your and their friend. "JOHN WILLIAMS. "Abraham Wing and Gent, of Queensbury." 3 Alexander Webster was supervisor of Hebron, formerly the Black Creek District, in 1786-87-90-91-92; a member of the Council of Appointment in 1777-79-81-84-91, and of the Provincial Legislature in 1776-77; State Senator in 1777 for two terms of four years each ; Member of Assembly in 1788-89; Justice of the Peace in 1773-86-89-92-95-98. He was second major of Col. Williams' Charlotte County Regiment b}' appointment of the Provincial Con- gress on the 19th of February. 1776. He was captain of the Black Creek District Company and Lieutenant Colonel, April 4th, 1778, and Colonel, March 4th, 1780; resigned March 29th, 1781. A gentleman of high repute and standing. The following letter, so quaint in terms, so full of human nature, alike in all ages, affording, as it does, so interesting an insight with the political history of the past, is now for the first time published. It was written by Col. Supervisors' Proceedings, 1786. 145 Joseph Colwell* Kingsbury James Batty arguil ' DanilEirls^ Whit hall Danil Curtis^ granvel John Buck^ Westfield Phinehas Babcock^ Queensbury Alex"^ Webster, moderator Moses Martin, Esq., Supervisors' Clark Edward Savig and moses martin, Esqs., Lone offisers Webster to Abraham Wing-, a Quaker, and one of the first settfers in what is now Glens Falls, N. Y. "Friend Wing-. "I understand that the ensuing Election for Governor and lieutenant Governor, Sen- ators and Members of Assembly, will be the most contested we have had ever since we was the County of Washington, and as I have had no opportunity of seeing or hearing from thee, only haveseen thy name in a list for a nomination for Assembly, I must request the favour of thee to inform me if it is ag-reable to thee to be held up; if so. I'll vote for thee, and further to inform me by the bearer who thee would wish to be held up besides. My friends hold me, up as a Senator and Mr. Edward Savage. Now if you approve of the nomination I'll be obliged to you for your vote and interest in my favour if thee thinks it for the public benefit. I know thy interest will help a friend very much and if I can help thee or any of thy friends in the any further, I'll do it. I am thy Friend, "ALEXR. WEBSTER. "Hebron, 17th April, 1789. "In Confidence." 4 Joseph Caldwell appears to have been elected supervisor in 1787 and Seth Sherwood in 1786, but there may have been two in 1786, or Caldwell may have had a proxy for Sher- wood. Joseph Caldwell was Lieutenant, Colonel June 27th, 1783, of the 16th, or Cambridge Reg-iment, Lewis van Woert, Colonel. 5 Daniel Earl and Joel Adams were supervisors of Whitehall in 1786. Earl subse- quently held the office for many years. He was a sergeant in Colonel Webster's Charlotte Count}' Regiment. 6 Daniel Curtis (sometimes spelled Curtice) settled in Granville about 1780, and Cur- tice was the first supervisor, although the first town meeting was not held until April 2d 1787. He held that office in 1788-89 ; was town clerk from 1792 to 1794 and from 1797 to 1801, inclusive; was Member of Assembly 1791 to 1793, and Justice of the Peace in 1792-95-98 and 1801. He was a private in Capt. Child's Company of Colonel Webster's Charlotte County Regiment. 7 Colonel John Buck lived in what is now Hartford, formerly a part of Westfield (now Fort Ann) . He was one of the first, if not the first settler in what is now Hartford. West- field was not organized as a town until March 23d. 1786, and the name does not occur in the tax levy for 1785. In 1785 at a meetmg of the inhabitants of the Artillery and Provincial Patents he was elected a supervisor, and at the town meeting April 4th, 1786, Alpheus Spencer and Silas Childs were elected supervisors r>f Westfield. Colonel Buck's title to su- pervisor, therefore, like some of the others, is clothed in obscurity, but it was no doubt suffi- cient. Colonel Buck was presumably an officer in the Revolutionary Army. The author has not been able to satisfy himself as to his correct position in the Revolutionary annals. 8 Phineas Babcock was one of the earliest settlers in Queensbury and was supervisor 146 The Fort Edward Book. and hambilton McCollstor^ and Joshua Conke^o ggq^s., ap- pear and Enter into bond to the peopel of this state in the Pennil sum of £3000 for the due proformance of the duty of moses martin, Esq., as a Lone offiser. John WilHams and Joseph Colwell, Esqrs., become bail under Hke purpurses for Edward savi^, Esqr., the other Lone offiser for the due pro- fermance of his duty as a fore said, the supervisors Clarck is ordered to file the bonds according to Law whenever the oathe of offis is administered to the said Edward savig and moses martin, Esqr. Lastly. Voted that the Next Meeting of the Supervisors be at the House of George Killmors^i in arguyle A True Copy of the Minutes. MOSES MARTIN, Suprs. Clark. At a Meeting of the Supervisers of the County of Wash- ington, Held at the house of George Killmors in Arguyle on the first Tuesday in September, 1786. from that town in 177'>-80-83-84-86. He married Patience, daug^hter of Abraham Wing-, the ancestor of the Wing- family of Glens Falls, and of A. R. Wing of Fort Edward. He was a Captain June 23d, 1786. in Lieutenant Colonel Sherwood's Regiment. He removed to St. Albans, Vt., where he died about 1820. 9 Hamilton McCollister was one of the pioneers of Salem. His descendants still reside there. He was one of the New Engrland colon}' in Salem. At this time he owned a farm in Salem. Judge McCollister of Chicag-o, 111., was a grandson of Hamilton; he was a brother-in-law of Joshua Ccnkey ; was a private in McNitt's Company of Major Arm- strong's Charlotte County Militia in 1781. He was a supervisor of Salem in 1790; Member of Assembly in 1780 to 1784. 10 Joshua Conkey was one of the earliest settlers in Salem. He came from Pelham, Mass., about 1761 and was a freeholder at this time. He was Sheriff in 1781 and Quarter- master in Major Armstrong's Charlotte Count}' Militia. 11 George Kilmore (or Kilmer) was an early settler in Arg-yle and at this time had a large log hou.se which was standing not many years ago. One of his daughters was the wifeof John Allen, whose family was murdered by the Indians at the time of Burgroyne's invasion. Numerous de.scendants of his still reside in Argyle. Supervisors' Proceedings, 1786. 147 The Supervisors from the Difrant Destricts Present Alex. Webster, Hebron Adam Martin, Salem Lemuel Hide^ Hampton Daniel Curtice, Grandvell Phineous Babcock, Oueensbury Seth Sherwood, Kingsbury James Batty, Arguvle John Buck, Westfield Daniel Earls, Whitehall Crown Point- And proseded as follows: first. Chose Alexd. Webster, Moderator 2d Chose Moses Martin, Clark 3d Voted that the Quota of the Eight hundred pound Tax for The said County be as follows: The Quota of Crowpoint be £300—0—0 4th The Quota of Salem be 101—13—7 5th The Quota of Hebron be 63—11—3 6th TheQuotaof Granvel be 67-16-0 7th The Quota of Hampton be 21— 4— 8th The Quota of Whitehall be 15—17—0 9th The Quota of Westfield be 33—18—0 10th The Quota of Kingsbury be 50-17-0 11th The Quota of Queeensbury be 50—17— 12th The Quota of Arguyle be 59— 6— 7 £800— 0- 1 Captain Lemuel Hyde was the first supervisor of Hampton. He was re-elected the next year. He was First Lieutenant in Colonel Williams' Dorset Regiment in 1781. 2 Crown Point was then in Washing-ton County. Clinton County including substan- tially Essex and Franklin, was taken from Washington in 1788, and Essex taken from Clin- ton in 1794. 148 The Fort Edward Book. 13th Voted that the Tax be Laid on the Countv to De- fray Charges such as Wolf Tax, &c., And that it is to be Quotaed as above proportiond, Excepting Crownpoint which is to be Nothing Laid on as County Tax. Crownpoint Quota is £ — — Salem do is 30- -16- -5 Hebron do is 19- - 5- -0 Granvel do is 20- -10- -8 Hampton do is 6- - 8- -1 Whitehall do is 15- - 8- -0 Westfield do is 10- - 5- -4 Queen sbury do is 15- - 8- -0 Kingsbury do is 15- - 8- -0 Arguyle do is 17- -19- -3 £951— 9—2 14th Voted that Esqr Fuller's^ Act be Allowed only £12—0—0. 15th Voted that James Stewart be alowed 5 Days at 5 pr Day, £1—5—0. 16th Voted that Each Destrict pay their own Contin- gent Expenses. 17th Voted that the Next Supervisors' Meeting Be held at the house of Asaph Cooks, ^' Esqr., in Granvel. A True Copy. MOSES MARTIN, Suprs. Clark. For Queensburv. 1 This would seem to indicate that the supervisors' art of using- the pruning- knife was not wholly of recent growth, but that it, like the French Revolution, "was heaved on the bosom of remote antiquity." The record is not preserved to the amount of the "cut," there is but a gentle hint, a mere insinuation as it were, of the amputation performed, "only ^12." 2 Asaph Cooke was one of the pioneers of Granville and from the fact that he was a rep- resentative from that town to the Vermont Leg-islature in 1781, it is a fair inference that he was in smypathy with the "Granters," rather than with the "Yorkers." His son IClutherus Cooke, was the father of the well known financier, Jay Cooke. Asajih was Lieu- tenant in Colonel Williams' Dorset Regiment, Charlotte County IMilitia in 1780 and Caj)tain in 1782. CHAPTER XIV. CIVIL LIST.— SUPERVISORS OF ARGYLE FROM 1771, DOWN TO 1818, WHEN FORT EDWARD WAS SET OFF FROM ARGYLE. — EARLY TOWN MEETINGS. In the early years of the organization of the town, Argyle, at times, seems to have been divided into Districts, and to have had as many as three supervisors at one time, and at other times it appears to have had two. From the organization to 1818, the supervisors are given in their chronological order, while the supervisors for what is now^ the town of Fort Edw^ard are stated in alphabetical order. Duncan Campbell, elected April 2d, 1771, was the first supervisor of Argyle, and served for nine consecutive years. Roger Reid was supervisor in 1781-82. In 1783 James Beatty, John McNaughton and Peter Tearse were elected supervisors. In 1784-85 Duncan McArthur and James Beatty were supervisors. In 1786 James Beatty, Duncan McArthur and John McKnight. From 1787 to 1800, Adiel Sherwood and Wilham Reid were supervisors; 1801, John Hay; 1802, William Reid ; 1803-4, Alex. Cowan ; 1805-6, Alexander McLangall; 1807-8-9-10-11, Neal McConnellee ; 1812-13-14-15, John Reid; 1816, Alex. Gillis ; 1817-18, John Robinson. Fort Edward Supervisors. Carey, Moses, 1818 Durkee, Solomon R., 1861-2 Cheesman, James, 1859 Eddy, Timothy, 1819-29, Coleman, Fletcher, 1857 also 1833 150 The Fort Edward Book. Forbes, William, 1845 Fort, Abram I., 1843, '48 Guy, Isaac M., 1851-52 Harris, Chas., 1842, '46, '50 Rowland, Lansing M., 1885- 87, '96-98 Hull, Edgar, 1876-77, '79 Mclntyre, James, 1830-32 Mory, Michael, 1873-75, '83 Morgan, J. J., 1899, 1900-03 Moshier, Geo. B., 1860 Nash, Melvin A., 1863-71 Norton, Wm.S., 1838-39, '49 Potter, T. J., 1892-94 Qua, Ransom, 1882, '48 Satterlee, George, 1856, '78 Shaw, Milton E., 1837, '40, '44 Stephenson, James, 1841 Stephenson, James, Jr., 1847 Taylor, Geo. H., 1853, '58 Tifford, Wm. H., 1888-91 Underwood, David, 1872 Viele, Piatt C, 1834-36 Wells, Caleb, 1854-55 Wing, Asahel R., 1880-81 Town Clerks. Bell, James, 1853-54 Bennett, Bradley S., 1852, '58-60, '63-65 Bennett, Samuel, 1839 Beverly, G. Curtis, 1890-91 Cheesman, James H., 1866- 71, 1873-76, 79-80, '82- 83, '85 Cole, Aaron B., 1877-78 Coleman, Fletcher, 1856 Crocker, John, 1819-21 Holmes, Lemuel C, 1857 King, David H., 1872 McCullom, Thomas, 1843 Parry, John, 1851 Payn, Daniel T., 1828-29, ''38 Pratt, Russell W., 1861-62 Wilson, John Rogers, Nicholas, 1840, '42 Rogers, Walter, 1818 Sanders, George M., 1847-49 Scott, George, 1892-94,1896 -1903 Shaw. Milton E., 1834-36 Shepherd, Sam'l T., 1822-26 Sprague, Merrit, 1844 Sprague, Warren, 1845 Stewart, Joseph, 1837, Stoughton, Timothy, 1827, '33, '46, '55 Taylor, Albert G., 1877 Viele, John C, 1830-32 Wait, A. D., 1850 Washburn, Edward, 1841 Wing, Levi H., 1880, '84, '86-87 D.. 1888-89 Justices of the Peace. 151 Ackerman, Charles, 1870 Bascom, Robert 0., 1881-83 Bassettjohn W., 1863 Bell, Sidney, 1865 Bell, Warren, 1837 Bennett, Samuel, 1831, '38, '46, '62 Betts, Sidney, 1874, '78 Bishop, Linus D., 1873 Bitley, Jacob Jr., 1847, '51 Blanchard, Hiram T., 1882 Burby, Alonzo A., 1893-94 Button, Martin, 1835, '43 Button, Marcus, 1835 Clark, John, 1872 Crane, Edwin, 1853, '57, '72, '79 Day, William M., 1889 DeGarmo, William R., 1868- 69, '71-72, '79 Durkee, Elias, 1848 Durkee, Reuben, 1846 Eddy, Timothy, 1827 Ferris, Elisha H., 1855 Fox, Warren S., 1849 Fullerton, Edward, 1831-32 Gandall, JohnF., 1836 Guy, George, 1858 Hull, Edgar, 1867 Hull, Frank B., 1885 Kingsley, George C, 1 884-86 Lane, David, 1866 Lane, Walter M., 1875 North, Julius B., 1899 Mclntyre, James, 1850, '63- 64, '68, '69 Mclntyre, Nicholas, 1841, '45, '52, '58 Matthews, Wm.H.,Jr., 1871 Matthews, Wm. H., 1867-71 O'Brien, Michael H., 1887 Payn, Nathan, 1840 Pratt, A. v., 1888, '92, 1903 Redfern, Matthew, 1892 Reynolds, James L., 1856, '60, '65, '68 Rogers, Horace L., 1894, 1901 Rogers, Walter, 1840 Robinson, Orville C, 1884 Robinson, Willard, 1888, '90, '91, '95 Robinson, William, 1866 Rowell, Benjamin, 1842 Sanders, David, 1827, '33, '39, '43 Scott, George, 1877, '80 Shaw, Milton E., 1831-32, '34, '61 Shepherd, Samuel T., 1827, '30, '54, '59 Stoughton, Timothy, 1827, '44, '49 Taylor, Daniel W., 1876 Turner, George, 1893, '97, 1901 VanDerwerker, Joseph, 1892 VanDerwerker, Leon 'rd, 1864 Watson, Wm. G., 1887, '90 Winn, Don D., 1877, '81, '86 Winn, H.Judson, 1896 Williams, Valentine, 1899 152 The Fort Edward Book. Assessors. Ackerman, Charles, 1867 Baker, Samuel D., 1896 Baldwin, James, 1827, '40-41 Bassett,Jolin W., 1859, '65 Bell, James S., 1863, '66, '75, '78 Bell, Warren, 1821-22 Bennett, Hazen W.,Sr.,1879, '82 Bennett, Samuel, 1819 Bennett, Solon S., 1886, '89, '92, '95 Bitley, Jacob, 1839 Bitley, Jacob, Jr., 1839-40— Appointed in place of Jacob, refused to serve. Bitley, Stephen, Jr., 1838 Carswell, Alexander, 1847 Case, Alfred, 1864, '67, '70, '73 Comer, E.O., 1880 Cox, Lyman A., 1861 Crane, Edwin, 1846 DeGarmo, Alvah, 1890 DeGarmo, David, 1874 Dennis, Thomas M., 1885 DeWolf, Joseph, 1849 Doig, James, 1841-42 Doig, William, 1862, '77 Durkee, Archibald, 1843 Durkee, James, 1818, '20 Durkee, John, 1834-37, '46 Durkee, Lorenzo, 1876 Durkee, Norman, 1869 Durkee, Reuben, 1819, '23- 26, '30-32 Durkee, Seth P., 1849, '51, '57, '60 Durkee, Sidney, 1843, '45-46 Galusha, Samuel, 1828-33 Galusha, John, 1821-33, '35, '37, '50 Harris, Peltiah, 1838-40, '44 Hopkins, Joseph H., 1872, '84 Hunter, Joseph, 1824-26 Lauder, Thomas J., 1887 McCoy, James, 1842, '52, '55 McCoy, Robert, 1834-37 McLane, William 0., 1841-42 McMurray, Robert, 1856 Mickle, James, 1883 Mott, James D., 1881 Monrow, Nathan, 1823 Nash, Edwin B., 1838-39 O'Brien, Patrick. 1885, '88 Pavn, Charles, 1843 Payn, Daniel, 1818 Pike, Reuben G., 1886, '89, '91, '94 Pratt, Russell W., 1844 Robinson, James H., 1820, '27-29, '33, '54. Robinson, William, 1854 Stephenson, James, 1844 Assessors. 153 Stewart, John, 1853 Stewart, John C, 1856, — appointed vice Jas. H. Robinson, resigned. Stewart, Joseph, 1836 Tilford, George W., 1888 Vaughn, Fayette B., 1899 Washburn, Edward, 1845, '58 Washburn, George, 1834 Watson, William G., 1884, '93 Whipple, Henry, 1868, '71 Williams, Albert, 1897, '99 Inspectors of Common Schools. Allen, Timothy, 1821-22 Baker, G., 1829 Bell, Stephen, 1819 Bell, Warren, 1823-24 Bennett. Samuel, 1830-31, '33 Bitley, Stephen, 1840 Blawis, Reuben, 1839-40, '43 Bostwick, John, 1820, '23- 24, '27 Carswell, Gideon, 1839 Cornell, Benj. F , 1831, '33 Cornell, Nathan, 1835-36 Eddy, Timothy. 1824-26, '31-32 Emmons, Solomon, 1819-22 Fitch, Asa, 1832 Gandall, John F., 1819-20. 25-26 Green, Absolum C, 1839 Hall, George, 1838 Hawley, Elias, 1823 Joslin, Benj. A., 1828 Lewis, Taylor, 1828-29 McCoy, Robert, 1833-34 Miller John A. ,1835-37 Mack, James, 1837 Norton, William S., 1827-30, '37-38, 40-43 Pattison, John, 1825-26, '30 P:ayn, Daniel T., 1827 Payn, Nathan, 1838 Payn, Noah, Jr., 1822 Rogers, Walter, 1833-34 Shaw^ Milton E„ 1836, '42 Southerland, Alex., 1819 Sprague, Merritt, 1841 Viele,JohnC., 1841 Viele, Stephen. 1819 Washburn, George, 1834-35 154 The Fort Edward Book. Commissioners of Common Schools. Baldwin, Jas. S., 1830 Bennett, Samuel, 1818-19 Bell, Warren, 1819-21, 1825 -29 Blavvis, Reuben C, 1841 Cheesman, James, 1840 Clark, Ralph, 1824-26 Durkee, Reuben, 1818 Durkee, Timothy, 1838 Eddy, Timothy, 1836-37 Elmore, Austin, 1834-36 Forbes, William, 1841-42 Galusha, John, Jr., 1837 Gandall, John F., 1834-35 Gilchrist, Jas. H., 1838-41 Wing, Daniel Hall, Henry M., 1839 Kirkham, Thomas L., 1833 Miller, John A., 1842 Norton, Wm. S., 1831-33 Pattison, John, 1827-33, '40 Powell, Ebenezer, Jr. ,1831-32 Rutherford, Aaron, 1822 Robinson, Jas. H., 1830 Rogers, Walter, 1819-20, 24 -26. 28-29 Southerland, Alex, 1820-21 Stewart, John C, 1834-37 Stott, George, 1839 VanDeusen, Chris., 1822-24 Viele, Lodovicus, 1823-30 W^, 1821-23 Superintendents of Common Schools. Blawis, Reuben, 1844-48 Durkee, Lorenzo, 1852 Forbes, WilHam, 1843 Norton,John, 1853 — appoint- ed vice Lorenze Durkee^ Shaw, Milton, E., 1854, 56 Sealer of Weights and Measures. Bristol, Charles, 1842 Buck, Philander, 1843 Cool Hyman S., 1840 Crane, Edwin, 1850 Durkee, Thos., 1845-49, '51 Eliot, Henry, 1838 King, David H., 1876 Matthews, David, 1831, '33- '35 Mclntyre, Daniel, 1841 Mclntyre, John, 1844 Reynolds, Zachariah, 1836- 37 Scoville, Seth, 1839 1 Lorenzo Durkee was elected to the ofBce, but was unable to act, because of his re- moval from town. Collectors. 155 Town Collectors. Baldwin, James, 1820-21 Bell, George W., 1886 Bennett, James, 1867 Bitley, Stephen, 1841, '48-49, '54 Bristol, Thomas, 1856, '60 Bristol, William, 1832, '35 Button, George, 1830 Carswell, Gideon, 1851 Chapman, Fred A., 1887 Crane, Andrew, 1892 Crawford, Edward L., 1878 Crocker, John, 1822 Downey, James, 1875 Duffy, Peter J. ,1883 Durkee, Ansel C, 1853 Durkee, Edgar L., 1889 Durkee, Ira, 1896-97, '99 Durkee, Solomon, 1845 Dwyer, Michael O., 1882 Darrow, Henry, 1901-3 Fullerton, Edward, 1824-28 Gilchrist, Alex., Jr., 1842-43 Gleason, Francis, 1823 Graham, Sylvester, 1881 Goodfellow, Frank, 1880 Harris, Charles, 1859 Howe, James, 1884 Hubbell, Jonathan S., 1857- 58 Infield, Gideon P., 1872 Kennedy, Wm. T., 1892 Lane, Walter M., 1866 Livermore, Absolum, 1846 Mclntyre, Nicholas, 1818-19 McMurray, Wm.J., 1890 McShane, Daniel, 1888 Mickle, James, 1877 Morgan, E. P., 1874 Moshier, George P., 1865 Nash, Edwin B., 1872 O'Brien, Patrick, 1867 Pike, Erastus, 1898 Payn, Charles, 1833 Reeves, A. M., 1891 Robinson, Albert J., 1861-62 Russell, James M., 1876 Sanders, George M., 1863 Scovil, Stephen, 1839-40, '47 Sherw^ood, Bushrod M., 1852 Somers, John, 1864 Stoughton, Timothy F., 1885 Stoughton,Halsey,W, 1870- 71, '79 Taylor, David, 1831, '55 Taylor, Robert, 1869 Tilford, Alexander, 1829 Tilford, Harmon, 1853 VanDerwerker, Le'n'd, 1850 VanDerw^erker, Christopher, 1834, '36-38 Washburn, Edward, 1844 Wells, Harvey S., 1873 Winn, H.Judson, 1894-5 156 The Fort Edward Book. Excise Commissioners.^ Alwell, Dennis J., 1890 Cole, Aaron B., 1880 Davis, Russell C, 1892 Durkee, William E., 1875-76 Finlay, Lawrence B., 1893-94 Mickel, James, 1895 Milliman, Jarvis W., 1891 Mory, Michael, 1877 Murdock, David W., 1881, '83, '86 White, Lym Northnp, Edwin R., 1892 Northup, H. Davis, 1895-96 Northup, James, M., 1893 Odell, David M., 1878-79, '82, '85, '88 Russell, Jas. M., 1881, '84, '87 Tasker, Benjamin M., 1877 Tompkins, Martin H., 1878 Viele.J. Henry, 1877 Wells, George B., 1889 an D., 1875 Commissioners of Highways. Ackerman, Charles, 1856, '59 Bain, George, 1862 Baker, Henry, 1841 Baldwin, James, 1825-26 Barber, David, 1821 Bell, George W., 1895 Bell, Stephen, 1836-37 Bibbins, William, 1846. '48 Blake, Joseph, 1844-45 Bristol, Erastus, 1868, '71 Bristol, George, 1835-37 Bristol, William Irving, 1894 Brown, James R., 1896 Carswell, Alex., 1843-45 Case, Alfred, Jr., 1887, '90 Daily, Charles A., 1874, '77 Gilchrist, William, 1851 Hamblin, Benj., 1818 Harris, W^illiam, 1897 Hopkins, Charles C, 1846, '49 Hopkins, Joseph H., 1879, '81 Hopkins, Martin, 1819 Hunter, Joseph, 1827-31 McCollum, Thos., 1850, '53 McCoy, James, 1837 McCoy, Robert, 1831-32, '75 McDougall, James, 1838-39, '44-45 McMurray, Robert, 1838-40, '42 1 Excise commissioners were first elected in 1875 Commissioners of Highways. 157 DeGarmo, David J., 1885, '88, '91 De Wolf, Joseph, 1841 Durkee, Archibald, 1852, '55, '58, '61, '64 Durkee, Halsey, 1867, '70 Durkee, Lydius, 1822-33 Durkee, Norman, 1873, '76, '92 Durkee, Reuben, 1829, '34- '35 Durkee, Solomon, Jr.. 1820- 21 Ellis, Thomas, 1842 Ellis, Thomas W., 1886, '89 Flannigan, Edward, 1877 Ford, George, 1819-20 Galusha, Reuben, 1822-34 Gilchrist, Alex., 1833-36 Mead, Charles N., 1857 Metcalf, Calvin, 1883 Montgomery, John, 1818-24 Ottman, Wm. R., 1869, '72, '78, .81, '84 Pardee, W. H., 1842 Potter, Abel, 1818 Sanders, Daniel, 1838, '41 Shepherd, James H., 1881-82 Stephenson, James, 1846 Stickney, William, 1860, '63, '66 Stevens, George, 1893 Stott, James, 1846-47 Taylor, David, 1843 Taylor, George H., 1843 Underwood, David, 1854 Williams, Benjamin, 1839-40 White, Lyman, 1865 Postmasters at Fort Edward. The Fort Edward post-office was established [anuary 1st, 1798. Name Date of Appointment Matthias Ogden, January 1st, 1798 James Rogers " " 1804 John F. Gandall July " 1811 John F. Gandall '' " 1818 Darwin B. Eldredge March 6th, 1828 James Mclntyre " 3d, 1829 John F. Gandall " 19th, 1832 Charles Harris " 7th, 1848 158 The Fort Edward Book. Name Date of Appointment Timothy Stoughton May 2d, 1849 James Mclntyre April 22, 1853 Daniel S. Carswell May 10, 1861 James H. Harris August 25th, 1874 Benjamin M. Tasker June 28th, 1887 Orville C. Robinson January 6th, 1892 Benjamin M. Tasker October 21st, 1896 Alfred C. Hodgman January 1st, 1890 Postmasters at Fort Edward Center. The Fort Edward Center post-office was established April 11th, 1832, and was discontinued November 29th, 1859. Name Date of Appointment John C.Stewart April 11th, 1832 Merritt Sprague " 12th, 1837 Warren Sprague May 15th, 1838 David Roberts " 28th, 1846 Calvin Durkee April 5th, 1852 EHsha H. Ferris May 26th, 1855 David Roberts July 2d, 1856 Postmasters at Fort Miller. The post-office at Fort Miller was established October 1st, 1802 Solomon vSmith October 1st, 1802 Peleg Bragg October 1st, 1812 Seneca G. Bragg, July 1st, 1815 Lodovicus S. Viele April 3d, 1826 John C. Viele April 8th, 1831 Postmasters. 159 N^""^ Date of Appointment Lodovicus S. Viele February 8th, 1833 Leonard Vanderwerker July 23d, 1845 Isaac M. Grey October 27th, 1847 George H. Bragg April 12, 1850 Thomas McFadden June 1st, 1853 Samuel Pike April 10, 1856 Joseph Fenton August 7th, 1861 Samuel Bennett December 7th, 1864 Alfred F. Nichols, January 18th, 1865 David J. DeGarmo October 16th, 1885 Alfred F. Nichols April 9th, 1889 Melvin White July 6th, 1894 Postmasters at Moses Kill. A post-office was established at Moses Kill March 25th, 1872, and discontinued March 20th, 1890. It was subse- quently re-established under the name of Mock, but the residents of that section petitioned that the old name be re- stored and the office is still known as Moses Kill. ■'^^'"s Date of Appointment. James D. Mott March 25th, 1872 David C. Brisbin January 23d, 1874 Moses N. Newell December 27th, 1880 Stephen H. Mory January 19th, 1887 From the early town records it appears that the first town meeting was held at the house of Solomon Emmons, on the 22d day of May, 1818, pursuant to an act of the Legislature. Timothy Eddy was moderator, Moses Gary was elected supervisor, and Walter Rogers town clerk. It 160 Early Town Meetings. was resolved that "a fine of $5.00 shall be imposed on any person owning any horned cattle turned on the commons of said town of Fort Edward from the county of Saratoga or anv other county." It was also resolved that "hogs, geese and sheep shall not be free commoners." It was determined that $100 should be raised for the support of the poor, and $50 to defray the town expenses. Some entries in the early records indicate that cat- tle were marked as they are to-day branded in the west. The mark, when registered in the town clerk's office, con- stituted an evidence of ownership. In 1819 it is recorded that the mark of Duncan Mclntyre was, "a crop on the right ear and a hole in the same about the middle." At a meeting of the town auditors on the 2d dav of March, 1819, there being present Moses Cary, Timothy Eddy and Timothy Stoughton, the accounts of the poor- master were audited by which it appears that he had re- ceived $100, of which he had paid out $87.09. The super- visor reported that he had received for the contingent ex- penses of the town $74. 841/2; that he had expended |24. 871/2 and that out of the money remaining in his hands there was to be paid to William Rogers, $9.00; to Nicholas Mclntyre, $2.00, and to David Bristol, $1.90, leaving a balance in his hands of $37.75. In 1819 the first State election for Senator appears to have been held in Fort Edward, and it began on the last Tuesday of April and was continued b}' adjournment until Thursday of the same week. The vote first recorded is that for Senator, the district is described as the Eastern Dis- trict. Eight candidates were voted for, and 188 votes ap- pears to have been cast for the office of Senator. On the 4th day of May, 1819, the Commissioners of Excise, consisting of Timothy Edd}^ Timothy Stoughton, S. L. Viele and Warren Bell, granted licenses to keep an inn Meeting of Town Board. 161 or tavern, to Alexander Sontherland, Stephen Stearns, Daniel Payne, Solomon Emmons and Jaspar Deuel; it ap- pearing to the commissioners that these men were all of good moral character; that they had sufficient ability to keep an inn ; that thej^ had the accommodations to entertain travel- ers, and that inns were necessary at the place where they resided. In 1820, Henry Martin surveyed, and John Montgom- ery and Martin Hopkins, Commissioners of Highways, laid out a road, beginning at the northwest corner of the bridge, leading across the brook commonly called Beaver Dam Creek, and running, according to the courses and distances, to Fort Miller, nearly opposite to the ferry, commonly call- ed Rogers Ferry. This road was four rods wide. At the town meeting held in the spring of 1821 it was resolved that the next annual town meeting should be held at the house of Asa Eddy in the village of Fort Edward, but the next year the town meeting returned to Fort Edward Center. In 1821, on the 21st da^^ of April, Gerrit Peebles of the town of Lansingburgh, of the county of Rensselaer, certified that for and in consideration of the faithful services of "Jack," otherwise called John Jackson, a black man about the age 37 years, born in the town of Half Moon, in the present county of Saratoga, and about five feet seven and one-half inches in height, and for diverse other causes and considerations, him thereunto moving, he, on or about eight or nine years ago emancipated and made free the said "Jack," otherwise called John Jackson, who was then a slave of the said Peebles. Peebles acknowledged the execu- tion of this instrument before Rich. L. McDonald, a commis- sioner for Rensselaer count}^ and John Baker, one of the judges of the Court of Common Pleas of Washington count^^, 162 The Fort Edward Book. certifies that John Jackson, on the 21st day of April, 1821, residing in the town of Fort Edward, personall}^ appeared before him and exhibited proof, reduced to writing, of his freedom, which proof was satisfactory to the jndge, and thereupon he certified that he was of opinion that the said "Jack," otherwise called John Jackson, was free, ac- cording to the laws of the State of New York. On the 25th of April, in the same year, Mintus Northup of the town of Fort Edward, being duly sworn, said that he had always understood and verily believed that he was born in the town of North Kingston, in the State of Rhode Island, and that he "was borned free," and at that time he w^as of the age of fort3^-five years and eight months, and that since he had arrived at the age of twenty years he had acted and continued as a free man. This affidavit was sworn to before Timothy N. Allen, a justice of the peace; and Timothy Eddy made oath that he had been acquainted with Mintus Northup for twenty years and upwards, and verily believes that during all that time the said Mintus was always considered as a free man ; and John Baker, one of the judges of the court, certifies that this proof is satisfactory to him, and that he is of the opinion that Mintus Northup is free according to the laws of the State of New York. These records are the early sj'mptoms of the beginning of that great agitation of the subject of slavery, which was afterwards destined to be settled by the arbitrament of war, and these are the only allusions that are found in the town records upon this "Peculiar Institution." In 1821, Matthew Ogden, Benjamin Durkee and Noah Payne, Jr., were authorized by the board of inspectors of election of the town of Fort Edward, to take the census in said town. Laying Out Highways. 163 111 1823 the town meeting was held at the house of Solomon Emmons; Samuel T. Shepherd was chosen moder- ator of the meeting. The next year, 1824, it was held at the house of John Stewart, who, no doubt, kept the house formerly kept by Solomon Emmons. In laying out a road in 1825, Lydius Durkee and James Baldwin, commissioners of highways, certify that they "have laid out a road from the public highway to the school- house in district No. 1, and this road beginning at the north- east corner of village lot No. 8, runs from thence north, eighty-seven degrees east, to the canal; then north, three degrees west, twent\'-five feet ; then south, eight^'-seven de- grees west, three hundred and thirty-seven feet to Lydius street." Lydius street, which took its name, no doubt, from Col. John Henry Lydius, the first settler here, has disap- peared from our vocabulary of streets, but old citizens have told that what we now call Lower Broadway was once called Lydius street. In 1830, Joseph Hunter and Lydius Durkee, commis- sioners of highways, laid out a road "commencing on the west side of Rogers Island, so called, at the end of the bridge built across the west branch of the river, by the Fort Ed- ward Bridge Compan3% and running thence by distances and courses to the center of the west end of the bridge built by the aforesaid company, across the east end of said bridge running by distances and courses to the center of the Water- ford and Whitehall turnpike." This road was laid out of the width of three rods and designated as a highway, and ordered to be recorded as such. Milton E. Shaw was the surveyor. This was the street which is now commonly known and called as Bridge street, running from Broadway across the Island to Saratoga County. East street was laid out as a public street on the 23d of Septem- ber, 1830, and it is described as a street running from Fort 164 The Fort Edward Book. Edward village to the east line of said town, and the school- house, or original farm lot. No. 129 in the Argyle Patent, and it commences on the east line of the Whitehall and Waterford turnpike in the village of Fort Edward, at a point equally distant from the south side of D. W. Wing's row of wooden buildings^ and the north side of the Tavern stand, which monuments have long since ceased to exist. In 1840 the electors determined that the next meet- ing should be held at the house kept by Arad Sprague. In 1841, the supervisor reported to the town board that he had received excise money to the amount of $63, and for town expenses $152.81, amounting in all to $215.81. He had paid to John McNaughton, county treasurer, $65, and had paid to the town officers, as per accounts audited, $152.81. The commissioners of highways -reported that they had received $151.07 during the past year, and had ex- pended on roads and bridges $132.47, leaving a balance in their hands of $18.60. The number of days' work assessed in town b}^ the highway commissioners was 1335, and the whole number worked and commuted was 1243% days, leaving a deficiency of 41^?^ days. The commissioners of common schools reported that they had received $451.44, and that thc}^ had paid District No. 1, C. VanDusan, $78.20; District No. 2, T. Linindoll, $66.65; District No. 3, E. Washburn, $71.98; District No. 4, J. Stewart, $39.10; District No. 5, W. Forbes, $43.55; District No. 6, J. Stevenson, Jr., $28.44; District No. 9, I. D. Whipple, $23.11 ; District No. 13, C. White «& Hand, $20.44; District No. 15, Duncan F. McNaughton, $3.48; District No. 3, G. Guy, Bennett, and others, $80.46; making the total amount paid out $451.44. 1— D. W. Wing-'s "row of wooden buildings" stood on the corner of Broadway and East St., about where Harris Place now stands, and the "Tavern Stand" was south of where the Mory block now is. Plank Road Franchise. 165 In 1845, the annual town meeting was held at the house of Warren Sprague, and at four o'clock p. m., "it appeared to be the general opinion that all had voted who would that day," the board closed the polls and proceeded to canvass the votes. At a town meeting held pursuant to Chapter 300 of the Session Laws of 1845, a vote was taken upon the subject of "license" and "no license," and 194 votes were cast for no license, and 60 for license; the whole number of votes upon this subject being 254. This meeting was held on the 19th of May, 1846. On the 11th day of February, 1850, William S. Norton, supervisor of the town, Charles C. Hopkins, William Bib- bins and James Stott, commissioners of highways, entered into an agreement with the president, directors and com- pany of Fort Edward and Fort Miller Plank Road Com- pany, by which the Plank Road Company was authorized to construct a plank road from the village of Fort Edward to the village of Fort Miller, with the right to extend the same to the Saratoga bridge. This plank road was per- mitted to be built along the highway known as the Water- ford and Whitehall turnpike, and the same year the same officers authorized the Argyle and Fort Edward Plank Road Company, pursuant to an act of the Legislature, passed in 1847, to construct a plank road from Fort Ed- ward ro Argyle. The Plank Road Company paid to the town the sum of |5 for the privilege and for the damages for taking and using the highway, and for this compensa- tion, our neighbors in Argyle have been compelled to pay tribute for more than half a century, whenever they desire to visit Fort Edward, and the Fort Edward citizens have likewise been compelled to pay similar tribute whenever it became necessary for them to visit their friends in Argyle. The highwa3^ commissioners in 1850, having met at the inn kept by David Roberts, at Fort Edward Center, adjourned 166 The Fort Edward Book. . to meet at the house of Gideon Carswell, in the village of Fort Edward, at which time they completed the business for which they were assembled, and on the first Monday in October, 1850, Charles Harris, supervisor, A. D. Wait, town clerk, and Joseph DeWolf, one of the assessors, determined that there should be but one election district in the town of Fort Edward, and that the November election should be held at the inn kept by David Roberts. July 11th, 1851, Charles C. Hopkins and William Gil- christ, commissioners of highways, laid out the street now known as State street, in the present village of Fort Ed- ward. They met at the house of Solomon Durkee. Upon the application of George H. Taylor and other residents of the town, and the owners of the adjoining property having given their consent, the commissioners ordered that a pri- vate road of the width of two rods should be laid out, be- ginning in the northerly line of the road in the village of Fort Edward leading from the Fort Edward and Fort Miller Plank Road to the Saratoga and Washington Rail- road in the westerly line of lands belonging to Nicholas Mclntyre, and in the easterly line of lands of John C. Cameron. In 1852, the town meeting was held at the house of Cal- vin Durkee, and on April 26th, 1852, Archibald Durkee, Thomas McCollum and W^illiam Gilchrist, commissioners of highways, laid out what is now called McCrea street, upon the application of George Harvey and Frederick D. Hodg- man ; George Harvey and the Fort Edward Manufacturing Company, through whose lands the road was to pass, hav- ing given their consent. In 1853, Mechanic street from Mill street north was laid out by the commissioners of highways, and the com- missioners noted that "the hollow was to be filled and the feeder bridged by the applicants, Frederick D. Hodgman, The Town Divided. 167 George Harvey and Russell Hickock, without any expense to the town of Fort Edward." The many roads laid out in the fifties indicate that the town was then growing rapidly. October 3d, 1853, George H. Taylor, supervisor, James S. Bell, town clerk, and the assessors, having met at the house of Roswell Durkee, determined that the town should be divided into two districts, called Number 1 and Number 2 ; Number 1 being that part of the town north of the road known as the "Warner Road," leading from the river to the Argyle line near John Durkee's ; and Number 2, that part of the town south of said road. In 1853, what we now call Eddy and Church streets were laid out by the commissioners of highways, and in the same year. Mill street ; and in 1854 Moon street was laid out. At the annual town meeting at the black house in March, 1854, Edwin B. Crane was chosen moderator. In 1855, at the November election the whole number of votes cast for Secretary of State was 370. In 1856, it is re- corded that the reports of the tow^n officers were "red and excepted." This brings us down to what may be called modern times, and while many curious and interesting facts might well be noted, yet the limitations of this work require that an end be made to this chapter. Diu'ing the period covered by the foregoing pages, the town and village of Fort Edward had been practically laid out as it is to-day, although the population at that time was not nearly as great as at present. CHAPTER XV.— Churches. "We watched the people churchward g-o Each to his place as if thereon The true Shekinah only shone." St. James Episcopal Church. The first church of England estabhshecl in this part of the State was St. Peters, at Albany, which was opened for service in the year 1716. After the Revolution the country was rapidly settled and by 1800 there were many churches of that denomination in the surrounding country. An occasional missionarj^ came into this neighborhood at intervals, preaching when and where he could. Various clergymen held service here according to the ritual of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Probably the Rev. Ami Rogers, of Half Moon,i was the first one to conduct divine service in Fort Edward. Rev. William B. Lacy of St. Peters, Albany, was here once or twice, also the Rev. Amos G. Bald- win, of Charlton,^ between 1825 and 1827. Rev. Mr. Bruce, said to have been from Saratoga Co., attempted to organize a parish here. Rev. Reuben Hubbard of Saratoga, held ser- vices here at various times, between 1834 and 1840. Rev. Palmer Dyer, who afterwards settled in Granville, preached here once a month for quite a period of time. In 1840, Rev. John Alden Spooner came from Vermont as a missionary in charge of the stations at Sandy Hill, Glens Falls and Fort Edward. This arrangement began January 14, 1840. Ser- 1. Reclor of St. John's Church, Stillwater, orj^-anized 1705. 2. Rector of St. Paul's Church, Charlton, orgfanized 1S03. St. James Episcopal Church. 169 vices were held on one Sunday at Glens Falls, the next Sun- day morning at Sand}' Hill, and in the afternoon at Fort Edward. The latter place being considered as a part of Zion Church, Sandy Hill, (organized in 1813). Mr. Spooner organized the Church of the Messiah at Glens Falls, February' 10, 1840; and the St. James Church at this place December 16, 1844. On the last mentioned day a meeting of the congregation was held at the house of worship of the Methodist Society in Fort Edward, for the purpose of organ- izing a parish separated from Sandy Hill. The Certificate of Incorporation is as follows: To all whom these presents shall or 7)iay concern : We whose names and seals are hereunto affixed, do certify that in pursuance of a notice dul}' given, according- to law for that purpose, at the time of divine service on the two Sunday morning-s now last past, the male persons of full ag-e belonging- to the Church, congregation or society, worshiping in the Methodist house of wor-ship at Fort Edward (in which church, congregation, or society, divine service is performed according to the rites of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the State of New York), met at their place of worship in the said house of wor- ship of the Methodist Society in Fort Edward aforesaid, for the purpose of incorporating themselves under an act entitled "An Act to provide for the incorporation of Religious Societies and the act to amend the same," at which meeting, and by a majority of voices, the under- signed, John Alden Spooner, being Rector, was called to the chair and presided, and the undersigned, John F. Gandal and Daniel W. Wing were nominated to certify the proceedings of said meeting in conjunc- tion with the Rector. And by a majoritj' of votes or voices, John Roberts and John F. Gandal were duly elected church wardens, and William R. Mills, Titus Beach, Henry Martin, James A. Carlisle, Adol- phus F. Hitchcock, John H. Beach, Samuel R. Piatt and Charles H. Beach were duly elected vestrymen of said church. And Wednesday in the week called Easter week, in like manner was the day fixed on as the da5' on which the aforesaid officers of Church Wardens and Vestrymen shall annually thereafter cease and their successors in office be appointed or chosen. And the name and title of the "Rector, Church Wardens and Vestrymen of St. James Church, Fort Edward" was in like manner fixed on and agreed to as that name by which said Church or Society shall be known in law. In testimony whereof we, the said John Alden Spooner, together with the undersigned, John F. Gandal and Daniel W. Wing have here- 170 The Fort Edward Book. unto subscribed our names this 16th day of December, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and fiftj'-four. Signed JOHN ALDEN SPOONER [l.s.] JOHN F. GANDAL, [l.s.] DANIEL W. WING, [l.s.] State OF New York, K } County of Washington, On this 16th day of December, 1844, John Alden Spooner, and John F. Gandal and Daniel W. Wing, all to me well known to be the per- sons described in and who executed the foregoing instrument, person- ally appeared before me, and severally acknowledged the executioti thereof. Signed, WALTER ROGERS, Justice Peace. In September, 1844, the vestry of Zion church at Sandy Hill, appointed Daniel W. Wino^, William R. Mills, and Adol- phus F. Hitchcock a committee to solicit subscriptions for the erection of a church at this place. While this committee was engaged in this work the parish was organized as above mentioned. At the first vestry meeting, held at the house of Jonathan S. Hubbell, December 22, 1844, a com- mittee of five was appointed with power "to transact all business necessary for the erection and furnishingof a church edifice." They were the Rev. Mr. Spooner, Messrs. Daniel W. Wing, Jonathan S. Hubbell, William R. Mills and James H. CarHsle. The church lot was given to the church by Walter Rog- ers, and the deed contained a clause to the effect that the sittings should alwa3'S be free, and that the "seats, steps or pews at no time be leased, sold or rented." The ground for the new church was broken early in the spring of 1845, and on the 21st of May in that 3'ear, the corner stone was laid with apjDropriate ceremonies. Dr. Horatio Potter of Al- banv, delivered the sermon and Rev. John Williams of Schen- ectady, Rev. S. B. Bostwick of Brandon, Vt., Rev. John H. Hobart of Saratoga Springs, Rev. M. A. Nickerson of Still- water, assisting in the ceremonies and services. It is said that the day was "one of the sweetest in May" and that a large number of people attended the services. On the 2d of St. James Episcopal Church. 171 February, 1846, a joint meeting of the vestry of the churches of Glens Falls, Sand}^ Hill and Fort Edward was held, and it was determined that the growing interests of these vil- lages demanded the services of an assistant rector, and it was further determined to ask that Glens Falls and Sandy Hill be one missionary station, and that Fort Edward and Argyle be one station. In consequence of these efforts the Rev. Samuel B. Bostwick of Brandon, Vt., accepted a call and entered upon his duties as assistant rector. On the 7th of September, 1846, a second joint meeting of the three vestries was held and in consideration of the still greater demand for the services of a rector it was de- termined to secure the services of a third clergyman and ac- cordingly Rev. Henrj' McVickar was called as a second as- sistant to these parishes. At this meeting it was also deter- mined that Glens Falls and Luzerne should be one station under the charge of Rev. Mr. McVickar; that Fort Ann and Sand}' Hill be one station under the charge of Rev. Mr. Bost- wick, yet Fort Edward and Sandy Hill still continue to be regarded as one parish. At this time there seems to have, unhappily arisen, sundry differences between the Rev. Mr. Spooner and some members of his parish ; not only in this place but the feeling appears to have extended to the sister villages. These conditions seemed to render it infelicitous to longer continue the connection of pastor and people be- tween the rector and the parishes and accordingly about the 11th of May, 1848, the relation was dissolved and the Rev. Samuel B. Bostwick was called to become the rector of St. James church, which call he accepted. The relation thus formed happily continued for many j^ears, and until the de- mands of the parish here became so great as to require the undivided attention of a rector, when Mr. Bostwick resigned the pastorate here in 1870, retaining that at Sandy Hill. In May, 1848, a new building committee was appointed consisting of the rector, Rev. S. B. Bostwick, D. W. Wing, B. 172 The Fort Edward Book. F. Hoag, and J. S. Hubbell. The difficulty of raising the nec- essary funds embarrassed the committee and the want of a finished house of worship seriousU^ interfered with the pros- perity of the church. In this dilemma Mr. Daniel W. Wing, with characteristic generosity, came to the front and offered to complete the church at his own expense. This offer was, it is needless to say, accepted with gratitude, and the re- cords of the corporation testify in feeling terms to the grati- tude of the officers and society. The church building, exclu- sive of the lot, cost $3,270.77, of which sum Mr. Wing alone contributed $1,103.87. Thus the church was completed and consecrated free of debt, on the 15th day of September, 1848, by the Rt. Rev. Wilham Heathcote DeLancy, D. D., LL. D., bishop of Western New York, officiating in the dio- cese of New York. In St. James Church, is a tablet erected to the memory of Mr. Wing, and his beloved wife, w^ith the following inscriptions : DANIEL W. WING Died May 25, 1856, Aged 75 Years and 10 Months A foremost citizen of this village and a faithful member of this Church; The generous giver and zealous worker, to whom, under God, the parish chiefly owes the erection of this Church. ALMIRA HIGBY, Wife of DANIEL W. WING, Died March 6, 1882, Aged 87 Y'rs, 5 Mo's, 15 D'ys. Her husband's read}' helper in devising and doing thoughtful and liberal things for this parish, of which she was a devout communicant, and for the whole church. Their children rise up and call them blessed. St. JamEvS Episcopal Church. 173 In 1852, the rector's salary was fixed at $200. In addi- tion to this he received a missionary stipend of $75.00. It appears that the offerings for various benevolent pur- poses from April 11, 1852, to March 20, 1853. were $221.71, and in this year, 1853, a movement was started looking towards the purchase of a suitable organ for the church. This met with such fav-or that the next vear it was determined to buy an organ at an ex]3ense of about $4-50. The Rev. J. A. Spooner, former rector here, offered to be at the expense of making the necessary alterations in the church for the erection of the organ, and this offer was, with thanks, accepted. In May, the next year, the organ was fully completed and set up at an expense of $64-1.16, and best of all, it was fully paid for. In 1855 the Rector's salar}' was raised to $325. In 1856 the church was re-incorporated. In 1859, at a meet- ing of the wardens and vestry-, on motion of John E. Mcln- tyre, it was "Resolved, Whereas, in the 3'ear of our Lord, 1853, a marble font was presented and placed in the church of this parish b}^ Mr. and Mrs. William FI. Warren, and, whereas, in the year of our Lord, 1857, the former side windows of the church which were of plain glass were sub- stituted by the same persons with windows of enameled glass and colored borders, and, whereas, in the year of our Lord, 1858, the former wooden door steps of the church were substituted b}^ the same persons with substantial stone steps, therefore, resolved, that we, the rector, war- dens and vestrymen, hereby gratefully acknowledge these benefactions and record our thankful acceptance of them. In 1859, the Jane McCrea Lodge, I. 0. 0. F., presented the church with a gilt chandelier. This year, also, by the will of Daniel W. Wing, the church received a legacy of $1000, the income of which was to be applied in perpetuity- to the sup- port of the clergy of St. James Church. On Christmas day, 174 The Fort Edward Book. 1859, the Ladies' Sewing Society presented to the church a solid silver communion service, costing $234. The old ser- vice was presented to the Calvery Church at Jerico, Vt. In 1860, the missionary stipend of f75, having been withdrawn, the rector's salary was fixed at $400, the sum of $50 was set apart for the expense of music for the church, and the sum of $25 for the sexton, and Mr. Walter Rogers, then clerk of the vestry, was requested to procure a suitable book and "to enter therein such facts and incidents as have occurred in the history of the parish which he deemed worthy of preservation ; that he be requested to continue this record in the form of Annals of the Parish." If this re- quest was complied wnth, diligent search has failed to dis- close the abiding place of the book. In 1863, the Ladies' Sewing Society of the parish, always abounding in good works, altered and improved the chancel at an expense of over $100, which expense was wholly defrayed by them, and two years later the same society provided the necessary money to lay a stone walk from the door of the church to the street. On the 9th of January, 1867, at the city of Troy, Mr. W. H. Warren, for many years one of the vestry of the church, died, and on the 18th of that month the vestry adopted appropriate resolutions upon his death. Mr. War- ren, by his will, bequeathed to the church a legacy of $1,500, which was to be invested and held for the perpetual support of the services of the church. His children erected to his mem- ory the tablet in St. James Church, which is inscribed as follows : St. JamEvS Episcopal Church. 175 In Mbmory of WILLIAM HENRY WARREN. Died in the City of Troy, January Ith, 1867, Aged 51 Years. For fourteen years a vestryman of this Church. Zealous for its prosperity and its constant and generous Benefactor. This tablet is erected to a loving- father by his children. The church also contains a tablet to the memory of Mr. Warren's wife, inscribed as follows: In Memory of M A R Y R O G E R S W A R R E N , Wife of WILLIAM H. WARREN, Died in the City of Troy, June IS, 1805, Aged 45 Years. An affectionate wife, a devoted mother, an earnest christian, and for thirteen years a most faithful and zealous member of this parish. She rests from her labors. In 1870, the connection between this parish and that of Sandy Hill was dissolved and the Rev. Samuel B. Bostwick resigned his charge here, such resignation to take effect [une 17 of that 3^ear. A call was extended to the Rev. Fen- wick Cookson, of Beverl}', Mass. In 1875, measures were instituted for building a rectory. This resulted in the erection of the parsonage building on the Island. In consequence of this an indebtedness was incurred of $1,837, which, in 1879, the junior warden. Philander C. Hitchcock, paid personally, and the next year Mr. Hitch- cock further endeared himself to the parish by the gift 176 The Fort Edward Book. of a new organ to the church. (This organ is the one now in use.) March 1st, 1881, the Rev. F. M. Cookson resigned as rector, and accepted a call to the Church of the Messiah, at Glens Falls. Under his charge the church had grown and in- creased in every way. The relations existing between him and the parish had been the most cordial and his resig- nation was a source of sincere regret to all the families of the parish. March 31, 1881, the vestry extended a call to the Rev. C. C. Edmunds, of Gloversville, N. Y., at a salary of $700 per year, with the use of the rectory. This call was ac- cepted, and in May the rector's salary was increased to $800. In 1882, Walter Rogers, for many years senior w^arden of the church and prominently identified with it, full of years and honor, departed this life. In 1884, Frederick G. Til ton presented the church with a furnace, the old heating arrangements having become un- satisfactorv, and Mr. P. C. Hitchcock, with his accus- tomed liberality, paid the financial arrearage of the church. In December of this year the Rev. C. C. Edmunds re- signed his rectorship and went to Herkimer. Mr. Edmunds was an able, earnest, and efficient laborer in the Lord's vineyard. March 30th, 1885, a call was extended to Rev. George Davis Adams, of Keesville, N. Y., at a salary of $800. This call was accepted. Mr. Adams' stay here was brief, he re- signing in May, the next year, 1886, and a call was extended to Rev. Charles Temple, who, after some delay, accepted the same. In 1886, extensive repairs were made to the interior of the church and again Mr. Hitchcock paid the balance of the indebtedness, amounting to something over $500. On St. James Episcopal Church. 177 June 2d, 1888, Rev. Mr. Temple, after a brief, but very suc- cessful pastorate, resigned and went to Malone, N. Y. On August 27th, in this year, died. Philander C. Hitchcock, the senior warden of the church. His death was a great loss to the church, of which he had long been an active member, and to which he had been a constant and most liberal contributor. November 22, 1888, a call was extended to Rev. John McKinney, of Long Island City, who accepted the same, but he remained less than one year, resigning vSeptember 28, 1889, and on November 18, 1889, the vestry called Rev. Frederick N. Skinner of Hartford, N. C, to the rectorship of this parish; this was accepted and he continued until March 2d, 1891, when he tendered his resignation to take effect April 15th. Rev. Joseph L. Mcllwaine of Plattsburg, for some time after this conducted services, and in September of that year he was called for one year to the rectorship, this arrange ment continued until his resignation, December 5th, 1894. It appears that from Easter day. 1891, to June ,'28 1892, the receipts of the church were $1,324.74, and its dis, bursements were $1,301.54. On April 26, 1895, a call was extended to the Rev. Arthur H. Locke of New York City, to become rector of this parish at a salary of $1,000 per year. This was accepted and he continued in charge until May 29, 1896, when he re- signed, such resignation to take effect on August 1st. On May 26 of this year the semi-centennial of laying the corner stone of the church was observed with appropriate ceremonies. The sermon on this occasion was delivered by the Rev. Fenwick M. Cookson of Glens Falls, former rector of this church. Addresses were made by the Rev. Arthur L. Locke, the then present rector; Rev.E. L. Toy of Sandy Hill, 178 The Fort Edward Book. and the Rev. E. Ruthorn Armstrong of Lake George. Hon. George Scott, clerk of the vestry, dehvered an interesting ad- dress upon the early church history and Robert O. Bascom spoke briefly upon the early history of the town and village. During the rectorship of Mr. Locke the project of build- ing a parish house, which had for many j^ears been under consideration, began to assume more definite form and shape, and largely through his energetic exertions the ma- turity of these plans became possible. In December of this year Ellen Forbes Bascom and Emily Forbes Kempshall presented to the church the sum of $500, being the amount of a bequest made to them by their deceased sister, Lucy L. Forbes, with directions to them to bestow the same, in their discretion, u])on some worthy cause. The building com- mittee for the parish house were James G. Kinne, Francis B. Davis, Benjamin M. Tasker and Jarvis W. Milliman. Feb- ruary 20th, 1896, the building committee were authorized to contract for the erection of the parish house at a cost not exceeding $4,000. The building of the parish house was completed in 1896, and on December 16th, the vestry called the Rev. Robert Scott of Dolgeville, to the rectorship, at a salary of $1,000 per year. Mr. Scott continued as rector of the church until April 12, 1899, when he resigned, such resignation to take effect July 1st, 1899. A call was then extended to Rev. Ernest Melville of Sidney, N. Y., which was accepted, and he entered upon the duties of his cure in October, 1899, at a salary of |1,000 per year.- At this date, (1903), he is still rector of the parish. During the years when the funds were being raised for a parish house, the St. Agnes Society, composed largely of voung ladies of the parish, labored arduously for the cause and were very successful in their efforts in raising money for this purpose. The present church edifice is a substantial l)rick building, with a seating capacity of about 300. Ad- St. James Episcopal Church. 179 joining it on the north-east is the parish house, also of brick. The parish records show that the rite of baptism has been administered to 517 adults and infants (1903); that 641 have united with the church in receiving the rite ot confir- mation; that there have been 688 communicants since the establishment of the parish; that the several rectors of the parish have performed 127 marriages, and that they have officiated at 343 burials. The parish now contains about eighty families. The following named bishops have visited this parish and officiated at the performance of the rite of confirmation : Bishop Benjamin T. Onderdonk, 1841-43. Bishop Alonzo Potter, 1847-48. Bishop William H. DeLancey, 1848. Bishop WilHam R. Whittingham, 1850. Bishop Jonathan M. Wainwright, 1852-54. Bishop Horatio Potter, 1855-1869. Bishop William Croswell Doane, 1869-1902. Following is a list of the Wardens and Vestrymen of St. James parish, from its organization to the present (1903.) Wardens. Bradley, Silas B., 1850,'52-72 Roberts, John, 1844, '48, '49 Davis, Francis B.. 1890-1903 Rogers, Walter, 1856-82 Gandal, John F., 1844 Ruggles, Ruel, 1883, '85-88 Hitchcock, P. C, 1873-88 Wade, Thomas R., 1884-89 Kinne, James G., 1889-1903 Wing, Daniel W., 1849, '50, Piatt, Samuel R., 1848 '52-55 Vestrymen. Albro, Charles, 1868-69 Bascom, Robert 0., 1890-93, Ball, William F., 1890 '02-03 180 The Fort Edward Book. Beach, Charles H., 1844 Beach, John H., 1844 Beach, Titus, 1844 Beverly, G. Curtis, 1883-84, '94-97 Bishop, James L., 1856-68 Bovee, Joseph, 1850 Bradley, George, 1873-79 Bradley, Silas B., 1848-49 Buck, Wesley, 1850, '52-55 Carlisle, James H., 1844 Choat, 0. W., 1849-50 Coleman, W. S., 1901-03 Cook, S. B., 1848-50 Cox, Lyman A., 1849-50, '52 Davis, Francis B., 1875-89 Davis, Henry S., 1862-69 Doolittle, Silas, 1852-53 Elmore, E. A., 1875-78 Forbes, William, 1854-61 Githens, W. L., 1901-03 Harman, Samuel J., 1873 Hitchcock, A. F., 1844-48 Hitchcock, P. C, 1869-72 Hoag, B. F., 1848 Howe, William, 1874 Hubbell, Jonathan S., 1848- 50, '52-54 Keating, J. D., 1902-03 Keeney, Francis J. J., 1856- 60 Kinne, James G., 1871-88 Linendoll, Robert A., 1891-94 Little, George W., 1876-77, '79-80 Mills, Wm. R., 1844-48 Morgan, J. J., 1889-1901 Niles, O. 0., 1901 Nash, Melvin A., 1853-54 Olmstead, Levi, 1870, '75- 77, '81-82 Falser, Joseph B.. 1862-69 Parry, John, 1853-59 Pattison, John A., 1860-67 Pratt, Samuel R., 1844, '49- 50 Piatt, V. M., 1848 Reynolds, James S., 1855-57, '61-62 Roberts, Charles, 1863-64 Ruggles, Ruel, 1856-62, '65- 77, '80-85 Scott, George, 1885-1903 Tasker, Benjamin M., 1883- 85, '87-1901 Thebo, Philip C, 1880-85 '87-88 Tilton, Frederick G., 1881- 94, 1896-97 Valentine, W. L. R., 1869-71 Valentine, William R., 1863- 68, '72 VanLoon, Albert A., 1870- 74, '80-89 Wade, Thomas R., 1870-78, '80-83, '96-1903 Wait, A. Dallas, 1852-54 Warren, William, 1852-66 Weeks, R. C, 1849 Wells, Caleb, 1858-61 St. James Episcopal Church. 181 Mclntyre, John E., 1852, Wicks, Albert H., 1889-97, '56-61 1903 Martin, Henry, 1844 Willard, Henry, 1850, '52- McNaughton, Fred, 1902-03 74 Milliman, Jarvis W., 1889- Wing, Daniel W., 1848 1903 Wright, William, 1849 Young, Edwin C, 1867-75 Rev. John Alden Spooner was born in Charlestown, Mass., April 2, 1808. He was a direct descendant of John Alden of Puritan fame. His parents removed to Windsor, Vt. ; his academic education was received at St. Albans, Vt., where he was confirmed by Bishop Griswold. He gradu- ated at the University of Vermont, and took his theological course at the General Theological Seminary of the Protes- tant Episcopal Church. He was ordained a deacon by the Rt. Rev. Bishop B. T. Onderdonk, in 1838, at St. Mark's Church in the Bower3^ N. Y. He was stationed for a short time at Schenectady, N. Y., and later at Fairfield, Vt. He came to Fort Edward, Sandy Hill and Glens Falls in 1840. His relations with St. James Church were not formalh^ dis- solved until 1849; he wns afterwards at Mechanicville, N. Y., where he was rector of St. Luke's Church, and after that of Grace Church, Albany. In 1855 he removed to Baltimore; was a chaplain in the Union Army; in 1866 he removed to Beverly, N. J. He was the author of a number of tracts and discourses of a religious nature. The Rev. Fenwick M. Cookson, in his sermon at the semi-centennial of St. James Church, said he was "a rare man, of apostolic zeal and self sacrifice, of strong character, fine attainments and of real eloquence." Rev. Samuel B. Bostwick, S. T. D., was born March 15th, 1815, at Jerico, Vt. He was of English descent, his ances- tors having come to this countrv in 1668; (his father was Arthur Bostwick; born in Manchester, Vt., in 1778. and 182 The Fort Edwakd Book. died at Jerico in the eifrhtv-eight year of his age). Samuel B. entered the University of Vermont in 1831 and was grad- uated in 1835 ; in 1867 Cohimbia College conferred the de- gree of S. T. D. ; lie was admitted to the diaconate orders at St. Paul's Church in Burlington, Vt., by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Hopkins of Vermont, and to the priestly office in the same year at Rutland, Vt. In 1844 he accepted a call to the rectorship of St. Thomas' Church in Brandon, Vt. ; in 1846 he came to the parish composed of Sandy Hill, Glens Falls and Fort Edward, as an assistant rector. In 1847 he became rector of the Sandy Hill and Fort Edward parishes, which relation continued until the separation of the two parishes in June, 1870, when he resigned the Fort Edward rectorship, retaining that at Sandy Hill, which he held until his death. In his address at the St. James semi-centennial. Rev. F. M. Cookson said, "Dr. Bostwick was a man whose character, whose gentle, kindly sympathy for all, whose beatific life, were a benediction to the parish and to the public." The Methodist Episcopal Church. Contributed ta}' Rev. W. H. Groat. In 1788 Rev. Lemuel Smith was appointed to take charge of Cambridge Circuit. Classes were formed under the auspices of that Circuit in nearly every village and neigh- borhood within its scope. These classes, visited by the preacher as occasion permitted, grew into societies, and Fort Edward was one of these classes. It was organized as a church in 1828, by Rev. Julius Fields, then preacher in charge of the societies at Sandy Hill and Glens Falls, with fifteen members. Methodist Episcopal Church. 183 In 1829 they erected their first house of worship, a brick edifice on East street, the same now occupied by the Roman Catholic congregation. In the same year this church was included in the Fort Ann Circuit and so continued until 1852, when the Fort Edward and Sandy Hill Circuit was organized, comprising only the two places named. Rev. L. Potter was presiding elder, Rev. H. Chase, preacher in charge and Rev. J. M. Edgerton, junior preacher. The property on East street was now sold and the proceeds in- vested in their present property, corner of Broadwa}^ and Church street. The class leaders at this time were Sherman Minor, J. H. Brown, H. W. Bennett, George Harvey, Stephen Farr, F. D. Hodgman, Lucius Ormsby, S. B. Lee, L. Bancroft, C. Howe, M. L. Tompkins, J. W. Haggard, and Henry Clary. George Harve}^ H. W. Bennett, and Stephen Farr also served as stewards with H. B. Northup and R. W. Pratt. A. G. Smith was an exhorter. At the fourth quarterly conference of the Circuit, held February 18, 1854, it was voted to request the bishop to appoint a minister to Fort Edward as a separate station. In response to this request I've v. J. E. Bowen was appointed in April of that year, and Fort Edward appears as a sepa- rate appointment. During the year 1854 the new church was dedicated. Sermons were preached by Rev. John P. Newman, pastor at Fort Plain, afterward bishop; and Rev. Joseph E. King, principal of the seminary at Fort Plain. In December, 1854, Dr. King became president of Fort Edward Collegiate Insti- tute and has been identified with the Fort Edward church from that time to the present. In 1855 (June 9th) a building committee was ajipointed to purchase a lot and build a parsonage at a cost not to ex- ceed $1,750. The committee consisted of F. D. Hodg- 184 The Fort Edward Book. man, George Harvey, E. B. Nash and S. R. Potter, with Rev. J. E. Bowen as chairman. This committee, in September of that year, purchased a house— F. D. Hodgman donating the lot — adjoining the church, which, with the needed repairs, cost about $1,400. The church had cost, including ground, $10,000 (the church lot having also been donated by Mr. Hodgman) and on this property there was a debt of $1,150. The name of Benjamin Pomeroy, a prominent preacher of Troy Conference, appears in the records of this time as a superannuate. The following preachers have been appointed to the charge since 1854: Rev. J. E. Bowen " H. W. Ransom " J. E. Bowen, (2d term) " J. F. Yates, " Se\miour Coleman " Sanford Washburn " John J. Noe " S. R. Bailey " G. W. Milier Rev. W. H. Groat, pres Rev. Samuel McKean " Erastus Wentworth " W. W. Foster, Jr. " Henry A. Starks " E. J. Guernsey " H. L. Grant " " W. W. Cox " H. A. Durfee " J. H. Clark esent pastor. The following have served as presiding elders during same period : Rev. L. Potter, " S. P. Wilhams " P. P. narrower " Desivignia Starks " Isaac Parks " Sanford Washburn " J. M. Webster Rev. Samuel McKean " B. B. Loomis " Homer Eaton " J. W. Eaton " A. D. Heaxt " George A. Barrett " J. W. Eaton. (2d term) Rev. C. V. Grismer, present incumbent. Fort Edward had been included in the Cambridge dis- Methodist Episcopal Church. 185 trict until 1888, when the district was merged into the other districts, reducing the number from six to five and Fort Edward found itself after the rearrangement in the Plattsburgh district, where it now remains. During the pastorate of Rev. Erastus Wentworth, April 4th, 1879, the church was totally destroyed by fire. Rev. W. W. Foster, Jr., was appointed pastor at the ensuing con- ference and a building committee, consisting of Rev. Joseph E. King, D. D., E. B. Nash, M. L. Tompkins, Sanford Smith, A. W. Gary and H. W. Bennett, was appointed. Under the direction of this committee the present structure was erected on the old foundations, at a cost of about |16,000. The church is a two story structure and when partially com- pleted the lecture room was opened for services. Dr. Joseph E. King preaching the reopening sermon. At the comple- tion of the entire church, June 17, 1880. Bishop Foster preached the dedicatory sermon. Under the pastorate of H. A. Durfee in 1893-6, the par- sonage was sold and removed from the premises to be re- placed by the new and commodious one which now stands on the lot. Mr. Joshua Dupy was the builder under direc- tion of the building committee, consisting of A. W. Gary, G. W. Bowtell, Gicero W. Barber, G. E. Partridge, and H. A. Durfee. The church now numbers 238 members and eleven pro- bationers. Rev. Joseph E. King, D. D., has been promi- nently identified with the society for fifty years. I^ev. Gicero Barber, a superannuate member of Troy Gonference has also been prominent in the work of the church. He is now in the 94th year of his age but attends service regularly and preaches occasionally with great acceptability. The ofliciary, in addition to the above named preachers, are as follows ; 186 The Fort Edward Book. Stewards — C. W. Barber, E. C. North, W. A. Schermer- horn, A. W. Chapman, A. C. Chapman, G. H. Yates, C. W. Bowtell, J. B. Lemm, B. F. Haskin, J. Dupy, A. M.Clements, Edwin Mott, Fred Shonts. Trustees — A. W. Cary, president; J. J. Griffin, G. H. Yates, A. D. Wait, A. R. Wing, George Stevens, B.F. Haskin, G. L. Freeman, R. H. Winnie. Chas. W. Bowtell, Sunday school superintendent. Presbyterian Church. Contributed by Rev. J. Harvey Dunham. At an adjourned meeting of the Presbytery of Troy, held in the village of Fort Edward, Washington county, N. Y., on the 17th day of January, 1854, the Presbyterian Church in Fort Edward, was regularly organized and its name entered on the roll ol said Presbytery. The following persons having presented letters of dismission from other churches, or passed a satisfactory examination as to their knowledge of experimental religion, were duly constituted charter uKMubers: Mrs. James McCoy Mr. John Mitchell " Phoebe McCoy Mrs. Isabella Mitchell " Ruth Maria McCoy " Lilly Ann Reeves " Lucy E. Smith " Jeshma Washburn " Ann Underwood " Catherine Norton " Tabitha Parish " Jane E. Taylor " Sophia Stoughton " Louise M. Stoughton " Mary Finn " Susanna Gilchriste " Minerva Rozell Miss Mary Young There were eighteen original members, the only one of whom now living is Mrs. Lilly Ann Reeves of this village. Presbyterian Church. 187 At the organization Mr. James McCo\' and John Mitchel were duly elected to the office of Ruling Elder in the church and were ordained to that office on the 12th of Februar}- following. A few months later Mr. John Shiland and Charles Finn were received into the church and elected and ordained to the office of Ruling Elder. The place of worship, at first, was the brick church on East street, which was used as a Union Church and which is now occupied b}^ the Roman Catholics. The first pastor was Rev. Edward E. Seelye, a godly man, whose pastorate existed from 1854 to 1859. Under the labors of Mr. Seelye the infant church waxed strong and was in a prosperous condition when Rev. Henry F. Hickok assumed the pastor- ate. Mr. Hickok shared his labors with the Sandy Hill church and in both places was very successful as a preacher and pastor. Mr. Hickok was ordained, installed and mar- ried in one year. He was a devout man of God. He is spoken of in the highest terms. During Mr. Hickok's pastor- ate, which extended from 1859 to 1869, trouble arose re- garding the property of the "Union Church building." The outcome was the present handsome edifice erected by the Presbyterians on the banks of the Hudson. For a short time, while the church was inconjplete, the congregation accepted the kind invitation of the Baptists, to worship in their church. Rev. H. H. Neill who succeeded Mr. Hickok was the first pastor to occupy the new church. Mr. Neill was a fine scholar and a strong preacher. During his pastorate the church enjoj^ed great prosperity. Mr. Neill remained for five years and was followed by Rev. R. J. Beattie who became pastor in 1875, and remained one \^ear. Mr. Beattie was succeeded hj Rev. W. B. Stewart, whose pastorate continued for two years. Mr. Stewart, who was well known in this community, was a scholarly 188 The Fort Edward Book. man who stood valiantly for the truth. Mr. Stewart was succeeded by Rev. C. D. Kellogg, who took charge in 1880, conjointly with Sandy Hill. Mr. Kellogg was a fine scholar, excellent preacher and faithful pastor. With his talent and learning and piety he has greatly endeared himself to the people of this community. His charming spirit has made him a man "greatly beloved." For twenty years Mr. Kel- logg labored most successfully as a pastor. The growth of his Sandy Hill church had become such that in 1899 he re- signed his charge at Fort Edward. Mr. Kellogg was followed by Rev. Francis Pierce, who served the Fort Edward church for six months as stated supply. During his short stay Mr. Pierce imparted much of his natural strength and vigor to the church. The present pastor is Rev. J. Harvey Dunham, who be- gan his labors July 1st, 1900. St. Joseph's Church (Roman Catholic). Rev. John Murphy of Glens Falls, is said to have been the first |)riest to celebrate mass in this place. This was about 1861, at which tiine there were upwards of three hun- dred families in this town belonging to the Catholic persua- sion. In 18G2 Rev. James McDermott (the late Msgr. Mc- Dermott) also of Glens Falls, said mass in Fort Edward on Christmas Day, and he continued to hold services here from time to time until 1869, when the parish was organized and the church building on East street was purchased from George Harvey. This building was originally erected as a Union Chnrch, and was occupied by all denominations from time to time when not in use by the Methodists, who had the first right to the occupancy of the building. It after- St. Joseph's (R. C.) Church. 189 wards passed into the hands of the Presbyterian church and later to its present ownership. Rev. Daniel Cull of Saratoga, officiated here for a period of two or three months in 1868 or 1869. On the 6th of June, 1869, Rev. James P. McGee took charge of the parish and ministered to the flock until October 1st, 1875, when the Rev. C. FitzPatrick succeeded him in charge of the par- ish until 1885, after which the Rev. W. J. Smith took charge until June, 1895. Father Smith was assistant in the parish for about one and one-half 3^ears before Feather FitzPatrick retired. Father Smith died in Paris, June 30th, 1895, while on a tour for his health. Rev. M. J. Griffith took charge of the Parish August 1st, 1895, and is now the officiating priest. The trustees of the church consist of the officers provided by the cannons of the church, and of two lay trustees. Among those who have served the church in this capacity are: Patrick O'Brien, John Somers, James O'Brien, John J. Linnehan, William J. Downey, John Doyle, John FI. Gan- ley, and his son, John M. Ganlc}-. The church was greatly improved in 1885 by the in- troduction of stained glass windows, and in 1899 it was extensively repaired and improved, both on the inside and outside of the building, and it is now a handsome, con- vement and well equipped and furnished church edifice. In 1903, under Father Griffith, a Catholic cemetery, not far distant from the Union cemetery, has been established on Burgoyne Avenue. Michael O'Dwyer was the first sexton, he having been first appointed at the organization of the church in 1869, and since 1889 has served the church continuously in that capacity. To Father GriflSth and to Mr. O'Dwyer the writer is in- 190 The Fort Edward Book. debted for much of the information contained in this article. The church has a handsome and commodious parsonage on East street, which was purchased in 1874. The parish is now in a thriving condition, and comprehends about twelve hundred souls. Baptist Church. Contributed by Rev. Irving C. Forte. No official records can be found of the history of this church previous to the permanent and independent organiz- ation, effected January 21, 1818. But from the historical sketch printed in the Minutes of the Washington Union Bap- tist Association for 1872, prepared by the clerk of the church, Mr. Morrill Grace, we learn that earh^ in the month of March, 1812, Kev. B. F. Garfield, pastor of the West Greenwich (Galesville) church, called on James Cheesman, as the leading representative of the Bai)tist faith in this vil- lage, to consult with him regarding the ex]:)edienc3^ of hold- ing a series of evangelistic meetings. As a result of this con- sultation, services were held fcir a number of evenings in the "White schoolhouse" on Notre Dame street, since remodeled into a dwelling, and at present occupied by Mr. Charles W. Dean. Considerable interest was awakened and quite a number of souls confessed Christ. On the 17th of March, 1812, a few brethren who had been invited from neighboring Baptist churches met in the schoolhouse. Rev. B. F. Garfield was chosen chairman, and D. W. Heath, of the West Greenwich church, secretarv. The deliberations resulted in the formation of a Baptist society, auxiliary to the Washington Union Baptist Association, composed of the following named persons: JamesCheesman, Baptist Church. 191 Nelson Combs, George Mills, Thomas Pike, Lucinda Van- Densen, Melissa Hall, Electa Shaw, Isabel Saunders, Clar- issa Henderson, Poll}^ Sprague, Lucinda Bovee, Abigail Pike, Sally Pike, Emma Pike. James Cheesman was chosen dea- con, and the articles of faith and practice, known as "The New Hampshire Confession," were adopted. Rev. Mr. Gar- field preached for the society for one month, at the close of which time it numbered twenty-five persons — twelve males and thirteen females. On April 17, 18'12, the society was re- ceived as a branch of the Sandy Hill Baptist church, which was itself a sturd}^ infant of only two years. About this time the "Branch" united with the mother church in calling Rev. Solomon Gale to the ]5astorate. He served for one year. The second pastor was Rev. Amos Stearns, who for nearly four years preached here in connec- tion with the First Fort Edward (Durkeetown) church. May 1, 1847, Rev. George W. Freeman began his pastor- ate, preaching also at the First Fort Edward church. January 22, IS-IS, the "Branch" requested letters of dis- mission from the Sandy Flill church, for the purpose of ef- fecting a permanent and indejjciident church organization. These letters were granted, and on January 24<, ISTH — two days later — a meeting was held in the "White schoolhouse." Pastor Freeman was chosen moderator, and Simeon Mears, clerk. The name adopted b}^ the new body was The Fort Edward Village Baptist Church. The following persons were the constituent members: William C. Miller, John W. Miller, George W. Booth, Zina Tucker, William H. Thomp- son, Elias Durkee, John McKee, Calvin Lister, Otis Church- ill, Morrill Grace, James Cheesman, Simeon Mears, William McCormack, William Grant, Joseph Miller, C. VanDeusen, Margaret F. Miller, Maria McCormack, Mary Ann Parish, Cornelia Forbes, Phoebe McCard, Eliza Shoefif, Theresa Nichols. Of this number Zina Tucker alone survives. 192 The Fort Edward Book. After worshiping for a time in the "White schoolhouse," arrangements were made with the authorities of the Metho- dist Episcopal church — then occupying the building now used by the Roman Catholic Church on East street — to hold services in their edifice. The period of this joint occupancy is not stated, but services were resumed in the schoolhouse January 1, 1850. Februar}^ 8, 1S48, the church adopted a constitution and by-laws reported by a committee appointed to draft these articles. The first trustees, nine in number, were elected February 15, IS'iS. The board was made up of James Cheesman, Morrill Grace, Simeon Mears, Russell Hickok, Samuel B. Potter, Elias Durkee, Otis Churchill, F. D. Hodg- man, and Samuel B. Cook, the last two named being mem- bers of the society, but not of the church. The lejjal incor- poration of the church was effected on the same day. Pastor Freeman resigned March 25, 1849, and was suc- ceeded b}^ Rev. W. W. Moore, of the Sandy Hill church, who supplied the pulpit for four months. His successor was "Father" Stearns, whose labors for one year were crowned with the addition of thirty to the membership. The first Sunday school was organized February 22, 1850, with the following ofl!icers : Superintendent, Simeon Mears; assistant, Samuel Stewart; treasurer, James Chees- man; secretary, H. C. Marshall. Rev. George Fisher was called to the pastorate April 21, 1850. On the 28th of May, 1851, this church was received into the fellov^shi]) of the Washington Union Baptist Asso- ciation, in session at Sandy Hill. October 6, 1851, it was decided to erect a house of wor- ship. A committee, consisting of James Cheesman and Mor- rill Grace, after considering several sites, reported in favor of the one upon which the present edifice stands. The lot was Baptist Church. 193 purchased and the following building committee appointed : Morrill Grace, James Cheesman, Otis Churchill, John Wil- liams, Jotham Pike, Charles Osgood and Simeon Mears. This committee was given full discretionary powers. The building was inclosed, and the basement made ready for the first service about December 25, 1851. The audience room was not finished until the spring of 1852. We find, under date of April 2 of that year, that the building commit- tee reported the completion of the church edifice. No record is to be found of the date of its first occupanc}'. In the month of January, 1852, began one of the most interesting series of meetings recorded in the history of the church. Rev. William Grant, of Whitehall, was invited to assist Pastor Fisher. As the result of four months of evan- gelistic services, one hundred and six were added to the church b\^ baptism. Rev. Mr. Fisher closed his work with the church Febru- arv 2, 1853. From this date, for about seventeen months, the church was pastorless, the puli^it being supplied by Rev. Mr. Eastwood, of Glens Falls, and others. September 1, 1854, Rev. R. F. Parshall entered upon the pastorate. For one 3'ear he preached a part of the time for the First Fort Edward church ; then for three years he di- vided his labors equally between this church and Sandy Hill. During his four years of service here he baptized one hun- dred and thirty-two. September 1, 1858, he resigned this portion of his charge and devoted his whole time to the in- terests of the Sandy Hill church. Rev. B. F. Garfield commenced his pastoral work De- cember 15, 1858, and served two years and three months. Mr. Garfield's term of service was marked by the reception — November 21, 1858 — of the Fort Miller church as a branch of this vine. Thirteen persons were dismissed from this 194 The Fort Edward Book. church to form the coiivStitiient membership of the new body. Additions from other sources swelled the number to twenty- eight. The Fort Miller church was organized as an inde- pendent body July 11, 1867. Rev. William Brown, a min- ister residing in Fort Edward, acted as pastor for one year from April 1, 1862. Between Ajiril 1, 1863, and December 13, 1863, Rev. D. C. Hughes, pastor at Sandy Hill, supplied the pulpit; and for something more than a \'ear following Rev. William Brown appears to have preached at intervals, with other supplies. On the first of April, 1865, Rev. G. W. Holman was called to the pastorate. He served fifteen months. The period between January 1, 1867, and April 1, 1868, was covered by the pastorate of Rev. James W. Grant. November 1, 1868, Rev. H. R. Traver, a recent graduate of Madison (now Colgate) University, entered upon his du- ties. He was ordained by a council called b\' this church January 6, 1869. He resigned at the close of one year. Rev. J. D. Tucker served the church from January 1, 1870, to April 1, 1872. After being supplied for more than a vear by students from Madison University and by various minister- ial brethren — among them Rev. Emerson Andrews — Rev. W. H. Hawlc}^ was settled as jiastor May 18, 1873, and added greatly to the strength of the church. July 15, 1876, Rev. A. H. Putnam, just graduated by Rochester Theological Seminary, acce])ted the hearty call of the church and was ordained here August 10, 1876. After nearh' six years of most effective service, in which he estab- lished an enviable reputation as preacher, pastor and citizen, he resigned to assume charge of the Baptist church at Ra- cine, Wisconsin. After this Rev. D. K. Smith was pastor for more than three years. Baptist Church. 195 December 1, 1885, Rev. A. H. Putnam, former pastor, was eno-aged by the church as a permanent supph' and this relation was continued until October 14, 1888. The church edifice was thoroughly remodeled and beautified during Mr. Putnam's second term. Rev. Irving C. Forte, the present pastor, began his la- bors on December 1, 1888, and has therefore served nearly fifteen years. The following members have served the church as dea- cons: James Cheesman (before the permanent organization and after), George W. Booth, Otis Churchill, Samuel Stew- art, Lemuel Harvey, William Grant, Jacob Churchill, Seth P. Durkee, Zina Tucker, Charles Osgood, Ira D. Whipple, Orlando Hinckley, Wayland A. Potter, Hiram B. Partridge, Lansing M. Howland, Daniel M. Martin, David M. Odell and William G. Donnell. The first board of trustees has already' been named. The present board is made up as follows: George E. Rogers, president; Warren W. Harrington, E. L. Reynolds, Fayette B. Vaughn, George Case, and Byron B. Duell. [oseph Good- fellow is the church treasurer. The chuixh has had but two clerks since its permanent organization — Morrill Grace and David M. Odell. Mr. Grace served fortj'-four years, besides several years previous to the regular organization ; Mr. Odell has served over eleven ^^ears. The present Sunday school superintendent is foseph Goodfellow; assistant, Fayette B. Vaughn. The Young People's Societ\' of Christian Endeavor was organized October 22, 1888. Its present membership — ac- tive and associate — is about 150. This church celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its per- 196 The Fort Edward Book. manent organization on January 24th, 1898, with most im- pressive services. Two former pastors were present: Rev. James W. Grant and Rev. H. R. Traver. One event of this interesting occasion is deserving of special notice: Mr. Zina Tucker, who pitched the tunes with a tuning fork in the church services in 1848, acted as chorister in 1898, half a century later. — ■^^^&A0?P^^ CHAPTER XVI. FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONRY IN FORT EDWARD — WASHING- TON LODGE— FORT EDWARD LODGE— FORT EDWARD CHAP- TER—OTHER FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS. On the 25th day of September, A. L., 5785; A. D., 1785, when the Grand Lodge of the State of New York was but four years old, the requisite number of master Masons ap- pHed for and received a warrant under which a lodge was instituted and given the appropriate name of Washington Lodge, No. 11. It was named for the father of our country as well as the county in which the first Masonic lodge was warranted in northern New York, and Fort Edward was designated as the place of meeting. Adiel Sherwood was the first master and the communi- cations were held in the house of Brother Sherwood, on the last Thursday evening in each month, at early candle light. The members of Washington lodge, during forty-four years inculcated and practiced the honorable and imperishable tenets of Freemasonry, extending its benign influence and moral teaching to the citizens as well as to the members of the order until the da3^s of the Morgan excitement, when Washington lodge surrendered its charter. From the organization of Washington lodge until 1828, the brethren celebrated the festivals of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist, on June 24 and December 27. From June 16, 1829, to June, 1852, Freemasonry ap- peared to the uninitiated to lay dormant in this section, but on June 24, 1852, agreeable to a dispensation from the Grand Lodge of the State of New York, under a warrant signed by James M. Powell, M, D., grand secretarj^ Fort 198 The Fort Edward Book. Edward Lodge, No. 267, F. & A. M., was organized and the following officers installed by W.'. Brother David Wilson, of Phoenix Lodge, No. 96, of Whitehall : Cja-us G. Smith, master; Henry G. Breese, S. W.; James R. Gandall, J. W.; Joseph DeWolf, treasurer; Milton E. Shaw, secretary. These officers dispensed Masonic light and knowledge until December 16, 1852, when the following complete set of offi- cers were elected and installed: Cyrus G. Smith, master; Henry G. Breese, S. W.; Edwin Crane, J. W.; Joseph DeWolf, treasurer; Walter Rogers, secretary; Caleb Wells, S. D.; B. W. Sherwood, J. D., Gideon Carswell and John E. Mclntyre, stewards. Freemasonry at this time began to revive and lodges were forming in all sections of the State and nation. Peti- tions were received by Fort Edward lodge from various sec- tions asking consent to form new lodges, the first of which were Sandy Hill Lodge, No. 372; Salem Lodge, No. 391, and Home Lodge, No. 398. They prospered and grew^ and to- day, within a radius of twenty-five miles, sixteen lodges are at work. On January 5th, 1865, Brother Edwin Hill and nine other master Masons, residing in Argyle and vicinity, peti- tioned the Grand Lodge for a dispensation, which was af- firmed by our lodge and granted, and Argyle Lodge, No. 567, F. & A. M., was instituted and organized with a full number of officers. In September, 1865, agreeable to the brother's request, the remains of Bro. Charles H. Stickney, who fell in battle at South Mountain, Md., on the 14-th of September, 1862, were brought to Fort Edward and given a Masonic burial in the Union cemetery, when citizens and Masons honored themselves by turning out and showing respect for the Ma- son and soldier who had laid down his life that the nation might live. Free and Accepted Masons. 199 At the annual communication of Fort Edward lodge, held in Masonic hall, December 20, 1869, the necessar}^ steps were taken, under the State law, for incorporation. The officers making the application were W..M.". William A. Ashley, S/.W.. George Turner, J. ".W.'. David H. King, and the first trustees were David M. Odell, Zenas P. Ruggles and Lyman W. Montgomery; after said date all business and contracts entered into were made by vote of the mem- bers of the lodge and in the name of the trustees. June 24, 1871, a large number of Masons from this sec- tion went to Albany and witnessed the laying of the corner stone of the new capital by the Grand Master. January 14, 1875, a number of our brethren journeyed to Hartiord, N. Y., and participated in the dedication of the new temple of Herschel Lodge, No. 508. On the morning of July 6th, 1876, our lodge room, fur- niture, fixtures and many valuable books and records were destroyed by fire. The trustees made a new agreement with the owners of the building, settled with the insurance com- pany, replaced the carpets, furniture, etc., with new goods throughout. They were about seven months in accom- plishing the work. During this time the fraternity occupied rooms with Jane McCrea Lodge, 267, L 0. O. F., in the Mott block. On the 19th day of February, 1877, the new rooms were reoccupied and once more the brethren were in their own home. In 1883, M.-.W.-. Frank R. Lawrence was grand master, when the craft throughout the jurisdiction, were assessed $6.00 per capita, and thus paid the debt on the magnificent temple in New York city. February 17, 1886, the fraternity in Washington county celebrated the centennial of Masonrv. The exercises were '200 T\u- Vow? KinY.\in> r>ooK. held in Bradlj opera house in Fort Edward, where a select audience of invited quests was entertained by M.'.W. '.James Gibson and l\i.".\V. ".James \V. Hnestis, past grand masters of IVIasons t>f the State of New York All ot die lodges in this vlv.Mnn V wcie loprcsoutcd at tins nu\-t iiig. April 24, 188G, the fraternity in this section joined with Sandy Hill Lodge, No. 372. and celebrated with the craft throughout the length and breadth of this grand jurisdic- tion, onr freedom from debt on oi^r temple in New York, tlio large income from which is to go towards the support ot our Masonic home iti Utica, where aged Masons or their wulows iire cared tor and orpluins are taken, educated and given a trade or profession. hi ISSIK as the rcsidt c^f the grand lodge assessment and other expenses, we found the lodge in debt to a considerable auunitit. A summoned communication was called to de- vise ways and means to raise futuls, when ihe members de- cided to hold a tair, and on December 3, M.-.VY.-.John W. Vrooman, grand master, was present, opened the fair and addressetl the assembled multitude. On the second night of the fair, December -f. Apollo Cotnmanderv of frov. gave a Knights Templar drill. The fair was held four evenings and was a grand success The good people of Fort Edward and vicinity, youtjg atui oKl, male atid female, irrespective oi' na- tionality, chmch or creed, vied with each cUher in doing all they possibly could for the worthy cause, and the result was far beyond the most sanguine expectations of the workers or the othcers and members of the fraternity, but it onlv em- phasized the power in our talismanic words, tt) wit : Broth- erly Love, Relief, Truth, Faith, Hope and Charitv for all, and Harmony among all. In 1S97, owing to the fact that a satisfactorv lease could not be obtaitied of the rt^oms that the fraternity had occupied for more than forty years, a committee was ap- Imv'i:i'; and At'cM:i"ri.:i) Masons. LM)1 poiiitod ((> talk with I lie pioiuoUis ol Uu- Mnvlinii 1 s' hlock, a huildinu; (Iumi ahoiil to Ik- cMvclotl. On llu- ivpori ol tlio roiiniiil IcH- a siiminoiud ooiimiuiiioatioii was hold and till- tinslc-cs woic> dircrtt-d lo lake a lease of the looius in the north paii ofllu' Ihiid liooi- l\>v a peiiod oltweidv veais. when eonipleti'd aeeordmi; to spi-eiliea lions. I'Vhtnarv 17. 1 SDS, I he t instees leporLed thai (luMoonis wore ready lor ooenpaney, and on Maroh Ith the loonis well' soleinidy dodii'atod to Masoiuo nso and |)niposes l»v M.-.\V.-. William Sutherland, oiand master of Masons ol I he vStnto of New York. R.-.W.. David 11. Kino, doliveicd an ad- dress, i;i\in<; an aeeonnt ol Masomv in I'ort IMwaid Ironi 1 7Sr) to IS'JS, a period of 1 1 ;> veais. I'rom theori;anizationor l'\)r( lulward Lo(l<;o lo the pres- ent time T)!'.) members have suhserihed lo the eonslihdion and hy laws. Ol" this nninber 1 (> !• have heard the alarm at llu- onlc-r door .and h.ive liei-n <;ivc-n a Masonii- huii.il, L!OL! have (limit ted .and joined oi- lu-eome eh.irlei- nu-nd)eis ol other lodges or wi-n- droppi-d from the rolls for one- eaiisc- or anolhei, and only three have heen ex|)elled, leaving ;i I this wiilint; ir)() in i;()od slandinq. Twenty-two of the brethren have been ealled by Ihesnf- I'rnnc of the mend)ers to serve as master, as I'ollow^s: Cyrus c. Smith,' isr)2-r)a-r)i<-r)r). v. |. J. Kinney," isr)()-r>7. Caleb Wells,' 1 Sr)S-r>l)-(UM'>2. John J. Flint,* ISGI-Oa-Gt. W'illi.im R. Ottman, ISGr")-!)!). W^alter Lane,* 18G7-()S. William A. Ashley,* 18()l)-7(M)4-0r)-i)(;. (leoii^e Turner, IS? 1-72-73. .' Ilem-y Mel'arland. lS7l-7r). Zenas V. Ruj^^les, lS7(>-77. James Mickel,* 1878-71). 202 The Fort Edward Book. Oscar O. Niles, 1880-81-99-1900-01-02. George Godfrey, 1882-83. David W. Murdock,* 1884-85. Christopher A. Elmore,* 1886-87-88. David H. King, 1889-90. John Thompson,* 1891. George C. Beverly, 1892. vSilas J. Banker, 1893. Moses J. Barnum, 1897. E. H. Brown, 1898. William S. Coleman, 1903. David H. King, D. D. Grand Master, 1892-94. Thursday, June 6, 1901, Fort Edward Lodge went in a body to Sandy Hill and witnessed, with hundreds of the craft, the laying of the corner stone of the Masonic temple that Sandy Hill Lodge, No. 372, was then building. June 24, 1902, was the anniversary of the birth of St. John the Baptist. It was also the 50th anniversary of the birth of Fort Edward Lodge. At eight o'clock in the ev- enino- a goodly number of the craft assembled in the lodge rooms and celebrated the half-century mark of the existence of No. 267. On this occasion the chairs were occupied by past masters and brothers who had been Masons over forty vears. An interesting and instructive program was ren- dered and a smoker enjoj^ed. As a fitting finale to the semi-centennial celebration the brethren assembled in the lodge room on the evening of June 29, and went in a body to St. James Episcopal church, where they were treated to a sermon on the life and work of St. John the Baptist. Fort Edward Chapter, 171, R. A. M. March 17, 1860, this chapter was organized under a dis- * Deceased. Old Washington Lodge. 203 pensation signed by M/.E/ James M. Austin, grand high priest, when Companion F: J.J. Kinney was duly elected and installed as the first high priest and held the oflice until May 1864, when, under a dispensation, a special convocation was held and Companion George H. Taylor was elected and installed high priest, serving in that capacity until March 13, 1867. The chapter failed to elect officers in December, 1866, and on March 10, 1867, a dispensation, signed by M.-.E.-. Seymour H. Stone, grand high priest, was granted, and on March 13, a special convocation was held when Companion William R. Ottman was elected and installed high priest. Since the latter date the chapter has prospered and done much work. Nine companions, to wit: Russell W. Pratt, Oscar O.Niles, George Turner, Christopher A.Elmore, William A. Fox, George Godfrey, William A. Ashley, Sey- mour H. Durkee and Charles W. Dean have filled the exalted position of high priest. In 1890 Ancient Craft and Capitular Masonry seemed to take a new lease of life by warming the old and infusing new and young blood into the arteries and veins of the craft and a goodly number of brethren in this jurisdiction have traveled the rough as well as the pleasant roads, partaken and enjoyed the fruits of their labor, and drank pure water from the fountains along the line of their marches. There are at the present time 76 companions in good standing, 28 of whom are members of Washington Com- mandery, No. 33, Knights Templar. George Turner,] Oscar 0. Niles, ^-Committee. David H. King, j Washington Lodge, No. 11. Washington lodge was largely composed of men who had seen service in the army during the Revolution. Early 204 The Fort Edward Book. in Masonic history Massachusetts granted dispensations for what have been called "traveling lodges." Wherever a suf- ficient number of Masons were assembled to perform the work thc}^ were wont to hold a lodge and confer the degrees. This statement is partly traditional and partly authentic. This seems certain — that at the close of the Rev- olution, manv millitary men settled in this vicinity and they were then Masons. They obtained a warrant and estab- lished a lodge. Among these early Masons (members of Washington lodge) were: Lieut. Col. Adiel Sherwood, the first master of Wash- ino^ton lodge, was member of assembly from the town of Argyle in 1784-85, and was supervisor of that town in 1787; Col. Sherwood was lieutenant in the First Regi- ment of the New York Line in the Revolution ; he was captain in Col. Malcom's regiment of Levies and also in Col. Graham's regiment. He was in command of the American troops at Fort Ann, when they surrendered in 1780 ; he was taken prisoner to Canada. His surrender at Fort Ann was at the time criticised by some, but histor}^ has justified his conduct. In a letter written to Col. Livingston in October of that year. Col. Sherwood says: "I had with me seventy-five men, officers included, which was the whole of mv garrison ; mv communications cut off and without the least hope of relief for some time." He further says : "I could have made some resistance, but after consulting my officers and some of my most sensible men, I agreed to surrender. After our ammunition was exhausted, what men that should then have survived would have been massacred b\^ the sav- ao^es. This being my situation, hard as it was, I agreed to sign the articles, having stipulated to send the w^omen and children to their respective homes." Continuing he saj^s: *T am in a poor situation to continue in this cold climate this winter, having no clothes with me but what I brought on Members of Washington Lodge. 205 my back, and destitute of any money. My men are very badly clad and most of them without shoes." He was a justice of the peace of Charlotte county, and local records attest that he was held in high regard and esteemed by his fellow citi- zens. In 1789 the two Washington county regiments were divided into three and the second regiment was placed under the command of Lieut. Col. Sherwood, to consist of Kings- bury, Queensbury and the three westernmost beats of Ar- gyle, and the southernmost part of Westfield, as the town of Fort Ann was then called. Col. Sherwood resigned his office April 5th, 1796 ; he died December, 1825, and is buried in the old cemetery grounds in the village of Sand\^ Hill. Seth Sherwood, whose name is mentioned as senior warden upon almost every page of the early records of Washington lodge, was an officer in the Revolution, having served as lieutenant in Col. Harper's Regiment of Levies; he was an earlv settler at Fort Edward, and afterward at Kingsbury. In 1771 he presented a petition to Lord Dun- more, then governor of New York, complaining of the in- human proceedings of Henry Cuyler, Patrick Smith, Joseph Gillette, Hugh Munroe and others. Cuyler, Smith and Mun- roe afterwards became notorious as prominent Tories in this vicinity. Smith was the first clerk of Washington countv, and built what we call "The Old Fort House," on lower Broadway. Sherwood says that in 1768, Smith had caused him to be arrested, and after the bailiff had got eight or nine miles from Sherwood's residence, he tied him with a rope and led him to the citv hall, Albany, with his arms tied; that bail was refused and he remained in prison nearly five months. He refers for character to Capt. James Bradshaw of Kings- bury, Daniel Jones, and Noah Payn, the ancestor of the Payn family of Fort Miller, and others in this vicinity. Among the papers in the Secretary of State's office, Albany, is one signed by Sherwood, wherein he states that, 206 The Fort Edward Book. moved by his love for country and the principles of the Rev- olution, he resolved to venture his life and fortune in vindi- cation of his country's cause. His losses in 1777 were ap- praised at upwards of £400. All his property was burned and plundered in 1780, and the property destroyed by fire was appraised at nearly £1000, and that which was plun- dered at nearly as much tnore. During the three 3^ears that Col. Warner's regiment lay at Fort Edward and Lake George, he loaned to the forces upwards of 9000 weight of beef, besides flour, corn and hay, and produces certificates from various officers of the Continental army showing that he furnished the garrisons with provisions and hay when the\^ could not be procured elsewhere. In 1782 the legisla- ture was petitioned to make him compensation for the pro- visions he furnished, and a favorable report was made upon his claim, but there was no mone^^ to pay it. — See also page 141. Nehemiah Seeley.— See page 140. Lieut. Levi Stockwell, junior warden in 1787, was in the third regiment of the New York Line, and resided in Whitehall, where he was one of the earliest settlers. Major Peter B. Tearse— See page 140. Moses Martin.— See page 141 . CoL. John Williams.— See page 143. Stephen Allen was a soldier in the Revolution, serv- ing in Col. Blaire's 16th Albany County Regiment of Militia. Daniel Barber also saw service in the Albany County Militia. Alexander Baldwin, of Fort Edward, was of Scotch Members of Washington Lodge. 207 descent; his grandfather having settled in Saratoga in 1770, and was in the EngHsh army during the French and English war of 1759; his father, Cornelius Baldwin, was one of the guides for the patriot army during the Burgoyne campaign, and he saw service, himself, in Willett's Regiment of Levies, and in Col. John McCrea's 13th Albany County Regiment of Mihtia. Thomas Bradshaw was one of the early settlers in Kingsbury, and was supervisor from that town in 1803; he was a lieutenant in Col. Harper's Regiment of Levies, and also in Col. Williams' Charlotte County Regiment during the Revolution and in 1793 w^as second major of the State Mihtia. Lieut. Manning Bull, of Hartford, was a justice of the peace in that town, having been ajjpointed by the State government in 1798 ; he was one of the earliest settlers in the town of Hartford, and served as agent for the proprie- tors when they were disposing of their lands to settlers. He saw service in the Fourth Regiment of the New York State Line. Simon DeRidder resided in Easton and was an emigrant from Holland. Alpheus Doty kept a hotel in the village of Sandy Hill; he died about 1800, and after that his widow kept the house until about 1834. James W. Dunham, of Northumberland, and afterwards of Oueensbury, was a soldier in the Revolution; belonged to Col. Blaire's 16th Albany Count}^ Regiment of Militia. Warren Ferris was a Revolutionary soldier of Quaker descent; belonged to the Third Regiment of the Dutchess 208 The Fort Edward Book. County Militia. He was supervisor, town clerk, justice of the peace, and commissioner of common schools in Oueensbury. Peter B. French was a soldier In the Revolution in Col. Wynkoop's Regiment ; he resided in what is now the town of Hampton, and was supervisor of that town in 1792 where he engaged in the mercantile business; he was one of the first officers of the Aurora lodge, which was organized from the towns of Hampton and Poultney. Samuel Harris was an early settler in Kingsbur}^ and was town clerk of that town for some twelve or thirteen years. John Hamilton was a captain in the Charlotte County Regiment. ZiNA Hitchcock, of Kingsbur}^ was a member of the Council of Appointment in 1795, and was elected State sen- ator in 1798, which office he held for ten A^ears, and was member of assembly from 17S9 to 1793; he was a doctor and located in Sandy Hill about 1784; and his house was not far from the present site of the court house; he was a soldier in the Revolution, having belonged to the 17th Albany County Regiment of Militia. John Hitchcock was one of the original grantees of the Klufsbury Patent in 1762, and he likewise saw service in the Revolution in the Second Regiment of the New York Line, and also In the Fourth. Benjamin Johnson was a Revolutionary^ soldier in Col. Harper's Regiment of Levies ; and also In the Third Ulster County Regiment. Members of Washington Lodge. 209 Ahijah Jones, of Kingsbury, was an early manufacturer at that place, where he had a carding mill. Hugh McAdam was a Revolutionary soldier in Col. Philip Schuyler's Third Albany County Militia. Duncan AIcIntyre, the father of John Mclntyre, was of Scotch descent ; a soldier in the Tenth Regiment of the Albany County Militia. Murphy McIntyre was a brother of Duncan. Stephen Mead was another Revolutionary patriot, having served in the Third Regiment of the Westchester County Militia. Isaiah Mead was another Revolutionary soldier, hav- ing served in the Sixth Regiment of the Dutchess County Militia. Mathias Ogden. — See page 103. MiCAjAH Pettit saw service iu the Revolution in the Sixteenth Regiment of the Albany County Militia, and was supervisor from the town of Kingsbury in 1801, presidential elector in 1808 and held many minor offices in Queensbury where he resided. Dr. John Perrigo was surgeon in the Charlotte County Militia during the Revolution. Charles Robinson had a military record in Malcom's Regiment of Albany County Militia, and was quartermaster in the Charlotte County Militia. Duncan Shaw was one of the original grantees of the 210 The Fort Edward Book. Argyle patent, and he was also a captain of the Charlotte County Regiment. Benjamin Scott saw service in the Fourteenth Regi- ment of the Albany County Militia. Henry Sherman saw service in the Thirteenth Regiment of Albany County. Philip Smith was a captain of theTenth Albany County Regiment ; he resided in Cambridge, was sheriff of the county in 1796; a member of assembly in 1798-1791), at which time he resided in the town of Easton. Peter Tallman was a soldier in the Second Regiment of Orange county, and lieutenant in the infantry Charlotte County Company. Lieut. John Watson belonged in Willett's Regiment of Levies. Capt. JamEvS Wilson was an officer in the Charlotte County Regiment, and Samuel Wilson was ensign in Col. Wynkoop's Regiment. George Jakeway, of Oueensbury, was ensign in the Mihtiaofl792. Isaac B. Payn, of Northumberland, where he settled be- fore the war, was a lieutenant in 1792, and was supervisor of that town for a number of years. John Vernor was born on the 18th day of August, 1746, and died December 1st, 1825, at Albany where he is buried. He was a soldier in the war of the Revolution and after- wards in the war of 1812, and served as a magistrate for several years. He was a merchant and hotel keeper at the Members of Washington Lodge. 211 head of Lake George; he was appointed a magistrate as early as 1791, and his name frequently appears in the town records of Queensbury ; he was chairman of a public meet- ing of the citizens of Washington county, held at Kingsbury in 1783, of which meeting Micajah Pettit was secretary and at which Dr. Zina Hitchcock was nominated as a Federal candidate for senator. He was quartermaster of the 13tli regiment from the Saratoga District, of which John McCrea was colonel. Munsell, in his "Annals of Albany," says that he was a zealous partisian in the war of the Revolution, and for a time was deputy commissary of military stores, in which station, as well as in all others that he occupied, he showed himself competent and faithful. He was buried with Masonic honors from his residence in North Market street, opposite the Arsenal. This partial account of Revolutionary heroes who were accustomed to assemble in Washington lodge, would be in- complete without mention of Robert Cochran, whose name often apjjcars in the records of the lodge, both as a visiting member and as filling various chairs when the lodge was in session. His remains rest in Union cemetery. He w^as one of the most distinguished of the Revolutionary partisians, and was one of the seven outlawed with Ethan Allen by the Colonial government of New York, in 1774, at which time 'he was actively engaged as a leader of the "Green Mountain Boys," and was in open hostility to the acknowledged government of the colony of New York. He came, originally, from Massachusetts to Bennington, and soon moved to Rupert, and before the Revolution he was a captain and leader of the "Green Mountain Boys." After the Westminster massacre, at which the historians of Ver- mont claim the first blood of the Revolution was shed, within forty-eight hours he had raised a compan}^ of forty men, and assisted in conveying the prisoners taken to the 212 The Fort Edward Book. jail at Northampton. He was engaged in Allen's expedition for the capture of Ticonderoga, and was with Col. Seth Warner at the capture of Crown Point. He was made a major in the Revolutionary army by the resolution of Congress, and in 1777 was in command at Fort Dayton, in what was then called "Tryon County." He served with dis- tinction in the campaign of '77, and in 1778 made a hazard- ous trip to Canada, where he was sent to obtain military information. A large reward was offered for his capture, and while on this expedition he was taken ill and lay con- cealed in a brush heap until hunger compelled him to ven- ture forth. As he approached a log cabin he heard three men therein engaged in conversation about his capture and the reward ; he remained secreted until they departed, when he approached the house and told a woman whom he found there, who he was and of his distressed condition. She kindly gave him food and lodging and secreted him in the house until the men returned and departed again, when she secreted him in a place not far distant from the house, and there fed and cared for him until he was able to resume his journey. Afterward he met the woman and rewarded her generously for her care of him during this dangerous season. In 1778 he was in command of Fort Schuyler. He came out of the war deeply involved in financial difficulties, and Sparks, in his "Life of Baron Steuben," gives a somewhat pathetic account of the financial distress of this eminent man. Later years, however, brought him deserved prosper- ity and during the latter part of his life he resided in the vicinity of Sandy Hill, and was often a visitor of Washing- ton lodge and often discharged the duties of various offices connected therewith. He was lieutenant-colonel in the sec- ond regiment of the New York State Line, was major in Col. Clinton's third regiment of the Line; and was captain in Col. Ethan Allen's regiment of "Green Mountain Boys." Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 213 Jane McCrea Lodge, I. O. O. F., No. 267. Contributed by the Lodg-e. On August 4, 1848, a charter was granted by the Grand Lodge of the State of New York, to Jane McCrea Lodge, No. 379, I. O. 0. F., empowering it to transact business and con- fer degrees according to ritual. August 16, 1848, several brethren, all charter members, met in their rooms in the Cheesman building and were called to order by District Deputy Grand Master Barker, when the following officers were elected and installed : N. G., John E. Mclntyre; V. G., William S. DeWolfe; secretary, Bradley S. Bennett; treasurer, John F. Willis; permanent secretary, George Raymond. August 23, 1848, the lodge conferred the first degree on W. W. Cronkhite, and Oliver E. Hunter joined by card. At the same meeting the following brethren were made a com- mittee to draft a set of by-laws for the government of the order: Henry Willard, 0. E. Hunter and B. S. Bennett. The lodge met every week, took in new members and prospered. The motto, " F. L. T.," was exemplified by strict care for the sick and needy members and true brotherly love shown in attending the funerals of deceased brothers and by the watchful care over their widows and orphans. On December 1st, 1850, the Grand Lodge issued a new warrant or dispensation, signed by twelve grand lodge offi- cers, six past grand officers, and attested by the grand secre- tary, changing the number of this lodge from 379 to 126, which last number was retained until the charter was sur- rendered in 1 856. During the decade, beginning 1848, the lodge prospered and grew strong in membership and funds until the latter part of 1856, when, owing to jealousies and disastrous 214 The Fort Edward Book. drain on the treasury for sick purposes, the few remaining members of Jane McCrea Lodge, No. 126, met and voted to surrender the charter. From 1856 until January 25, 1871, Odd Fellowship in Fort Edward lay dormant. On the latter date a special dis- pensation was issued to a new lodge to be known and hailed as Jane McCrea Lodge, No. 267, I. O. O. F. The brethren named in the dispensation were Z. P. Ruggles, J. L. Woodin, J. E. Mclntyre, H. M. Reeves, J. Patten, Caleb Wells, J. H. McDonough, Andes Forbes, W.J. Irving, W. J. Whitehouse, H. W. Stoughton, D. Underwood, J. R. Gandall, 0. DeForest, C. A. Elmore, Seth Parish, J. F. Willis and J. F. Weller. On February 21, 1871, District Deputy Grand Master James Gibson, Jr., of Salem, installed the following as the first officers of the new lodge: W.J. Irving, noble grand ; Z. P. Ruggles, vice grand; C. A. Elmore, secretary; H. W. Stoughton, treasurer; David M. Odell, permanent secretary. May 1st, 1898, the lodge removed from rooms in the Crane building, which it occupied for a number of years, to more commodious quarters in Merchants' Block, on Broad- way, which it still occupies. The lodge is now in a prosper- ous condition with a membership of 125. On May 25, 1900, Hudson Valley Encampment was in- stituted in connection with Jane McCrea Lodge, and on April 19, 1902, a canton, known as "Canton Fort Edward," was instituted The following are the present officers of Jane McCrea Lodge, No. 267, I. O. O. F.: C. F. Newell, noble grand ; Geo. Newton, vice grand ; Harry Hazzard, secretary; Spencer A. Washburn, financial secretary; Byron B. Duel, treasuier. Knights of Columbus. 215 Fort Edward Council, No. 336, K. of C. Contributed by the Council. April 27, 1898, several gentlemen interested, met by in- vitation, in the hall of the A. 0. H., in Fort Edward, for the purpose of organizing a council of the Knights of Columbus in this place. The following officers were elected : Daniel Keating, temporary chairman ; James E. Murray, secretarv. State Deput}"- Kiley was present and explained the aims and objects of the order. The meeting adjourned until the fol- lowing Sunday when a permanent organization was effected by the election of the following officers : William Rooney, grand knight; William Murray, deputy grand knight; M. H. O'Brien, chancellor; William Murph}^ financial secretary; John J. Kelleher, recording secretary; John W. Stewart, in- side guard ; John F. Clark, outside guard ; Alec. McKennon, treasurer; Felix Cummings, Albert Senecal, Thos. Stainsby, trustees; Rev. M. J. Griffith, chaplain ; Daniel Keating, advo- cate; Dr. J. J. Dever, physician ; M.J. Bennett, lecturer. After the election of officers the meeting adjourned until May 29, 1898, for the purpose of installing the council and officers. On this date the first degree was exemplified by vSandy Hill council, and the second and third degrees by Glens Falls council. Fort Edward council started off with sixty-four charter members. On April 4, 1899, the council held its first grand ball in Bradley opera house. The council is now in a flourishing condition with a membership of 96, and is lo- cated in Columbus hall, 136 Broadway, occupying the sec- ond and third floors in this building and their rooms are commodiously furnished. Hudson Valley Lodge, A. O. U. W. On Monday evening, February 4, 1878, Hudson Valley 216 The Fort Edward Book. Lodge, No. 130, Ancient Order United Workmen, was organ- ized by Grand Deputy Edwin C. Elmore, with a charter membership of thirty-eight. The first meeting place was in Odd Fellows hall, then located in the Crane building, 134 Broadway, and the first officers elected and installed were as follows: Henry McFarland, past master workman; Thomas R. Wade, master workman; Charles W. Cary, foreman; Ernest M. Elmore, overseer; Edward L. Crawford, recorder ; David Whipple, financier; J. M. Reeves, receiver; Fred Mills, guide; George E. Whipple, inside watchman. The following brethren have occupied the office of master workman of Hudson Valley lodge since its organization : Thomas R. Wade, James H. Cheesman, Warren F. Gunn, Norman B. Sprague, Oscar O. Niles, C. A. Elmore, Dr. C. J. Farley, William A. Ashley, David Whipple, Edward Groes- beck, George H. Yates, Joshua Dupy, William Ottman, Clay- ton N. Davis, J. J. Griffin, and Fred Shouts. The present membership is 77. Washington Council, 261, Royal Arcanum. Washington Council, Royal Arcanum, was instituted February 22, 1879, at Odd Fellows hall, in the Crane build- ing, Broadway, by District Deputy Grand Regent Laughlin, of Buffalo. There were twenty-five charter members. The society is what is known as a fraternal insurance organiza- tion. Seven of the original charter members still maintain their membership in this council, namely: Oscar 0. Niles, Northup E. Cook, Edward F. King, Fred B. Mills, Andrew J. Mullen, W. L. Evans and C. E. Partridge. Twelve died while members of the council, viz: W. B. Thompson, Chris- topher A. Elmore, Halsey W. Stoughton, George Satterlee, Stephen Braytou, W. M. F. Craft, Silas W. McCoy, Charles Royal Arcanum. 217 Payne, Walter S. Durkee, Lewis W. Sutherland and An- thony Shaffer. The following have served the council in the office of re- gent since its organization: Edward L. Crawford, 1879, Oscar O. Niles, 1879; Silas W. McCoy, 1880; Thomas S. Lindsay, 1881; Northup E. Cook, 1882; Edward F. King, 1883, 1885, 1889, 1893; Christopher A. Elmore, 1884- Lewis W. Sutherland, 1886; William A. Fo.y, 1887: George Satterlee, 1888; W. C. Smith, 1890; Willard Robinson, 1891; Murray E. Nichols, 1892; Robert O. Bascom, 1894, 1900; Jonas E. Ekblad, 1895; George H. Field, 1896; George P. Barnard, 1897, 1898, 1899; James D. Keating, 1901. 1902; Irving C. Forte, Jr., 1903. The following have served the council in the office of sec- retary : Thomas S. Lindsay, 1879, 1880, 1891, 1892, 1893, 1895 to 1903; Daniel R. Williamson, 1881; vSilas W. Mc- Coy, 1882, 1883, 1884; W. F. Potter, 1885; Clayton N. Davis, 1885; E. V. Ensign, 1886; Willard Robinson, 1887, 1888, 1889,1890; Orville H. Partridge, 1894. The following have served the council as collector since its organization : W. B.Thompson, 1879; A. C. Hodgman, 1879; Edward F. King, 1880; C. E. Partridge, 1880; W. M. F. Carft, 1881-89; Edgar L. Durkee, 1890-91; James H. Cheesman, 1892-1903. The present officers are as follows: Irving C. Forte, Jr., regent; Dr. W. C. Tripler, vice regent ; Seymour H. Durkee, orator; James D. Keating, sitting past regent; Thomas S. Lindsay, secretary; James H. Cheesman, collector; H. Davis Northup, treasurer; H. W. Stoughton, Jr., guide; Cj^rus T, Pike, chaplain; S. W. Graham, warden; Edwin W. Colvin, sentry; Timothy F. Stoughton, A. H. Fell and Charles S. Kinne, trustees. Washington council has had a constant and steady 218 The Port Edward Book. growth since its institution, and at the present time num- bers 236 members. Since its organization It has paid thirty full rate benefits, amounting to $90,000, and six half rate benefits, amounting to .f9,000, making its total disburse- ments for death benefits $99,000 to the beneficiaries of its members. The first assessment paid by this council amounted to only $73.43, while the last one amounted to $502.54. Ancient Order of Hibernians. The Ancient Order of Hibernians, Division No. 3, was organized at Fort Edward on September 19, 1897, with sixty-nine charter members. William Murray was elected president; E. P. Morrison, vice president; J. E. Burby, finan- cial and recording secretary ; John H. Morse, treasurer. The society has commodious and well equipped rooms in the Wing's Exchange building, and from its organization has had a steady and healthy growth, and at present has a membership of 115. The present officers are : J. T. Smith, president; Thomas Flannery, vice president ; John Kelleher, financial secretary ; Patrick J. Curley, recording secretary; John H. Morse, treasurer. The Fort Edward Club. The Fort Edward Club, a purely social organization, was effected in December, 1897, at which time the organiza- tion was perfected by the election of Hon. A. D. Wait, presi- dent; George F. Underwood, vice president; Fred C. Loss, The Fort Edward Club. 219 secretary ; Asahel R. Wing, treasurer. The first house com- mittee consisted of Levi H. Wing, Frank P. Case, Wm. S. Coleman, L. E. Montgomery, and James F. Corbett. Its rooms are in the Merchants' block, on the west side of Broadwa}', where the Club has been located ever since its organization. The rooms are equipped with bilHard and pool tables, and the principal periodicals and some of the daily papers are on file, and accessible to its members, and their guests. Its membership embraces most of the business men of the village and numbers at the present about 70. The present officers are : L. E. Montgomery, president ; Charles W. Bowtell, vice president; Fred A. Davis, secre- tary ; James D. Keating, treasurer. CHAPTER XVII. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OF FORT EDWARD. The first fire company to be organized in Fort Edward was Old Relief Steamer Company, which was organized in September, 1857, with about fi^rty charter members. This company had for an engine the old fashioned brake machine, operated by hand, and though now it seems an inadequate method of fighting fire, nevertheless it did good service in the days of yore. On May 5, 1874, the board of trustees purchased the J. F. Harris steamer, and on the 27th of May, same year, the John F. Harris Steamer Company, No. 1, was organized with thirty-one charter members. Though the steamer com- pany subsequently disbanded, the steamer is still owned and operated bv the village, but with the introduction of the gravity system of water works it sees but little use. Three active and efiicient hose companies, however, maintain an organization, viz: George Satterlee Hose Company, No. 2. Contributed by the Company. The George Satterlee Hose Company was organized May 28th, 1874, at a meeting held at the oflice of Little & Ketchum over the store of James H. Cheesman on Broad- way. The following is a list of the officers and charter members of the organization : President, John L. Woodin ; vice president, Andrew Crane; secretary, James M. Russell; treasurer, Charles L. Ketchum; foreman, Joseph C. Russell; first assistant, Andrew J. Mullen; second assistant, Hazen W. Bennett, Jr.; steward, Edward F. King; C. E. Morey, Fire Department. 221 John Pair, Frank Craft, W. Seth Taylor, O. F. Gilchrist, H. P. Cronkhite, Charles E. Cheesman, George O. Hunter, D. R. Williamson, T. F. Stonghton, S. F. Godfrey, John C. Hersey, James M. Reeves, C. R. Payn, George F. Underwood, A. T. Gilchrist, S. W. Linindoll, F. E. Barton, Ransom Pike, 0. S, Wilson, E. L. Crawford, William Craus, J. E. Osgood, Charles Matthews, John F. Loughlin, D. M. Ruggles, F. H. Loughlin. The company continued to hold their meetings at the same place for some time, and the name "George Satterlee Hose Company'" was formally adopted July 2d, 1874. Early in its history a very beautiful parade cart was purchased, and after it had been ornamented, it represented an expenditure of between seventeen hundred and eighteen hundred dollars. The company held its first public reception at the Opera House in 1874, on which occasion the hose companv pre- sented to Mr. Satterlee a fireman's hat and belt with suit- able inscription. Afterwards the compan}^ met in the engine house, and later in the Crane building in the rooms now occupied by the Keating Printing Plant. The following is a list of the presidents of this company from its organization : John L. Woodin, 1874. Edgar Hull, 1875. D. R. Williamson, 1876-1879. Frederick G. Tilton, 1880-1883. Thomas R. Wade, 1884-1885. Benjamin M. Tasker, 1886. Raymond Pattee, 1887. Frank B. Hull, 1888. H. Davis Northup, 1889-1891. John J. Morgan, 1892-1894. L. E. Montgomery, 1895-1903. 222 The Fort Edward Book. In March, 1882, a drill corps was organized with Charles Cross as the first drillmaster. He was shortly suc- ceeded by the foreman, Samuel F. Godfrey, who devoted much time and attention to perfecting the company in the performance of various military evolutions, and the com- pany became very proficient under his instructions. The following is a list of the prizes which the company has taken at various times: 1882— September 9th, Washington County Fair, $50. 1883— August 23d, Kingston, $250. September 11th, Washington County Fair, $50. 1884— July 4th, Schuyler ville, $50. July 4th, Saratoga, $25. July 23d, Saratoga, $25. August 23d, Utica, $75. same date and place, special prizes, $75. September 7th, Glens Falls, $37.50. September 12th, Washington County Fair, $50. December, Schenectady, $50. November 26th, Cohoes, $50. 1885— January 17th, Glens Falls, $25. June 11th, Cohoes, $50. July 20th, Ballston, $75. August 20th, Whitehall, $75. After the death of Foreman Samuel F. Godfrey, in October, 1886, the company never entered in a competitive drill. The present rooms of the company are in Harris Block, where large and commodious reception rooms, smoking rooms and toilet rooms have been provided, which are beautifully furnished, and in which are to be found many portraits and gifts from friends to decorate the same. The company has always been active in response to fire alarms and have been vigilant in the discharge of their du- ties as firemen. From time to time fairs have been given, all of which have been largely attended and successful in the highest degree. The company has been loyal to its members, Fire Department. 223 and upon many occasions has turned out to attend the fu- neral of its members and distinguished citizens in the com- munity- John R. Durkee Hose Company, No. 3. Contributed bj' the Company. The John R. Durkee Hose Company was organized Janu- ary 18, 1877, with the following charter members: John R. Durkee, Charles W. Dean, Byron Ensign, Fred Durkee, George O. Smith, John C. Tefift, Elbert Ensign, Orrin F. Gil- christ, Albert H. Stoddard, William C. Viele, Stephen Sim- ons, James E. Taylor, Edward E. Groesbeck, Rodney Davis and James Smith. The first officers were: John R. Durkee, president; George O. Smith, vice president; Orrin F. Gilchrist, captain; James E. Taylor, first assistant; Charles W. Dean, second assistant; John C. Tefft, secretary; A. H. Stoddard, treas- urer; Fred Durkee, steward. Meetings were held for a time in the old steamer rooms (the present trustees' rooms), when more commodious quar- ters were procured in Harris Place, where the company re- mained until June, 1899. On this date the company leased the upper floor of the Kinne Block, which it still occupies. This company began drilling in April, 1882, with A. M. George as drillmaster, under the old Hardes tactics. In 1883 G. C. Beverly took the drill corps in hand and the first public drill given was an exhibition on the fair grounds dur- ing the fair of that year. Both the Durkee and Satterlee companies gave exhibition drills on that date and the prize money— $100 — was equally divided. Following are the prizes won by the company up to the present writing : September 6, 1883— Washington County Fair (exhibi- 224 The Fort Edward Book. tion), $25. September 11, Plattsburg, first prize, $75. Oc- tober 16, Glens Falls, first prize, $100. June 14, 1884— Greenwich, first prize, $50; foot ball prize, silver cup, $5. July 4, Fair Haven, first prize, $75. August 29, Utica, second prize, -flSO; Merritt prize, value, $50; Herald prize, value, $25. September 5, Warren County Fair, (exhibition), $37.50. September 11, Plattsburg, first prize, $250. October 1, Amsterdam, first prize, $150; 13 special prizes, value, $160. July 4, 1887— Glens Falls, $100. August 18, Troy, State Convention, first prize, $300. September 7, Wash- ington County Fair, $25. July 4, 1888— Plattsburg, first prize, $100. July 4, 1889— Glens Falls, first prize, $100. August 20, Plattsburg, second prize, $150; special prize, value, $100. July 16, 1890— Schenectady, first prize, $100. August 21, 1891 — Herkimer, State Convention, first prize, $300. September 5, 1892 — Ticonderoga, first prize, $100. August 19, 1893 — Coney Island, second prize, $150. July 4, 1895 — Glens Falls, first prize, $100; special prize, (best appearing company), $20. August, 1896 — Saratoga, special prize, clock, (best ap- pearing company), value, $25. Jul}^ 18, 1897 — Whitehall, Tri-County Convention, first prize, $100. August 18, Schenectady, State Convention, first prize, $300. February, 1898 — Sand\' Hill, Paris Hose Fair, special prize, Persian rug, value, f 10. July, Schuylerville, (exhibi- tion), $100. July 4, 1901, Greenwich, first prize, $150. August 24, Buffalo, Pan American, first prize, $200. Fire Department. 225 August 21, 1902 — Hudson, State Convention, first prize $250. September 3, Tri-County Convention, Mechanicville, first prize, $125. July 4, 1903, Glens Falls (exhibition), $100. Besides the above the company has given twenty-eight exhibition drills throughout the state. The following is a list of those who have served the com- pany as president from its organization to the present time (1903): John R. Durkee, 1877-81. Northup E. Cook, 1882-83. George D. Harris, 1884. Charles W. Cary, 1885-86. L. B. Finlay, 1887. Michael H. O'Brien, 1888. H. W. Tilford. 1889. Frank Fish, 1890. George Longdo, 1891. W. A. Schermerhorn, 1892. E. B. Ashton, 1893. C. W. Bowtell, 1894-95. George F. Underwood, 1896. Charles W. Dean, 1897-98. L. B. Field, 1899. Clayton N. Davis, 1900. Jesse P. Stanley, 1901. Ernest A. Smith, 1902-03. The late Mrs. William Walter Jeffries, of Philadelphia, a summer visitor at this place, was much interested in this organization and presented the company with man}' beau- tiful and costly presents. The company held her in high es- teem and elected her an honorary member. The company have an enviable record in the discharge of 226 The Fort Edward Book. their duties as firemen. Their rooms are large, handsomely decorated and easy of access. The active, honorary and as- sociate members of the company number about 130. Leonard Bibbey Hose Company, No. 4. Contributed by the Company. The Leonard Bibbey Hose Company, No. 4, was organ- ized on the 11th of August, 1899, with the following as charter members: J. F. Clark, C. Conley, F. Danahy, P. Danahy, John Devitt, Jr., H. Downs, J. Downs, H. Dwyer, J. Dwyer, James F. Fitzgerald, Benjamin Ford, John Ford, Michael Ford, Richard Ford, James Hayes, J. J. Hayes, Thomas Hayes, J. F. Kelleher, J. H. Kelleher, J. Lennon, Jr., Patrick Murphy, T. Murphy, F. O'Hearn, J. E. Ryan, J. M. Ryan, P. A. Ryan, P. J. Ryan, T. J. Sennett, William Sen- nett, F. P. Sheehan. The organization was effected at a meeting held at Ber- rigan Hall, on McCrea Street, at which time the following officers were elected: J. F. Clark, president ; J. J. Hayes, vice president; P. A. Ryan, secretary; Thomas Hayes, treasurer; J. E. Ryan, foreman, J. Ford, first assistant ; J. Dw3'er second assistant; James Hayes, steward; T. J. Sennett, James F. Fitzgerald, fire wardens; Benjamin Ford, Frank Danahy, T. J. Sennett, trustees. The building now occupied by the company, is situated on the south side of McCrea Street, is a two-story structure, the first floor Vjeing used for fire apparatus and the second floor for meeting room. The latter is elegantly' furnished with leather upholstered furniture, and the walls are hand- somely decorated with pictures and draperies. The company is named after one of Fort Edward's Fire Department. 227 prominent business citizens, who takes great pride in the progress of the companj'. On April 15th, 1900, the company organized a running team, which has participated in nearly every contest in the state since then, winning the following first prizes: July 4, 1900— Tri-County Convention, Ballston, $100. August, 1900— St. Mary's Field Day, Washington County Fair Grounds, exhibition run, $v50. September 2, 1900— Labor Day, Cohoes, |100. July 4, 1901 — Tri-County Convention, Greenwich, $100. August 12, 1901— St. Mary's Field Day, Washington Countj^ Fair Grounds, $50. September 3, 1901— Labor Day, Hoosick Falls, $100. July 4, 1902— A. O. H. Field Day, Glens Falls, $150. August 20, 1902 — State Firemen's Convention, Hudson, $175. Same time and place. Hook and Ladder Race, $175. September 3, 1902 — Tri-County Convention, Mechanic- ville, $100. July 4, 1903— Tri-County Convention, Glens Falls, $150. August 15, 1903, Hoosick Falls, $150. September 7, 1903, Cohoes, |100. Besides the above the company has taken several second and third prizes. The present officers are as follows: Thomas J. Sennett, president; James Hayes, vice president; M. F. Ford, secre- tary; Frank Danah}', treasurer; P. A. Ryan, foreman; Pat- rick Danahy, first assistant; Thomas Hayes, second assist- ant; Richard Ford, steward; M. F. Ford, John Devitt, Jr., fire wardens; Thomas O'Hearn, Benjamin Ford, trustees. PART II. FAMILY RE:C0RDS. Banker, Dr. Silas Jeremiah, born October 26th, 1856, at Plattsburgh, N. Y., son of John S. Banker and Rebecca Ann Taylor, his wife. Married, September 17, 1878, at Morrisonville, N. Y., Seba Ayre, b. July 11th, 1859, at Poynette, Wis., daugh- ter of Joseph Ayre and Mary Lee, his wife. One son, Ernest Ensign, b. March 1st, 1880, who is a graduate of Cornell Univer- sity Medical College at New York, and is located at Reaville, N. J. Was educated at the high school in Plattsburgh ; his med- ical education was obtained at the University of Vermont at Burlington, where he graduated with the medical class of 1878, after which he took a post-graduate course at the medical de- partment in the University of the City of New York. His early life was passed on a farm at West Plattsburgh, and he taught school in the winter of 1875 while reading medicine with Dr. Bidwell at West Plattsburgh. After his graduation in January, 1879 he began the practice of medicine in Burke, Franklin county, N. Y. In 1883 he went to New York and took a second post-graduate course in the dispensary department of Bellevue hospital. In February, 1884, came to Fort Edward, where he has since practiced his profession with marked success. Belongs to Fort Edward Lodge, F. & A. M., of which he is a past master, and also to the AVashington County Medical society, of which he has been president; also the State Medical society. Is a mem- ber of the Baptist church of Fort Edward, and in politics is in- dependent. Dr. Banker's great-grandfather settled in AA^est Plattsburgh in 1794, after the Revolution, and his father still occupies the same land which was then taken up. The family is of Dutch descent. Barnard, George P., born at Middle Granville, N. Y., May 15, 1868, son of George E. Barnard and Harriet A. Cook, his wdfe. Married October 1st, 1891, at Fort Edward N. Y., to Jessie 232 The Fort Edward Book. Nichols, b. July 1, 1870, at South Argyle, N. Y.. daughter of Scott Nichols and Annie Davison his wife. Mr. Barnard received a common school education, and was for some years a member of the firm of Keating & Barnard, printers and publishers, at Fort Edward. After having acted with this firm for several years, it was dissolved by mutual consent, and Mr. Barnard be- came one of the firm of Starbuck & Co., dry goods merchants, who bought and succeeded to the business carried on by James F. Corbett, in Merchants' block, on the west side of Broadway. Mr. Barnard is actively identified with the Royal Arcanum, which society he has served as regent three years ; is also a member of the Satterlee Hose Co., and the Fort Edward Club, and an at- tendant of the Baptist church. Republican in politics. Barry, William F., born July 22, 1857, at Fort Covington, N. Y., son of John Barry and Ellen Condon, his wife. Married June 6, 1895, at Ticonderoga, N. Y., to Nellie DeGardner, b. May 28, 1868, at Stillwater, N. Y., daughter of Lewis DeGardner and Angeline Simpson, his wife. Two children— Frank W., b. March 7, 1897, and Richard, b. Feb. 2, 1899. Mr. Barry was educated in the public schools, and his early life was passed in Fort Ed- ward. He has been one of the board of education of the union free schools, of Fort Edward, for the past six years, and served one term as president of the board ; belongs to the United Pro- tective Legion, the Pulp, Sulphite & Paper Mill Workers, and is a meml)er of the Roman Catholic church ; a Democrat in pol- itics, and at present is a foreman in the employ of the Inter- national Paper Mill Company, at this place. Bascom, Robert 0., born at Orwell, Vermont, November 18, 1855, son of Samuel H. Bascom, and Elizabeth Clark, his wife. Married December 20, 1882, at Larabee's Point, Vt., to Mary Larabee Piatt, daughter of Myron Piatt, and Sarah Elizabeth Larabee, his wife. Three children— Wyman Samuel, b. Feb. 14, 1885 ; Robert Piatt, b. December 29, 1886 ; Frederick George, b. June 15, 1895. Educated in the public schools of Vermont, and at Fort Edward Collegiate Institute, where he graduated in 1876 ; was admitted to tiie Bar in 1883. Bennett, Harry, born January 29, 1877, at Fort Edward, N. Y., son of Albert Bennett, and Adeline Crandall, his wife. The Fort Edward Book. 233 Married in 1902, Grace A. Chapman, b. August 18, 1878, at Fort Edward, N. Y., daughter of Albert Gary Chapman, and Alma Whitcomb, his wife. He attended the public schools of his native town, until the age of 15 years, when he entered the mer- cantile pursuit as clerk in a grocery store, and at the age of 20, he went into business upon his own account, which he is still carrying on; is a member of the Royal Arcanum, an honorary member of the Satterlee Hose Co., and an attendant at the Methodist church ; a Republican in politics. Beverly, George Curtis, born January 26, 1861, at Williams- town, Mass., son of Thomas Brigham Beverly, and Eliza Ann Curtis, his wife. Married June 3, 1888, at Fort Edward, to Frances Niles, b. October 9, 1867, at Fort Edward, N. Y., daugh- ter of Oscar Orlando Niles, and Juliet Harris, his wife. One son— Dayton Curtis Beverly, b. April 22, 1894. Mr. Beverly in his early life attended the public schools, and was a student for some time at the Glens Falls Academy. At the age of 9, he was apprenticed to L. P. Juvet, jeweler and watchmaker, Glens Falls. At the age of 17, he came to Fort Edward, where he began busi- ness for himself. He has been successively elected as town clerk of the town, as police justice of the village and subsequently as president of the village. Is a member of the Royal Arcanum, Jane McCrea Lodge, I. 0. 0. F., Fort Edward Camp, Fort Ed- ward Canton, Free and Accepted Masons, Royal Arch Masons, Washington Commandery, K. T., of Saratoga, and A. A. 0. N. M. S., of Troy. He has been actively identified with the Durkee Hose Co., for several years; has acted as drill master, and un- der his instructions this celebrated company has won many laurels in various drilling contests, in which they have competed. Mr. Beverly is a member of the St. James' Episcopal church, which he has served in the capacity of vestryman, and in politics has been identified with the Democratic party. In 1903, he built, and moved into a commodious building on the west side of Broadway, next to the First National bank, where his store is now established. Bowtell, Charles W., born October 24th, 1852, at Springfield, Mass., son of Samuel Bowtell, and Margaret (Mahoney) Bowtell. Mr. Bowtell was married in 1874 to Ann A. Woodstock, of Fort Edward, who died 15 years later, leaving no children. Jan. 15, 234 The Fort Edward Book. 1895, he was married to Sarah L. Hoysradt, b. November 20th, 1866, at Fort Edward, N. Y., daughter of Wm. Hoysradt, and Emeline Cook, his wife. One chikl— Margaret E., b. August 6, 1902. Mr. Bowtell received a common school education; in his early life he was a telegraph operator, locomotive engineer, rail- road builder and news dealer in various New England states. New York, and Canada. For a number of years was promi- nently identified with the John R. Durkee Hose Co., which company he served two years as president, and has also been president of the village of Fort Edward. Is a member of the Fort Edward Club, attends the Methodist church, and a Re- publican in politics. For several years last past he has been engaged in the hardware and plumbing business, having bought out the business, and real estate of William H. Matthews some years since. Mr. Bowtell recently established the Brass & Iron works, at Fort Edward, of which he is the proprietor. Burns, John William, born February 9th, 1848, at Under- hill, Vermont, son of Michael Burns, and Elizabeth McMannis, his wife. Married January 1, 1871, at Underbill, to Nancy Sophia McMannis, daughter of Patrick McMannis, and Aureilla Nichols, his wife. Mrs. Burns was born March 28, 1847, at Un- derbill, Vt. Four children— Thomas D., b. September 16, 1872; Aureilla, b. July 24, 1874; Mary E., b. July 10, 1878; Emma J., b. February 2, 1882. Mr. Burns received a common school edu- cation at Underbill, Vt., where his early life was passed on the farm; subsequently he removed to Fort Edward, and has been one of the trustees of the village, and served one term as vil- lage clerk of Fort Edward. He belongs to the Knights of Col- umbus; is a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Roman Catholic church. He is at present engaged in wholesale wooden- ware and grocers' supplies. Case, Charles D., born March 31, 1875, at Fort Edward, N. Y., son of Darwin G. Case, and Lottie Blanchard, his wife. Was married February 23, 1893, at Sandy Hill, N. Y., to Lena E. Whiting, b. February 12, 1874, at Sandy Hill, N. Y., daughter of Edgar Whiting, and Elizabeth Hartman, his wife. One child— Earl D., b. November 11, 1899. Mr. Case was educated in the Fort Edward public school, and at the Fort Edward Bus- iness College. In early life he was employed upon the railroad, The Fort Edward Book. 235 which occupation he filled for many years; is a member of the Royal Arcanum, and of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen ; an attendant of the Presbyterian church, a Republican in pol- itics, and in recent years has been engaged in the photograph business. Chapman, Albert Gary, born June 12, 1848, at Hartford, N. Y., son of Alfred Ward Chapman, and Jane Louise Cary, his wife. Married January 26, 1870, at Poultney, Vermont, to Sarah Alma Whitcomb, b. October 24, 1848, in Granville, N. Y., daughter of Elias Whitcomb, and Emily Ely, his wife. Two children — Grace Alma, b. August 18, 1878, and Albert Earl, b. April 18, 1880. Mr. Chapman was educated in the public schools of this state, and at the Fort Edward Collegiate Insti- tute. His early life was passed on the farm at Hartford, and he afterwards entered the mercantile business at Fort Edward. At present is in the employ of James G. Kinne, as book-keeper, which place he has occupied for many years ; is a member of Fort Edward Lodge, 267, F. & A. M., and also of the Royal Ar- canum ; an attendant of the Methodist church, and a Republican in politics. Cheesman, James H., born April 8, 1837, at Fort Edward, N. Y., son of James Cheesman, and Olive Ives, his wife. Mar- ried May 22, 1860, at Jackson, N. Y., to Sarah S. Wright, b. Oc- tober 20, 1836, at Jackson, N. Y., daughter of George Wright, and Lavendee (Woodard) Wright. Two children— Caroline E., b. March 1, 1861, and James Earl, b. February 25, 1862. Mr. Cheesman received a common school education, and his early life was passed at this place where he was employed as clerk for his father and Edwards, Hubbell & Co., He has been repeatedly honored by his townsmen, by election to the office of town clerk, and has also been clerk of the village of Fort Edward for several years. He has been actively identified with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and also with the Royal Arcanum, both of which fraternal orders have elected him to responsible positions ; is a member of the Presbyterian church, and has been one of its trustees for many years. He has also been a director of the First National bank, of Fort Edward, for a number of years. While he has generally been nominated for political offices by the Democratic party, he has always been independent in the exercises of the elective franchise. Since 1865 he has been en- 236 The Fort Edward Book. gaged in the keeping of a book-store and news room, on Broad- way, nearly opposite the present post-office. Clark, Thomas P., born May 1, 1853, at Fort Edward, N. Y., son of Peter Clark, and Margaret McMahon, his wife. Married April 26, 1887, at Fort Edward, N. Y., to Catherine Loughlin, daughter of John Loughlin, and Catherine Mehan, his wife. Was educated in the public schools at Fort Edward; some years ago entered the hotel business and built the Fort Edward House, near the R. R. station where he has established a large and profit- able business. Has been elected by his fellow citizens to the office of village trustee, which office he held from 1894 to 1897, and has also been appointed a member of the board of health, of which board he is now the president ; is a member of the Royal Arcanum, and a Republican in politics, and identified with the Roman Catholic church. Coleman, Willlvm Spencer, born June 23, 1865, at Claren- don, N. Y., son of Simeon Dewitt Coleman, and Sarah A. Bates, his wife. Married December 21, 1898, at Fort Edward, N. Y., to Mabel Helen Gailey, b. March 27, 1880, at Schuylerville, N. Y., daughter of Joseph W. Gailey, and Jennie E. Havens, his wife. One child— William Spencer, Jr., b. February 24, 1903. Mr. Coleman was educated in the common schools, and Brockport Normal school, and afterwards was graduated from the Albany Normal College ; after that he studied and received the degree of Ph. B. at Mt. Hope College, Ohio. His early life was passed in working on a farm, and in teaching school winters ; is a mem- ber of Fort Edward lodge, F. & A. M., Fort Edward Chapter, R. A. M., Washington Commandery, K. T., of Saratoga, and A. A. 0. N. M. S., of Troy, N. Y. ; a member of the Episcopal church and has been one of its vestrymen for several years ; is a Republican in politics, and is principal of the public schools of Fort Edward. CoNLEY, Thomas, born January 27, 1848, at Whitehall, N. Y. Married at Glens Falls, N. Y., to Frances Hutchinson, b. at Fort Ann, N. Y. She died July 20, 1886. On September 29, 1888, Mr. Conley married Sarah Lennon, at Fort Edward, b. March 22, 1863. By first marriage, two children were born- May, of Bellows Fails, Vt., and Charles H., of Norfolk, N. Y. The Fort Edward Book. 237 Mr. Conley received a common school education and a large part of his early life was spent in the copper mines of Michigan, and in the iron mines, of New York state ; is a member of the Laborers' Protective union, an attendant of the Roman Cath- olic church, and of Democratic political affiliations. For a num- ber of years past he has been employed as janitor of the public schools, and in 1901, was elected one of the trustees of the village of Fort Edward for two years. Crane, Edwin, born September 26, 1804, at Charlton, Sara- toga county, N. Y., son of Timothy Crane, and Esther Bruen, his wife. Married September 26, 1831, at Sandy Hill, N. Y., to Mary Parish, b. August 22, 1806, at Moreau, N. Y., daughter of Henry T. Parish, and Tabiatha Cutler, his wife. Children- Esther Crane, b. December 7, 1832, died January, 1902; Julia Crane, b. December 9, 1834 ; John Crane, b. December 26, 1836, died in 1872 : George Crane, b. December 8, 1838 ; Andrew Crane, b. March 8, 1841, and died 1901 ; Eliza Crane, b. October 2, 1843, and Harriet Crane, b. May 25, 1846. Mr. Crane was for many years a justice of the peace, of the town of Fort Edward, the duties of which office he discharged with nuich fidelity. He was attached to the principles of the Republican party, and was an exemplary citizen. Died November 4, 1888. Davis, Russell C, born December 21, 1829, at Hartford, N. Y., son of Hezekiah Davis, and Sarah Cotton, his wife. His early life was passed at Hartford ; he went to Troy in 1874, mar- ried Betsey Ann Covell, daughter of Gen. AVilliam Covell, and Louisa, his wife. Two children— Julia Ida, and Clayton N. Mr. Davis came to Fort Edward, from Troy, and lived here at the time of his death ; was supervisor of his native town, and he held many public offices after coming to Fort Edward, where he died May 16, 1894, much esteemed and respected. His wife died JuAe 25, 1894. Davis, Clayton Northup. born July 8, 1854, at Hartford, N. Y., son of Russel Cotton Davis, and Betsey Ann Covell, his wife. Married December 21, 1875, at Troy, N. Y., Lucy Ann Groesbeck, b. October 13. 1854, at Waterford, N. Y., daughter of Peter B. Groesbeck, and Amanda Fisher, his wife. Four children— Anna 238 The Fort Edward Book. Elizabeth, b. March 4, 1878 ; Frederick Russel, b. September 25, 1884; May Ida, b. May 1st, 1889; Richard Clayton, b. Septem- ber 22, 1894. Mr. Davis was educated in the public schools, and at the Fort Edward Collegiate Institute. His early life was passed at Hartford, and Troy, N. Y. ; has been elected one of the trustees of the village of Fort Edward, belongs to Fort Edward Lodge, F. & A. M., Fort Edward Chapter, R. A. M., Washington Commandery, K. T., of Saratoga ; Oriental Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S., of Tro}"- ; Royal Arcanum, Ancient Order of United Work- men, Fort Edward Club ; an honorary member of the Durkee Hose Co., and a life member of the New York State Firemen's Association, a Republican in his political affiliations. At pres- ent is engaged, as he has been for a number of years, in the manufacture of shirts and shirt waists at this place. Davis, Fred. A., born March 15, 1863, at Adirondack, N. Y., son of Milo Davis, and Harriet E. Shedd, his wife. Married Feb- ruary 16, 1887, at Albany, N. Y., to Margaret Armsby, b. at Al- bany, daughter of Edward Armsby, and Margaret Carmody, his wife. Two children— Fred A. Jr., b. June 18, 1890, and Kathryn A., b. October 21, 1893. Mr. Davis was educated in the public schools of Fort Edward, where his early life was spent ; has been twice treasurer of the village, and is a Republican in politics; is financier of Hudson Valley Lodge, 130, A. 0. U. W., secretary of the Fort Edward Club, treasurer of the Satterlee Hose Co., and a life member of the State Fireman's Association. He has for many years been engaged in the business of book selling, and manager of the Western Union Telegraph Co., at this place. Davis, Francis Breese, born June 17, 1843, at Moreau, N. Y., son of Henry Leonard Davis and Mary Davenport Breese, his wife. Married December 5, 1878, at Fort Edward, N. Y., Julia Underwood, b. September 10, 1853, at Fort Edward, daughter of David Underwood, and Hannah Waring, his wife. Two children — Francis Breese, b. September 16, 1883, and Josephine, b. July 3, 1888. Mr. Davis was educated in the public schools and academies of this state. His early life was passed on a farm and as a drug clerk, and during the Rebellion in the U. S. Navy ; he conducted a drug store at Fort Edward, from 1867 to 1895. Mr. Davis was for several years treasurer of the board of water commissioners, of Fort Edward, and is a member of the Masonic order and of the Royal Arcanum. He is junior warden of St, The Fort Edward Book. 239 James' Episcopal church, and a Republican in politics. At present resides in the town of Moreau, where he has lived since retiring from business in this village in 1895. Dean, Cpiarles W., born May 28, 1854, at Greenwich, N. Y., son of Lorenzo Dean, and Jane C. Baker, his wife. Married first, March 23, 1878, at Fort Edward, Christie Ann Gilbert, b. in 1858, at Hadley, N. Y., daughter of Henry Gilbert and Martha Gailey, his wife. She died in 1885. He married a second time May 12, 1888, at Cossayuna, N. Y., Maggie Coon, b. at Cossayuna in 1855, daughter of Alexander R. Coon, and Elizabeth Mickle, his wife. Of the first marriage there were five children— Lorenzo C, b. January 28, 1879; Myrtle A., b. September 21, 1880; Jen- nie, b. November 8, 1881 ; Martha, b. March 8, 1884, and Grace, b. July 10, 1886, all of whom are dead excepting Lorenzo and Martha. Mr. Dean received a common school education. In 1856 his people moved from Greenwich to Fort Edward, where he has since resided, excepting a few years at Glens Falls; learned the painting and paper hanging trade at an early age; has been for many years one of the police officers of the town of Fort Edward, and has been deputy sheriff of the county of Washington ; he was chief engineer of the fire department, pres- ident of the Tri-County Fireman 's Association ; trustee and mar- shal of Fort Edward Lodge, F. & A. M. ; high priest of Fort Edward Chapter, R. A. M. ; member of Washington Command- ery, No. 33, Knights Templars, Saratoga; Fort Edward Club; was one of the charter members of the Durkee Hose Co., and has held every office in this organization excepting that of secretary ; is at present one of the fire wardens of the village. Is a Repub- lican and has been somewhat prominently identified in politics, having had the honor of naming the delegates at the Republican town caucus. Deforest. Alfred Edgar, born at Fort Edward, N. Y., son of Edgar DeForest, and Ann Maria Sherman, his wife. Edu- cated in the public schools of Fort Edward, and at Fort Edward Collegiate Institute. In early life he was employed as a clerk in the store of S. W. McCoy, and for a number of years was in the employ of George H. Taylor. Held the office of village trustee for three years, was treasurer of the village for three years, has been a "member of the board of education in the vil- 240 The Fort Edward Book. lage of Fort Edward for 15 years. Is a director of the First National bank of Fort Edward, and The Glens Falls Trust Co. ; a member of the Fort Edward Club, Royal Arcanum, one of the charter members of the John R. Durkee Hose Co., and was one of the organizers of the Fort Edward Electric Light Co. For sixteen years he was engaged in the furniture and under- taking business with his father, Edgar DeForest, and upon his death in 1896, succeeded to the business, which he now carries on at his store on the west side of Broadway. Dunham, Rev. James Harvey, pastor of the Presbyterian church at Fort Edward, born at Jackson, Washington county, N. Y., November 19th, 1872, son of Henry Dunham, and Sarah Elizabeth Hillman, his wife. Rev. Mr. Dunham was educated at the Cambridge Washington Academy at Cambridge, N. Y., where he graduated in 1890, after which he graduated at the Cambridge union school, when he entered Union College, grad- uating with the degree of A. B. in 1896, after which he took a theological course at Princeton Seminary, and graduated in 1899. He won a prominent position during his term at college, being vice-president of his class, and member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, X chapter; in his senior year was president of the Philomathean Debating Society at Union College; is a member of Fort Edward Lodge, 267, F. & A. M. His early life was spent in his native town of Jackson and the neighboring town of Cambridge. After completing his theological course he was called to the pastorate of the Presbyterian church at Ches- tertown, N. Y., where he remained one year, when he accepted a call to a wider field of usefulness, from the Presbyterian church at Fort Edward, in July, 1900. His political affiliations have been with the Republican party. Mr. Dunham is a descendant, upon his mother's side, of the Mayflower Pilgrims, and his fore- fathers were among the first settlers around the Jackson lakes, where four generations have been born upon the same home- stead, on "Dunham Hill," the original farm which they still own. Englander, Samuel, born May 4, 1840, at Sandberg, Posen, Germany, son of Abram Englander, and Rosa Wolfe, his wife. Married September 1, 1874, at Troy, N. Y., to Esther Cohen, b. February 4, 1851, at Troy, N. Y., daughter of Isaac Cohen, and The Fort Edward Book. 241 Hannah Provetsar, his wife. Three children— Harry S., b. Sep- tember 5, 1875 ; R. Lena, b. November 10, 1878, both at Hartford, N. Y., and Nathaniel S., b. November 14, 1880, at Fort Edward, N. Y. ]Mr. Engiander was edncatd in the public schools of Germany, and for a number of years was engaged in trade at Ilartfork, Washington county, N. Y. ; removed to Fort Edward, April 3, 1880, where he established himself in the merchant tail- oring and clothing business in connection with Samuel Oppen- heim, the firm being known as Engiander & Oppenheim, until the death of Mr. Oppenheim, after which he carried on the bus- iness himself. He is a member of the Masonic lodge at Hart- ford, N. Y., the I. 0. F. S. of I., of Troy, N. Y. ; Royal Arca- num, Ancient Order of United Workmen, and of Fort Edward Club. He is a member of the Jewish faith. Finn, William, born 1776; died 1841; married Mary, daugh- ter of Major Peter B. Tearse. Eleven children. 1— Peter T., b. 1809, d. 1859; m. Mary, daughter of Leonard Cozzens. of Easton; six children— John L., Gorton, William, Catherine A. Mary, m. Silas S. Ilubbell ; and Elizabeth A., m. George Scott. 2_Catherine, b. 1804; d. 1867; m. Dr. W. S. Norton; one child— Katherine. 3— Mary, b. 1818; d. 1886; m. James R. Gandal, b. 1811 ; d. 1895 ; seven children— Mary Ann, Mary Frances, Jose- phine Margaret, James F., William F., John F., Josephine. 4— George, b. 1813; d. 1856. 5-Charles, b. 1815; d. 1888; m. Fan- nie, daughter of Isaac Collins, of West Troy. 6— Margaret, b. 1827; d. 1851, m. Jacob Philips. 7— Norman. 8— John, m. Miss Joslin, of Waterford. 9- Augustus. 10— Stephen B., b. 1803; d. 1854. 11— William F., b. 1812; d. 1841. AVilliam Finn had a brother, Archibald, a furrier, who located in New York City. Fitzgerald, James Francis, born April 16, 1878, at Wills- boro, N. Y., son of Michael Fitzgerald, and Hannah Haley, his wife. Married June 2, 1902, at Fort Edward, N. Y., to Caroline Leonard, b. June 2, 1878, at Fort Edward, N. Y., the daughter of Patrick Leonard, and Marion Snow, his wife. Mr. Fitzger- ald received a common school education, and in early life was engaged in the manufacture of cigars, and later became an em- ploye in the paper business. In 1901 and 1902 was president of the Laborers' Protective union, and in 1902 was national rep- resentative of the Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers, which 242 The Fort Edward Book. office he has since held. In 1902 was elected collector of the village of Fort Edward ; was one of the charter members of the Bibbey Hose Co., Fort Edward Council, No. 336, Knights of Col- umbus; also of Division No. 3, Ancient Order of Hibernians; attends the Roman Catholic church, and is independent in politics. He has been instrumental in the settlement of several labor strikes, in this part of the state. Forte, Irving C, Jr., born November 24, 1870, at Cazenovia, N. Y., son of Irving C. Forte, and Emily Stimson, his wife. Married October 12, 1893, at Fort Edward, N. Y., Carrie D. Mc- Dougall, b. at Argyle, daughter of Duncan McDougall, and Eliza- beth McNeil, his wife. One child— D. Everett, b. December 8, 1895. Was educated in the public schools of this state. Early in life he learned the printing trade at Schuylerville, N. Y., and was afterwards employed at the same occupation at Platts- burgh, and at Sandy Hill, N. Y. ; is a member of the Royal Arca- num, of which organization he is at present Regent; also one of the directors of the Satterlee Hose Co. ; is an attendant at the Baptist church ; a Republican in politics, and at present is man- ager of the Washington County Advertiser. Ganley, John H., born at Argyle, N. Y., in 1844, son of Wil- liam Ganley, and Elizabeth McGann, his wife. Married in 1875, at Kingsbury, N. Y., to Frances E. O'Connor, b. 1844, daughter of Patrick O'Connor, and Mary Bannon, his wife. Three chil- dren—John M., b. 1877; Frances L., b. 1882; and Albert C, b. 1884. Mr. Ganley was educated in the public schools of Fort Edward, where his early life was spent. At the age of 17 he began clerking in the store of Gorge Clements, located where the Hotel Hudson now stands. In 1870, he started in the mercantile business in connection with James Lawler. This partnership was carried on for three years, when it was dissolved, Mr. Gan- ley taking his brother, Wm. F. Ganley, as a partner, and con- tinuing the business in the village of Fort Edward until his death, January 31, 1903. He was collector of tolls five years, treasurer and trustee of the village of Fort Edward four years. On March 24, 1890, he was appointed superintendent of section 2, of the Champlain canal, which position he held for five years; was a charter member of the Knights of (yolumbus of Sandy Hill, N. Y., member of the Roman Catholic church, and for many The Fort Edward Book. 243 years treasurer and trustee of St. Joseph's church of Fort Ed- ward, and one of the leading Democrats of this section of the county. GooDFELLOw, JosEPH, bom July 1, 1858, at Malta, N. Y., son of Thaddeus E. Goodfellow, and Catherine Johnson, his wife. Maried December 24, 1884, at Fort Edward, N. Y., to E. Kath- lene Odell, b. February 14, 1859, at Fort Edward, N. Y., daugh- ter of David M. Odell, and Cornelia Bristol, his wife. One daughter— Ethel M., b. May 30, 1889. Mr. Goodfellow received a common school education, and at one time was part owner and superintendent of the Fort Edward Machine Works, which business he afterwards sold out, and engaged in the manufac- ture of w^ood pulp ; has been president of the village of Fort Edward two terms ; belongs to the Royal Arcanum, Ancient Order of United Workmen, and Fort Edward Club ; is a member of the Baptist church, and attached to the principles of the Democratic party ; is president of the St. George Pulp and Paper Co. ; a director of the Glens Falls Trust Co., and of the Schroon River Pulp and Paper Co., of which latter company he was, for several years, general manager. GiTHENs, Dr. William Louis, born October 3, 1869, at Canton, New Jersey, son oi George A. Githens, and Martha Mulford, his wife. Was educated at the Salem high school in New Jersey, and afterwards studied dentistry at the Philadelphia Dental College where he was graduated ; began the practice of his pro- fession in this village in 1895. Is a member of Fort Edward Lodge, 267, F. & A. M., Fort Edward Chapter, 171, R. A. M., and also of Washington Commandery, 33, K. T., of Saratoga: belongs to the Episcopal church, of which he has been elected vestryman ; a Republican in politics. Griffith, Rev. Michael Joseph, LL. D., born in Wilmington, Delaware, the son of Joseph Griffith, and Margaret O'Brien, his wife. Was educated at St. Mary's College, at St. John's Uni- versity, Fordham, where he graduated in the class of 1866. In 1898 he received the degree of LL. D., from St. John's LTniver- sity. His early life was passed in AVilmington until he entered the ministry, thirty-four years ago ; was ordained by Bishop Con- roy of the Diocese of Albany, in 1866. His first charge was as 244 The Fort Edward Book. assistant pastor at St. John's, Albany, after which he was pastor in full charge of St. Joseph's chnrch at Deposit, Broome county, N. Y. ; this charge also included Hancock, French Settle- ment, and Delhi, a circuit of forty-five miles. At Hancock he built the St. James' church. He was then located at Carthage, Jefferson county, N. Y., and then at St. John's church, Valatie, N. Y. This latter charge included Steuyvessant Falls, Steuyves- sant Landing, Maiden Bridge and Castleton, a circuit of twenty- five miles. Dr. Griffith came to Fort Edward in August, 1893, as pastor of St. Joseph's church, where he succeeded Rev. Wil- liam Smith. Under his ministration the parish has grown and prospered, and the church remodeled and substantially improved in 1899. Besides being a successful clergyman he is an author of note in religious writings, his two principal works being ' ' The Mystery Solved, ' ' an interpretation of the apocalypse ; and ' ' The Cross of Christ," a treatise on Christianity, besides numerous essays for newspaper and periodicals. Dr. Griffith is chaplain of the Knights of Columbus, and in politics gives his suffrage according to the merits of the men, and of the questions sub- mitted for the consideration of the public. Groesbeck, Edward E., born March 9, 1842, at Kingsbury, son of Hugh W. Groesbeck, and Tamerson Rich, his wife. Mar- ried April 26, 1866, at Fort Ann, to Elizabeth M. Eastman, b. August 22. 1844, at Fort Ann, daughter of Charles Eastman, and Susan A. Burgess, his wife. Was educated in the public schools and the Fort Edward Collegiate Institute. At an early date was thrown upon his own resources, and at the age of 20, had learned the carpenter's trade. He early became interested in the Fort Edward fire department, and was foreman of the En- gine Co., at a time when "Old Relief" was the only apparatus the village possessed for fighting fire ; was afterwards appointed chief of the department, and in 1902, was elected president of the village of Fort Edward; is a member of Jane McCrea Lodge, I. 0. 0. F., No. 267, and of Carpenters' union. No. 673, of which union he has been president; is a Republican in politics, and at present is employed as pattern maker in the shops of the Inter- national Paper Co., at Fort Edward, before which time he was for several years a successful contractor and. builder. Harris. Frank White, born November 30, 1869, at Fort Ed- Avard, N. Y.^ son of Loren W. Harris, and Sophronia Andrews, The Fort Edward Book. 245 his wife ; received a common school education, and in early life was employed as clerk in various mercantile establishments, and has been collector for the village of Fort Edward; belongs to Jane McCrea Lodge, I. 0. 0. F., Fort Edward Lodge, 267, F. & A. M., Fort Edward Chapter, 171, R. A. M. ; Fort Edward Club, and an honorary member of Satterlee and Durkee Hose com- panies. In politics is independent, and for several years last past has been the Fort Edward representative of the Glens Falls Times. Harris, Myron B., born September 16, 1858, at Fort Miller Bridge, N. Y., son of George P. Harris, and IMartha E. Bowen, his wife. Married June 1st, 1884, at Schuylerville, N. Y., to Lilly A. Loupe, b. July 22, 1869, at Bald Mountain, N. Y., daugh- ter of Wm. Loupe and Josephine Stover, his wife. Five chil- dren, two of whom are living— Grace L., b. October 22, 1885, and John M., b. August 19, 1898. Mr. Harris received a common school education at Fort Miller, N. Y., and his early life was passed in farming, and river driving; is a member of Home Lodge, F. & A. M., No. 398, of Northumberland, of which lodge he was master for several years ; in politics is a Democrat ; is now proprietor of Hotel AA^indsor, Fort Aliller, N. Y. Mr. Harris and his family are attendants of the Dutch Reformed church, at Fort Miller. His great-grandfather, AVilliam Harris, was one of the early settlers in this locality, and was a Revolutionary sol- dier. He was a man remarkable for his physical development, being over seven feet in height, and is said to have been an ex- pert swordsman, and it is related of him that when standing in his stirrups on horse back, he could, with his sabre, reach ten feet ahead of his horse. He lived to be 107 years of age. Haskin, Samuel P. L., born December 1st, 1871, at Fort Ann, N. Y., son of Benjamin F. Haskin, and Elizabeth Segnor, his wife. Married October 18, 1899, at Fort Edward, N. Y., to Rose M. Gilchrist, b. April 10, 1880, at Harvard, Nebraska, daughter of Alexander T. Gilchrist, and Helen Taylor, his wife. Two children-Ralph, b. August 24, 1900, and Electa, b. July 21, 1902. Mr. Haskin was educated in the public schools and Fort Edward Business College. His early life was passed in Fort Ann. Mr. Haskin 's people removed to Fort Edward in 1882, where he has since resided; is a member of Fort Edward Lodge, F. & A. M., 246 The Fort Edward Book, Fort Edward Cliaptor, R. A. M., M^nshiiiston CIoininaiHlofy, K. T., of SHi-atoon, -Iniic McXJrca I^od^^c, I. (). (). h\, tind ;m li'onoi-- jir.y nicinhcr of Snilcrlce Hose Co.; ;i) lends llic MctliodisI chiiivli; is a Kcpiiblicaii in |)olili(',s, and For a munber of years last past, has been engaged in Ihe meat and provision business, in this villai^'e. IIaxstun, Kkjiimm) P)AX'rii:ii, born Se|)t(Mnber 1(S, 1848, at Candirid^'e, N. Y., son ol' An(h-ew Kin^' IIaxstun, and Martha Harrow, bis wife. Married July :{(), 187i), at Fort Milh'r, N. Y., Ileh'ti K. (!arsvvell, b. March I, 18.^)5, at l^\)rt i<](l\vard, N. Y., dani;li1er ol' William J. Carswell, and Mary I. (I'ayn) (-ai'svvell. Five ehildren Mariha A., b. Maivh 12, 1881; Lina VV., b. April 22, 1884; Andivw K., b. Mai-eli 8, bS87 ; Helen M., b. November ;{, 18iKS, and KJehard (1., b. -luiie 'A, 18i)8. Mr. IIaxstun was edu- cated in the public schools of this state and at I^^'ort Tjdward (;()l- lej^iate Institute. 1 1 is early life was passed in the pottery busi- ness in which his rather was enii'aii,'e(l ; has been elecled collectoi" ol' the village of h\)\-\ I*](lvvard, and when he removed lo the town of Moreau was elected tiaislee ol' the public school of his district; is an attendaiH of I he ^b'lllodisl church, and has always been a |)r(tn()unce(l Democral. lie is now eniia;i;cd in the manuracture ol' lallow and I'ertili/ei-s in the town of Moreau. ll()Ma:(H»K, rKTKK. (J., boru October 24, 1852, at Sandy Hill, N. Y., son of A. II. Ilolbrook, and Helen Stroni^', bis wif(>. Mar- ried October 1!), 1881, at (dens I'^dls, N. Y., to Olara LaH\iy, 1). I^'ebriiary, 1851;, at Sandy Hill, daujJihter of VAy hal^'ay. 'fwo childi-en— l^]lizabetll h., b. h^'hrnaiy f), 1888, and one died in inrancy. Mr. Ilolbrook was educated in the |)ul)lic schools at Sandy Hill. In his early life he was a contractoi', en faith ol' the Democratic party. h'oi- the past few years Mr. Ilolbrook has been |)ropi-ietoi' ol' the Hotel Hudson, in (he vil- laj^'e of Fort Fdward. Tlin.ii, l^]ixj.\ii, born January 1(1, 1840, at Berne, Albany Co., The Fort Edward Book. 247 N. v., soil of Krnsliis Hull, .-iikI honisn U-.uw, his wire. M.-irricd Aiiu'lin K. i'ossoiis. Thivc cliiMivn |^^-;ii,k, N.-llic .-iiid ,)..|llli(^ tlic" hisl Iwo of wIk.iii only ;iiv liviii-. i\',.||i,. m.-irricd A. V.' Pratt, of IA)ri r](|\v;ir(l. Mr. Hull vv;is (>(liic;il..,| ;,i (;,v;il, l',;ir- rins'ton, and the Jotu-sville (N. Y.) ;\,-;id(Miiy ; |.,.-;in Hi., study of ]aw at P,allston, in Hio office of (Meinenl ('.. Hill, in isf)!), ;iiid opened ;iii office in l^\)rt l<]d\v;ii-d, in I he fjill of iSliO; in lS('i4 \n) wasadinilled to the hjir; w;is supervisor of |^\)rl, l^^dwju-d in LSTf), 1876, 1S77; in ISS.S he w;is noiniiinlcd hy the K'epiij)lic;iii pjirty for district aftorney, which office lie liehj for fiH.M'ii consecutive years; is a nieniber of Kort Edvvjird Lod^v, |^\ ^ a. I\1., ;iiid the ivoyjil Arc;iniiiii, ;iiid \v;is one of f he cluirler iiieiiihers of Hie IA)rt Kdwjird Cliil). Mr. Hull is ;i deseend.-inf of Hie Hulls who figured so |)roiiiinenf ly in Hie Coloiiinl ;iii.l K'evoliil ioiuiry wjirs. Kkatin(;, ,].\mks I)., born M;iy 10, lS(i;{, ;i( SoiiHi (JIcmis h\-ills, N. Y., son of -jjiiiies l^\ KejitiiiM', ;uid I<]lleii Delnney, his wife. Married July 21, LSHfi, ;if h\)rt Kdwiird, Sarafi Wicks, (hui-^hter of Walter W. Wicks, mikI l<:ileii Kennedy, liis wife. One child- Alherl dniiies, b. December .'}, ISSS; coiiiinon school edncjifion; a Repiibliciin in politics; is now, ;is he li;is been for iruuiy yiy.vvH eriii'a.i^cd in Hie business of printer ;iiid [)iibrislier at Fort Ed- ward, N. Y. Kctciuiivi, ('iiau'mos H., born November 24, 1845, ;il ll;i(lley, Sarato«;i county, N. Y., son of l);iiiiel II Ketclium, and Hv.Uvj P>rovvn, liis wife. Miiri-ied M;iy 10, l,S7(i, ;it l^'ort Kdwjird, N. Y., to l-:ii/,;i ('r;ine, b. October 2, 184;{, ;it l<\)rt I^]dw;ird, N. Y., d;iii,-li- ter of Kdwiii ('r;ine, jiiid .M;iry Pnrish, his wife. Mr. Ketclium received ;i common school ediicjilion, ;iiid in e;irly -life emb;irk-ed in Hie iiisiirjince business, which occupiiHoii he li;is followrd ;dl liij^ 'il'<'- III ejirly ye;irs lie w;is ;i |);irlii<'r of Dr. (Jeor^e VV. Hit- t!'', Mild on Hie dissolution of lluil firm, he conliniied the business. Is a member of tbe Fort Edward Lod^c, 1<\ & A. M., and also of the Fort Edwjirfl (Jhiipter; is Mtfjiched to Hie princi[)les of th;ir1y, niid is now en^'a^'ed in IIh' insiirjince ;iiid real ('state business. Kino, David IIarvky, l)orn July 14, 18;}5, at Milford, Otsego (Jo., N. Y., son of Elijah Kinj^', and Catherine Olmsted, his wife. 248 The Fort Edward Book. Married July 31, 1856, at Whitehall, N. Y., to Susan Anna Cole- man, b. December 11, 1836, at Whitehall, N. Y., daughter of Robert Coleman, and Adeline Haviland, his wife. Four chil- dren—Katie Louisa, b. September 11, 1857; Charles Robert, b. January 18, 1858 ; Edwin Morton, b. December 13, 1860 ; Henry Grant, b. May 26, 1869— only the latter surviving. Mr. King- was educated in the public schools and at Fort Edward Colle- giate Institute. In early life he spent two years in Chicago ; re- turned to Fort Edward and embarked in business. April 17, 1861, enlisted in the Union Army, and served four years; has served the town as town clerk and tax collector; is a member of the Fort Edward Lodge, No. 267, F. & A. M., of which lodge he has been master, as elsewhere appears : is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and of Jane McCrea Lodge, I. O. 0. F. ; is an attendant of the Methodist church, a life-long Re- publican, and is now engaged in the real estate and insurance business. Mr. King has served as district deputy grand master of Masons for the district in which he lives, and is also one of the staff of the department commandery, of the Department of New York, and as aide-de-camp on the staff of the Commander-in- Chief of the G. A. R. King, Rev. Joseph E., A. M., D. D., Ph. D., was born Novem- ber 30th, 1823, at Laurens, Otsego county, N. Y., son of Rev. Elijah King, and Catherine Olmstead, his wife. He married July. 1850, at Newbury, Vt., Melissa Bailey, who was born at Newbury, Vt., the daughter of Col. Amherst Bailey, and Melissa Stevens, his wife; Mrs. King died October, 1887. Three children —Mary Ellen, m. Dr. M. W. Van Denberg of Fort Edward; Mrs. Van Denberg died 1878, her husband and one son, Joseph King Van Denberg, surviving. Alice King, m. Professor W. W. McGil- ton, now of Middlebury (Vt.) College. Helen M. King, m. J. Earl Cheesman of East Orange, N. J., to whom two children have been born, Ruth and John. On December 28th, 1889, at Fort Edward, N. Y., Dr. King married Mrs. Josephine M. Clements Batcheller, who was born, 1847, at Fort Ann, N. Y., daughter of George Clements and Theodosia Helen Underbill, his wife. Dr. King was educated in the village schools at Laurens, at Grand River Institute, at Austinburgh, Ohio, and at the Poult- ney Academy, Poultney, Vt. ; in 1844 he entered the sophomore class at Wesleyan College, where he graduated with distinguished honor. In his early life he was employed as clerk earning the The Fort Edward Book. 249 money for his education ; in 1849 he became teacher of natural science and Latin at Newbury Seminary, Vermont, of which in- stitution he became principal. Durino' this period he preached in various churches in Connecticut, and in 1853 he took charge of the Fort Plain Seminary, and the next year, of the Fort Ed- ward Collegiate Institute, which had been erected for his use, and since the last mentioned date he has been the financial and educational head of the institution. In 1867 and in 1889 he traveled extensively abroad ; he received the degree of A. B., and A. M. from AVesleyan ; in 1862 the degree of D. D., from Union College; in 1873 the degree of Ph. D., from the Regents of the University of the State of New York. His religious affiliations have always been with the Methodist Episcopal church of which he is a member, and to the General Conference of which he was a delegate in 1856, 1864 and 1868, and has been a constant at- tendant for many years of the annual meeting of the Troy Con- ference. He is ti'ustee of the Wesleyan University ; of the Round Lake Summer Institute; of the Fort Edward Collegiate Insti- tute, and of the New York State Historical Association; presi- dent of the First National bank of Fort Edward ; director of the Glens Falls Insurance company; president of the Union Ceme- tery Association; a member of the Phi Beta Kappa fraternity, and is one of the charter members of the Adirondack Chapter, S. A. R. He cast his first vote for Franklin Pierce for president of the United States, since which time he has always been iden- tified with the Republican party. Through his long and success- ful career as an educator, he has constantly preached and lec- tured from many platforms and pulpits. Faculty of Fort Edward Collegiate Institute, September 1903 ■ Joseph E. King, D. D., Ph. D., president-logic, ethics, physiol- ogy, Greek. Mrs. Josephine M. King, assistant to principal— socal and moral culture, history of art. Irwin F. Mather, A. M. —Latin, English literature, history. Mrs. Susan A. Mather, L.' B.— mathematics, English language. Wm. B. Melick, M. D.— lecturer on hygiene, consulting physician. Ruth E. Russan, A. B. — French and German languages and literature. Ardelle h. Harrington— piano harmony, history of music. Grace Noxon— art. Ella Hall Shields— vocal music. Flora L. Stevens— natural science, English. Winona Jewett, El. B.— elocution, physical culture. Ella B. Melick— stenography, typewriting, book-keep- ing. Theora Williamson— librarian. JCiNNE, James Gideon, born June 30, 1840, at South Glas- 250 The Fort Edward Book. tonbury, Connecticut, son of Gideon and Sally Ann (Taylor) Kinne. Married September 23, 1869, at Eagle Mills, N. Y., to Mahala McCbesney, b. Avignst 31, 1841, at Grafton, N. Y., daughter of James and Katberine (Hayner) McCbesney. Mrs. Kinne died May 10, 1879. One child— Mattie May Kinne, b. March 5, 1871, and d. July 5, 1871. Mr. Kinne was educated in the public schools, and at Fort Edward Collegiate Institute ; has been a vestryman, and for several years the senior warden of St. James' Episcopal church, and a Republican in politics. He en- listed as a volunteer in the Civil war, August 28, 1862, elected orderly sergeant of Company H, 25th regiment of Connecticut Volunteers ; discharged to enter the services of Gideon AVells, Secretary of the Navy, at Washington, D. C, and served nearly four years. At the end of the Civil war resigned his position, went west, and located as a merchant in Mankato, Minn. Sub- sequently he sold out his business in tliat place, and returned east, and in 1868 settled in Port Edward where he has since car- ried on the business of general store. Lindsay, Thomas S., born August 30, 1851, at South Adams, Mass., son of John Blair Lindsay, and Clorinda Loveland, his wife. Married March 28, 1883, at Fort Edward, N. Y., Maggie E. Harris, b. March 15, 1857, at Fort Edward, N. Y., daughter of George Llarris, and INIargaret Cunningham, his wife. Five children— Otis Harris, b. May 25, 1885 (who is now and has been for several years, a representative for the Glens Falls Star) ; Ernest A., b. March 25, 1887 ; died September, 1887 ; Grace B., b. April 9, 1888 ; Helen B., b. January 3, 1891, and Ralph L., b. November 15, 1896. Mr. Lindsay was educated in the public schools, and at Ball's Seminary, Hoosick Falls. In early life was apprenticed to learn the tinners and sheet iron workers' trade. During the years 1872, 1873, 1874, was one of the firm of Phillips & Lindsay, tinners and dealers in hardware, at Hoosick Falls, N. Y. ; afterwards was employed at Springfield, Vt., and in 1876, came to Fort Edward, where he entered the employ of Sandford Smith & Son, remaining here until 1882 ; he then removed to Boston, Mass. In 1888 returned to Fort Edward and affiliated with the firm of Newton & Hill, since which time he has been constantly engaged in the prosecution of his trade; is a member of Fort Edward Lodge, F. & A. M., and of Washington Council, Royal Arcanum, of which latter order he has been sec- retary for over fourteen years. Mr. Lindsay's grandfather, The Fotr Edward Book. 251 Solomon Lovelaiul,was a driumnei- in Captain Wells' Co., of Fom- pey, N. Y., and was in the service at Sackett's Harbor, in the war of 1812. Mrs. Lindsay's father was born in Fort Edward in 1822, and died here in 1900, on the same street where he was born. For many years he was employed by the Paper Mill company. I\LvLiN, John II., born July 24, 1875, at Fort Edward, N. Y., son of William ^Malin, and I\Iary Connell, his wife. Was edu- cated in the public schools at Fort Edward, and in early life was eng-ag'ed in the business of the manufacture of cigars, and after- wards as paper maker. Is president of the Pulp, Sulphite & Paper I\Iill Workers, Lodge No. 1, Fort Edward, N. Y., and in 1902 was elected collector of the union school district of Fort Edward ; belongs to Fort Edward Council, No. 336, Knights of Columbus, and Ancient Order of Hibernians, Division No. 3 ; is a member of the Roman Catholic church, in politics independent, and at present is employed as an organizer for the Pulp, Sul- phite and Paper Mill Workers, and for the past two years has been prominently identified with the labor organizations of this section. ]\IcDoiTGALL, W^iLLiAM James, boru Octobcr 25, 1871, at Ar- gyle, N. Y., sou of Charles H. McDougall, and Mary Lillie, his wife. ]\Iarried at Fort Edward in I\Iay, 1890 to Lena J. Buck, b. September 5, 1872, at Fort Edward, daughter of Daniel E. Buck, and Julia Lapham, his wife. One child— W^esley T., b. May 1st, 1896. Was educated in the public schools at Argyle and Glens Falls. His early life was spent largely in those two towns, where he was employed as a clerk. Is secretary of the K. 0. T. ]\I., and an honorary member of the Durkee Hose Co. ; attends the IMethodist church, a Republican in politics, and is now engaged in the fruit and confectionery business on Broad- way, near Hotel Hudson. McNaughton, Feed., born September 27, 1853, at Schuyler- ville, N. Y., son of Malcolm McNaughton, and Phcebe IMcDoual, his wife. IMarried in 1884, at Northumberland, N. Y., to Julia M. Fiune, b. at Middlesex, Vermont, December 27, 1856, daugh- ter of Alvinza L. Finne, and ]\Iary B. Mclntyre, his wife. Three children— Wallace F., b. November 29, 1886; Mary E., b. ]March 252 The Fort Edward Book. 2, 1891, and Leslie M., b. October 2, 1894. Mr. MeNaughton was educated in the public schools of Schuylerville and beg-an his business career as clerk in the National bank of that place. After filling the position of teller in the bank, he went to New York city, and for a time was engaged there as a member and broker of the grain produce exchange. He is a member of Home Lodge, 398, F. & A. M., of Northumberland, Royal Arcanum, and Fort Edward Club ; is a member of St. James ' Episcopal church, and also a vestryman; is a Republican in polities, and at present is one of the firm of the Fort Edward Brewing Co. McNeil, Sarah, of Argyle, by a will dated the 18th of Sep- tember, 1798, and which was admitted to probate July 12, 1799, gave to her brother, William Frazer, $250.00, and the residue of her estate to Archibald Campbell Tearse, son of Peter B. Tearse; if he died without issue, one-half of the residue was given to William Hunter Tearse, also a son of Peter B. Tearse, and the remainder to the children of William Frazer. If Peter B. Tearse died, leaving Mary, his wife, a widow, then Archibald Campbell Tearse was to care for her as long as she lived. The executors were Zina Hitchcock, Charles Roe, and Mieajah Pettit. The witnesses were John Eddy, Eliphalet Eglston, and Mathias Ogden. John Eddy died June 27, 1817, in the 63d year of his age ; Amy, wife of John Eddy, died March 28, 1803, in the 47th year of her age ; Anna, second wife of John Eddy, died August 7, 1820, aged 40 years. Sydney and George, children of John and Anna Eddy, died in infancy; Lydia Eddy, wife of Henry Gaylord, b. July 5, 1791, died February 22, 1866. Mead, Walter L., born January 1st, 1865, at Fort Edward, N. Y., son of AValter J. Mead, and Ellen A. Lane, his wife. Mar- ried September 17, 1886, at Fort Edward, N. Y., to Minnie Graham, b. March 4, 1864, at Fort Edward, N. Y., daughter of Andrew Graham, and Elizabeth Graham, his wife. Two chil- dren—Howard G., b. February 10, 1889, and Lena, b. August 31, 1893. Mr. Mead received a common school education in the public schools at Fort Edward, and at Havens Business Col- lege in Philadelphia; learned the printer's trade which he after- wards abandoned and entered the employ of the Fort Edward Brewing company, as book-keeper, which position he held for a The Fort Edward Book. 253 number of years ; is a member of Fort Edward Lodge, F. & A. M., Royal Arcanum ; and an honorary member of the Satterlee and Durkee Hose companies; is an attendant at the Episcopal church, a Republican in politics, and at present is employed in the gardening business. Melville, Rev. Ernest, rector of St. James' Episcopal church, born in London, Eng., February 7th, 1850; the son of Osborn Melville, and Sophia Lyle, his wife. Was married November 9th, 1888, at Dunfermiline, Scotland, to Leslie Clive, b. in Lon- don, Eng., November 25th, 1868. AA^as educated in the public schools of England, and by private instructors ; his early life was spent upon a farm in the County of Suffolk, after which for six years was a pupil of teachers of elocution and actors, among whom were AA^alter Montgomery, Charles Calvert and Arthur Bell ; then became a teacher of elocution and a public lecturer on various popular subjects ; came to the United States in 1888, just after his marriage, and visited the principal cities of this country, settling in Philadelphia, Pa., where he followed his profession and became professor of elocution in a college connected with Hanover Baptist church, of which Rev. C. H. AVoolston was pastor ; was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1891, and became pastor of a church at AVarren Center, Pa., and also at AVorcester, N. Y., after which, feeling that his own theological views were more in harmorny with the Anglican church with which he had been more or less intimately connected all his life, he sought admission to the Protestant Episcopal Church of America, through the Rev. and Venerable Charles Olmstead, D. D., of Cooperstown, archdeacon of Susquehanna, now bishop of Colorado, by whom he was introduced to Bishop Doane of Albany ; he was subsequently ordained deacon in the Cathedral of All Saints at Albany, on St. Paul's day, January 25th, 1891, and was appointed by the bishop, rector of St. Paul's church at Sidney, N. Y., where he was ordained to the priesthood on January 15, 1896. There he labored for five years, during which time the church grew and prospered. In October, 1899, he ac- cepted a call to St. James' church, Fort Edward, since which time the church, under his care, has materially increased. Mr. Melville is an eloquent and earnest speaker, and his services as a lecturer are in demand; is a member of the New York His- torical association, and w^as one of the speakers at their third annual meeting, held at Caldwell, N. Y., 1901 ; is chaplain of the 254 The Fort Edward Book. Fort Edward Lodge, F. & A. M. His political affiliations in England were with the Liberals until the split occurred in that party over Gladstone's Home Rule Bill, since which his sym- pathy has been with the Liberal Unionists. In this country, al- throug'h not a partisian, he has generally been in accord with the Republican party. The whole bent of his nature, however, is to aid what he believes to be true and right, whether in national, municipal or social life, irrespective of party or the fashion of the day. MiLLiMAN, Jarvis W., bom December 4, 1849, at Salem, Wash- ington county, N. Y., son of Thomas H. Milliman, and Caroline Martin, his wife. Married September 30, 1878, at Fort Edward, N. Y., to Mary E. Andrews, b. September 3, 1857, at Williams- port, Pa., daughter of William T. Andrews, and Caroline Doney, his wafe. Two children— Jarvis B., b. October 23, 1884, and Mary E., b. August 7, 1887. Mr. Milliman received his educa- tion in the public schools, and his early life was passed on a farm in the town of Salem, N. Y. ; has been repeatedly elected to municipal offices in the town and village in which he resides, having been treasurer and collector of the village of Fort Ed- ward, besides filling various other town offices; belongs to the Masonic fraternity, Jane McCrea Lodge, I. 0. 0. F., Ancient Order of United Workmen, and an honorary member of Sat- terlee Hose Co. He has been for a number of years one of the vestryman of the St. James Episcopal church, and is attached to the Democratic party, and for many years has been engaged in the meat and grocery business. Montgomery, Lyman Edward, born December 13th, 1863, at Middle Falls, N. Y., son of Adelmon Montgomery and Elizabeth Richmond, his wife. Married, June 12th, 1902, at Mechanicville, N. Y., to Ida Grace Arnold, b. July 18th, 1874, at Stillwater, N. Y., daughter of Otto Yates Arnold, and Ester Adelia Talmadge,his wife. Was educated at the Island Grove seminary. Fort Edward, and in 1882, entered Union College, taking the civil engineering course, but was compelled to abandon his studies, on account of his eye sight, before graduating. In 1883 he became book- keeper for the lumber firm of Sherman & Green, Glens Falls, and in 1887 engaged in business with his father as a partner in the coal trade at Notre Dame street. Fort Edward, and in 1889 The Fort Edward Book. 255 he succeeded to the business, which he still carries on, being a large dealer in coal, feed, wood, salt, flour, lime and cement. His early life was spent at Middle Falls. He is a member of Fort Edward Lodge, 267, F. & A. M., president of the Satterlee Hose company, president of the Fort Edward Club, member of the Baptist congregation, and a Republican in politics. The family is of Irish descent. Col. Robert Montgomery, distinguished in the war of 1812, being his grandfather. Moore, Orville, H., born July 17, 1872, at Fort Edward, N. Y., son of Orville H. Moore, and Sarah J. Wythe, his wife. Married August 8, 1894, at Fort Edward, N. Y., to Annie E. VanDerwerker, b. June 11, 1872, at Fort Miller, N. Y., daughter of Rozelle VanDerwerker, and Margaret Willard, his wife. One child— Grace Helene, b. September 30, 1897. Mr. Moore was educated in the public schools, and Fort Edward Business Col- lege. He is a member of the Fort Edward Lodge, 267, F. & A. M^; Fort Edward Chapter, 171, R. A. M. ; Washington Com- mandery. No. 33, K. T., of Saratoga ; Oriental Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S., of Troy ; Royal Arcanum, Ancient Order of United Workmen, and of the Commercial Travelers' Association of Utica. Is an attendant of the Presbyterian church, and a Re- publican in politics, and for a number of years has been the vice- president and manager of the Moore Screen Co., of Sandy Hill. N. Y. He is engaged in the manufacture and sale of the Moore Rotary screene of which he was one of the inventors, and which has proved to be a very useful appliance in the manufacture of pulp. Morgan, John J., born at Fort Edward, son of Edward P. Morgan, and Rebecca Hunter, his wife; was educated in the public schools and at the Island Grove seminary. After com- pleting his education, was appointed deputy postmaster at Fort Edward, under James H. Harris, which position he occupied for five years; was afterwards deputy county clerk, under Charles W. Taylor ; in 1887, he enterecl the employ of the First National bank of Fort Edward, where he has since remained; has served as treasurer of the village of Fort Edward eight terms, as presi- dent of the village two terms, and in 1899, was elected super- visor of the town, to which position he has subsequently been re-elected. Mr. Morgan is a Democrat in politics, and a member 256 The Fort Edward Book. of St. James' Episcopal church, of which organization he was for many years a vestryman, and its treasurer. He has been actively identified wdth the interests of the Satterlee Hose Co., and served as its president a number of years; belongs to Fort Edward Lodge, F. & A. M., Jane McCrea Lodge, I. 0. 0. F., Fort Edward Club, and is one of the directors of the Empire Theater at Glens Falls. MoTT, Dr. Orville Hamlin, born April 30th, 1851, at Sara- toga, N. Y., son of LaFayette Mott, and Mary A. Weston, his wife. Married, February 14th, 1901, at Bridgeport, Conn., Margaret H. Bradley, of Fort Edward, N. Y., b. August 29th, 1872, daughter of George Bradley and Margaret Heath, his wife. Dr. Mott was educated in the common schools of Sara- toga, at Bemis Heights Seminary, at the Connecticut Literary Institute, of Suffield, Conn., and was graduated at the New York Homeopathic College in the class of 1873. His early life was passed in Saratoga Springs; began the study of medicine in 1869 with Dr. Archibald Gow of Schuylerville, and continued his studies in Saratoga Springs in the office of Dr. Thomas E. Allen; practiced in Glens Falls for one year with Dr. David H. Bullard, and in 1873 located in Fort Ann, where he built up a large and lucrative practice. In May, 1902, removed to Fort Edward, where he is now engaged in the active practice of his profession. Belongs to Mount Hope Lodge, No. 260, F. & A. M., Fort Ann, N. Y.;>ort Edward Chapter, No. 171, R. A. M., of Fort Edward, N. Y. ; Washington Council,No. 52, AVhitehall, N. Y. ; Washington Commandery, No. 33, K. T., Saratoga Springs, N. Y.; Oriental Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S., Troy, N. Y., and Washington Council, Royal Arcanum, Fort Edward, N. Y. His religious affiliations are wnth the Universalist church, and he has always been identified with the Republican party. Dr. INIott's ancestors were French Hugenots, the original name being "La- Motte." In this country they were among the original settlers of the Island of Manhattan; his immediate ancestors settled in Dutchess county, and were Quakers. Dr. Mott's grandfather came from Dutchess county to Saratoga county where he took up a claim upon Saratoga Lake at about the time of the Revo- lutionary war. The original deed of this claim from the Colo- nial government is now in possession of the Mott family. Murray, James M., born November 25, 1877, at Fort Edward, The Fort Edward Book. 257 N. Y., son of John M. Murray and Anna M. Leonard, his wife. Married at Glens Falls, October 7, 1903, Elizabeth Cnnningham, daughter of Patrick J. Cunningham, and Mary Leary, his wife. AVas educated in the public schools of Fort Edward, where his early life was passed in the mercantile business ; afterwards en- tered the employ of the International Paper Co., and at present is a paper maker ; is now serving as clerk of the village trustees, and of the water connnissioners ; is a member of the Knights of Columbus, the Durkee Hose Co., and of the International Bro- therhood of Paper Makers ; also a member of the Catholic church, and a Republican in politics. Murray, William A., b. April 9, 1869, at Fort Edward, N. Y., son of John M. Murray, and Anna Leonard, his wife. Married October 2, 1895, at Granville, N. Y., Anna Daughn, I). July 14, 1874, at Hebron, daughter of Fenton Daughn, and Bridget Mur- phy, his wife. Four children— William L., b. June 24, 1896; John E., b. March 9, 1898; Fenton R., b. May 2, 1900, and Mar- garet, b. November 12, 1902. Mr. Murray was educated in the common schools of Fort Edward, and early in life learned the business of cigar maker; this occupation he afterwards aband- oned, and became a paper maker ; is now assistant superintendent of the International Paper Mills at Fort Edward. He has been one of the trustees of the village of Fort Edward, is now pres- ident of the village of Fort Edward, and is a member of the board of education; belongs to the Knights of Columbus, is a member of the Roman Catholic church, and of the Republican party. NiLES, Oscar Orlando, born May 14, 1839, at Shaftsbury, Vt., son of Hiram Niles, and Sarah A. Millington, his wife. Married September 6, 1865, at Hartford, N. Y., to «Iuliet Harris, b. April 20, 1846, at Hartford, N. Y., daughter of x\sa 0. Harris and Betsy Rich, his wife. One child— Frances M., b. October 8, 1866. Mr. Niles received a common school education, and is a member of many of the Masonic orders, and also of the Odd Fellows, the Royal Arcanum, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Episcopal church, and a. Republican in politics, and for many years has been engaged in the Merchant Tailoring business. He 258 The Fort Edward Book. enlisted in 1861, in the 93d Regiment, of New York Volunteers, and served three years ; was master for many years of Fort Ed- ward Lodge, 267, F. & A. M., and has often been called upon to officiate at Masonic funerals. NoRTHUP, H. Davis, born October 9th, 1842, at Hartford, N. Y., son of James M. Northup, and Julia Ann Davis, his wife. Married January 19th, 1864, at Hartford, N. Y., Pamelia E. Wait, b. September, 1843, at Granville, N. Y., daughter of Mansir AV. Wait, and Julia Ann Hale. Three children— James M., Jr., b. March 31, 1867, married Lillian Hodgman; Mansir W., b. July 6, 1868 ; Maud E., b. July 3, 1870, married Wilford J. De- Wolf. Pamelia E. Wait, wife of H. Davis Northup, died Jan- uary 23d, 1880, and he married, September 10th, 1885, at New York city, Kate I. Hopping, b. August, 1847, at Madison, N. J., daughter of Samuel W. Hopping and Margaret Gordon, his wife. Was educated at the Fort Edward Collegiate Institute, which he entered in 1855, where he remained for one year, after which he graduated in the commercial course at Eastman's Business College, Poughkeepsie, in 1863. His early life was spent in Hartford. After his graduation he engaged in the produce bus- iness with his father and uncle, and lived in Hartford until 1886, when he came to Fort Edward and bought the old D. W. Wing place, which was built in the early part of the century; this beautiful residence Mr. Northup still occupies. Mr. Northup was for six years deputy treasurer and treasurer of Washington county, and for one year treasurer of the village of Fort Ed- Avard ; is now treasurer of the Royal Arcanum ; is a member of Herschel Lodge, No. 508, F. & A. M., of Hartford, of which lodge he was master for four years; was high priest of the Hartford Chapter, R. A. M. ; is a member of the Washington Commandery, K. T. ; Jane McCrea Lodge, I. 0. 0. F., and of Washington Council, Royal Arcanum; an attendant of the Bap- tist church; a Republican in politics, and is secretary and man- ager of the Automatic Tap & Faucet company, and a partner in the Fort Edward Manufacturing company, engaged in the manufacture of tinware. Mr. Northup has always been promi- nently identified with the public affairs of the county, as was his father, Hon. James M. Northup, who, at the time of his death, was president of the First National bank of Fort Edward. His grandfather, John S. Northup, was a drummer in the war of 1812, and his great-grandfather, Joseph, was a soldier of the The Fort Edward Book. 259 Revolution, in the Fourth Albany County regiment. The family is of English and Dutch descent. O'Brien, Jarvis P., born May 24, 1864, at Fort Edward, N. Y., son of James O'Brien, and Mary Walsh, his wife He was educated in the public schools of this place, and at the Fort Ed- ward Collegiate Institute ; attended the Columbia University Law School at Washington, D. C, and entered the law office of Smith & Wellington, of Troy. Is a member of the Rensselaer County Rod and Gun Club, the B. P. O. Elks, Knights of Columbus, Exempt Fireman's Association of Troy; St. Peter's Lyceum, of Troy; the Veteran Boys in Blue Club, and an honorary member of Durkee Hose Co., of Fort Edward. His political affiliations are with the Republican party, and he was elected district attorney of Rensselaer county in November, 1902, which office he now holds ; in 1903 he was nominated by the Republicans as their candidate for mayor of the city of Troy. Palmer, Elmer H., born April 21, 1861, at Northumberland, son of Jason F. Palmer, and Laura S. HoUey, his wife. Mar- ried June 13, 1883, at Stillwater, N. Y., to Mariah Sisson, b. September 22, 1861, at Stillwater, N. Y., daughter of Dennis Sis- son and Alida Kipp, his wife. Two children— Arthur N., b. February 28, 1891, and Cornelia L., b. April 22, 1893. AVas edu- cated in the public schools of this state, and at the Warrens- burg Academy; his early life was passed upon a farm. He en- tered the livery business at Mechanicville, in 1891, and came to Fort Edward in 1893. In 1902 he succeeded by purchase to the livery business of the late Silas S. Hubbell. Served two years as village trustee of the village of Fort Edward ; belongs to Fort Edward Lodge, F. & A. M., Jane McCrea Lodge, I. 0. 0. F., Or- der of Red Men, Royal Arcanum, and the Satterlee Hose Co.; is an attendant of the Presbyterian church, and Republican in politics. Potter, Hon. Townsend Jay, born October 30th, 1832, in the town of Fort Edward, the oldest of ten children born to Abel W. Potter and Caroline Bell, his wife. Married March 5th, 1856, at Fort Edward, to Elmira Durkee, b. August 8th, 1835, at Fort Edward, daughter of John S. Durkee and Mary Ellis, his wife. He was educated in the common schools of his native town, and 260 The Fort Edward Book. spent two or three terms at the Argyle Academy. His early life was passed on a farm in Fort Edward; when eighteen years of age engaged at rafting on the Hudson River, West Troy, for the firm of Potter & Gary, of that city, after which he engaged in lumbering and rafting business upon his own account for up- wards of three years, when he moved to Fort Edward; kept a canal grocery and stable for a time and dealt in grain for about seven years, during which time he was interested in the Fort Edward grist mill ; after this he embarked in the coal business, which he still carries on. Mr. Potter became interested in poli- tics soon after he located in Fort Edward, which interest he has always maintained ; has been a member of the local board of education, supervisor of the town for a period of four years, trustee of the village ; was elected Member of Assembly from this district in 1876-7 ; vice president of the First National bank of Fort Edward, and is a member of the old Fort Edward Baptist church. A Republican in politics. Mr. Potter's grandfather and grandmother came to this locality at an early day, and the history of the family in this country may be traced back nine genera- tions to William Potter, emigrant, prior to 1639. Robinson, Orvh.le ClxVrk, born January 13, 1843, at Hebron, N. Y., son of James Robinson, and Anna Livingston, his wife. Married in 1865 at Hebron, N. Y., to Maria McConelee, b. at Argyle, N. Y., daughter of Neal McConellee, and Nellie Carl, his wife. Seven children— Nellie, Anna, Georgie, Cortland, Jen- nie, Orville C, Jr., and Sarah M. Mr. Robinson was educated in the common schools of this state, and at the West Hebron academy. His early life was passed as a farmer in Hebron and Argyle ; was assessor in Argyle for two terms, and was elected to that office in Fort Edward, but resigned and accepted an ap- pointment as postmaster for the village of Fort Edward. He was also elected justice of the peace, which office he held for a short time and then resigned. He held the office of postmaster for nearly five years and served with acceptability. In August, 1862, he enlisted in the Army of the Potomac, and participated in the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg; also partici- pated in Sherman's Atlantic campaign when the army was for one hundred days, almost constantly under fire; was present at seventeen battles during his three years ' service. This campaign terminated at Raleigh when General Johnson surrendered to General Sherman. Mr. Robinson marched with the army The Fort Edward Book. 261 through Richmond to AVashington and participated in the grand review before the officers of the United States at Washington, before the close of the war ; was discharged from service June 9, 1865. Is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Fort Edward Lodge, F. & A. M., Ancient Order of United Work- men, and Fort Edward Club ; attached to the Methodist church, a Republican in politics, and for a number of years past has been engaged in the coal business. Ryan, Patrick Joseph, born March 15, 1874, at Fort Edward, N. Y., son of William Ryan, and Mary Ann Fennell, his wife. Was educated in the public schools of Fort Edward, where his early life was spent ; is at present clerk of the board of education, of the village of Fort Edward, which office he has held for the past two years; is one of the charter members of the Bibbey Hose Co., also of the Knights of Columbus ; belongs to the Inter- national Brotherhood of Paper Makers, and the Tri-County Fire- men's Association; is a member of the Roman Catholic church, and of independent political views. In 1900 was appointed a guard in Dannemora prison, and in 1901 held a similar position in Elmira Reformatory. lie, at present, is employed as paper maker, in the International Paper Company's mill, at Fort Ed- ward, N. Y. Sanderspree. Charles William, born February 3, 1872, at Griswolds Mills, N. Y., son of Julius Sanderspree, and Angeline Bovar, his wife. Was married July 19, 1899, at Fort Edward, to Grace M. Dailey of Sandy Hill, daughter of Frank Dailey, and Jennie Hart, his wife. Three children— William Ashley, b. March 2, 1900 ; Herbert Allen, b. July 16, 1901 ; and Edith Ger- trude Gladys, b. August 29, 1902. Mr. Sanderspree received a common school education, and early in life was apprenticed to learn the carpenter's trade; he afterwards became a contractor and builder ; is a member of the Royal Arcanum ; of the Roman Catholic church, and belongs to the Republican party. Scott, George, town clerk of Fort Edward, born near Hook, town of Argyle, June 19, 1838, of Scotch Irish ancestry; son of John Scott and Nancy Brown, his wife, daughter of James and Hannah (Simpson) Brown, all members of the Rev. George 262 The Fort Edward Book. Mairs' Presbyterian church, in the village of Argyle. His brothers are James, John, Robert and William. George attend- ed the Hook school, Fort Edward Institute, and Argyle Acad- emy, and during the Civil war he served in the Argyle Co., of the 123d N. Y. regiment, and in the 16th United States Infantry ; in the Argyle Co., he was orderly or first sergeant, under Captain Duncan Robertson, and near the close of the war was transferred to the 16th United States Infantry. He participated in all of the marches of the 123d, until it reached Atlanta and took part in all of its battles, including Chancellorsville, Gettys- burg, Resaca, Casville, New Hope Church, or Dallas, Lost Moun- tain, Pine Hill, Kenesaw, Kolbs Farm, Chattahoochee River, Peach Tree Creek, and Atlanta. Before Atlanta had fallen he was transferred to the 16th United States Infantry, and took part in the battles in the rear of Atlanta; assisted in tearing up the railroad at East Point, and was in the battle of Jonesboro, where a decisive victory for the Union, sealed the fate of Atlanta, After this, the 16th United States Infantry, was ordered back to Lookout Mountain, where on the 4th of October, 1863, Mr. Scott received an honorable discharge from the United States service, with honorable mention for his services in the battle of Jonesboro. After his discharge, instead of returning home, he went to the front again, and left Chattanooga on the top of a freight car in order to reach Sherman 's men at Atlanta ; but at this time' Hood's army was beginning to march north, and the freight train, on which Mr. Scott was a passenger, had soon to face burning culverts and bridges, and to save it, the con- ductor ran it back to Chattanooga. Mr. Scott and three other soldiers, however, did not return, each volunteered to go on, and after experiencing many hardships, and privations on this long march, in endeavoring to avoid Hoods' men, they succeeded in joining Sherman at Atlanta. George Scott was captured on October 19th, 1864, at Vinings Station, near Atlanta, by Wheeler's cavalry, and was sent to Cahaba prison, and soon after to the prison stockade at Millen ; was subsequently trans- ferred to Andersonville, where he remained a prisoner during the winter of 1864-5, and w^as among the last released in the spring, reaching the Union lines at Jacksonville, Florida, on April 28, 1865, after the war closed; he arrived on the steamer, "Daniel Webster," at Parole Camp, Annapolis, Md., May 10, 1865. A few years after the war was over, Mr. Scott married Elizabeth A., daughter of Peter Tierce Finn, and Mary Cozzens The Fort Edward Book. 263 Finn. They have one daughter, Mary E. Peter Tierce Finn, was a son of William Finn, one of the early settlers of Fort Edward. William Finn married Mary or Polly Tierce, a daugh- ter of Peter Bailey Tierce, who was a major in Col. Willett's regiment, in the Revolutionary war, and afterwards a member of the Legislature. The wife of Major Tierce was Polly Hunter, a daughter of Robert Hunter. Polly Hunter 's mother was Kath- erine Campbell ; Katherine Campbell was the daughter of Sarah Gordon Frazer, and Archibald Campbell who was related to Major Duncan Campbell of the "Black Watch," or 42d Highland reg- iment, and who fell mortally wounded at Ticonderoga July 8, 1758. His remains are interred in the Union Cemetery at Fort Edward. 'Archibald Campbell died at sea, while on his way to this country with his family. His widow, Sarah Gordon Eraser Campbell, afterward married in New York city, James McNeil, who soon afterwards died. His widow subsequently moved to Fort Edward and was generally known as Mrs. Mc- Neil, and was captured with Jane McCrea, and fell into the hands of Gen. Eraser, her cousin. Mr. Scott was admitted to practice law at the February General Term of the Supreme Court held at Albany, 1871. He was Member of Assembly in 1885, and chairman of committees on petitions of aliens, and member of committee on general laws. At present he is prac- ticing law, and a member of the vestry of St. James' church, and a Past Commander of Mills Post, No. 491, Grand Army of the Republic. Sheehan, Frank P., Jr., born at Fort Edward, N. Y., Novem- ber 20, 1876, son of Frank P. Sheehan and Mary Casey. Mar- ried August 11, 1902, at Fort Edward, N. Y., to Emma Cassant, b. in Montreal, Canada, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Cas- sant. One child— Mary P., b. August 10, 1903. Was educated in the common schools at Fort Edward, and at St. Mary's Acad- emy, Glens Falls, N. Y. His early life was spent in his native village, and he is now chief engineer of the fire department of the village of Fort Edward, having successively filled the office of first and second assistant chief; is a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and of the Bibbey Hose Co. ; a Democrat in politics, and is at present employed in the paper and sul- phite mills of the International Paper Company's plant at Fort Edward. 264 The Fort Edward Book. Shonts, Frederick J., born June 27, 1862, at Glens Falls, N. Y., son of Washington Shonts, and Martha M. Fairchild, his wife. Married November 13, 1889, at Fort Edward, N. Y., to Ida E. Denio, b. June 24, 1864, at Fort Edward, N. Y., daughter of Daniel Denio, and Eloda Infield, his wife. Mr. Shonts was educated at the union schools of Fort Edward, and for many years past has been proprietor of the Fort Edward laundry; is a member of A. 0. U. W., and has been master workman in that organization; an attendant of the Methodist church, and a Re- publican in politics. Stoughton, John Mott, born September 20, 1858, at Roch- ester, N. Y., son of Fisher Ames Stoughton and Eliza Hall, his wife. Was educated in the common schools, and his early life was passed in the paper industry, being employed in the mills at Fort Edward; is a member of Fort Edward Lodge, F. & A. M., Fort Edward Chapter, R. A. M., Washington Commandery, No. 33, K. T., of Saratoga, and Oriental Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S., of Troy. In 1900, when the International Paper Machine Tenders' Union consolidated with the International Brother- hood of Paper Makers, Mr. Stoughton was elected second vice- president of the Brotherhood, and the following year was elected first vice-president, which office he still holds. Mr. Stoughton 's father was a soldier of the Rebellion. ( See Theodore M. Stough- ton). Stoughton, Theodore M., born February 20, 1867, at Fort Edward, N. Y., son of Fisher Ames Stoughton, and Elizabeth Hall, his wife. Married April 11th, 1888, at Mechanic Falls, Maine, to Edith Harper, b. October 1st, 1871, at Crown Point, N. Y., daughter of Fred. Harper, and Angle Thompson, his wife. Four children— Frank F.. b. January 24, 1891 ; Ernest S., b. October 5, 1893; Clarence, b. April 8, 1895, and Mar- guerite D., b. August 15, 1897. AVas educated in the common schools of Fort Edward, where his early life was passed. At the age of 18, went to Ticonderoga, where he found employment as paper maker; subsequently removed to Maine, returning to this place in 1895. Is one of the board of education of the union free school of this village, and also one of the village trustees; is a member of the Blazing Star Lodge, F. & A. M., Rumford Falls, Me.; Fort Edward Chapter, R. A. M., and of the Inter- The Fort Edward Book. 265 national Brotherhood of Paper Makers. In politics is independ- ent, and is at present employed by the International Paper Co., as foreman of the paper machine room. Mr. Stoughton was one of the founders of the International Paper Machine Tenders' union, established in 1896, which organization in 1900, was con- solidated with the International Brotherhood of Paper Makers. He was president of the former organization for two years, when his promotion in the mills where he was employed prevented his continuing longer as an officer of a labor organization. His father was a soldier in the Rebellion, having enlisted in 1861, in the Harris Light Cavalry and served about one year, when he was honorably discharged on account of sickness. After sev- eral months' rest he re-enlisted in the 16th New York Heavy Artillery and served until the close of the war. In 1864 he was promoted to first lieutenant. Stoughton, Timothy and Livy, brothers ; Timothy, born Feb- ruary 28, 1785, at Lenox, Mass., son of John Stoughton, and Ann Lewis, his wife. John was a lieutenant in the Revolution, having been commissioned by Governor Trumbell of Connecticut, and after the Revolution removed to Lenox, Mass, where he was appointed justice of the peace by Governor Hancock. Leiuten- ant John, died in Troy, N. Y., June 9, 1809, aged 72 years; his wife, Ann, died there March 26, 1836, aged 94 years. Timothy was the youngest of ten children born to John and Ann Stough- ton; Gustavus, Alice, Roxana, Livy, Ann, Louis, Anna, John, Lucy and Timothy; Timothy was justice of the peace in Troy, in 1806; two years later he went to Detroit, where he was en- gaged in the fur trade until 1811, when his brother, Livy, in- duced him to come to Fort Edward. Here they occupied a house and store owned by James Rogers, and now (1903) occu- pied as a residence by Abram Oppenheim. The store stood between the residences of Mr. Oppenheim and Mr. Contryman. Timothy Stoughton married Sophia Ingalls, of Wilton, N. H., October 21, 1822. Livy Stoughton married Chloe Ellis, she died July 20, 1814, and he married, second, Cynthia Clark, descend- ants of whom are still living in Troy and Lansingburg. In 1820, Timothy became bookkeeper for Daniel Wing, who then kept a store where Wing's Exchange now stands. At one time he was a member of the firm of Wing, Bennett & Payne, engaged in the lumber business at Palmertown Mountain ; was postmaster here from May 2, 1849, to April 22, 1853. In 1811, when Mr. 266 The Fort Edward Book. Stoughton came here, there was but one hotel, one store, one schoolhouse, and no church in the village. The population at that time was between two and three hundred souls ; he was for upwards of 40 years, clerk of the school district, and held the office of justice of the peace for many years ; was also supervisor, and town clerk. He died February 21, 1878, much respected and estemed by all who knew him. Numerous descendants now re- side in this vicinity. SuNDERLiN, John Coebin, born June 20, 1835, at Fort Ann, N. Y., son of Lewis B. Voree, and Jane Ann Corbin, his wife. Mr. Sunderlin having received the name by which he is now known, by adoption, his mother having died when he was but three months old. Married August 19, 1855, at Pittstown, N. Y., Harriet A. Penney, b. April 23, 1832, at Pittstown, N. Y., daughter of Edward Penney, and Amanda Townsend, his wife. Mrs. Sunderlin died June 14, 1899. Five children — Joseph L. B., b. November 15, 1857; Mary Jane, b. January 18, I860; Har- riet Amanda, b. January 28, 1862 ; Martha Ann, b. May 20, 1865, and John Edward, b. June 6, 1873. Mr. Sunderlin received a common school education, and his early life was passed on the farm, and in mechanical pursuits. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of the Grand Army of the Republic. In politics he has acted with the Prohibition party, and for many years last past, has been engaged in the photograph business. Tasker, Benjamin M., born December, 1838, in England, son of Mr. and Mrs. Bennett Tasker. Married December 27, 1860, at Troy, N. Y., to Mary Louise VanKuren, b. at Troy, N. Y., daugh- ter of Benjamin Van Kuren, and Euretta Myers, his wife. Three children, two surviving— William F., b. July 6, 1863, and Ed- ward v., b. November 12, 1869. Mr. Tasker received a common school education, and his early life was spent in Troy, where he was engaged in the manufacture of soda water. He has been three times elected trustee of the village of Fort Edward, and has served three times as chief of the fire department, in addi- tion to serving several times as assistant. Is a member of Fort Edward Lodge, 267, F. & A. M., Ancient Order of United Workmen, and of the Fort Edward Club, and an honorary mem- ber of Satterlee Hose Co. ; an attendant of the Episcopal church, The Fort Edward Book. 267 of which he was for many years a vestryman ; a Democrat in pol- itics. He held the office of postmaster for two terms, under the administration of Grover Cleveland, and at present is en- gaged in the manufacture and sale of mineral water. Thebo, Philip Charles, was born September 22, 1835, in New York city, son of Joseph and Louise Thebo. Married in 1862, in New York city, to Mary Henrietta Chitty, daughter of Charles and Mary Chitty, of Quebec, P. Q. Seven children, six surviving— George W., b. February 22, 1865; Philip C, Jr., b. March 28, 1869; William H., b. June 17, 1872; Fenwick M., b. May 28, 1875; Benjamin Franklin, b. January 28, 1877, and Anna May, b. June 22, 1887. Mr. Thebo 's early life was spent in New York city, where he was engaged in the fruit and oyster business, which business, in connection with groceries and provisions, he has followed in the village of Fort Edward for many years ; has at different times been elected as trustee of the village of Fort Edward ; is a member of the Fort Edward Club, Fort Edward Lodge, 267, F. & A. M., Ancient Order of United Workmen, an honorary member of the Satterlee and Durkee Hose companies; St. James' Episcopal church, and has served as one of its vestrymen; is a Democrat in politics. He was an officer of the Home Guard, a military company, organized in 1864 ; and was treasurer of the board of water commissioners of the village of Fort Edward, at the time the municipal water works system was organized. Thebo, George Washington, born February 22, 1865, at Fort Edward, N. Y., son of Philip C. Thebo, and Mary H. Chitty, his wife. Married April 30, 1896, to Emma J. Rozell, b. May 12, 1864, at Glens Falls, N. Y., daughter of William Rozell, and Susan Clute, his wife. Three children, two surviving— Walter P., b. March 3, 1897, and Florence L., b. November 11, 1898. Mr. Thebo received a common school education, and his early life was spent in his father's store, as a clerk. Is a member of the Fort Edward Lodge, No. 267, F. & A. M., Fort Edward Chapter, No. 171, R. A. M. ; Washington Commandery, K. T., No. 33, Sar- atoga; Oriental Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. Shrine of Troy; Fort Edward Club ; Satterlee Hose Co. ; Royal Arcanum, and Tri- County Fireman's Association, of which latter organization he 268 The Fort Edward Book. is second vice-president. Is an attendant of the Episcopal church, independent views in politics, and at present is engaged in keep- ing a restaurant, at Fort Edward. Tripler, Dr. William Connell, born July 1st, 1860, at Phil- adelphia, Pa., the son of William Charles Tripler, and Elizabeth L. Child, his wife. Married August 23d, 1899, at New York city, Miss Clara B. LaMarche, b. at Fort Edward, daughter of John LaMarche and Flora South worth, his wife. Was educated in the public schools of Philadelphia, at the Lauterbach Acad- emy, and at the Towne Scientific School of the University of Pennsylvania, after wdiich he took a two years' course in the dental department, graduating 1884. His early life was spent in Philadelphia (Norristown), Pa., where he began practice of his profession in 1885 ; he remained there until 1893, when he located for a short time in Glens Falls, removing to Fort Ed- ward in 1894, where he has acquired a large and growing prac- tice ; is a member of Fort Edward Lodge, 267, F. & A. M. ; Fort Edward Chapter, 171, R. A. M. ; Washington Council, 261, Royal Arcanum, and of the Satterlee Hose company ; is a member of the Delta Phi fraternity, Eta Chapter, of the University of Penn- sylvania, and is a member of St. James' Episcopal church; a Republican in polities. The ancestor of Dr. Tripler, came from Germany with the Scientist, Pastorius, and settled in Pennsyl- vania prior to the Revolution. Dr. Tripler 's father served with distinction in the Civil war. Turner, George, born October 27th, 1825, at Warkton, North- amptonshire, Eng., the son of George Turner and Amy Panter, his wife. Married November 26th, 1851, at Schenectady, Eliza- beth M. Swart, b. February 26th, 1835, at Schenectady, daugh- ter of Simon Schermerhorn Swart and Elizabeth F. Glen, his wife, a descendant of the Glens of Glens Falls, and grand- daughter of Col. Henry Glen. Four children, two surviving — Major Reuben Turner, b. February 28th, 1857, now of the 8th U. S. Infantry. (Major Turner graduated at West Point in 1881 ; he was with Gen. Shafter in Cuba, and fought at Santiago. Married in 1885, Miss Louise Lowe, of Salt Lake City) ; Georg- etta Turner, b. December 31st, 1858, married Fred Cornell of Sandy Hill, N. Y. The subject of this sketch in his early life The Fort Edward Book. 269 learned the trade of a tailor. In 1850 he came to the United States and settled in Schenectady, where he remained until 1855, when he came to Fort Edward; was treasurer of the vil- lage of Fort Edward in 1887; police justice of the village for one term, and was first police justice of the town ; for the past ten years has been justice of the peace, having been continuously in the last mentioned office since 1892. He is a member of the Fort Edward Lodge, 267, F. & A. M., also Fort Edward Chapter, 171, R. A. M., in which societies he has held almost every office, having been master for three terms, and is now treasurer of the same. A Republican in politics, having been naturalized in 1860, he has voted for every Republican president that has occu- pied the White-House. Wade, Thomas R., born at Ashby-de-la-Zouch, England, son of John Wade, and Mary Ann Jewsbury. Married at Argyle, N. Y., to Louisa M. Harsha, b. at Argyle, daughter of James C. Harsha, and Mary M. Savage, his wife. Two children— Lillian J., and Susan E. Mr. Wade was educated in the national schools of England, and came to this country in 1865. He has been one of the wardens and is now one of the vestrymen, as he has been for many years, of St. James' Episcopal church; has also been elected a trustee of the village, and of the union free school district. Is a member of Fort Edward Lodge, F. & A. M., Ancient Order of United Workmen, and of the Fort Ed- ward Club. Republican in politics, and is now engaged in the mercantile pursuit. For a number of years he was employed in Albany, and was also engaged in trade at Argyle, under the firm name of Cook & Wade, previous to coming to Fort Edward. Wait, A. Dallas, born September 1st, 1822, at Sandy Hill, N. Y., son of Luther Wait. He was admitted to the Bar in 1845, and practiced in Sandy Hill until the fall of 1848, since which time he has practiced his profession in Fort Edward. Married December 11, 1855, to Celina Darrow, daughter of Hiram Darrow, of Cambridge. She died June 20, 1902. Eight children, of whom three survive— Celina, m. Richard A. Lowe, of England; Walter William, of Glens Falls, m. Maud Under- wood, and Bertha E. Wait. Judge Wait was elected county 270 The Fort Edward Book. judge of Washington Co., in 1855, and was subsequently twice re-elected to the same office ; also held the office of district attor- ney of Washington county for two years. For many years he has been a member and president of the board of education of this village, and is one of the directors of the First National bank of Fort Edward. Wicks, Hon. Frederick D., of Scotland, county judge of Bon Homme county, South Dakota, born July 31st, 1866, at Fort Edward, N. Y., son of Walter W. Wicks, and Ellen Kennedy, his wife. Married November 12th, 1895, at Springfield, South Dakota, Mary L. Wood, b. February 24th, 1874, at Springfield, Dakota territory, daughter of Lester Wood and Emma Barron, his wife. Three children— Emma R., b. September 4th, 1897; Walter W., b. August 22d, 1899 ; Ellen M., b. June 18th, 1901. Judge Wicks was educated in the public schools of Port Edward, and at Fort Edward Collegiate Institute, and his early life was passed here. After completing his course at the Institute he began the study of law in the office of Robert 0. Bascom, at this place. In August, 1890, went to South Dakota on account of his health, and was admitted to the bar in that state in December, 1890 ; was elected county judge of Bon Homme county in 1892, and is now serving his fourth term in that office. Belongs to Scotland Lodge, F. & A. M., Scotland Chapter, R. A. M., of Scot- land, the Oriental consistory of Yankton, S. D., and El Riad Temple of Shriners at Sioux Falls ; is a member of the Episcopal church; a Republican in politics, and is now in the enjoyment of a lucrative practice in his profession. Wicks, Walter James, born October 5, 1858, in New York city, son of Walter W. AVicks, and Ellen Kennedy, his wife. Married April 20, 1887, at Parker, South Dakota, Emeline S. Clisby, b. September 2, 1859, at Macomb, Illinois, daughter of Lorenzo Clisby, and Sarah E. Sparrell, his wife. Five children —Lorenzo Clisby, b. February 4, 1888; Ellen May, b. May 1, 1891 ; George Cornell, b. May 2, 1895, Albert Henry, and War- ner Clisby, twins, b. April 23, 1898. Mr. Wicks was educated in the public schools of Fort Edward, N. Y., and at St. Stephen's College, where he received the degree of B, A. After his grad- The Fort Edward Book. 271 uation, attended the General Theological Seminary in New York city, and Faribault Divinity School, Minnesota, where he re- ceived the degree of B. D. Is a member of the Protestant Epis- copal church; a Republican in politics, a clergyman by profes- sion, and is now superintendent of the United States Indian school, at Springfield, South Dakota. WiGG, Charles Byron, born May 15, 1851, at Moreau, Sara- toga county, N. Y., son of Peter Wigg, and Mary J. Thompson, his wife. Married July 1st, 1869, at Moreau, to S. Miranda Luther, b. June 13, 1850, at Hubbardtown, Vt., daughter of Nathan B. Luther, and Laura D. Hawkes, his wife. Four chil- dren— Erminie M., b. April 20, 1870; Dalberg E., b. January 14, 1873; Lela E., b. February 14, 1878; and Lyle I. E., b. Octo- ber 19, 1880. Mr. Wigg received a common school education, and in early life was apprenticed to learn the carpenter 's trade ; was street commissioner in the village of Fort Edward for a number of years; is a member of St. James' Episcopal church; a Republic in politics, and at present in engaged in the pursuit of his trade. Williams, Valentine, born January 21, 1846, in the state of Indiana, son of Jesse Williams, and Phoebe Wickersham, his wife. He was educated in the common schools of Pennsylvania, and his early life was passed on a farm; came to Fort Edward in 1888, and was employed at that time in the furniture factory, and afterwards went into the insurance business; elected jus- tice of the peace in 1899, which office he still holds ; is a member of the Fort Edward Lodge, F. & A. M., and Fort Edward Chap- ter, R. A. M. ; a Republican in politics, and a veteran of the war of the Rebellion. Wing, Asahel R., born November 30, 1850, at Sandy Hill, N. Y., son of Asahel Wing, and Juliette Haskin, his wife. Mar- ried in 1882, at Fort Ann, N. Y., to Flora B. Clements, who was born in 1853, at Fort Ann, N. Y., daughter of Isaac Clements, and Hannah Copeland, his wife. Mr. and Mrs. Wing have four daughters: Catherine M., Nellie, Dorothy, and Gladys. Mr. 272 The Fort Edward Book Wing- is cashier of the First National bank, at Fort Edward, and has been engaged in the banking business for many years. Winn, Horace Judson, born at Middletown, Vt., son of John Winn and Mary E. Lewis, his wife. Married February 18, 1890, at Fort Edward, N. Y., to Mary A. Curran, b. 1864, at Crown Point, N. Y., daughter of Michael Curran and Elizabeth Letson, his wife. Was educated in the common schools at Middletown, Vt., and afterwards attended the Fort Edward Collegiate In- stitute. His early life was passed at Middletown, the family moving to Fort Edward in 1854; was for many years book- keeper for the firm of Tefft, Hinckley & Co., who were exten- sive lumber dealers in the days when the lumber industry was the principal one at Fort Edward. Held the office of town col- lector for two years, in 1894 and 1895, and was elected justice of the peace in 1897, which office he held for the term of four years ; is a member of Fort Edward Lodge, F. & A. M., also of Fort Edward Chapter, R. A. M. ; for sixteen years he held the office of secretary of the Fort Edward Lodge, discharging its responsible duties in a highly satisfactory manner; is an attend- ant at the Baptist church ; a Republican in polities, and for a number of years last past has been employed by the International Paper Mill Company at Fort Edward. Mr. Winn's brother, Don D. Winn, graduated at the Fort Edward Institute in 1875 ; was a lawyer by profession, and died August 7, 1886. INDEX-Part I. The principal subjects only have been indexed. Titles of Part II are arranged in alphabetical order and are not here included. Ancient Order of Hibernians 218 Ancient Order of United Workman.. .215 Argyle and Fort Edward Plank Road Co 165 Argyle Jurors 104 Argyle Lot Owners 35 Argyle Patent 35 Argyle Supervisors 149 Argyle Trustees 37 Assessment and Taxation 133 Babcock, Phineaa 145 Baptist Church 190 " " Deacons 195 " • " First Trustees 192 " " Original Memljers 191 " " Pastors 192-195 Beatty , James 140 Bostwick, Rev. Samuel B 18I Bridge street 163 Buck, Col. John 145 Caldwell, Joseph I45 Campbell, Duncan, Legend of 80 Campbell, Duncan, Epitaph 86 Church street 167 Clark, Ralph 124 Cochran, Col. Robert 211 Cooke, Asaph 148 Conkey, Joshua 146 Curtis, Daniel I45 Deadman's Point IO5 Dellius Patent 31 Duer, Co'. William 129 Eddy Street I67 Emancipation papers 161 Fitch, Dr. Asa 61 Fort Edward Assessors 152 " " Center, Postmasters 158 " " Club 218 " " Commissoners Common Schools 154 Fort Edward Commissioners Highw's. 156 ■' " Excise Commissioners. .156 " " Fire Department 220 " " Inspectors of Common Schools 153 Fort Edward Justices of the Peace. . . 151 " " Postmasters 157 " Relics 91 " " Ruins 90 " " Sealers of Weights and Measures 154 Fort Edward Supervisors 149 " " Sup'ts Common Schools. 154 " " Town Clerks 150 " " Town Collectors 155 Fort Lydius 28 Fort Miller, early settlers of 115 " '' Plank Road Company. ..165 " " Postmasters 158 Freel, Peter 50 Galupha, Thomas 122 Gilchrist Family 88 Hamlin, Benjamin 121 Harper, WjHiam 121 Hayward, Ensign, Diary of 89 Hose Company, Leonard Bibbey 226 " " John R. Durkee 223 " " George Satterlee 220 Hubbell, Johnathan S., accounts 112 " " " customers 113 " Silas S., biography m " " " reminiscences 109 Hunter, Polly 48-49 Introduction 5 Johnson's Expedition 21 Jones, David 76 Jones Family 74 Jones, Solomon 76 Knights of Columbus 215 Lirermore, Josiah 124 274 Index. PAGE Lydins, Col. John Henry 33 Masonry 197 " Masters of Lodge 201 Martin, Moses 141 McArthur, Duncan 140 McCollister, Hamilton 146 McCrea, Jane, death of 53 family 56 Jane, grave of 45 locality of tragedy 44 Jane, who killed? 61 John 56 Rev. James 56 Street 166 McDonald, Judge 77 McNeil, Sarah 49 Mechanic Street 166 Methodist Episcopal Church 182 M. E. Church, Pastors 184 " " Presiding Elders 184 " " Stewards 186 " Trustees 196 Moses Kill Postmasters 159 Odd Fellows 213 Ogden, Mathias 103 " " marriages by 106 " " epitaph 108 Payne, Noah 123 Daniel 123 Presbyterian Church 186 " " original memb'rs.l86 PAGE Royal Arcanum 216 Savage, Edward 141 Schuyler's Expedition 15 Seelye, Nehimiah 140 Sherwood, Col. Adiel 204 '• Seth 141-205 Spooner, Rev. John Alden 181 Standish, Samuel 50 State Street 166 St. James Episcopal Church 168 " " " " Building.. .170 " " " '• Incorp'r'u.l69 " " " " Wardens.. 179 " " " " Vestr'menl79 St. Joseph's Catholic Church, 188 " " " " Priests.. 189 " " " " Trustees. 189 Taxpayers 135 Tearse, Peter B 140 Town Meetings 159 VanDenburg, Wynant 125 VanVechten, Lieutenant 51 Tiele Family : 127 Warren, Mary Rogers, memor'l tabrt.175 " Wm. Henry, " " 175 Webster, Alexander 144 Williams, Col. John 143 Winthrop's Expedition 12 Wing, Daniel W., memorial tablet... 172 Wing, Almira, " •• ....172 THE END. 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