Yale University Library

^LMSmr V/ILLET

ORQELEYI PROWii

YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

The Estate of
KATHERINE S. DREIER

PLEASANT VALLEY

A HISTORY OF

ELIZABETHTOWN,

ESSEIX: OOTJnSTT^Z",

isrE-v5^ -z"oi?,k:.

BY

G-EORGE LEVI BROWN.

O^OO^O

POST AND GAZETTE PRINT.
1905.

Ooi>3^l?iSlit, 190B,
T33r C3-3:OEa-B! X.E1-VI ZBHO-WTiq-.

Dedication.
"No father's hand caressed me
I knew no father's love.
If when he died he blessed me
'Tis only known above."
My father died when I was less than four weeks old and I
owe all that I am to the virtuous care of a mother. She is
now in the 85th year of her age, sharing my earthly home
with me, and having rendered invaluable assistance in the prep
aration of this work, it is indeed fitting that I should dedicate
the result of these efforts to her.

GEORGE LEVI BROWN.

IX.

PREFACE.
In a work of the kind here undertaken it would be idle to
pretend to originality. When the writer was a boy he played
at the feet of Mrs. Mary Matthews, widow of Jacob Matthews,
one of Elizabethtown's pioneer shoemakers. Mrs. Matthews,
locally and familiarly known as "Grandmother Matthews,"lived
in the home of the writer for over a year, being at that time
nearly 90 years of age. She had often ridden on horseback,
with a baby in her arms, following a line of blazed trees from
Northwest Bay to Pleasant Valley, and her account of the hard
ships and privations of pioneer days fell upon my ears at
the formative period of my life. During my boyhood there were
eight men living within the present limits of the town of
Elizabethtown who had served as soldiers in the War of 1812,
six who had fought for the United States and two for King
George III, but deserted before the Battle of Plattsburgh,
eventually coming here to settle, making good American citi
zens. It was my good fortune to know all of these warriors,
and to be on terms of intimacy with some of them — a case of
growing up among "History Makers." Over twenty years ago I
decided to write Pleasant Valley, A History of Elizabethtown.
Gradually the material has been collected and arranged. The
writing of the history of this town has been delayed too long,
as all the earliest settlers are in their graves. A few of the chil
dren of the pioneers are yet living, at an advanced age, in town

and its vicinity, who will please accept my grateful acknowledg
ments for facts which they have so kindly furnished. I have en
deavored to relate facts, as I understood them, without preju
dice or exaggeration, and have let no opportunity escape me
of rescuing from oblivion those facts which makes up the his
tory of my native town — facts which must grow in interest and
importance as time passes.
I am especially indebted to the late Oliver Abel, Sr., and his
sons, the late Leauder Abel and the venerable Charles L. Abel,
(the latter for 60 years a resident of Buffalo, N. Y.) to Eichard
L. Hand and his son, Augustus N. Hand, Harry Hale, the late
Judge Byron Pond and his youngest son, Levi S. Pond, Wil
liam H. Roberts, Robert B. Dudley, W. Scott Brown, Judge
Rowland C. Kellogg, John Drowne Nicholson, Henry Har
mon Noble, the late James W. Steele, Arthur E. Coonrod,
Clarence Underwood, Solon B. Finney, Daniel Oady Jackson,
William Wallace Jackson, Dr. Midas E. Bishop, the late Bain
bridge Bishop, Jerome T. Lobdell, Wallace W. Pierce, Alpheus
A. Morse, Charles H. Noble, Dr. John G. Noble, the late
Charles N. Williams, Milo C. Perry, Byron Pond Turner, Mrs.
Ann Eliza Miller, Mrs. S. W. Osgood, Mrs. Ellen Burbank,
Miss Adeline Post, Mrs. William Richards, Miss Sarah L.
Calkin, Miss Annette Rowe, Miss M. E. Perry, Mrs. E. H.
Putnam, Miss Alice E. Abel, Mrs. Caroline Halstead Royce,
and last but not least to those venerable sons of pioneers —
Dr. R. J. Eoscoe and Alonzo McD. Finney, to whose sugges
tions many essential features of this work owe their existence.
I have had access to and freely used Watson's Pioneer His
tory of the Champlain Valley, Watson's History of Essex
County, Palmer's History of Lake Champlain, Bessboro, A
History of Westport, by Mrs. Caroline Halstead Royce, a copy
of The Reveille, published at "Elizabethtown, Essex County,

XI.

N. Y. Wednesday, October, 12, 1814," the files of the Essex
County Times published at Elizabethtown in 1833 and 1834,
and the files of the Elizabethtown Post and Gazette, Spafford's
Gazetteer of the State of New York, printed and published by
H. 0. South wick, Albany, N. Y., 1813, a Gazetteer of the State
of New York by J. H. French, LL. D., issued in 1860, Military
Papers of Daniel D. Tompkins, the Bound Volumes of the
Council of Appointment, the book of original field notes of
Captain Platt Rogers (1789) and the original field notes and
Map of the Great Northern Turnpike, the Journal kept by Milo
Calkin and a chance to peruse private papers too namerous to
mention. Town and county records have been searched faith
fully and much valuable material gleaned therefrom. Forthe
patience and forbearance exercised by friends and acquaint
ances I am grateful. I feel that biography is truly the "home
aspect of history" and that such illustrations as are herein
contained are helpful to a more adequate realization of the
times and events recorded. I am conscious of inability to
perform a perfect work, and would therefore humbly subscribe
myself.
GEORGE LEVI BROWN.
Elizabethtown, New York, 1905.

Xll.

(From the E'town Post of Oct. J7, J85J.)
A LAY OF OUR ANCIENT VALLEY.
After Macaalay.
My tale is of a battle,
Gods srlve it worthy rhyme !
That fell out in this valley
All in the olden time:
Then the stags coursed gaily
Along our valley's sides;
The plow had made no furrow then,
In their track no hunter hides.
Tall waved the pine trees
On the dark mountain side.
On Boquet's glittering sheen below
The dead leaves smoothly ride;
For 'twas past the prime of summer,
The woods were red and gold.
The leaves twirl'd round with rustling sound
As fast the year grew old.
Hither came bold Rogers,
As who, none was so bold,
With a small band of heroes
All brave men of old;
Chased by the yelling Indians,
From Keene, in haste he comes.
He hurries towards the Lake Champlain,
For its shores bear smiling homes.
Scarce had they reached the river.
Which before them glassy glides
(Noon's sun has stilled the leafy wilds
The swift deer sought the shades)
When from midst the whispering leaves
A storm of flint heads flew.

x%%%.
The forest rung with red men's yells.
Dread sounds for the sturdy few.
Then out spake bold John Rogers
"There are fearful odds, my men
(When forest trees bear fruits like these)
Against a band of ten,
But by our children's mothers,
Who wait us at our homes
If we must pluck this stony fruit
We'll give back good as comes."
All grasp firm their rifles
(Good aid for bloody work)
And behind the knotty trunks around,
In deathly silence lurk.
For a moment from the river
Comes a gentle gurgling sound,
As the eddies in the current
Wheel slowly round and round.
But soon, from out the thicket.
With sly and stealthy tread,
Came bands of tall dark warriors ;
Fierce chiefs were at their head —
Sharp, quickly crack ten rifles,
From behind the trees around;
E'en red men pale, as the leaden hail
Makes ten chiefs bite the ground.
Then forth like wild cats on them spring
Brave Rogers and his men.
Through teeth and skulls of Indians
Each drives his clubbed gun:
"See," cried Rogers, bold, "the welcome
Hellhounds ! that waits you here,
Well, from to-day, your tribe may say
They've tasted white men's cheer."
Fast through the forest, fled they
With a wild and quavering whoopi
Sad remnant of brave warriors,
The Adirondacs' hope.
With stouter heart brave Rogers
Hastens towards the lake,

XIV.
His comrades shout one lusty cheer;
The valley's echoes wake.
Bright shone the autumn's sun,
On our wild valley wide —
On Boquet's glittering sheen below,
The dead leaves smoothly ride;
Soft run its gentle waters;
While the sedges lowly sigh;
And on its banks, with upturned face,
Those dead men stilly lie.
(The lines quoted were written by the late Samuel Hand of Eliz
abethtown when he was 18 years of age.)

There is not in this wide world a valley so sweet
As that vale in whose bosom our loved Boquets meet.

(apologies to THOMAS MOORE.)

"Nature, despairing e'er to make the like,
Brake suddenly the mould in which 'twas fashioned."

WILLIAM GILLILAND,
Essex County Pioneer.

TRADITION REGARDING
Robert Rogers' Visit to Pleasant Yalley.

Tradition asserts that Robert Rogers, the bold ranger,
so famous for his exploits along Lake Champlain and at
Lake George, including the act which is popularly supposed
to have brought into historical existence "Rogers' Rock," once
led his chosen band as far into the interior of the Adirondacks
as the "Plains of Abraham," near where the Ray Brook House
stands in the western part of the town of North Elba, and there
attacked and destroyed an Indian village. Returning, he passed
through the Valley now occupied by Elizabethtown village,
where he was overtaken by the pursuing Indians and a battle
ensued, in which many of the red men were slain. The chief
corroboration of this tradition is that large numbers of Indian
arrow-heads and utensils have been found on the east bank of
the Boquet River, just below or north of the old"Camp Ground"
where the battle is supposed to have taken place, and also
the fact that many trees were found pierced with bullets by
those who cleared that particular locality. However, if Rob
ert Rogers did visit the region afterwards so appropriately
known as Pleasant Valley, he must have come here previous
to the American Revolution, probably during the French and
Indian War, as he did not take kindly to the cause of the Col
onists ; in fact while his former companions in arms, such as

2 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
Charles Lee, Israel Putnam, John Stark and Philip Schuyler,
were doing their best to win independence for America, he,
having turned his back on the country in the bosom of which
he had won his great triumphs (the Champlain Valley, be it
remembered, was the scene of his boldest exploits, many of
which had been witnessed by the distinguished soldiers men
tioned above) was in England putting the finishing touches
upon what is to-day known as "Rogers' Journal." Whether
Robert Rogers or any other ranger of those early days did or
did not visit this section, it is certain that tiie territory lying a
few miles back from Lake Champlain — the highway of water
which Samuel Champlain, the distinguished French navigator
and explorer, first sighted on the evening of July 3, 1609, three
months before Hudson sailed up the stream which to-day
bears his name — escaped to a large extent the ravages of the
Indians in their wars and the no less destructive campaigns of
the French and English contest and the Revolutionary strug
gle.

William Gilliland's Settlement Near the Mouth of the Boquet River.
When the peace of 1762 had been ratified by the cession of
Canada to Great Britain, Lake Champlain quieted down tsm-
porarily, so to speak. A royal proclamation of Oct. 7th, 1763,
authorized the Colonial Governors to issue grants of land
upon the borders of Lake Champlain to the reduced officers
and soldiers who had served in the Canadian campaign. The
next year after the royal proclamation, 1764, William Gilliland,
who was born near Armagh, Ireland, and was then a New York
merchant, decided to make extensive purchases on the western
shore of Lake Champlain. February 8, 1759, Gilliland had
married Elizabeth Phagan, the beautiful and accomplished
daughter of his wealthy New York business partner, receiving

HISTORY OF ELIZABP^TBTOWN 3
as her dowry fifteen hundred pounds, which was considered a
lar^e sum in the Colony at that time. The brilliant mercan
tile success wdnch had rewarded the intelligence and enterprise
of Gillihmd did not satisfy his ambition. The recollection of
the magnificent baronial estates of his native land and the ob
servation of the vast manors of the southern section of New
York, enkindled in his mind the purpose of securing to him
self the possession of wide domains in the wilds of America.
He decided to place his first location between the Boquet
Eiver^and Split Kock, then, to use his own language, "a howl
ing wilderness, more than one hundred miles removed from
any Christian settlement, except tlie military posts of Ticou-
deroga and Crown Point."
Wm. Gilliland's earliest purchase was from a .Dr. Joseph
I Regarding the origin of the name of this river, The Elizabethtown Post & Gazette of
December 13, 1900, contained the following:
ORIGIN OFTHENAME.
Dr. Franklin B, Hough in the Gazetteer of the State of New York, page 296,edition of i860,
states that the name is "Probably from the French baquet, a. trough," and that "the name
appears on French maps previous to his (Bouquet's) residence in the country," Watson in
his "Pioneer History of the Champlain Valley," page 96, makes a similar statement.
The contention of these two eminent authorities would appear to be well founded, as there
is in the State Library at Albany, in New York Colonial Mss., Vol. XCVIll at page 24, a
French map of Lake Champlain from Fort Chambly to Fort Fiederick, surveyed by Mr.
Anger, King's surveyor in 1732 and made at Quebec in 1748, on which map it is denoted asR,
Boquette. Also in documents relating to the Colonial History of the State of New York
IX opposite pagei022 a copy of a French map of Lake Champlain and environs procured by
JohnRomeyn Brodhead from theArchives of the Marine in Paris in 1S42 of date 1731 in which
it is denominated R. Bauquette.
As it does not appear that Col, Henry Bouquet of the Royal Americans was ever in this
country prior to 1755 or 6 and as it is conjectural as to w^hether he ever visited the Champlain
Valley, this would appear to effectually dispose of the theory advanced by some writers that
the river was named for him.
The French term "baquet," a trough, is peculiarly descriptive of that part of the river be
tween Willsborough Falls and Lake Champlain, that portion of the stream virhich the early
French explorers would have seen in passing along the lake and from which appearance
they w^ould naturally name it.
Inasmuch as the river in question is the largest stream wholly within Essex County and as
there has been much speculation concerning the origin of the name, we believe that our
readers as a whole w^ill be glad to know that the weight of evidence seems to be in favor of
the derivation from the French "baquet," as stated by Hough and Watson.

4 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
Field ot 2,000 acres, for which he paid £100. Subsequently
he made eleven other purchases. The late Oscar F. Sheldon
of Willsboro said : "These purchases were made in 1764 and
granted and surveyed the following year." Gilliland's Jour
nal says :
"1765, May 10th. This day I embarked at New York for
Albany, having the following persons in company to settle
that tract of land, viz :
The Kev. George Henry, minister.
1 John Chislm, millwright, to work 4 shillings per day and
found. 2 Eobert Maclane, millwright, to work 5 pounds per mo.
and found.
3 George Melson, carpenter, to work 3 pounds 12 per mo.
and found.
4 John Mattoon, clerk, at 25 pounds per ann. and found.
5 James Storkner, weaver, at 40 shillings per mo. if wanted.
6 Robert McAuley, weaver, at 40 shillings per mo. if wanted.
7 John McAuley, weaver, at 40 shilllings per mo. if wanted.
8 George Belton, weaver, at 40 shillings per mo. if wanted.
9 Mrs. Belton, wife of foregoing of same name.
10 Mrs. Chislm, wife to the foregoing of same name.
11 Catherine Shepherd, hired to keep house.
12 Mary Craig, indentured for four years.
May 13th arrived at Albany, all well."
Wages were to commence "payable to the whole after the
arrival at Willsborough."
They came through Lake George and arrived at Ticonde-
roga landing June 1st, where they secured some lumber from
mills erected during French occupation.
June Sth, arrived at mouth of Boquet River, having occu
pied in their journey 80 days of arduous and incessant labor.
After a brief rest they proceeded up the river to the falls and

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 5
there formed their encampment upon an Lsland, which from
the circumstances, still bears the name of Camp Island.
With promptness and energy operations were at once com
menced. By June 15th a road had been opened to the falls,
ground had been cleared, timber prepared and a house 44 feet
hj 22 partly erected. This edifice was the first dwelling
known to have been built by civilized man on the western shore
of Lake Champlain between Crown Point and Canada. Gilli
land's cattle had been driven to Crown Point and there made
to swim the narrow passage. Proceeding to a point opposite
Split Kock, they were ferried over and thence driven through
the woods to Gilliland's settlement. A part of them were con
fined and fed upon the leaves of trees but most of them were
turned loose to the unlimited range of the forest.
Timber was prepared for a saw-mill, which was erected in
the autumn at the lower part of the falls, the first of the many
that have been operated along the beautiful Boquet Eiver.
This pioneer mill was supplied with power by a wing dam,
which was projected into the current, turning the water into a
flume that conducted it to the desired point.
Game was abundant ; the most delicious salmon thronged
the river. The beaver meadows yielded them sufficent hay for
the approaching winter. Meanwhile, as these efforts were
in progress, Mr. Gilliland had visited Quebec and returned,
bringing all the other necessaries to secure the comfort of his
people through the winter months.
On his trip to Quebec he had examined the western shore
of Lake Champlain between the Boquet River and the Cana
dian line with a vigilant eye. He ascended navigable streams,
sounded their depths and explored their banks. Twelve grants
had now been located by Mr. Gilliland. Eight of these were
situated in the present towns of Willsboro and Essex ; two in
what is now the town of Westport and two at Salmon River,

6 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
now in Clinton County. A tier of lots, intended for farms, was
surveyed and numbered in this year (1765), ranging along the
shore of the lake from the Boquet to Judd's patent. Many of
these lots were immediately selected by settlers but were not,
on account of the advanced season, occupied till the succeed
ing spring. The settlement at Willsboro Falls was named
Milltown." In November Mr. Gilliland left it, with his other
interests along Lake Champlain, in charge of a kinsman,whom
he dignified with the title of Steward. He passed the winter
in New York engaged in preparations for the removal of his
family to his new estate on the western shore of Lake Cham
plain. The first winter of these pioneers in the wilds of northern
New York was passed without suffering or remarkable inci
dent. The cattle were recovered in fhe autumn with great
difficulty, being very wild. The time of the men was occupied
attending the cattle, cutting and hauling saw logs to the mill
and in the preparation of timber for the construction of their
buildings. In January, 1766, their hay was drawn upon the
ice from a beaver meadow, near what is now known as Whal-
lon's Bay, to Milltown.
April 14th, 1766, a house was erected for Robert McAuley.
Others rapidly followed, "until the whole space between the
Boquet and Split Rock was studded with the neat cabins of
the settlers."
In June, 1766, Mr. Gilliland returned to Willsboro with his
family, bearing supplies for another year. His journey had
been difficult an.d disastrous. In passing the rapids of the Hud
son River, near Stillwater, one of the bateaux capsized, pre
cipitating part of his family into the water. One of his
daughters was lost. They resumed their journey in fearful
forebodings. Worn with grief and toil they finally arrived at
their wilderness home on the banks of the Boquet.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 7
The return of the proprietor infused a fresh spirit and im
parted a vigorous impulse to the little commonwealth. A
smithery had been erected. Various seeds had been sown to
supply vegetables. The government, political as well as moral,
of the community was in the exclusive guidance and control of
the proprietor. Its administration was eminently patriarchal.
The appointment of Justice of the Peace, which had been con
ferred on Mr. Gilliland, in his primitive jurisdiction, endowed
him with a plentitude of powers, embracing all functions of
counsellor. Judge, etc. The ample limits of Albany County at
that period embraced the whole region of Northern New York.
In the winter of 1767 the first horse introduced into the set
tlement was brought over the ice from Canada for Mr. Gilliland.
Schools were established and the colony gradually enlarged.
In 1770 Edward Raymond, one of Gilliland's colonists, set
tled on the patent of Bessboro, at the mouth of the stream now
called Raymond Brook, within the limits of the present town
of Westport, building a saw-mill and a grist-mill upon the fall,
which, according to the affidavit of one Udny Hay, was "on
the west side of Lake Champlain, about eight miles north of
Crown Point and about three miles south of Great West Bay."
Raymond lived in that charming spot about six years and is
said to have been driven from his secluded home by In
dians shortly after the breaking out of the American Revolu
tion. Albany County was divided in 1772, the northern section,
embracing both sides of Lake Champlain, being organized into
a new county, which received the name of Charlotte, after a
daughter of Mr. Gilliland.
In 1775, it is said, Mr. Gilliland was figuring with Major
Skeene of Skeensboro (now Whitehall) to erect a large prov
ince, to extend from the St. Lawrence to the Connecticut,
resting at the north on the Canadian line and with an unde-

8 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
fined line at the south. Major Skeene was to receive the ap
pointment of Governor and Crown Point was to be constituted
the capital. However, a blow struck within the Hmits of
Essex County (at Ticonderoga, May 10, 1775) vibrated through
out the colonies, was felt within the palace walls of St. James
and forever dissipated the erstwhile scheme of Skeene and Gil
liland. Ethan Allen's capture of Fort Ticonderoga was followed by
the surrender of Crown Point.
A proclamation was issued by tlie Governor of Canada in
June following the surrender of the Champlain fortresses,
offering a reward of $500 for the arrest and rendition of Gilli
land to the government. The allurements of this reward
overcame the patriotism and fidelity of some of his tenants, who
engaged in unsuccessful attempts to seize and convey him to
Canada. Abortive attempts were made to seduce his house
hold servants into schemes for his betrayal. Moreover a sheriff
of Tryon County penetrated into the settlement "with four
tories and three savages" but without avail. Gilliland not only
escaped capture himself but succeeded in capturing "the whole
party with all their arms and sent them prisoners to Crown
Point." This was, however, the beginning of the end so far as the
sturdy pioneer's peace of mind and happiness were concerned.
He withdrew with his family to the vicinity of Crown Point.
Many families embraced Carleton's offers of amnesty, joined
the British forces and in some cases adopted the interests of
England. Strange and unexpected trials gathered about the
path of Gilliland, accumulating additional cares and anxieties.
His patriotism had been the most zealous ; he had organized
a company and rendered efficient services. Nevertheless jeal
ousies arose. Formal charges were preferred against him in
July. Again when Benedict Arnold was cruising on Lake

DR. ASA POST,
Pleasant Valley's Pioneer Physician.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 10
Champlain the soldiers and sailors attached to the fleet were
permitted to land at the plantations of Gilliland, commit
destructive ravages upon his crops and the crops and property
of his tenants. September 1st he addressed a letter to Arnold
which was clothed with the most courteous and respectful
language, submitting a statement as to property destroyed,
etc. Arnold did not reply. Gilliland, impetuous and resolute
and revolting at injustice, appealed to General Gates. The
letter was then communicated to General Washington, accom
panied with charges by Arnold against Gilliland of disloyalty
and fraud upon the government. Gilliland presented a memo
rial to Congress, alleging "Arnold sent a party of soldiers to
tear your memorialist from his property." Arnold was at the
zenith of his fame and influence when Gilliland wrote in that
same memorial : "If temerity, if rashness, imprudence, and
error can recommend him to you, he is allowed to be amply
supplied with these qualities and many people think they
ought to recommend him in a peculiar manner to Lord North,
who, in gratitude for his having done more injury to the Amer-
can cause than all the ministerial troops have the power of
doing, ought to reward him with a generous pension." With
what a fearless and unfaltering hand Gilliland delineated the
character of Arnold and what a spirit of prophecy was wrapped
in the eloquence and vehemence of his language.
Sir John Burgoyne's Operations Near the Mouth of the Boquet River and
His Surrender at Saratoga.
June 21, 1777, Sir John Burgoyne and his proud English
army landed at the mouth of the Boquet River and for a week
a portion of what is now Willsboro was overspread with the
tents of his soldiery. Here Burgoyne held a great council of
war with the Indian allies of Great Britain and here he issued
the proclamation which was called "the Boquet order," ad-

11 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
dressed to the rebellious colonists, offering "peace and pardon
to all who woulii return to their allegiance to the King and
threatening all others with every terror of Indian warfare."
Sir John Burgoyne's performance upon the banks of the
Boquet, when it became known in England, was denounced in
the thunders of Chatham's eloquence and the religious and
moral sentiment of the Christian world revolted at the act. It
was indeed a fatal blunder, as no measure in the policy of
England tended so effectually to harmonize the popular pas
sions of America and it directly precipitated the armed and
infuriated yeomanry of New England upon the entrenchments
at Saratoga, where Burgoyne surrendered October 17, 1777,
(5,790 men) to General Gates, at which time General Clinton
and his army were at Esopus, within 50 miles of Burgoyne's
camp. The news of this surrender was followed, in February,
1778, by France acknowledging the Independent United States
of America. Settlement at Barber's Point.
The Peace of 1783 was followed by further settlement and
development of the Champlain Valley and contiguous territory.
Many men left their New England homes and plunged into the
wilderness as their fathers had done before them. In the
spring or summer of 1785 Major Hezekiah Barber, from Har
rington, Litchfield County, Conn., came across Lake Champlain
from the Vermont shore and began to clear land at what is
now known as Barber's Point^ in the town of Westport until
winter came on, when he went back to Connecticut. The next
year he returned with his wife's brother, Levi Frisbie, and they
worked together, cutting wood all winter, living in a bark
I Inasmuch as the territory now comprising the town of W^estport was not
set off from Elizabethtown until the spring of 1815, events connected with Barber's Point
and North West Bay will be treated in this volume up to the time of the division.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 12
shanty, &c. In the spring of 1787 the young wife of Major
Hezekiah Barber, whose maiden name had been Huldah Frisbie,
came all that long journey from Connecticut on horseback,car-
rying her first baby in her arms, settling in a rude log house
which had been prepared for her coming. The household
goods were drawn to Barber's Point by oxen. This family
ground their own corn in an "Indian mortar" found near by.
William Gilliland's Pecuniary Embarrassment.
At the time Major Hezekiah Barber settled upon the west
ern shore of Lake Champlain William Gilliland was deeply
embarrassed in his pecuniary affairs. The acquisition of an
estate of 30,000 acres upon the borders of Lake Champlain,
with the disbursements incident to its improvement, had used
up his means. Abandoning his long cherished purpose of
erecting his property into a manorial estate, he decided to sell
his lands in fee. The first purchasers of land from Gilliland
in what is now the town of Willsboro were Joseph Sheldon
and Abraham Aiken from Dutchess County, N. Y., who went
into occupation of their lots just before Major Hezekiah Bar
ber brought into being Barber's Point. Fourteen other fami
lies soon came into Willsboro after Sheldon and Aiken.
Meanwhile other embarrassments gathered around to darken
and hasten the decay of the fortunes of Mr. Gilliland. There
was more or less confusion as to land titles. Litigation ensued.
Antagonistic titles were sustained. Costs and heavy expenses
followed, which absorbed the remnant of his property and led
to his imprisonment upon the jail limits of New York, under
the very shadow of the scenes of his former business triumphs.
What a galling experience it must have been for the proud,
impetuous pioneer settler of the Champlain Valley — the irony
of fate indeed.

13 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
Tappan's Line.
At the time when William Gilliland's troubles were bearing
him down so heavily a man named Charles Tappan struck in
at Pike Creek, which flows through the present village of
Westport, and ran a line westerly into the Adirondacks. He
began "at a Red cedar stake and stones in the N. West Bay
standing on the N. side of the Pike Creek, 66 links on a course
of N. 8 degrees, 15 minutes E. of a white ash tree marked on
the south side Z. P. 1786. S. 89 degrees, 15 minutes west 111
chains Piatt's line to a stake and stones 8 links South of a
small iron wood tree marked Z. P. north of 1786. Beech tree
marked C. T. run thence, 17S7, South 89 degrees, 15 minutes
W. At 800 ch. timber is birch & maple & on the mountain to
a beech tree marked mile 10 on the E. side & on the north side
C. T. 1787.
Several other small trees blazed around it. This, course
ends here and runs north.
S. W. cor. of Tp. 12, O. M. T. is spruce tree marked 7, then
N. 89 degrees E. 880 chs. to a fir stake."
At 594 chs. from Westport by this westerly line is the
Boquet River. Tappan's Line,i so-called by old surveyors,
passed by Little Pond and down the long sloping hillside to
the Boquet River at a point near the mouth of the Little Pond
Brook and so on past where the Post school house now
stands and thence up over the mountains just north of Giant
of the Valley where a vista, in fact two of them, may be
seen to-day.
ITappan's Line, so-called, was "re-run" by ^Vm. H. Case, then of Port Henrv, when the
writer was a bof. Mnny readers of this note will recall that a large white "sie^nal" stood a
few rods east of the Post school house a quarter of a century ago, the "sia;nar* having bee'i
erected by Verplanck Colvin, Superintendent of the Adirondack Survey. The surveyor's
vistas in the timber north of Giant of the Valley, which are still visible from the old
State Road at a point near the Post school house in the Boquet Valley, were cut there by
Mr. Colvin's direction, D. Dunning of New Russia having helped do the work. The notes
quoted above regarding the starting and the course of Tappan's Line were taken from
•'Field Notes of Tappan's Line" as copied by James W. Steele.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 14
Formation of Clinton County.
Clinton County was formed from Washington, (known as
Charlotte County from March 12, 1772, to April 2, 1784, at
which latter time the name was changed) March 7, 1788,
being named in honor of George Clinton, then Governor of the
State of New York. When organized Clinton County em
braced all the land on both sides of Lake Champlain, as then
claimed by the State of New York. The claim east of Lake
Champlain was abandoned upon the recognition of Vermont
as an independent State,^ in 1791.
Captain Platt Rogers Surveying Experiences as Recorded in His Original
Book of Field Notes.
Following are extracts from the original book of field notes
taken by Captain Platt Rogers' surveying party during
the summer of 1789. These are the first extracts from Platt
Rogers' original book of field notes ever given in any historical
work and the writer thanks James W. Steele for the loan of
the unique little volume, the pages of which are really yellow
with age. The first page is dated Plattsburgh, June 18, 1789.
"June 19, began at a stake marked on the E.&S. sides stand
ing by a butnut stump in the south line of Charles Piatt's land."
Busy surveying till July 4, 1789. Writing July 4, 1789, said
"Rained the night past and the forenoon. Afternoon sat out
and began" surveying again — Rainy, "put up and built a hut."
"5 rained till 10 o'clock and then sat out and continued our
course." July 6 after doing some surveying speaks as follows : "Took
our things and returned to the Lake at Esq. McCauley's, where
we tarried till the 13, then set out for Lake George, log'd at
betsburgh. IGazetteer of the State of New York by ). H. French, page 232.

15 HISTORY OF E.LIZABETHTOWN
14, Proceeded to Tyconderogue.
15, Had our Battoo hall'd acrosst and went up Lake George
about 8 miles.
16, Sat out in order to mark a road to the Screwn (Schroon)
Lake, to which Lake we arrived the 20 morning. The Ma
jority of the land (on the way) is mountainous, hilly, rocky and
rough, altho some good valleys and small intervale.
A large quantity of very fine Maple, also all kinds of timber
that's common in this Country.
The day we arrived at said Lake we Divided in two Partys
to explore and see where a road may be made on the E. side
of sd Lake. The north party reports rough & mountainous
and difficult making a road ; to the south we saw Considerable
middling good land, though some mountains & some poor
rocky land.
21. Sat out in order to search the west side, went round
the north end — then west 3 or 4 miles — on a high mountain
we espied a large quantity of water west, to which we went,
which appears to be much larger than the other and this we
suppose truly to be tlie Screwn Lake, then north till night and
encamped. 22. Parted in order to search the land North & South. I
and one more went North, mostly rough laud — but some mid
dling good — to the North end of the Lake in which comes a
large riv^^r, which has inlets of two small river a little up;
about the mouth of said river is much sunken, mashy Land.
We proceeded up s'd river N. northwest on which we found a
quantity of level interval], from thence Northwest to a s'all
lake extending Northeast 3 or 4 miles in Sight.
Thence Southeast, South & Southwest crosst several small
rivers. Some good land, some stony and mountains on the
way back to the place from whence we sat out where we ar
rived safe.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 16
25. Sat out to search & begin to mark road where it can
best be made — Went East till we supposed the best Place,
began at mill crick marked Northerly 3 or 4 miles, found tol-
lerable going — returned to our shanty.
26. Began to survey a tract of Laud Lying on the east Side
of Scroon Lake neer the middle at the mouth of a small river
which is called mill Crick — began at an elm tree standing on
the South Bank of sd Crick about 20 links W. of Smal brook
which Empties into the crick and 9 chs below the falls in sd
crick. Which tree Is mt No. 1 on S. E. Thence runing Serly
along the Lake as follows first course
chs links
Is S 56 W 12—50
S 53 W 5—74
S 79 W 5—45
S 73-30 W 8—55
S60 W 2—75
S 34-30 W 4—08
S 40 W 5—75
S34 W 8-00
Then follows more description, ending "Intervail and river,
runs S W to the river, runing N W down neer the river to the
place of begining, Containing 200 Acres.
The 27th the party began the survey of Lot No. 2, containing
200 Acres.
The 28th "Sat out to go down the Lake to explore and search
for Land (Where I understood was good Land) And spent
most of the day, run some immaginary lines but found none
worthy of notis — in a situation to Inclose— returned back and
run one of the lines of lot no. 2 which was not before run.
29. Went to the east of No. 1 <fe 2 to make Inspection.
July 30th. We are now at the Scroon Lake, our Captain
being gone to Lake George Landing on business and after pro-

17 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
visions ; he returned to us this morning and has brought pro
vision to N. W. bay— and we are now all to return after sd
provision. We Sat out after breakfast in order to obtain the
place before we took any refreshment of vituals, But by
reason of the Lands being Mountaineous, rough and swampy
we got some out of our way but traveled till 9 o'clock at night
where we found a hut in which we lodged Which proved a
rainy night — next morning we proceeded ou about a mile to the
provision (the whole distance is 20 miles or more) where we
bnilt a hut, dried ourselves and took breakfast and was then
Confined by rain till August 5 in which time of detainment we
Caught 2 rattle Snakes, middling large, which is the only ones
we saw this season.
August 5. Capt Rogers returns to the Landing by water,
beiog much unwell while here. We the rest now Set out for
Scroon Lake where we arived at Evening much wearied and
some left their packs behind— the majority of the Land on this
loat (which is a little S of where we went out) is midling with
different kinds of timber, some white oak and chesnut.
6th. Went back and fetched on their packs.
Then went out and began at a beach at the S W corner of
Lot No. 3, thence runing S along the East line of Lot No. 1 to
the S E Corner of sd Lot Continuing S — from the place of
beginning. chs links Land much alike, midling good and high — beach
and maple timber to a beach stake mt No 4 N E.
Midling good Land. Decends E -beach and maple
timber, black ash and some sedar —
Swampy land, midling land — stony, beech & hem
lock timber to the corner mt a hemlock tree No. 4
on N W side under the W side of a mountain.

s

44-

-73

E

25 11

8-

-73

DR. ALEXANDER ,\h_)R.SE,
First Physician to Locate in Elizabethtcwn Village,

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 20
ThenN40chs. Generally rocky and rough — hemlock and some
beach being on the W" side of a high Mountain neer
the bottom.
4.73 Good Land, maple & beach to the S line of No. 3
mt a hemlock tree No. 4 on S W side.
Then W along the S line of No 3 to the place of
beginning. Containing 200 Acres.
August 7 — Proceeded up to the N end of the Lake, went up
the main river about 2 miles and Encampt. Left Some to build
a hut while we went out to explore and Search up the Small
rivers N E (which is mashy) for the road to Cross( which is tol-
lerable) and also to see where to begin a line to survey a tract
of Land hereway S) Went out and Sought again and began at
a Spruce tree mt 1789 and ran W which tree stands 20 chs east
of the small mashy river where it empties into the great river.
Crosst the great river & mouth of the little mashy river. * *
10. being very wet and no wind to dry, thought best for
the hands to go up the river (as we are about to move our things
to be convenient) by a small river but finding the Distance so
much farther by water than expected and with some difficulty
they returned not till near night. We lodged at the same
place. 11. A thunder Shower in the morning. Cleared off toward
noon, then went and began on the line we left and run W
31 chs (Land midl, timber) to a brook, some part Alder,
white maple, some black ash & seder, Seder Swamp, to the
corner Mt a beach saplin 1789.
12. Thence N to a small brook, upon E side Mountain and
down to a small brook, mostly rough, mt a burch tree 1789,
thence N, the land bad and began to rain, we returned to our
camp. 13. Went to the S E & began at the place of begining and
run N 11 chs to a small brook to the E branch, run S W.

21 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
Some swampy land. Generally good Entervail to the corner
Mt a hemlock 1789, crosst the pond or upper Lake river, 1 ch
cross & 5 S of the corner tree, river runs S W.
Entervail to the great river runing S 2 ch wide to sd river
runing N E just crosst on the N Side and to the same side
again which above comes from N W crosst sd bend to a small
brook to the corner mt a beach tree 1789 & No 12 to a small
river runs S E & lodged. >
14. Continued S to a corner mt a burch tree 1789 & E on
S W— g S E & 12 N E.
Thence west, stony uphill to the west line to a stake and
stones mt 1789 N. E. returned back to the burch tree & run E.
to the river runing S 70 W.
entervail to sd river runing N. 30 w which we crost <ferua E.
entervail to sd river gain runing S 15 E to the river runing
N to W crost a point 2 chs, then crost the river runing S W.
began to rain, went to the camp. Continued E to the E line
Generally good, some swamps and pond holes. Mt a beach
tree 1789 & N 10 S W & 11 N W.
Thence to the S E corner of Lot No 10 and run w. Good,
some mashy places, to the river, crost a bend where we struc
it. run S where we left it.
N 54 E to the river runing 8 80 W. Then swampy, 6 or 8.
Then rising to the W line, good Land, beach, maple and hem
lock Mt a beech tree 7 on S. E. & 8 N. E.
Then to the N. E. corne of Lot No. 8 & run S— first lot
good — upland beach, hemlock & maple mt a beech tree. Lots
No 6 on S E. 7 S W, 8 N W & 9 N E. Continued S midling
good neer to the S line, then Sedar and ash swamp to the line
Mt a stake 6 & 7 — at dark, then returned to the camp.
16 Next morning went up the river in order to run
the other division line but before we got to the place it began
to rain and proved a severe rainy day.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 22
17 Being very wet we took the Canoo and went down to
the Lake to try for some fish, where we caught above 2 hundred,
mostly s'allish parch but the Largest measured in length 2
foot, 2 inches & ^ and 1 foot 2 inches ^ round. We returned
and went to the N W corner of Lot No 11 and run S middling
Land, crost a small river toward the S side of the first lot, first
S E. Soon crost it again, runing S W. not far from the river
runing N 10 W in which we crost the Line, the corner being
irt the river 30 lin E of the W bank where we mt a balsam.
******** September 14, 1789, one finds by a careful perusal of the
original book of field notes, is the date that the Captain Platt
Rogers party "Sat out to explore and see what quantity of land
may be laid out between this (Lot 35) and boquete falls. Also
search for the best route for the road and fetch on provisions
from sd falls sufficient to serve the surveying and road par
ties — returned the 15 at night, one hand with me and the rest
goes back to help the road party.
We found not mutch land to survey and by reason Mount
ains, rocks and swamps the road will be attended with diffi
culty." It is probable that no work was done September 15, 1789, as
no notes appear in the original book of field notes for that day.
However, "September 16 began at the N. W. corner of lot
No. 35 mt sd beach 36 on N E and run North N 44-73— Con
tinued on the Mountain and rocks to the end 1, 2 & 3 chs from
the foot where is good land. At the end mt a hemlock tree 36
on S E stands 1 up the mountain, then E.
E. 44 — 73 11 good low land, maple, heml., beach, then up
the W. side of a hill, some rocky ridges & some
good Land, maple, beach and hemlock to the end
mt a burch tree No. 36 on S. W.
S 44—73 At 8 a brook 20 wide S E. Then South 25 over

23 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
and down the hill h s b m high and some rocks.
19 — 73 middling good — maple, beach & heml to the
N. E. corner of No. 35 to the sd maple saplin which
is now mt 36 on N W.
At 42 crost a bend in Scroon river 35 wide where
it comes from N E and runs to S E.
The 17 took all our bagage (except provision for the road
party) and Sat out to move to boquete falls and to search and
make a sightly mark in the best place we can find for the roafi,
which we Acomplished the 18 in the afternoon — and went
down the river to search for Land to survey which we soon
found. i9th Began at a white ash tree standing ou a small island
at the river boquete 30 chs below the upper point, of the inter
vail and a hill comes down to the river with rocks at the bank,
where there is a maple tree mt P R 1789 & 30 chs and a burch
tree mt W K 1789 & 30 chs.
From the ash tree run North
N 44 — 73 to a maple saplin mt No 1 on S E S. intervail
Then mostly hills and hollers. Some clifts of
rocks — the N W corner tree is 3 links N. of a high
clift, rock at 2, cross part of the river, 25 wide,
runs N W. 4 cross the river boquete 40 wide,
runs N E.
E 44 — 73 35 Generally hilly and some rocks on the south
side of a mountain, then levil, good intervail, beach
& maple mt a maple saplin No 1 on S. W.
S 44 — 73 15— levil, good interval], maple, beach, &c, then on
the W side of a rocky hill. Maple, hemlock, beach,
spruce, to the corner mt a hemlock tree at No 1
on N W. Then West 6—50. the river runs N E.
W 44 — 73 to the sd ash tree mt No 1 on N E place of begin —
35 on the N side of a mountain, some rocks.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 24
Then intervail to the corner at 43 — a part of the
river running N.
20 — Sat out for another Lot. Went and began but met
Capt Rogers with several hands and wanting some
change of hands returned back to the falls. After
regulation we took our things and moved down
the river about 2^ miles and built a hut.^
21 of September.
Then proceeded back and began on the E line, the
N E corner of lot No 1 at a maple tree mt No 2
E 41 — 00 on N E. Then East to a spruce saplin mt No 2 on
N W ll— levil, good land, maple & beach, then
hilly and rocky to the spruce on the W side of a
a rocky mountain.
Then north to a maple tree mt No 2 on S. W.
N. 41 — 00 25 hilly and rocky, hemlock, maple, beach, then
levil and good to the sd maple and beach tree.
Then W.
W. 51 to a hemlock saplin mt 2 on S. E. 12 levil upland —
beach and maple 12 intervail good — maple, but
nut, ashpin, then upland, hilly and some rocky to
the sd saplin.
At 21 crossed the river 50 wide, runs N. E.
Then south
S 32 — 30 hilly and some rocky, map. heml. pop, then 'inter
vail good to the N. line of No 1 mt a beach stake
No 2 on N E. at 28 a brook 10 wide, runs E.
From the field notes quoted it is understood that the Cap
tain Platt Rogers surveying party had on the 21st of Septem-
!)er, 1789, reached a point in the Boquet Valley just above
where the famous Hunter's Home now stands. It is regret-
able that the book of field notes ends at this point, as the ob-
irhis was probably the first building ever erected by civilized man in the Boquet Valley.

25 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
servations of the party taken as progress was made down the
Boquet Valley would be highly interesting to the present gen
eration. This year, (1789) it will be recalled, the Federal
Constitution went into effect and thus the Rogers State Road
and our U. S. Government are tlie same age. For his work for
the State of New York Captain Rogers and his associates re
ceived a patent of 3700 acres of land along the route of the
newly cut road. Fortunately for the readers of Pleasant Val
ley a record of the early Boquet Valley settlers was furnished
by the late Dr. Asa Post which is given on the following pages.
Notes of the Settlement of the Boqwet Valley in Elizabethtown,
N. Y., Written by Asa Post in i854.
Me. Henky R. Noble :
Some time since, you asked me if I could give a brief history
of the first settlement of the Boquet Valley ; if I could, you
wished I would do it. I told you I thought I could ; but did
not think at that time, that I should ever undertake it. But
lately 1 have thought that a brief narrative of the first settle
ment of this valley, would be interesting to many of the pres
ent inhabitants, and especially to the rising generation.
I have concluded to make a simple statement of facts, so far
as I am able ; perhaps I may err as to dates, for I have no
written data ; bnt rely wholly on memory ; I was then living
at Panton, but was acquainted with all the first settlers ; they
depended on me as a physician for seven or eight years ; until
Dr. A. Morse came to the valley.
To commence my narrative; I must premise, as an intro
duction, some things that took place some years prior to the
settlement of the Boquet Valley. A company of gentlemen to
the number of eight or ten,made a contract with the State
Government to cut a road from Schroon Lake through to

HISTORY" OF ELIZABETHTOWN 26
Plattsburgh; and to receive in payment land on the route of
said road, where they saw fit to lay it out ; at a low price, pro
vided they get on a certain number of settlers in a limited time.
Capt. Platt Rogers, being one of the company, was appointed
agent or rather Superintendent to look out and cut the road.
(The above was the common report.)
The road was cut through, and lots of land surveyed, for the
company, some in Schroon, some in the valley, and some in
the town of Lewis.^ I think the job was completed in the year
1789. After the completion of the above job, Capt. Rogers
purchased a farm at Basin Harbor, where he afterward
resided. At this time, there were but three towns within the present
bounds of Essex County ; Ticonderoga, Crown Point, and
Willsboro^ (then including Essex) and here and there, a few
scattering settlers on the Lake-shore ; there was not a house
or settlement between Young's bay and Grog-harbor.
A short distance from the Lake-shore commenced a vast
wilderness, extending west to Lake Ontario, and the extent
north and south, I cannot tell ; inhabited only by wild beasts,
and occupied as hunting ground by the Indians ; and that this
valley was anciently their hunting ground is evident from the
many stone spikes made to point their arrows, which have
been found on our plains.
In the summer of the year 1791, Eliphalet Lamb and a Mr.
Goszard, two small traders living in Panton, heard that the
French in Canada, would exchange French horses for young
1 One of the lots in Lewis was purchased frnm Platt Rogers by Gen. Philip Schuyler who
sold it lo Morgan Lewis, afterwards Governor of the State of New York, the man after
whom the town of Lewis was named. Tke eld Livingston farm, including the above men.
tioned lot, is now owned byjohn E. MilhoUand.
2 In 1789 there were two towns within the present limits of Essex County — Crown Point,
formed March 23, 17S6, and Willsborough, formed from Crown Point, March 7, 17SS, Jay
was formed from Willsborough Jan. 16, 1798. Elizabethtown was formed from Crown Point
Feb. 12, 179S.

27 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
cattle, head for head, they purchased a small drove between
twenty and thirty head, two years old and some yearlings, and
drove them into Canada, and made the exchange as they ex
pected ; on returning to Plattsburgh, they concluded to return
in Roger's newly cut road ; they drove on until they came to
lot No. 5 in the valley, the flat now occupied by Ira Wakefield
and Edward Hendee; here they concluded from the appearance
of the mountains, that they were past the place where they
meant to turn out to go to Grog-harbor ferry ; they left their
horses on the flat, went back to the top of Raven-hill, to dis
cover the whereabouts they were; they then went back and
drove their horses through the woods to Panton.
Lamb and Goszard were greatly excited by the beautiful
appearance of the valley of Boquet and reported in Panton,
that they had seen the handsomest tract of land in the world ;
the garden of Eden could not be higher extoled than they
extoled the valley of Boquet ; the timber was principally butter
nut and sugar maple, and a sprinkling of other timber, and
many large pines; the soil of the intervale was of a chocolate
color, and looked good enough to eat, the soil of upland was
in color a light Spanish brown, very different from its appear
ance at the present day ; and the beautiful river with its gravel
bottom, and pure water as clear as crystal and abounding with
trout, the most delicious pan-fish.
Six or eight men in Panton were much excited by the report
of the drovers, and came over to examine for themselves;
when they came to see the beautiful valley, they were satisfied
with the report, that it was all true ; they went immediately
to Capt. Rogers and bargained for lots of land in the valley,
for one dollar and twenty five cents an acre, and agreed to get
on as many settlers as they could. Captain Rogers told them
the company wanted to sell their land, for they were under
obligation to the State to get on a certain number of settlers

REV. CYRUS COMSTOCK, (FATHER COMSTOCK)
Founder of Congregationalism in Essex County.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 30
by a given time. They looked out a passage, marked the
trees, and cut a foot path from North Ferris' bay, (now Cole's
bay) across the hills, and by Little Pond to lot No. 8, in the
valley, now owned by Horatio Deming, a distance of ten miles,
all a wilderness.
Early in March 1792 two or three families moved into the
valley; men and women walked on snow-shoes, the snow be
ing three feet deep on the high land ; one woman more reso
lute than common, it was said, carried sixty weight on her
back, the ten miles, and walked on snow-shoes.
They built little sheds to live in while they made maple
sugar; as the spring opened more settlers came on, and the
next year a number of families came from Monkton and other
places. The first settlers especially the first year suffered
much hardship from their destitute circumstances ; they had
to bring their provisions from Panton principally, and most of
them on their backs ; I think there was but one horse in the
valley the first summer ; Noah Ferris had a canoe, nearly as
large as a whale-boat, commonly called Noah's Ark, in which
he ferried people across the Lake with their provisions, &c.
In the course of the summer, Benjamin Holcomb, Esq., pur
chased a steel mill, in the form of a coffee mill, but much
larger, by which they ground their grain, for one or two years,
(but it made very coarse bread,) until E. Bishop got his grist
mill ready to run. We will now look at their habitations ;
they are made of logs, some of them hewed down a little in
side, the spaces between chincked in with ground moss, the
roof made of spruce bark, so laid on as to shed rain, the floors
were Basswood split plank, their chairs were Basswood plank
with three or four legs, the tables were of the same material
with longer legs. But the people appeared cheerful and happy
under their trials and hardship ; the prospect ahead, the antici
pated prosperity, was a source of encouragement to persevere

31 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
in industry and frugality ; all their crops looked promising,
success seemed to follow their efforts, and they expected a
competent living in a short future. I think it was in fall of
1792 the inhabitants mustered strength enough to cut out a
sled path from what is now called Fisher bridge to Northwest
Bay, so they could now pass with loaded teams each way ;
their teaming business was all done with sleds and sleighs ;
for there was not a wheel carriage in the valley for two or three
years. After they had cut out a road to Northwest bay, and the Ice
on the Lake became sound, they brought in by sleighing the
house furniture they had left in Panton, such as chairs, tables,
chests, &c. In the course of that winter and spring, a large
number of families moved into the valley, so that most of the
lots were taken up.
Elijah Bishop, a mechanic of all trades, moved into the val
ley in the spring of 1793 ; he built a saw-mill first and then a
grist-mill, which were a great accommodation to the inhabi
tants; they could now obtain boards and plank for their floors,
and other uses ; and have good flour, by having their grain
ground fine and bolted, and making a material change in the
article of bread.
I will now endeavor to tell the names of the first settlers on
each lot ; beginning at the south end of the valley ; Jedediah
Holcomb settled on the south hundred acres of lot No. 2, now
owned by Reuben Nichols. (These are 200 acre lots up to
No. 8) Jonah Hanchet took up the north 100, now owned by
Randal Reed. Walter Buck took the south 50 acres of lot
No. 3, now owned by Luke Rice. Mr. Buck took the next 50
acres. Sampson Smith took the north 100, now owned by
Stewart Smith. Hem an Finney took the north 100 acres of
lot No. 4, now owned by John Saunders, Jr., and Joel Finney
took the south 100, now owned by John Saunders, Jr. Ben-

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 32
jamen Holcomb, Esq., took lots No. 5 and 6 and gave up the
north half of No. 5 to Elijah Bishop to build mills on the falls,
where the mills and forge now stand. The land now owned
by Lucius Bishop. The Forge and mills now owned by Put
nam & Co.
The south half of No. 5 now owned principally by Edward
Hendee. The remainder of No. 6 owned by Ira Wakefield ex
cepting the south 50 acres sold to John Saunders, Sr. Ware-
ham Barber took the south 100 acres of No. 7, the same which
I have since occupied. Almond Holcomb took the next 50
acres now owned by Jonathan Post. Nathan Lewis took
the north 50 acres of No. 7 and the whole of lot No. 8, now
owned by Horatio Deming. Then comes three 300 acre lots
Nos. 5, 6 and 7, Hesekiah Phelps took the south 100 of No. 5,
now owned by Willard Deming, Ira Phelps took the next 50
acres, now owned by Jacob Deyoe. William Kellogg took the
north 150 acres, now owned by Jonathan and Dana Wakefield.
Gardner Simonds took the south 100 acres of lot No. 6, now
owned by William E. Marshall. Joseph Durand took the
middle 100 acres, now owned by Erastus and J. Lobdell.
Reuben Peck took the north 100 acres, now owned by Al
fred Ames. Noah Davis took the south 100 acres of lot No.
7, and Isaac Knapp the middle 100, both belong now to Levi
D. Brown. The north 100 acres now owned by Oliver Abel.
Then comes 200 acre lots again. Sylvanus Lobdell took the
south 100 acres of lot No. 9, now owned by Mrs. Abel. Peter
Fish took the north 100 acres of No. 9, now owned by Oliver
Abel. Lot No. 10 lies principally east of the river unsettled,
but occupied by neighboring farmers. Capt. Rogers wanted
the Gristmill and possessions of Noah Ferris at Cole's Bay ;
he gave Ferris two lots No. 11 and 12 in the valley, containing
400 acres of land, for his possessions at Cole's Bay. Lot. No.
13 was taken by Jonas Gibbs, and his sons ; now owned I be-

33 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
lieve principally by Judge Hand. After Noah Ferris had ob
tained a deed of the 400 acres of land, he moved into the val
ley, and built a log house near the west line of lot No. 11 ; and
was said, or thought to be the most forehanded man in the
valley, owning 4U0 acres of land, and free from debt ; he lived
here but a few years, for his land went from him, piece after
piece, and piece after piece, from under his hand and seal, until
he had not a foot of land left, of the 400 acres, to stand on ;
he then went and settled down on land belonging to the State,
lying directly east, and adjoining lot No. 11, where he lived a
few years, and where he died.
Here are three 200 acre lots abreast, running east and west;
the middle lot No. 12 contains nearly the whole ground, on
which the entire village now stands, both on the plain, and on
the branch, with all the public buildings. The above account
shows how liable we are to a change of circumstances.
I think proper to state here a distressing calamity which
took place in the early settlement of the valley ; after Mr.
Peck had been in the valley about two years, he had the mis
fortune to have his house, and every thing he had in it, burnt
up ; and yet more distressing was the calamity, two of his
children burnt to death in it. The circumstances as I under
stood were these ; they were about going to a neighbor's on
an evening visit, they had three children, a little girl about
nine years old and two boys younger ; they put the children
to bed, thought they would be safer than to be up ; and went
away to make their evening visit ; some time the latter part of
the evening the little girl waked up, and saw the house was in
flames all around them, she hurried the boys into the street,
thinking they were then safe, but the boys, supposed not to
be sufficiently awake, ran back into the house, and were im
mediately surrounded by the flames and fell to the floor, she
dare not go in to rescue them. At the funeral of the burnt

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 34
children, Benjamin Holcomb, Esq., a man of generous spirit,
and some influence, proposed thatthe whole neighborhood turn
out and help Mr. Peck build a house, they all said amen ; and
went to work, and within a week Mr. Peck had a comfortable
little framed house to move into ; and their friends, connec
tions and a generous public, contributed to their necessities,
and furnished them the necessaries and conveniences, for
housekeeping again. It is a common remark, that the inhab
itants of a new settlement are very friendly to each other.
I will relate a little of the industry of the first settlers ; for
three or four years they made a good deal of maple sugar.
Nathan Lewis told me, he made between seventeen and eight
een hundred weight one season, and made a large payment
for his land with it, to Capt. Rogers ; who took all kinds of
produce of the settlers in payment for land. They raised
good crops of Rye, Oats, Indian Corn, Potatoes, &c. But
wheat did not do so well, where there was spruce turf, it would
grow about two feet high, and begin to head out and then dry
up. On newly cleared land they raised sometimes a good crop
of Corn, that did not cost in labor over one shilling a bushel.
Thus, I have given, in a plain and simple manner a brief
and true Narrative of the first discovery and settlement, of the
valley of Boquet.
Nov. 1854. ASA POST. (87)
Dr. Asa Post's original letter describing the Settlement of
the Boquet Valley is now in possession of Dr. John Gould
Noble of New York City, the matter used by the writer having
been copied from said original.
Most of the pioneer settlers named by Dr. Asa Post came
into the Boquet Valley from North West Bay, quite a few of
them having come across Lake Champlain from Vermont.
These pioneers and their families followed the blazed tree line

35 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
made by Tappan in 1787, passing by Little Pond and down to
the Boquet River near the mouth of Little Pond Brook.
A bridle path, so-called, was cut out along Tappan's Line.
Moreover several log houses were erected along this "trail"
between Little Pond and the Boquet River. In one of these
log houses Ithai Judd, Elizabethtown's pioneer surveyor, lived
for several years. It was in this log house that the most of
the boyhood of the late David Judd was passed. This row
of log houses, a primitive "street," as it were, long since ceased
to be, only slight depressions, the old cellar holes, and a few
old apple trees remain, silent, solemn reminders of pioneer ac
tivity.'^ Where Reuben Nichols lived in 1854 now stands "The Brook-
side," built by Thomas Sutherland, Troy's famous boiler
maker, in 1901, and occupied by Leslie Denton and wife, the
latter being a niece of Mr. Sutherland.
Jonah Hanchett was the father of Ebenezer, Squire and
Jonah Hanchett, Jr. Ed. Denton lives where Randall Reed
did in 1854.
B. F. Gilligan lives where Walter Buck took up land.
The Sampson Smith farm is to-day occupied by Ernest
Barber, a great, great grandson of Major Hezekiah Barber,
after whom Barber's Point in the town of Westport was named.
Heman Finney came into the Boquet Valley in the spring
I In 1S59, -when the late Judge Robert S. Hale purchased the farm in the Boquet Valley
which has since been known as the Hale farm (now owned by Thomas B, O'Donnell) he en
gaged the late David Judd to survey for him. Richard L. Hand of Elizabethtown, President
of the New York State Bar Association, was then a young man and accompanied the sur
veying party. As the party was passing along near one of these old cellar holes "Uncle
David," as Mr. Judd was locally and familiarly called by many, stopped and pointing to the
depression in the ground, said: "There's where I was brought up." "Uncle David" "was
then pointing to all that remained of the home of his boyhood. What tender memories must
have been called up by the sight of all that remained of the pioneer home of his benefactor,
Ithai Judd. The writer has often passed the old cellar hole mentioned and in fact the others
along that long abandoned "street," concerning which no other historian of tliis region has
ever made the slightest mention.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 3(5
of 1794, following the "trail" from Lake Champlain which
passed by Little Pond and came down to the Boquet River
near the mouth of Little Pond Brook. He carried his wife
across the Boquet River on his back. He was also accompa
nied by his younger brother, Anson Finney, who was then
only eight years old. Heman Finney settled on the east side
of the Boquet River opposite the present residence of Sidney F.
Scriver. The first Sunday after Heman Finney was settled in
hisnewlybuiltlog cabin he and his wife went out for a walk along
the Boquet River. When they returned a couple of hours
afterwards their wild-wood home was in ashes, having com
pletely burned down during their absence. This was indeed a
case of rubbing out and beginning again but nothing, appar
ently, daunted those early pioneers and soon Heman Finney
had another cabin up to take the place of the one destroyed
by fire.^
JoelFinney was the next younger brother of Heman Finney.
He was a Captain of militia. After a few years passed in
Pleasant Valley he moved into what is now the town of West-
port. In 1807 the name of Joel Finney was mentioned in the
Baptist Church book there and soon after the church was meet
ing at his house "at Northwest Bay." He is said to have after
wards lived along the Black River and his mortal remains
were buried in the Black River cemetery.
Benjamin Holcomb owned the farms afterwards occupied by
James Hoisington and now owned and occupied by S. B. Pit
kin and H. E. Pitkin.
The hamlet of New Russia is mostly located on the Elijah
Bishop property.
Thomas B. O'Donnell lives where Dr. Asa Post lived in 1854.
Miss Post lives where Almond Holcomb settled.
1 For this statement of fact the writer is indebted to the venerable A. McD. Finney
a nephew of the late Heman Finney.

37 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
Thomas B. O'Donnell now owns the Nathan Lewis farm,
long since known as the "Hale farm."
Daniel Fitzgerald lives where Hezekiah Phelps settled.
Louis LaMountain occupies the house where Jacob Deyoe
lived in 1854 and which is now the property of Mrs. G. W.
Rexsamer of Philadelphia. A few rods above the house where
Mr. LaMountain lives stands "Windy-Cliff," the spacious and
co/umaudiug summer home of Mrs. Rexsamer.
William N. Otis owns and occupies the Captain William
Kellogg farm. Captain William Kellogg was a survivor of the
Wyoming Massacre and bore the Indian scalp mark. He is
snid to have partly developed a saw-mill site at what is now
New Russia. In fact it is claimed by descendants that it was
he who induceil his brother-in-law Elijah Bishop to turn his
back on the Green Mountain State and come to Pleasant Val
ley. William Kellogg was appointed Lieutenant in a Regi
ment of Militia whereof Joseph Sheldon was Lieutenant-Col
onel Commandant March 10, 1803, by Gov. George Clinton
and he was appointed Captain in a regiment of Militia whereof
Joseph Sheldon was Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant April
22, 1805, Morgan Lewis being Governor and making the latter
appointment. Judging from the following Captain Wm. Kellogg must have
been a pensioner : Wab Department, No. 374,
Pension Office,
8 May, 1821.
Sib: You are hereby informed that the schedule of your property
has been examined and the Secretary of War has directed
your name to be continued on the Pension Roll.
You will be paid at the ensuing semi-annual payment in
Sept. next, the sum that may be then due from the suspend-

^m- '-'^^^

DAVID JUDD,
Adopted Son of Ithai Judd, Elizabethtown's First Surveyor

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 40
ing your pension. Funds for the purpose will be transmit
ted at that time ; but no arrearages will be paid previous
thereto. I am, respectfully.
Your obedient servant,
J. L. EDWARDS.
To Mr. William Kellogg,
of Elizabethtown, N. York.
In October, 1823, William Kellogg was fatally hurt by being
thrown out of a wagon on the Plain in the village of Eliz
abethtown, dying from the effects a few hours after the acci
dent. He died where Deer's Head Inn now stands Oct. 22,
1823, aged 64 years, and was buried in the Boquet Valley
cemetery. A son of William Kellogg, Rowland Kellogg by name, born
in Monkton, Vt., Nov. 26, 1786, married Sally Titus, who was
born in Voluntown, Conn., April 6, 1787. Their children
were :
Amy, born in Lewis, N. Y., July 5, 1805.
Orlando, born in Elizabethtown, N. Y, June 18, 1809.
Eliza, born in Panton, Vt., July 30, 1811.
Alonzo, born in Middlebury, Vt., April 29, 1815.
Edwin, born in Elizabethtown, N. Y., January 23, 1817.
LaFayette, born in " " Feb. 1, 1819.
Edwin, " " " " August 3, 1823.
July 3, 1814, Rowland Kellogg, who like his father was a
military man, was 27 years of age, 5 feet, 8 inches high, had
light complexion, brown hair, blue eyes, occupation carpenter.
These facts are gleaned from old mihtary papers in possession
of descendants.
Rowland Kellogg was, according to a preserved commission,
on Aug. 30, 1817, 3d Sergeant in a company of which Ezra C.
Gross was Captain, Luman Wadhams, Esq., being Colonel of

41 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
the Regiment. On the 30th of August, 1819, Rowland Kellogg
was 2d Sergeant in a Company of which Ezra C. Gross was
Captain. Rowland Kellogg practiced medicine some, having studied
with Dr. Asa Post, and also worked as a carpenter and while
engaged in doing carpenter work caught cold which developed
into consumption. He died in 1826 and was buried in the
Boquet Valley cemetery.
The Gardner Simonds farm has latterly been known as the
Deming farm and is to-day owned by Wm. N. Otis.
Jerome T. Lobdell and his sister. Miss Lobdell, own and oc
cupy the Joseph Francis Durand farm. Joseph Francis
Durand came into the Boquet Valley by way of the Tappan
Line trail in the spring of 1794, carrying two bushels of wheat
on his shoulders from the shore of Lake Champlain to the Bo
quet River. Joseph Francis Durand was a son of Francis
Joseph Durand and Patience Weed of Norwalk, Conn., being
directly connected with the nobility of France. He traced his
lineage back to Charles Emanuel Durand, a Noble of France,
in the time when Burgundy was a province of Spain. Charles
Emanuel Durand (Catholic) was a counsellor at law and was
enobled by the King of Spain. The Durand coat of arms
consisted of a shield, field of sky blue, gold band and gold
clovers or knots, the motto on a scroll underneath, meaning,
"I hope while enduring."
The father of Joseph Francis Durand died in or near Char
lotte, Vt. The first house built by Joseph Francis Durand in
the Boquet Valley stood just a few feet east of the house now
owned and occupied by Arthur Cauley. He also built the
house on the east side of the Boquet River which is to-day
owned and occupied by the Lobdells. Joseph Francis Du-
rand's wife was Elizabeth Arnold, also a Connecticut woman,
and their children were Betsey who married Rowland Nichols

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 42
of Lewis, Polly who married James Reynolds and later moved
to Ohio, Sarah who married Orson Kellogg, the famous school
teacher, and Lucy who married Leland Rowe, Myron who
married Elvira P. Bruce, James and Jesse who died young,
Simeon who married a Lewis, and Milo who married Abigail
Perry. Simeon Durand settled on the east side of Mt. Raven. His
children were Horace, Orlando, (the peddler) Betsey, Almira
and Lodemia. Simeon Durand was buried in Black River
cemetery. Milo Durand eventually settled on what is to-day known
as "Durand Farm." He built the white house which
stands back from the road and is so pleasantly shaded by trees.
His children were Edgar M., Alonzo M., Helen M., Almeron M.,
Albert A., Alembert J., Oliver H., Sarah Jane (Jennie), Ander
son K., Achsa A., six of whom — Alonzo M., Almeron M.,
Alembert J., Oliver H., Anderson K. and Achsa A., still live.
Alexander Durand, son of Francis Joseph Durand, was the
father of Calvin Durand, so long prominent at Clintonville, N.
Y. Simeon and Merari were also sons of Francis Joseph Du
rand and they lived in Pleasant Valley for a time.
Charlotte, Anna and Mary Durand were daughters of Fran
cis Joseph Durand. Mary married a Lewis, afterwards John
Sherman, father of the late Jesse Sherman of Elizabethtown.
Robert H. Wood, Elizabethtown's Highway Commissioner,
lives where Reuben Peck settled and where Alfred Ames lived
in 1854.
The Noah Davis and Isaac Knapp property to-day belongs
to Friend Abner Brown, eldest son of the late Levi DeWitt
Brown who owned the property in 1854. The Noah Davis
house, built of logs, stood on the east side of the highway
near the top of what is to-day known as the "Davis Hill,"
having been so named in honor of Noah Davis. The "re-

43 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
mains" of the old Noah Davis cellar are still visible in what
is known in Brown farm parlance as the "big orchard."
The Sylvanus Lobdell farm is to-day owned by Mrs. Eliz
abeth Partridge, widow of the late Adolphus R. Partridge, and
mother of Mrs. Friend A. Brown, Mrs. William H. Hanchett,
Winslow R. Partridge of Elizabethtown and Mason H. Par
tridge, Sexton of Grace Church, Broadway and 10th Street,
New York City.
When Sylvanus Lobdell came into the Boquet Valley in
1794 he came from the "Shaker country" and was accompa
nied by his younger brother, John Lobdell, then 18 years of
age, and destined to be one of the most active, useful men who
ever located in Pleasant Valley. The great-great grandfather
of Sylvanus and John Lobdell was Simon Lobdell, "the emi
grant." Simon Lobdell's name is among those of "the early
planters" of Milford, Conn. He was made a "freeman" at
Hartford, Conn., in 1657. He went to Springfield, Mass., where
he was prison keeper from 1666 to 1674 and where, by his wife
Persis, his children were born. He died at Milford, Conn. At
Probate Court held in New Haven Oct. 4, 1717, his only son
Joshua was appointed administrator. Jacob Lobdell, a son
of Joshua Lobdell, married Ruth Boughton August 28, 1757,
at Salem, Westchester County, N. Y. The children of Jacob
Lobdell and Ruth Boughton were Sylvanus, Boughton, Ruth,
Jacob, Elizabeth and John. Sylvanus Lobdell married Anna
Knapp, Boughton Lobdell married Sophronia Newell, Ruth
Lobdell married Levi Lamb, Jacob Lobdell married Hannah
Waterbury Boughton, Elizabeth Lobdell married John Ayers,
John Lobdell married for his first wife Nancy Hoisington, a
daughter of James Hoisington of Elizabethtown. Nancy
(Hoisington) Lobdell died during the War of 1812 and was
buried in the Black River cemetery. John Lobdell's second
wife was Emma Hoisington, a sister of his first wife. John

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 44
Lobdell and Emma Hoisington were married May 13, 1815
and by this union the following children were born :
Erastus, born Sept. 12, 1816, married Mary Ann Nichols.
Levi, born June 5, 1818, married Jane Goodale.
James, Born Oct. 12, 1820, married Jane Knapp.
Jacob, born Feb. 18, 1823, never married.
Nancy, born Aug. 8, 1826, married Julius Vaughan.
Caroline, born Sept. 12, 1828, married Calvin D. Pratt.
Rosamond, born Feb. 4, 1833, never married.
Jerome Theron, born Feb. 19, 1835, married Helen Deyoe.
Of this large family of children but two survive — Rosamond
and Jerome Theron Lobdell, who own and live on the old
Joseph Francis Durand farm in the Boquet Valley.
When the Lobdells first came into the Boquet Valley they
ground their corn in an old stone mortar by means of a lever
arrangement, the peculiar primitive outfit being located under
the ledge just north of the present residence of Winslow R.
Partridge. About 20 years ago the late Jacob Lobdell
pointed out the place and explained the process to the writer.
About the same time the early settlers were flocking into
the Boquet Valley Stephen Roscoe came across Lake Cham
plain from Vermont, built a saw-mill and settled on the
Branch or Little Boquet where Lobdell Brothers (sons of
Jerome T. and grandsons of John Lobdell before mentioned)
are now operating so extensively, having both a saw-mill and
a grist-mill. The writer has before him a letter written by
William Emmet Roscoe, the Schoharie County historian, at
Central Bridge, N. Y, under date of Feb. 9th, 1903. Accord
ing to this letter Stephen Roscoe and his sons crossed the
lake (Champlain) and cut and hewed the timber in the winter
of 1791-2 out of which the saw-mill was built in the spring of
1792, "so that they could saw lumber for a house and barn for
themselves and for neighbors who were moving in." This

45 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
•saw-mill stood just above where the Lobdell Brothers new
saw-mill is located. Every stick of the timber of the frame
was hewed, studs, rafters, braces, etc., and the mill irons were
brought from Barber's Point on horseback. William E. Roscoe
says in the letter quoted from that he often heard his father
say that while they were cutting the timber for the first saw
mill ever erected on the Branch or Little Boquet "they lived
on Johnny cake and put a slice, for their dinners, in their
pants pockets to thaw while they were at work."-
It would seem from the Schoharie County historian's letter
that the Roscoe saw-mill was the first one erected in what is
now Elizabethtown, as he says : "The only mill at that time
was at or near Westport."
Speaking of his grandfather — Stephen Roscoe — and the
causes which led to his settlement here in the wilderness, the
Schoharie County historian says :
"Grandfather was pretty well-to-do for those days and had
good pluck and ambition but was averse to political troubles.
The great squabble over the New Hampshire grants threat
ened another war and he chose to enter the wilderness and
secure enough land for his large family instead of remaining
on the disputed territory and perhaps lose all he had."
Stephen Roscoe "took up" quite a tract or patent of land,
640 acres, a mile square. Beginning near where the old John
Barton house stands, his line ran between the Nichols and
Roscoe property to a point at the top of the hill south of the
Nichols school house in the town of Lewis, thence west
along between the R. C. Blood and George Bartlett farms to
the east line of old Military Tract, thence to a point a little
west of what is to-day referred to as Rice's Falls, thence east
I "Johnnv-cake" was corn bread mixed hastily and'baked on a board which was tilted up
before a bed of coals. The name is a corruption of •'journey-cake,'* since it was the only
kind of bread which could be baked in camp, while one was on a journey throug^h the vroods,
etc. The "Johnny-cake" of to-day, which is, as of old, hastily "stirred up," is baited under
improved conditions and is a popular bread-stuE with natives and tourists alike.

HISTORY OF ETJZABETHTOWN 46
to the place of beginning near the Barton house. He had
an exalted idea of the importance of his tract, its location, etc.
When he began to operate on his tract the flat to-day owned
by Friend M. Roscoe was covered with a heavy primeval
forest, principally beech and maple. At that time no blow
had been struck where the present village of Elizabethtown
stands except what Stephen Roscoe and his sons had done
up where Lobdell Brothers are now operating so extensively.
Curiously enough when Stephen Roscoe and his sons cleared
what is to day referred to as the Roscoe flat he thought he
was starting the foundation of "the village." However, when
the timber was cut off, he found numerous brooks were wind
ing their way through his village site and that in consequence
the flat was wet and swampy. Such is the irony of fate,
as that flat has remained moist for over a century and "the
village" has grown up over a mile away from Stephen Ros
coe's cherished site.
Stephen Roscoe had a large family of children as the follow
ing list attests : Stephen, Azor, Simeon, James, John B., Esther,
Ruth, Mary.
Stephen Roscoe, Jr., physician, settled in Panton, Vt.
Azor Roscoe lived in Elizabethtown tor awhile.
Simeon Roscoe was twice married, his first wife being Lois
Ashley. Simeon Roscoe's children by his first wife were
Kaziah who married Robert Thompson, Jr., Phila who mar
ried Lyman Shepard, Lucy who married Marshall Warren,
Polly who married Elisha Flagg, and James who died while
young. Simeon Roscoe's second wife was Nancy Roscoe, a
cousin, and their children were Simeon, Jr., who married Mary
Ann Studwell, Levi who married Eliza Stockwell, Stephen
who married Alvira Blood, John who married Rebecca Spauld-
ing, Abbie who died while young, Lois who married Lewis
Jenner and Ruth who married Nathaniel K. Jenner and became

47 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
the mother of Mrs. Lucy Jane Pierce, widow of the late Alonzo
Pierce, Miss Eliza Jenner, Levi A. and Edgar G. Jenner.
James Roscoe married Esther Robertson. Their children
were Robertson J., Nelson J., Hudson and Charlotte, all of
whom are living except Hudson, and all of whom are past 81
years of age. Robertson J. married Lodisa Holt, a daughter
of the late Alvah Holt of Keene, Nelson J. married Cynthia
Merritt, Hudson married Abagail Hinds and Charlotte mar
ried Ira Deming and became the mother of Miss Ada V. Dem
ing and John J. Deming of this town, and two estimable
daughters — Marion C, and Jennie L. Deming — who died after
having reached womanhood.
John B. Roscoe was born in Connecticut in 1777 and came
into what is now Elizabethtown with his father when the tim
ber cutting for the saw-mill commenced. He lived with his
father, tending saw-mill, etc., until 1800. He studied medi
cine with his brother Dr. Stephen Roscoe of Panton, Vt., and
with Dr. Alexander Morse of Elizabethtown, after which he
married Ruth Knoulton, whose father lived a little north of
where the Nichols school house now stands in the town of
Lewis. The brook which flows by the Nichols school house
was originally known as "Knoulton Brook," later as "Phelps
Brook," the latter name being in honor of the late George
Phelps who so long lived on the farm in the town of Lewis
which is to-day owned by Orlando Kellogg, proprietor of "The
Windsor." The building of a dam across this brook brought
into being what is known to-day as "The Windsor Farm Fish
Pond." John B. Roscoe's first wife (Ruth Knoulton) died in
1801 and was buried in what is now known as the Roscoe
cemetery, said to have been the first interment in what is
now a populous city of the dead. In 1803 John B. Roscoe was
in Charlestown, Montgomery County, N. Y., practicing medi
cine and in 1805 went over the line 4 or 5 miles into Car-

OLIVER ABEL, '
Son of Azel Abel, Elizabethtown's First Hotel Keeper.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 50
lisle, Schoharie County, N. Y. After moving into Schoharie
County he married twice. William Emmet Roscoe, the Scho
harie County historian, and Marshall Roscoe are sons of Dr.
John B. Roscoe who lived to be over 90 years of age.
Esther Roscoe married a Squires, father of Azor Squires.
Ruth Roscoe married Stephen Ashley and became the
mother of Ruth Ann Ashley who married Levit Blood and be
came the mother of Alembert A. Blood of Lewis.
Mary Roscoe married a Squires and lived in Vermont.
In winding up this sketch of Stephen Roscoe and his family,
it is only fair to state that the mortal remains of the sturdy
pioneer were buried in the Roscoe Cemetery, on Roscoe Street
iu the town of Lewis, on a slight eminence overlooking the flat
where he once fondly hoped a village would "spring up." He
was mistaken as to the materialization of a village, but Roscoe
Street and Roscoe Cemetery are names which have been
brought down to the present by a grateful posterity and will
commemorate the name of the founder of the house of Roscoe
in this section so long as time endures.
Inasmuch as there has been some question raised by people
living in surrounding towns as to the origin of and authority
for use of the appellation "Pleasant Valley" the writer quotes
the wording of an original deed in the possession of Miss Alice
E. Abel of Elizabethtown, which deed was drawn and witnessed
December 1, 1795, being signed by Platt Rogers himself.
Those people who have chosen to sneer at the appellation
"Pleasant Valley" and say that it was only a modern name
applied for effect by members of the present generation have
a chance to learn by the wording of the following deed, which
is also on record in the Essex County Clerk's office, that the
name was applied to this section 110 years ago, three years be
fore Elizabethtown was set off as a town from the town of
Crown Point :

51 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
This Indenture made this first day of December in the year
of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-five Be
tween Platt Rogers of Fishkill in Dutchess County and State
of New York of the one part and James Andress of Pleasant
Valley in Crown Point, District, County & State aforesaid of
the other part, Witnesseth that the sd Platt Rogers for and in
consideration of the sum of seventy six pounds, eight shillings
and nine pence Lawful money of the State of New York to
him in hand paid by the sd James Andress at and before the
ensealing and delivery of these presents, the receipt whereof is
hereby acknowledged, hath granted, bargained, sold and by
these presents doth grant, bargain, sell and release unto the sd
James Andress and to his heirs and assigns forever
All and singular that tract or parcel of land lying in Pleas
ant Valley in Crown Point, District, County and State afore
said in the Patent of Pleasant Valley which patent contains
three thousand seven hundred acres of Land Iving on Boquete
River and is known by a subdivision nf said tract by Lot No. nine
of which he the said James Andress is to have one equal half
or hundred acres of(f) of the north side of sd Lot which Lot
contains two hundred acres of Land. Together with all and
singular the rites, members, hereditaments and appurtenances
to the same belonging or in anywise appertaining and the re-
vertion and remainders, rents, issues and profits thereof. To
Have and to Hold the sd granted and bargained premises with
all the appurtenances thereunto belonging to him, the said
James Andress, his heirs, executors, administrators or assigns
forever. In witness whereof the parties to these presents have here
unto Interchangeably set their hands and seals this day and
year first above written. Platt Rogers |L.S.]
Signed, Sealed and delivered in the presence of
Thomas Tredwell, Chas. Platt.
The fact is the "Patent of Pleasant Valley" as mentioned in
the deed quoted was constantly referred to by Platt Rogers
from 1789 till his death in 1798 and the name Pleasant Valley
has been applied to this section more or less tor the past 115
years, the unwarranted sneers of jealous outsiders to the con
trary notwithstanding.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 52
It will be noted that on December 1, 1795, Platt Rogers evi
dently considered his residence to be Fishkill, Dutchess
County, New York, However, as Dr. .Asa Post and Mrs. Car
oline H. Royce, the latter being a descendant of Platt Rogers,
have both said that the famous road-maker lived at Basin
Harbor, Vt., it is undoubtedly true. Perhaps Platt Rogers, our
pioneer road maker, resided during the winter season at Fish
kill, N. Y., and during the summer at Basin Harbor, Vt. If
so, he was undoubtedly the pioneer summer resident of the
Champlain Valley and the fact should be recorded in history.
The year 1796 was an eventful one in the Champlain Valley
and contiguous territory, especially on the west side. About
the first of February, 1796, William Gilliland, who was then
living with his son-in-law Daniel Ross in what is now known
as the William R. Derby house in the northern part of the
village of Essex, went across Lake Champlain to visit his
friend Platt Rogers at Basin Harbor. At least so two eminent
historians — the late Hon. Winslow C. Watson and Mrs. Caro
line H. Royce — have recorded. It is supposed that Gilliland
walked to Basin Harbor on the ice. After visiting Mr. Rogers
he set out to return to the eastern side of Lake Champlain but
so far as is known was never again seen alive after he passed
out of sight from the windows of the house at Basin Harbor.
He evidently lost his way upon the ice and turned off too soon,
wandering about on the mountains south of Essex until he
sank and perished from cold and exhaustion. After his
strength failed him so that he was unable to walk, he dragged
himself along until the flesh was worn from his hands and
knees. Somewhere near the northern base of Coon mountain,
upon soil which was once part of Elizabethtown and is now
part of Westport, the great hearted pioneer breathed his last.
Such was the tragic end of a remarkable life. The pioneer
of the Champlain Valley, once rich and the generous dispenser

53 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
of munificent hospitalities, the associate and counsellor of
vice royalty, then poor, piteously perished of cold and famine,
far from human care, with no voice to soothe his sufferings
and no kind hand to close his dying eyes. A simple stone
marked his grave in the cemetery of Essex village for more
than 100 years, the inscription reading as follows :
Sacred to the Memory of
Wilham Gilliland, Esq.,
who departed this life 2d Feb., 1796,
aged 62 years.
Erected by W. and H. Ross.
The remains of the ill-starred pioneer settler of Essex
County remained in the Essex village cemetery for over 104
years. In the summer of 1900, however, the remains were re
moved to Lakeview cemetery in the town of Willsboro and
there re-interred under the direct supervision of John Bleecker
Cuyler of Willsboro, a descendant of Gilliland.
In the spring of 1796 the first recorded religious advance
ment was made in Pleasant Valley. The first Methodist
preacher that is known to have visited Essex County, New
York, was the Rev. Richard Jacobs. He was one of the pio
neers under the Rev. Freeborn Garretson, who first explored
this region in this capacity. Mr. Jacobs belonged to a wealthy
family of the "standing order," in Sheffield, Berkshire County,
Mass. For becoming a Methodist he was disinherited by his
father and, with his young wife, thrown out penniless upon the
the world. In the spring of 1796 he left his family at Clifton
Park and took a tour through Northern New York as far as
Essex and Clinton counties, preaching to the few scattered in
habitants of the region.
"At EHzabethtown (Pleasant Valley) numbers were awak
ened and converted and leaving a few sheep in the wilderness,
for such that whole country then was, he promised that if

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 54
possible, a preacher should be sent them. After spending
some weeks along the western shore of Lake Champlain, he
started, in company with a Mr. Kellogg, to return to his family
by way of the Scroon woods to the head of Lake George and
thence to Clifton Park. They spent several days in the woods,
meeting with almost insurmountable obstructions. Their
provisions failing them, they became exhausted and, attempt
ing in that state to ford the Scroon river upon horseback, Mr.
Jacobs was drowned. His family were all converted ; three
of his sons became ministers and two of his daughters mar
ried Methodist preachers, one of whom was the wife of the
Rev. Dr. Luckey."i
In the spring of 1796, probably about the time Rev. Richard
Jacobs, the Methodist pioneer preacher, came here the prom
inent members of the community came together and organized
the Baptist Church, the centennial of which organization was
celebrated April 7, 1896, the writer being the historian of the
latter occasion. While the records remaining of those early
days are meagre, it is undoubtedly true that schools and relig
ious affairs engaged the attention of our pioneers as soon as
they settled here in Pleasant Valley. It is a fact conceded the
world over that the early district schools scattered through
out the States wherever a few families had located were one
of the prime causes of the general intelligence that has since
pervaded all our communities. It is also a fact that the pio
neers of our country communities, standing on the same plane
of life, holding the same hopes and aspirations, born of pov
erty and nurtured in that privation common to all, each feeling
an impulse, dictated by the humanity that was sure to develop
amid such surroundings, to assist his neighbor whenever and
1 The data used above is from a reliable article in the New York Christian Advocate of
May 20, 1836, and was furnished the writer by the Rev. Leigh Diefendorf , formerly of Eliz
abethtown, N. Y., now located in Williston, Vt.

55 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
wherever assistance was needed, realizing that he might anj^
day become the grateful recipient of similar service, were also,
in the main, a God fearing people. And those of the present
generation have to thank God that they grew from such a
solid, enduring foundation.
In 1796 or shortly afterwards the Plattsburgh Circuit (Meth
odist) was organized. This Circuit extended from Ticonde
roga to Canada and Pleasant Valley was one of the preaching
places. Org'anization of the Town of EHzabethtown.
The year 1798 was also an eventful one in and around Pleas
ant Valley. In this year Platt Rogers, pioneer road maker
and once well off but a poor man in his last days, died in
Plattsburgh, his mortal remains being taken to Basin Harbor
for burial. 1
It has been stated on the pages of history that Elizabeth-
town was originally part of the town of Willsboro. How ab
surd the claim is will appear from the following act copied
word for word from the bound volume of Session Laws for
the year 1798.
CHAP. 11.
An Act for dividing the town of Crown Point.
Passed the 12th of February, 1798.
Be it enacted by the people of the State of New York, rep
resented in Senate and Assembly, That from and after the
first Monday of April next, all that part of the town of Crown
1 Platt Rogers was one of the 12 patriarchs who founded Plattsburgh. He served in two
Dutchess County, N. Y., regiments during the American Revolution, Col. BrinckerhofE's
and Col. Hopkins, and in both regiments was in Captain BrinckerhofE's Company. Rogers
Pond and Rogers Brook in Schroon were named after the great road maker. It is a regret
table fact that Platt Rogers, he whose name was so inseparably connected with the early
development of Pleasant Valley, was poor in his last years, so much so that the Sheriff "got
after him," as early records in the Clinton County Clerk's office amply prove.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 56
Point in the County of Clinton, within the following bounds,
to-wit : beginning at the northeast corner of a tract of land
which was granted to Major Small, and then west along the
north line of the said patent, and to continue in the same di
rection to the west bounds of the County, then north to the
south line of the town of Jay, then east along the south line of
the town of Jay and the town of Willsborough to the eastline of
the County of Clinton, then southerly along the east line of the
said County to a due east point from the place of beginning,
and then west to the place of beginning shall be and hereby is
erected into a separate town by the name of Elizabeth Town,
and the first town meeting shall be held at the dwelling house
of David Calender in the said town.
And be it further enacted that all the remaining part of the
town of Crown Point, shall be and remain a separate town by
the name of Crown Point and the first town meeting shall be
held at the dwelling house of Alexander Hay in the said town.
And be it further enacted, That the freeholders and inhabit
ants of the said town shall be entitled to all the privileges and
be subject to all the penalties which the freeholders and in
habitants of the other towns in this state are entitled and sub
ject to by law.
And be it further enacted, That as soon as may be after
the first Tuesday of April next the overseers of the poor,
and the supervisors of the said town, shall after due notice be
ing given for that purpose by the supervisors of the said town,
meet together and apportion the money and poor belonging
to the said town of Crown-Point previous to the division
thereof, in as equitable a manner as may be, and in case the
supervisors and overseers of the poor cannot agree in the di
vision of the money and poor as aforesaid, then the supervis
ors of the County of Clinton at their annual meeting shall
make such division of the money and poor aforesaid as shall

57 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
appear most equitable to the supervisors or a major part of
them. Elizabethtown's first Supervisor was Ebenezer Newell.
Elizabethtown was so named after the wife and daughter of
William Gilliland. It will be recalled that Mr. Gilliland's
wife was Elizabeth Phagan in her maiden days. Her eldest
daughter Elizabeth married Daniel Ross and became the
mother of William Daniel Ross and Henry H. Ross of Essex.
Charlotte, after whom Charlotte, Vt., was named, married
Stephen Cuyler. A third daughter, Jane Willsboro, became
the wife of John Bleecker of Albany. The pioneer Gilliland
also left one son William, after whom Willsboro was named.
Willian Gilliland, 2d., who lived on the patrimonial estate at
the mouth of Salmon River in Clinton County which had been
named Janesboro by the pioneer, died in 1847, leaving two
sons, William and Henry Phagan Gilliland. The former's son,
Henry Phagan Gilliland, 2d., is well-known here in Elizabeth-
town, having read law in the late Judge Robert S. Hale's of
fice in the latter 70s and being a resident of Plattsburgh at the
present time. Other descendants of William Gilliland, the
pioneer settler of Essex County, will be mentioned farther
along in this work.
Elizabethtown at organization embraced practically all the
territory comprized in the present township of that name and
also that which has been known as Westport since 1815.
Shortly after the organization of the town of Elizabethtown
there came in among our grand old hills a man whose family
name has ever since been prominent here. Reference is here
made to Azel Abel, Elizabethtown's first hotel keeper. Azel
Abel had formerly lived in Massachusetts and served bravely
as an officer on the side of the Colonists during the .Ameri
can Revolution. Immediately after leaving Massachusetts

VALENTINE KELLOGG,
Participant in the Battle of Plattsburgh and One of
Elizabethtow^n's Pioneer Shoemakers.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 60
Azel Abel lived for a time at Orwell, Vt., and there his son
Oliver was born in 1789.
Search in the records of the Clinton County Clerk's office.
Book of Deeds B, page 184, shows that on September 11, 1798,
Azel Abel bought land from Noah Ferris, (he of local Noah's
Ark fame) the purchase embracing All and singular that tract
and parcel of land lying and being in the town of Elizabeth in
the County of Clinton and State of New York, said land is in
a small patent lately granted to Platt Rogers & Co. for three
thousand seven hundred acres of land and is a part of a lot
known in a subdivision of said patent by lot No. 12, Bounded
as followeth : Beginning at a stake nineteen chains and five
links south of the northwest corner of said lot, thence running
south twenty five chains and 12 links to the west branch, then
south 70 degrees east fifteen rods, then north 70 degrees east
six rods, then north 40 degrees 30 minutes east 12 rods, then
north 10 degrees west nine rods, then north 30 degrees east
six rods, then running down said branch until to or near the
main river, then east to the east line of said lot, then north
nineteen chains and five links to a stake, then west thirty
nine chains and forty links to the place begun at, containing
eighty acres and thirty eight rods of land.
The consideration for the parcel of land described on the
north bank of the branch or Little Boquet was 43 pounds.
Upon this piece of land, between where Maplewood Inn now
stands and the Little Boquet, Azel Abel put up a rude log
building which served as Elizabethtown's first hotel.
Azel Abel was twice married. His children were Oliver,
James, Benjamin, Charles, Polly, Eunice, Betsey and Lncretia.
Oliver Abel married twice, his first wife being Polly Post, a
daughter of Dr. Asa Post. His second wife was Almina Bar-
num formerly of Vermont. Oliver Abel's children were
Charles L. Abel, who settled in Buffalo, N. Y, 60 years ago.

61 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
marrying and raising a large family there. He is still living,
being in the 86th year of his age. Inasmuch as he is a loyal
son of Elizabethtown, it will not be out of place to state here
that he loaned the United States Government $10,000 at the
time of the late civil war, being one of the first men in the
State of New York to respond to the call for loans.
Sally Angelina Abel married Jason Pangborn and moved to
Maquoketa, la.
Leander Abel married Emily Williams. Their daughter.
Miss Alice E. Abel, is teacher in the Primary Department of
the Elizabethtown High School. Leander Abel died'January
28, 1903, in the 78th year of his age.
Oliver Abel, Jr., married Mary Adams, daughter of Elisha
Adams, formerly County Clerk and Sheriff of Essex County.
Oliver Abel, Jr., studied law, served as Post Master of Eliz
abethtown during the civil war period and was Essex County
Treasurer from January 1, 1873, to December 31, 1881, inclu
sive. The children of Oliver and Mary Abel were Wm. H.
Abel who married Lucinda C. Pond, Anna B. Abel who mar
ried Samuel I. Roberts, Mary F. Abel, Helen D. Abel and
Marguerite Abel, all of whom now reside in the west. Oliver
Abel, Jr., died May 30, 1892.
Mary Abel married Charles N. Williams. Their children
are Jennie M, and Clara Williams.
Henry Abel married Annette Baker and went to Fayette,
la., where he still resides.
Adelaide Victoria Abel, who never married.
James Abel married and lived on Lot No. 9, Rogers patent.
Benjamin Abel went away from Elizabethtown in early life.
Charles Abel married Polly Brainard.
Eunice Abel married Samson Smith.
Betsey Abel married Nathan Nichols. Their children were
Harriet, Willis, Elizabeth, Mason and Eunice.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 62
Lucretia Abel married Alexander MacDougal. Their chil
dren were Mary, Harriet, Isabelle, Louise, Alexander, Martin
Van Buren, Charles Stuart, Ann, William Wallace, Robert
Bruce and Jennie.
Indian Occtspation of Pleasant Valley.
When Azel Abel came to Pleasant Valley and built his log
hotel on the bank of the Little Boquet River there were as
many Indians in Elizabethtown as there were white men.
Azel Abel's son Oliver, who was a boy nine years old when his
father moved here, has often told the writer about the Indi
ans and their occupation of Pleasant Valley. This section of
Northern New York was inhabited by an Indian nation of
Algonquin lineage.^ The Iroquois were the conquerors of the
New World so far as Indians were concerned and were justly
styled "The Romans of the West." The Jesuit Father Rague-
neau in his Relations des Eiirons wrote "My pen has no ink
black enough to describe the fury of the Iroquois." A large
portion of this region has always been and, in the economies
of the civilization that surrounds it, will always be under the
dominion of Nature. Here it has always been severely cold
and forbidding in winter and it is recorded that way back of
the memory of white men, those wild rovers of the country of
the Saguenay, who subsisted entirely by the chase, were often
during the long winter, when their game grew scarce, driven
by hunger into the depths of our forests and compelled to live
for many weeks together upon the buds and bark and some
times even upon the wood of forest trees. This led their
hereditary enemies, the more prosperous Iroquois who dwelt in
palisaded villages and had cultivated fields in their more favored
sections, raising an abundance of corn, beans, squashes and to-
1 Nathaniel Bartlett Sylvester in Northern. New York and the Adirondack Wilderness,
page 15.

63 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
bacco, called their less fortunate brethren, in mockery of their
condition, Ad-i-ron-dachs or tree eaters.'^ This Iroquois name
of an Algonquin tribe, thus born in derision, has come to be ap
plied to all of Northern New York where mountains are found.
Since the Jesuit Relations others have made a study along
the line of Adirondack Indians and have concluded that the
greater part of the Indians inhabiting this region were killed
off before occupation by the white man. The writer quotes
from a hitherto unpublished poem, on Essex County, as fol
lows :
'"Twas thine to have witness'd, through centuries long,
Dread strife of the Red meu ; what vengeance the strong
Could inflict on the weak, till they became slaves,
And perish 'd from earth unhonor'd bj graves,
Or even a sign of traditional fame
Saving one, the insult they bore in their name.
When the first White man came, the Sieur de Champlaio,
To thy shore on the east, the ancient domain
Of the Iroquois here held its northerly line,
Mark'd by rude hacks on the tall mountain pine.
On this fateful line the watch-fires were lighted.
And braves in the war-dance new fealty plighted,
And o'er it one step no Algonquin dare go
Unless he would meet with a fierce Mohawk foe.
'.M.id thy wild, rugged hills, so peaceful to-day,
The war-whoop oft echo'd from stern, bloody fray,
And the stones in the vales would tell, could they speak,
How savage, in fury, his vengeance could wreak ;
What fate, sudden, awful, one hardy tribe met
Which pass'd o'er the limits the Iroquois set ;
How hundreds came up on the Lake for the fight,
How tew, that fled back through the woods in the night,
Wandered in cold, without game, denied fruits,
And starv'd till they ate of the trees, like the brutes,
And bore, from thenceforth, degredatioa's low mark,
The "Ha de ron dacks, " meaning "Eaters of bark."
Be this legend, tradition, or tale hand'd down
By the last of his race, 'tis all the renown
That stricken tribe left in its woe and lament —
No history tells whence they came, where they went."
1 Jesuit Relations.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 64
When Azel Abel built his log hotel between the bank of the
Little Boquet River and where Maplewood Inn now stands
there was a collection of Indian wigwams on the opposite side
of the stream, under the bank where the Post Office block is
located. Up where the John Barton homestead is located
there was another collection of wigwams. On the north side
of the stream to-day known as Barton Brook there was then
(1798) a well worn Indian trail, a path of a foot or more in
width and several inches in depth. This well-worn path com
menced just above where Azel Abel's log inn stood and con
tinued up to the Indian village located on what is spoken of
to-day as the John Barton homestead. The late Oliver Abel,
Sr., often described this Indian trail to the writer and as the
description is recalled it seems to agree substantially with that
given of an Indian trail in Morgan's League of the Iroquois.
Young Abel used to go up the Barton Brook trail with Indian
boys from the wigwams on the opposite side of the river from
his father's log hotel. One day while on a visit to the Indian
village where the Barton homestead is now located he got his
first glimpse of a papoose. The Indian babe cried loudly and
voung Abel, to use his own words, "ran home as fast as possi
ble," being thoroughly scared. There was then no structure
inhabited by a white man between Azel Abel's inn and Stephen
Roscoe's saw-mill settlement where Lobdell Brothers are now
operating. According to the late Oliver Abel, Sr., the Adirondack In
dians, while they never forgave an injury, never forgot a kind
ness, and were good natured, easy going fellows, given to the
chase almost entirely. They used stone mortars and other
utensils of their own invention. They hunted with bows and ar
rows mostly and were successful. Oliver Abel, Sr., used to
relate an incident which the writer readily recalls at this time.
One day after his mother had broiled a piece of meat she put

65 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
it aside to cool.^ While attending to her other work in con
nection with getting dinner a dog belonging to one of the In
dian neighbors across the river relieved her of the cooked
meat. She saw the dog getting away with the meat and was
angry. The next time she saw the Indian who owned the dog
she told him she would scald the cur if he touched any more
of her meat. To her angry threat the Indian calmly replied :
"You no scald my dog. Me pay you back meat." The next
day the Indian went out and killed a deer, making his word
good by giving Mrs. Abel a quarter of venison, a payment of
both principal and interest.
There were other Indians in Pleasant Valley beside those
mentioned. Near the present residence of Alonzo W. Still in
the Boquet Valley ample evidence of former Indian occupa
tion has been observed by the writer within the past 30 years,
arrow heads, etc., having frequently been found there.
The Indians, however, who were numerous here a little over
a century ago, gradually fell back before the advancing wave
of civilization. "He will not," says Parkman of the Indian,
"learn the arts of civilization and he and his forest must per
ish together. The stern unchanging features of his mind ex
cite our admiration from their very immutability ; and we
look with deep interest on the fate of this irreclaimable son of
the wilderness, the child who will not be weaned from the
breast of his rugged mother. And our interest increases when
we discern in the unhappy wanderer the germs of heroic vir
tues mingled among his vices, — a hand bountiful to bestow as
it is rapacious to seize, and even in extremest famine, impart
ing its last morsel to a fellow sufferer ; a heart which, strong
in friendship as in hate, thinks it not too much to lay down
life for its chosen comrade; a soul true to its own idea of
1 The old home-made broiler upon which that piece of meat was cooked has been in pos
session of the writer for several years.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 66
honor and burning with an unquenchable thirst for greatness
and renown.
The imprisoned lion in the showman's cage differs not more
widely from the lord of the desert, than the beggarly frequenter
of frontier garrisons and dramshops differs from the proud
denizen of the woods. It is in his native wilds alone that the
Indian must be seen and studied."
With this faithful portrayal from the pen of Francis Park-
man, that greatest delineator of Indian character, as given on
page 44, of volume 1, of The Conspiracy of Pontiac, which cor
responds with our idea of the- Adirondack Indian as handed
down by the late Oliver Abel, Sr., the writer dismisses the
"noble red man," who once fished the streams and hunted the
forests of Pleasant Valley, enjoying his natural birthright to
his heart's content.

67 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN

Organization of Essex County.
Oh, County of Essex, stern land of the North,
Disfavor'd and rudest New York has brought forth.
Of sixty-one parts of the broad Empire State
What other, like thee, has so struggl'd with fate.
Not one so rough made, s,s though Nature would doom,
And none so long linger'd in mystr'y and gloom.
Essex County was set off from Clinton County by act of the
New York Legislature March 1, 1799, as is shown by the fol
lowing act copied word for word from the bound volume of
Session Laws for the year 1799 :

CHAP. 24.
An Act to divide the County of Clinton.
Passed the 1st of March, 1799.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of New York rep
resented in Senate and Assembly, That all that part of the
County of Clinton lying south of a line beginning at the south
west corner of the town of Peru, and running from thence
easterly along the south line of said town until it intersects the
great river Auaable, from thence down the said river along the
north bank thereof, until it comes to the forks of said river,
and from thence along the north bank of the south branch of
said river until it strikes Lake Champlain, and from thence
due east to the east bounds of the State of New York, shall be
and hereby is set off and erected into a new County by the
name of Essex : And the freeholders and inhabitants of the
said county shall have and enjoy within the same, all and

CAPTAIN JOHN CALKIN,
of Battle of Plattsburgh Fame. Surrogate of Essex County J82J-J83J.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 70
singular the rights, powers and privileges, as the freeholders
and inhabitants of the other counties within this state are by
law entitled to have and enjoy.
And be it further enacted, that all the remaining part of
the said count}' shall be and continue a separate county by
the name of Clinton.
And be it further enacted that there shall be held at the
Court House in Plattsburgh in and for the said county of Clin
ton three terms of a court of common pleas, and two terms of
a court of general sessions of the peace in every year, to com
mence and end on the days following to wit, one term of the
court of common pleas and one term of the court of general
sessions of the peace to commence on the first Tuesday in May
and end on the Saturday following ; one other term of the
said court to commence on the first Tuesday in October and
end on the Saturday following ; and one other term of the court
of common pleas to commence on the third Tuesday in Janu
ary and end on the Saturday following.
And be it further enacted, that there shall be held at the block
house in the town of Willsborough in and for the said County
of Essex, three terms of the court of common pleas, and two
terms of the court of general sessions of the peace, in every
year, to commence and end on the days following, to wit, one
term of the court of common pleas and one term of the court
of general sessions of the peace to commence on the second
Tuesday in May, and end on the Saturday following ; one other
term of the said court to commence on the last Tuesday in
September, and end on the Saturday following; and one other
term of the court of common pleas to commence on the second
Tuesday in January, and end on the Saturday following. Pro
vided that in any of the terms aforesaid, the court may adjourn
previous to the day assigned, if the business thereof will admit.
And be it further enacted, that all that part of the town of

71 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
Peru, which is by this act made a part of the County of Essex,
shall be annexed to and become a part of the town of Wills
borough. And be it further enacted. That the block house in the town
of Willsborough in the County of Essex, shall when completed
be deemed to be the goal of the said County until another suf
ficient goal shall be erected in and for the same ; and until
sufficient provision can be made in the premises it shall be
lawful to and for the Sheriff of the said county at his discre
tion, to commit any of his prisoners to the goal of the county
of Washington, there to be detained until they shall be legally
discharged. And be it further enacted, that until other provision be
made by law, the freeholders and inhabitants of the said county
of Essex, shall give their votes for one member of the assembly
in the same manner as if this law had not been passed ; and
the votes taken in the said county of Essex at each election
for member of assembly, shall be delivered by the clerk of the
said county, to any of the supervisors thereof who shall carry
the same to the clerk of the county of Clinton without delay,
to be delivered by him to any one of the supervisors of the said
county of Clinton on the last Tuesday in May in every year ;
and the same together with the votes taken in the county of
Clinton at any such election shall be canvassed by the super
visors of the county of Clinton, and by such of the supervisors
as may attend for that purpose from the county of Essex.
The block house in the town of Willsborough stood in what is
now the village of Essex. This block house is said to have
been erected as a means of protection in consequence of Gen
eral St. Clair's defeat by the Indians in the west. It was
feared that the western Indians would combine with the Six
Nations (Iroquois Confederacy) and the scenes of the older
frontiers be repeated in the Champlain Valley. This block

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 72
house was used as a County Building for about 10 years, after
which it was taken down. Some of the timbers taken from
this block house were used in the construction of a large barn
which stands on the General Henry H. Ross place in Essex
village. The writer personally inspected these old timbers
about five years ago, being accompanied on the tour of inspec
tion by Henry Harmon Noble of Essex.
Following is a list of the first officers appointed for Essex
County, the original commission being on file in the Essex
County Clerk's office :
The People of the State of New York, by the Grace of God,
Free and Independent : To Daniel Ross, Asa Adgate and Roger
Alden Hiern, Esquires, Judges, and Stephen Cuyler, Esquire,
Clerk of the County of Essex, Greeting ;******
Greeting. Know ye, That we reposing especial trust and
confidence in your loyalty and integrity, Have thought fit to
appoint you and We Do hereby give and grant you and each
of you, jointly and severally, full power and authority to ten
der and administer unto all and every Officer and Officers, civil
and military, appointed or elected or to be appointed or
elected, for our said county, the several oaths required by law
to be taken by the said Officers respectively ; and to receive
from said Officers their several subscriptions to the said oaths
respectively. In Testimony whereof, We have caused these
letters to be made patent, and the great seal of our said State
to be hereunto affixed. Witness our trusty and well beloved
John Jay, Esquire, Governor of our said State, General and
Commander in Chief of all the .Militia and Admiral of the Navy of
the Same (by and with the advice and consent of our Council
of Appointment, by them given, the day of the date hereof)
at the city of Albany on the Ninth day of March in the year of

73 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-nine and in
the twenty-third year of our Independence. JOHN JAY.
Passed the Secretary of State's Office the 9th day of March,
1799. DANIEL HALE, Sec'ry.
Isaac Kellogg, John Morhouse, Jr., and Ebenezer Newell,
Esquires, were also appointed Assistant Justices of the Court
of Common Pleas by John Jay March 9, 1799.
In the list of appointments given the sons-in-law of Wm.
Gilliland, the pioneer settler of Essex County, fared well.
Daniel Ross, First Judge of the old Court of Common Pleas,
married Elizabeth Gilliland, eldest daughter of Wm. Gilliland,
Sr., in 1785. Daniel Ross came from Dutchess County, N. Y.
Daniel Ross and Elizabeth, his wife, became the parents of
William D. Ross and Henry H. Tloss of Essex. It was Daniel
Ross who built the house in the northern part of the village of
Essex which is to-day known as the William R. Derby house,
said to be the oldest occupied dwelling in Essex County.
Stephen Cuyler, first Essex County Clerk, married Charlotte
Gilliland. Stephen Cuyler and Charlotte, his wife, became the
parents of Edward S. Cuyler, who was Essex County Clerk
from 1833 to 1839. Stephen Gilliland Cuyler, James Cuyler
and Mrs. Charlotte Bower of Chicago, III., are sons and daugh
ter of Edward S. Cuyler. Richard W. S. Cuyler of Guinda,
Cal., is also a surviving son of Edward S. Cuyler, whose wife
was Emily Parkill in her maiden days.
Ebenezer Newell was serving as Supervisor of Elizabethtown
when Essex County was organized in the spring of 1799. The
other town officers at that time are said to have been as fol
lows : Town Clerk, Sylvanus Lobdell ; Assessors, Jacob South
well, David Calender, Norman Newell ; Overseers of the Poor,

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 74
Jonathan Breckinridge, Hezekiah Barber ; Constable and Col
lector, Nathan Lewis ; Constable, Thomas Hinckley ; School
Commissioners, E. Newell, William Kellogg, Hezekiah Bar
ber ; Overseers of Highways (Numbered from one to ten) John
Santy, N. Hinckley, John Potter, S. Lobdell, Joseph Durand,
Simeon Durand, Jacob Seture, Joseph Pangborn, B. Newell,
Stephen Eldridge. Fence Viewers, Hezekiah Barber, Elijah
Bishop, Elijah Rich. Inspectors of Election, Eben'r Newell,
Sylvanus Lobdell, David Calender. Clerks, Norman Newell,
Eben'r Bostwick.
This list contains a representative from every section of the
town settled at that time. A glance at the list reveals some
family names which have ever since been prominent in the his
tory of the town and some of which are connected with official
life here to-day.
Shortly after the organization of Essex County there came
to Pleasant Valley a man who had married into one of the
first families in New York State. Reference is here made to
Theodorus Ross who had married Elizabeth Van Rensselaer
and brought his blue blooded bride here to dwell among our
grand old hills. Born to affluence and ease, one whose name
was connected with the Patroon, the charming bride of Theo
dorus Ross turned her back on the social environments of one
of the first families of the land and came to reside in Pleasant
Valley, their home being on the Plain in what is now Eliz
abethtown village. To-day no power of fancy can restore to
ug — sober-clad, pre-occupied, democratic people that we are—
the fl.ashing glories of the rank, beauty and worth to which
Elizabeth (Van Rensselaer) Ross bade adieu when she came
to make her home here in the seclusion of our heavily forested
valley. The great and only General Philip Schuyler, one of the
grandest men in the world's history, it will be recalled, married

rs HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
"Sweet Kitty Van Rensselaer" and their daughter Elizabeth
Schuyler became the wife of Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of
the Treasury under President Washington. Many were the
distinguished guests who were entertained by the Van Rens-
selaers along the pastoral banks of the Upper Hudson in those
palmy days before Elizabeth Van Rensselaer became Mrs.
Theodorus Ross. Washington, the Livingstons, Benjamin
Franklin and LaFayette had enjoyed the hospitality of the
Van Rensselaers in those days and afterwards the memory of
it was pleasant to them. Indeed, the scenes to which Mrs.
Elizabeth Ross was familiar in her young and tender years
belong to a dead century and faded generation and we of the
present age strive in vain to reproduce, even in fancy.
Theodorus Ross was a brother of Judge Daniel Ross before
mentioned and he became interested in business enterprises
here in Elizabethtown soon after the formation of Essex
County. Theodorus Ross himself, who had married one of
the choicest of earth's maidens, is said to have had a selfish
disposition and arrogant mien.
Daniel Ross served as First Judge of the old Essex County
Court of Common Pleas for 23 years. The Ross brothers,
Daniel and Theodorus, did considerable business in Elizabeth-
town for several years after the organization of Essex County.
A grist-mill was erected on the south side of the Little Boquet
River, the site being that of the store now occupied by Harry
H. Nichols. In fact the frame of the front part of the store
occupied by Mr. Nichols is the identical frame erected by "the
Rosses" over a century ago. The old wooden flume, conveying
water for power, came from the Little Boquet across under
the street in front of where the Robert B. Dudley law office
now stands and thence along in front of where the T. B. Pierce
block is now located. Alonzo McD. Finney, who is now in
his 90th year, remembers when the Ross grist-mill was in op-

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 76
eration and the old wooden flume is still in his mind's eye, al
though it fell into disuse shortly after 1830. This old flume,
according to the only man now living here who can remember
it, was built of wood and was square in form, similar to the
flume afterwards used at the Noble tannery in this village.
Across the street from the Ross grist-mill was a store, also
kept by "the Rosses," who had control of considerable land
along the Little Boquet River and also on the Plain. It is
said that Daniel Ross was instrumental in building the first
saw-mill in the south end of the township, in the section mod-
ernly known as Euba Mills.
"The Rosses" also ran a whiskey distillery, which stood near
where the T. B. Pierce block now stands. This plant was not
operated any to speak of after the freshet of July, 1830.
Theodorus Ross and Elizabeth Van Rensselaer Ross had
two sons — Van Rensselaer and Gansevoort — and a daughter
Sarah Ann, all of whom grew up here in Elizabethtown.
Another man who came to Elizabethtown about the time
Essex County was organized or at least shortly after organiz-
tion was effected, was Jonas Morgan, Sr. Jonas Morgan, Sr.,
came into this section from Lansingburgh, Rensselaer County,
N. Y., and probably knew the Van Rensselaers and Rosses be
fore he came this way. March 26, 1799, Jonas Morgan, Sr.,
received a patent from the State of New York of part of a
4,800 acre tract of land, then all within the township of Eliz
abethtown, which tract was subsequently divided into 46 lots,
the greater number of which are now in Westport, the territory
having been set off from Elizabethtown in 1815. Two other
tracts were subsequently granted to Jonas Morgan, Sr., who
built a forge on Lot No. 7, of Morgan's original patent. This
was the first forge built along the Black River and is said to
have been the first forge erected in Elizabethtown. It stood
on the Elizabethtown side of the Black River, as the town line

77 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
now runs, and afterward came to be known as the lower forge.
This forge Mr. Morgan sold to Jacob Southwell and it was
afterwards called the Southwell forge. The writer thinks it
only proper to state here that Jonas Morgan of Morgan's pat
ent fame had a son also named Jonas, hence there were two
Jonas Morgans, Jonas, Sr., and Jonas, Jr., a fact now stated
in history for the first time. Jonas Morgan, Jr., was a busi
ness man and, like his father, dealt considerably in wild land
along the Black River, etc.
Another man who came to Pleasant Valley about the year
1799 was Jonas Gibbs, Sr. He settled on the Plain in what is
now Elizabethtown village and soon after settling here had a
whiskey distillery in operation. His distillery stood down
under the bank and a little south from the present residence
of Charles C. Oldruff. Jonas Gibbs, Sr., is said to have been a
money maker. Whether he made any extra money out of
watering his stock is not known to the writer. However, cer
tain it is that he became forehanded, a money lender and a
holder of mortgages, etc. He died in April, 1822, aged 84
years and was buried just east of where the pine tree now
stands in the old cemetery at the southern end of this village,
his last resting place being but a few rods distant from the
site of his once thriving "still."
Sarah, wife of Jonas Gibbs, Sr., died in 1819, and her mor
tal remains also rest under the shade of the pine tree which
has grown up in the old cemetery within the memory of living
men. A daughter, Abigail Hinckley, erected the stone at the
grave of Mrs. Jonas Gibbs, Sr.
Jonas Gibbs, Jr., evidently came here when his father set
tled on the Plain, as his name is frequently found on the early
records in the Essex County Clerk's office. The given name
of the wife of Jonas Gibbs, Jr., was Rachel, according to sig
natures on record in the Essex Countv Clerk's office. Jonas

HON. BENJAMIN POND.
Photographed by C. Underwood from Wax Profile made in
Washington, D. C, before War of I8J2.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 80
Gibbs, Jr., must have at least owned property in the town of
Lewis, if he did not actually reside there, as early as 1806. A
list of persons — owners of property, liable to work on the high
ways and the number of days each person was assessed for the
year 1806 — -is still preserved in the archives of the town of
Lewis and it shows that Jonas Gibbs, Jr., was down for 6 days.
About this time John Halstead and his wife Phebe Rogers
Halstead settled in that part of Elizabethtown then known as
Northwest Bay, now Westport village. May 28, 1800, accord
ing to a map drawn by Ananias Rogers, a brother of Phebe
Rogers Halstead and a son of Platt Rogers, the famous
road maker, there were thirty-four small lots and three
streets — Washington, Liberty and Water — in what is now West-
port village. John Halstead built the first frame house where
the village of Westport is now located. It has been described
as "a low red house." This famous Halstead house stood
upon the lot now occupied by Westport Inn. At the time of
the erection of the John Halstead house there were only two
or three log houses where Westport village stands.
John Halstead and Phebe, his wife, had eight children, all
of whom died young except two, Platt Rogers Halstead and
Caroline Eliza Halstead. Platt Rogers Halstead was a sur
veyor and is well remembered by some of the older people
who reside in Elizabethtown. Caroline Eliza Halstead was
the only one of the eight children who ever married, her hus
band being Miles McFarland Sawyer. She died in Bedford,
N. Y., March 27, 1870, in the 61st year of her age.
The late Hon. Winslow C. Watson stated on page 208 of his
History of Essex County : "Essex County voted with Clinton,
until after the census of 1800. Thomas Stower was the first
representative of Essex, when voting independent of Clinton."
At this time a steady current of emigration was setting in
from the east into Essex County, while from the south the in-

81 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
flux was almost as great. And here it may truthfully be said
that the good old New England stock, about which so much
has been said in commendation, was fully equaled in intelli
gence and morality by those who came from along the Hudson
River. The early inhabitants of central Essex County, in a
congenial soil and climate, familiar to their habits and expe
riences, implanted the usages and characteristics of patriotic
and eminently estimable ancestry. No portion of the great
Empire State ever embraced a population of higher intelli
gence, of purer morality, or more industrious and frugal habits,
generally speaking, than the pioneer settlers of central Essex
County. Of course, among the many virtuous and worthy,
there inevitably drifted in from more mature communities, a
few of the loose and reckless. However, so far as records go,
it is evident that those who did not walk straight were given a
wide berth and soon learned to their chagrin that their room
would be preferable to their company.
"By the census of 1800," says Watson, "the combined popu
lation of Clinton and Essex counties, was eight thousand five
hundred and seventy-two, including fifty-eight slaves." And
right here, while it may shock the moral sense of those who
were born and nurtured in homes of Abolitionists, the writer,
who is recording /acfe of history, hewing to the line no matter
where the chips fall, will certainly be pardoned for stating
that a portion of the "fifty-eight slaves" mentioned by Watson
toiled here in Pleasant Valley, their masters being "the
Rosses." Ebenezer Newell, who lived in the Northwest Bay section
of Elizabethtown, also served as Supervisor through the year
1800. The Inspectors for the year 1800 were Eben'r Newell,
Norman Newell, Eben'r Bostwick, Sylvanus Lobdell.
It is a regrettable fact that the early town records are not
in such shape that all the town officers may be named. The

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 82
fact is, the book containing the list of those officials who
served during the first few years of the town's history cannot,
after diligent search, be found (a painful commentary on the
care taking of official records) and the few names of town of
ficials given are gleaned from records in the Essex County
Clerk's office.
One of the first needs of every pioneer community has ever
been roads over which the settlers might communicate with
each other and the outside world. Roads to the village,
where supplies could be obtained and whither the products
of the farm could be carried and traded for store goods such
as were obtainable ; roads for social and other visits between
neighbors ; roads to accommodate the lumber interest and the
pioneer forges — these were what were needed in early days
more, perhaps, than any other improvement and tJieir improve
ment is to-day the crying need of our mountainous section.
As early as 1800 a highway was ordered laid out "from the
bridge by Azel Abel's on the west side, thence northerly on
the south side of the branch about 20 rod?, from thence across
the branch in a northerly direction on the north side of the
branch threw the land of Eliza Rich, nearly to the line be
tween s'd Rich and Thomas Squires, from thence to the dug-
way by Thomas Squires' house, from thence westerly about 100
rods, from thence north through the notch in the hill about 30
rods, from thence westerly till it strikes the road that is now
traveled from the north to Stephen Rusco's mill."
Readers familiar with Elizabethtown village will readily rec
ognize the above described road as "Water Street" and the
road to Barton's and from thence up the "Sand Hill," etc.
In the same year (1800) another highway was laid out, which
is thus described : "From the road now traveled to Wills
borough to Stephen Rusco's saw-mill, beginning at a corner
on the Willsborough road on land of Major Jonathan Breckin-

83 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
ridge about 80 rods north of s'd Breckinridge's saw-mill, from
thence on a westerly direction as the road is now traveled
through Roger H. Woodruff's improvements and on through
s'd Woodruff's land, thence on nearly as the road is now trav
eled to Henry Kno(u)lton's house, thence on in A westerly di
rection threw s'd Kno(u)lton's land as the road is now traveled
to Simon Rusco's house, from thence nearly as the road is now
traveled to Stephen Rusco's saw-mill," Henry Knoulton and
Azel Abel being named Commissioners to lay out this road.
The above described road is the one leading from a point
just above "The Windsor Farm Fish Pond" across to the
Nichols neighborhood in the town of Lewis, etc.
Henry Knoulton was the father of Ruth Knoulton men
tioned on page 47 and it was after him that the "Knoulton
Brook" in the town of Lewis was named.
"Major Jonathan Breckinridge" lived on the farm in the
town of Lewis now owned by Orlando Kellogg, proprietor of
The Windsor, Elizabethtown's largest hotel. According to
the best obtainable information "Major Jonathan Breckin
ridge" had a saw-mill on the "Knoulton Brook," now known
as Phelps Brook, said mill being located just a few rods below
and east of "The Windsor Farm Fish Pond" of the present day.
This saw-mill was unquestionably the first one ever erected on
territory now within the town of Lewis. "Major Jonathan
Breckinridge" sold the premises to Luman Wadhams (after
wards General Wadhams) early in the 19th century. General
Wadhams was a resident of the town of Lewis at the time of
the War of 1812 and in fact till about 1820. His son — Edgar
Prindle Wadhams — afterwards famous as Bishop Wadhams
(Catholic) of the Diocese of Ogdensburgh was born in 1819 in
the house which still stands on that old farm.
Roger Hooker Woodruff lived at the time this road was laid
out on the farm next above the Breckenridge place, having

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 84
settled there and made improvements before 1800. He died
in the house where John Soper, the Lewis Highway Commis
sioner, lives to-day. Roger Hooker Woodruff had a large
family of sons and daughters. One of the latter became the
mother of the late Colonel LaRhett L. Livingston (West Point
Military Academy) of the U. S. Army, another became the
mother of Bovette B. Bishop, Esq., of Moriah, and last, but
not least, one of the daughters married Orlando Kellogg, the
distinguished lawyer and legislator who so long and ably rep
resented this district in Congress at Washington, D. C.
It is said that the wide 1st growth pine boards nailed to the
fence posts in the Woodruff-Steele district of 'the town of
Lewis, as well as those used in the construction of the barns
on the Steele farm, were sawed at the old Breckenridge mill
on the "Knoulton Brook." This old saw-mill stood just below
the highway.
The following, copied word for word, spelling and all, shows
that Elizabethtown was not without that necessary pioneer in
stitution, a pound :
"Pound — To be bilt at the Dwelling House of Jonas
Gibbs thirty feet Square with a good dore Hinges and Lock,
to be bilt by the first of June next and if the Person that shall
agrefe to build it Doth Neglect shall forfit the sum to the
amount he agrees to Build it for.
Jonas Gibbs to build s'd Pound thirty feet square for ten
Dollars and fifty cents. Jonas Gibbs pound Keeper."
"Law of all fences, four feet six inches high."
Jonas Gibbs is said to have lived about 25 years in a house
which stood on land now owned by W. M. Marvin.
In 1800 there came to reside in Elizabethtown a man who
at once became highly useful and who lived here continuously
for over half a century, until his death in 1852. The man
here referred to is Dr. Alexander Mors6,who married Mary Nich-

85 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
olson(Nickolson, as it is spelled in the Morse genealogy.) The
wife of Dr. Alexander Morse died of apoplexy here in Eliz
abethtown. Their children were Percival, Amnia, Flavia,
John D. and Austin, the two latter dying with consumption,
aged 22 and 21 respectively.
Percival Morse graduated from Vermont University in the
class of 1827, studied law and helped edit a newspaper here.
He married Lavina Graves Feb. 1, 1831. Their children were
Irving D., Austin Alexander, George Percival, John D., and
Elizabeth L. Percival Morse lived in a plastered house which
stood near where Judge Rowland 0. Kellogg's driveway leaves
the street. Percival Morse died with consumption April 17,
1841, being much lamented as a scholarly man.
A brother of Dr. Alexander Morse, Dr. Alpheus Morse, also
lived for many years in Essex County. He was for a time lo
cated at what was once famous in the history of the town of
Essex — The Cobb Stand — and afterwards practiced medicine
in the town of Jay. He married twice, his first wife being
Jemima Nicholson, the marriage taking place Nov. 5, 1794.
The oldest child of Dr. Alpheus Morse and his wife Jemima was
Maria, born at Dorset, Vt., July 7, 1795. A son Ralza, born
Oct. 18, 1797, married Samantha Holcomb April 23, 1823, and
afterwards resided in the town of Lewis. A son of Ralza
Morse, Alpheus A. Morse, Esq., resides in the town of Essex
and a daughter, Mrs. Lucy Jane Livingston, widow of the late
Wm. Livingston of Lewis, resides at Berkeley, Cal.
Dr. Alpheus Morse's second wife was Ruth M. Hibbard, a
resident of Upper Jay.
Maria Morse, daugher of Dr. Alpheus Morse, married Rev.
Hiram Chamberlain, a Presbyterian minister, Oct. 9, 1825,
going to Franklin, Mo. Rev. Hiram Chamberlain was the
pioneer Presbyterian missionary of Missouri. Their children

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 86
were Henry and Payson who both died young and Henrietta
who married Richard King. While Mrs. Henrietta King
never lived in Elizabethtown, the following write up from
Texas will be of interest to all readers of this book, and espe
cially to those who remember her late mother, who frequently
visited her uncle. Dr. Alexander Morse, here in pioneer days :
CATTLE QUEEN OF TEXAS.
Mrs. King and Her Vast Herds of Cattle and Sheep.
Mrs. Richard King, of Texas, is probably the richest woman
in the United States, not even excepting Mrs. Hetty Green.
Her wealth was partly inherited from her father, a pioneer
Presbyterian clergyman, the first who ever went, staff and bible
in hand, to preach the Gospel to the Indians and mixed races
that peopled the vast domain over which his own little daugh
ter was destined to hold sway as a landed proprietor.
Mrs. King is a widow, and her landed estates in southern
Texas amount to 1,250,000 acres, or about two thousand square
miles. The ranch on which she resides is the largest in the
world. It is called "The Santa Gertrudes." In the center of
it, thirteen miles from her front gate, is Mrs. King's home, a
central chateau, looming up like a baronial castle on a slight
eminence. All around it are the pretty homes of dependents,
surrounded by well tilled fields and gardens.
The 200,000 cattle, of improved and imported breeds, and
all sheep within the Santa Gertrudes ranch belong to Mrs.
King. The current expenses of the ranch reach $100,000 a
year. Three hundred cowboys are in her employ, for whom
she keeps 1,200 ponies.
Corpus Christi is the terminus of a branch railroad built by
Mrs. King to take the place of her wagon trains, which for
merly bore ice and every other necessity and luxury to her ranch

87 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
from Corpus Christi. Long trains from that city now carry
Mrs. King's cattle to the East.
The 2,000 square miles of Mrs. King's territory are bounded
on the south by Corpus Christi bay. Forty miles of the coast
belong to the Santa Gertrudes ranch. The barbed wire fences
on the land side of the estate extend 300 miles. For every
twenty miles of fencing a superintendent is employed to see
that no break is made and he has several assistants.
Part of every year Mrs. King lives in Corpus Christi, where
she has built a palace in which is found every modern
appliance for comfort, domestic economy, luxury and for the
gratification of taste in art and literature. Another remarka
ble Texas woman, Mrs. Elizabeth Brooks, in a volume intended
for private circulation only, and entitled "Prominent Women
of Texas," gives some of the facts in the above sketch, and
others not of quite so much interest to the general reader.
Daniel Wright, a native of Lebanon, Conn., where he was
born in 1757, and his wife, Patience Bill, born in Hebron the
same year, moved to Gilsum, N. H., during the Revolutionary
War and there he served three years in the Continental Line. He
fought at the battle of Bunker Hill, served eight months in 1775
in theRegiment of the famous Col. John Stark, all the year 1776
under Col. Samuel Reed, and in June, 1777, his name appears
in a New Hampshire Regiment which was sent "to reinforce
the Continental Army at Ticonderoga." The great-grandfather
of the writer. Captain Josiah Brown of New Ipswich, N. H.,
came to Ticonderoga heading a company detached from Colo
nel Enoch Hale's Regiment of New Hampshire Militia in
June, 1777, and knew Daniel Wright well. Curiously enough
these two Revolutionary veterans, both of whom had served in
the New Hampshire Militia at Ticonderoga, that training place
for soldiers, became purchasers of farming land in Essex
County, their purchases being but a few miles apart. Captain

0^a^nJb(yy>v yH^u/ej

General Ransom Noble, A Hero of the War of I8I2, Founder
of the Noble Family in Essex County and for years
Northern Ne-w York's First Business Man.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 90
Josiah Brown purchased land in what was then the town of
Willsborough, afterwards in the town of Lewis. Daniel Wright
purchased laud in what was the town of Elizabethtown from
1798 to 1815 and is now in the town of Westport. Daniel
Wright was a sturdy pioneer, a typical example of the early
settlers of Essex County. He came to the northern part of
what is now the town of Westport and settled when he was
in the prime of a vigorous manhood, having an honorable mili
tary record. March 25, 1802, he was commissioned 2d Major
"of a regiment of militia of the county of Essex, whereof Joseph
Sheldon, Esq., is Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant,'* by Gov.
George Clinton. In 1806 he was made 1st Major of his regi
ment and in 1807 Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant. In 1811
he was raised to the high rank of Brigadier General of Militia
in the counties of Essex, Clinton and Franklin, and held this
responsible position throughout the War of 1812, where the
brave old veteran will receive further mention.
Enos Loveland, born in Marlboro, formerly a part of Glas
tonbury, Conn., March 12, 1766, left his New England home
in 1800 to seek his fortune farther west. He was married at
Spencertown, N. Y., Jan. 15, 1789, to Anna Finney, who was
born in Warren, Conn., Jan. 25, 1769. Anna Finney was a
sister of Heman, Joel and Anson Finney heretofore mentioned.
Enos Loveland and wife lived for a time at Sand Lake, Rens
selaer County, N. Y., after which they came to Elizabethtown,
probably by way of the Schroon and Boquet valleys, thence
eastward across the Black River to the highlands of Morgan's
Patent. He lived at the place now called "Hoisington's."
The children of Enos and Anna Loveland were as follows :
Sylvia, who married for her first husband, Marcus Hoising
ton, having a son Marcus, and afterward became the second
wife of Dr. Diadorus Holcomb.
Asa, who married Margaret Frasier and went west.

91 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
Erastus, who married Lucy Bradley and became the father
of Ralph A. Loveland who represented Essex County in the
Assembly and in the State Senate and afterwards became a
wealthy lumber dealer in Chicago, III., and Saginaw, Mich.,
where he died in 1899.
Amanda, who married Warren Harper.
Lucetta, who became a school teacher. She was twice mar
ried, first to Leman Bradley, second to Eben Egerton.
Narcissa, who married Elijah Angler.
Aretas, who married Emeline Manning.
Then came two children, both being named Datus, one born
in 1805, the other in 1806. Both died young.
Harriet, who married James Stringham.
Then there was an infant, born and died in 1810, and the
youngest of the family was Enos, who died at the age of 20
years. In 1801 Elijah Bishop served as Supervisor of Elizabeth-
town, the Inspectors being Elijah Bishop, Sylvanus Lobdell,
Benjamin Payne, the latter being one of the first settlers in
what is now the town of Keene.
The clerks in 1801 were Charles Goodrich and John Lobdell.
Major Elijah Bishop had settled at what is now New Russia
in 1793, being "a mechanic of all trades." Major Elijah Bishop
was born at New Milford, Conn., Nov. 2, 1764, and married
Tabitha Holcomb, a native of Simsbury, Conn. Their children
were as follows :
Basil Bishop, born in Monkton, Vt., Feb. 28, 1789.
Lucius Bishop, born in Monkton, Vt., Nov. 20, 1791.
Arethusa Bishop, born in Elizabethtown, Jan. 30, 1795.
Midas Bishop, born in Elizabethtown, Feb. 16, 1798.
Thetis Bishop, born in Elizabethtown, March 4, 1800.
Elijah Bishop, born in Elizabethtown, Jan. 31, 1803.
Minutia Bishop, born in Elizabethtown, June 14, 1805.

HlStORY OB' ELIZABETHTOWN 92
Norval Bishop, born in Elizabethtown, April 23, 1807.
Shortly after 1800, if not actually during that year, Jacob
Matthews, born December 5, 1781, and his wife, Mary Fish,
born May 4, 1783, came to Elizabethtown to reside. Jacob
Matthews was Elizabethtown's pioneer shoemaker and once
kept shop in the plastered house which stood near where Judge
Rowland C. Kellogg's driveway leaves the street. The chil^
dren of Jacob and Mary Matthews were Orlando G., who
married for his first wife Eliza Brown, the ceremony taking
place October 26, 1823. The children of Orlando and Eliza
Matthews were George Brown, Edwin L., Forest Clark, Henry
J., Oscar A., Sarah L., Albert Platt, Chas. J., Caroline E., Lo-
vina J. and James M. George kept books in Saugetties 39
years. He died in 1898. Oscar A. died in 1872. Henry died in
Minnesota a few years ago. Caroline E. married Lycenus Beers
and died in Port Henry in 1892. Sarah, Lovina and Albert
Platt are still living. Eliza Matthews died May 28, 1860.
Orlando G. Matthews married Joanna Morse for his second
wife. One daughter was born by the second wife. The daugh
ter died a few years ago. Orlando G. Matthews died in 1881.
His second wife still survives.
Nathaniel Fish, who married Katherine Leggett and went to
Warrensburgh, N. Y., where they lived many years.
Amanda,Edwin.Almira N.
Phila E.
Platt Rogers Halstead.
Lovina J., who was an accomplished school teacher. She
married a man named Tower and lived in the west during her
latter years.
Letetia C.
Orrilla, who married John Sweatt. Charles Sweatt, son of

93 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
John and Orrilla Sweatt, became the father of Dr. Frank
Sweatt of Essex.
Roxalana. Reuben W.
James Monroe, who went to Troy, N. Y., and became a
member of the well-known mercantile firm of Silliman, Mat
thews & Co., dealers in groceries. James Monroe Matthews
was one of the best known business men in Troy for many
years and died in old age only a few years ago. Several of the
older merchants of central Essex County remember James
Monroe Matthews well as a Troy business man, having dealt
largely with him.
The most cherished memories of the writer's early boyhood
are of Mary (Fish) Matthews who survived her husband sev
eral years, the last of her residence in Elizabethtown being at
the Brown farm in the Boquet Valley. "Grandmother Mat
thews," as she was locally and familiarly known, had a great
memory and a penchant for reminiscence. Having lived here
while the Indians and wolves were still numerous and having
come from Northwest Bay to Elizabethtown village by a line of
marked trees, riding horseback and carrying her young son
Orlando G. in her arms, her reports of experiences in pioneer
days naturally found lodgment in the young and plastic mind
of the future historian of Pleasant Valley. To-day the picture
of that good old lady, nearly 99 years of age, as she groped
about the house, blind and otherwise enfeebled, is indelibly
marked in our mind's eye. Shortly after 1870 her daughter,
Mrs. Lovina J. Tower, came east and took the venerable woman
away to live in the west, where she died soon afterwards.
It has been stated on the pages of history that Joseph Jenks
came to Pleasant Valley and settled in 1804, coming here from
Nine Partners, Dutchess County, a place well-known as a
stronghold of the Friends or Quakers. It cannot be denied

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 94
that the Jenks family held this serene and unwarlike faith.
However, it is apparent from the following deed from Noah
Ferris and Sarah, his wife, to Joseph Jenks, said deed being
dated August 19, 1801, and recorded in book B of Deeds, page
189, as follows, that the good old Quaker must have arrived
here about three years earlier than historians have hitherto
given credit for :
"All that certain tract or parcel of land situate in Elizabeth-
town aforesaid, bounded as follows, beginning at the southwest
corner of lot number twelve at a basswood stump marked
number twelve and thirteen, thence running west eighteen
rods to a stake, thence south one hundred and forty four rods
to a stake, thence east one hundred and seventy eight rods to
a stake, thence north one hundred and ninety eight rods to a
rock with a heap of stones on it standing in the east line of
lot number twelve, thence west one hundred and eighteen rods
to a stream of water called the West Branch, thence up said
stream in the middle thereof south thirty degrees west six
rods, then south ten degrees east nine rods, then south forty
two degrees and thirty minutes west twelve rods, then south
seventy degrees west six rods, then north seventy degrees west
fifteen rods to a rock in said stream, thence south twenty seven
rods to the place of beginning, containing two hundred and
ten acres of land.^ Bounded on the north by Azel Abel, on
the west by James Goodrich, on the south by lands belonging
to the people of the State of New York, and on the east by
Noah Ferris land."
Joseph Jenks soon took high rank in Elizabethtown. He
was appointed Justice of the Peace and Assistant Judge of the
Court of Common Pleas. He lived about 10 years in a house

1 The rock mentioned in the deed dated nearly 104 years ago came to be the "well-known
rock" in deeds of a later date. Curiously enough this "well.known rock" was swept away
during the great freshet of 1856, disappearing entirely from mortal view and no trace of it
has since been found.

95 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
which stood near where David W. Dougan now lives on River
Street in the village of Elizabethtown. The consideration for
the property purchased by Joseph Jenks of Noah Ferris and
Sarah, his wife, was $1090 and a warranty deed was given, the
date of recording being June 29, 1812. Judge Joseph Jenks
moved to Northwest Bay three or four years before his death,
which occurred in 1815, his mortal remains being buried in
what is known as the "south burying ground." His wife's
name was Hannah. His daughter Mary married Ira Hen
derson, who was born near Fort Ann, Washington County, N.
Y, in 1791, and came to Northwest Bay from Whitehall, N. Y.,
before 1815. A daughter of Ira and Mary Henderson, Mary
Ann by name, married William Richards. William Richards
died in 1881 but his widow still survives, being in the 89th
year of her age. Mrs. Mary Ann Richards is a remarkably
well informed old lady and in years gone by gave valuable as
sistance in the preparation of this work.
By reading page 65 of Deed Book A in the Essex County
Clerk's office one finds that Elijah Rich sold 3 acres and 33
rods of land to Azel Abel, the date of the deed being Sept. 8,
1801. The consideration was $50, warranty, recorded Sept.
20, 1802.
Another man who came to Elizabethtown in 1801 was Amos
Rice. He was born Sept. 13, 1768.
He came to Elizabethtown, cleared ground, built a house
and grist-mill near the site of the present grist-mill in the
extreme western part of this village. He is said to have driven
the first wagon into Elizabethtown. In 1803 he brought his
wife and six children to Elizabethtown to live in the wilder
ness home he had founded.
The following list of children and date of births was taken
from the old family bible by permission of Mrs. E. L. Barker
of Elizabethtown, a daughter of the late George Rice :

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 96
Sally Rice, born Nov. 14, 1790.
Solomon Rice, born Dec. 20, 1792.
Levi Rice, born June 19, 1795.
Alvah Rice, born March 30, 1798.
Clarissa Rice, born June 30, 1800.
Amos L. Rice, born Jan. 28, 1802.
Robards Rice, born May 24, 1804.
Lorin Rice, born Nov. 23, 1807.
Abigail Rice, born Dec. 7, 1811.
George Rice, born Nov. 28, 1815.
In connection with the Rice family there is an interesting
chapter which, while it was not enacted here in Elizabethtown,
should nevertheless be recorded in a book like Pleasant Valley.
The details of that awful butchery known in American his
tory as the Wyoming Massacre are too well-known to call for
repetition. Suffice to say that the quiet of that peaceful,
happy valley was suddenly converted into a terrible uproar as
400 British "Tories" and several hundred Indians led by Col.
John Butler entered the Wyoming Valley. The settlers who
were at home made what resistance they could against over
whelming odds and were driven to the shelter of Fort Forty.
Two days later they surrendered. The inhabitants generally
were massacred or driven from the valley, which the Indians
left a smoking solitude.
Among those who had settled in Wyoming Valley was the
Rev. Eber Andrews, an Episcopalian clergyman who had been
born and reared near London, England. Coming to America,
he went into the wilderness, settling in the Wyoming Valley,
where he farmed it week days, and preached Sundays, a com
bination common in those early times. When the Indians
swooped down into the valley, the Rev. Eber Andrews, his
wife Sarah and their family, including a six year old daughter —
Abigail — with about 70 others made their escape. They were

97 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
scantily clothed, had but little food and one old black horse.
Two bags, one of flour, one of corn meal, some bedding, some
pork and a web of cloth hastily cut out of the loom is a list of
what they had. After getting across the river and up on to a
hill overlooking the valley, they looked back and saw the In
dians setting fire to their houses, tearing open their feather beds
and dancing about like demons.
Eventually Miss Abigail Andrews, who was born Aug. 5,
1772, grew to womanhood, being married to Amos Rice in the
autumn of 1789, the ceremony being performed at Clarenden,
Vermont. Amos Rice was an honest, upright man of rough exterior, a
mechanic of no mean ability, and had no use for professional
men generally. A prominent Essex County lawyer, a resident
of Elizabethtown, once approached the old miller with a prop
osition which carried with it a slight advantage to the pro
poser. The lawyer was as diplomatic as ever lived but he
couldn't touch the old miller. Mr. Rice told the lawyer to go
away and attend to his own business, his usual brusqueness
marking the entire conversation.
Amos Rice died suddenly at Austin Deming's house, (now
John F. Ward's) April 13, 1848, aged 79 years.
Abigail (Andrews) Rice was a resolute woman. Her reso
lution, however, was tempered with tender sensibilities. She
was one of the first members of the old Elizabethtown Baptist
Church and was firm in Christain faith to the day of death.
She died Dec. 15, 1857, aged 85 years.
Recently the writer walked up to the old Roscoe cemetery
in the town of Lewis for the purpose of visiting the last earthly
resting place of Mr. and Mrs. Amos Rice. The graves are in
the center of the cemetery, plainly marked by headstones and
easily found.
Reuben Andrews, a brother of Abigail Andrews, lived in

ANSON FINNIY.
Father of A. McD. Finney.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN lOO
Elizabethtown early in the 19th century. He was an old time
clock maker. His clocks were hand made and warranted. A
clock face made and hand painted by Reuben Andrews is be
fore the writer at the present time. It bears the following :
By Reuben Andrews. No. 395. For Azel Abel, Elizabeth-
town, April 22, 1809.
Reuben Andrews lived ou the old Keene road, so-called, just
west of the Cobble Hill Golf Ground, and took produce of all
kinds in exchange for his clocks. It is curious to note that
while the Andrews hand made clocks were common hereabouts
50 years ago, none can be found intact to-day.
Reuben Andrews moved to Wheatland, N. Y., about 1811
and died there, leaving relatives.
Lorin Rice succeeded his father in command at the grist-mill,
selling out and going west in 1882. He died several years ago.
Abigail Rice, who married Roswell A. Johnson, a first cousin,
a son of Rhoda Andrews, was the last of Amos Rice's children
to survive, dying in 1901, in the 90th year of her age. She too
was buried in the Roscoe cemetery. It might be stated here
that in the summer of 1900 the writer made a trip to Moriah
for the purpose of talking with Mrs. Johnson about the de
tails of the narrow escape of her mother from the Wyoming
massacre. Shortly after that visit an article relating to that
narrow escape appeared in the Elizabethtown Post & Gazette,
which matter was reproduced in the Troy Budget.
Solomon Rice was locally known as "Sol." Rice. He was
deaf and dumb. During early years, notably after the erec
tion of the Baptist Church and the placing of the large bell in
the tower, it was the custom to ring the bell after a death iu
the community, tolling three times three for a man, three times
two for a woman and three times one for a child. The bell also
toI(le)d the age of the person and at the time of the funeral
was tolled as the procession came to the church, also going

101 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
from the church to the cemetery. It is related by old people
that "Sol." Rice, who lived a mile away from the church bell
and knew nothing about a death having occurred, would nev
ertheless weep immediately after every death in the commu
nity and invariably his weeping was followed within a few
minutes by the tolling of the bell. Was this a case of mental
telegraphy ?
Truman Rice, a brother of Amos Rice, lived just west of
Elizabethtown village on "the old Keene road," so-called. "The
old Keene road" ran diagonally across what is now the Cobble
Hill Golf Ground, thence through the woods (where the old
road is plainly visible to this day) and thence past the Truman
Rice home and so on over the hill, coming into the present high
way leading from Elizabethtown village to Keene at a point
near the residence of Wm. H. McDougal. Truman Rice was
locally known as "Governor" Rice. He removed to Ohio about
1831 and one of his daughters married Governor Reuben
Wood. He visited Elizabethtown with his wife and expressed
himself so much pleased with the view from the eminence north
east of and overlooking the village, that it has since been uni
versally known as Wood Hill.
A son of Truman Rice, Lorenzo Rice by name, had a defec
tive eye and on account of the imperfection was locally known
as "Gimlet Eye." Lorenzo Rice built a saw-mill a short dis
tance below his father's residence, on Deep Hollow Brook,
which he operated only for a short time, as he found he had
located on a "thunder shower" stream. After a few months,
finding that he didn't have water enough for power except for
a short time in the spring of the year, he took the saw-mill
down and re-erected it on the Durand Brook at the falls just
west of where Arthur Cauley now lives in the Boquet Valley.
Traces of these two saw-mill sites are still visible on the
streams mentioned, though there is only one man now living in

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 102
Elizabethtown old enough to remember when the man with
the defective eye was operating upon these streams.
Lorenzo Rice sold out his land to the late Oliver Abel, Sr.,
in 1834, as a deed in possession of Miss Alice E. Abel attests.
Amos G. Rice, son of the late Lorin Rice, resides in Eliz
abethtown. He is a mechanic of recognized abihty. Many of
the old grist-mills of central Essex County have felt the force
of his mechanical ability, being rejuvenated thereby.
It might be stated here that Amos Rice and Abigail An
drews bought their land of the Roscoes before mentioned.
Benjamin Payne, heretofore mentioned as a town official, is
reputed to have been the first white man to settle and remain
in that part of Elizabethtown which was "set off," with a strip
off the town of Jay, as Keene March 19, 1808. He is said to
have penetrated the wilderness by way of Northwest Baj' and
Pleasant Valley, following a line of marked trees through the
woods, bringing his goods in a "jumper or rude vehicle con
structed of two long poles which served the purpose at once of
thills, traces and wheels." It has been stated in history that
Benjamin Payne died before 1800. This statement, however,
cannot be true, as he was serving as one of Elizabethtown's
Inspectors in 1801, as the official returns in the Essex County
Clerk's office show. Betsey Payne is said to have been the
first white child born in what is now the town of Keeue.
Other early settlers in what is now Keene were Timothy
and Nathaniel Pangborn, brothers, David Graves, Thos. Tay
lor, Gen. Reynolds, Zadoek Hurd, Eli Hull and Thomas Dart,
Sr. Thomas Dart married Sarah Wilcox and originally came
from the Keene, N. H., region. He is said to have been a
Revolutionary soldier. The children of Thomas and Sarah
Dart were as follows : Thomas Dart, Jr., who married Cynthia
Griswold, their marriage being the first event of the kind to take

103 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
place in what is now the town of Keene. Ebenezer Dart, who
married a Manley and lived many years in what is now Keene.
Lydia Dart, who married Major William Bailey, one of the
most patriotic men who ever lived in the Ausable Valley. Ma
jor Wilham Bailey lived on a farm at North Jay, where he died
shortly after the close of the late civil war. A son, Hiram
Bailey, died at Keene Valley in 1900, and another son, Thomas
Bailey, died at North Jay in 1902. A daughter of Major Wil
liam Bailey, Sarah by name, married Harvey Wilcox, a first
cousin, the marriage ceremony being performed by Rev. Henry
Herrick of Clintonville, N. Y., in that most weird of bridal
chambers— Ausable Chasm — the certificate being dated "Table
Rock, Town of Chesterfield, Essex Co., June 14, 1848." The
other children of Major William Bailey were William, "Nabby"
and John.
A daughter of Thomas Dart, Sr., married an Estes and
another married a Wilson and went to Pennsylvania to reside.
Roxy, who never married.
The first death in what is now Keene is reported to have
been Eli Bostwick.
Zadoek Hurd kept the first hotel in what is to-day known
as Keene.
Of all the early settlers of that part of Elizabethtown which
was destined to become part of the town of Keene, Eli Hull
unquestionably had the most unique record. He was born at
Killingworth, Conn., March 20, 1764, and was therefore a mere
boy when the American Revolution broke out. He was bound
out to learn the shoemaker's trade but felt that his apprentice
ship was irksome and ran away from his master. The fact
that his only brother Joseph was then in the American army
at Valley Forge led the youth in that direction. After consid
erable exertion, accompanied by the hardship incident to a
long journey on foot at that time, he arrived at Washington's

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 104
headquarters and offered his services. The great hearted
Washington saw that the lad was fired with patriotism but
could not enlist him at that time on account of his tender
years. However, General Washington said to him : "I will
employ you as my waiter boy and when you are old enough
will enlist you." From that time to 1781 he took care of Gen
eral Washington's horse, ran on errands, etc., serving faithfully
and acceptably. On January 1, 1781, he enlisted as a private
in Captain Stephen Potter's Company, Colonel Heman Swift's
Division, and served throughout the remainder of the Revolu
tion, doing his duty steadfastly and well. After the close of
the Revolution he and his brother Joseph went to Dempster,
N. H., where both married and settled as farmers.
Eli Hull married Sally Beckwith. Early in the 19th century
he moved with his family to the banks of the Ausable River,
settling near what is to-day known as Hull's Falls, named in
honor of the Revolutionary veteran himself. It is worthy of
note that Eli Hull was a participant in the War of 1812, taking
part in the Battle of Plattsburgh, where three of his ten sons —
Joseph, Alden and Eli B. — also served. It is also worthy of
mention that Eli Hull was a pensioner, the pension being
granted to him as a Connecticut veteran of the Revolution re
siding in the State of New York, under the Act of 1818. This
man of remarkable record died in Keene in 1828, his mortal
remains being buried in the family lot near Hull's Falls. The
late Major William Henry Harrison Hull of Keene was the
9th of the 10 sons born to Eli Hull and Sally Beckwith, his
wife. Major Hull died June 2, 1897. Since the death of Major
Hull a Post Office— Hull's Falls— has been established in the
neighborhood where Eli Hull lived and died. Otis Henry
Hull, eldest son of the late Major Hull and grandson of Eli
Hull, being Postmaster.
In 1801 Norman Nicholson was serving as Postmaster of

105 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
Elizabethtown and he is said to have been the first Postmaster
the town ever had. He was the father of the late George S.
Nicholson, Esq., and a brother of Mary Nicholson, the wife of
Dr. Alexander Morse, heretofore mentioned. Where he kept
the Post Office none now living can tell. However, it is highly
probable that the Post Office was then not far distant from
the site of the present Post Office where a grandson of Nor
man Nicholson, John D. Nicholson, Esq., is serving as Post
master, he being the only living son of the late George S.
Nicholson, Esq.
Elder Reynolds is reputed to have been pastor of the Baptist
Church in Elizabethtown in 1801.
Mention of a "lake road" was made "in the town records of
1801" says Mrs. Caroline Halstead Royce in her history of
Westport and of another which ran "through Ananias Rog
ers' clearing." The latter road Mrs. Royce concludes "was
probably a road connecting Pleasant Valley with Northwest
Bay." '
At this time men of energy and capacity were wending their
way into Elizabethtown, the township then extending from the
shore of Lake Champlain westward to the North Elba of to
day. In the fall of 1801 Charles Hatch, who had been located at
Brookfield for eleven years, concluded to move to that part of
Elizabethtown designated as Northwest Bay. Forty years
after his removal to Northwest Bay he wrote, at the request
of Dr. Sewall S. Cutting, then editor of the New York Re
corder, a letter descriptive of Northwest Bay as he first saw it,
which has fortunately been preserved. He began :
"Dear sir : — I now, agreeable to promise, commence a sketch
of the early settlement of this country, but more particularly
of the town of Westport. In the spring of 1790 I moved to
the settlement of Brookfield, which commenced in the spring

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 106
of 1789, which place was then in the town of Willsboro, but
now in the town of Essex. At that time all the country west
of me for 100 miles was an entire wilderness. I remained in
Brookfield until 1802. During that time a settlement com
menced in Pleasant Valley, now Elizabethtown, also in the
several towns of Chesterfield by Isaac Wright, in Jay by Na
thaniel Malery, in Keene by Benjamin Payne, in Schroon by
a Judge Pond. All commenced their improvements and pro
gressed rapidly. Our roads were all to make anew. I helped
look out the first road that led from Brookfield to the lake, a
distance of six miles. I drove the first loaded wagon from
Brookfield to Pleasant Valley, a distance of eight miles.
"In the fall of 1801 I concluded to move to Westport, eight
miles from my then residence, yet there was no road. I then
harnessed my horses to a wagon, with four men with me, and
in two days' time, with perseverance, we reached Westport, my
present residence, situated ten miles west of the City of Ver-
gennes, in Vermont, and being on the west side of Lake Cham
plain." He does not mention his reason for leaving Brookfield, but
to any one who knows his history it is plain that he foresaw
no future for himself and his aptitude for business in a place
like Brookfield, which has remained unto this day simply a
stretch of farming country.
"Westport at that time was mostly a dense forest, with a few
solitary settlements, without a road near the lake to Essex,
the adjoining town north, and none to Crown Point, the then
adjoining town south. We, of course, had no means of com
municating with our neighboring towns but by water, and that
(manuscript indistinct) ***** ferry com
menced by Platt Rogers and John Halstead, another one two
and one-half miles south at Barber's Point, by Hezekiah Bar
ber, which place bears his name. Still there was also a small

107 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
improvement four miles south of the present Westport village,
commenced by a man by the name of Raiment, which was the
only improvement commenced before the Revolution in the
present Westport. At the last mentioned place Raiment
erected a small mill, but it was all demolished when I moved
into this place, except a shattered old house which was occu
pied by Benjamin Andrews.
"The village of Westport is situated about nine miles north
of Crown Point, on a pleasant Bay, and * * * had * * *
three log houses, a saw-mill, and a few scattering log houses
in the backwoods."
Watson who probably received his information from the
old Squire himself, says that he found there one frame house,
three log houses, a saw-mill and one barn. The frame house,
and probably the barn, were John Halstead's, and the saw
mill was built by Ananias Rogers.
"The little partial improvement on the village ground was
covered with dry Hemlock Trees, but the first settlers was a
set of Hardy, Industrious men, and the wilderness soon became
fruitful fields, and the improvements have progressed gradu
ally. The great Iron Ore Bed, formerly called the Crown
Point Ore Bed, is situated in the south part of Westport, and
is one of the most extensive mines of Iron in this Northern
Iron region. It was discovered soon after the Revolution, and
fell into the hands of Platt Rogers, who made some improve
ments in raising. He employed a number of miners. Among
the miners was a respectable Englishman by the name of
Walton, and some of his descendants still remain in the same
neighborhood, and some occupying the same ground, and en
joy a respectable place in society."
He is mistaken in saying that the ore bed was "discovered
soon after the Revolution," as its existence was well-known to
Philip Skene, and we have good reason to believe that this is

/fi; y -t^'v

GENERAL HENRY H. ROSS.
Owner of the Mansion House in Elizabethtown For Years.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 110
why he desired the grant of the land from the king. It is an
interesting fact that the Walton family of whom Judge Hatch
speaks still occupy the same place, on the road between West-
port and Port Henry.
"In consequence of the Iron mine above named, and many
others in the neighboring towns, there are many forges erected
in almost every town in the countv, and many of them bring
their iron into Westport for market. The early settlers suf
fered many privations, it being a time when all kinds of mer
chandise was very Dear, and no manufacturing near but what
every Family did for themselves ; no mills near. None knows
the privations but those that tryed it, but the scene is much
changed. We now find ourselves situated in a pleasant Vil
lage of about one thousand inhabitants, plentifully supplied
with the necessaries of life, and many luxuries, having now a
variety of factorys, among others a furnace which makes from
six to nine tons of Iron per day, and another furnace at Port
Henry. Of the several Iron mines in Essex Co. the following
is a part; 1st, in Westport. 2nd, in Moriah. 3rd, in Crown
Point. 4th, in Elizabethtown, besides many more, almost
without number."
The old Judge, or Squire, always wrote the word "iron" with
a capital I and well he might, for it had a great part in build
ing up his fortune. Again, after Judge Charles Hatch got to
be old he quite often gave his age under his signature, as
dozens of letters still preserved bear silent but indisputable
witness. In the same year that the wordly possessions of Charles
Hatch were conveyed with so much labor through the wilder
ness from Brookfield to Northwest Bay, another party made
its way in the opposite direction to the falls on the Boquet.
They crossed Lake Champlain, landed at Northwest Bay and

Ill ' HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
cut a road "four miles through the pine woods." This was
the Jesse Braman party and they came from Eastern Massa
chusetts. His people were early settlers in Norton, Mass.
Jesse Braman's wife was Abiatha Felt and her brother Aaron
Felt was also an early settler at what is now designated Wad
hams Mills. It was Aaron Felt who built the first grist-mill
at the falls. His wife was Rachel Chase, a resolute woman.
It has been said that she could run the mill as well as her hus
band and that when it was necessary to carry the grain to the
mill, she shouldered the bag, man fashion, and went ahead as
though it was her duty to do it. Aaron Felt and family moved
to Pleasant Valley about 1809, but the Bramans stayed where
they first settled. Jesse Braman's wife Abiatha had six chil
dren and then died. His second wife was Marcia Rose and
she had seven children. Daniel W. Braman grew to be one
of the substantial business men of Wadhams Mills. Horace
Braman was also in business there and his son Jesse has been
a practicing physician there. Jason Braman married Laura
Hubble and their children were Egbert, Mary, Van Ness,
George, Estella, Lucy, Henry, James and Lynn. Of the
daughters, Asenath married Platt Sheldon, Martha mar
ried Henry Brownson and Helen married Thomas Felt.
In 1802 Charles Goodrich served as Elizabethtown's Super
visor, also as an Inspector. The other Inspectors in 1802 were
Benjamin Payne, Enos Loveland, Noah Ferris and Sylvanus
Lobdell. The reader will readily see that Benjamin Payne
must have been alive as late as April 29, 1802, the date of In
spectors returns, else he could not have served as a town
official at that time.
In 1802 a man named Rich built a forge on the Boquet
River at a point for the past 60 years known as New Russia,
the settlement having been so named by the late Col. E. F.
Williams in 1845. The forge was located at or near the site

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 112
of the forge afterwards so long run by the Putnams and was
the second iron manufactory erected in Elizabethtown.
In the eventful year 1802 the town of Chesterfield was
formed, being "set off" from the town of Willsborough Feb
ruary 20th, making five towns in Essex County.
During the year 1802 Elijah Calkin and his family came
into Elizabethtown. Elijah Calkin was born at Northeast,
Duchess County, N. Y., April 9, 1764. His wife, Keziah Rog
ers, was born May 9, 1764, and was therefore just one month
his junior. Elijah Calkin and wife lived for years in Northeast,
N. Y., but finally, with many other good Dutchess County
people, found their way into central Essex County. Elijah
Calkin and family settled on a farm "up west" of Elizabeth-
town village, where both died and are buried in the old "Calkin
burying ground," which took its name from them.
Elijah Calkin and wife reared a large family of children,
among whom were the following : John Calkin, who was born
July 15, 1785, in Northeast, Dutchess County, N. Y., and was
therefore about 17 years of age when he arrived in Elizabeth-
town. May 11, 1806, just before he became 21 years of age,
he married Lucy Kellogg, a daughter of Elijah Kellogg. The
children of John Calkin and Lucy Kellogg numbered nine and
were as follows : Amy Starkweather, Asa Starkweather, Nor
man, Charles McNeil, Angelina, Elvira Esterbrooks, Harriet
Elizabeth, John Towner and Charlotte Jane. It was the
writer's good fortune to know one of the nine children
named above, Charles McNeil Calkin, who was a most esti
mable Christian man who died at Iowa City, Iowa, a few years
since in extreme old age. The last of the nine children to sur
vive was John Towner Calkin who died in Chicago, 111., Janu
ary 26, 1905, in the 80th year of his age.
The eldest daughter of Elijah Calkin married John Knox

113 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
and came to Elizabethtown from Hillsdale, Columbia County,
N. Y.
Anna Calkin, who married PoUaus Aurelius Newell, concern
ing whom further mention will be made a few years later.
Calvin Calkin, who married Kaziah Kellogg.
Milo Calkin, U. S. representative to the Sandwich Islands,
was a son of Calvin Calkin.
Elijah Calkin, who married Polly Bancroft.
Isaac Calkin, who married Laura Barnum. Their daughter
Phebe became the late Mrs. Jehiel Brownson, or "Aunt
Phebe," as she was locally and familiarly known, Delia mar
ried a man named Bingham and Amanda married a Springer.
Benjamin Calkin, who married Urania Kellogg, also a
daughter of Elijah Kellogg. Tlae children of Benjamin Cal
kin and wife were Rosamond, who never married, Juliett,
who married George H. Glidden, Rebecca, who married Alvin
Blood, Phebe Ann, who married Cyrel Wakefield, Henry and
Theodore, all of whom are dead.
Hiram Calkin, who married Maria Person for his first wife.
Their children were Charles, Lewis and Leander. His second
wife was Sarah Hill Perry. The children by the second mar
riage were Evander and Elliott Brown.
Earlier in this work Captain William Kellogg was mentioned.
He was the eldest of three brothers, sons of Josiah Kel
logg who lived in the Wyoming Valley when the Tories and
Indians swooped down upon that practically defenseless set
tlement. The two younger brothers of Captain William Kel
logg were Elijah and Eldad and it is now proper to state that
the latter was also mixed up in the Wyoming Massacre, nar
rowly escaping with his life. Elijah Kellogg having arrived
in Elizabethtown, it is now time to speak at some length of
his numerous family. Elijah Kellogg married Polly Harner.
Their children were William Kellogg, 2d., who married for

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 114
his first wife Rhoda Farnsworth, a sister of Deacon Asa Farns-
worth, so long a resident of the town of Lewis. William
Kellogg's second wife was Ruby Phelps. William Kellogg's
children were: Cyrus, who married Mary Jane Williams, eldest
sister of Charles Noble Williams of Elizabethtown ; Ira, who
became a Baptist preacher, being located in or near Panton,
Vt., as late as five years ago; Harriet, who married Ezekiel
Palmer; Philander, Orson (2d.,) Rhoda and Sabra.
Valentine Kellogg, who married Huldah Phelps. Their
children were : Polly, who died of the "black throat ail" in the
winter of 1842, Jane Ann who married Wm. Codman and set
tled in Winona, Minn., where she died, Leoline Valentine, who
married in the west, Eva, who marrid a Longnecker, Luena,
who married John Townsend Miller of Minerva, Eliza, who
married Norman Miller and resides in St. Charles, Minn., Clara,
who married a Tupper and Mary, who never married. Val
entine Kellogg was one of Elizabethtown's pioneer shoemakers.
Orson Kellogg, the first son of Elizabethtown to graduate
from Vermont University, graduating with honors in
the class of 1823, married Sarah Durand and became a famous
school teacher, teaching successfully in Elizabethtown,
Westport and New York City. He visited France to look up
the estate said to have been coming to the Durand family into
which he had married but no property ever materialized for the
benefit of the Durands generally as a result of his foreign tour.
Orson Kellogg had two children, Francis and Mary, both
said to have been highly educated. Orson Kellogg died in
New York City.
Theron Kellogg, who married Lorinda Davernport.
Lorenzo Kellogg, blind, who became a Baptist preacher.
Aurelia Kellogg, who married Seth Lee. The mother of
ex-sheriff Judson C. Ware of North Elba was a daughter of
Seth Lee and Aurelia Kellogg, as was also Miss Sylvia Lee,

115 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
who died at Boquet, N. Y., January 9, 1903, in the 85th year
of her ago.
Lucy Kellogg, who married John Calkin.
Urania Kellogg, who married Benjamin Calkin.
Sophia Kellogg, who married William Rowe. William Rowe
and wife are survived by several children, notably Carlos Rowe
of Chesterfield, Mrs. Wm. E. Atherton and Miss Annette
Rowe of Boquet.
Kaziah Kellogg, who married Calvin Calkin.
Eldad Kellogg, youngest brother of William and Elijah Kel
logg, married and settled on the Black River, in what is now
known as the Meigsville section. He had a son Walter and
two daughters.
During the eventful year 1802 Elijah Hedding, (Methodist)
afterwards the famous Bishop Hedding, was preaching in the
Plattsburgh circuit. In a humble cottage on the west side of
Cumberland Head, about two miles from Plattsburgh, he is
said to have preached his first sermon. Half a century ago
that humble cottage was pointed out as the place where Bishop
Hedding began his career as a preacher. Another Methodist
preacher who was laboring in the Plattsburgh circuit at this
early time was Elijah Chichester, under whom Elijah Hedding
labored for one year, frequently coming to Elizabethtown.
John Crawford was another Methodist preacher who labored
throughout this region early in the 19th century. Here amid
our towering mountain peaks these good old fashioned Meth
odist pioneers forded streams, traversed forests, faced the
pelting storms, slept in log cabins and kindled a flame that
after the lapse of a century is not extinguished.
Another early settler in that part of Elizabethtown which
later became Westport was Timothy Sheldon. He was born
at West Point, N. Y., being a son of George Sheldon and Con
tent Soule and a direct descendant of William Sheldon, one

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 116
of the three brothers who came over from England early in
1600. He married Maria Silvernail and after leaving West
Point lived for a number of years in Brookfield, Essex County,
N. Y., where he knew Charles Hatch, before mentioned. 'In
fact, it is probable that the removal of Charles Hatch to
Northwest Bay may have influenced Timothy Sheldon to seek
his fortune in a more favorable field. At any rate he bought
land and settled in the south part of the patent of Bessboro
where he lived the remainder of his life. Timothy Sheldon
had twelve children :
Clarissa, Gitty, Walter, George, Wolfe P„ Platt, Christine,
Anne, Harriet, McConly, Otis and Ida.
Clarrissa married Jonathan Post, Walter married Mary Saw-
tell, George married Hannah North, Wolfe P. married Charity
Crandall, Platt married Asenath Braman, Christine married
Levi Hinckley, Anne married Lucius Bishop, Harriet married
David Judd, McConly was drowned while young, Otis married
Mary Howard and Ida married Thomas McKenzie.
Timothy Sheldon was a fine specimen of the old time country
gentleman. As two of his daughters married residents of the
Boquet Valley and another married a resident of the Simonds
Hill section, and as he frequently had business at Judge Au
gustus C. Hand's law office, he often drove through Elizabeth-
town village and thence up the Boquet Valley. His red face
and commanding figure are well remembered by many of the
older residents of Elizabethtown. The mortal remains of
Timothy Sheldon were buried in the cemetery at Mullein
Brook, which is passed in driving from Westport village to
Port Henry.
Hezekiah Barber, after whom Barber's Point on Lake
Champlain was named, served as Supervisor of Elizabethtown
from 1803 to 1805, inclusive. The Inspectors for 1803 were

117 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
Hezekiah Barber, Sylvanus Lobdell, Enos Loveland, Jacob
Southwell. The Inspectors for the year 1804 were Sylvanus Lobdell,
Joseph Jenks, Enos Loveland, Hezekiah Barber, Zadoek Hurd.
It was in 1804 that Theodorus Ross began his Legis
lative career, being elected to the Assembly that year.
Inasmuch as Inspectors returns for the year 1804 were
dated April 26th it is probable that the Assemblyman was
elected in the spring of that year. As the student of history
looks back a century, it is easy to see with what satisfaction
Elizabeth VanRensselaer Ross must have accepted her hus
band's election to the New York Legislature from their adopted
county after a residence here of only a few years. As the
wife of Essex County's Assemblyman she could and would go
to Albany, "that good old Dutch town," where were so many
of her early acquaintances and associates. In her mind there
were, doubtless, visions of active, social scenes of other and
better days, towards which she fondly leaned after several years
residence here among the mountains, where there was so little
of the gayety of the life to which her maiden days were so
str-ongly attached. Ah, could she have forseen what the im
mediate future had in store, sad indeed would have been her
thoughts. One early July morning of 1804 Alexander Hamilton, hav
ing been challenged by Aaron Burr to fight a duel, went across
the Hudson River from New York City to the New Jersey
shore. There one of the greatest statesmen New York ever fur
nished the Union was killed by Aaron Burr. Besides removing
from the scenes of political activity a brilliant statesman, that
duel forever blasted the hopes of an ambitious politician and
made dueling a crime. The mortal remains of the ill-fated
Hamilton were buried in Trinity churchyard, just across

View of River Street, Showing Dr. Alexander Morse's House on the Left.
Painting by George B. Wood. Photographed by Underwood.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 120
Broadway from the upper end of Wall Street, New York City.i
Alexander Hamilton, it will be recalled, married Elizabeth
Schuyler, whose mother was none other than "Sweet Kitty
VanRensselaer." Alexander Hamilton had stood shoulder to
shoulder with his father-in-law, General Philip Schuyler, John
Jay and Robert R. Livingston for "a more perfect union" and
his three hours' speech at Poughkeepsie brought tears to the
eyes of his listeners, made the opposition waver so that enough
changed their minds to make it possible to take New York
into the Union on the final vote of fifty-seven delegates by a
bare majority of three. His death under the peculiar circum
stances cast a gloom not only over the State of New York but
in every corner of the Union he had helped so materially to
perfect. And doubly sad was that circle of families of which
such a conspicuous part was formed by the VanRensselaers.
Again, on the 18th of November, 1804, General Philip Schuy
ler, who had for half a century been the faithful husband of
"Sweet Kitty VanRensselaer," breathed his last and again the
family circle to which Elizabeth VanRensselaer Ross belonged
was thrown into mourning.
For sixty -six yeai-s General Schuyler's last resting place re
mained unmarked until, in 1870, a loving grand-daughter
erected in the Albany Rural Cemetery a costly granite monu
ment bearing this simple inscription :
Major General
Philip Schuyler
Born at Albany
Nov. 22nd, 1733
Died Nov. 18, 1804."
Truly one with the unblemished character of General Philip
Schuyler needs no eulogistic epitaph.
1 A son of Hamilton had in a like combat been fatally wounded.

121 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
The towns of Schroon and Ticonderoga were organized or
formed the same day — March 20, 1804. Schroon was named
from the Dutchess of Scharon. Ticonderoga is from an Indian
name meaning "Brawling Water."
In 1805 the Inspectors of Election in Elizabethtown were
Simeon Frisbey, Hezekiah Barber, Sylvanus Lobdell, Enos
Loveland, Zadoek Hurd.
Simeon Frisbey, or Frisbie, as his name was usually written,
must have arrived in Elizabethtown previous to 1805, else he
would not, in all human probability, have been serving as an
Inspector of Election that year.
Theodorus Ross again served as Member of Assembly from
Essex County in 1805.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 122

The Great Northern Tumpifce,
A map of the Great Northern Turnpike route is on file in
the Essex County Clerk's Office, also Field Notes in pamphlet
form. The survey of the route was made by Samuel Young in
1805. Inasmuch as the route ran the whole length of Essex County
from Schroon Lake on the south to the Ausable River on the
north and as not one word, so far as the writer can recall, has
ever been printed about the Great Northern Turnpike in any
book issued in Northern New York, the following act is quoted
word for word from the bound volume of Session Laws for
1805, in the hope that it will prove interesting reading to many
people, especially those dwelling in the matchless Boquet
Valley, through which the route passed :
CHAP. LXXVL
An Act to establish a Turnpike corporation for improving
and making the Great Northern Road from Kingsbury to the
North line of the State.
Be it enacted by the people of the State of New York, rep
resented in senate and assembly, That all such persons as shall
hereafter associate for the purpose of making a good and suf
ficient road running from Kingsbury, in Washington County,
west of Lake Champlain, through the county of Essex and
Clinton, to the north line of the State, by the most direct and
practicable route, their successors and assigns be and are

123 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
hereby created a body corporate and politic, by the name of
"The President and Directors of the Great Northern Turnpike
road company ;" and they are hereby ordained, constituted
and declared to be a body corporate and politic, in fact and in
name, and by that name they and their successors shall and may
have continual succession, and shall be capable in law of suing
and being sued, pleading and being impleaded, answering and
being answered unto, defending and being defended in all
courts and places whatsoever, in all manner of actions, suits,
complaints, matters and causes whatsoever; and they and
their successors, by that name and style, shall be in law capa
ble of purchasing, holding and conveying any estate real and
personal for the use of the said corporation :
Provided, that such estate as well real as personal, so be pur
chased and held, shall be necessary to fulfil the end and intent
of the said corporation, and to no other purpose whatsoever.
And be it further enacted, that Theodosius Fowler, Elkanah
Watson, Charles D. Cooper, Theodorus Ross, Benjamin
Moores, Charles R. Webster,. Robert Gilchrist, James Rogers,
Pliney Moore and Micajah Pettit, be and are hereby appointed
commissioners to do and perform the several duties herein
after mentioned, that is to say : each of the said commission
ers shall furnish himself with a book, in which shall be writ
ten, "WE, whose names are hereunto subscribed, respectively
promise to pay to the president and directors of the great
northern turnpike road company, the sum of twenty-five dol
lars for every share of the stock thereof set opposite to our
respective names, in such manner and proportion, and at such
time and place as the said president and directors shall from
time to time require;" that such books shall be kept open for re
ceiving subscriptions ; and every subscriber shall, at the time of
subscribing, pay three dollars for each share subscribed, to the
commissioner in whose book he shall so subscribe ; that the

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 124
stock of said company may consist of six thousand shares;
that as soon as five hundred shares shall have been subscribed,
the said commissioners shall cause an advertisement to be
inserted in the Albany Register, giving at least five weeks no
tice of the time and place when and where the said subscrib
ers shall meet, to choose thirteen directors, who shall be
stockholders, for the purpose of managing the concerns of the
company until the first Monday in October next after such
election ; and the said directors shall be chosen by ballot by
the stockholders then present, at which said first election such
of the said commissioners as shall be then and there present shall
preside ; and the first Monday in February shall forever there
after be the anniversary day for choosing directors and that at
every subsequent election the stockholders present, shall by
plurality of votes elect three of their number to preside at such
election ; that the persons so presiding shall receive the bal
lots at such election, and immediately after the election shallbe
closed, openly estimate the votes, and thereupon make and
subscribe a certificate of the result of such election, specify
ing the names of the stockholders so elected, and make return
thereof to the said president and directors at their next meet
ing after such election ; that every stockholder shall, either in
person or by proxy, at every such election, be entitled to one
vote for every share he or she shall hold to the number of ten
shares, and one additional vote for every five shares he or she
shall hold above the number of ten shares :
Provided. That no such stockholder shall be entitled to
more than fifty votes ; that if such election shall not be held
on any of the said annual election days, it shall be lawful to
make such election at any other day to be appointed for that
purpose by the said president and directors, in like manner and
with like effect as if the same had been held at the usual time;
and the directors in office shall in that case, be incapacitated

125 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
after the said anniversary election day from performing any
act as directors, other than such as may be necessary to give
such election effect ; that any seven of the said directors shall
be a quorum, and capable of transacting the business of said
corporation, and any act of the majority of the directors, so
met, shall be binding on the said corporation ; and after every
such election, the said directors elected shall, immediately
after having met, proceed to elect, by ballot, one of their
number for president, and the said president and directors
may meet from time to time, at such place as they may find
expedient and direct, and they shall have power to make such
by-laws, rules, orders and regulations, not inconsistent with
the constitution and laws of this state or of the United States,
as they shall deem necessary for the well ordering the affairs
of the said corporation ; that in case of vacancies, by death,
resignation or otherwise, in the office of director, the other
directors in office may, by a majority of votes, supply such
vacancy until the next annual election day ; that whenever the
president shall be absent from any of the meetings of the di
rectors, the directors present may by plurality of votes, ap
point another of their number president for the meeting, and
they shall and may proceed and transact the business of the
said corporation in like manner as if the president was pres
ent ; and that at the first meeting of the first directors to be
chosen as aforesaid by the stockholders, the said commissioners
above named shall deliver their respective subscription books
and pay over the monies received by them respectively on
such subscriptions, to the president and directors of the said
corporation ; that in case of refusal or neglect the said president
and directors are hereby authorized and empowered to prose
cute for the same in any court having cognizance thereof, with
costs of suit; and the said president and directors may con
tinue to receive subscriptions to the stock of the said corpo-

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 126
ration until there shall have been six thousand shares sub
scribed, and shall have power to appoint such officers, agents,
clerks, artists, workmen and others under them as shall be nec
essary for executing the business of the said corporation.
And be it further enacted, that the said president and direc
tors shall, at all times during the continuance of this incor
poration, erect, maintain and support good and sufficient
bridges of at least twenty five feet wide, over and across the
several rivers and streams on said road.
And Whereas it cannot at present be ascertained whether it
will be just and proper that toll, if any, and if so, at what rate
should be exacted for passing the said bridges.
Therefore
Be it further enacted, that it shall and may be lawful for
the judges and assistant justices or a majority of them not in
terested, in each county through which such road shall pass, to
meet, if required so to do by the said president and directors,
and determine if any and what rate of toll they shall or may
demand, for the passing over said bridge or bridges so to be
erected, under the hands and seals of a majority present and
not to exceed in any instance the amount of toll received for ten
miles on said road as specified.
And be it further enacted, that if the said turnpike road
shall pass over any bridge already erected, the said company
shall be vested with the property of the said bridge in the
same manner as if they had erected the same, and shall keep
said bridge in repair until removed by the said president and
directors, but shall receive no toll for passing the same ; and
the said president and directors are hereby authorized and re
quired to remove said bridge whenever the same shall be
deemed essential, and to erect one in its place : Provided
nevertheless, that if the people of the town or any citizen or
citizens thereof in which said bridge is erected, will- erect any

127 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
bridge, and shall keep the same in good and sufficient repair,
agreeable to this act, under the inspection of th© commissioner
to be appointed for the district in which such bridge shall be
situated, then and in that case such bridge shall be a free
one, and no toll shall be exacted for passing the same, but
in case the said commissioner shall under his hand and seal
to the president and directors declare said bridge to be insuf
ficient or out of repair, then and in that case the said presi
dent and directors are hereby authorized and required to erect
a good and sufficient bridge, and if out of repair to put the
same in good and sufficient repair and keep the same agreea
ble to the true intent and meaning of this act.
And be it further enacted, that it shall be and hereby is
made the duty of three commissioners not interested in the
turnpike, who shall be nominated and appointed by the per
son administering the government of this state, or any two of
them under oath, to lay out such road according to the best of
their judgment and understanding, without favor or partiality,
in such manner that the object of the incorporation and the
general interests of the public shall be in the best manner
effected, and it shall be the duty of the said commissioners to
deposit and cause to be filed in the office of the clerk of every
county through which such road shall pass, an accurate map
of the survey of the same in such county, designating the sev
eral particular points through which it shall pass ; and each
of which commissioners for their services aforesaid, shall be
allowed at the rate of three dollars a day, for every day they
shall be necessarily employed in the services aforesaid, to be
paid together with the expense of surveying and filing the said
map by the said corporation ; and the president and directors
may contract and agree with the owners of the said land, for
the purchase of so much thereof as shall be necessary for the
purpose of making said road, and for erecting and establish-

Morgan's Pond on the Black River.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 130
ing gates, toll-houses and all other works to the said road be
longing; and in case of disagreement between the said parties
with respect to the value of the land, so as aforesaid to be laid
out, and the damages if any to be done to the said land, or if
the owner or owners shall be feme covert, insane, under age
or out of the county, then and in either such case it shall and
may be lawful, for the said president and directors to apply to
one of the judges of the court of common pleas in and for the
county in which such land shall be situated, not interested in
said road, who is hereby authorized and required to noCainate
and by an instrument signed by him to appoint three apprais
ers being freeholders of said county, and who shall not be
inhabitants of any of the towns through which the said road
shall pass, or interested in said road, or the land to be ap
praised, and it shall be the duty of the said president and di
rectors to give notice to the said appraisers of their appoint
ment, who or any two of whom shall thereupon name a day
for meeting on the land, and performing the duties required of
thiem by this act, which day shall not be more than ten nor
less than four days from such notice of their appointment, and
the president and directors shall give at least four days notice
to the owner or owners of such land, of the time when and the
place where the said appraisers shall meet, for the purpose of
viewing the land and assessing the damages, except in case
the oWner or owners shall labor under any of the disabilities
aforesaid or be absent, in either of which cases a copy of such
notice may be left at the dwelling house of any of the piarties
or other notorious place on the land through which such road
shall pass, and further each of the said appraisers shall before
he proceeds to execute the trust reposed in him by this act,
take and subscribe an oath or affirmation in writing, before
one df the justices of the peace for the county of which he shall
be so appointed, that he will without favor or partiality esti-

131 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
mate and assess the damages, which may be sustained by the
owner or owners of the land or improvements, which the cor
poration may deem necessary to take and appropriate for the
said road, and the said appraisers shall then proceed to view
the premises, and having ascertained and determined the dam
ages, shall make an inquisition under their hands and seals, or
under the hands and seals of any two of them, describing the
lands and stating the amount of damages, if any, which each or
any of the owner or owners of any parcel of land used or to
be used for such road, have sustained or will sustain, which
inquisition shall be acknowledged by the appraisers signing
the same before one of the judges aforesaid, and then by them
filed, together with the affidavit aforesaid, in the office of the
clerk of the county in which such land shall be situated, within
thirty days after such view shall be had and inquisition made
by the said appraisers, and the said clerk shall at the expense
and cost of the said president, directors and company, enter
the same of record in the book kept by him for recording
deeds ; and the president and directors aforesaid, upon
paying the said several owners of the said lands the several
sums so assessed and awarded, by the said appraisers in
their said inquisition, shall and may have and hold to them
and their successors and assigns during the continuance of
this incorporation: Provided, that nothing in this act con
tained shall be construed to authorize the said president and
directors to enter upon such land for the purpose of making
such road thereon, until they shall have paid such damages as
may be agreed upon or appraised according to the provisions
of this act, if the same shall be lawfully demanded.
And be it further enacted. That the said president and di
rectors shall pay to the judge, who shall appoint the apprais
ers to assess the damages aforesaid, one dollar and fifty cents
for his services, and to each of the said appraisers, for every

HISTORY OP ELIZA BET BTOWN 132
day necessarily attending to perform the duties required by
this act, two dollars and fifty cents.
And be it further enacted. That the said president, directors
and company shall cause a road to be opened and kept open
four rods wide, twenty-three feet of which shall be bedded
with wood, stone, gravel or other hard substance, well com
pacted together, a sufficient depth to secure a solid foundation
to the same, and the said road shall be faced with gravel or
stone pounded, or other hard substance, in such manner as to
secure a firm and as near as the materials will admit, an even
surface, raising towards the middle by a gradual arch, and
where other roads shall intersect said turnpike road shall be
so formed as that carriages may conveniently go on and off
said turnpike road : Provided nevertheless. That where, on
account of the steepness of side hills or rocks, which render it
impracticable in any point or place thereof to make and finish
said road as laid out by the commissioners, for that purpose
to be appointed, of the full width as above described, it shall
and may be lawful for the said president and directors to
cause the same to be made and finished of such less width as
may be practicable without a ditch on the lower side, but in
no place however to be contracted of a less width than twenty
feet : Provided the lower side of such road, where the same
shall not be of its full width, shall be furnished with a strong
and sufficient fender or railing of the heighth of at least three
feet above the surface of the road along which the same shall
be constructed.
And be it further enacted. That as soon as the president
and directors shall have completed the said road or ten miles
thereof, it shall be lawful for the said president and directors
to give notice thereof to the person administering the govern
ment of this state, for the time being, who shall thereupon,
forthwith nominate and appoint three discreet freeholders, and

133 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
not interested in any turnpike road, to view the same and to
report to him in writing, whether such part of the said road
is completed in a workmanlike manner, according to the true
intent and meaning of this act, and if the report shall be in the
affirmative then it shall be the duty of the person administer
ing the government of this state, and he is hereby required, by
license under his hand and the privy seal of the state, to per
mit the said president and directors to make and erect so many
gates and turnpikes across and upon the said road, as will be
necessary and sufficient to collect the duties and tolls herein
after granted to the said corporation, from all persons travel
ling or using the same : Provided, that the gates upon the
said road shall be erected at a distance of ten miles from each
other, as nearly as the situation and circumstances will admit;
and if there should be a considerable excess over and above
an even number of ten miles a gate may be erected for the
purpose of collecting the toll for such excess, or if such excess
should be small the toll for the same may be added to the toll
at the nearest gate, and be collected with it at the discretion
of the directors.
And be it further enacted. That as soon as the whole or any
part of the said road shall be completed, and permission so as
aforesaid granted to erect a gate or gates and turnpikes upon
and across the same, it shall and may be lawful for the said
president and directors to appoint toll gatherers to collect
and receive of and from all and every person or persons using
the said road, at each and every of the said gates, the tolls and
duties hereinafter mentioned, and no more, that is to say ; any
number of miles not less than ten in length of the said roa,d
the following sums of money, and so in proportion for any
greater or less distance, or for any greater or less number of
sheep, hogs, cattle, horses or mules, as follows, for every score
of sheep or hogs, eight cents ; for every score of cattle, horses

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 134
or mules, twenty cents; for every horse rode, four cents ; for
every horse led or driven, three cents ; for every chair, sulkey,
chaise or other pleasure carriage, with one horse, twelve and
an half cents; for every cart drawn by one horse, six cents; for
every chariot, coach, coachee or phaeton, or any other four
wheel pleasure carriage, twenty five cents ; for every stage,
waggon or other four wheel carriage drawn by two horses,
mules or oxen, twelve and an half cents, and three cents for
every additional horse, mule or ox ; and for every cart drawn
by two oxen twelve and an half cents and three cents for every
additional horse, mule or ox ; for every sleigh or sled, eight
cents if drawn by two horses, mules or oxen, and in like pro
portion if drawn by a greater or lesser number of horses, mules
or oxen : And it shall and may be lawful for any toll gatherer,
to stop and detain any persons riding, leading or driving any
horse, mule, cattle, sheep or hogs, sulkey, chair, phaeton.chaise,
cart, waggon, sleigh or other carriage of burthen or pleasure
from passing through any of the said turnpike gates, until they
shall have respectively paid the tolls as above specified :
Provided, That nothing in this act shall be construed to en
title the said corporation to demand or receive toll at any gate
or of or from any person passing to or from public worship,
his farm or a funeral, or to or from any grist mill for the grind
ing of grain for his or her family's use, or to or from a black
smith's shop to which he usually resorts, or from any person
residing within two miles of said gates or from any person or
persons who are entitled to vote when going to and from town-
meeting or election for the purpose of giving a vote, or from
any person going for or returning with a physician or midwife,
or from any juror or witness going to or returning from court,
having been legally summoned or subpoenaed, or from any
troops in the service of this state or of the United States, or
for any artillery waggons and other carriages or stores of

135 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
any kind in the service of or belonging to this state or the
United States, or from any person or persons going to or re
turning from any training where, by the laws of this state, they
are required to attend ; and whenever any person or persons
shall claim to be exempt from paying toll by virtue of any of
the exceptions aforesaid, and if any person claiming such ex
emptions, and being thereby exempted from paying toll, shall
thereafter be found not legally entitled thereto, he shall, for
every such offense, forfeit and pay to the said corporation the
sum of five dollars, to be recovered with costs of suit : And
provided also that not more than the one half of the above toll
shall be demanded or received from any waggon or other car
riage passing upon the said road, the tire or track of the
wheel whereof is more than six inches wide, nor more than
the one fourth of the above toll for those above nine inches
wide ; and that all carriages the tire or track of the wheel
whereof is twelve inches wide, shall pass said road free, with
out paying any toll whatever ; and that the president and di
rectors shall cause to be affixed and kept up, at or over each
gate in some conspicuous place where it may be conveniently
read, a printed or painted list of all the rates of toll which
may be lawfully demanded.
And be it further enacted, that the said corporation shall
cause mile stones or posts to be erected and maintained, one
for each mile of the said road, and on each stone or post shall
be fairly and legibly inscribed or marked the distance the said
stone or post is from Kingsbury ; and if any person shall break
or throw down, or cut down, deface or injure any of the said
mile-stones or posts so to be erected or shall wilfully break or
throw down any of the said gates or turnpikes, or shall dig up
or spoil any part of said road, or any thing thereunto belong
ing or shall forcibly pass either of the said gates, without
having previously paid the legal toll, such person or persons

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 136
shall, for every such offense or injury forfeit and pay the sum
of twenty-fiye dollars to be recovered by the said corporation;
to their use, in an action of debt, with costs of suit, in any
court having cognizance thereof ; and if any person or persons
shall, with his team, carriage or horse, turn out of the said
road to pass either of the said gates on ground adjacent thereto
and again enter on said road, having passed the said gate or
gates to avoid the payment of the toll due by this act, such
person or persons shall forfeit and pay a fine not exceeding
five dollars, to be recovered in like manner by the said corpo
ration, to their own use, with costs of suit, in any court having
cognizance thereof.
And be it further enacted. That if any toll gatherer shall
Unreasonably delay or hinder any traveller or passenger at
either of the said gates, or shall demand and receive more toll
than is by this act established, he shall, for every such offence,
forfeit and pay ten dollars, to be recovered by the person so
unreasonably detained, or from whom such unreasonable toll
shall have been demanded and received, for his own use, with
costs of suit, in any court having cognizance thereof.
And be it further enacted. That the shares in the said Turn
pike road shall be deemed and considered to be personal es
tate, and be transferable in such manner as the said president
and directors may direct.
And be it further enacted. That it shall and may be lawful
for the said president and directors at any time after the com
pletion of said road, to lessen the rate of toll or duties or to
take away or open, or cause to be kept open one or more of
the gates on said turnpike.
And be it further enacted. That the president and directors
of the said corporation shall keep a fair and just account of
all monies received or to be received by the several collectors
of toll on said road, and shall make and declare a dividend of

137 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
the clear profits and income (all contingent costs and charged
being first deducted) among the stockholders of the Said cor
poration, on the fourth Mondays of March and September in
every year, and shall publish the same among the stockhdlders,
and the time and place when and where the same will be paid,
and shall cause the same to be paid accordingly.
And be it further enacted, that the president and directors
shall, within six months after the said road shallbe com|)leted,
lodge in the office of the comptroller of this State, an account
of the expenses thereof, and the corporation shall annually
exhibit to the coinptroller a true account of the dividends aris
ing from said toll, with the annual disbursements.
And be it further enacted. That it shall and may be lawful
for the president and directors, to demand from the stockhdld
ers respectively, all such sums of money by them subscribed
or to be subscribed, at such times and in such proportions a^
they shall see fit, and the said stockholders shall pay the same
under pain of forfeitui'e of their shares, and all the pt-eiidus
payments thereon, to the said president, directors and com
pany ; and that after the full amount of the six thousand shares,
shall have been appropriated and expended by the said presi
dent and directors, for the purpose of making a godd and suffi
cient road between the places aforesaid, atid the sum so ap
propriated shall be found insufficient to effect the purposes
aforesaid, it shall and may be lawful for the said prfesideht and
directors, in order to complete the said road and turnpike to
increase or raise the funds of the said corpoi-atiori, by adding
a sum, not exceeding five dollars to each and every share in
the whole stock, which sum, so to be added shall be in an
equal ratio upon each and every share to be Cdllected and
paid in manner aforesaid, and subject on default of paytnent
to the pains and forfeitures aforesaid, to be applied to no other
uses then as aforesaid.

Arsenal Building. Main Part Erected by State of New York.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 140
And be it further enacted. That the legislature may dissolve
the said corporation when the income arising from the said
toll shall have been paid and compensated the said corpo
ration for all monies they may have expended in purchas
ing and making said road, together with an interest thereon df
ten per centum per annum, besides the expense of repairing
and' taking care of said road, and thereupon the right, interest
and property of the said corporation, shall be vested in the
people of this state, and be and remain at their disposal :
Provided, That if the said corporation shall not commence
their operations within two years and shall not within ten
years thereafter complete the same, according to the intent
and meaning of this act, then and in either case this act shall
cease, and be void and of uo effect.
And be it further enacted. That the whole extent of the road
hereby incorporated, shall for the purpose of being inspected,
be divided by the said president and directors into five equal
districts and be distinguished by the first, second, third, fburth
and fifth inspection districts, of the great northern turnpike
road ; to each of which districts, shall be appointed by the
person administering the government of this state and subject
to removal by him at discretion, a discreet freeholder in the
county iu which said district may be, as commissioner, ^ho
shall be in no way interested in the said corporation ; whose
duty it shall be ou accepting the said appointment, from time
to time, and especially upon complaint made to him in writ
ing subscribed by the complainant, of the insufficiency of the
said road in any part thereof within his district, and when
ever he shall find the same out of repair or obstructed by sndw,
to give ndtice theredf in writing to the keeper of the
nearest toll gate on Such road, or to the president or any of
the directors of the said cdrporatioh, and it is hereby made
the duty of the said president and directors, immediately upon

141 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
such notice to cause such road to be well and sufficiently re
paired and amended or opened as the case may require, or
otherwise to open the gate that shall be nearest to that part
of the road so out of repair or obstructed by snow, and kept
open until said repairs are made or opened as the case may
require, under the penalty of ten dollars, for every neglect of
forty-eight hours, in opening or repairing such road, or the
gate opened as aforesaid, to be sued for by such commissioner,
and recovered with costs of suit in an action of debt in any
court having cognizance thereof ; which penalty when recov
ered shall without delay be paid over to the overseers of the
poor of the town in which such forfeiture shall have been in
curred, for the use of the poor of said town ; and it is hereby
made the duty of such commissioner, upon notice in writ
ing received from the president or any of the directors of the
said corporation, to examine and determine whether such road
shall have been sufficiently repaired and amended or opened,
and to direct accordingly, but from every such decision of a
commissioner there shall be a right of appeal by the said pres
ident and directors to the commissioners of the other in
spection districts of the said road, whose decision therein shall
be final ; that every of said commissioners shall be entitled to
and receive a compensation for his services aforesaid, at the
rate of two dollars and fifty cents for every day he shall be
necessarily engaged therein, but no one commissioner shall for
viewing and inspecting within his own district, except on
the application of the president or any of the directors, be en
titled to a compensation exceeding two days wages in any one
month of the year ; that the compensation hereby authorized
to any such commissioner shall be paid to him quarter yearly,
if required, out of the funds of the corporation, and that such
accounts for services shall if required, be attested to by such
commissioner before the same shall be payable : Provided

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHT0V7N 142
however, That every such commissioner, before he enter upon
the duties above assigned, shall first take and subscribe an
oath or affirmation, before any judge or justice of the peace of
the county in which he shall reside, faithfully and impartially
to the best of his judgment to execute the trust reposed in him
by this act, and cause to be delivered to the president or any
of the directors of the said corporation a certificate of such
judge or justice, of his having taken the said oath, or made
the said affirmation.
And be it further enacted. That no director shall contract
or be directly or indirectly concerned in any contract, for the
erecting or making of any part or portion of the said road ;
and in case that any contractor shall be disposed to contract
with any other person or persons whatsoever for the making
of any part of the said road so contracted for by him (except
the hiring of hands, cattle or carriages, as the case may be)
such contractor shall lay the said contract before the board of
directors, with the sum and particular circumstances relative
thereto and if the directors shall approve ot the same, then and
in that case it shall be lawful for such contractor to make such
contract and not otherwise.
And be it further enacted. That if any toll gatherer shall be
convicted of either of the offences mentioned in this act, and
it shall appear by the return of any execution, which shall be
issued against him, on such conviction, that the monies or any
part thereof cannot be had from him, the corporation shall be
liable for the deficiency.
And be it further enacted, That this act shall be and the
same is hereby declared a public act.
State of New Yoek.
In Assembly, March 23d, 1805.
This bill having been read the third time —

143 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
Resolved that the bill do pass.
By order of the Assembly. " ALEXR. SHELDON, Speaker.
State of New Yoke.
In Senate, April 2d, 1805.
This bill having been read the third time —
Resolved, That the bill do pass.
By order of the Senate. JNO. BROOME, Presidt.
In Council of Revision,
April the 4th, 1805.
Resolved, That it does not appear improper to the cdUnoil,
that this bill should become a law of this state.
MORGAN LEWIS.
It will be noted that Theodorus Ross, at that time Member
of Assembly from Essex County, was appointed one of the
"commissioners to do and perform the several duties," etc.
Elkanah Watson, another of the commissioners named, resided ,
at Port Kent, being the father of Hon. Winslow C. Watson,
who is so often quoted in this book. Benjamin Mooers, James
Rogers, Pliny Moore and Micajah Pettit, and in fact all of the
commissioners, were well-known throughout this northern
section. The Act it will be noted became law by the aignatiire of
Morgan Lewis, then Governor of New York.
Following is a copy of "A Field Book of the Minutes of the
Great Northern Turnpike Road" filed in the Essex County
Clerk's office :
A FIELD BOOK of the Minutes of the Great Northern
Turnpike Road laid out through the County of Essex, in

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN

144

the State of New Tdrk, Beginning on the south line of said
Cdunty west of the Schroon Lake in the town of Schroon from
thence. North 10 deg E 30 ch 50
N26E9N 10 deg 15 min E 23
N 22 E 6 Mile No. 41
Same course 8
29 deg 40 E 10

N 47 40 E

2

-N68E

17

N 54 deg 15 E

25

N 38 40 E

18 to Mile 4^

Same course

8

N 37 30 E

49

N21E

12

N 1 deg 20 E

11 to Mile 43

Same course

31 to Baker's Tavern

Ndrth

36 oh

K49E

14 to Mile 44 Whiles Brook at 2 ch

Same cdurse

22

N 57 deg 35 min

E 28 at 23 Mill Pond

N18E

30 to Mile 45

Same cdurse

76 at 60 chains from last angle hee

Schroon Lake

then N 10 E

4 to Mile 46

Same course

40

H 22 deg 30 min

E30

N 19 45 E

10 to Mile 47 & No 12 Brook

Same course

12

N 1 deg 15 E

18

N 17 deg 45 E

14

N 12 30 E

6

N 20 45 E

11

N940E

10

NlW

6

N5W

8 to Mile 48

Same course

6

N 7 deg 40 W

6

of

145

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN

N125E

6

N 15 30 E

8

N 2 deg 20 W

13

N23E

7

N8E

16

N15E

20 to Mile 49

N15E

4ch

N48E

6 Falls on Schroon River at 4 chains

N30E

4

N5E

5

N 0020 t E

7

N6E

10

N 3 deg 40 E

5.50 to Brook

N 17 deg 20 E

1

N 9 deg 25 W

8 50

N32 W

2

N64W

13

N37 W

7

NOW

7 to Mile 50

Same course

10

N21E

2

N 58 deg 45 E

4

N 2 deg 35 E

8

N39E

6

N56E

7

N42E

43 to Mile 51

Same course

25

N53E

9

N52E

12

N20E

34 to Mile 52

Same course

15

N 12 deg 35 E

8 to Johnson's Bridge

N5W

20

N 19 30 E

15 to Brook at 3 chains

N63E

6 chains

S86E

2

N 78 30 E

4

N27E

2

N33E

8 to Mile 53

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN

146

¦Same course
N38E
N 6 deg 20 W
N37 W
N 28 deg 20 E
N45EN18E N35E
N7E Same course
NIO W
NIOE
N 43 deg 15 E
N14E N 21 30 E
N37EN 27 deg 30 E
N19E
N 21 30 E
N85ES89EN35EN30EN23EN14WN13EN40E
S77EN79E
N46E
N60E N 51 30 E
N30EN20E Same course
N37EN 13 deg 25 E
N59 W
N48 W

14 5 5
8
4
23

75 L

6 6 25 to Mile 54
3
6 10
3 to Bank of Scaroon River
76
5
319 to Mile 55
6
4
6 2 2 3
8 510

46 3
93

ch

6 to Mile No,
3 8
9 Black Brook
1215

56

147

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN

N7W

4

N26E

5

N40E

17

N 23 20 E

7 to Mile 57

Same cdurse

6

N 33 deg 20 E

74 to Mile 58

Same cdurse

12

N 47 30 E

12 Scarodn River 2 chains

N 33 30 E

11

N4140E

35

N 34 20 E

5

N29E

4 to Mile 59

Same cdurse

2

N640E

22 ch

N29E •

56 td Mile 60

Same course

48

N34E

6

N13E

2

N9W

2

N 46 30 W

7

N815 W

14 dn left bank df Scarddn River

N22E

6 td Mile No 61

Same course

3

N 12 deg 15 E

19

N 21 deg 30 W

11

N16W

14

N18W

25

N 7 deg 35 E

8 td Mile Nd 62 Brodk 2 chains back of

mile 62

Same course

4

N20E

20

N39E

26

N 79 30 E

4

N 41 35 E

4

N34 30E

10 a small Brook at 6 ch

N56E

5

N 47 deg 15 E

7 to Mile Nd 63

N22E

8

N62E

5ch ,,,. ;.

WILLIAM WHITMAN ROOT,
Standing in Front of Noble Store.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN

150

N 51 deg 30 E
N67EN 45 40 E
N21E N 1 deg 30 W
N18 W
Same course
N29 W
N20 W
N 33 deg 80 W
NIO W
N36W
N30 W
N36W Same course
N21 W
N39 W
N 49 deg 45 W
N30 W
NIOE
N20EN 42 deg 80 E
N 24 30 E
North 24 80 E
N47E N 52 20 E
N50E
N58E N 23 deg 30 E
N36EN55EN 7740 E
N38E
N64EN79E
N57E
N 27 80 E
Same course

13 125 10
5 27 to Mile No 64 west bank of Scrddn
River 2 ch frdm Last M
11
6 10
5
27 5 td the last noted Bk
15
1 to Mile No 65
20 td Small Creek
5
9 at 7 chains to the above creek
13 up the creek
3
38
11
8 to Mile 66
7 ch toBouquette River
8 1

6
3 !
6 50r
4 50 I
3 J
8
18 6
5
4 4
2 to Mile 67
2

Down along the banks
of the River

151

HlSl'ORY Ot' ELlZABETHtOWN

N 75 30 E
N80EN 73 deg 25 E
N 51 deg 15 E
N78EN 62 40 E
N 69 deg 30
N 33 deg 25 E
N 20 deg 30 E
N42E N65E Same course
N37EN32EN6E N 53E
N 58 35 E
N74E
N57E N 70 deg 25 E
N79E
N66E N 62 35 E
N68E N50EN36E Same course
N 22 30 E
N17E N 62E
N57EN51ENorth 18 deg 20 E
N2 W
N35E

14 the south bank of the Bouquette 7 ell
10
8 through a beaver meadow^
10 3
1094 3ch3
4 to Mile 6&

669 50 through Bouquette River 8 dh
13 11 50 td a small brddk
2 ^
6 1 AldUg the udrthwest
bank of the Bouquette riVef

S^

32 2
2 j
26 7 to Mile 69
4 4 126
23 A small btook at rock
9 712 3 to Mile 70

1 The beaver meadow referred to is now the Meagher flat. Thd Meagher place has long*
been known as the Beaver Meadow Farm. There are at least three other beaver meadows in
Elizabethtown— The Four Mile Beaver Meado^ just east of Rogers Mountain, the Two
Mile Beaver Meadow on the Nigger Hill Lot and the one just east of Lobdell Hill, so-caIled<

HISTORY OF ELIZABET BTOWN

152

Same course
N46E N 57 deg 40 E
N40E
Same course
N 25 deg 15 E
N 33 deg 35 E
N430EN 10 30 W
Same course
N 3 deg 15 E
N 12 deg 15 W
Same course
N7EN36EN 56 deg 30 E
N 22 80 E
N35ESame course
N 15 30 E
N 11 20 W
N 44 40 E
Same course
N54E
N62EN65E
N63E N44E Same course
N 27 30 E
N45E
N 53 30 E
N33E
N 52 30 E
Same course
N47E
N 41 deg 15 E
N 18 30 E

84526 6 to Mile 71 (New Russia)
4 8221 18 to Roaring Branch
5 to Mile 72
43 325 to Mile 78
11
159 18
14 18 to Mile 74
16 10 ch
13 41 to Mile 75
9
8 15
88
5 at 2 ch S. Branch of Bouqt River (Eliz
abethtown village)
10 to Mile 76
512
15 9
84 5 to Mile 77
8 18
13
14

153

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN

N3E
N 50 30 E
N16EN16EN 5 deg W
N 31 35 E
Same course
N18EN18E N 80 deg 15 E
N23EN 12 30 E
Same course
N19E
NSW N 18E
Same course
N2W
N8EN 24 20 E
Same course
N49E Same course
N20E Sajne course
North 19 E
N20E N5E Same course
N39E

N12E Same course
N39E
N 49 30 E
Same course
N46E

10 a brook at 2 ch (Brook on which The
Windsor Farm Fish Pond Is lodated)
15 to Mile 78
27 ch
50 a brook at 12 ch.
8 ch to Mile 79
827 5 186
16 to Mile 80
21
36 8 a Brddk at 7 ch
15 td Mile 81
12
42 a brook at 35 cb
22
4 to Mile 82
66 14 to Mile 83
41 30 to Mile 84
3
44 25
8 to Mile 85
64
6 at 1 ch N. W. Branch of Botiqdette;
(The old Buck Stand, now the prop'»
erty of Thomas Jefferson OtdBS)
10 to Mile 86
4810
22 to Mile 87
17 20

HlSTORt b^ ELIZABETHTOWN 1'54
N 50 E 14
N 55 E 29 to Mile 88
Same course 70
N 28 E 10 to Mile 89
N 27 deg 20 E 36
i? 19 40 E 9
iii 48 E 3
N 21 E 13
N15E 8
'N12E 6 to Mile No 90
Same coarse 5
N 27 30 E 4
N 14 E 13
N 27 E IS
N19E 7
K 45 E 10
N 24 E 9
N 39 E 10
N25E 7 to Mile 91
Bame course 43
N 11 25 6
N 28 E 11 Opposite the head of Bulternilt Pond
N 16 20 E 20 to Mile 92
Same course 10
N 3 E 42 end of the pond at 26 ch.
N 22 E 28 to Mile No 93
Same course 25
H 6 deg 30 E 43
N 47 deg 40 E 12 to Mile No 94
Same course 12
North 41 deg 80 E 52 td
N42:E 16 td Mile 95
Same course 33 to Esqr Mc imbvirs
N 35 E 47 to Mile Nd 96 Auger Pond bfddk at
40 ch
Same cdurse 80 td Mile 97
N 36 E 24 ch
N 65 E 8 at dne chain last noted bfook
N 13 d^ 15 E 42

155 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
N 15 30 W 6 to Mile 98
Same course 80 to Mile 99
Same course 52
N 4 E 12 50
N 37 W 8 50
N 72 W 3 50 to the Great Ausable River on the
south bounds of Clinton County at the High Bridge ; there is
generally at the termination of each of the preceding courses
a monument on which is marked with red chalk the letters G.
N. T. P. and the line is further designated with two notches
and a blaze and is to be considered the center of the road as
laid out by the Commissioners appointed for that purpose by
his Excellency the Governor of the State of New York forma-
ble to an act of the Legislature of said State passed the 4th
day of April, 1805.
WILLIAM BEAUMONT, )
GEORGE NELSON, V Commissioners.
BERIAH PALMER, )
SAiMUEL YOUNG, Surveydr.
This route, it will be recalled, was surveyed Just sixteen
years after Platt Rogers and party had surveyed and cut
through the Schroon and Boquet valleys. A map of the
route was made at the time and is now on file in the Essex
County Clerk's office. And it happens that Young's survey
of the Great Northern Turnpike route was made just a century
ago. It is indeed a long way back to 1805 — an even 100 years
— and those who inhabited this region at that period have all
plunged into the interminable wilderness lying on the opposite
slope beyond the Great Divide and as there are no human
links to connect the present with the far away past — no chance
to get spoken words from them to weave into history their
acts, it is refreshing to students of history to find occasidnally

fflSTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 156
a Written record of achievement — an oasis in the desert, so to
speak. In connection with the Great Northern Turnpike is found
the first mention of toll-gates and mile-posts in Northern
New York.
(Explanatory matter in parentheses inserted by author.)

167 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN

The'Forming^ of Lewis and Essex and the Arrival of PoUaas Aurelios
Newell in Elizabethtown.
The town of Lewis was formed from Willsborough April 4,
1805, being so named in honor of Governor Morgan Lewis.
Governor Morgan Lewis owned land in the town of Lewis,
having purchased it from General Philip Schuyler, whose
death occurred only a few months before the town of Lewis
was "set off" from Willsborough.
The town of Essex was also formed from Willsborough April
4, 1805. The name Essex, as applied td cdunty and town, was
taken from Essex, England.
Search of records in the Essex County Clerk's office reveals
the fact that Azel Abel conveyed three acres and thirty-three
rods of land to Pollaus Aurelius Newell, the warranty deed
bearing date September 18, 1805, the consideration being
$1,400. Pollaus Aurelius Newell followed Azel Abel as a hotel
keeper, being located on the bank of the Little Boquet. The
Newell hotel stood between where the old log hotel df Azel
Abel stood and where the present Maplewood Inn stands.
The hotel of Pollaus A. Newell was built of brick and wood
and the barn stood near where the front piazza of Maplewood
Inn is now located. Pollaus A. Newell's wife, the accom
plished lady of the old Valley House, was in her maiden days
Anna Calkin. Their children were Rosamond Amelia, Julia
Ann, Helen, Annette, Rosetta and Henry.
Rosamond Amelia Newell married Captain Hall of Ver-
gennes, Vt.

THE OLD GRIST-MILL BLOCK,
Now Occupied by Harry H. Nichols and John S. Roberts, Jr.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 160
Julia Ann Newell married Harry Adams, a son of Friend
Adams of Adams Ferry (Lake Champlain) fame. Harry
Adams put up the building on the Plain in Elizabethtown vil
lage which is to-day owned and occupied by Mrs. Ellen R. Bur-
bank and the Misses Perry. The building was put up for a
store and as such was occupied by Harry Adams for several
years. Julia Ann Newell survived her husband many years,
dying recently in extreme old age.
Helen Newell never married.
Annette and Rosetta Newell, both died in the west.
Henry Newell was a bright pupil, a leader in the old spelling
school events of three-quarters of a century ago. He died in
early manhood. There is living in EHzabethtown village one
man — Alonzo MoD. Finney — who remembers Henry Newell
well, having taken part in the old fashioned spelling school
events way back in the latter 20s when Joel Emmes was
teacher here.

161 HISTORY OF ELIZABETH7T0WN

Settlement of Simonds Hill.
That portion of Elizabethtown known as Simonds Hill is a
plateau located in the southeastern part of the township. Si
monds Hill is about 500 feet above the Boquet River. The
name Simonds Hill is from the first settler of the locality,
Captain Gardner Simonds. The date of the settlement of Si
monds Hill has been erroneously given as 1792. On page 467
of the History of Essex County edited by H. P. Smith and
published by D. Mason & Co., Syracuse, N. Y., in 1885, one
finds the following :
"Simonds Hill derived its name from Gardner and Erastus
Simonds, who located there about 1792."
Again, on page 301 of the Gazetteer of New York by J. H.
French, LL. D., (issued in 1860) one finds that Gardner Si
monds came into Elizabethtown "about 1792."
However, by referring to page 32 of this book it will be seen
that Dr. Asa Post credits Gardner Simonds with first locating on
"the south 100 acres of lot No. 6," in the Boquet Valley. The
Gardner Simonds referred to by Dr. Asa Post is the old Cap
tain after whom Simonds Hill was named. And it is probably
true that he came into the Boquet Valley "about 1792."
However, the Gardner and Erastus Simonds mentioned in the
Essex County history were sons of Captain Gardner Simonds
and were mere boys, as it were, in 1792. Inasmuch as Cap
tain Gardner Simonds moved from the farm (lot No. 6) in the
Boquet Valley after about 12 years residence there and located

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 162
at the top of the hill on the road leading east from what is
now known as New Russia, on a lot in Morgan's 500 acre Pat
ent, Iron Ore Tract, it must have been about 1805 that he
"went up higher."
Captain Gardner Simonds' wife was a Titus, a sister of the
noted hunter Titus of Moriah, and it might be added here that
the old Captain was himself something of a hunter.^
Captain Gardner Simonds' children were Erastus, William,
Gardner, Jr., Willard, Lloyd, Direxey.
Erastus Simonds married Lydia Rowe, a sister of Leland
Rowe. Their children were all born on Simonds Hill as fol
lows, the dates being taken from the family Bible in posses
sion of Clinton H. Simonds :
Barlow, born Sept. 23, 1805.
Wilham, born Sept. 10, 1808.
Jenks, born April 25, 1812.
Lynds Willard, born Oct. 18, 1818.
Leland Rowe, born May 14, 1817.
Elijah, born Feb. 10, 1821.
Almira, born May 30, 1823.
Lydia, born May 22, 1824.
Erastus, Jr., born June 24, 1829.
Melissa, born August 12, 1833.
Barlow Simonds married and lived in Vermont. He had a
son Andrew who married Sarah Lewis, daughter of David
Lewis and sister of the late Ira Lewis.
William Simonds married Lydia Minerva Hanchett.a daugh
ter of Squire Hanchett. They became famons as Landlord
I It would be base ingratitude on the part o£ the author of Pleasant Valley not to acknowl
edge that a large part of the material regarding the settlement of Simonds Hill was furnished
by the venerable Alonzo McD. Finney, who was bom in a log house on that plateau Febru
ary ao, i8i6, and who still lives, being the last survivor of a large family of children. Again,
the information furnished by Mr, Finney is supplemented by the result of an intimate per
sonal acquaintance on the part of the writer with the late Elijah Simonds covering a period
of over a quarter of a century.

163 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
and Landlady in this section, operating no less than four dif
ferent hotels, beginning with the house at Black or Simonds
Pond, later the Valley House in Elizabethtown village and
when that burned Feb. 21, 1859, they moved across the Lit
tle Boquet into what was locally known in the spring of 1861
as Fort Sumpter, (generally later known as the American
House) and finally, in connection with Orlando Kellogg, built
the Mansion House in 1874, to-day known as Deer's Head Inn.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Simonds were Sarah Jane,
who married Theodore C. Lamson, and Helen Ann, who mar
ried Orlando Kellogg, proprietor of "The Windsor," Elizabeth-
town's largest hotel.
Jenks Simonds died young.
Lynds Willard Simonds married Elizabeth Wise, daughter
of Deacon Enos Wise.
Leland Rowe Simonds married Phebe A. Hanchett, a daugh
ter of Squire Hanchett. After her death he married Mrs.
Almira Gaft, a daughter of Samuel B. Pratt of Lewis. Leland
R. Simonds' children by his first wife Were Lomira A., who
married E. O. Wait ; Marcia, who married Fayette L.
Miller ; Victoria, who married John Liberty ; Alonzo W., who
married Elizabeth Darrah.
Leland R. Simonds' children by his second wife were Clin
ton H., who married Emma Pratt, Phebe, who died young,
and Hattie, who married Carl Hodgkins.
Elijah Simonds married Rosamond Gowett. Their children
were Mary and Nellie.
Lydia Simonds married in Vermont.
Captain, Gardner Simonds' son William left Elizabethtown
early in life and little is known of his history after his depart
ure from this section. . . ,, .
Gardner Simonds, Jr., married Betsey Brown. They had
no children. His family being broken up, he lived an irregu-

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 164
lar life, spent mostly in hunting, trapping and fishing. He
went over into the Tupper Lake region where he camped for
several years. A pond in that region was called Simonds
Pond, being named after him.
Willard Simonds married Lucy Brownson, daughter of
Selah Brownson. Their children were William, Nancy, Elvira,
Almira. William Simonds, the son Willard Simonds, married Cynthia
Phinney. Nancy Simonds married Chauncey Denton.
Almira Simonds married for her first hiisband Dana Wake
field. Her second husband was Collins Titus of Moriah.
Elvira Simonds married Frank B. Deyoe.
Lloyd Simonds married Eliza James and moved to Michi
gan. Direxey Simonds married Luther Wait and moved west with
a family of several children.
The Simonds family had a great love for the woods. Most
of the male members of the family were natural mechanics,there
being several carpenters and coopers. At least six members of
the Simonds family played the fiddle and some were drum
mers and filers.
Ithai Judd, Elizabethtown's pioneer surveyor, married
Achsah Noble, and came here from Oneida County and with
Moses Noble (brother-in-law) first settled on the east side of
the Boquet River where the trail from Lake Champlain, by
way of Little Pohd, came down into the Boquet Valley. After
a few years residence on the trail nientioned Ithai Judd inoved
up on to an Iron Ore Tract lot where he lived the remainder
of a long and useful life, being a farmer and surveyor. He
was employed in allotting the Iron Ore Tract. He had two
daughters ; Olive, the eldest daughter, died young ; Achsah

165 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
moved with her mother to Oneida County and married Thomaf?
Bishop. She died in old age, leaving several children.
David Brown, adopted son of Ithai Judd, took the name
of his benefactor and grew to be one of the most active, useful
men who ever lived in Elizabethtown. He too went "up
higher," settling on Simonds Hill where he became the "first
citizen." The David Judd farm (Lots 195 and 196, Iron Ore
Tract,) is to this day easily distinguished from the other farms
on Simonds Hill, owing to the long lines of maple trees on the
roadside which were planted by Mr. Judd's own hands, David
Judd married for his first wife Ruth Shelden, daughter of
Isaac Shelden of Essex, by which union a son William Shel
den was born.
David Judd's second wife was Harriet Sheldon, a daughter
of Timothy Sheldon of Westport. He had one daughter by
the second wife, Caroline Lomira, who married Grove M.
Harwood. David Judd's third wife was Elizabeth Brydia, a daughter
of William Brydia of Ferrisburg, Vt. No children were
born of this union.
"Uncle David," or "Squire Judd," as he was often called,
was "a hustler from the ground up." He had an extensive
practice as a surveyor throughout Essex County in early days.
He filled numerous appointments of a public character, lo
cating roads, establishing boundaries, etc. He was associated
(in 1841) with Nelson J. Beach and Nathan Ingersol, as com
missioners, in laying out and constructing a road through the
Adirondack wilderness from Cedar Point on Lake Champlain
to Carthage in Lewis County. This road passed through
Essex, Hamilton and Herkimer counties. In 1846 Elizabeth-
town and Moriah were taxed $750 to improve the road con
necting the towns, David Judd and Nathaniel Storrs being
commissioners.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 166
William Shelden Judd, son of David Judd, married Mary
A. Bishop, daughter of Jared Bishop of Moriah, and was for
many years extensively engaged in the iron and lumber busi
ness in Elizabethtown in partnership with James S. Whallon
of Essex. He subsequently moved to Minnesota and for some
years was in the banking business at Fairbanlt but removed
to Minneapolis, where he was for a time engaged in the flour
business. He finally turned his attention to lumbering, pur
chasing a large tract of pine land on the upper Mississippi
and tributaries, floating logs and timber 400 miles down to
Minneapolis to be sawed into lumber and prepared for mar
ket. He was at one time reputed to be the most extensive
lumberman in the State of Minnesota but owing to too great
expansion and change in the markets he finally became in
volved financially. He had two children — William, married,
and engaged in lumbering in Wisconsin, and Ella H., who mar
ried a man named Dibble, and is now a widow, living in Min
neapolis with her widowed mother.
Andrew Goodrich, who married Susan Miller, daughter of
Philip Miller, was the pioneer shoemaker of the Simonds Hill
section. He located on lot No. 146, Iron Ore Tract. He kept
a shoe-shop but in many cases he went around, doing the
work for difi'erent families at their homes, technically called
in those early days "Whipping the Cat." The children of Mr.
and Mrs. Andrew Goodrich were Harriet E., James, who be
came a Baptist minister, Erastus, Hiram and another daugh
ter. All moved west in the fifties. The Goodrich farm is to
day known as the Matthew Spellman place.
Erastus Goodrich, Baptist deacon, married Susan Brown.
He was a farmer and lived and died across the corner ol the
road from the Simonds Hill school house. His widow mar
ried for her second husband Manoah Miller.
James Goodrich, farmer, married Amanda Mason, daughter

167 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
of Judge Ambrose Mason of Moriah. He eventually moved to
Lockport. Odle Hoose, who fought valiantly in the War of 1812, was
an early settler at the south end or head of Black Pqnd
where he resided for several years. The place was afterwards
occupied by Andrew and Leonard Bates with their aged wid
owed mother and elderly maiden sister. Andrew Bates re
mained a bachelor. Leonard Bates subsequently marriecl
Lydia Brownson, a sister of Ashbel,Selah and Roman Brownson.
The place was afterwards occupied by one Parks and later
temporarily by various families but has been abandoned for
many years. That locality is now generally knovyn as "the
Parks place." The Parks Brook which flows into Black Pond
from the west was named after the man mentioned above.
Christopher Bartlett, who married a Stoddard, came from
Waitsfield, Vt., in the early part of the settlement and located
at the outlet of Black Pond. He did some farming but more
hunting and fishing. He made a specialty of trapping for fur§,
being quite successful. He was a man six feet in height, pos
sessing well developed niuscles and a well formed body. Hav
ing heard of the celebrated strong man "Jo" Call, the wrestler,
he e:^pres,sed a desire tp try titles with him. At a public
gajihering in Elizabetht;pwn village Call and Bartlejit were
brought together and it w^s arranged that they should wrestle
"at arms length." Facing each other they toqk hold. Call
askefj "Are you re^dy ?" Bartlejtt answered "AH right, yeac^y,"
whereupon pall, wij;h extended arms, raised Bartlett from the
ground and holding him suspended with his legs and feet
(Jangling in the air, suggested that he do his -v^resjiling. Bart
lett spon became satisfied |;hat further effort on his part was
useless and was never afterwards known tp b09.st of wrestling,
especially of his meeting yrith "Jo" Call, th^ pjpdern Herpule^.

•i^^

». -

WILLIAM SIMONDS,
So Long Prominent as a Hotel Man in Elizabetiitown.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 170
This incident was reported by those present in illustration of
Call's wonderful strength and good humor.
Christopher Bartlett's children consisted of three sons and
four daughters — Stoddard, Horace, Judson, Anna, Emeline,
Julia Ann and Harriet. The Bartlett family moved to Ohio or
Michigan, then called the "far west." The Bartlett place was
subsequently occupied successively by Milo Durand, Edward
Ames, Moses Swinton, Riley Wolcott, William Simonds, Horace
Lincoln and is at present occupied by Richard Christian, Sr.
Stoddard Bartlett is said to have been quite a prodigy, being
credited with having read the whole Bible during his fourth
year. Moses Noble, brother of Mrs. Ithai Judd, lived several years
on Simonds Hill. His children were Philo, Edward, Richard,
Seth and Aaron. Moses Noble moved to Wisconsin late in life.
Ezra Nichols also settled on an Iron Ore Tract lot. He
married Polly Brown. Their children were Samuel, Joseph,
Edmund Brown, Charles D., Chauncey, Haschal, Judson, Mi
nerva, Melinda and Eliza.
Samuel Nichols was drowned, being carried over the dam in
a boat at New Russia when about 12 years old.
Joseph Nichols married Lovina Miller, daughter of Philip
Miller. Their children were Charles Henry and Edwin who
were in the union army during the civil war. Mariette, a
daughter, wentto Iowa and married Scott Hall.
Edmund Brown Nichols married Mary Gates, a daughter of
Willis Gates. Their children were Dr. Calvin Nichols of Troy,
Cliffdrd, a farmer of Chazy, N. T., and one daughter.
Charles D. Nichols married Adeline Miranda Finney, daugh
ter of Anson Finney. Their children were Charles, Clarence,
William, Alonzo F., Ernest E., Dr. Frank E., Marion and
Addie. Charles D. Nichols and all of the children went west. Dr.Frank

171 HISTORY OP ELIZABETH7T0WN
E. Nichols practices medicine in Quincy, 111. Dr. Nichols
visited Elizabethtown about three years since, being the guest
of his uncle, A. McD. Finney, several days.
Marion Nichols married Edwin L. Ames.
Addie Nichols married George M. Hanchett, by which union
several children were born.
Chauncey Nichols died on the overland route to California.
Haschal Nichols moved to Iowa.
Melinda Nichols married Manoah Miller.
Eliza Nichols married Benjamin Franklin Perry and moved
to 111., several children being born of the union.
Leland Rowe, a veteran school master who served five years
in the regular army as a musician, married Lucy Durand, a
daughter of Joseph Francis Durand. Their children were
William, Jesse, Clarinda, Barlow, Eleanor and Lucy.
William Rowe never married.
Jesse Rowe, carpenter and builder, married Amny Storrs
and moved to Iowa. He visited Elizabethtown last year.
Clarinda Rowe married Nathaniel Miller.
Barlow Rowe married in Vermont, where he resides.
Eleanor Rowe married Jasper Miller. They live in Vermont.
Lucy Rowe married Sidney Brydia and moved to 111.
James Reynolds married Polly Durand, also a daughter ol
Joseph Francis Durand. Their children were Eunice, So
phronia, Betsey and Madison, the latter being a young boy
when the family left town and the farm came into the posses
sion of David Lewis about 1828, the place now being owned
by Martin Spellman.
Eunice Reynolds married Andrew Kile and moved to 111.
Sophronia Reynolds married Milo Sheldon and moved to St.
Lawrence County, N. T.
Betsey Reynolds married for her first husband a man named
Wilder, her second husband being Isaac Shaw. Mrs. Shaw
came back from the west a few years ago to visit the home of

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 172
her childhood, being then beyond fourscore but remarkably
well preserved for such an old lady. While Mrs. Shaw was
visiting the scenes of her childhood it was the writer's good
fortune to have several long visits with her, pleasant memo
ries of which will remain so long as hours of mental clearness
last. Daniel Reynolds, one of the pioneer blacksmiths of Simonds
Hill, was a peculiarly deformed man, having two club feet. He
married and moved to Ohio, several children being born of the
union. Thomas Little, another early blacksmith on Simonds Hill,
settled a half mile east of the school house on the road to what
has since been known as the "Kingdom." A large clearing in
that neighborhood is still referred to as the "Little Field."
Anson Finney was born at Spencertown, Columbia County,
N. Y., July 14, 1786, and came into the Boquet Valley with
his brother Captain Heman Finney in the spring of 1794 and
lived on a farm during his minority, teaching school some
when a young man. In 1809 Anson Finney married Esther
Shelden, daughter of Isaac Shelden of Essex and shortly after
wards settled on Lot No. 109, Iron Ore Tract, Simonds HilL
The children by this marriage were : James Madison, Russel
Abel, Alonzo McDonough, Betsey Shelden, Isaac Shelden,
Adeline Miranda, Aretas Loveland, Philemon Hunt and four
others who died in infancy.
James Madison Finney was born March 23, 1810, and died
March 6, 1832.
Russel Abel Finney was born March 4, 1811. He married
Elmira Sanders, a daughter of the late John Sanders, Sr., and
raised two sons, Solon Burroughs Finney, who married for his
first wife Marcia Root, a daughter of the late Col. Samuel Root
of Westport, his second wife being a Postville, la., lady, and
John A. Finney, who lives in California.

173 HISTORY OP ELIZABETPITOWN
Solon B. Finney's children are Ross, (M. E. preacher of
ability and standing in the west) Myra, Esther and Harry.
Russel Abel Finney left Simonds Hill in 1868, going to Iowa.
He died at Postville, la.. May 14, 1876. . His widow still sur
vives, being in her 90th year, and living at Fayette, la., with
her son Solon B., who has kindly aided in the preparation of
this book."
Alonzo McDonough Finney, born Feb. 20, 1816, unmarried,
lives in Elizabethtown village, which has been his home most
of the time for 65 years.
Betsey Shelden Finney was born Jan. 31, 1818, and died
Sept. 14, 1836, unmarried.
Isaac Shelden Finney was born Aug. 5, 1820, and died Dec.
7, 1902. He married Almira Nichols. Their children were
Llewellyn C, who married Letetia Marlow ; Alice, who died
at the age of 15 and Minnie, who married Lewis N. Adkins.
Adeline Miranda Finney was born June 22, 1822, and died
Jan. 3, 1879. She married Charles D. Nichols, this marriage
and the children born of it having been before mentioned.
Philemon Hunt Finney was born Aug. 18, 1826, and died
Aug. 21, 1829.
Aretas Loveland Finney was born Sept. 9, 1828, and died in
Chicago, 111, Feb. 22d, 1876. He married Harriet A. Rowley,
by whom a daughter, Katharyn, was born.
Anson Finney's first wife was born Dec. 25, 1791, and died
March 15, 1830. His second wife was Rebecca French.
The Finney family trace their ancestry back to Mother
Finney who emigrated to America from England and settled
at Plymouth, Mass., before 1631. John Finney, a son of Mother
Finney, married Elizabeth Bailey. Joshua Finney, son df
John and Elizabeth, was born at Barnstable, Mass., in 1665,
and married Mercy Watts. Joshua Finney, Jr., son of Joshua
and Mercy, born at Bristol, R. I., married and had a son John.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 174
John Finney married Rachel Woodward in Lebanon, Conn.,
in 1743. Letters of administration granted on his estate to
his son Eleazer, "late of Warren, Conn.," Nov. 10, 1788. Joel
Finney, son of John and Rachel, was born at Lebanon, Conn.,
in 1744. Joel Finney married Anna Sackett. They lived at
Kent, Conn., at Spencertown, N. T., and Monkton, Vt., in
which latter place Joel Finney died about 1798. Of Joel
Finney's children there is record of Heman, Joel, Anna Rachel
Hunt, Elijah, Belinda Lathrop, Miranda Burroughs, Sackett
and Anson.
Anna (Sackett) Finney survived her husband nearly 46 years,
dying at Addison, Vt., Feb. 6, 1844, being in the 93d year of
her age. She was married but once and had given birth to
14 children, 6 of whom were living at the time of her decease.
At the time of her death 57 out of 82 grandchildren were
living, 188 out of 240 great grandchildren, and 21 out of 22
great-great grandchildren, thus leaving a line of descendants
to the 5th generation amounting in all to 358, of whom 270
were living at the time of her decease.
Anson Finney and many of his family, all having been reared
on a farm, in after life engaged in other occupations. In addi
tion to their farm duties Russel A., Alonzo McD., Isaac S.,
and Aretas L., each at different periods, held the oflSce of Jus
tice of the Peace, and Alonzo McD. that of Supervisor. Alonzo
McD. and Aretas L. each served as Deputy County Clerk of
Essex County for many years and their handwriting on the
records reflects creditably upon their workmanship.
The Anson Finney family seems to have had a decided pen
chant for school teaching, as six members of his immediate
family were teachers and six others of his descendants of the
name were also teachers and four descendants of other names,
making sixteen altogether who have been engaged in that line
of work.

175 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
Ebenezer Hanchett married a Pangborn for his first wife.
His children by the first wife were William F. and Alma.
William F. Hanchett married EHza Ferris. Their children
were John, Levi, Walter, Harriet, Josephine and Sarah J., the
latter being the widow of the late George Spaulding. William
F. Hanchett was killed by being cut in two by a circular saw
in Charles N. Williams' saw-mill when the writer was a small
boy. Alma Hanchett married Davis Durand.
The children of Ebenezer Hanchett by Mary Collins, his
second wife, were Silas Howard, Milton, Electa, Fidelia,
Alzina, Zada Ann, Rachel and Roxy Ann.
Silas Howard Hanchett married a Crown Point woman
whose given name is said to have been Jane.
Milton Hanchett married Mary Shandreau for his first
wife, his second wife being Lucy E. Clark.
Electa Hanchett married Leonard Tisdale.
Fidelia Hanchett married David Smith.
Zada Ann Hanchett married Benjamin Warner.
Rachel Hanchett married and moved west.
Roxy Ann Hanchett married Robert F. Odle.
Squire Hanchett, brother of Ebenezer and Jonah, Jr., mar
ried Anna Wait and lived several years just south of the Judd
farm and afterwards moved to Black Pond where he remained
till about 1835. He eventually moved to Ohio.
Squire Hanchett's children were Wait, Lydia Minerva,
Phebe, Laura, James and Eli.
Wait Hanchett married for his first wife Mahala Wise, his
second wife being Sybil Wolcott. Wait Hanchett's children
were Jerome, George and Loretta.
Jerome Hanchett married a woman named Pratt from Lewis,
George Hanchett married Addie Nichols, daughter of Charles
D. Nichols.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 176
Loretta Hanchett married Amon Bosley of Ausable Forks.
Lydia Minerva Hanchett married Wm. Simonds, as before
mentioned, and Phebe Hanchett married Leland R. Simonds,
also previously mentioned.
Laura Hanchett moved west.
James Hanchett was killed by the kick of a horse when
about 18 years old.
Eli Hanchett went west with his father's family.
Willis Gates came from New Hampshire and settled on Si
monds Hill after most of the families already named had lo
cated there. He married Almira Hulett, daughter of Mason
Hulett of Hampton, N. Y. Mr. Gates purchased the farm
originally cleared by one Gregory, afterwards occupied by a
Hanmer, also by John Hamilton, who claimed to be of Indian
extraction. The Gates children were Reuben, Edson, Mason, Chester,
Silas, Irvin, Albert, Oscar, Willis, Jr., Mary, Hannah, Almira,
Celintha and Frances.
Reuben Gates married Eliza Wakefield, a daughter of
Deacon Jonathan Wakefield.
Edson Gates married Milly Braisted of Essex.
Mary Gates married Edmund B. Nichols.
Hannah Gates married John Heaton.
Almira Gates married George Slosson of Chazy.
Celintha Gates married Herbert Asa Putnam who for many
years did an extensive iron, lumber and mercantile business
at New Russia, also ran a saw-mill and coal kilns at Euba
Mills. Frances Gates never married. She died in early woman
hood, of consumption, generally lamented.
Willis Gates, Jr., remained on the home farm all his life,
dying only a few years since. His widow and her children
occupy the farm to-day.

177 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
Several of the sons of Willis Gates, Sr., went west.
Willis Gates, Sr., built a saw-mill on the Black River at a
point afterwards called the "Kingdom." An ore bed was also
opened on the Gates farm and is to-day known as the Gates
bed. Moses Kidder, another early dweller on Simonds Hill, had
a family consisting of a wife and the following children : James,
Burr, Angelina and Nancy Ann.
Moses Kidder lived near the bridge at the outlet of Black
Pond for some time but moved away many years ago.
Besides the families named there were several settlers who
located on the Simonds Hill rdad, so-called, between what is
now known as Fisher Bridge and the Ezra Nichols farm, later
known as the John Otis place. A man named Brownson oc
cupied what is to-day referred to as the old Brownson farm,
having children as follows : Ashbel, Samuel, Roman, Selah,
Dorcas, Lydia. Many descendants of the children of "old
man Brownson" still live in Elizabethtown and vicinity.
William Gray occupied a farm just above the Brownson
place. A man named Carr also lived for a time on a lot back from
the main highway and a clearing he made is still referred to
as the "Carr lot."
Simonds Hill once had a resident preacher, the noted Rev.
John Stearns, who occupied his spare time in tinkering watches
and repairing clocks.
At the time of the early settlement of Simonds Hill all the
dwelling houses, the school house at the four corners, and the
barns were built of logs. Alonzo McD. Finney says he remem
bers well when the first frame house was erected on Simdnds
Hill. The first frame house in that neighborhood was built by
Anson Finney during the summer of 1828. At that timft Anson
Finney's son Alonzo McDonough was 12 years old and he re-

ABIJAH PERRY,
One of the Greatest Detectives Northern New York Ever Prodticed.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 180
calls that he went with his father after the lime to be used in
plastering the new house. The lime was procured at the then
famous Felt lime kiln near Felt Mountain. This was one of the
first lime kilns operated in Elizabethtown. No one now living
knows when it was first opened. Probably it was in use shortly
after the Felts moved from the Wadhams Mill section about
1809. However, suffice it to say that it was running when Anson
Finney went there after lime with his ox team in the summer
of 1828, accompanied by his 12 year old son Alonzo McDon
ough who recalls the prominent fact that "Mother Felt" at
tended to measuring the lime herself, notwithstanding that her
son-in-law, David Benson, was standing by.
The second frame house erected on Simonds Hill was put
up on what is to-day known as the John Otis farm, then owned
by Ezra Nichols.
The first trail leading from Captain Gardner Simonds' at
the top of the hill was located several rods west of the modern
road. The first vehicle drawn through to Moriah over the
present course of the road was a tin peddler's cart. The road
from Black Pond up the mountain through the dense woods
was built by one Bugbee whose shanties erected to accommo
date his workmen were standing for many years, being recog
nized as the half way mark in going through the woods.
During the period of the early settlement of Simonds Hill
and in fact throughout the township of Elizabethtown, there
being very little money in circulation, nearly all kinds of
business was done by exchange of commodities usually termed
"barter," the most common in use being cattle, bar iron and
grain. Professional men, laborers and even the "school
marms" had to take their pay in "barter," with no thought or
expectation of receiving money.
The general custom on Simonds Hill was to employ a male
teacher for the winter term of three months at about $10 per

181 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
month of 28 full days and a female teacher for the summer
term of four months at $1 per week of 6 full days, teachers to
"board round" with the patrons of the school in each family in
proportion to the number of days of pupils attendance. At
the close of each day's session there was a roll call in order to
know the attendance of each pupil from which to compute the
liability of each of the patrons of the school. At the close of
the term the school bill was made out pro rata from the num
ber of days attendance and the collector was started out with
his team to gather up and bring in whatsoever each chose to
make payment in, be it iron, wheat, corn, buckwheat, beans or
other commodity, money being out of the question. When
collected it was taken to some store where the teacher could
get his or her, as the case might be, "store pay," or else get a
due bill payable in goods "at our usual charging prices."
During the first half century of the history of Simonds Hill
the character of the society of the neighborhood was fully up
to the standing attained in any rural community in those early
days. The pioneers of Simonds Hill were industrious, law
abiding citizens and their counsel in the conduct of town af
fairs was often sought and freely given, there being no blight
incident to "graft" in those early times. Would that as much
could be said to-day.
However, the old families once so proudly pointed to on Si
monds Hill have all succumbed to the mutations of time. To
day new people, comparatively speaking, occupy the old farms
cleared by the pioneers mentioned on preceding pages of the
history of Simonds Hill. Only one old name — that of Gates —
remains in occupation of a farm on Simonds Hill, most of the
new comers being either of Irish or French descent audit may
truly be said of these latter occupants that they are industri
ous and progressive.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 182

Northwest Bay Church,
Robert Thompson, Sr., and his sons Robert Thompson, Jr.,
and James Thompson moved into Elizabethtown and settled up
west shortly after 1805. Robert Thompson, Sr., was a native
of Scotland and is said to have been a Revolutionary soldier.
He is also said to have attained the greatest age on record in
this section. He died in 1829 at the advanced age of 130
years, his mortal remains being buried in the Roscoe cemetery.
Robert Thompson, Jr., became the father of James Edwin
Thompson, so well known to the present generation of Eliz
abethtown dwellers.
The names of Elders Brown, Babcock and Chamberlain ap
pear on the records of the Elizabethtown Baptist Church in
the beginning of 1806.
From 1806 to 1808, inclusive, the Supervisor of Elizabeth-
town was none other than Dr. Alexander Morse.
Dr. Alexander Morse, Simeon Frisbee, Joseph Jenks, Zadoek
Hurd and Nathan Hammond served as Inspectors of Election
in 1806.
March 17, 1807, there was, according to preserved records,
"A Meeting appointed by a number of Baptist brethren on
Morgan's Patent in Elizabethtown." This meeting was the be
ginning of the "Northwest Bay Church" as it was called.
Mrs. Caroline Halstead Royce concludes, on page 207 of Bess
boro, that it is no improbable guess that the meeting "was on
the Hoisington place, where three roads come together, near

183 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
the headwaters of the Hoisington brook." "Here," continues
Mrs. Royce on the same page, "the church was formed with
six members — four men and two women." Elisha Collins was
leader and kept the record. There were also Rupee Bachel-
lor, William Denton, James Hoysington, Sarah Ellis and Tri-
phena Bachellor. At the next meeting two more women
joined — Anna Loveland, wife of Enos Loveland, who joined
soon after, and Phebe Fish. At another meeting Peter N.
Fish, "Sister" Fish and Avis Hoysington joined. Joel Finney
joined in September and a meeting was appointed at his house
"at Northwest Bay." In November, 1807, was held the "coun
cil of sister churches," always necessary for the recognition of
a newly formed Baptist Church. The council was formed of
delegates from four churches already established, those of
Pleasant Valley and Jay on the west side of Lake Champlain
and of Panton and Bridport in Vermont. The council was
held at John Halstead's.
Elizabethtown's Inspectors of Election for the year 1807
were Dr. Alexander Morse, Hezekiah Barber, Isaac Knapp,
Simeon Frisbee, Zadoek Hurd.
Stephen Cuyler was Member of Assembly from Essex County
in 1807. Invention of the Steam Boat.
September 4, 1807, there occurred a notable event in the
history of civilization, the place being upon the Hudson River.
It was the first successful navigation by steam power ever ac
complished. The Clermont, built by Robert Fulton, with the
assistance and encouragement of Chancellor Livingston and
many of the business men living in towns along the Hudson,
made the trip from New York to Albany in 82 hours. One
of the men on board the Clermont that day and one who had
been interested in every detail of the new inventidn from the

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 184
first, was John Winans of Poughkeepsie. One of his brothers,
James Winans, married for his second wife Ida, daughter of
Platt Rogers, and came to live at Basin Harbor. John Win
ans married a Dutch woman, Catrina Stuart, and seeing great
possibilities in the application of the new steam power to the
means of transportation between New York and Canada, moved
to Lake Champlain and built the second steamboat in the
world, calling it the Vermont. The Vermont was built in
Burlington, Vt., being launched at the foot of King Street in
the spring of 1808. The Vermont was larger than the Cler
mont, being 120 feet long, 20 feet wide and 8 feet deep, with
speed of four miles an hour. The Captain was John Winans
himself, the pilot being Hiram Ferris of Panton, Vt., said to
have been a descendant of that Ferris who entertained Ben
jamin Franklin and the other Commissioners on their way to
Canada in the spring of 1776. The Vermont ran for seven
years, being sunk near Isle Au Noix in October, 1815. John
Winans lived some years at Ticonderoga but was buried at
Poughkeepsie. He had a son Stuart and two daughters,
Sarah, who married a Bingham, and Joanna Stuart, who mar
ried Thomas, son of Ebenezer Douglass, and passed her early
married life in that part of Elizabethtown known for the past
90 years as Westport. A daughter of Thomas Douglass and
Joanna Winans, Kate, born in Westport in 1825, became the
wife of James A. Allen.
The first trip of the Vermont along Lake Champlain must
have caused some excitement and as the men, women and chil
dren pressed near the lakeshore at Northwest Bay to see the
wonder go by they were standing on the soil of what was then
Elizabethtown.

185 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
An Act to Establish Court House and Goal in Essex County.
CHAP. CXX.
An Act to establish a court-house and goal in the county of
Essex, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the people of the state of New- York, rep
resented in senate and assembly, That Peter Sailley, of Platts
burgh, in the county of Clinton, David Thomas and John
Savage, of the county of Washington, Esquires, are hereby
appointed commissioners for designating a place for a court
house and goal for the county of Essex, and for that purpose
the said commissioners shall, as soon as may be, after the pas
sing of this act, and before the first day of August next, repair
to the said county of Essex, and after exploring the same, as
certain and designate a fit and proper place therein for erect
ing said court-house and goal, having respect or reference to
a future alteration of the boundary line or division of the said
county, if, in their opinion, any such alteration or division
may be necessary : Provided always. That in case the commis
sioners above named, or any two of them, shall not be able to
agree upon a place for the said court-house and goal, it shall
then be their duty to nominate an additional commissioner to
associate with them in discharge of the said trust, and the de
termination of any two of such commissioners, in case of the
non-attendance of the other, on due notice being given for
that purpose, shall be competent to discharge said trust ; and
the concurrence of any two of such commissioners shall be
conclusive in the premises.
And be it further enacted, That the said county of Essex
shall allow and pay to each of the said commissioners, so as
aforesaid appointed to designate the scite of the said court
house and goal, at and after the rate of three dollars per day,
for each and every day they shall be employed in executing

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 186
the trust enjoined on them by this act, which allowance shall
be levied and paid as part of the contingent charges of the
said county of Esses ; and the treasurer of the said county of
Essex is hereby required and directed to pay the same out
of any monies in the treasury, an account of which he shall
exhibit to the board of supervisors of the said county at their
next meeting.
And be it further enacted. That the supervisors of the sev
eral towns in the county of Esses, for the time being, or a
majority of them, shall be and are hereby authorized and re
quired to direct to be raised and levied on the freeholders and
inhabitants of the said county of Essex the sum of three thous
and dollars, for building the court-house and goal as aforesaid,
and for purchasing so much land as shall be sufficient for the
said court-house and goal and a yard thereto, with the addi
tional sum of five cents on each dollar for collecting the same,
and one cent on each dollar to be paid to the treasurer of the
county ; which said sum shall be raised, levied and collected
in the same manner as the other necessary and contingent
charges of the said county are levied and collected : Provided
however, that nothing herein contained shall be held or con
strued to authorize the said supervisors to raise and levy
more than one thousand dollars in one year.
And be it further enacted. That it shall be lawful for the
supervisors in the said county of Essex, or a majority of them,
to appoint three commissioners, who shall be freeholders in
the said county, to superintend the building the court-house
and goal to be erected in the said county of Essex, at such
place as may be fixed and determined upon by the commission
ers for that purpose in this act before appointed ; and the said
commissioners, or a major part of them, shall and may con
tract with workmen and purchase materials for erecting the
said court-house and goal, and if necessary, for the proceeding

187 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
with the building of the said court-house and goal, may expend
monies in and about the same, which shall be repaid and set
tled out of and from the sum so as aforesaid to be levied and
raised for the building the court-house and goal, whenever the
same shall be levied and collected, and shall, from time to
time, draw upon the treasurer of the said county for such sums
of money for the purposes aforesaid, as shall come into the
treasury by virtue of this act ; and the treasurer is hereby re
quired, out of any monies aforesaid, to pay to the order of the
said commissioners the several sums of money to be by them
drawn for ; and it is hereby made the duty of such commis
sioners, so to be appointed, to account with the supervisors of
the said county of Essex for the monies which they have re
ceived from the treasury when thereunto required by a ma
jority of the said supervisors.
And be it further enacted. That the building, so to be erected
for the court-house and goal at the place which shall be des
ignated as aforesaid, shall be the goal of the said county of
Essex, and as soon as the same is completed in such manner
as to confine prisoners, it shall and may be lawful for the
sheriff of the said county of Essex to remove his prisoners,
either upon civil or criminal process to such goal, and confine
them therein, and such removal shall not be deemed an escape
in such sheriff.
And be it further enacted. That it shall and may be lawful
for the courts of common pleas and general sessions of the
peace, in and for the said county of Essex, as soon as the said
court-house and goal shall be finished so as to accommodate
the same courts, to adjourn to the said court-house, and there
after to continue to hold the terms of the said courts at the
said court-house, and no action or prosecution depending in
the said courts shall be abated, discontinued, or in anyj man
ner prejudiced in law by such adjournment.

/_. ^

^^im^am>.^

SQUIER LEE,
Oldest Man Living Who was Born in Elizabethtown.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 190
State of New- York.
In Senate, March 26th, 1807.
This bill having been read the third time.
Resolved, That the bill do pass.
By order of the Senate. JNO. BROOME, Presdt.
State of New- York.
In Assembly, April 3d, 1807.
This bill having been read the third time —
Resolved, That the bill do pass.
By order of the Assembly. A. M'CORD, Speaker.
In Council of Revision,
April 3d, 1807.
Resolved, That it does not appear improper to the council,
that this bill should become a law of this state.
MORGAN LEWIS.
In the year 1807 occurred the death of Benjamin Holcomb,
Esq., whose mortal remains were buried in the Boquet Valley
cemetery. Benjamin Holcomb, Esq., settled in the Boquet
Valley in 1792 and during the 15 years that he lived here, oc
cupied a high place in the estimation of the pioneer settlers.
He served as Justice of the Peace and as Assistant Judge of
the old Court of Common Pleas. A relative, either a daugh
ter or a sister of this much revered pioneer, married Dr. Asa
Post and a son, Ansel by name, was mortally wounded Sept. 11,
1814, at the Battle of Plattsburgh, being shot in the side, and
dying Sept. 13th, two days after the English turned back to
ward Canada. Ansel Holcomb's body was also buried in the
Boquet Valley cemetery.

191 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
The Inspectors of Election in Elizabethtown for the year
1808 were Hezekiah Barber, Eben'r Newell.Nathan Hammond,
Enos Loveland.
In 1808 Jonas Morgan was granted another patent of land
in Elizabethtown. Jonas Morgan had already built a forge
on the Black River, at the place which we now call Meigsville.
This forge he sold to Jacob Southwell and it is often referred
to as the "Southwell forge."
Below is a quotation from the Act of the Legislature grant
ing the patent, April 28, 1808 :
"Whereas it hath been represented to the Legislature by
Jonas Morgan and Ebenezer W. Walbridge in their petition
that they have it in contemplation to erect works of different
kinds for the manufacture of iron, in Elizabethtown in the
county of Essex, and on account of the great expense and risk
attending the erection of such works they have prayed for leg
islative aid ;
"And whereas the erection of such works, and especially of
a furnace for casting of pig-iron, hollow-ware and stoves, in
that part of the state, where iron ores of the best quality and
the materials for working the same are abundant, would be so
beneficial to the state at large, and particularly to the northern
part of it, as justly to entitle such an undertaking to encourage
ment and aid from the Legislature ;
"And whereas it is also represented, that there is a tract of
vacant land belonging to the people of this state, lying in the
town of Elizabethtown aforesaid, on the north side of a tract
of land belonging to the said Jonas Morgan, on which he has
already erected a forge, and adjoining to the same, which will
be useful, and in time perhaps absolutely necessary for carry
ing on the contemplated works to advantage, therefore" — the
State not only granted Morgan and Walbridge the land, but
lent them three thousand dollars for the prosecution of the

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 192
work, ou condition that the furnace be running within three
years, a condition which was probably fulfilled, since we find
mention of "Morgan's New Forge" in town records of 1815.
Whether he of Morgan's Patent fame made or lost a fortune
on the banks of the Black River uo one now living can tell.
Before 1818 he had, according to Mrs. Caroline H. Royce,
"sold out to Brainard and Mitchell, who built a grist-mill a
little further down on the east side and since that time the
place has always been known as Brainard's Forge."
When the dam at what is now called Brainard's Forge was
built the interval was flooded clear up to the north line of his
large patent. This made quite a body of water, known for
several years as Morgan's Pond, extending from Brainard's
Forge to what is now known as Meigsville. This was
of course before the present turnpike road across the Black
River wa.s even dreamed of. A map of Morgan's Pond as it
was in 1810 follows page 127 of this work and is, I believe, a
copy of the only map of the kind in Northern New York.
John Lee, a man of Scotch descent, was living iu 1807 on
the farm now owned and occupied by John F. Ward and
brothers. He is said to have settled there in 1800, his first
wife being Ruth Ann Squiers. The marriage of John Lee and
Ruth Ann Squiers took place in 1800, the bride at that time
living on what is to-day known as the Barton place. However,
on what is now known as the Ward farm, Squier Lee, fourth
child of John and Ruth Ann Squiers Lee, was born Dec. 4,
1807. This information the writer received by word of mouth
from Squier Lee himself in the summer of 1896. Squier Lee's
picture appears elsewhere in this book. He is a resident
of Bristol, Ind., and the oldest man living who was born in
Elizabethtown. His wife was Clarissa Lee, eldest daughter of
the late Noah Lee and eldest sister of the late Chauncey Lee.

193 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
She died July 23, 1890. John Lee, with whom Squier Lee
lives, is the only one of six children now living.
In 1808 James W. Coll emigrated from Ticonderoga and
settled at the mouth of Raymond Brook on the shore of Lake
Champlain and built mills where Raymond had built his be
fore him. Here a thriving colonly soon sprang up, its popu
lation exceeding for some years that of Northwest Bay, with a
saw-mill, grist-mill, limekiln, blacksmith-shop and brickyard.
Coll built his house a little way north of the mill site, on the
corner, where it still stands, with its massive square timbers,
cut from the trees of the forest primeval. James W. Coll had
two brothers, Samuel and Levi, who came and settled near him
at Coil's Bay. The late venerable Hinckley Coll, an intimate
friend of the writer for ma ny years, was the son of Levi Coll
and was possessed of much valuable information concerning
the early history of the Coil's Bay region.
Cyrus Richards who married Isabella MacConley, sister of
Mrs. James W. Coll, also settled at Coil's Bay. The children
of Cyrus Richards were William who married Mary Ann Hen
derson, Samantha who married John R. Nichols, Eliza who
married Hezekiah Frisbie, (son of Levi,) Mary who married
Ephraim Bradley, Cyrus who married for his first wife Mary
Mclntyre, his second wife being Julia Marsh, Charles who
was drowned in the lake when a boy, Clarissa who married
George Henderson and Barton who married Almira Newell.
In the year 1808 a new name appears in Elizabethtown rec
ords — that of Root. Samuel Root, (son of Eleazar, grandson of
Thomas,) born July 7, 1759, in Farmington, Conn., married
Dinah Woodruff of Farmington Conn., where they lived.
Dinah Woodruff was a sister of Timothy, Appleton and Roger
Hooker Woodruff who settled in what is now the town of
Lewis at an early day. Samuel Root served in the Revolu
tionary army all through the war. He was a member of the

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 194
Congregational Church and died Jan. 6, 1815. Dinah Wood
ruff was born Jan. 9, 1754, and died Feb. 9, 1848. The chil
dren of Samuel Root and wife were Eleazar, Asahel, Ira,
Abigail. Asahel Root was born in 1785 and died in June, 1861, in the
town of Westport.
Asahel Root owned land in Elizabethtown village as early
as 1808. He married Chloe Whitman and for a time ran a
whiskey distillery which stood near where the old Noble store
now stands. His Water Street dwelling house stood just a
few feet west of the old Noble harness-shop. Asahel Root
had two sons — William Whitman who was born in 1810 near
where the old Noble harness-shop stands and Samuel who
was born in 1817 just across the Street from Maplewood Inn.
William Whitman Root married Maria Rouell. Their chil
dren were William A., Cora and Charles. Wm. W. Root died
in 1896. His wife died in 1903.
William A. Root married Katherine Elizabeth Root and
lives in Bennington, Vt-
Cora Root and Charles Root (unmarried) live on the Water
Street homestead so long occupied by their father and mother.
Samuel Root married Cynthia Fisher. Their children were
Chloe Jane who married Charles Pattison and Marcia who
married Solon Burroughs Finney. Samuel Root represented
Essex County in the Assembly. He died in 1900.
About the year 1808 John Whitney came with his family
from Springfield, Vt., following the newly cut road through the
pine woods from Northwest Bay to the Falls. He settled
about a mile above the Falls, on the east side of the Boquet
River. Finally he erected a new frame house. As his princi
ples forbade the use of liquor as a beverage, he did not follow
the general custom of giving men liquor at the "raising." So
his house was known as the first in all that region which was

195 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
"raised without rum." This house stood till December, 1901,
when the old landmark was destroyed by fire.
In 1807 or 1808, according to Dr. Morgan B. Hodskins of
the Massachusetts Hospital for Epileptics at Palmer, Mass.,
his grandfather, the late Brewster Morgan Hodskins, came to
Elizabethtown from Walpole, N. H., being at that time a small
boy. It has always been understood by the writer that
Brewster Morgan Hodskins came to Elizabethtown with good
Deacon Joseph Blake and his large wife Susanna. Deacon
Blake (Congregationalist) and wife settled and lived for over
half a century on what has since been known as the Brownson
farm, now owned and occupied by Emery J. Coonrod, being
located about one mile down the Boquet River from Elizabeth-
town village. The Blakes came from Walpole, N. H., as nu
merous old receipts, etc., dated there a century and more ago
bear silent but convincing testimony. Deacon Joseph Blake
died Jan. 12, 1860, aged 80 years, his mortal remains being
buried in the old cemetery in the village of Elizabethtown. His
wife Susanna died April 5, 1861, aged 84 years, and her remains
were buried beside the good old Deacon. Increase Blake,
probably Deacon Joseph Blake's mother, died Aug. 2, 1829, in
her 88th year and was also buried in the old cemetery. Sus
anna Mansfield, who died Feb. 27, 1826, in her 80th year and
whose remains were buried near the Blakes, was undoubtedly
the mother of Mrs. Joseph Blake. John Blake, said to have
been a nephew of the Deacon, died Oct. 4, 1865, aged 56 years,
his mortal remains being buried in the old cemetery. Alan-
son Blake, said to have been a brother of John Blake, married
Elizabeth Shepard, a daughter of William Gray's wife.
Brewster Morgan Hodskins' father was Milton Hodskins.
Brewster Morgan Hodskins married for his first wife Harriet
Shepard, a sister of Alanson Blake's wife just previously men
tioned. Brewster Morgan Hodskins' children by his first wife

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 196
were Ann, Amanda, Chauncey, Rufus B., Joseph, Ashel, Ros-
anna, Laona.
Ann Hodskins married Oliver Oldruff.
Amanda Hodskins married Hiram Baker.
Chauncey Hodskins served as a soldier in the Union army
during the late civil war, dying in a southern hospital.
Rufus B. Hodskins married Clementine Prouty.
Joseph Hodskins married Cordelia Frisbie.
Ashel Hodskins also married a Prouty, sister of Clementine.
He was accidentally killed while working at sawing wood
by horse power at the Oscar A, Phinney farm, Brainard's
Forge, 28 years ago.
Rosanna Hodskins became the first wife of Martin V. B.
Pierce, his second wife being Laona Hodskins, sister of the
first. Brewster Morgan Hodskins married for his second wife
Sophrona Prouty, a sister of the Proutys just previously men
tioned. By the second marriage there was one daughter,
Viola, who married Wm. H. Lobdell.
Brewster Morgan Hodskins died in the spring of 1894, ven
erable in years and quite well off for a farmer in Elizabethtown.
In May, 1808, Dr. Asa Post became Clerk of the EHzabeth
town Baptist Church. Dr. Post wrote splendidly and his
handwriting on the old records is considerably in evidence,
as he held the position several years.
In the latter part of 1808 Daniel Haskell, afterwards the foun
der of the Theological Seminary at Hamilton, N. Y., became
pastor elect of the Elizabethtown Baptist Church and was or
dained by a council called on the first Wednesday in Septem
ber, 1809. The churches forming the council were Essex, Jay,
Northwest Bay, Pawlett, Chester, Panton and Bridport. Elder
Hascall held the pastorate until the latter part of 1812.
Enos Loveland served as Supervisor of Elizabethtown in

197 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
1809, the Inspectors of Election for that year being Ebenezer
Newell, Enos Loveland, John Lobdell, Jacob Southwell, Asa
Post.
Removal of the County Seat from Essex to Elizabethtown.
It seems that the charmingly beautiful valley in the northern
part of Elizabethtown, where an incipient village was already
located, and to which Nature directly pointed by having
formed "passes" through the circumjacent hills, and being the
nearest practicable site to the center of the county, irresistibly
led the commissioners appointed by act of the Legislature in
April, 1807, to decide in favor of "Pleasant Valley." And the
County Seat was accordingly removed from Essex to Eliza
bethtown by a Clinton County man and two Washington County
men, residents of this section having no more to do with de»
ciding the location than men in the moon. Following is the
deed given by Simeon Frisbee of the site occupied by the Essex
County Court house and jail for almost a century :
This indenture made the sixth day of October in the year of
our Lord one thousand eight hundred and nine between Sim
eon Frisbee of the town of Elizabethtown in the County of
Essex and State of New York ot the one part and the Super
visors of the County of Essex, aforesaid of the other part wit
nesseth that the said Simeon Frisbee for & in consideration of
the sum of one hundred Dollars current lawful money of the
State of New York to him in hand paid at or before ensealing
and delivery of these presents by the Supervisors aforesaid, re
ceipt whereof the said Simeon Frisbee doth hereby confess
and acknowledge and thereof doth release the said Supervisors
and their successors in office forever hath granted, bargained,
sold, aliened, remissed, released, enfedffed and confirmed and
by these presents ddth grant, bargain, sell, alien, remiss, re
lease, enfeoff and confirm unto the said supervisors and their

JOHN SANDERS, SR.,
A Commanding Figure in Elizabethtown History
From J 827 to J 864.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 200
successors in office aforesaid for the sole and only proper use,
benefit & behoof of the said county of Essex for the use of a
Court House and Goal forever All that certain lot, piece or
parcel of land situate, lying and being in the town of Eliz
abethtown aforesaid and is bounded as follows towit — Begin
ning at a stake south thirty seven degrees and thirty minutes
west from the southwest corner of the court house in said town
of Elizabethtown one chain and sixty two links and runs
thence north sixty eight degrees east three chains and twenty
five links to a stake thence north twenty five degrees west
three chains and eight links to a stake. Thence south sixty
eight degrees west three chains and twenty five links to a stake.
Thence south twenty five degrees east three chains & eight links
to the place of beginning containing one acre of land Together
with all and singular the hereditaments and appurtenances
unto the premises in any wise appertaining or belonging an<l
the reversion and reversions remainder and remainders rents
issues and profits thereof and also all the estate right title in
terest use trust property claim and demand whatsoever as well
in law as in equity of the said Simeon Frisbee off in and to
the same and every part and parcel thereof with the appurte
nance To have and to hold the above granted bargained and
described premises with the appurtenance unto the said Su
pervisors and their successors in office for the proper use ben
efit and behoof of said County of Essex for a court house and
goal forever, and the said Simeon Frisbee for himself his heirs
executors and administrators doth covenant promise grant and
agree to and with the said Supervisors and their successors in
office that he the said Simeon Frisbee at the time of the enseal
ing and delivery of these presents is lawfully seized in his own
right of in and to the aforesaid premises hereby granted and

201 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
conveyed with the appurtenances as of a good sure perfect ab
solute and indefeasible estate of Inheritance in the law in fee
simple without any manner of condition to alter change de
termine or defeat the same and hath in him good right full
power and lawful authority to grant bargain sell convey and
release the said premises with their appurtenances unto the
said Supervisors and their successors in office in manner
aforesaid. And also that the said Supervisors and their suc
cessors in office for the use of a court house and goal for said
County of Essex shall and may from time to time and at all
times and forever hereafter peaceably and quietly enter into
have hold occupy possess and enjoy the said premises and
every part and parcel thereof with the appurtenances and
that free and clear from all estates charges conditions or in
cumbrances whatsoever. And also that the said Simeon Fris
bee and his heirs and all and every other person or persons
whomsoever lawfully or equitably deriving any estate right
title dower jointure or interest of in or to the premises or any
part thereof by from under or in trust for him and them shall
and will at all times hereafter upon the reasonable quest
of the said Supervisors and their successors in office and
at the proper costs and charges in the law of the said County
of Essex make do acknowledge levy suffer and execute or
cause and procure to be made done acknowledged levied suf
fered and executed all and every such further and other law
ful and reasonable acts conveyances and assurances in the law
for the better and more effectually vesting and confirming the
premises hereby intended to be granted in and to the said Su
pervisors and their successors in office for the use of a Court
house and Goal for said County of Essex forever as by the
said Supervisors or their successors in office or their counsel
learned in the law shall be reasonably devised advised or
required. And the said Simeon Frisbee for himself and his

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 202
heirs doth covenant to warrant and by these presents forever
to defend the premises and every part and parcel thereof with
their appurtenances unto the said Supervisors and their suc
cessors in office for the purpose aforesaid against the claims
of all persons whomsoever.
In witness whereof the said Simeon Frisbee hath hereunto
set his hand and seal the day and year first above written.
SIMEON FRISBEE, L. S.
Sealed and delivered in the presence of )
Hezekiah Barber, David A. Hascall. j
Acknowledged execution thereof 7th October, 1809, before
Joseph Jenks, Judge. Fees $1.61.
Lucy Frisbee, wife of Simeon Frisbee, signed separate paper
releasing all right, title and interest in same parcel of land in
presence of Joseph Jenks and Benjamin D. Pardee.
The first Court House was built on a very modest scale but
was burned soon after its erection and at once rebuilt under
the superintendence of Manoah Miller, Theodorus Ross and
Delevan DeLance. These primitive County Buildings stood
on or near the site of the present Court House and County
Clerk's office.
Elisha Frisbee died in Elizabethtown Oct. 12, 1809, just six
days after his son Simeon deeded the site on which the pres
ent Court House, Jail and County Clerk's office stand. Simeon
Frisbee's eldest sister, Harriett Frisbee, married Norman
Nicholson, Elizabethtown's first Postmaster. Their son, the
late George S. Nicholson, Esq., was the father of John D.
Nicholson, Esq., Elizabethtown's present Postmaster.
Simeon Frisbee was County Clerk of Essex County from
1808 to 1816, in which latter year he moved to Chatauqua
County, N. Y.

203 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
Establishment of the State Arsenal in Elizabethtown.
The year 1809, an eventful one generally, was particularly
so for Elizabethtown. The year that gave the world so many
great and good men, including Lincoln and Gladstone, gave to
Pleasant Valley Orlando Kellogg, who was destined to become
the most famous man Northern New York ever produced.
The year 1809 witnessed the beginning of operations which re
sulted in the building of a State Arsenal here and also the ar
rival of the editor of the first newspaper ever printed in
Essex County.
The following from the Governor Daniel D. Tompkins Mili
tary Papers, Vol. II, Page 201, regarding the establishment of
the Arsenal here will be of special interest, as it tells of the
beginning of a State institution in Pleasant Valley and is now
published in a local history for the first time :
March. Memorandum concerning a deposit of Arms to be erected
at Elizabethtown, Essex County.
1st Title to a Lot of Ground at least 66 feet by 100 fronting
on some road or Street must be obtained.
2nd The building must not be less than 20 feet by 30 with the
gable end towards the road or Street and to be of stone,
brick or Wood according as a Majority of Gentlemen
hereafter named may deem most suitable, ornamental
& ceconomical.
3rd If built of stone they must be of the first quality of build
ing stone smoothly faced and handsomely laid. If choice
stone cannot be procured the building ought rather to be
of brick or timber.
4th The foundation will consist of an extensive mason wall of
ample thickness to support the superstructure and an
interior wall running lengthwise through the center. The
first at least two feet and the second at least one foot in

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 204
the ground and both raised to an exact level at least
eighteen inches above the surface of the ground. The
foundation Walls to be of the best building stone. A
plate on the interior wall will support three pillars, the
first 12 feet, the second 18 and the third 24 feet from the
front door. The front door must be a substantial double
door with a small door in it both substantial and well
made, with strong hinges and locks. The width of the
double door must be sufficient freely to admit Gun car
riages.
Sth The sleepers of the lower floor must be of chestnut or pine
seasoned 12 inches by 6 and not laid more than 18 inches
apart. The pillars in the center plate must be substan
tial. The beams of the second floor at least 9 inches by
4 and not more than 20 inches apart are to be framed
into or rest upon a substantial plate which will rest upon
the pillars and end walls. The lower floor to be of sea
soned plank 3 inches thick. There must be one window
opposite the double door and one in each side with iron
gates worked into the wall at top and bottom. Joists
must be worked into the wall projecting 2 inches within
it, to which a ceiling of planed thin boards may be at
tached. The first story must not be less than 8 feet in
the clear. The second floor must be made of good sea
soned plank or thick boards. The side walls must be
carried up 4| or 5 feet above the second floor, and the
cross or collar beams must be so placed as to leave at
least seven feet between them and the floor. A door
in the second story over the double door with a fixture
above it for hoisting. A window in the opposite end and
if practicable a small semicircular window above the
door and the opposite window. The dimensions of 30 by
20 feet will be in the clear between the walls.

205 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
6th If built of brick the exterior must be well and neatly
painted and penciled and the roof painted a slate color.
Some of the beams of the second floor and some of the
rafters ought to be so anchored with iron as to prevent
the side walls from spreading apart. There must be a
staircase and stairs between the first and second floor.
The lot ought to be enclosed with a substantial board
fence about six feet high with a large gate in front. The
building should be erected in the center of the lot and
its walls parallel with the sides of the lot. The whole
to be of the very best materials and workmanship.
If Isaac Kellog, Benjamin and Simeon Frisbie, William
Kirby and E. Barns, or a majority of them, will ascertain
whether suitable ground can be obtained and will name one
of themselves or other person who is willing to superintend the
building, keep vouchers and account for the money advanced,
I will immediately forward the necessary sum and direct the
immediate commencement of the building. I will thank them
to inform me of the probable cost of each building, give me
their opinion of as to the materials they may think best for
the building, as to the piece of ground, and as to any other
matter touching the size and model of the building or other
wise concerning it.
Albany, July 31, 1809.
In the fall of 1809 a man named William Ray came to reside
in "Pleasant Valley." He was born in Salisbury, Litchfield
County, Conn., Dec. 9, 1771, and eventually had quite a ro
mantic career.
When he was about ten years of age his father removed to
New York State ; his first poem, on the death of a little play
mate, was written at this time.
When he was nineteen he began teaching schodl at Ddver,

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 206
Dutchess County. In 1792 he embarked in the mercantile
business but failed in consequence of the embargo.
In 1803 he received a flattering offer of the editorship of a
newspaper in Philadelphia but was taken with a fever on the
way and arrived there only to find the post filled.
In despair he enlisted in the U. S. Navy on July 3, 1803, on
the ill-fated frigate Philadelphia.
As he wrote an excellent hand and was of more than ordi
nary intelligence he was employed as "ship's writer."
The cruise of the Philadelphia is a matter of history. Wil
liam Ray records in his biography his opinion of her com
mander and officers and notes the fact that Thomas MacDon-
ough was a midshipman on board. She ran aground on
October 31, 1803, and from that time until June 3, 1805, he
was a prisoner ; he went on board the Essex where he was
made captain's clerk and composed a poem which was read
on board July 4, 1805 ; he reached his home September 1,
1805, where he found his wife and child well after his long
absence. In his biography he writes : "In the fall of 1809 I removed
to the County of Essex where I again commenced merchand
ise and again unsuccessful."
Following are the titles of his two published works from
which the data for the above sketch was gleaned :
Horrors of Slavery or the American Tars in Tripoli; an
account of the loss and capture of the United States Frigate
Philadelphia ; treatment and sufferings of the prisoners ; de
scription of the place ; manners, customs, &c., of the Tripoli-
tans; public transactions of the United States with that
regency, including Gen. Eaton's expedition ; interspersed with
interesting remarks, anecdotes and poetry on various subjects.

207 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
Written during upwards of nineteen months imprisonment
and vassalage among the Turks.
By William Ray.
"Nature ne'er meant to form a .slave ;
"Her birth-rights liberty."
"Slavery thou art a bitter cup." Sterne.
Troy
Printed by Oliver Lyon
For the Author
1808.
973. 4. R. 21

Poems on variots subjects, religious, moral, sentimental and
humerous.
By William Ray.
To which is added a brief sketch of the author's life and of
his captivity and suffering among Turks and barbarians of
Tripoli, on the coast of Africa — written by himself.
To thee, O sacred muse belongs
Devotions humble voice
That breaks in sweet adorning songs
Like those whose holy angel-throngs
Eternally rejoice. Auburn.
Printed by U. F. Doubleday.
1821.
811. 29. R. 21.
It has been said that the record of such an experience in
the harbor of Tripoli, told as well as William Ray told it,
would to-day sell in repeated editions but "The Horrors of
Slavery" published in 1808 made the author neither famous
nor wealthy.
Elizabethtown's Supervisor in 1810 was Enos Loveland, the

JUDGE AUGUSTUS C. HAND.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 210
Inspectors of Election being Ebenezer Newell, John Lobdell,
Asa Post, Jacob Southwell, Enos Loveland.
During this year work on the Arsenal was commenced.
The following, from pages 259 and 260, Vol. 11, Military
Papers of Daniel D. Tompkins, and which was dated Albany,
March 11, 1811, refers to the work on the Arsenal at Eliz
abethtown :
Since the last communication which was made to the legis
lature relative to the proceedings under the Act to provide for
the defence of the northern and western frontiers, deposits, or
arsenals have been erected in Onondaga ; in Plattsburgh, Clin
ton County ; and one in Elizabethtown, Essex County, has
been begun, but on account of the sickness and absence of the
principal workmen, could not be finished the last season. In
the course of the ensuing summer that will be completed, and
deposits in Genesee and St. Lawrence Counties will also be
erected, which will close the duties enjoined by the last men
tioned act, and the law amendatory thereof, passed 24th Feb
ruary, 1809.
Enos Loveland also served as Supervisor of Elizabethtown
in 1811, the Inspectors of Election that year being Enos Love
land, John Lobdell, Ebenezer Newell, Asa Post, Jacob South
well. The following concerning the establishment of theGoal Lim
its of the County of Essex, in accordance with the passage of
an Act of the State Legislature, Session of 1811, is on record
in the County Clerk's office :
Beginning at the Court House, thence E. 40 chains, thence
north 22 deg. 30 min. W. 80 chains and 35 Hnks, thence N. 67
deg. 30 min. W. 30 chains 35 links, thence S. 67 deg.30 chains
35 links, thence 22 deg. 30 min. E. 30 chains & 35 links, thence
S. 67 deg. 30 min. E. 30 chains 35 links, thence N. 67 deg. 30

211 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
min. E. 30 chains & 85 links, thence N. 22 deg. 80 min. E. 30
chains and 85 links.
Surveyed the 10th & 11th days of June, A. D., 1811, by me.
THOS. STOWER.
Recorded 11th June, 1811. SIMEON FRISBEE, Clerk.
In 1811 William Ray either had an idea that Governor
Tompkins was likely to visit Elizabethtown or else he assumed,
a kind of poetic license, as he wrote as follows :
To his Excellency Daniel D. Tompkins,
Sir: That you are coming to this place
We have authentic information
Jfoy, newly born, smiles on our face
Raised by its mother expectation.
Lest you should disappointment meet
Who oft OD strangers makes a sally
Causing a thousand to retreat
And curse the name of Pleasant Valley,
I'll give concisely as I can
Without too much impertinency
Its view, site, prospect, people, place
Just to oblige your Excellency.
You'll cross the Lake at North West Bay
Eight miles computed from this village
The land uneven, rough the way,
The soil is good but bad the tillage.
When the last eminence you rise
Prom log built huts, and shabby people
The object next that strikes your eyes
Will be, perhaps the Court House steeple.
Prom east to west a plain extends
From north to south a valley stretches.
And through the whole a streamlet bends
To feed with fish some hungry wretches.
Huge mountains all around us rise
And seem of elbow room to scrimp us

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 212
But yet no God has left the skies
To dwell upon our new olympus.
No Heliconian streams distil
To give our poets inspiration
But whiskey plenty from the still
Sets all their brains in fermentation.
No Delphic oracle is here
Confounding truth with manj a libel
But a plain Clergyman sincere
Our only oracle the Bible.
Our Magistrates are learn'd indeed
Expounding law and dealing justice
'Tis certain some of them can read
And write their names to mittimustes.
Take an example if you please
Our Squire who is no necromancer
Styles himself "Justice of the Peas,"
Why not of Beans a wag may answer.
Here's lawyers most confounded wise
Physicians also, very plenty
One scarcely could believe his eyes
To find a good one out of twenty.
Judges and Gen'rals, all great men,
Tell of integrity and spirit
They grace their stations well ; but then
Some want one requisite call'd merit.
Our Legislators to be sure
Are men of sense, so reason argues.
But though their principles be pure
We have no Solon or Lycurgus.
Bright chastity our fair adorns
We have no am'rous wars between us
If any wear a brace of horns
'Tis but a helmet lent by Venus.
Here's politicians very great
Who know exactly to a tittle
What saves or what destroys a State —
Or too much freedom or too little.
They see what Robert Smith's about
Of State our quandom Secretary

213 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
Some would the traitors brains beat out
And some alive the rascal bury.
If what I've stated be not true
Your Excellency soon must know it
I am with all submission due
Your most obedient humble poet.
Wm. Rat.
Elizabethtown, Pleasant Valley, August 30, 1811.
P. S. — I beg leave just to suggest to your Excellency that
I have some thoughts of applying to the council of Appoint
ment next Session for the office of County Clerk. There will
be several candidates I am told; but I do not know of any wbo
stand more in need of or are better entitled to it than myself.
If our present clerk should be removed and I confess I see no
reason why he should monopolize any longer, I shall certainly
expect. The rotation of office is one principle of our republican
system. This is an office which I think I am capable of filling ;
and as 1 am poor and unable to get a living by farming or any
other laborious employment, such an office would exactly suit
me. Your Excellency's most ob't hum. servant,
Wm. Ray.
The "plain Clergyman sincere" must have been Elder Daniel
Hascall, a graduate of Middlebury College, who was the Baptist
preacher in Pleasant Valley from 1808 to 1813, At that time
Ezra Carter Gross was a rising young lawyer in Pleasant Valley
and Dr. Asa Post and Dr. Alexander Morse were physicians
here. The above poetic effusion with note in prose attached at bot
tom constitutes the first of a series of vigorous letters written
by Wm. Ray to Gov. Tompkins. At that time county offices, ex
cept Assembly, were filled by the Council of Appointment, be
coming elective in 1821. William Ray urged his claim with per
sistency, a clearness and vigor of statement and a variety of

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 214
expression which would bring him both fame and fortune as
a 20th century newspaper reporter. The statements made by
this Knight of the Quill concerning some of our early Essex
County worthies should be read with due allowance for the
bitter spirit of partisanship which was abroad at the time. As
the letters are unique and full of local color the writer has de
cided not to expunge any part but to reproduce them in full.
By reference to the Elizabethtown Baptist Church records
it is found on May 3, 1811, "The Ch'h agree to clean the Court
Room before every Court and appoint Bros. Carter and Ferris
a Committee to see it done." From the foregoing it would ap
pear that Baptist meetings were at that time being held in the
Essex County "Court Room." It is fair to presume that meet
ing continued to be held there until the Court House burned
again in 1823.
In the fall of 1811 Wm. Ray again wrote Gov. Tompkins as
follows : Elizabethtown, Oct'r 2d, 1811.
Sie:
I mentioned to your Excellency in a late letter something
respecting my wishes to be appointed clerk of this county at
the next session of the Legislature. I have been conversing
with Judge Pond on the subject as well as several others
of my friends who all profess themselves pleased with the
proposition. Should your Excellency doubt the propriety of
such a step in me I should be glad to know it before I proceed
any further. It would be better for me to "sit still than rise
up and fall." Judge Pond is acquainted with my situation
and none I presume are ignorant of my pretentions to the office.
The fact is Mr. Frisbie has no just claims to the office any
longer and I do not know of any in this county who can say
he is entitled to it more than myself. I am poor, unable to labor

215 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
and have suffered much in my country's service. I am aware.
Sir, of the delicacy of your situation as to your making nomina
tions of this kind ; but I know also the goodness of your
disposition and justness of your principles in giving to every
man his just reward.
I am, sir, with due submission your Excellency's most obedi
ent humble servant. Wm. Ray.
Daniel D. Tompkins.
Judge Pond, referred to in the foregoing letter, was the Hon.
Benjamin Pond, father of Ashley Pond and grandfather of the
late Judge Byron Pond of Elizabethtown.
Wm. Ray's ambition to be Essex County Clerk must have
burned within him in the early days of December, 1811, as the
following letter to Gov. Tompkins bears witness :
To His Excellency, Daniel D. Tompkins,
Sir:
Every letter I write to your Excellency I make a sacrifice
of my pride to the strong impulse I feel to communicate my
sentiments. I am not unconscious. Sir, that too much famili
arity between characters so widely discriminated would be in
compatible with the dignity of your superior station — of your
exalted merits — I trust therefore your Excellency will not
attribute my correspondence to vain or ostentatious conceits ;
but will indulge me with the innocent gratification of un-
burthening a mind oppressed with the weight of its dwn cdm-
parative unwdrthiness — when I was a slave in Tripoli, I enter
tained the fond idea that could I once again tread my native
shores my grateful country would compassionate my extraor
dinary sufferings and place me in some station where I could
maintain myself and family with usefulness to society. As a
gentleman of philanthropy and df unbounded benevolence I
have frequently disclosed to ydur Excellency my situation and

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 216
have not lived entirely without hopes. The favors I have re
ceived are pledges of your humanity. A pathway is now
opened and the prospect brightens on these hopes. As I have
before stated the Clerk of this County has become quite un
popular with a large majority of the republicans (Democrats)
here and it is wished and expected that he will be removed
this winter. Such an office would exactly comport with ray
views and I believe would (not) be repugnant to the wishes of
the people at large though some undoubtedly will oppose it.
There are indeed two other candidates already sprouting up
soliciting petitions. It is really ludicrous to see too young
pettifoggers — mere boys of yesterday who perhaps never gave
or procured a vote in the State, hoisting themselves upon the
shoulders of grey-headed patriots and spurring in for the prize
due only to approved merit. Petitioning the populace for
office I always despised for verily believe were a petition cir
culated through the country to have three-fourths of its inhab
itants hanged it would obtain a large list of respectable sub
scribers. One of the young alluded to was mentioned in my
last letter, viz : Benjamin D. Pardee, the other is John Lynde.
Nothing that I know of can be said degrading to the char
acter of these boys. They have done nothing either to incur
censure or merit applause. Neither of them professes scarcely
a mediocrity of talents but both have some mechanical inge
nuity in penmanship. Neither of them is a man of education,
experience or knowledge of the world. These remarks are
not the ebulitions of 6nvy,caprice, or malice — but the effusions
of truth and candour. If such striplings are suffered to leap
into office over the heads of men who have toiled, bled, fought
and suffered as I have in my country's service, adieu to order
and to political justice. But I trust I have nothing to fear
from such guards of one night, such mushroon competi
tors and that the sedate wisdom of the Council (of appoint-

217 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
ment) need only be apprized of their presumption to disap
point their arrogance. There is a junto in this county who
would fain monopolize all the offices in it, in fact they have
effected their purpose pretty well thus far.
Judge Thomas Stowers, Jonathan Lynde, Esq'r, both former
Sheriffs, and John Hoffnagle, late Sheriff, all connected by
strong ties of consanguinity, are the chiefs ; Stowers and Lynde
are half brothers and Hoffnagle is brother-in-law to Stowers.
John Lynde is son of Jonathan Lynde. From this combina
tion I expect nothing but opposition. For my part I stand
alone. It is true, however, Mr. Delevan Delance, Member of
Assembly, has pledged himself to me and so have Judge Pond
and Mr. Wilham Kirby, Ex-Sheriff, Judge Joseph Jenks and
many others; and should any one of these change their posi
tion and turn against me, you will know sir how to weigh their
duplicity. With respect to the Sheriff's office there is a great
competition. John Hoffnagle who was removed to give place
to Kirby claims it again as his right. I have no opinion of
Hoffnagle's political integrity ; he is a kind of chamelion in
politics, is rich and does not merit the office. Mr. Delance
would gladly accept of it, but feels a diffidence in openly avow
ing. I am suspicious from report he will throw his influence
into the scale most likely to preponderate in his favor relating
to the clerk's office and perhaps "change works" with the junto
aforesaid. Judge Manoah Miller is another candidate for the Sheriff
alty. He is a plain, honest, illiterate man, but might do well
enough for sheriff for all what I know, provided he has good
deputies. Major Joseph Skinner, our Brigade Inspector, is also wish
ing for the office. He is a smart active man — has discharged
his duty with fidelity and applause — has been active in the
common cause — is not rich and in my humble opinion would

HON. ORLANDO KELLOGG,
Cor.gressman and Intimate Friend ot
President Lincoln,

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 220
make a good sheriff. He is a firm zealous Republican (Demo
crat) of respectable connections ; brother-in-law to the late
Doctor Bull of Saratoga. As he is in the military line he
would perhaps be a suitable person to take charge of the Arse
nal here which they say wants a new master. I do not wish
to be thought an officious informer — but to act from a convic
tion that such things as I have stated ought to be known that
equal and exact justice may be done ; and while I am thus do
ing I am only discharging the duty of a centinel and not acting
the part of a traitor. As I reside in the centre of the county
I have an opportunity of seeing and conversing with people
from all parts of it and of knowing the opinion of the mass of
its inhabitants. I do not like to see them imposed on by as
piring demagogues and mercenary office hunters. For my
part I most solemnly declare that were my condition prosper
ous I would not undergo the mortification of soliciting for any
office whatever. But I am poor, advanced to the age of forty
this very day, unable to pursue any laborious employment
for the injury my constitution has sustained in a barbarous
remote clime; and have a family to support. Can it be pos
sible that these things will have no weight with the honorable
Council ! I am not insensible. Sir, to the respect due your sta
tion ; nor of the important duties attached to it. I am aware
that did you feel the most interested predeliction in my favor,
your official dignity would forbid your evincing publickly too
much partiality for me. But I need not suggest the practica
bility of your effecting what I am at without any derogation
from your honor. I shall certainly never disgrace your favors.
Should the hopes that I now cherish be torn from me, my
situation would be desperate indeed. I could not live in this
county nor could I depart from it. May those fond expecta
tions which I now send forth find a resting place in your bosom
until they return to me with the olive branch of consumate

221 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
peace and happiness. How would ray little family rejoice at
the event ! How would our bosoms glow afresh with grati
tude to your Excellency !
Should your Excellency deem it not inconsistent with pro
priety to write me I should esteem it a very great favor whether
it beclouded or brightened my prospects; and your Excellency
might rely on it that the contents of the letter to any person
living should not be divulged. I should like to know whether
it would be best for me to come to Albany myself or address a
letter to each of the Council — whether it would be best to send
a petition or not. My circumstances are so low as that I could
not well afford the expence of a journey; but should it be
thought indispensably necessary I would endeavor to do it.
Animated with the hope of a favorable issue of my suit I re
main. Sir, with the highest consideration.
Your Excellency's most obedient and most humble servant,
Wm. Ray.
Elizabethtown, Essex County, December 9th, 1811.
Below are quoted lines from a letter written by Governor
Tompkins to his old friend, the Hon. Peter Sailly of Platts
burgh, Clinton County, N. Y., with whom he (Governor Tomp
kins) had served in the N. Y. State Legislature in 1803 :
Albany, January 13, 1812.
Dear Sir : The manner in which the building of the Arsenal
at Elizabeth Town, Essex County, has been conducted has
compelled me to send Mr. Chauncey Humphrey there to ex
amine the buildings and adjust the title and Accounts with
Mr. Frisbee. After he had got so far, I thought it was as well
for him to proceed to Plattsburgh to receive from you and
convey to me any recommendation which you may feel dis
posed to make relative to the adequacy of the supply in your
quarter in case of hostilitie with great Britain — relative to
the state of the property in the Plattsburgh Arsenal — relative

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 222
to the state and discipline of the Militia in that direction &
their equipments, relative to any objects of importance touch
ing the means and course of defence or actual warfare upon an
emergency, and relative to such other matters of security as
may require my attention or that of the Legislature.
The Governor's Instruction to Captain Humphrey Concerning Mr. Frisbee's
Responsibility for Public Property of the State.
Albany, 14 Jan'y, 1812.
Sir : The business upon which I have, heretofore, spoken
to you for the transaction of which you are requested to
proceed to Elizabeth Town, Essex County & to Plattsburgh, in
Clinton County is contained in the following questions & re
marks. I will thank you to ascertain & report upon all the
points subjoined.
1. How much land does Mr. Frisbee own in the village or
did own on the  day of  when he conveyed the
Arsenal lot to the State.
Remark — The Comptroller is unable to lay his hand at this
moment upon the deed of Frisbee for the Arsenal lot which
excites some slight fear in my mind that it may have been mis
laid. You will therefore, particularly note down Mr. Frisbee's
admissions of having executed and delivered a deed for the
Arsenal lot to me, of the date which he supposes it bore — &
other particulars relative to it. Ascertain also whether it was
acknowledged or recorded in his office of Clerk of that County
and whether his wife signed & acknowledged the conveyance
or not. If she did not it would be well to take a release of
Dower from her ; which she must acknowledge and in which
her husband may as a party reciting the supposed date, bound
aries & import of the former deed. Such a release with such
recitals might operate as a deed of confirmation if the original
conveyance should not be found.

223 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
2. What is the value of the residue of his land & buildings
not included in the Arsenal Lot.
3. What mortgages or judgments recorded in the Clerk's
office of the County of Essex are still unsatisfied — Who owns
them and where do the owners reside.
Remark — Mr. Frisbee informed me that the only incum
brance existing against the land was an ancient mortgage which
was owned by one Thorne in Dutchess County, and that he had
paid a certain sum say 25 dollars to Thorne in consideration
of which Thorne was to send a release for the State Lot. I
have recently understood that Thorne does not own the mort
gage &, that, therefore, Mr. Frisbee's statement to me must
have been fallacious — I wish the proprietor of this mortgage
to be clearly ascertained if possible.
4. What are the dimensions, workmanship, state of comple
tion, & security of the building erected under the auspices of
Mr. Frisbee. Of what materials are the roof, sides, founda
tion, pillars, &c.; is it ceiled on the inside or calculated to be,
and if so, are the boards seasoned, planed, &c.
5. What is the quantity of material of each description used
in the building, what is the current price of each & of the la
bour & Board of Mechanics & others necessarily employed at
it. 6. Call upon Mr. Frisbee for an exhibition of his acct &
vouchers relative to the building and require him either to set
tle the acct on the spot or come forward to Albany and do it
without delay.
7. What is the quantity, state of preservation and security
of the State property lodged in Mr. Frisbee's care. Examine
& count all the Muskets, Cartridge boxes. Cartridges, Cannon
shot & other articles & note their deficiencies.
8. If there be articles missing or ruined by any gross neg
lect on the part of Mr. Frisbee, you are hereby fully author-

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 224
ized and empowered at your discretion, to resume the posses
sion of the public property remaining and deliver it into the
eare of Major Skinner, or of such other person as may be ad
vised by Judge Jenks, Judge Kellogg, Sheriff Kirby, Mr. De
lance & others to be most suitable and take a receipt therefor,
with a bond in the penalty of 6,000 Dollars, condition as fol
lows :
Whereas the property of the people of this State consisting
of the following articles, viz. (here insert an accurate inven
tory of the property) have been delivered to
for safe keeping as superintended out of Military Stores at
Elizabeth Town, Essex County, for which he is to be compen
sated according to law, now the condition of this obligation is
such that if the said shall well and faith
fully perform the trust reposed in him & deliver up the said
property whenever required by the Commander in Chief, Com-
misary of Military Stores or other proper officer for the time
being in as good condition and state as the said articles now
are reasonable & unavoidable deterioration arising from the
storage or nonusage of such articles & inevitable necessity
excepted, then this obligation to be void otherwise to remain
in full force and effect.
9. After you have fully ascertained and adjusted the preced
ing matters you will proceed to Plattsburgh in Clinton County.
Mr. Sailly, Genl. Mooers, Judge Platt, Judge Delord, Judge
Smith, Col. Durand, Mr. Nicholls, Captn. Greene, Lieutenant
Smith & others, will give you all the information about the
militia property there necessary, and about every other object
of preparation or defence both on the lake and on the land
which will become advisable or indispensable in the event of
a rupture with Great Britain in the Spring or Summer.
All of which information you will please distinctly to note
down and report to me.

225 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
I have written to Mr. Sailly to inform me now or at any
other time, whether there is any probability of negotiating a
purchase of the Lands of the St. Regis Indians which I am
authorised by law to make. If yea, at what time ought it to
be attempted, through what agents ought they to be prepared
for a treaty, & what extra payments or secret service money
will be requisite to influence the principal chiefs & warriors.
After these duties are thoroughly performed you can return
in such route and with such expedition as your own comfort
and business may require.
Chauncey Humphrey, Esq.
Governor Tompkins Notifies William Ray that a Special Agent is Investi
gating the Matter of Public Property at Elizabethtown.
Albany, January 14, 1812.
D'r Sir : In consequence of the representations of Judge
Jenks and of the suggestions of yourself & others, I have sent
an agent to enquire into every matter touching the public
property & building at Elizabeth Town, by whose report I
shall govern myself as to the future disposition of the Arsenal
& its contents. Chauncey Humphrey, Esqr, proceeds to Essex
for that purpose and is the bearer of this letter.
A communication from Judge Pond and your several letters
have been duly received. It must be obvious to you that the
office you mention must be disposed of in consonance with the
opinion of our friends within the County. It would not be deli
cate or correct in me to countenance the removal of the pres
ent incumbent, until I am acquainted with the facts which dic
tate it, or after the removal is determined, or to consult &
gratify my private wishes at the expense of controuling or
affronting the sentiments of the Republicans of Essex by mak
ing county appointments hostile to their wishes, or to what
they might probibly deem best calculated to prdmote the pub-

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 226
lie good. You must, therefore, be convinced that the success
of your intended application must depend materially upon the
countenance and support it may receive from the Republicans
of Essex who are most immediately interested in it.
It gives me pleasure to flnd several respectable persons have
already espoused your interest and that I have heard except
from yourself of no rival although I cannot interfere to any
great extent in the appointment yet I can assure you that no
one will feel a more lively satisfaction than myself at finding
your claims patronized from the proper quarter & at witness
ing your advancement and prosperity.
William Ray, Esqr.
Judge Jenks Also Notified by the Governor.
Albany, January 14, 1812.
D'r Sir : In consequence of your friendly intimation con
cerning the State of the Public property in Essex County, I
have engaged the bearer, Chauncey Humphrey, Esqr., to visit
your place and make enquiries and report to me upon all the
points which are connected with or concern the property of
the State deposition at Elizabeth Town. I have taken the
liberty to refer and introduce him to you in hopes that will yield
him your advice and information in every particular in which
it may be useful to him or facilitate his enquiries and duties.
Judge Jenks.
The Governor Likewise Informs Simeon Frisbee of the Fact.
Albany, January 14, 1812.
D'r Sir : The uneasiness which has been created in my mind
by rumors which have reached me and by direct applications
from persons in Troy, who say they hold unsatisfied judgments
against you, docketed anterior to your conveyance to the state
of the Arsenal lot under which judgments they expect to be

227 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
able to arrest the property & buildings belonging to this State
& and to sell it for the payment of their demands against you,
together with the anxiety which I have repeatedly manifested
to you in person at the procrastination which has taken place
in the erection & completion of the edifice confided to your
management, constrain me to require a prompt & full account
& explanation of all the matters which implicate the interest
of the State. I have, therefore, deputed Chauncey Humphreys,
Esqr., of this city as my authorised and accredited agent, to
discuss and adjust difficulties existing between the Public &
yourself, & to act in the premises as amply & fully touching
the examination, possession and future disposition of the mili
tary stores heretofore committed to your care, and touching
the liquidation & settlement of your account as I could do,
were I personally present & request you to communicate and
deal with him accordingly.
Simeon Frisbee, Esquire.
Following is Wm. Ray's reply to Governor Tompkins' letter
of January 14, 1812 : Elizabethtown, January 20, 1812.
His Excellency Daniel D. Tompkins,
Sir : Your letter of the 14th instant I have the honor to re
ceive. The representations of Judge Jenks I believe, sir, you will
find not to have been exagerated and my suggestions relative
to the Arsenal and public property not unfounded.
I know, sir, that the office I seek must be disposed of in con
sonance with the opinion of our friends within this County and
on this ground I have built my hopes ; but it cannot be ex
pected that I can obtain the opinion and suffrages of all the
Republicans of the County ; yet could I do it I think there is

^-j. Z^.*^-^'**^

\

MAJOR ROBERT WILSON LIVINGSTON,
Founder of The Elizabethtown Post,

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 230
no doubt that my expectations would be answered. For the
correctness of my opinion I refer your Excellency to Mr. Del
evan Delance who was recently re-elected Member of Assem
bly by a majority unprecedented in this County and who is
now the echo of the people's voice as also the letter of Judge
Joseph Jenks, than whom a more honest, judicious and firm
Republican this County cannot boast. Other letters from re
spectable characters will be laid before the Council. It would
be strange indeed should I meet with no opposition and no
rival ; but I am told that the boys who began to aspire to office
are about td yield to my superior claims.
Mr. Delance attended Court here throughout last week ; he
saw and conversed with people from all parts of the County
and he can inform your Excellency that it is the general opin
ion and wish of the people here that the present incumbent
ought and might be removed and that I have better claims
and more general support than any other candidate for the
office of County Clerk. Returning your Excellency my most
sincere thanks for the friendly sentiments of your letter.
I am. Sir, with the greatest respect.
Your Excellency's most obedient and most humble servant,
Wm. Ray.
The following letter from Wm. Ray shows that Major Skin
ner was appointed Superintendent of the Arsenal :
Elizabethtown, January 28, 1812.
His Excellency Gov. Tompkins.
Sir : Major Joseph Skinner is the bearer of papers which I
think will convince you that my claims are justified, patron
ized and supported by the Republicans of this County in
general and that I have answered the expectations of your ju
dicious and friendly letter. It cannot be thought that the
people will openly declare all their reasons why Mr. Frisbie

231 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
ought to be removed — modesty forbids it. But depend on it
Sir, this iTs the popular sentiment.
Should however what I now transmit be judged insufficient
to establish the truth of what I have advanced I beg leave to
have time and opportunity to confirm what I have stated be
fore any other person is appointed, by more corroborating
witnesses. Yet I should be very glad to be relieved from
suspense as soon as possible and receive the favorable decision
of council by Major Skinner.
The removal of the Military stores from the superintendence
of Mr. Frisbie and their being placed in the hands df Mr. Skin
ner gives univeral satisfaction. There is no doubt but they
will in future be well attended to. I feel no disposition to
interfere much with the appointment of Sheriff— ^I think how
ever that Mr. Hoffnagle ought not to have it. That office has
been held for ten years in his neighborhood by himself and
among his connections. He was first a federalist, then a Re
publican, next a quid and now a Democrat. His chief support
at present (if I am informed correctly consists of federalists
whom I will not solicit. He knows I am opposed to him and
he and his friends will probably oppose me.
I wish ydur Excellency to lay my papers before the council
as soon as may be that I may know something of the result by
return of Mr. Skinner who can inform you more particularly
of my present situation, my standing in society and my popu^
larity. I hope sir that before long your Excellency will feel the
"lively satisfaction of witnessing my advancement and pros
perity." I remain your Excellency's most obedient and most humble
servant,
Wm. Ray.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 232
Evidently the arrival of Governor Tompkins' agent in Eliz
abethtown moved Simeon Frisbee to action, as the latter
deeded as follows :
"This Indenture made the twelfth day of February in the
year of our Lord one thousand Eight Hundred & twelve Be
tween Simeon Frisbee of Elizabethtown County of Essex and
State of New York and Lucy Frisbee his wife of the first part
and the People of the State of New York of the Second part
Witnesseth That the said parties of the first part for and in
Consideration of the Sum of Thirty-five Dollars Money of
amount of the United States of America to them in hand paid
at or before the ensealing and delivery of these presents by
the said party of the second part the Receipt whereof is hereby
confessed and Acknowledged Hath granted Bargained Sold
Aliened Remised released conveyed assured enfeoffed and con
firmed and by these presents doth grant Bargain Sell Alien
remise release convey assure enfeoff and confirm fully freely
and absolutely unto the said party of the Second part forever
all that certain piece parcel or tract of Land Situate lying and
being in the Town of Elizabeth Town County and State Afore
said and is part of Lot Number thirteen in a Small Patent of
Land granted to Platt Rogers and Company for three thous
and Seven Hundred Acres of Land Bounded as follows (to wit)
Beginning at Cedar tree standing in the Northeast Corner of a
piece of Land on which the Arsenal Stands near the Highway
Thence Running Westerly in the line of A Board fence one
Hundred feet thence Southerly in the line of said fence one
Hundred feet thence Easterly one Hundred feet thence North
erly one Hundred feet to the place of Beginning Containing
thirty six Rods of Ground be the same more or less," etc, the
instrument being signed, sealed and delivered by Simeon
Frisbee and Lucy Frisbee, his wife, in the presence of Benj'n

233 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
Warren and Uriah Palmer. The Arsenal lot deed was re
corded March 21, 1812.
We who follow at this late day are inevitably led to conclude
that Simeon Frisbee partially retired "under fire," so to speak,
as he lost the superintendency of the Arsenal, was compelled
to give a deed for land upon which the State of New York had
already erected a building and that he did these things in
"fear and trembling" lest he lose the office of Essex County
Clerk. First Number of the First Paper Ever Printed in Essex County.
The following letter is of especial interest as it tells of the
first issue of the first paper ever printed in Essex County :
Elizabethtown, Essex County,
April 27, 1812.
His Excellency, Gov. Tompkins,
Sir : I enclose you the first number of the first paper ever
printed in this County. The proprietors have placed me at
the head of its editorial department associated with Ezra C.
Gross, Esquire, a young gentleman of sound principles and
excellent talents. The prospectus and some other original ar
ticles I wrote myself.
When I first learned that the appointment I solicited had
not taken place and probably would not be granted, I must
own that a momentary gust of indignation against the whole
Republican party absorbed every passion of my heart. Con
dons of the justice of my claims and the increasing of some
certain charges preferred against me by some of my most in
veterate foes and knowing that my support was from some of
the most influential Republicans of the County who had gone
great lengths in certifying in my favor I could not have thought
that my claims could have been disregarded or that a man
would have been continued in office so odiously unpopular as

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 234
Frisbie. And now in the situation of Editor with what kind
of spirit or zeal can I devote my time and talents (though
small) to the defence or support of a party which seems as yet
so totally to disregard my rights, my statements, my sufferings,
my services and my present distressed circumstances. But
you see. Sir, I am yet "tremblingly alive" to the Republican
interest because I have some, nay, many good friends among
that party and because I feel and know the cause to be a good
and just one. I have done everything in my power to convince
the people here that the prorogation was a wise and politic
measure — everything in my power to prevent divisions. The
resolution passed at the County meeting I drafted and intro
duced and I cannot but yet hope that my extraordinary case
will meet with due consideration. My situation is indeed
truly distressing. I cannot possibly hold out much longer.
"Sunk in self-consuming anguish
Can the poor heart always ache ?
No — the tortur'd nerve must languish
Or, the strings of life must break."
Some of these gentlemen who attended at Albany brought
back word that they had succeeded in their attempts to injure
me with your Excellency and have boasted that they found
your friendly opinion of me very much altered before they
came away. Did I know this to be true it would plunge the
dagger of affliction still deeper in my heart.
Mr. Delance has become quite unpopular in this County.
His sickness in Albany has made the people here sick of him.
I suspect his conduct toward me has not been very fair and
honorable and shall no longer consider him as entitled to any
confidence with the Council let him be either for or against me.
I have one request to ask of your Excellency and that is a
desire that the remonstrance which was sent in against me may
be forthwith forwarded to me that I may have a chance to de-

235 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
fend myself against those ruffian assailants of my reputation.
I remain your Excellency's most ob't servant,
Wm. Ray.
Evidently Ray meant to keep Gov. Tompkins promptly in
formed as he wrote immediately after issuing the second num
ber of his paper as follows :
His Excellency Gov. Tompkins,
Sir : I send your Excellency accompanying the letter a
second number of the Reveille.
W^e have not yet received official returns from all the towns
in the County hut there remains not the least doubt but the
Republican ticket has prevailed by a handsome majority for
each candidate. Judge Miller is undoubtedly elected by a
majority of three or four hundred and as Judge Miller is one
of my petitioners for the clerkship I flatter myself his success
will not be unfavorable to mine. Judge Stone who signed a
petition last winter to have Mr. Frisbie continued in office has
politically committed suicide on his popularity. Macumber is
a federalist, Adgate failed in obtaining a nomination and Hoff
nagle only got two votes in at our County meeting and one of
them was given by his brother-in-law. The fact is, sir, that
every one who is a true Republican is in my favor for the office
I ask. Mr. Frisbie at our town meeting opposed my nomina
tion to the chair but could get no one to back him. He held
himself up for one of our County delegates against me and
only gote one vote out of more than one hundred ! You may
see by this sir how popular my enemies and my rivals are.
I shall forward some more papers and petitions when the
Honorable Council of Appointment shall have convened for I
cannot give up what I feel concious is my just right. My sit
uation is extremely distressing and if the Republican party
which I am now serving without fee or reward really wish to

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 236
see me utterly destroyed they may perhaps be gratified in the
end ; but I shall not fall without a struggle to expose the base
ness and infamy of my opposers, to do which I have now the
weapon in my own hands. I do not by this mean to cast any
odium on my friends who are much more numerous and repu
table than my enemies. In all the Republican towns the peo
ple generally wish my success and I know a large majority of
the voters of the County are on my side ; but it seems I have
not as yet been able to make your Excellency and the Council
believe my statements althou^h certified by men of high re
spectability. I remain your Excellency's Most obedient humble servant.
Wm. Ray.
Elizabethtown, May 9, 1812.
Two days after the above letter was written Ray wrote Gov.
Tompkins as follows :
His Excellency, Gov. Tompkins,
Sir : It is understood that Brigadier General Wright is ap
pointed Colonel in the United States Army ; and as it is ex
pected that this brigade will be divided and this County of
itself compose one brigade it is thought by our friends here
that a man ought to be made eligible to the office of Brigadier
General, who is a Republican and a friend to his country and
no other. As Colonel Barnes has removed from his regiment,
Major Noble is casting a figure to wind himself into the ap
pointment of oldest Colonel that he may ultimately succeed to
the office of General. He is a bitter enemy of our present ad
ministration and many people here would be highly offended
at his advancement. If Major Skinner is eligible to fill the
vacancy of Colonel Barnes, his next step I am told would be
to the station Brigadier General, and as he is a firm Republi-

237 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
can and a man of good military talents I am confident his ad
vancement would do honor to the station and be well received
by our Republican friends — he might still act as Brigade In
spector. I remain your Excellency's most obedient humble servant.
Wm. Ray.
Elizabethtown, May 11, 1812.
It is evident from the following that Ray wrote Gov. Tomp
kins and the Council of Appointment May 12, 1812.
To his Excellency, the Governor, and the Honorable the Coun
cil of Appointment of the State of New York.
Gentlemen :
I enclose a petition signed by 61 freeholders and inhabitants
of this County, principally electors and respectable ones too,
of the town of Jay and all Republicans to a man. This I hope
together with what has been laid already before your honora
ble body will be convincing proof that my appointment would
be well received by the Republicans generally of this County,
though some malicious and self-interested demagogues have
treacherously endeavoured to prevent it. I believe a like
number of substantial men's signatures might be obtained in
almost every town in the County, did I possess the means to
circulate petitions, but as to the letter signed by Judge Jenks,
Judge Miller and others last winter amounts to a responsibil
ity and assurance on their part that my appointment would be
popular, I hope your honorable body will require no further
evidence of it. I have, however, sent a petition to the town of
Lewis, which may or may not be forwarded in season. I wrote
last winter referring your honorable body to the opinion of
Mr. Delance. I now recede from that appeal. Mr. Delance
has totally lost his popularity and influence in the County —

MAP OF
WESTPORT
Boundaries of Bessboro

¦ %¦ %^

_:Tneterie& D
Lighthouses d(f
Scale 3 Wlles • 1 inch.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 240
no matter from what causes. Thfe main strength of the Repub
lican interest lies in the western towns of the County, Schroon,
Jay, Keene,Elizabethtown and Lewis — these are all united and
have carried the Election and can carry their point in spite of
the other towns. In these towns my support chiefly, that is
collectively, lies. These who have opposed me have opposed
Judge Miller's Election or rather his nomination and he is
elected by the largest majority ever given in this county I Thus
it may be seen that my friends are the Republican majority
of the County.
As to the remonstrance sent against me I am told your hon
orable body were satisfied of its falsehood, baseness and turpi
tude — Signed as it was by my most bitter personal enemies
consisting of old Tories, their sons and federal connections for
the palpable purpose of covering their own fraudulent conduct
by attempting to throw the odium of Sheldon's villany on me —
the truth is these who signed the libel knew no more of the
actual standing of the copartnership between Sheldon and
me than Judas Iscariot did of the six million bank. The
books and papers are in my hands and always have been —
They have never examined nor asked td examine them— nay
though solicited by me to do it have refused lest their false
hoods should stare them in the face !
And now gentlemen permit me to ask will youi: honorable
body by your decision declare me guilty of these charges.
Will you let villany triumph over presumed innocence ?
Will you plunge the dagger of affliction still deeper in my
breast by leaving me under the weight of your displeasure ?
By disappointing my hopes and pronouncing me a knave ?
Pardon me, I cannot think of it.
I now have the editing of a paper here but without pay,
perquisites or emolument of any kind and ydu may judge

241 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
gentlemen with what spirit and feelings I can persist in devot
ing my exertions to the support of the present measures of
administration. Should a man literally stall fed by it and
pronounced by the publics voice unworthy of the station, be
continued in office or any other man except myself appointed
to the office of County Clerk.
I remain gentlemen.
Your most obedient Humble Servant, William Ray.
Ehzabethtown, Essex County, May 12, 1812.
To his Excellency the Governor and the Honorable, the Coun
cil of Appointment of the State of New York :
Gentlemen :
I enclose another petition in my favor for the office of County
Clerk and renew my requests that my claims be duly attended
to. If information be correct we shall doubtless have a federal
Council next winter. This, therefore, is the time for those
who feel disposed ever to pay any respect to the peculiar cir
cumstances of my distressed situation to evince their friend
ship by doing it.
I now edit a Republican paper without any fee or reward.
Give me the office and I will continue to do it — shall continue
to foster and support the establishment without which I fear
it must fail.
It was reported to you last winter, I am told, that I was
confined to the limits here. This was as false and as base as
some other of my enemies statements.
Almost certain of success, I remain. Gentlemen,
Your most obedient humble serv't,
Willlam Ray.
Elizabethtown, Essex County, May 18, 1812.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 242
The following poem by Wm. Ray on Prorogation is further
evidence of his admiration for Gov. Tompkins :
Original Poetry by W. Ray, Esq.
PROROGATION.
TOMPKINS AND LIBERTY.
Essex Republicans well done !
The battle's fought — the vict'ry won!
Great be your compensation !
No war embargo's frightful ghost,
Hath terried you from your post,
No yet a Prorogation.
Elections over, rest awhile,
And greet each other with a smile
Of cordial approbation.
Your suffrages demand our thanks
And prove you are no friends to banks,
No foes to Prorogation.
With Tompkins at the helm the State,
Fears no disastrous sinking fate,
No bank incorporation.
Corruption wastes here fetid breath
In all the agonies of death,
At his late Prorogation.
Sly speculation stands aghast I
For Martin lies — in prison fast I
(So tattles information.)
Suspicion points at many more
While conscience "quietly" bars the door
And damns the Prorogation.
That monster of imperial birth.
Whose chain encompaseth the earth
And shackles ev'ry nation,
Is money — plac'd in bribery's hands
Tis seen — a Tompkins firmly stands
And braves a Prorogation.
Suspending for a legal time
In order to defeat a crime,
The pow'r of legislation.
And who but implicated knaves

243 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
Call his prerogative that saves,
A "Tyrant's Prorogation."
Let disappointed ad'uce scowl,
Let loud rebellious factions howl
In dreadful agitation.
Their deep nocturnal plots shall fail,
Tompkins and Liberty prevail
Spite of the Prorogation.
Tompkins and liberty then toast
Our pride and safety, strength and boast
Esteem and admiration.
What independency of mind.
What firm integrity we find
In his late Prorogation.
And when our Councils meet again,
Hope for the best — Hope every stain
Of guilt or accusation
May yet be fairly wip'd away,
So wish and so forever pray
The friends of Prorogation.
The Supervisor of Elizabethtown for the years 1812 and 1813
was Azel Abel, then living on the farm in the Boquet Valley
which is to-day owned and occupied by Rdbert H. Wddd. The
Inspeotdrs df Electidn fdr the years 1812 and 1813 were Azel
Abel, Jdhn Ldbdell, Bdughton Ldbdell, Ends Ldveland, Asa
PdSt.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 244

War of I8J2 Period,
War was declared against England at Washington, D. C,
June 18, 1812. Brigadier General Daniel Wright of Eliz
abethtown, who commanded the militia of Essex, Clinton and
Franklin counties, was immediately called to active duty.
Gen. Wright received news of the declaration of war June 29th,
through Major General Benjamin Mooers. The Hon. Benja
min Pond, then Congressman from this district, had been one
of the most pronounced advocates of war.
A few days after the declaration of war came orders direct
from Gov. Tompkins which we find in the Tompkins Papers,
Page 860, as follows : Albany, June 27, 1812.
Sir : — The detachment of Militia from your brigade is hereby
ordered into service. The detachment from the Essex regi
ments will rendezvous at such times and places as you may
appoint. Such of them as can conveniently assemble at Eliz
abethtown, and may not be armed, will arm and equip them
selves from the Arsenal at that place. They must supply them
selves invariably with blankets and with knapsacks if they
have them. Such equipments as they may possess will be
taken with them, and if defective, they will be exchanged at
the public arsenals. The contingent expenses of transporting
the detachment frdm Essex td Plattsburgh will be defrayed by
the bearer, Capt. Campbell, with whom you will please to
make the necessary arrangements for that purpose. Major
Noble will take the cdmmand df the detachment, and Dean

245 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
Edson, who is assigned as brigade quarter master, will also
accompany the detachment to Plattsburgh. Major Noble will
report himself on his arrival to Major General Mooers and re
ceive his orders. Brigade Quarter Master Edson will wait at
Plattsburgh the arrival of instructions of Brigadier Gen. Micajah
Pettit, of Washington county. The detachment from Clinton
will rendezvous at Plattsburgh, and that from Franklin will
rendezvous and remain at Malone, in said county, until
orders shall be received from Major Gen. Mooers. The flat
tering accounts which I have received of your military talents
and of your active and zealous patriotism makes me rely with
confidence upon the earliest possible fulfillment of this order.
I am. Sir, respectfully your ob't servant, Daniel D. Tompkins.
Brigadier General, Daniel Wright.
June 26, 1812, Gov. Tompkins wrote from Albany to Major
John Mills, Washington County, as follows :
"You will proceed, with the military stores and articles direct
to Whitehall on Lake Champlain, from whence you will trans
port them, together with the cannon ball belonging to the State,
lying at Whitehall, to Plattsburgh and Essex arsenals. If an
immediate conveyance by water cannot be obtained, you will
proceed by land with the articles for Plattsburgh through
Vermont to Burlington, and from thence send for Gun Boats
and other vessels from Plattsburgh, or employ them at Bur
lington, to transport the articles to Plattsburgh, and from the
proper point on Vermont shore send across those for Eliz
abethtown, Essex County."
The "proper point on Vermont shore" was, in all human
probability. Basin Harbor. All boats with an oar or sail in
the vicinity of Basin Harbor and Ndrthwest Bay were ddubt-

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 246
less brought into use in the transportation of this "warlike
freight." It is supposed that the first wharf at Northwest Bay
was built during the War of 1812 and that "its necessity was
first felt for unloading supplies for the Arsenal at Pleasant
Valley." Once on the western shore of Lake Champlain the
military stores were put into rude carts and dragged over the
rough mountain road to Pleasant Valley, crossing the Black
River at Morgan's Forge, now Meigsville, as the present Eliz
abethtown — Westport turnpike route then lay through un-
drained swamps.
It would seem that war's loud alarm did not deter Wm. Ray
from writing Gov. Tompkins regarding his (Ray's) circumstan
ces and the need of something being done for him right away.
The following letter written 11 days after the declaration of
war is well worth reproducing here :
Elizabethtown, June 29, 1812.
His Excellency Governor Tompkins,
Sir : Never in my life did I feel myself so oppressed — so
injured — so degraded, so vitally wounded as at present. Little
did I think after having received so many proofs of your Ex
cellency's friendly disposition towards me and having given so
much testimony in my own favor that instead of being relieved
I was to be plunged in still deeper distress. Concious that I
have not deserved this treatment I felt it the more sen.sibly,
but why do I complain ? What hopes can I have that my
wrongs will be redressed? I seem doomed to perpetual misery
and disappointment without any cause. Ignorance, folly, stu
pidity and infamy are suffered to domineer over me. My pov
erty which ought to have been an advocate in my cause
has been (I cannot but think) a cause of my defeat. Had I
been rich those who have endeavored to destroy me would
not have dared the attempt. Had I been less zealous in the

247 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
Republican cause I should have had fewer enemies. I do not
believe there ever was in this or any other country a person
treated with more ingratitude and injustice than myself. My
suffering situation in life — the extreme indigence of a worthy
family — my appeal to justice, to sensibility, to clemency, all of
which I believe your Excellency to possess, have been totally
disregarded. "There is no flesh in man's obdurate heart but
does not feel for man." But as I am determined to publish a
pamphlet in defence of my rights and character, I shall not
trouble your Excellency with any more fruitless complaints at
present than just to state that as war is declared I should
willingly accept of any station not too laborious for me to en
dure the fatigue of wherein I could prove to Your Excellency
by deeds and not by words only that I am not altogether so
useless and so bad as I have been represented. I beg of Your
Excellency not to understand me that I impute to your Excel
lency my want of success in the application lately made by
me for the clerkship as no such charge is meant.
My family is in a state of absolute starvation and if your
Excellency should feel disposed to send me some trifling pe
cuniary aid until a situation could be procured for me I should
feel thankful. Perhaps the office of Barrack master in or
about Albany might be obtained for me or deputy Commis
sary of provision stores or some such sedentary employ
ment — or if I could obtain a place as Editor of a Government
paper like the Albany Republican or even have money ad
vanced to continue the Editor of a paper here it might relieve
my distress. But if there is no help for me, if I am forever
abandoned by your Excellency dd for heavens sake let me
know it without delay. I hope I am not so utterly cdntempt-
able as not to merit a reply.

ALONZO McDONOUGH FINNEY,
Elizabethtown's Grand Old Man.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 250
Many people here are much alarmed at the unarmed situa
tion of our militia on account of the hostility of the Indians.
With undiminished respect, I am your Excellency's most
obedient humble servant, Wm. Ray.
It is learned from brigade orders sent to Major Ransom
Noble July 4, 1812, that the final rendezvous of the troops was
at Willsboro.
And so the Second War with England, commonly referred
to as the War of 1812, began in Northern New York.
Word passed from house to house throughout Elizabeth-
town : "War is declared I The Governor has ordered out
the militia!" The answering thought in almost every heart
was "Indians 1" From this terror the people of this region were
never freed until after the War of 1812, in which the savages
were employed by the British in many engagements. Gov.
Tompkins, in his dispatches ordering the militia of Northern
New York to the front, said : "I trust that when you reflect
upon the indispensable nature of the service upon which the
detachment is destined, the protection of our frontier breth
ren, their wives and children, from massacre by savages, you
and every other officer and good citizen will join heart and
hand in forwarding the execution of this requisition."
Just a week after Independence Day, 1812, Brigadier Gen
eral Daniel Wright's quill pen wrote his first report to the
Commander in Chief, which read as follows :
Elizabethtown, July 11, 1812.
Sir : I received your Excellency's order of the 27th of
June on the 5th inst., directing me to direct the militia de
tached from the Essex regiments to march to Plattsburgh. I

251 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
suffered no delay. I immediately informed Major Noble that
he was to march with the troops to Plattsburgh. He cheer
fully received the order and proceeded on his way with his
men on the third day after I received your Excellency's order.
I likewise informed Brigade Quarter Master Edson that he
was to repair with the troops, which order he obeyed. Your
Excellency may rest assured that all and every order within
my power will be strictly and punctually attended to.
Suffer me to inform your Excellency that I have been flat
tering myself that there would some opportunity present to
view that I could serve my country in some post of
office that I could be of service to my country and receive some
emoluments to myself, as I am not a man of fortune, I was
three years in the late American Revolution, and have held
seven different military commissions in the militia and have
been doing duty for twenty-eight years past, to the present
moment. Should your Excellency think proper to remember me, I
should gratefully acknowledge your Excellency's favor.
I am, sir, with the highest respect, your Ob't Serv't,
DANIEL WRIGHT, B. G.
To His Excellency, Daniel D. Tompkins.
Thus wrote Brigadier General Daniel Wright, he who had
served under Col. John Stark and whose commission as 2d
Lieutenant had been signed in New Hampshire in 1786 by
Gov. John Sullivan and whose commission as Lieutenant,
dated 1791, was signed by Josiah Bartlett, who had been a
signer of that immortal document, the Declaration of Inde
pendence, and who was then President of New Hampshire.
Following is a letter written by Gov. Tompkins to Wm. Ray
a month after war had been declared:

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 252
Albany, July 18, 1812.
Dear Sir :
I sincerely sympathize with you and your family and beg
leave to say that no want of regard or friendship on my part
has tended to defeat your prospects. On the contrary, I
did suppose the appointment of your friend. Major Skinner, as
Commissary for the Eastern District would enable him to give
you some satisfactory employment in that Department. Such
as the Superintendence of the Arsenal at Elizabethtown in his
stead or something of that kind.
Should Major General Mooers have any situation or vacancy
under his command which you would be willing to take and
for which he will recommend you I will assign you to it imme
diately and put you in pay. My cares have been greatly mul
tiplied by the new attitude which our country has taken and
this circumstance plead my apology for the delay in answer
ing yours of the 29th June.
I am, D'r Sir, with much regard, y'r ob't ser't,
Daniel D. Tompkins.
William Ray, Esq'r.
Just before the declaration of war 14 persons met in Eliz
abethtown to organize the First Congregational Church of Lewis.
Following is from a Historical Sketch of the First Con
gregational Church of Lewis, New York, Prepared by Mrs.
Milford Lee, 1901 :
"On the 12th of June, 1812, a meeting was held at the house
of Alexander Morse in Elizabethtown for the purpose of or
ganizing a Church. Deacon Levi Brown was chosen modera
tor. There were present Rev. Cyrus Comstock, Rev. Mr. Bur-
bank and the following persons, who became members of the
organization : David Johnson and wife, Obed Holcomb and

253 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
wife. Sage Churchill and wife, Polly Morse, Mahitable Wood
ruff, Widow Nicholson, Cyrus Nicholson, Percy Nicholson,
Sally Sykes, Clarissa Lee, Ishmael Holcomb. It was resolved
to organize a Church for the town of Lewis and a part of
Elizabethtown to be called The First Congregational Church
of Lewis. These fourteen persons uniting in Church relations
formed the first Church organized in Lewis.
Rev. Mr. Burbank preached occasionally in 1812 and 1813.
Meetings were held at the house of Deacon Levi Brown in
Lewis most of the time. When there was no preaching the
Deacon read two sermons each Sabbath. In 1814 meetings
were held in a barn. There was at this time only one frame
house in Lewis, the rest were log cabins."
Rev. Cyrus Comstock, better known as Father Comstock, was
sent into Essex County by the Berkshire Missionary Society
of Massachusetts to organize Congregational Churches. Dea
con Levi Brown, who was born and reared in the midst of New
England Congregationalism, emigrated to Lewis shortly after
the organization of that town. In his wilderness home he
missed the church relations he had previously so much en
joyed and so when Father Comstock was sent out to labor in
Northern New York, Deacon Brown saw to it that the town of
his adoption received early attention. Upon his arrival in
Lewis, Father Comstock was kindly taken into the home of
Deacon Brown, which continued to be his headquarters for
several years.
Following is a copy of the order designating Wm. Ray Bri
gade Quarter Master :
STATE OF NEW YORK,
General OrdeBs,
Head Quarters, Albany, Aug't 26, 1812.
Dean Edson who was assigned Brigade Q'r Master of the

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 254
3d detached brigade of the militia of this State, having re
signed the said station and General Micajah Pettit Command
ant of said brigade, having accepted the same, and assigned
William Ray to officiate in said station. The Commander in
Chief hereby approves of the said resignation and assignment,
and direct accordingly that the said William Ray, be recog
nized, obeyed and respected as Brigade Quarter Master of said
detached Brigade until further orders.
By order of the Commander in Chief. Robert Macomb,
Lt. Col. & Aid-de-Camp.i
General Wright's brigade, the 40th, was at the breaking out
of the War of 1812 composed of four regiments, drawn from
a large extent of sparcely settled country. There was the 66th,
Lieutenant Colonel Alric Mann, the 36th, Lieutenant Colonel
Thomas Miller, the 9th, Lieutenant Colonel Elijah Barnes, and
the 37th, commanded by Major Ransom Noble of Essex. In
the 37th were a large number of Elizabethtown men.
There were four difi'erent calls to military service during the
two years of the War of 1812, the first for six months, the
others for a few days each.
In Pleasant Valley and contiguous territory men were trained
to shoot. The fact that large and fierce wild animals, such as
panthers, wolves and bears, were still plentiful kept residents
of this section in touch with shooting and straight shooting at
that. So when the War of 1812 broke out most of the able
bodied men were "in good trim" for effective military service.
Lieutenant Thomas MacDonough was given command of
Lake Champlain September 12, 1812, and shortly afterwards
1 The Wm. Ray letters and the order designating Wm. Ray Brig-ade Quarter Master were
clipped from a copy of the Elizabethtown Post & Gazette of April 6, 1899, the letters, etc.,
having been furnished at that time by Henry Harmon Noble, then of the State Historian's
Office.

255 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
arrived at his post, as he tells in these words : "After remaining
a few months in Portland I was ordered by Mr. Madison to
take command of the vessels in Lake Champlain. Proceeded
thither across the country through the Notch of the White
Mountains, partly on horseback, carrying my bundle with
my valise on behind and a country lad only in company to
return with my horses. Arrived fatigued at Burlington on
the lake in about four days and took command of the vessels."
MacDonough was then 29 years old, having been in the navy
since he was 17, leading a life of excitement and adven
ture in the West Indies and upon the Mediterranean. It
will be recalled that MacDonough was a midshipman on board
the ill-fated frigate Philadelphia with Wm. Ray, the pioneer
journalist of Pleasant Valley.
MacDonough remained upon Lake Champlain until winter
closed in and then went to Middletown, Conn., where he was
married the first of December and where he stayed till the
opening of navigation in the spring.
MacDonough's task was similar to that of Benedict Arnold
on Lake Champlain in 1775, if he had a navy he must build it
himself. Possessed of plenty of energy and resolution, he se
lected the place for his navy yard and immediately commenced
his Herculean task, that of constructing a navy which was
eventually to not only aid in turning back the tide of aggres
sive British invasion at Plattsburgh but was to place the name
MacDonough in the forefront of the world's naval heroes.
About four miles from the mouth of a deep, smooth flowing
stream — Otter Creek — coming into Lake Champlain from the
Green Mountain State at a point opposite the steep cliff of the
Split Rock range, at a place called the "Buttonwoods," he
built his ships. "Buttonwoods," about 10 miles by water
from Northwest Bay, was safe from attack to a degree which
no harbdr dn the lakeshdre affdrded.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 256
Speaking of the busy scene at "Buttonwoods" Robinson
says in his "Vermont :" "A throng of ship carpenters were
busy on the narrow flat by the waterside ; the woods were
noisy with the thud of axes, the crash of falling trees and the
bawling of teamsters ; and the two furnaces were in full blast
casting shot for the fleet."
It is not unlikely that William Ray, editor of The Reveille,
went from Pleasant Valley to Northwest Bay and crossed Lake
Champlain to visit MacDonough whom he had known amid
stirring scenes of previous years. It is said that a party of
young people started from Northwest Bay and visited the navy
yard under the escort of Lieutenant Platt Rogers Halstead,
then 19 years old. Names of others in the party reported to
the writer were Maria Halstead, sister of Lieutenant Halstead,
and the 15 year old daughter of Judge Joseph Jenks, Mary by
name. Mary Jenks afterward married Ira Henderson and the
author of Pleasant Valley has often heard their daughter, Mrs.
Mary A. Richards, relate the romantic incident. Such an ex
cursion at that time was somewhat dangerous, as British gun
boats were astir on Lake Champlain.
In June, 1813, two of MacDonough's best ships, the Growler
and the Eagle, Commanded by Lieutenant Sidney Smith,
brother of Colonel Melancton Smith, ventured along down
Lake Champlain and into the Richelieu River, where they
were surrounded by the British and captured, after a sharp
fight. The boats were at once repaired and sent out against
the Americans, under the names of the Finch and the Chub
and all that summer and the next were seen upon the lake
flaunting the British flag.
Saturday, July 31, 1813, men on galloping horses went
throughout the township of Elizabethtown warning every
militia man to rendezvous at Pleasant Valley the next after-

257 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
noon, "there to wait further orders, as a party of British
troops have invaded the state and are making for Plattsburgh."
Then from the mountains and valleys of Keene and Jay, from
the highlands of Lewis, from Split Rock Falls to Brainard's
Forge and from the terrified lakeshore towns whose position
was that of most imminent danger in case of naval attack, the
men and their officers came flocking in. Missing accoutre
ments were supplied from the arsenal, the ranks crystalized
into order by words of command and away they went along
the Rogers or State road to the north. On Tuesday, August
3, General Mooers wrote from Plattsburgh to Gov. Tompkins :
"Gen. Wright's brigade arrived here yesterday with about four
hundred troops." If those men left Pleasant Valley (Elizabeth-
town village) Sunday afternoon and reached Plattsburgh,
nearly 40 miles away, on Monday they must have marched all
night. Surely the grass didn't grow under their feet while on
that march !
Speaking of the arrival of General Wright's troops in Platts
burgh, Mrs. Caroline H. Royce says on pages 254 and 255 of
Bessboro :
"Arrived at Plattsburgh, they found the place in the hands of
Col. John Murray of the British regulars who had landed on
Sunday unopposed, with a force of 1400 men, and was burning
and plundering at his own will. That this should have been
so is one of the mysteries and one of the disgraces of the war
but it hardly belongs to us to discuss it here. When the Brit
ish set sail again the Growler and ^ag^fe, under their new names,
and much ashamed, it would seem, of the new colors they were
forced to fly, went on up the lake; threatened Burlington, and
sailed away td the nerth unmolested. Meanwhile our men
wentinto camp outside Plattsburgh and ate what their wives and
mothers had put into knapsacks, and at the end of the flve days

JUDGE ROBERT S. HALE.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 260
for which they had been warned out, most of them went home
again, without having flred a shot at the enemy. This was in
no wise the fault of the soldiers, nor of Gen. Wright, who had
shown such alacrity in getting to the front. A company of
Essex County militia remained at "Camp Platte" under the
command of Captain Luman Wadhams of Lewis until Nov. 18,
when they went home, and military operations were closed for
the winter.
The following from page 183 of a Gazetteer of the State of
New York by Horatio Gates Spafford, A. M., printed and pub
lished by H. C. Southwick, No. 94 State Street, Albany, in
1813, will be of special interest, as it describes Pleasant Valley
as it appeared in the second year of the War of 1812 :
Elizabeth-Town, a Post-Township, the capital of Essex
County, bounded N. by Keene, Lewis and Essex ;, E. on Lake
Champlain, or the State of Vermont; S. by Moriah, W. by
Scroon. Except along the lake., this township is very moun
tainous, though there are some pretty extensive and some very
fertile vallies. A Mountain, called the Giant of the Valley,
about one mile S. W. oi the court-house, rises to a great
height, singularly precipitous, and deserves separate notice.
Pleasant-Valley, is about eight miles in length N. and S., one
mile wide, and surrounded by high mountains, presenting, some
summits of very great height. At the northern extremity of
this vale, stand the County buildings, an arsenal,, belonging to
the State, and a number of dwelling-houses,, stores, &c., giving.
the appearance of a small Village, called Pleasant-Valley. This
Village is about 60 rods from the Bouquet river, which runs
northward through the valley, and about eight miles westerly
from N. W. Bay, on L. Champlain. This Town has been set
tled since about 1785, and now. contains 300 families, and 124
senatorial electors. About half the land in this Town belongs

261 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
to the State, and of that improved, some is held in fee, and
some by lease. Watered by Bouquet river and some small
streams, there is no want of good sites for mills. Timber is
plenty, and there are several beds, now wrought, of very excel
lent iron-ore. There are 4 grist, 7 saw-mills, 4 forges, a card-
ing-machine, and some other small water-works, and a distil
lery. The population is improving rapidly. The roads are
pretty good, and there is a ferry across the lake to Panton in
Vermont. At the head of N. W. Bay, there is a small Village
of about 20 houses, some mills, stores, &c. The navigation of
L. Champlain, facilitates the sale of produce, and renders
Canada the market for this part of the country. Population
in 1810, males 741, females 621 — 1362 souls. Taxable prop
erty, $108,450, real and personal.
The "Mountain, called the Giant of the Valley, about one
mile S. W. of the Court House" was our Cobble of to-day,
the singular precipice, distance and direction from the village
leaving no doubt as to the identity of the eminence. The real
"Giant of the Valley," so famous to-day, was not known to the
public generally in 1813, hence Spafford's error. The little
errors are excusable in view of the primitive surroundings pre
vailing in 1813.
"Gen. Wright's staff at the beginning of the war," says
Mrs. Caroline Halstead Royce in Bessboro, "consisted of
Major Joseph Skinner, Brigade Major and Inspector, and
Capt. John Warlord, Brigade Quarter Master, both Clinton
county men, with Captain John Gould of Essex as Aid-de-
Camp. The 2nd of March, 1814, the two Clinton county men
were replaced by David B. McNeil of Essex as Brigade Major,
and William D. Ross (also of Essex) as Quarter Master, while
Capt. Gould was retained as Aid. At the same time Capt.
Luman Wadhams of Lewis was commissioned 2nd Major of
the 37th regiment, and Diadorus Holcomb Surgeon's Mate, he

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 262
having been paymaster of the regiment since Mar. 22, 1809."
With the opening of spring MacDonough was eagerly at
work again upon the building and fitting of his fleet. Says
Robinson : "The sap had scarcely begun to swell the forest
buds when Vergennes, eight miles up stream, where the first
fall bars navigation, was astir with the building of other craft
for the Champlain navy. Forty days after the great oak which
formed the keel of the Saratoga had fallen from its stump, the
vessel was afloat and ready for its guns. Several gunboats
were also built there, and early in May, their sappy timbers
yet reeking with woodsy odors, the new craft dropped down
the river to join the fleet at the Buttonwoods. The right bank
of Otter Creek at its mouth is a rock-ribbed promontory, con
nected with the mainland except at high water by a narrow
neck of low, alluvial soil. On the lake side of the point earth
works were thrown up, and mounted with several pieces of ar
tillery for the defense of the entrance against an expected
attempt of the enemy to destroy the American fleet."
On the afternoon of May 13, 1814, there appeared off the
village of Essex, as General Wright says in his official report,
a "British Flotilla consisting of One Brig of twenty guns, six
Sloops and Schooners and ten Row-gallies." General Wright
was at least six miles away from the hostile boats, presumably
putting in his crops, when the alarm sounded. "I residing
some distance from this village," he writes "and not being
promptly informed of the appearance of the enemy, Lt. Col.
Nobles anticipated my wish by ordering out the Militia from a
number of adjacent towns." And so the alarm once more
spread through Willsboro, Essex, Lewis and Elizabethtown
and once more the men responded with alacrity to the call.
General Wright rode down to Essex, where the militia kept
streaming in all night. On the morning of the 14th the British

263 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
boats moved away to the south, confirming what had been
conjectured, that the real object of the invasion was an attempt
upon MacDonough's fleet in Otter Creek. The works at the
mouth of Otter Creek were defended by Captain Thornton of
the artillery and Lieutenant Cassin of the navy. The British
made an attack, which was repelled with much spirit.
All this was in sight of Northwest Bay, and only six miles
away, across Lake Champlain.
The British were glad to back off and go north. As they
did so watchers upon every headland of the lake sent the
gladsome news inland that there would be no great battle be
tween the fleets that day. At noon King George's ships came
off the village of Essex and "the Commodore," according to the
report of Gen. Wright, "despatched an officer with a flag de
manding the surrender of a small sloop belonging to Mr. Wm.
D. Ross which had been launched two days previous, but
which had fortunately been conveyed to the southward of
the Fort at Otter Creek."
The militia, drawn up a mile back from the village, was in a
position to command every movement of the enemy. "About
three o'clock," says Gen. Wright's report, "three of the Ene
my's Row gallies passed up the river Boquett and landed at
the falls, where after demanding the public property (which
had been timely conveyed to a distance) and learning that the
militia were in force a few miles distant and were on the march
to intercept their retreat, they precipitately embarked in their
boats and made for the Lake. On ascertaining that the
enemy were shaping their course towards the mouth of the
river Lt. Col. Nobles directed his march towards that point
and I approving of his plan of operation, I directed him to
cross the wood and post his men on the bank of the River,
which was done with the greatest promptness in time to arrest
the progress of the enemy's gallies, the crew of which were so

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 264
disabled as to oblige them to hoist a flag of distress, when a
sloop came to their assistance and towed her off." Two
Americans were slightly wounded. The position of the Ameri
cans during the fight was favorable, firing as they were from
the top of the river bank which is quite high and steep near
the mouth of the Boquet. The guns in the galley evidently
could not be pointed high enough to reach the Americans,
as most of the cannon ball struck the bank. The report con
cludes: "I hope and expect Commodore MacDonough will in
the course of a few days be able to assume the command of
the lake, which will relieve the anxiety of the inhabitants resid
ing oh its borders."
Speaking of the conduct of the militia engaged at the mouth
of the Boquet River, General Wright saj's : "It would be in
vidious to distinguish particular officers and soldiers who
acted in this encounter. With pleasure I can assure you that
every mah engaged conducted himself with the cool delibera
tion of a veteran."
Just afte^ the repulse of the British galleys at the mouth of
the Boquet River the late Abraham Chase of Willsbord, father
of the late Dr. E. R. Chase of Essex, and Jo Call, the modern
Hercules, who were members of the same company, went into
the tavern at Willsboro to get a drink. Under the influence
of the "good cheer" of which they partook while in the tavern
Abra.ham Chase, who was quite an athletic man and consider
able of a wrestler, said "Jo, I feel good enough to throw you,"
whereu'pon they took hold in front of the tavern and by some
hook or crook he (Chase) did throw Jo Call. At least this is
the substancfe of a report given by the late Dr. E. R. Chase of
Essex to Henry Harmon Noble and the writer gets the
statement from a letter written by Mr. Noble March 20, 1901.
Abraham Chase was a member of Captain John Richard
son's and Captain Abraham Aiken, Jr's company and served

265 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
all through the War of 1812. After the War of 1812 he was
commissioned Captain in the 37th Regiment and was generally
known as Captain Chase. The mortal remains of the man
who is said to have thrown Jo Call in front of the old Willsboro
tavern were buried in the Lynde Cemetery at Willsboro.
Shortly after the repulse of the British galleys at the mouth
of the Boquet River MacDonough's squadron sailed out of
Otter Creek into Lake Champlain and away to the north. All
that summer (1814) soldiers and supplies were observed pass
ing down Lake Champlain toward the frontier.
The latter part of August, 1814, General Izard with the army
of 4,000 troops came marching along the State Road which
had then been in use just a quarter of a century. General
Izard and his army had been ordered from Plattsburgh to the
Niagara frontier. A portion of General Izard's army camped
on the Steele farm in Lewis and some of the dare devils as
cended the mountain since called Mt. Discovery, hiding can
non balls in the crotches of trees, to be found many years af
terwards by wondering men. One of these cannon balls found
on Mt. Discovery 30 years ago and brought to Elizabethtown
village by the late Harvey Brownson was shown to the writer
at "Al." Fuller's blacksmith-shop. While the soldiers were
on Mt. Discovery a fire was lighted which was observed from
the village of Elizabethtown.
The main portion of General Izard's army, however, camped
for the night where the Methodist Church and the High
School building now stand in the village of Elizabethtown,
but a few rods distant from the State Arsenal. The sol
diers were quiet and orderly while in the village. They
were astir early in the morning and as they passed up the
Boquet Valley stole a fine young horse from the late
Oliver Abel, Sr., then a man 25 years of age. Mr. Abel

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 266
did not like the idea of losing his favorite horse and followed
the soldiers till they camped near what is now the line be
tween the towns of Elizabethtown and North Hudson. While
the soldiers slept and the sentinel wasoff his guard, young Abel
mounted his steed and rode away. His departure was discov
ered at once and shots were fired in his direction but he es
caped unharmed and rode his horse home with a feeling of
supreme satisfaction. A few hours afterwards he went to fight
at Plattsburgh, going in Captain John Lobdell's company of
mounted men, riding the identical horse he had thus re
covered from General Izard's soldiers. Of this incident he
proudly boasted to the day of his death more than 65 years
afterwards. Scarcely had the tramp and music of General Izard's troops
died away in the distance when mounted men came riding into
Elizabethtown from. the north warning out the militia to repel
a British invasion from Canada. General Wright, at home on
his hillside farm, received his division orders by the hand of a
horseman, one of his own staff, from Essex, to whom they had
been brought from Plattsburgh. The paper was endorsed on
the outside "Express, Will Major McNeil or John Gould, Aide,
at Essex, see that this order is delivered immediately." The
paper read as follows on the inside :
"Division Orders, Plattsburgh, August 31, 1814.
Brig. Gen. Daniel Wright will assemble immediately the
whole of the Militia under his command in the county of
Essex and march directly to Plattsburgh to repel an invasion
of the State of New York.
Companies as fast as they assemble will march to this place
or to some place of rendezvous in the vicinity thereof, without
waiting for others, those near the arsenal will supply them
selves with arms from thence which the commissary is here

267 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
directed to issue. Others will be furnished when they arrive
here. By order of Major-Gen.
BENJAMIN MOOERS.
R. H. WALWORTH, Aid-de-Camp."
At the time Major General Mooers was writing the Division
Order at Plattsburgh August 31, 1814, the soldiers of King
George III had actually invaded the State of New York by
way of Canada. These soldiers, 14,000 strong, many of whd,pi
had served under Wellington in the Peninsula Campaign
against Napoleon, were attempting to carry into execution one
of the boldest schemes which ever originated in the mind of
man. The British administration, knowing that the New Eng
land Stg^tes were averse to war and that they would much pre
fer peace, cpntemplated a dismemberment of the Union by
securing possession of Lake Champlain and the Hudson River
frona the nortjh and Ne\y Yoirk City from the south, believing
that the consequent division of dur glorious republic wojild re
sult in the establisliment of a separate peace, with the Eastern
States. At th,^ he;a,,d of this proud invading army, "vvith bands
of music and flying banners," was ^ir George Provost, whp
was cherishing the idea that he was going to w,in a hero's name
on the. bank^ pf the Sar^pac River.
As, the news of this invasion was carried along up the. west
ern slipre, of Lake Chanaplain and into the country contiguous
to it the greatest excitement prevailed. Neighbors went,fKom
house to house discussing the situatipn and. all, able bddjed
men rallied to aid in tumipg ba;ck the tide df British invasion
which, threatened to destroy theijr beloved homes in wlj^t, was
then little short of a wilderness. In our day of telegraph apd
telephone how strange it seems th^t the main body of ouj: own

¦-%*

JUDGE BYRON POND.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 270
army under General Izard was marching away to the south at
the moment Sir George Provost and his proud army were
approaching Plattsburgh. It seems almost incredible that
such should have been the fact, even without the telegraph and
telephone. General Wright's brigade, in Major General Benjamin
Mooers' division, consisted at this time of three regiments, the
9th, Lieutenant Colonel Martin Joiner, the 37th, Lieutenant
Colonel Ransom Noble, and Major Reuben Sanford's inde
pendent battalion. In the 37th were most of our militia men,
also those from the town of Lewis who went to Plattsburgh
and fought under Deacon Levi Brown as Ensign-Commandant,
Luman Wadhams having been Captain of the Company be
fore he was commissioned 2d Major of the 37th regiment.
Following is a list of the men who fought under Deacon
Levi Brown, grandfather of the author of Pleasant Valley, at
the Battle of Plattsburgh:
Levi Brown, Ensign.
Noah Lee, Serg't.
Oliver Holcomb, "
Cheeny Burpee, "
Isaac Bristoll,
Thomas Carr, Corp.
Jno. Nicholson, "
Timothy Lee,
Isaac Wells, Musician.
Samuel Bishop, "
Ede Alder, Private.
Shadrack Burpee, "
Jeremiah Bennett, "
Reuben Bristoll, "

271

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN

Elijah Dennison, "
Elijah Evans, "
Asa Farnsworth, "
Levi Francis, "
John Gibbs,
Wilson Hogg, " wounded 6th.
Thomas P. Jones, "
Cyrus Nicholson, "
Samuel Nelson, "
Henry Parker, "
Asabel Randall, "
Thomas Steele, "
Reuben Spaulding, "
Phinehas John Tyler,
Joseph Tippetts, "
Thomas Wood,
Roger H. Woodruff, "
David Westcott, " slightly wounded 6th.
On Friday, September 2d, the first detachment of Elizabeth-
town soldiers marched away towards Plattsburgh, only a day
or two after General Izard and his troops had gone up the
Boquet Valley 4,000 strong. Captain Levi Frisbee and Cap
tain Jesse Braman went with men from Northwest Bay and
the "Falls" sections.
And right here the author takes great pleasure in placing
the names of the men of two Elizabethtown Companies — Cap
tain John Lobdell's cavalry and Captain John Calkin's in
fantry — on the printed pages of local history for the first time.
It has long been known that oblivion could never shroud the
splendor of the achievements of the militia at the Battle of
Plattsburgh and henceforth the individual names of our own

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 272
Elizabethtown participants in that sanguinary conflict shall
shine in the limelight of publicity.i
Following is a list of the cavalrymen who went from Eliz
abethtown to serve at Plattsburgh iu September, 1814 ;
John Lobdell, Captain.
Samuel Lee, 1st Lieutenant.
Sampson Smith, 2d "
Selah Westcott, Cornet.
John Blake, Serg't.
Mahlan Darlin,
Lucius Lobdell, "
Oliver Abel, Corporal.
Robert Thompson, Jr., Corporal.
Ralph Phelps,
Benjamin Baxter, "
Azor Squire, Trumpeter.
Samuel Brunson, Private.
Abiel Beach.
Barret Bishop.
Offin Barret, on express to Albany on order of Gen. Mooersw
John Burt.
James Cutler,
Jonathan Cutler.
Daniel Fish.
William Heaton.
Alden Hull.
Erastus Joiner.
Elisha Leonard.
Bouton Lobdell.
1 The author of Pleasant Valley worked, first and last. Over ao years getting the names ot
the members of the Lewis Company and these two Blizabethtown Companies^ Finally the
"missing links" were supplied by that indefatigable student of local history— Henry Harmon
Noble of Essex, grandson of the late General Ransom Noble of the same place.

273 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
Amos Perry.
James O. Partridge.
Levi Rice.
Truman Rice.
Jeremah Jericho.
Thomas Squire.
Oliver Westcott.
Abijah Show, wagoner.
It will be noted that there were three Lobdells in Elizabeth-
town's Company of horse. It may be added here that they
were brothers and that Captain John Lobdell who led our
cavalry at Plattsburgh was one of the "bravest and beat" the
town ever knew. According to his commission papers, which
have been in the writer's possession since the latter 80s, John
Lobdell was in 1808 cornet in the cavalry troop af Theodorus
Ross, in 1811 1st Lieutenant and Captain in 1812^ He re
signed in 1817. He was an expert rider,, being one of the finest
appearing men on horseback ever seen in Pleasant Valley.
Following is a list of Captain John Calkin's Company of
foot soldiers, infantry asi we say to-day:
John Calkin, Captain.
Norman Nicholson, Serg't.
Asahel Root, "
Orson Kellogg, "
Lewis Pierson, "
Roman Brownson, Corporal.
Chauncey Alford, "
Charles B. Prindle,
Valentine Kellogg, "
Charles Miller, Drummer.
Birastuai Simou'ds', Filer .
Ariel Abel, Jr., Private..

mSTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 274
JtJslina Blake.
William Brown.
•Jonathan Betts.
Calvin Calkin.
Elijah Calkin.
Isaac Calkin.
Benjamin Calkin.
]5?athan Betts.
Andrew Goodrich.
nJames Howies.
Freeman Holcomb.
Ansel Holcomb, wounded Sept llth, died Sept. l3th.
Odle Hoose.
Alanson Hanmer.
Ebenezer Hanchett
Samuel Jenkina
David Judd.
^ohn Knox.
WUliam Kellogg.
Ezra Nichofe.
Owen Oaks.
Richard' Phelps.
Nathan Perry.
Jonathan Post.
Gardner Simonds.
George^ Tttesdal.
Elijah Thayre, Jr.
Daniel Thayre.
Isaac Toms, killed in action Sunday, S'ept Uthi
David Van Gnflder.
Lather Waite.
John Waite.
Murray Waterman.

275 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
There were five Calkin brothers in this company. Moreover,
there were three brothers-in-law of the Calkin brothers in
the company. Quite a record of family patriotism for one
company raised in a little mountainous township. To our
knowledge the record has never been surpassed in this north
ern region.
It will readily be seen that a large number of new family
names appear in the lists of soldiers given. At this period
there were also new settlers at the "Falls" and in the North
west Bay section.
Tuesday, Sept. 6th, General Mooers took our militia men
across the Saranac River to meet a column of British troops
which was moving upon Plattsburgh. There was some sharp
fighting as the militia retired to the river and General Mooers
says : "Some part of the militia behaved on this occasion, as
well as since, with the greatest gallantry, and were not sur
passed in courage and usefulness by the regulars on that day."
And it may be added here that he was obliged to say that
some of the militia went home. None of our Elizabethtown
troops, however, were scared enough to run home that day.
Sunday, September 11, 1814, the great and decisive (Battle
of Plattsburgh was fought. The fighting on land was along
the Saranac River. On the south bank of the river our local
militia did some great fighting, resisting the advance of the
veterans who had served under Wellington with a vigor and
determination worthy of praise. The British attempted to
cross the Saranac at three points, one at the village bridge where
they were repulsed by the artillery and guards under Captains
Brooks, Richards and Smith, one at the upper bridge where
they were foiled by the pickets and Riflemen under Captain
Grovener and Lieutenants Hamilton and Smith, supported by
a detachment of militia, and the third at the ford near "Pike's
cantonment," where they were resisted by the militia under

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 276
Major General Benjamin Mooers and Brigadier General Daniel
Wright of Elizabethtown. This is in accordance with the
report given in Palmer's History of Lake Champlain.
As the British vessels rounded Cumberland Head at 8 o'clock
that beautiful Sunday morning, September 11, 1814, they
found MacDonough at anchor waiting for them.
According to Palmer's History of Lake Champlain the Brit
ish fleet consisted of the Confiance, 37 guns, over 300 men,
commanded by Commodore Downie in person, the Linnet, 16
guns and 120 men, under Captain Pring, the Chub, Lieutenant
McGhee, and the Finch, Lieutenant Hicks, each of the latter
boats carrying 11 guns and about 45 men. To these ves
sels were added 13 gun boats with about 45 men each. Five of
the gun boats carried two guns and eight one gun each.
MacDonough's fleet consisted of his flag-ship Saratoga, 26
guns, the brig Eagle, 20 guns. Captain Henly, the schooner
Ticonderoga, 17 guns. Lieutenant Budd. Then there were six
galleys, the Allen, Burrows, Borer, Nettle, Viper and Centi
pede, each with 2 guns, and four galleys, the Ludlow, Wilmer,
Alwyn and Ballard with one gun each. Some of these boats
had been built at Essex and taken to Otter Creek to be fitted
with their armaments.
Palmer states that the naval force of the Americans amounted
to only 882 men, while the British force amounted to 1,000 men.
The following words from the late Hon. Julius C. Hubbell
of Chazy who witnessed the naval battle from Cumberland
Head, are taken from the Plattsburgh RepubHcan of Feb. 1,
1879: "MacDonough's fleet was anchored between Cumberland
Head and Crab Island, a little inside, and the British fleet bore
down upon them, under a good northerly breeze. The British
guns had much the longest range, but strangely enough they
came down within easy range of our guns, instead of keeping

277 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
off farther out of reach and using their advantage. This was
perhaps owing td a miscalculation on the wind, but anyhow it
seemed providential.
Soon the firing commenced. I cannot begin to describe that
scene. I was near the point of the Head, on the west shore
and had a perfect view of the whole battle. The firing was
terrific, fairly shaking the ground, and so rapid that it seemed
to be one continuous roar, intermingled with spiteful flashing
from the mouths of the guns, and den-se clouds of smoke soon
hung over the two fleets. It appeared to me that our guns
were discharged three times to the enemy's once, and a British
officer afterwards told me that it took twelve men to manage
each of them."
It is recorded that the brave Downie, a large, fair looking
man, was one of the first killed. The surgeons could find no
mark upon him and concluded that he must have been killed
by a spent shot.
Speaking of the incident which contributed so materially iu
deciding one of the greatest naval battles of history the late
Hon. Julius C. Hubbell said :
"I saw the two midshipmen [Platt and Bailey ?] go out in
their small boat, as it was necessary for sdmebddy td do in or
der to swing the Saratoga around so as to bring her fresh
broadside to bear upon her enemy — the Confiance. It seemed
as if that little boat must be struck, the shot were flying so
thick all about it, and I believe it was struck several times,
but the Saratoga was warped about, and when that fresh
broadside opened it seemed as if she was all on fire. The bat
tle was soon decided after that, and the British flags came
down one after andther."
One df the British marines whd was at Trafalgar with Ldrd
Nelsdn said it was a mere flea hite in Cdmparison with the

WILLIAM WALL,
Fifer Under Wellington at Waterloo, and His wife Nancy.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 280
Battle of Plattsburgh. Certainly the opinion of a man who had
been in both battles ought to carry weight
It will be recalled that the fighting was in progress both on
land and water at the same time that Sunday morning, Sept.
11, 1814, at Plattsburgh. Sir George Provost had 13,000 vet
erans at Plattsburgh, one regiment having remained at Chazy,
while the American forces under General Alexander Macomb
did not exceed 1,500 regulars and General Daniel Wright's
brigade, 700 strong, plus 2500 Vermont volunteers commanded
by General Strong who arrived just in time to aid materially
in turning back the British veterans. Under General Strong
served at least one volunteer — John James — who afterwards
settled in Elizabethtown. He lived to be over 90 years of age
and drew a pension on account of the service rendered at the
Battle of Plattsburgh. He was the father of John James of
Elizabethtown and died at the latter's home in the Boquet
Valley in the spring of 1885.
Major Reuben Sanford personally took an axe and cut a
stringer over the Saranac River while the British bullets were
flying thick and fast about him, his only remark being "It's
too bad to spoil such a good axe."
Concerning the part taken by the militia under the immedi
ate command of Majors Sanford and Wadhams, General
Mooers says in his report to the Commander-in-chief :
"On the morning of the llth the action began with the fleet,
the enemy at the same time opening all his batteries upon our
forts. About an hdur afterwards the enemy presented them
selves in considerable force to effect a passage of the Sara
nac at a fordable place, one of my cantonment, where the Essex
militia and some few detached volunteers were posted. In
disputing the passage of the river a sharp contest ensued.
The militia under the command of Majors Sanford and Wad
hams, two excellent officers, stood their ground during a num-

281 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
ber of well-directed fires, and until the enemy had effected the
passage of the river and ascended the bank, when a retreat
was ordered and effected in good order before a force evidently
far superior, carefully improving every good position to con
tinue our fire upon them."
The militia fell back about two miles to a battery and there
made a stand, checking the advance of the enemy. At this
point a man on horseback — Major Walworth, then Adjutant
General of Major General Mooers' division, afterwards Chan
cellor Walworth — ^rode up to the ranks waving his hat, pro
claiming the welcome intelligence that the British fleet had
surrendered. Oliver Abel who had been detailed for scout duty and who
had witnessed the naval battle from a place of safety on shore,
closely followed Major Walworth and was gladly received by
his comrades in arms from Elizabethtown. With hearty cheers
the militia pressed forward and the enemy fell back, retreating
across the Saranac River. Captain John Lobdell got his cal-
varymen in order and not only crossed the Saranac River but
followed the retreating British several miles north of Platts
burgh. Anson Finney, who started from Elizabethtown early Sun
day morning with supplies, arrived at Plattsburgh just as the
battle ended.
The grandfather of ex-Assemblyman Wesley Barnes of Mi
nerva was confined on the limits here in Elizabethtown for
debt at the time of the British invasion. He is said to have
been released with the understanding that he would go to
Plattsburgh and fight, which his descendants report that he
did, taking several men with him from this section.
Isaac Toms of Captain John Calkin's Company of infantry
was killed while heroically facing the British veterans on the
south bank of the Saranac that fateful Sunday. The mortal

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 282
remains of this man were brought back to Elizabethtown and
buried in the old cemetery. Ansel Holcomb, also of Captain
John Calkin's Company, was shot in the side September llth,
standing beside his cousin, Jonathan Post, when struck. He
died September 13th and his body was brought home and
buried in the Boquet Valley cemetery.
There were six Ponds at the Battle of Plattsburgh in Cap
tain Russell Walker's Company from Schroon — 1st Sergeant
Jared Pond who married Mary, daughter of Platt Rogers, Cor
poral Isaac W. Pond and privates Ashley, Benjamin (Con
gressman) Nathan and William Pond. Inasmuch as the Pond
family has been a part of Elizabethtown's population for 90
years it seems appropriate that the foregoing names should be
mentioned at this point in Pleasant Valley, and especially as a
son of Ashley Pond, the late Byron Pond, contributed much in
formation used in this work.
Alden Hull of Captain John Lobdell's cavalry troop was a
son of Eli Hull, who groomed General Washington's horse at
Valley Forge. And it may be added here that Eli Hull and
two other sons, Joseph and Eli B., fought in the American
army at Plattsburgh, Sept. 11, 1814.
Captain Levi Frisbee was the most seriously wounded of
any of our Elizabethtown men, losing a leg. General Mooers
refers to Captain Frisbee in a letter to General Wright as
follows :
"Capt Frisbee, by whom I had this, has called on me. I
have signed the certificate to which your name is attached, or
rather made a certificate on the back of that, yet his name
ought to be annexed to your return of the disabled and
wounded, which return I wish to have, with those of the killed,
as soon as you can conveniently obtain them. I expect soon
to set out for Albany, and wish to take them with me.
I am. Sir, your obedient servant,
BENJ. MOOERS.
Plattsburgh, 28 July, 1815.
To Brig. Gen. Daniel Wright, Elizabethtown."

283 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
Henry H. Ross (afterwards Gen. Ross) was adjutant of the
37th at the Battle of Plattsburgh. Of course he lived at Essex
but was long a large property owner in Elizabethtown and was
a familiar figure for half a century.
Dr. Diadorus Holcomb, the first physician to locate at North
west Bay, did good service as Surgeon's Mate at the Battle of
Plattsburgh. Ensign John Greeley (Northwest Bay) was wounded in the
shoulder at Plattsburgh.
Ensign Dunster of the "Palls" section served at Plattsburgh.
Isaac Alden, Samuel Anderson, Jeduthan Barnes, (the fid
dler) Joshua Bennett, Ephraim Bull, Joseph Call, Tillinghast
Cole, Seymour Curtis, John Daniels, Joshua Daniels, Archi
bald Dunton, Elijah Dunton, David Clark, Darius Ferris,
Gideon Hammond, Joseph M. Havens, Ira Henderson,
(wounded at Plattsburgh) Johnson Hill, Abner Holcomb, Amos
Holcomb, Asa Kinney, Waite B. Lawrence, Erastus Loveland,
Wilson Low, Platt Rogers Sheldon, Ebenezer Sherman, Wil
liam Viall, Benjamin Hardy, Joel French, Salmon Cooper,
Thomas Hadley and John Whitney are the names of men said
to have served in the War of 1812, most of them at Plattsburgh,
and whose remains were buried in soil which was once part of
Elizabethtown, namely in what is now the town of Westport,
and from which section many of them went to fight for their
country. The militia were disbanded shortly after the signal victory
at Plattsburgh but the scene of the recent camp of the British
on the north side of the Saranac River was a fascinating spot
and many of our "boys" visited it. Sir George Provost left
much behind which was eagerly picked up by militiamen. It
might be stated here that Sir George Provost, the proud Gov
ernor-General of Canada, who had shown such parade when
he came to Plattsburgh did not pay much attention to music

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 284
and banners on his retreat. He appeared to be in such a hurry
that he spilled and lost most of the stuff he tried to take back
to Canada. The late Hon. J uHus C. Hubbell of Chazy, who
married a daughter of Judge Pliny Moore, and who witnessed
the advance and retreat of the British, said of their return to
Canada :
"The main idea seemed to be to get back. Their ammuni
tion and commissary wagons were very heavy and costly — one
of them drawn by six noble horses broke down a short distance
south of this village, and the powder was trodden into the
mud so as to discolor it and scent the air for a long time after
wards." Two soldiers who deserted the English army just before the
Battle of Plattsburgh — Daniel Baker and Henry Ingraham —
came to Elizabethtown, settled and made good citizens. De
scendants of both men still live in this town.
What a proud home coming it must have been for our Eliz
abethtown heroes and how their wives and sweethearts must
have welcomed them on that never-to-be-forgotten return I
The Battle of Plattsburgh was supposed to end the War of
1812, the treaty of Ghent being signed on the 24th of Decem
ber, 1814, but General Andrew Jackson was ignorant of what
had been done and so he "put it on" to the British at New
Orleans, La., January 8, 1815, at which time and place Gen
eral Packenham was slain. However, February 17, 1815, the
treaty was ratified by the United States Senate and so General
Jackson sheathed his sword and waited his turn to take the
Presidential chair.

285 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN

Elizabethtown Jast After the Battle of Plattsburgh.
EHzabethtown's Supervisor during the eventful year 1814
was Enos Loveland, the Inspectors of Election being Enos
Loveland, Asa Post, Boughton Lobdell.
Captain John Calkin came home from Plattsburgh and re
sumed agricultural pursuits on his farm up towards Mt. Hur
ricane, his place being the one now owned and occupied by
Mrs. Lillian Alice Hayes.
John Knox, who married Captain John Calkin's eldest sis
ter, moved into Elizabethtown previous to the Battle of Platts
burgh, as he took part in that engagement, serving in the
company of his brother-in-law. John Knox had a large fam
ily of children. A son, George Knox, married Julia Ann
Jackson. A daughter, Kaziah, married Thomas Stafford,
another daughter, Sabra, married Levi Goff and Ann Eliza, a
younger daughter, married Philip Smith Miller. The children
of the last mentioned union were Minerva, who became the
wife of Leander Blood and died in Wakrusa, Kan., and John
Knox, who married Amanda Dwinnell. Ann Eliza Miller,
widow of Philip S. Miller, lives with her sdn in the Brainard's
Forge section, being in the 97th year df her age.
John Knox married Levi Lobdell's widow for his second
wife, by which union several children were born, all of whom
are dead.
David Osgood and Rhoda Hall, his wife, moved to Eliz
abethtown in 1814, settling dn the farm still occupied by the

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 286
Osgood family. Their children were Harry D., Rhoda, Solo
mon Washington and David.
Solomon Washington Osgood, born January 26, 1808, mar
ried Anna Bates, daughter of Samuel Bates, the ceremony
taking place in the town of Hammond, St. Lawrence Co., N.
T., Feb. 26, 1833. In September, 1833, Mrs. S. W. Osgood
came to Elizabethtown to reside on the farm just east of this
village which has continued to be her home for almost 72 years.
David Osgood, Sr., died in May, 1848, and was buried in the
old cemetery. Solomon Washington Osgood died February 3,
1880, and was buried near his father in the old cemetery. His
widow still survives, being in her 92d year, a remarkably well
preserved old lady and one whose whole life has been that of
a faithful, consistent Christian. Of her large family of chil
dren there survive Mrs. Jeanette P. Emmes, Mrs. Gertrude A.
Church, StarksS., Mrs. Emma F. Wilson, Mrs. Theressa A.
Carter and Wilbur D., the latter having always remained at
home, carrying on the farm, etc.
Warren Bates Osgood, a deceased son, was a Methodist
minister of high standing. He died about 24 years ago.
Clement, another deceased son, died about 8 years ago.
Philip Miller and Manoah Miller came from Shoreham, Vt,
and settled west of Elizabethtown village during the War of
1812, their locality having ever since been known as the Miller
settlement. Philip Miller married Dorcas Smith. Their chil
dren were Charles, Susan, Manoah, Philip Smith, Lovina,
Nathaniel, Nicanor and Stephen.
Charles Miller married twice, his second wife being Sophia
Lee. Manoah Miller married for his first wife Melinda Nichols,
his seeond wife being Susan Goodrich and the third Mary
Dwinnell. Manoah Miller's children were Philip and Charles E.

287 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
Philip Smith Miller married Ann Eliza Knox, before men
tioned. Nathaniel Miller married Emily Westcott, daughter of Oliver
Westcott, for his first wife, his second wife being Clarinda Rowe,
daughter of Leland Rowe. Nathaniel Miller's children were
George Jasper, Amelia, who married Myron Brewster, Eleanor,
who married George G. White, Solon and Eva, who married
Arthur Pratt George Jasper Miller married Eleanor Rowe.
Nicanor Miller married Marvana Beede for his first wife,
his second wife being Ellen Goff.
Lovina Miller married Joseph Nichols.
Stephen Miller went to St Lawrence Co., N. T., where he
married and settled.
A copy of The Reveille, published at Elizabethtown, Essex
County, "n. T., Wednesday, October 12, 1814, (Vol. Ill, No.
25) is before the author of Pleasant Valley. It is a most in
teresting issue, containing President Madison's Message, Di
vision Orders by Maj. Gen. Mooers, R. H. Walworth, A. D.
C, copy of a letter from Com. MacDonough to the Secretary
of War, Gov. Daniel D. Tompkins' speech to the Senate and
Assembly, a draft of the answer of the Senate to the speech of
his Excellency, a copy of the Proclamation issued by Gov.
Martin Chittenden of Vermont, a copy of a letter from Captain
Oliver Hazard Perry to the Secretary of the Navy.
This issue also contains the following death notice : "Died —
In Schroon, on the 6th inst., Hon. Benjamin Pond, Esq., aged
about 45."
It may be added here that Congressman Pond died of "camp
fever" contracted while serving his country in a military ca
pacity at Plattsburgh and that he was buried in Pine Ridge
cemetery, in what is now the towndf North Hudson. His tdmb-
stone bears this epitaph nor which were truer wdrds ever chis
eled dn enduring marble. "Thus entombed the remains of him

MR. and MRS. MILO CALKIN.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 290
¦who was by his fellow citizens esteemed a patriot and upon
whom was oft conferred high proofs of their confidence. He
was honorable in life, and his virtues inspire the hope that he
is happy in death."
Through The Reveille we learn that Oliver Person was then
(Oct 12, 1814,) serving as Post Rider. Oliver Person and his
wife, Abigail Fifield, had resided in Elizabethtown several
years. He was the father of the late Norman N. Person and
of the late Harry Person who long kept hotel at Westport and
Maria Person, who married Hiram Calkin, heretofore men
tioned, Lewis Person, who married Mary Wilder, sister of
Alanson Wilder, Abigail Person, who married a man named
Hapgood and Polly Person, who married Ashbel Brownson, Jr.
A mortgage foreclosure notice published in The Reveille of
Oct 12, 1814, shows that on the 5th day of August, 1808,
"Theodorus Ross of the Town of Elizabethtown in the County
of Essex" borrowed $500 of Jonas Gibbs, Jr., for which he
gave security on 143 acres of land in Elizabethtown. In de
fault of payment said Gibbs advertised to sell the land to the
highest bidder "at the house now occupied by Norman Newell
and son in Elizabethtown aforesaid." The advertisement com
menced Nov. 8, 1813, and sale had been postponed four times.
Ezra C. Gross was attorney for Gibbs in the matter. Search
in the Essex County Clerk's office leads one to conclude that
Ross finally raised the money, with interest, presumably
through the Van Rensselaers, and held on to his land till the
early 30s when he sold out and left Elizabethtown.
Blanks were for sale at The Reveille office and cash was
also paid for clean cotton and linen rags. The excellent state
of preservation of this copy of The Reveille, which is the prop
erty of Walter Scott Brown, attests as to the good quality of
paper used in those early days.

291 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
The Reveille was published once a week. The subscription
price was $2 per annum, "half yearly in advance." "Compa
nies of thirteen or more who receive their papers at the office
and pay weekly shall have them at a reduced price. Postrid-
ers supplied on reasonable terms by giving security. No
paper discontinued until arrearages are paid. For inserting
advertisements the price will be six cents per line for the first
insertion and two cents per line for every additional insertion."
Readers of Pleasant Valley will recall that Wm. Ray was
editor of The Reveille. At this time it will doubtless interest
many to know that Luther Marsh was printer of The
Reveille from its start to his death, March 9, 1816. Luther
Marsh was son of Elias Marsh and was born at Oakham, M.ass.
Luther Marsh married Laury Frisbee, daughter of Simeon
Frisbee, at Elizabethtown, the ceremony being performed by
Rev. C. C. Grays. Their only child was Jerome Marsh. Luther
Marsh was buried in the old cemetery and according to his
tombstone record was in his 30th year at the time of his
death. Near the grave of Luther Marsh is that of Elisha Frisbee
who died Oct 12, 1809. Elisha Frisbee, it will be recalled,
was the father of Simeon Frisbee, and it may well be added
here that Elisha Frisbee was a soldier in the Revolutionary
War, having been born at Branford, Conn., May 22, 1740.
Simeon Frisbee married Lucy Reynolds. Their children
were as follows :
Harriet, born March 14, 1797, Jay, N. Y., died Feb. 11, 1825,
Fredonia, N. Y.
Laury, born June 10, 1799, Jay, N. Y., died March 31, 1851,
Fremont, III.
Henry Clinton, born March 27, 1801, Elizabethtown, N. Y.,
died Nov. 9, 1873, Fredonia, N. Y.

mSTOlRY OE ELlZAfiETHTOWN 292
Levi, bdrn Dec. 2, 1802, Elizabethtown, N. Y., died Jan. 6,
1812, Elizabethtown, N. Y,
Myron, born Aug. 9, 1804, Elizabethtown, N. Y., died Oct.
19, 1870, Des Moines, la.
Lucy, born Aug. 27, 1806, Elizabethtown, N. Y., died Jan.
14, 1886, Chicago, 111.
Sidney S., born March 12, 1808, Elizabethtown, N. Y., died
Jan. 25, 1826, Westport, N. Y.
Simeon Frisbee moved to Fredonia, N. Y., in 1816 and died
a few months afterwards.
Henry Clinton Frisbee became a very successful man. He
was editor and proprietor of the Fredonia Censor, the leading
Republican paper of Northern Chautauqua, was a director of
the First National Bank, a Deacon in the Presbyterian Church
and Member of the New York Legislature in 1844-5.
Another early settler "up west" was James Graves. "Uncle
Jimmie,'' as he was locally and familiarly known, lived where A.
B. Scripture now resides. He had a large family of children'
At least two of his sons, John and William Plummer, went into
the ministry. Rev. John Graves died a few years since near
Saratoga, N. Y., being over 90 years of age. William Plum
mer Graves who was born in November, 1819, taught school in
the old brick school house in 1842 and went into the ministry
shortly afterwards. Last year he visited Elizabethtown, com^
ing here from California.
Ashley Pond married Lucinda Rawson of Schroon, in Sep^
tember, 1814, and shortly afterwards took up his residence in
Elizabethtown, which continued to be his home for 13 busy
years. Ashley Pond's children were Safford, Alembert, Cor
delia, Byron and Washington Irving, the latter being the only
one now living.
Nathan Perry, a cousin of OUver Hazard Perry, the Lake
Erie naval hero, located on what is now ''Durand Farm'* as

293 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
early as 1814, coming to Elizabethtown from the town of Lewis.
Nathan Perry's wife was Rebecca Brown and they originally
came from the Wilton and New Ipswich, N. H., regions. Their
children were :
Rebecca, who married Silas M. Taylor.
Nathan, who married Sarah Post.
Abigail, who married Milo Durand.
Abijah, who married Eliza Kellogg.
Sarah Hill, who married Hiram Calkin.
John, who married Amy Kellogg.
Daniel Duke Tompkins, who married Soloma Burdick.
Achsa, who died in infancy.
Nancy Steele, who married Robert P. Shandrew.
Oliver Hazard, who married Mary J. McCloud.
Achsa Maria, who married Norman N. Person.
Josiah, who died young.
Up to this time no list of good old Dr. Asa Post's children
has been given. He married Mary Holcomb and their chil
dren were Lucia, who married Frederick Haasz ; Jonathan,
who married Clarissa Sheldon ; Polly, who married Oliver
Abel ; Lewis, who became a doctor ; Sarah, who married
Nathan Perry ; Martha, who married a man named Gibson ;
Eunice, who became the first wife of Jason Pangborn ; Me
lissa, who married Salem Denton ; Asa, who married Calneh
Ames, daughter of Alfred Ames.
Setting Off of Westport.
CHAPTER XIII.
AN ACT for dividing Elizabethtown, in the County of Essex.
Passed March 24, 1815.
I. Be it enacted by the people of the State of New York,
represented in Senate and Assembly, That from and after the

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 294
first Monday of April next, all that part of Elizabathtown, in
the county of Essex, bounded as follows, to-wit : Beginning on
the north line of the said Elizabethtown at the mouth of the
Black river ; thence up the said river as it winds and turns on
the east shore of said river, until in intersects the south line
of Morgan's patent; thence due south to the north line of
Moriah ; thence easterly on said line of Moriah to the ore bed
wharf ; thence east to the east line of this State ; thence north
erly on the east line of this State to the south-east corner of
Essex ; thence west on the south line of Essex to the place of
beginning be, and hereby is erected into a separate town, by
the name of Westport, and that the first town meeting be held
at the dwelling house now occupied by Charles Hatch, in said
town. II. Be it further enacted, that all the remaining part of
Elizabethtown shall be and remain a separate town by the
name of Elizabethtown and that the next town meeting shall
be held at the dwelling house now occupied by Norman Newell
and son in said town.
III. And be it further enacted. That as soon as may be
after the first Tuesday in April next, the supervisors and over
seers of the poor of the said towns of Elizabethtown and West-
port, on notice first being given by the supervisors of said
towns for that purpose, shall meet together and divide the
money and poor belonging to the town of Elizabethtown pre
vious, agreeable to the last tax list, and that each of the said
towns shall forever thereafter respectfully maintain their own
poor. The above is copied from page 100 of the bound volume of
the Session Laws of 1814-15. The late Judge Charles Hatch,
who built the old brick mansion in 1825 which still stands in
the village of Westport, who was noted for cunning and shrewd-

295 filSTOHY OP ELI2ASETHTCWN
ness, is credited with having drafted the above copied law,
making the line between Elizabethtown and Westport follow
the east bank of the Black River so that the former town would
be obliged to build all the bridges across that stream. How
ever, in due time the matter was tested. It came about that a
new bridge Was needed across the Black River near the Na
thaniel Pierson place just aboVe Meigsville proper, there being
long and somewhat expensive "approaches" to construct each
side of the stream. The late Jacob Lobdell, son of Captain
John Lobdell of Battle of Plattsburgh fame, was Highway
Commissioner in Elizabethtown, the late Marcus Storrs hold
ing that office in the town of Westport Action was commenced
in March, 1870, to compel the town of Westport to stand half
the expense of constructing the bridge, approaches, etc. Rich
ard L. Hand acted as counsel for Elizabeth towuy Waldo, Tobey
& Grover acting in behalf of Westport. The matter in dispute
was finally referred to Peter S. Palmer, the late well-known
Plattsburgh lawyer and historian. He decided, in accordance
with the general statute applying to such cases, that the towns
of Elizabethtown and Westport were jointly and equally liable
to the expenses incident to bridge construction, etc,^ along the
Black River town line. Reference to page 50 of the pamphlet
of proceedings of the Board of Supervisors for the year 1874
shows that a judgment for $300 was paid by Westport-
From 1815 to 1817, inclusive, Asa Post served as Elizabeth-
town's Supervisor. The first Supervisor of the town of West-
port was Enos Loveland*
Elizabethtown's Inspectors in 1815 were Asa Post, Jacob
Southwell, Azel Abel, John Calkin.
In 1815 Captain John Lobdell lived on the farm now owned
by Patrick Boyle in the town of Westport In fact on that
highland farm all Captain John Lobdell's children were born.
In the year 1815 Captain John Lobdell served as an Inspector

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 296
in Westport, his brother Bouton being Clerk of the newly
formed township.
In 1816 Elizabethtown's Inspectors were Asa Post, Manoah
Miller, Jacob Southwell, Jon. Steele, Azel Abel.
The year 1816 is still referred to as "the coldest on record."
The year has been spoken of as "eighteen hundred and starved
to death." It is said that every month in the year furnished
snow or frost. It was a season phenomenally cold and dry,
with an almost universal failure of crops. Want, and even
starvation, stared many of our pioneers in the face. The late
Solomon Washington Osgood, a man of undoubted probity,
used to relate an experience he had that summer. He was
then a boy eight years old attending school in the brick
school house which stood just back of where the large, com
manding Charles N. Williams block now stands. Just when
the brick school house was erected no one now living knows.
Suffice to say that school was being kept there during the cold
summer of 1816, Ashley Pond, father of the late Judge Byron
Pond, being the teacher in that one story brick structure, the
scene of so many romantic tales. Mr. Osgood used to say
that his grandmother, Mrs. Phebe Fisher, 2d wife of Josiah
Fisher, would stop him on his way home from school and ask
him if he didn't want a cold potato, whereupon he would say
"no, Mrs. Stow has just given me a piece of pie." The
Fishers lived just below (east) of the home of Gardner Stow,
the old house which stood just east of the present main en
trance to Richard L. Hand's brick residence. And by the way
this report, undoubtedly correct, fixes a date when two more
families were located here. How long the Fisher and Stow
families had been here I am unable to state. Phebe Hall, 2d
wife of Josiah Fisher, was the mother of Rhoda Hall, the wife
of David Osgood. Josiah Fisher died on the "Fisher farm,"

297 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
so-called, in the village of Elizabethtown April 1, 1844. His
wife Phebe died Feb. 18, 1844.
It might be stated here that a daughter of Josiah Fisher
and Phebe Hall, Phebe Fisher by name, became the wife of
Ezra Carter Gross.
It might also be stated that a daughter of Mr. and Mrs,
Gardner Stow, Charlotte Evelina, by name, became the first
wife of Dr. Sewall Sylvester Cutting, who was for 10 years
editor of the New York Recorder, a religious paper. The given
name of Gardner Stow's wife was Evelina and she died young,
being buried in the old cemetery. Charlotte Evelina Cutting
was buried in Riverside cemetery.
During the cold summer of 1816 when crops did not materi
alize to any considerable extent the manufacture of potash
proved of considerable importance to our struggling, suffering
people. In those days the refuse wood from our forests and
in many instances valuable timber was burned to make ashes,
from which an alkali, a substance neutralizing acids, was ob
tained. At least two buildings were erected and used for the
manufacture of potash within the limits of Elizabethtown. One
of these buildings, a primitive log structure, was located in
Deep Hollow, just south of Elizabethtown village. This log
building stood a few feet east of a "bar way" seen on the east
side of the highway in Deep Hollow to-day. The building fell
into disuse about the year 1830 and was taken down by the
late Oliver Abel, Sr., shortly afterwards. The other building
used in connection with the manufacture of potash stood a
few rods back of the brick residence of Charles H. Noble on
Water Street in the village of Elizabethtown. There are those
living in Elizabethtown who remember when both these man
ufactories were in operation. Potash found a ready market
in Vermont and other localities and was much easier trans
ported than either logs or lumber. Potash as a source of rev-

LEVI DeWITT BROWN,
Father of the Atithor of Pleasant Valley,

HISTOKY OP ELIZABETHTOWN SOO
enoe was of inestimable value to Elisiabethtown dwellers in
1816, as it enabled them to ttirn off a product, regardless of
climatic conditions, in exchange for foodstuffs from more
favored localities, and for kept over produce, etc.
Following are the names constituting Elizabethtown's jury
list in 1817 : Stephen Ashley, Azel Abel, Joseph Blake, Chester
Bristol, Nathan Betts> David Brainard, Ashbel Brownson, Jr.,
John Blake, Lucius Bishop, Elijah Calkin, Case CumminS)
Calvin Calkin, Isaac Calkin, John Calkin, Joseph Durand,
John Daniels, Simeon Durand (son of Joseph) Nathan Esta-
brook, Anson Finney, Frederick Haasz, Eben. Hanchett, Ithai
Judd, Elijah Kellogg, William Kellogg, John Knox, Rowland
Kellogg, Orson Kellogg, Sylvanus Lobdell, Philip Millerj
Moses Noble, Ezra Nichols, Pollaus A. Newell, David Osgood,
Ira Phelps, Ralph Phelps, Aaron B. Palmer, Azor Rusco,
Amos Rice, Truman Rice, Jonathan Steele, 2achariah Straight,
John Smith, 2d, Jacob Southwell, Gardner Simonds, Erastus
Simonds, Alexander Trimble.
Alexander Trimble, the last named man eligible for jury
duty here in 1817, operated for a time on the "Tannery Brook,"
so-called, being succeeded by Gen. Ransom Noble and sons
there. In the winter of 1817 Wm. Ray must have been a resident
of Onondaga, C. H., according to the following letter which we
print, as it gives us the last authentic information concerning
Elizabethtown's pioneer editor :
Onondaga, C. H., February 10, 1817.
Sir : When I take a retrospect of your unmerited kindness
toward me and reflect that we must shortly be deprived of
your services as Chief Magistrate of this State, which your
mild administration has so long blessed, I cannot but feel the
most poignant regret at the separation which necessarily must

301 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
follow your election to the second office in the Union ; and I
feel it a duty not to be dispensed with to tender you my grate
ful acknowledgements and my warmest wishes for your tem
poral and eternal felicity. As to myself nothing but the most
gloomy prospects open before me in this life but thanks to a
merciful God I can now look beyond the grave with hope and
confidence. My failings, my errors, my offences against
heaven have been great and manifold, but I trust that they
have found forgiveness through the merits of a Redeemer, and
I am fully determined that my future life shall be dedicated to
his glory.
Whatever ingratitude I have been guilty of towards your Ex
cellency, may I have the consideration to know will be forgiven.
My situation, my distresses, my insupportable poverty have
heretofore worked my mind almost into distraction and plunged
me into vices and follies which my soul naturally abhorred.
In politics, warmly attached to the Republican cause and ve
hemently (perhaps too much so) opposed to every thing which
looked to me like encroachments on the rights of that cause, I
have created to myself many enemies and some among those
who style themselves Republicans. It cannot have escaped
your notice. Sir, that aristocratical combinations are formed
and forming in almost every County in the State, determined
to monopolize all the offices in the gift of the people and suffer
me to predict that if these things are permitted much longer
they will surely bring death to the Republican party. There
is such a squad in this County consisting of the Earlls and
their connections, men of no talents who are positively as intol
erant and oppressive toward Republicans who claim any inde
pendence or any rights as even the federalists of '98. These
men I have not bowed to, and of course am persecuted by them.
I tell you these things as sincere and weighty truths because I
consider them as spring mines to Republicanism. I mention

HISTORY OP ELi^A^ETHT^Wl? §02
tn&tti too on another account My name may possibly be
mentioned to the Council as Judge of Common Pleas, and if
So will probably be opposed by Judge Webb, who I am sorry
to say IS too much under the influence of this Junto.
Wishing your Excellency every joy in your new career of
glory, and all the happiness and prosperity compatible with
human nature, its frailties and vicissitudes,
I remain. Sir,
Your Excellency's Humble and obedient Servant,
WM. RAY>
&is Excellenby, GovEBNOE Tompkins.
Inasmuch as Luther Marsh, the printer, died in 1816, and
as Wm. Ray, the editor, had moved away from Elizabethtown
before February 10, 1817, it is probable that the little four
page paper. The Reveille, ceased to make its weekly calls
during the cold season. What a brief and sad existence Esse!
County's pioneer newspaper mUst have had, founded in 1812
and expiring during the cold season. Only four yeai-s later.
During its early infancy Wm. Ray, its editor, Was struggling
with an intensity of vigor and determination worthy of any
cause to have Simeon Frisbee removed from the office of Essex
County Clerk to the end that he (Ray) might enjoy the plum,
while Luther Marsh, Simeon Frisbee's son-in-law, was its
printer and df course supported interests in another direction^
Verily, it was "a house divided against itself." In
1816 Luther Marsh went to his grave, Simeon Frisbee
moved to Chautauqua Co., N. Y., in 1816 and died at Fredonia
a few months afterwards and, in all human probability, poor,
disappointed Wm. Ray had left these parts and The Reveille
had drawn its expiring breath ere the cold year 1816 had all
passed into history. Truly, what a melancholy succession of

303 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
events cluster about the brief existence of Elizabethtown's
first newspaper.
In the year 1817 Jeremiah Stone and Vashti Chase, his wife,
arrived in Elizabethtown, having come from Worcester County,
Mass. Vashti Chase was a descendant of Aquila Chase, the old
sailor who came over from England, settling in Newbury, at
the mouth of the Merrimac River, in 1646. It is recorded that
Aquila Chase was granted four acres of land in Newbury "for
a house-lott and six acres of upland for a planting lott," etc.,
"on condition that he do goe to sea and do service m the towne,
with a boate for four years." Aquila Chase went to sea and
it is recorded that after a certain long voyage he returned to
his Newbury home, arriving on Sunday morning. Shortly
after his arrival home that Sunday morning, as people were
going to or from church, the sailor was observed in his garden
picking green peas. This was too much for the Puritanical
New England observers of the Sabbath breaking and they re
ported the sailor to the authorities, whereupon Aquila Chase
and wife and David Wheeler, brother of Aquila Chase's wife,
were taken into Court. For the offence the Court ordered
them to be admonished and their fines remitted.
Jeremiah Stone was a gunsmith and for many years was
Curator of the State Arsenal here, looking after the guns, keep
ing them cleaned and repaired, ready for action in case of need.
In the year 1818 Jeremiah Stone built the house now known
as the Judge Robert S. Hale house, to which additions have
since been made.
Mr. Stone's shop stood directly across the Little Bo
quet from where the Library building is located. Captain
Stone, as he was locally known on account of his command
over the arsenal, built a dam across the Little Boquet near
where the present Hale foot-bridge is located. From the pond
formed he built a flume which extended out into the yard fdur

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 304
or five rods and then turned at a right angle and went east sev
eral rods. The upper portion of the flume was covered but it
was left open just above the shop. This flume furnished the
power to run the trip-hammer, etc.
Mr. and Mrs. Stone had two sons, both of whom died young.
The first of the two — Jeremiah — died Sept. 13, 1823, in his 2d
year and the other one — Nehemiah — was drowned in the flume
just above his father's shop on the 19th day of July, 1827, their
bodies being buried in the old cemetery. The daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Stone (Lovina Sibley Stone) married Robert Safford
Hale. The Reveille was succeeded by the Essex Patriot, conducted
by Oliver and Lewis Person, father and son, the office being
on Water Street.
Elizabethtown's Inspectors in 1817 were Asa Post, Jon.
Steele, Azel Abel, Jacob Southwell.
In 1818 Elizabethtown's Supervisor was Ezra C. Gross, the
Inspectors being Ezra C. Gross, Azel Abel and N. Nicholson.
In the month of July, 1818, there was a sensation in Eliz
abethtown village. The excitement was caused by the raid
officials made on the counterfeit money making establishment
then in operation on the Plain. Isaac Hogle and a man named
Curtis, both located at the inn then kept by Miss Lucy Wil
lard, where Deer's Head Inn now stands, were prominent in
the deal. It seems that Miss Lucy Willard fell under suspi
cion, perhaps for harboring Hogle and Curtis. At any rate
papers were placed in the hands of the late Nathan Perry, Sr.,
for the arrest of Lucy Willard. However, those papers were
never served. As Mr. Perry went in at the front of the house
Lucy Willard went out of a back door and up the Boquet
Valley to the farm of Azel Abel. Arriving at Azel Abel's
house, she went in and remained there secreted until nightfall..
This was July 27, 1818. The next day, July 28, 1818, she

306 HlsTo:&Y OF ELi2ABETiiT6W*f
married Ira Marks and no papers were served upon ML
Isaac Hogle, however, was arrested and put in jail for having
in his possession and attempting to pa,ss counterfeit money.
It is recorded that he tried to break goal and was indicted
therefor, as well as for attempting to pass counterfeit money.
ira Marks, born June 5, 1791, was the youngest son of Isaac
Marks and Betsey Cdlins, his wife. Eliona Marts, an elder
brother of Ira, was born April 16, 178'!'. The Marks boys moved
to Elizabethtown from Vergennes, Vt. Eliona Marks was
the father of the late Abiel Marks and Henry Marks, both of
whom were reared in Elizabethtown, went to New York City
and became Wealthy, enabling them to return to the scenes of
their boyhood and pass the summer season as guests. Sunny
Lawn, the fine country home adjoining the Deer's Head Inn
property, is owned by Mrs. Mary B. Marks, Widow of Henry
Marks. Eliona Marks died February 28, 1864, in the 77th yeair of
his age; Ira Marks died August 31, 1865, in his 75th year.
Abiel Marks and Henry Marks died a few ydars ago and the
mortal remains of all were buried in Riverside cemetery.
Valley Lodge, No. 314, the first Masonic Lodge ever organ-'
ized in Elizabethtown, received a charter September 6, 1818,
dn the recommendation of Essex Lodge, No. 162, signed by H^
H. Ross as W. M. Its first officers were Ezra Carter Gross,
W. M., iiuman WadhanJs, S. W., John Barney, J. W., and its
other members were Theo. Rdss, Jacdb Day, I^drman Newell^
Augustus Noble^ Hannibal C. Holden, Appleton Woddruff and
Ndfman Nichdlson. The meetings were held the second
Monday of the month. The place of meeting was in the second
stoty of the Ira Marks* red store, which stood jUst below the
end of the bridge, near where the driveWay td the Judge Rdb
ert S. Hale house leaves Maple Street. In 1819, Valley Lodge
reported 26 members with William Livingston as Master,

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 306
After the death of Morgan a book agent appeared one night in
the Ira Marks' store. He got out his Morgan books and
talked against Masonry. John Archibald, the local wag, was
present, as were several others. Suddenly all the lights in
the store went out and when more light was furnished the
book agent was minus his books. It is said that John "Arch."
did some quick sleight of hand work during that moment of
darkness. In the freshet of 1830 the Ira Marks' store went
down stream. Masonic property and all.
In 1819 Ezra Carter Gross went to Congress from Elizabeth-
town and served two terms, having previously served two
years — from March, 1815, to March, 1819 — as Surrogate of
Essex County.
Elizabethtown's Supervisor from 1819 to 1823, inclusive, was
Alexander Morse.
The Inspectors for 1819 were Alexander Morse, N. Nichol
son, Jacob Southwell, John Calkin, Pollaus A. Newell.
It was during the year 1819 that Edmund F. Williams ar
rived in Elizabethtown. He was then a young fellow only 18
years of age, having been born in Bristol, Eng., in 1801. He
went to work for Daniel Ross and eventually married Sarah
Ann Ross, daughter of Theodorus Ross. By this union a large
family of children was born as follows : Edmund, Charles,
Frank, John Van Rensselaer, Elizabeth, Thomas H. and Ross.
E. F. Williams went into the militia and rose to be Colonel by
which title he was universally known, far and near.
March 2, 1819, Ashley Pond was appointed Surrogate of
Essex County, which office he held till March 3, 1821.
In 1820 Elizabethtown's Inspectors were Alexander Morse,
N. Nicholson, David Brainard, John Calkin, Pollaus A. Newell.
In 1821 Elizabethtown's Inspectors were Alexander Morse,
Leander J. Lockwood, John Calkin, Azel Abel and Jacob
Southwell.

m msTORY OP ELlZABETHTdWN
March 3, 1821, Captain John Calkin of Battle of Plattsbufgll
fame, was appointed Surrogate of Essex County, which office?
he held continuously till April 15, 1831. Captain John Calkin^
it will be recalled, was a farmer and lived all these years on a
farm up on the slope of Mt. Hurricane, driving down in the
morning and back home at night.
In 1821 Ashley Pond was appointed Essex County Clerk./
He was elected to the same office under the constitution of
1821 and held it continuously till his death in September, 1827,
During his administration as Essex County Clerk the office
was in a small building which stood on the east side of what
is now Maple Street, near where the Lamson house stands to
day, The late Judge Byron Pond remembered the location
of the building well and often pointed it out to the writer.
The First Congregational Church in EliZabethtovyn, com
posed of members from the Church in Lewis, and some others,
was organized March 25, 1821, by the Rev. Cyrus Comstock,
missionary. It consisted of 32 members.
At its organization Timothy Brainard and Joseph Blake
were chosen deacons. Deacon Brainard died Nov. 17, 1824,
Deacon Blake died Jan. 12, 1860.
During the first year Father Comstock, as he was reverent
tially called, had the general oversight of the church and min
istered from time to time.
Elizabethtown's inspectors for the year 1822 were Alexander
Morse, Azel Abel and John Calkin.
Immigration increased after the close of the War of 1812,
Commerce had been helped instead of hindered by the neces
sities of that war and the lumber business thrived throughout
this section from 1815 to 1830. Shortly after the close of the
War of 1812 "the new court house road," practically the pres
ent stage route from Elizabethtown to Westport, was opened
across the Black River, that swampy place being filled in, etc.

LOVINA KNEELAND BROWN,
Mother of the Author of Pleasant Valley.

ttlSTORY OP ELtZAHETHT6Wi^ 310
Up to this time the regular route from Elizabethtown to Lake
Champlain was by way of the hamlet now known as Meigs
ville. Speaking of the lumber business along Lake Champlain
during this period Robinson says : "The great pines, that fifty
years before had been reserved for the masting of his Majes^
ty's navy, were felled now by hardy yoemen who owed allegi
ance to no earthly king, and, gathered into enormous raftSj
voyaged slowly down the lake, impelled by sail ahd sweep.
They bore as their burden barrels of potash that had been
condensed from the ashes of their slain brethren." Bales of
furs went often along this route and when the raftsmen came
back by boat they brought salt and manufactured goods, often
of European make.
For black salts and potash early local merchants Usually
paid one-half cash and the balance in goods.
In the month of October, 1822, occurred the death and
funeral of General Daniel Wright, the latter being conducted
with military honors. Brigadier General Luman Wadhams of
the 40th Brigade heading the imposing procession.
Reference to the old Elizabethtown Baptist Church records
shows that on Saturday, April 5, 1823, church meeting was
held according to appointment, at which time it was "Voted
that the Clerk be requested to leave the Ch'h Records with
Sister Hatch so long as Ch'h meetings are held at her house.''
On Saturday, May 3, 1823, church meeting was held at "the
Brick School Souse" and as the Court House had just been
destroyed by fire this famous educational institution df that
early day continued for sometime to be the place of meeting
for the Baptist people. In May, 1823, Asa Farnsworth, whose
wife Was Abigail Brown, was elected Deacon of the church ;
he and Amos Smith were ordained to the Deacon's office Oct.
9, 1824. In August, 1824, Paul Richards was licensed to

311 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
preach. Orson Kellogg's license was renewed the same date.
Elizabethtown's Supervisor in 1823 and 1824 was Ezra Car
ter Gross. It would seem that his being Congressman did not
put him above serving his townspeople at home.
The Court House, one story, was built of brick soon after
its destruction by fire in 1823. The brick used were made
from clay taken out of the bank just below what has since
been known as the Valley Forge settlement.
Alanson Mitchell served as Supervisor of Elizabethtown in
1825 and 1826. He was an elder brother of Wm. N. Mitchell and
kept a store where the Post Office block now stands in Elizabeth-
town village. He also served as Postmaster, having the Post
Office in one part of his store. In 1826 Alanson Mitchell and
Captain John Lobdell had charge of the men who cut out and
built the road through what is now the town of North Elba
and on to Hopkinton. Squier Lee, then 19 years of age,
helped build this road.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 312

Elizabethtown From J 825 to the Civil War.
In 1825 Basil Bishop built his famous cold blast forge at
Split Rock Falls on the Boquet River. Dr. Midas E. Bishop,
a nephew of Basil Bishop, thus describes this forge : "The air
from the bellows did not pass through iron pipes to be heated
before it went into the fire, consequently nothing but charcoal
from hard wood could be used and it took six hours to make
a loop weighing 150 pounds. Loop was the name for the mass
of iron accumulated in making wrought iron from ore. The
ore that uncle used was dug on the Kibble farm now owned by
Stephen Pitkin, from a bed at the foot of Iron Mountain west
of the old Horatio Deming farm and from a bed up Roaring
Brook nearly opposite the bridge that crosses the brook to
Uncle Jonathan Post's saw-mill. Ore was also used from Mr.
Noble's bed on the Pete lot But none of the ores in the valley
would make good bar iron because it was lacking in quartz
and when the bars were hammered at a red heat they cracked
and it was called "red shear," but properly red sear. There
was no way of overcoming the difficulty except to mix the val
ley ores with lean ores from Fisher Hill and the Sanford bed
at Mineville. The iron was all hammered into bars about four
inches wide and three quarters of an inch thick. Blacksmiths
used to split them to make horseshoes. Uncle's forge had a
water blast I examined it as far as I could but still could
not understand how falling water could make wind. I chmbed

313 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
up by the flume above the forge. The forge was not run
ning then and I opened the gate and let on the water so I
could see how it worked. The water ran in a box about a foot
square about the forge building and then straight down nearly
40 feet into the centre of a boxed up place 10 or 15 feet square
where I was told the water fell upon a table and made the
blast which was perfectly steady and furnished wind enough
for two fires.1 The wheel for the hammer was about 6 feet in
diameter and there was a long chute outside of the forge set
at 45 degrees that conducted the water to the wheel which ran
very fast for a hammer wheel. It ran almost like a trip-ham
mer and was noisy. I often heard it at home (New Russia) on
still nights. It was a breast wheel, plainly made, two plank
disks with planks set in the edges and the water struck on the
underside. An overshot wheel has cup shaped buckets and
necessarily must run slow so as to give time for the buckets to
empty. An undershot wheel is made the same way and the
water is not conducted over the wheel."
In 1825 Samuel Williams was engaged in the manufacture of
hats in Elizabethtown, having come from the town of Jay. He
married Eunice Stevens of Lewis and lived on Water Street,
having his hat manufactory in one part of his house. In those
days he took hats by the wagon load to Albany, N. Y. The
main part of the Samuel Williams house was later moved up
Water Street and now constitutes the upright part of E. Tru-
deau's dwelling house.
The children of Samuel and Eunice Williams were Jane,
Charles Noble, Eunice, Emily, Sarah, Julia and Steptoe Cathn.
Jane Williams married Cyrus Kellogg. Both died many
years ago.
Charles Noble Williams married Mary Abel and became one
1 Dr. Bisbop informs me tjiat he once found a natural water blast on the north branch of
the Boquet River, one "not boxed in."

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 314
of the most widely known and most successful business men
Elizabethtown ever had. He served as Clerk of the Essex
County Board of Supervisors and was elected County Treas
urer of Essex County on the ticket with Abraham Lincoln in
November, 1860, and held the office continuously for twelve
years, four three year terms, after which he served as Post
master of Elizabethtown about 12 years. From 1883 to his
death in the spring of 1905 he conducted the largest and best
equipped drug store in Essex County. During his lifetime he
was an extensive mill owner and had put up over 60 buildings
within the present township of Elizabethtown. He is survived
by a widow and two daughters, Jennie M. and Clara Williams.
Eunice and Julia Williams both died young.
Emily Williams married Leander Abel, who died in Jan
uary, 1903.
Sarah Williams married Charles H. Nichols of Lewis.
Steptoe Catlin Williams married Josephine Glidden of Eliz
abethtown and they live on the old Deacon Harry Glidden
homestead. Before 1825 General Ransom Noble and sons had become
interested in Elizabethtown, having purchased land and erected
buildings here. They erected the brick 8tore,(still known as the
Noble store)a harness-shop,a shoe-shop the tannery and the fine
brick house occupied by Charles Henry Noble and family to-day.
During the year 1825 Alexander MacDougal, the noted Scotch
tanner, arrived in Elizabethtown, having previously worked
for Gen. Noble in Essex. He said Gen. Noble sent him out
here to "look after the boys," meaning Gen. Noble's sons.
However, he went to work in the Noble tannery and was em
ployed there for many years. Several of his sons worked in
the tannery, one of them, Alexander, Jr., becoming a good tan
ner. The Nobles did an extensive business, employing a large
number of men. The Noble tannery and harness-shop were

315 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
landmarks here for many years and numerous incidents are sai(3
to have occurred in and around those places.
The brick used in the construction of the Noble store were
made on the same spot where the late Timothy Seckington
made the last brick ever manufactured in Elizabethtown.
Asahel Root made the brick used in the construction of the
Noble store. It was when these brick were being made that
the late William Whitman Root, then a boy in his teens, car
ried his father's dinner down to the brick kiln and thus began
working in the interest of the Nobles. It is said that, first and
last, William Whitman Root worked for the Nobles more than
50 years.
In the Noble harness and shoe-shop worked two men, Robert
Linton and Robert Witherspoon,who were special adepts. They
were of Scotch-Irish descent, sandy complexioned, and knew
the shoe-making business from a to z, having been regimental
shoe-makers in the British army before coming to Elizabeth-
town. Robert Linton was the older man and lived on Water
Street, his place being still referred to as the Linton house.
Witherspoon accumulated some property and moved from
Elizabethtown to Jay. Thomas Jefferson Otis and John Stod
dard were also employed in the Noble harness and shoe-shop,
as were Ezra Turner, Felix LaDue, Joshua D. Richards, E. P.
Adams, Titus Smith, and a Frenchman with a wooden leg,
whose name no one seems to recall. Then too there were
John Turner, Alex. Turner and Jonas Blood, who was a sad
dler by trade. Jonas Blood is said to have been a remarka
ble man in many ways and if it had not been for strong drink
would have made his mark in the world.
Alanson Wilder, afterwards Sheriff of Essex County, was
foreman of the Noble shoe-shop.
The community depended entirely in those days upon the
Noble shoe-shop for boots and shoes. And it may well be

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 316
added here that all the leather manufactured in the Noble tan
nery was made up into boots, shoes and harness by the Noble
workmen and that the business, large though it was, conducted
here in Elizabethtown village, was only an adjunct of the larger
iron and lumber business carried on at the Kingdom, Lewis
and Essex.
Lucius Bishop built his hotel at New Russia in 1826. The
main part 36 by 26, two stories high, had a ball room the
whole length. No country tavern was considered complete
without a ball room those days. This wayside inn was for
several years after its erection the only painted building be
tween Split Rock Falls and Elizabethtown village.
Leander J. Lockwood served as Elizabethtown's Supervisor
during 1827 and 1828.
John Sanders, Sr., moved into the Boquet Valley in 1827. He
was born in New Hampshire in 1784 and married Polly Howe,
soon after which he emigrated to what is now Lewis, settling
on the farm to-day occupied by James Cross. To John and
Polly Sanders were born twelve children, only seven of whom
lived to maturity. The oldest, Louisa, married Luke Rice
while the family yet lived in North Lewis. She died in the
early 40s on the farm where B. F. Gilligan now lives. Polly, a
young lady of 18 or 20 years, died soon after the family moved
into the Boquet Valley. Sally married Alexander Roberts,
father of John Sanders Roberts. She died at the home of
the latter in the village of Elizabethtown in the 80s. Lovina mar
ried Stewart W. Smith about 1840 and lived and died in South
Valley. Elmira, born in Lewis, April 21, 1817, married Rus
sel Abel Finney in November, 1842, and lived on Simonds
Hill till April, 1868, when they moved to Postville, la., where
he died in May, 1876. She is still living, residing with her
son Solon Burroughs Finney at Fayette, la. Rozilla, born in
Lewis in 1819, married Darius Wyman about 1847 and settled

317 fflSTOIlt OP ELl2ABETHT6WSr
at Split Rock. Mr. and Mrs. Wyman moved to Ohio in ISSS^
settling on a farm near Cleveland, where he died in the 90s,
She died only a few months ago. John H., born in Lewis in
1823, married Julia A. Clark of Westport about 1846, moved
to Iowa in 1857 and died at Postville in 1897, where his widow
lives with her children.
John and Polly Sanders lived some years in an old house on
the east side of the Boquet River, on what is now known as
the Scriver farm. After living a few years on the east side of
the river Mr. Sanders built a spacious house on the west side
of the stream, the house occupied for years by the Scrivers.
This house was destroyed by fire October 9, 1889.
John Sanders, Sr., was an upright, industrious man and was
counted the most progressive farmer in the Boquet Valley,
being exceptionally up-to-date. His buildings and fences
were kept in good repair and things were picked up about the
premises. He died in 1864, his remains being buried in the
Boquet Valley cemetery,
Deacon Levi Brown and family also came down here from
Lewis in 1827. Deacon Brdwn at dnce became interested in a
factdry for the manufacture of axes, bUsh hooks, etc., which
stood on the Barton Brook just about where the John Barton
blacksmith-shop stands. Deacon Brown lived in a house
which stood where Frank H. Durand now lives on Water Street.
In 1827 Leonard Stow became Essex County Clerk, having
the Clerk's Office at his house on Water Street. The records
in the Essex County Clerk's Office furnish ample proof of this
fact Leonard Stow was a brother of Gardner Stow.
A meeting of the Baptist Church was held April 10, 1828,
the minutes of the meeting closing as follows : "Voted to have
a special meeting a week from to-day at 1 o'clock at the Court
House." On Thursday, April 27, 1828, the special meeting
was held. The church met and began to "investigate the

CHANCELLOR WALWORTH.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 320
principles of the Institution of Masonary." Then and there
began the agitation which led to the calling of a council — Feb
ruary 17, 1830, being the time of its meeting— to try to settle
their difficulties. The final result, according to the Rev. H.
Steelman's account, was the formation of a second church,
which was fellowshipped by a council of brethren from the dif
ferent churches of the Association, January 8,1834. Elder Isaac
Sawyer was Moderator of the council and Franklin Stone was
Clerk. No records of the first church appear after February,
1832 ; the second became the leading church and soon ab
sorbed the entire interest and assumed the name of the First
Baptist Church of Elizabethtown, N. Y. Captain John Calkin,
then Surrogate of Essex County, was a bitter foe of Masonry
and led the anti-Masonic fight. As a result of one Town Meet
ing, when the Masons had control. Captain John Calkin was,
figuratively speaking, "run out of town." That is to say a
new town line between Elizabethtown and Jay was run and
the head and front of the anti-Masonic fight and some of his
sympathizing neighbors found themselves over in the town of
Jay. This of course put Captain John to the trouble of going
over the mountain to Jay to vote but he said he Was satisfied,
as taxes were lower in Jay.i
In the year 1828 General George Izard, he who had led an
army of 4,000 strong through Elizabethtown in the declining
summer of 1814, went to his grave. To his credit be it said
that he protested at the time against leaving Plattsburgh
with his troops.
During this year Eli Hull of Keene, veteran of the Revolu
tion and War of 1812, died, being buried near Hull's Falls on
the Ausable River, near where the sturdy military hero lived
for over a quarter of a century.
1 Dr. R. J. Roscoe informs me that Captain John Calkin said to him that his taxes were
lower in Jay and therefore it mattered not ii he was "run out of town."

321 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
In 1828 Leander J. Lockwood of Elizabethtown became
Sheriff of Essex County.
In the fall of 1829 there came to Elizabethtown to reside a
veteran Sea Captain, Jacob Allen, who came here with his
family from Ticonderoga. He had come to Ticonderoga from
Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass. His idea in getting up among
the mountains was that his children would not be so liable to
follow the sea. And none did but some of his grandchildren
are reported to have gone that way. Jacob Allen's wife was
Lucy Gallup. They had 14 children, several dying in infancy.
The sons who grew up were Alva, Enos Gallup, Aaron Hall
and Isaac. The daughters who grew up were Rebecca, Eliza,
Ruth and Susan T.
Enos Gallup Allen, 2d son of Jacob Allen, invented the dial
steam gauge and also a planer similar to the Woodward
planer. He was in the secret service during the civil war,
holding a Colonel's commission.
Aaron Hall Allen went to Boston, Mass., and became a mil
lionaire. He died in Germany in 1889, his body being brought
home for burial in Riverside cemetery.
Rebecca Allen married Benjamin Severance and their son
became one of the most noted Baptist clergymen of New Eng
land, dying a few years since in the very heyday of a promis
ing career.
Ehza Allen married Royal Chittenden, son of Uri Chit
tenden who was buried in the old cemetery. These
Chittendens were of the Governor Chittenden family of Ver
mont. Royal Chittenden became a manufacturer of earthen
ware, living in the old house on "Durand Farm," using the
basement of that building for his manufactory. His clay he
obtained from a bed a few rods beyond the old Durand house.
Royal Chittenden used to send a man out on the road to sell
his earthenware, such as pots, kettles, pans, etc. Loyal Hall,

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 322
a local wag, used to go out occasionally and would invariably
come back home under the influence of too much "good
cheer." Mr. Chittenden would ask Hall how he got along and
the good feeling salesman would answer : "Some I sold, some I
broke, some I gave away and back after more."
Royal Chittenden eventually went to California, where he
is said to have accumulated considerable property.
Ruth Allen married her cousin named Gallup.
Susan T. Allen married Edgar Manly Marvin. Their
children were George Fred, Edgar A., Walter M., Charles A.,
Lucy, Mary and Harris J.
George Fred Marvin became a photographer. He lived at
Keeseville the latter part of his life and died a few years ago.
His widow and daughter still live in Keeseville.
Edgar A. Marvin is married and lives in Detroit, Mich.
Walter M. Marvin married Emma Young and lives in Eliz
abethtown, being head of the business firm (furniture and un
dertaking) of W. M. Marvin & Son. The children of Walter
and Emma Marvin are Fred A. Marvin, merchant, of Lewis,
who married Bessie M. Brown, Edgar Manly Marvin, who mar
ried Winifred Smith and who is his father's partner in the
furniture and undertaking business, Mrs. William A. Still of
Roslyn, L. I., and Miss Jennie Marvin who lives at the pa
rental home.
Charles A. Marvin, a graduate of Union College, class of
1887, married Miss Grace Noxon, is a lawyer and holds a re
sponsible position in the Post Office at Ballston Spa.
Lucy Marvin married Darwin Bridges, then of Keeseville,
and now lives near Alstead, N. H.
Mary Marvin married P. A. Olcott and lives at Keeseville,
N. Y.
Harris J. Marvin is married and lives in Detroit, Mich.
Jacob Allen was born August 20, 1789, and in his younger

323 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
manhood made many and long sea voyages. On his way home
from one of his long voyages he was captured twice by the
British in the War of 1812. He had the small pox on Mada
gascar Island and came near dying. After all these experi
ences he came up here among the mountains and started an old
fashioned cabinet-shop on the Plain. The shop stood just
across the street from the furniture and undertaking shop of W.
M. Marvin & Son of to-day. In fact the main part of the present
shop is the old shop fixed over. Jacob Allen built the spacious
house to-day occupied by Edgar Manly Marvin. This house
was built to take the place of one destroyed by fire in 1843.
Jacob Allen died August 2, 1852. Jacob Allen's widow died
April 9, 1871, aged 80 years. Their graves are in Riverside
cemetery. Henry Marvin, the father of the elder Edgar Manly Marvin
mentioned, came from Connecticut to Williston, Vt Henry
Marvin was a mill-wright. He put up the Merriam Forge
building on the Boquet River below Wadhams Mills.
Edgar Manly Marvin, the elder, came to Elizabethtown when
a young fellow and went to work in Jacob Allen's shop and
eventually not only married Mr. Allen's daughter but became
sole proprietor of the shop and business, which he conducted
till 1879 when he took in as partner his son Walter M. Marvin
head of the present firm. Edgar Manly Marvin died in 1887
and his widow died in 1889.
Henry Marvin's other children were George, James H.,
Maria, Thirza, Lucia and Sarah. James H. Marvin is the
only one of the children now living, his residence being in
Philadelphia, Pa.
It has been said that the lumber business reached its height
in Elizabethtown between 1820 and 1830. Certain it is that
during the latter 20s the lumber business was prosecuted on a
large scale here and if it did not bring individual wealth to all

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 324
those who engaged in it, it furnished employment to many
men. The iron interest at this time was also rapidly develop
ing, becoming a source of considerable revenue and furnishing
employment to a large number of men. Saw-mills were built
at almost every available point on the swift mountain streams
and forges "grew up in a day," as it were. In accordance with
the improved conditions brought about by the boom in the
lumber and iron business the people of Elizabethtown had ad
vanced to the building of comfortable frame houses, the
forerunner of the air of thrift, pride and architectural beauty
which has since settled upon the place.
Alanson Mitchell served as Supervisor of Elizabethtown
from 1829 to 1831, inclusive. At this time his son Jacob
Mitchell had become large enough to clerk in the store and
Post Office. Jacob Mitchell afterwards went to Florida, in
which State he was living only a few years ago.
In the summer of 1830 Elizabethtown received a temporary
set-back. Reference is here made to the great freshet, than
which no more disastrous flood ever visited this section. Saw
logs, trees, fences, houses and everything imaginable, except
the "everlasting hills," came down Water Street The Little
Boquet, swelled to overflowing banks, swept along with the
besom of destruction, striking the old Ross whiskey distillery,
(then being superintended by the late David Benson, Sr.,
a veteran of the War of 1812) and the old grist-mill by
the bridge. The distillery was ruined and the grist-mill
was so badly worsted that it never ground any grain
after that fatal summer day. It was afterwards made over
into a store and is to-day the front part of the store of Harry
H. Nichols. The red store of Ira Marks which stood just be
low the bridge by the grist-mill was carried down stream,
goods. Masonic records and all. Mr. Marks went down to the
city>nd told the people from whom he bought goods just what

32tS HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
had happened, stating that he wanted some credit, for whicb
he could give good security. When asked what security he
could give, he replied : "My note, it's good." Credit was
given him and he returned to Elizabethtown and arranged a
new place in which to conduct mercantile business and went
ahead as though nothing had happened.
Just below the Ira Marks store, on the same side the river,
stood the hotel then kept by Pollaus A. Newell. The freshet
struck the hotel and damaged it to such an extent that Pollaus
A. Newell could not recover from the effects thereof. Public
records show that sales on execution followed shortly. Pol
laus A. Newell moved to Ohio and "started again," financially
speaking. The house of Jeremiah Stone just below the hotel was sur
rounded by water and the road along in front of the Richard
L. Hand premises of to-day was all washed out. In fact it
was some years before the village of Elizabethtown fully re
covered from the destructive effects of the great flood of 1830.
Edmund F. Williams and Leander J. Lockwood ran the old
Valley House after Pollaus A. Newell left town. They had a
big hotel sign, an Indian Chief, which is well remembered by
some of our older inhabitants. Eliona Marks bought the old
Valley House in 1833 and began running it.
In the early 30s a cloth manufactory was in operation on
Water Stteet, Leander J. Lockwood running it The building
in which the cloth was made stood near where E. Trudeau re
sides. There was a dam across the Little Boquet, water power
being used. The entrance to this manufactory was between
two small elm trees. The small elm trees of the early 30s are
now giants and may be seen standing side by side, and only a
few feet apart, in front of Mr. Trudeau's residence. A. McD.
Finney and Dr. R. J. Roscoe remember well when this cloth

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 326
factory was in operation, and when Leander J. Lockwood lived
in a house which stood just above it
From 1832 to 1834, inclusive, Charles Noble served as Su
pervisor of Elizabethtown.
In the month of April, 1831, there arrived in Elizabethtown
two families, both of whom were destined to leave their names
in our local geography. We refer to the arrival of the
Hand and Jackson families.
Augustus Cincinnatus Hand, born in Shoreham, Vt, in 1803.
and Elizabeth Seeley Northrup, his wife, after a short residence
in Crown Point where Mr. Hand practiced law and where their
eldest child, Clifford Augustus Hand, was born in February,
1831, came to Elizabethtown with their baby boy about the mid
dle of April, 1831, the former having recently been appointed
Surrogate of Essex County by the Governor. As they drove
into Elizabethtown village they came along up the river bed,
as left by the freshet of 1830, and as the wagon stopped near
what is now the entrance to the Richard L. Hand home on
River Street, Mrs. Hand stepped out upon what was left of
the sidewalk after the disastrous flood of the previous year.
Mr. Hand bought and moved into the house vacated by Gard
ner Stow. This house stood just east of the entrance to the
Richard L. Hand home.
Shortly after arriving in Elizabethtown Augustus C. Hand
was appointed Postmaster, he was elected to Congress in 1838,
State Senator in 1844 and rounded out his political career as
Supreme Court Judge. In the little house to which he moved
in April, 1831, were born his sons Samuel and Richard Lock-
hart and his daughters Ellen and Marcia, the former becoming
the first wife of Matthew Hale and the latter the first wife of
Jonas Heartt, a college mate of her brother Samuel. Judge
Augustus C. Hand was an enterprising resident and did all in
his power to add to the attractiveness and beauty of his adopted

327 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
town, also to improve the tone of the place socially and other
wise. In 1848 and 1849 he erected the spacious brick house
to-day occupied by his only surviving son. In 1862 the Hand
law office was erected, Joseph Emnott doing the mason work.
Hand Avenue, the street on the east side of the Plain in the
village of Elizabethtown, was named in honor of Judge Au
gustus C. Hand.^
Daniel Jackson, a native of Peru, N. Y., and a veteran of the
War of 1812, and Rhoda Ann Cady, his wife, moved into Eliz
abethtown with five children. Before coming here Daniel
Jackson and family had resided in the town of Ches
terfield, also at Brookfield in the town of Essex. Upon his
arrival here he moved into the Theodorus Ross house south
of the Court House. Julia Ann, Sarah Jane, Samuel Doty,
Charlotte Elizabeth and IJaniel Cady were the children Daniel
Jackson and wife brought to Elizabethtown. From the Theo
dorus Ross house they moved to the Fisher house, across the
street from and a little below the Dr. Alexander Morse house.
While living in the Fisher house Oscar F. was born. From
the Fisher house the Jackson family moved to a plastered
house nearly opposite Nathan Perry's house on the Plain and
there Martin Van Buren was born. Daniel Jackson next
moved to the Brownson farm on the road from Fisher Bridge
to Simonds Hill. It was while Daniel Jackson lived on the
Brownson farm that his oldest daughter Julia Ann (born
March 24, 1816, and who still lives, residing in Grangeville,
Cal.,) married George Knox, who died in the west a few years
ago. From the Brownson farm Daniel Jackson moved to the
famous Corner House (now part of The Windsor) and in this
old landmark William Wallace was born November 12, 1839.
From the Corner House Daniel Jackson and his large family
1 Further matter relating to Judge Augustus C. Haod will appear in a chapter on the
Bench and Bar,

ELIJAH SIMONDS,
ElizafaethtOTvn's Greatest Hunter and Trapper.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 330
moved up on to the Captain John Calkin farm and the following
spring he moved on to the Calvin Calkin farm which he had
purchased and which has ever since been known in local par
lance as the- Jackson farm. Moreover since the early 40s a
stream passing through this farm has been known on all maps
as the Jackson Brook, named in honor of the active proprietor
of the place, who there toiled with his growing sons till they
reached their majority and went west one after another.
Daniel Jackson was a quick, impetuous sort of a man, pos
sessed of tireless energy and generously disposed. He was
formerly a Baptist. Having a brother John who became a
"Mormon Elder," Daniel finally went over to the Mormons and
eventually "Aunt Rhoda Ann," as Mrs. Jackson was locally
known, embraced tha Mormon faith. However, she afterwards
repented and wrote her confession to the Elizabethtown Bap
tist Church. And it is said that Daniel Jackson himself as he
approached old age gave up Mormonism, burned his papers,
etc. The entire Jackson family emigrated to Wisconsin during
the years from 1846 to 1858. William Wallace, the youngest
of the Jackson children, was the last to leave Elizabethtown.
He married a Shores and lives at Strum, near Eau Claire, Wis.,
and judging from letters he writes to relatives in the old home
town there remains with him a fondness for the friends and
scenes of his childhood.
Daniel Jackson died in Sparta, Wis., in his 77th year.
Rhoda Ann Jackson died there in her 83d year. Their remains,
with those of Sarah Jane and her husband and a daughter of
Samuel Doty rest in the cemetery at Sparta, Wis. Martin
Van Buren died in St Paul, Minn., while Oscar P. died in Eau
Claire, Wis. Charlotte Elizabeth, widow of William Allis, and
Daniel Cady live in Delta, Col.
There was great activity in Elizabethtown during the first

331 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
few years following 1830. Two forges were built just after the
freshet of 1830, one on the Black River below Brainard's Forge,
by Joshua Daniels, whose wife was a Palmer. Joshua Daniels
left a large family of sons, including the following : Ira, Palmer,
Nathan, Ezekiel, Charles Wesley and Andrew J., the latter
being the only one now living. Andrew J. Daniels is a veteran
of the civil war and a resident of Westport The other forge
built in Elizabethtown just after the freshet of 1830 was lo
cated in the Miller settlement The Nobles are said to have
furnished the money with which to erect the forge in the Mil
ler settlement. This forge stood a few rods from the present
residence of William H. McDougal. The Miller Kilns, so-
called, were built to furnish coal for the forge in the Miller set
tlement. The Miller Kilns stood about two miles south of the
forge. In 1832 Robert Wilson Livingston, then 22 years of age,
came to Elizabethtown from Lewis where he had resided since
1817. Upon arriving here he boarded with David Russell
Woodruff who lived in the house latterly known as the Judd
house, just across Maple Street from where Maplewood Inn
now stands.
About this time Robert Wilson Livingston's father. Dr.
William Livingston, opened the first drug store ever conducted
in Elizabethtown village. The stock of drugs was kept in the
little building previously used by Ashley Pond for the Essex
County Clerk's office. This building, it will be recalled, stood
on the southwest corner of the lot on which the Lamson house
now stands.
In the month of September, 1833, occurred the death of
Azel Abel,i who had served as a soldier from Massachusetts in
I In speaking of Azel Abel and family earlier in this worlt no mention was made of Willis
Abel, a brother of Azel Abel. It was Willis Abel after whom our late townsman Willis
Nichols was named, tlie latter being a grandson of Azel Abel.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 332
the American Revolution, had crossed Lake Champlain from
Orwell, Vt, in 1798 and became Elizabethtown's first hotel
keeper. He died in the Boquet Valley and was buried in the
old cemetery. It may truthfully be added here that the name
Abel has been a prominent one in the history of Elizabeth-
town for 107 years.
During this period of Elizabethtown's history Captain John
Lobdell was acting as Jonas Morgan's agent in Elizabethtown
and Westport. Captain John Lobdell still lived up on the hill
back of where Cornelius Ryan lives on the Westport turnpike
to-day. In those days Captain John Lobdell kept a black
smith constantly employed. The blacksmith was of good old
English stock, having come directly from England to Westport.
His name was William Hooper, father of that well-known vet
eran of the civil war, Robert Hooper of Westport The black
smith-shop stood in the "fork of the road" a few rods
towards Elizabethtown from the residence of Cornelius Ryan.
Jerome Theron Lobdell, only surviving son of Captain John
Lobdell, a man of truth and veracity, (a true scion of a noble
sire) says he remembers well when Jonas Morgan visited his
father's house for the last time. It was after Captain John
Lobdell had moved down off the hill to what is now Meigsville,
probably along in the 40s. At that time the two men, accord
ing to the only living witness of the transaction, settled up,
passed receipts, etc., and bade each other farewell, to meet on
earth no more forever, as that was the last visit he of Mor
gan's Patent fame ever made to this section.
It has been stated on the pages of history that the Essex
County Times was founded by Robert W. Livingston at Eliz
abethtown in 1832. However, the best evidence in the world —
the bound files of the Essex County Times— exist to
prove that historians have heretofore been in error concern
ing the date of the founding of this paper. The bound files

333 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
are before the author of Pleasant Valley and show
beyond the shadow of doubt that the Esses County Times was
not started until the autumn of 1833, as Vol. 1, No. 1, is dated
"Elizabethtown, N. V., Wednesday, October 9, 1833." R. W.
Livingston was editor, I. P. Wheeler being printer. The
Essex County Times was a weekly paper. Augustus C. Hand
was then Postmaster in Elizabethtown village. A list of let
ters remaining uncalled for at the Elizabethtown P. O. Oct
1, 1833, contained the following : Ames Edward, Baldwin Rev.
J. B., Brownson Jehiel C, Brown Elijah, Chase Hiram, Du
rand Milo, Eddy Joseph, Fitzgerald Joseph 2, Furness Daniel
H., Higley Dudley, Jackson John (Mormon Elder), Knapp J.
C, Knoll Jean, Lockwood L. J., Lewis Calvin, Lewis David,
Lewis Lucy, Lobdell Silvanus, Major Hector Robert, Mitchell
Alanson, Mitchell William N., Machzorda Charlotte, Newcomb
Cyrenus, Nichols John, Nichols Rowland, Person Jane D.,
Saywood William, Sabin E. W., Stearn John, Wilson Joseph,
Wilson H., Wood Plinney, Woodruff Timothy, Weiber Pries-
dolph. The Post Office was then kept in Mr. Hand's law office which
stood a few rods west of his house.
By the first copy of the Essex County Times it is learned
that Charles Armstrong and Edwin Salsbury were then tailors
in Elizabethtown, conducting their business in the room under
the printing office.
Charles H. Brainard was then making hats in Elizabethtown
and advertised "Cash and Hats for Hatters Fur," G. W. Allen
was conducting a shoe-shop "opposite the Printing Office,"
and E. F. Williams "wanted 1000 bushels of oats for which the
subscriber will pay cash and the highest price."
The first number of the Essex County Times contained an
account of the Republican (Democratic) Convention in and for
Essex County which had been held at the house of D. R.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 334
Woodrufi' on the 24th of September. The Elizabethtown del
egates in that Convention were Cyrenus Newcomb, A. C. Hand
and R. W. Livingston, A. C. Hand acting as one of the Secre
taries. The Town Committee appointed for the year consisted
of R. W. Livingston, Luke Rice and John Catlin. At that
Convention the following ticket was nominated :
For Assembly — Barnabas Myrick.
" County Clerk — Edward S. Cuyler.
" Coroner— Fortis M. Wilcox.
R. W. Livingston closed his signed address to the public in
that first issue as follows : "How far and how faithfully we
shall discharge our duty, time and your candor must determ
ine. Of this be assured, our own exertions shall not be want
ing, that we may not be found sleeping at our post, Nor will
we forget that the object of every good citizen should be "Lib
erty — Union— and our Country."
Christmas Day, 1833, the Essex County Times appeared
with the name of a new printer, C. S. Newcomb, but R. W.
Livingston continued editor. One learns by this issue that
H. Backman was about to open a "tavern stand opposite the
Court House in Elizabethtown." E. F. Williams had a bid
for hotel patronage in the same issue. C. & H. Noble then
advertised that they had for sale "for ready pay or approved
credit, upon reasonable terms, leather, boots, shoes, harness,
saddles, bridles, trunks, also 100 bbls. of good beef and a few
bbls. of fine mutton, all well packed in good casks and in fine
order, in payment for most of which will be received grain,
iron, hides, calf-skins, house ashes, lumber, labour, &c., &c."
This "Ad." gives something of an idea of the exchange of bar
ter at the Noble store in the early 30s.
January 1, 1834, Charles Armstrong was evidently doing
tailoring on his own hook, as only his name was attached to
the "Ad." at that time.

335 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
Jno. S. Chipman was, sd far as is known, Elizabeth-
town's first fire insurance agent, representing The Springfield
Fire Insurance Company, having an "Ad." in the Essex County
Times in the latter part of the year 1833 and the early part of
1834. A select school for the instruction of youngladies was being
kept here then by Miss Miner of Castleton, Vt.
January 1, 1834, Chas. H. Brainard announced that he con
ducted a boarding house opposite the store of C. & H. Noble,
boarding and lodging for 50 cents per day.
January 1, 1834, Edward S. Cuyler, having been elected
Essex County Clerk in November, 1833, moved to Elizabeth-
town and occupied, officially of course, the new brick Clerk's
Office which had been erected on the Plain (present location)
in 1833. During the erection of the Essex County Clerk's
Office the father and grandfather (on the paternal side) of the
author of Pleasant Valley worked on the building, at which
time and place the former narrowly escaped being killed by a
falling brick wall. An attempt was made to put up an arch
inside the Clerk's Office, a sort of "fire-proof" arrangement.
It was this arch which fell. The brick for the County Clerk's
Office were made just below what has since been known as
the Valley Forge settlement.
The Essex County Times was printed on an old "Ramage
press." William Naham Mitchell, formerly on the type setting
staff of the Essex Patriot of Essex, N. Y., sorted the type and
helped get out the first issues of the Essex County Times. He
was an Elizabethtown man, then 23 years of age, having been
born in 1810.
At an Essex County Democratic Convention held at the
Court House Oct 1, 1834, Oliver Person, Jno. S. Chipman and
A. C. Hand served as delegates for Elizabethtown.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 336
The Elizabethtown subscribers for the Essex County Times
were, according to a preserved list, as follows :
John Catlin, A. C. Hand, 3 copies, Lucius Bishop, David
Judd, Oliver Abel, Nathan Perry, Elisha Yaw, Jeremiah Stone,
D. R. Woodruff, Ira Marks, Edward Ames, Daniel Jackson,
Levi Denton, Asa Stoddard, Jason Pangborn, Sampson Smith,
John Sanders, James Estabrook, Hiram Calkin, Erastus
Simonds, James Abel, Wm. Deming, John S. Goff, Jacob
Deyo, Leland Rowe, Richard Rogers, Oliver Cady, Basil
Bishop, Abijah Perry, E. S. Cuyler, Asa Haasz, F. Jenkins, O.
Moreau, Jacob Allen, J. S. Chipman, 1. Jones, Oliver Person,
Cyrenus Newcomb, Joseph Blake, C. & H. Noble, Charles
Miller, Eben. Hanchett, E. F. Williams, O, G Matthews,
Philip S. Miller, Norman Calkin, Lorenzo Rice, Benjamin
Rice, Eben. .lohnson, Robert Linton, Charles Armstrong, John
Stearns, (undoubtedly the minister as "given" is marked after
his name on list,) Charles H Brainard, Jehiel C. Brownson,
Ruel Eddy. D. H. Furnace, Jonas Blood, Rev. O. Miner,
(given,) Wm. N. Mitchell, David Osgood, Manoah Miller, Jo
siah R. Pulcipher, A. Southwell, Henry Backman, John South
well, J. Bowers, Selah Westcott, Harry C. Blood, John Lewis,
Daniel B. Miller, T. Murphy, Joshua Slaughter, N. Person,
William Brittan, Simeon Rusco.
Several names appear on this list for the first time in
our Elizabethtown history. Some of them were prominent
in after life. Elisha Yaw came to Elizabethtown from the
Shoreham, Vt, region early in the 30s and settled above Split
Rock Falls. The saw-mill in his neighborhood was for years
referred to as Yaw's mill ; afterwards the settlement was
known as Euba Mills. Elisha Yaw married Matilda Hanmer.
His daughter became the first wife of the late Myron Lamb.
William Deming and sons Austin A., Willard F. and Horatio
S. became prominent in town affairs. A son of Austin A.

337 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
Deming, Austin R. Deming, married Jennie Sargent and they
to-day own and occupy one of the most substantial homes on
Water Street.
About this time the Denton brothers, Alanson, Levi, Wash
ington, Alexander, George, Salem and Truman settled in Eliz
abethtown and their children and grandchildren are now scat
tered throughout Elizabethtown and Lewis, Washington
Denton was burned to death in an old time coal-pit at the
upper end of the Boquet Valley half a century ago.
Mile Calkin, U. S. Consul to the Sandwich Islands.
As the author of Pleasant Valley commences to write of
men and events of the early 30s his mind turns to Milo
Calkin, son of Calvin Calkin and Kaziah Kellogg, his wife.
Having had access to the Journal of Milo Calkin, who was
born and reared on a farm two miles west of Elizabethtown
village (known as the Jackson place for the past 60 years) I
have decided to quote from it and give a brief sketch of his
career, beginning with the following dedication :
"To his esteemed and valued friends and relatives in Eliz
abethtown, N. Y., the following chapter of accidents, incidents
and other events, taken down as they occurred during ten
years of travel by land and sea, is respectfully dedicated by
the author, MILO CALKIN."
He starts his Journal by saying : "I can well recollect my
mother gave me my first flogging when about two years old.
As my only means of revenge I gave her the important piece
of intelligence that I should run away clear down to the Ash
Eouse, a feat which I performed with so much ease and satis
faction that I determined from that hour that I would astonish
the world by my travels and prove to my mother that she had

Elizabethtown Baptist Church. Erected 1837. Remodeled 1899.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 340
'born a Man,' notwithstanding she had given me a taste of
Birch. My disposition to travel increased with my age and in
due time I sallied forth, commissioned to find the Cows and
drive them straight home. Soon after this I was put in charge
and astride of a bag of corn and sent to the mill but my hap
piness was not complete until one day Uncle Isaac and Uncle
Ben (two veterans of the Battle of Plattsburgh) took me on
top of a load of hay and with Father's consent drove me off
clear down to the corner. In my imagination I was now at
the end of the world and Christopher Columbus never felt a
greater degree of satisfaction on setting his foot on the new
world than I did when Uncle Isaac took me by the hand and
led me into Judge Ross's store." While in Judge Ross's store
the future U. S. Consul heard Dr. Morse's Ho! Ho! Ho ! Ho !
Judge Daniel Ross's store stood where the Post Office block
now stands.
Next in the Journal he records how he spilled his father's
rye in the field, untying the bag and letting "the whole run
out in a funny little stream. This was capital fun until fath
er's voice like a peal of Thunder changed my tune to B flat. O
you little rascal, now I'll whip you. I'll learn you to spill the
rye. Of course my jig was up, but my answer I shall never
forget. Never mind dad, loe can pick it up again." He re
cords that his father flogged him but believes his answer "cut
off half the length of the lash," for he felt it lightly. He says
"Don't cry for spilt milk" was his motto through life. "This
disposition used to undergo a severe trial, however, at times, for
instance, when living with Uncle John. My good Aunt Lucy
used to skim her milk twice and put the cream in the wooden
churn, then she would turn it over and skim the bottom and
give me the sum, not the substance, of this last process. I used
sometimes to think it better to cry for spilt milk than to swal-

341 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
low double refined skim milk without the privilege of crying
to take the taste of blue out of my mouth."
Speaking of his absorbing desire to see some of the world
he says : "Accordingly on the 23d day of September, 1833, 1
cut loose from my moorings and set out to seek my fortune and
go up and down the earth. I reached Nantucket and attached
myself to a Whale ship bound into the Pacific Ocean. This
I was advised to do by my Physician who said I might take
my choice, either go to sea or to the grave. I replied that I
preferred the voyage to the former place decidedly, though I
half repented it afterwards. November 18 we got under weigh
and put out to sea in company with the ships Susan and
Lydia. We must have sailed on an uuauspicious day, for the
Lydia was afterwards burnt at sea and the Susan was set on
fire, which was extinguished after serious damage and after
wards got on a rock and damaged her bottom and returned a
dead loss to her owner. Our ship, the Independence, was
wrecked after two years, so out of the three only one returned to
tell the tale but I am anticipating my story. At one o'clock
P. M., I took a parting look at the blue hills of my native
land as they were just sinking in the dim distant horizon and
in a few minutes my eye foand nothing on which to rest save
the clear blue sky above the deep blue wave, which was
rolling beneath me. Sweet, sweet home, the scenes and friends
of my youth far behind — and an unknown train of events about
to break in upon me ; thus I mused as the ship was rushing
through the water on her course but my musing soon took
another turn. The crew began to feel the motion of the ship
and on casting my eyes around I saw them in all directions,
some vomiting, some trying to vomit and others wishing to
vomit but could not ; fortunately for me, I was not in the least
sea sick.
Our ship's company consisted of the Captain, 2 mates, 3

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 342
Boat Stoerers, 1 Blacksmith, 1 Carpenter and 14 hands, 22 all
told. I officiated as carpenter and lived in the Cabin.
After having been at sea a few days one of our crew, a native
of the Sandwich Islands, died of consumption. He had left
his sunny Isle of perpetual summer to try our cold northern
clime— had taken cold and died of quick consumption, and we
were called upon to witness the solemnities of a funeral at sea.
The ship was hove to the wind (which means placing her in
such a position that she would not go ahead) the body was
brought to the gangway, sewed up in a Blanket and laid out on
the rail of the ship's side and after a short prayer from Cap
tain Brayton, the plank was tipped up and the body slid gently
into the blue wave and sunk to rise no more till the sea shall
disgorge its countless dead. I have often followed my fellow
clay to its narrow house and seen the earth close over the vic
tims of Death but never had 1 before experienced so great
solemnity of feeling as on this occasion, my first ocean funeral.
Nature too seemed clothed in the garb of mourning, the sky
was o'ercast, the wind groaned audibly through the ship's rig
ging and the treacherous wave rolled in majesty as if triumph
ing over its victim, veiling forever from human eyes^
The Oceao tomb — the coral cave,
Where lies the lonelv seaman's grave.
About the 1st of January we took our first whale. We were
all seated at dinner (not around a mahogany table) when the
man aloft sung out 'There She Blows,' meaning there she
spouts. 'Whales,' cried a dozen voices at once. Everything
was instantly in commotion and 'All hands — Stand by the
Boats -Lower away — Shove off — Pull hard Boys — Lay back I
say' was issued from the stentorian voice of Capt B, before I
fairly knew where I was or what was to pay. When I did
come to myself I found myself making desperate use of an
oar in Capt. B's Boat which was fairly flying through the

343 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
water in pursuit of the whales which were about a mile from
the ship. A few minutes passed as time is wont to pass some
times and Bang went 2 Harpoons into the Broadside of one of
the greasy monsters, who expressed his views of the insult by
slapping his tail on to the water with such tremendous force
as to half fill our boat with water and then started off with the
speed of an arrow and we being fast to him by a long line at
tached to the Harpoon were delighted to find ourselves moving
over the water in a manner calculated to make one think that
Railroads were but small affairs, after all. Finding escape im
possible, he stopped suddenly and we hauled in the line which
brought the Boat close alongside of him and 2 or 3 darts of
the Lance set him to spouting blood and in a few minutes he
lay a helpless mass on the water. When we first went alongside
of the Whale I confess I wished myself up Roaring Brook
catching Trout but being infer it I put the best face on that I
could for my eyes which stuck out of my head like two wooden
balls on a Bull's horns. But when we went up to kill him
after he had stopped running my courage came to the rescue
and before the Whale was dead I was quite as enthusiastic as
any one and ever after I preferred going in the Boat rather
than stay in the ship when Whales were in sight." Next fol
lows a picture of a sperm whale, drawn by Mr. Calkin himself.
It may be added here that the Journal of Milo Calkin is
adorned with several commendable illustrations, all the handi
work of himself.
Continuing, he says: "Having the privilege of Capt.B.'s Books
I applied myself diligently to the study of Navigation and in
a few weeks had made myself so familiar with the science that
Capt B. made it a part of my duty to give him the ship's Lat
itude and Longitude every day for the whole voyage. This I
found both amusing and instructive. In fact I began to look
forward to the day when I should be Captain of my own

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 344
ship, which I should have been had not a more agreeable
business presented itself and I have a thousand times thanked
my stars that I gave up the sea for a livelihood."
Milo Calkin passed Cape Horn on the 8th of March, 1834,
and a little later visited the city of Lima and also moored in
Payta, (Point Blanco). He visited the Gallipagos Islands. He
says in his Journal : "We cruised near the Equator in Longi
tude from 100 to 130 deg. west where we took in 800 Bbls. of
Sperm Oil and on the 2d day of November the man at the
Mast head deHghted our ears by the welcome cry of Land ho I
being the Marquesa Islands, and in a few minutes we found
ourselves among a school of Whales numbering 50 or 60."
The boats were lowered and 14 were killed, only 7 being saved,
"the others having sunk."
April 1, 1835, found Milo Calkin at the Sandwich Islands,
destined to be his home for some years.
A little later he says in his Journal: "During this last cruise
on the coast of Japan we took 800 Bbls. of Oil and met with
no accident except having a Boat knocked to pieces by a whale
and the crew tossed up in every direction but nobody hurt
On the 19th of November, 1835, we took anchor and stood
out to sea, intending to cruise a few weeks and shape our
course homeward but on the night of the 14th of December at '
eleven o'clock our good ship struck the rocks on the shore of
Starbuck Island and very quietly laid her bones to rest.
* * * The ship struck the rocks with such force as to
crush her bottom and she lay embedded in the rocks where
she broke in the middle and every breaker, as the surf came
tumbling in, dashed over her deck in a sheet of foam. The
Island is uninhabited and destitute of wood or water, a barren
sand bank. We remained here 10 days and 12 of us took the
Boats and steered for Society Islands, leaving ten men on the
Island by the wreck. * * * After 18 days passage in the

345 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
Boats we landed on the Islands of Raratonga, having sailed 15
hundred miles in a small Boat iu the Broad Pacific. After re
maining here a month a ship hove iu sight and took us off and
proceeded to the Society Islands where my comrades took
passage for home. As for me, my object was not accomplished
and I could not think a moment of returning home penniless,
I had lost six hundred dollars by the ship wreck and now
'stood in' the whole amount of my earthly goods and chattels.
I had during my short visit to the Sandwich Islands formed
an attachment to that climate and as the ship which had res
cued us was bound to that port after a cruise of six months I
joined her. *********
On my arrival at the Sandwich Islands, (Nov. 1, 1836) the
Missionaries gave me employment as a teacher of Music and
in taking charge of the students of the Seminary when out of
school hours. There were about 70 Boys from 10 to 16 years
of age and I found my hands full to keep them out of mischief.
The Sandwich Islanders are a very docile, inoffensive people
and filthy.
Having remained at the Seminary seven months I received
a proposal from Messrs. Ladd & Co., merchants, in Honolulu
to fill the place of head clerk in their establishment, which I
did. Ladd & Co., my employers being extensively engaged
in the manufacture of sugar, were carrying on a very large
business." He records that he remained in the employ of Ladd & Co,
till Jan. 20, 1842, when he embarked for his native land and on
the 23d day of June following landed on the shores of America
after a continuous absence of nearly nine years.
On August 3d he records that he paid $1.50 for "Private
Carriage to Elizabethtown," presumably in from Westport
steamboat dock.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 346
He figures that he traveled 3,130 miles at a cost for fare only
of $138.50.
He records that he spent a large part of the summer of 1842
alternately in Hallowell, (Maine) Boston and New York City,
"during which time I transacted my necessary business and
also perpetrated Matrimony which was not exactly necessary
but quite convenient."
Writing from Boston under date of Oct 25, 1842, to his
cousin, Mrs. Eliza Perry, he says: "I am at last driven to the
necessity of saying good by to you and all my Elizabethtown
friends by letter. I have tried hard to find time to visit you
again but must disappoint myself as well as my friends by my
inability to do so. I am to embark on the first of Novr. for my
'Island home,' am taking out with me fifteen thousand dollars
worth of goods and fifty thousand dollars worth of 'wife,'
making a snug little invoice of the necessaries and the luxuries
of life. My time of course must be pretty much occupied
in making purchases. I was '¦tied up night before last to one
Miss Eveline Johnson of Hallowell, Maine."
Reference to the Journal shows that on the 2d day of No
vember, 1842, he embarked for the Sandwich Islands "on the
Bark Bhering, Captain B. F. Snow, Master, paying for the
passage of myself and wife 400 Dollars."
On the last page of his Journal is recorded the fact of the
arrival of himself and wife at Honolulu, Sandwich Islands, on
the 17th day of March, St. Patrick's Day, 1843, which singu
larly enough was the day of the first hanging ever performed in
Elizabethtown, Essex County, the birthplace of Milo Calkin.
April 4, 1845, Milo Calkin wrote from the Sandwich Islands
to his cousin Mrs. Eliza Perry as follows :
Your kind, good letter of last July came to hand a few days
since and was like a bucket of cold water upset on a scalded
pate — 'really refreshing.' I am a married man, a merchant

347 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
and a U. S. Consul and have but little time to communicate
with my distant friends but I cannot neglect you. My official
duties require all of my attention, together with the assistance
of a smart clerk and a smarter little wife. I am perhaps too
much engrossed in business for my own health. My office is
worth 3 thousand dollars per year and my mercantile business
about $1500 but enough of dollars and cents. We are as
happy in our beautiful Island home as mortals may well be in
this world. When I am tired and weary Eveline sits down to
the Piano and with her gentle voice drives away every cloud
from my brow and our voices mingle in some beautiful senti
ment and all care is dispersed like a flock of sheep over a 5
rail fence! * * *******
Speaking of his manifold duties, he says in the same letter:
"I have to be Court Martial, Judge, Jury, Lawyer and Execu
tioner all in a breath."
Thus we flnd our Elizabethtown boy (he who was born on
that hillside farm through which the Jackson Brook winds its
way) serving as United States Consul to the Sandwich Islands
under President Polk.
August 16, 1846, he writes from Honolulu, S. I., to his cousin,
Mrs. Eliza Perry : "I have sold out my stores and merchand
ise and coming home again as soon as I get all settled up."
All these letters were of the old-fashioned folder kind, sealing-
wax, and costing 25 cts. each to send by mail.
May 12, 1847, he writes Mrs. Perry from Marlboro House,
Boston : "I have just landed with my wife and daughter, all
well; 128 days from the Sandwich Islands and am roaming
about at large, though it is supposed by some that I am per
fectly harmless, considering I have been in a 'semi-savage'
country for the last 14 years.
When you receive this please consider it only my Bark — my

Map made by J. W. Steele Showing Streams and Boundaries of Elizabethtown
Since Westport was Set Off,

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 350
Bite is to come anrl a good grip it shall be, somewhere about
the region of the knuckles.
I have to visit Washington City before I come home as I am
the bearer of a private despatch to the President of U. States
from the U. S. Minister in the Pacific, but shall be with you
ere long, if I live, with my family."
During the summer of 1847 he visited Elizabethtown and
found much to enjoy here among his native hills, from which
he had been away so long.
Nov. 18, 1847, he writes from Brooklyn, N. Y., "I am going
into the wholesale drug business in New York on the 1st of
Jan'y. My health was never better."
March 7, 1848, he was in the drug business in New York, on
which date Mr. Barrett of Elizabethtown visited him.
A little later Milo Calkin went to San Francisco, Cal., and
from there he addressed a letter dated March 18, 1857, to Mrs.
Perry in which he spoke of his daughters Gussie and Kate as
"fast budding into womanhood." 'Tis said that Milo Calkin
has not been heard from since the latter part of the civil war
period and he is supposed to have gone to his grave in that
greatest of sundown sea States, California. If so, peace be to
his ashes.
Milo Calkin, while on an island where there was nothing
but salt water, improvised a method of distilling so that
people could drink it.
It will not be out of place to state here that Milo Calkin
Perry, ex-District Attorney of Essex County, was named after
the loyal son of Elizabethtown who served as U. S. Consul to
the Sandwich Islands.^
I In mentioning the sons of Elijah Calkin in a previous chapter the name of Ransom
Calkin was omitted. Ransom Calkin was a shoemaker and for years lived on Water Street.
He was twice married. His first wife is said to have been a Barnum. The children by his
first wile were Hiram, Almina and Elnora. His second wife was a Rand. The children by
the second wife were Albert, Ivers and Daniel. Ransom Calkin lived in Willsboro after
leaving Elizabethtown.

351 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
Two Forges and a Match Factory in Elizabethtown Village.
In the early 30s there were two forges in operation on the
Little Boquet, between what we of to-day speak of as the
"Twin Bridges" and "Rice's Falls." Both of these forges
stood upon soil now within the incorporated limits of Eliz
abethtown village. The one which stood near where the iron
bridge (formerly Twin Bridges) of to-day spans the Little Bo
quet was known as the Eddy forge, called after the name of
the man who operated it The upper forge, that is the one
nearest the Rice grist-mill, was known as the Brown forge.
Deacon Levi Brown operating it It was near this forge that
Deacon Brown left a load of charcoal standing on his wagon
just at night, being too tired to unload it then. Next morning
as he went to unload the coal he was greatly surprised and
chagrined to find only his wagon irons left, as there was fire
in the coal, hence the trouble.!
In December, 1835, the old Valley House (then owned by
Eliona Marks) burned. Landlord Marks immediately moved
into the new house belonging to the Nobles and in 1836 the
hotel was rebuilt by Mr. Marks who continued to run it until
the spring of 1846 when he sold it to David Judd.
Bracket Johnson was an early Elizabethtown blacksmith
and is said by old residents to have operated a shop along in
the 30s which stood just in front of where Douglas A. Adams'
house now stands on Water Street
Elizabethtown's Supervisor from 1835 to 1838, inclusive, was
David Judd.
In 1832 a true friction match was brought into use in Eng
land. Shortly afterwards the friction match was introduced
I Dr. R. J, Roscoe kindly made a map of the Little Boquet region, showing location of
these two forges and he is also authority for the wagon burning story, as he saw Deacon
Brown go to the forge with the load of coal and viewed the wagon irons afterwards. It
might be added here that A. McD. Finney also remembers these two forges and has often
talked with the author of Pleasant Valley about them.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 352
iu this country, the American match being called Locofoco. It
was shortly after the introduction of the friction match in New
York City that the lights mysteriously went out at a political
meeting in Tammany Hall. As the Democrats re-lighted the
candles upon that occasion with Locofoco matches they were
called Locofocos. It may interest some to know that at the
time of the Tammany Hall incident referred to, real friction
matches were being manufactured in Elizabethtown village.
This may be astonishing news to the majority of the readers
of Pleasant Valley, nevertheless it is true. A man named Ozro
Finel, said to have come here from England, brought knowl
edge of match making with him and shortly after landing in
Elizabethtown commenced to make matches. His factory was
in one of Jeremiah Stone's buildings on the bank of the Little
Boquet, just across the stream from where the Circulating Li
brary building stands. Finel's matches were large, coarse and
bungling, much more so than the modern Portland Star match
and something rough like sandpaper had to be used to scratch
them on. Ozro Finel worked some time at match making on
the bank of the Little Boquet, the factory having stood on
land belonging to what is to-day referred to as the Judge
Robert S. Hale place. Alonzo McD. Finney and Alonzo M.
Durand, two of the oldest residents of Elizabethtown village,
remember when Ozro Finel's match factory was in operation.
Finel's matches were the first made in Northern New York
and were gladly welcomed by the public generally, as up to
this time flint and punk, a peculiar kind of combustible fluid
kept in a bottle, and coals kept over in ashes and oftentimes
carried from house to house, and long distances at that, had
been the only means at hand with which to make a fire. Ozro
Finel married an adopted daughter of Deacon Joseph Blake
and their son Egbert O. Finel is well remembered by many
residents of Elizabethtown. After Ozro Finel's death his

353 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
widow and son lived for some time with Deacon Blake. Event
ually they moved to St. .Johnsbury, Vt., where Mrs. Finel
again married and where her son found employment in the
scale works. Egbert O. Finel died within recent years.
The advent of matches and the arrival of stoves in Eliz
abethtown must have added materially to the comfort and
convenience of the people.
In the month of September, 1834, occurred the death of
Joseph Call, the strong man, concerning whose feats of strength
so many stories have been told. Joseph Call died at West-
port and was buried there, death having been caused by a
carbuncle on his neck.
In 1834 the Essex County Academy was established at
Westport, Orson Kellogg of Elizabethtown being the first
Principal, holding the position for eight years, after which he
went to New York where he died in the early 50s. William
Higby succeeded Orson Kellogg as Principal of the Essex
County Academy.
In 1836 Emily P. Gross, a young lady born and brought up
in Elizabethtown, was female teacher in the Essex County
Academy. She afterwards married Ransom E. Wood and lies
buried in an English church-yard at Matlock, Bath, in Derby
shire, and there in the little church is a memorial window
which commemorates her virtues.
Juliet Gross taught in our old brick school house in the
latter 30s and afterwards married Monroe Hall. Charlotte
Gross married a man named Burt, a resident of Ausable
Forks. Betsey Brown also taught in the old brick school house
during the latter 30s.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 354
An Early Elizabethtown Temperance Society.
February 28, 1837, a meeting of the inhabitants of Elizabeth-
town was held at the Brick School House for the purpose of
forming a temperance society. As a result of that meeting the
Total Abstinence Temperance Society of Elizabethtown was
formed with the following officers :
Joseph Blake, President.
Jerah Stone, Vice-President
Dea'n Levi Brown, ]
Milo Durand, j
Nathan Perry, |- Managers,
Jehiel C. Brownson, |
Calvin Cady, j
N. Perry, Treasurer.
N, N. Person, Secretary.
Names of male members of this society included Abijah
Perry, Oliver H. Perry, Henry Brownson, Chester Brownson,
Aldin Spooner, Milo Durand, Orlando G. Matthews, John B.
Perry, George Knox, Nathan Perry, Benj. F. Garfield, Joseph
Blake, Samuel Brownson, Norman N. Person, Jehiel C. Brown
son, Jacob Matthews, Lewis Calkin, Edwin Matthews, Ivers
P. Sampson, Theron Kellogg, Wilham Gray, Orlando Durand,
Carleton C. Cole, Oliver Person, Jera Stone, Daniel Jackson,
Asa Post, Asa H. Post, Ozro Finel, Isaac Allen, Erastus Hig
ley, Lorenzo Kellogg, Austin L. Kibby, George Brownson,
Wm. H. Rice, Levi D. Brown, Calvin B. Cady, Rowland Nich
ols, Alex. McDougal, Wm. Wall, Leonard G. Ross, Dea. Enos
Wise, Orson Kellogg, Benjamin Blanchard, John H. Walden,
Ebenezer Hanchett, Brewster Morgan Hodgskins, Alanson
Blake, Wm. Kellogg, Richard Rogers, Henry Durand, Amos
Smith, Wm. H. Tuttle, Horace W. Parkill, J. Parkill, Myron
Durand, Horace Durand, Ira Kellogg, Orson Kellogg, 2d,
James Stafford, Elijah Calkin, Paschal Blood, Thomas Jetfer-

355 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
son Otis, Robert Linton, Charles Coats, John L. Allen, Alan
son Wilder, Edw. S. Cuyler, Edmund F. Williams, J. B. Stod
dard, Luther Knox, Daniel Wise, Wrn. Brown, John Knox,
Alonzo Turner, John Stanton, A. F. Ferris, P. M. Goodrich,
C. L. Blood, N. N. Blood, Monroe Matthews, Solomon Gale,
Jr., C. C. Stevens, C. Fisher, Jonathan Tarbell, George B.
Matthews. Female members were Rebecca Calkin, Lovina Walton,
Amny D. Morse, Phebe E. Woodrnff, Marcia S. Hand, Polly
Abel, Maria Ray, Nancy S. Perry, Harriet Blake, Susanna
Blake, Mary Post, Sarah Post, Martha Post, Melissa Post,
Betsey Brown, Achsa M. Person, Ellen Conly, Ann Gray,
Abigail Person, Flavia Morse, Emily Lee, Harriet Hodskins,
Sibil Bee, Polly U. Kellogg, Polly Alden, Mary Ann Post,
Harriet Palmer, Arvilla Stratton, Julia Ann Holcomb, Caro
line Whitney, Vashti Stone, Rebecca B. Perry, Elizabeth
Brown, Almira Durand, Mary Ann Nichols, Abigail Durand,
Betsey Durand, Harriet Calkin, Nancy Johnson, Betsey Hall
Louisa Gould, Cordelia Pond, Margaret M. Woodruff, Lovina
Stone, Eliza Brownson, Ruth Hall, Polly Hanchett, Elizabeth
Blake, Betsey Nichols, Roxalana Matthews, Rubey Kellogg,
Nancy Rogers, Susanna Daniels, Julia Hall, Charlotte Jenkins,
Eunice Calkin, Lucia Haasz, Lucy Allen, Nancy Merrifield,
Mary Abel, Elizabeth Nichols, Lucretia McDougal, Charlotte
Roscoe, Electa Wescott, Lois Ruscoe, Almira Abel, Almira
Wescott, Mary Blanchard, Rebecca Otis, Mary Ann Ware,
Lucena Blood, Mary Matthews, Urana Calkin, Sally Bishop,
Polly Nichols, Huldah Kellogg, Emily C. Cuyler, Evaleua
Wilder, Sarah Ann Williams, Lucinda Knox, Mary Brownson,
Caroline Johnson, Elizabeth Brady, Lucy M. Livingston,
Lovina Morse, Nancy Morse, Charlotte C. Gross, Ann M.
Coats, Theodocia Knox, A. Stanton, J. Kneeland, Matilda
Allen.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 356
Record of this organization, names, etc., is on file in the
Essex County Clerk's Office.
In the winter and early spring of 1837 measures were taken
to bring about the erection of a meeting house for Baptists iu
Elizabethtown village. In March, 1837, nearly an acre of
ground just north of Nathan Perry's residence on the Plain
was covered with timber to be used in the construction of the
building. During the following summer people generally as
sembled and witnessed the erection of the Baptist Church
frame, Carleton Cole superintending its erection. This was
the first church building erected in Elizabethtown and it con
tained a generous supply of good timber. The trustees of the
Baptist Church in 1837 were Asa Farnsworth, Nathan Perry,
Oliver Person, David Judd, Rowland Nichols, Austin L.
Kibby. May 11, 1837, Robert Wilson Livingston married Lucy
Maria Reynolds. Their children were Robert L. Livingston who
became a State Senator from the Plainfield, N. J., district, A.
C. H. Livingston who so long owned the Elizabethtown Post,
Mary Livingston who became the first wife of Hon. Rowland
Case Kellogg, Lucy Livingston who married DeWitt Stafford
and James L. Livingston who married a daughter of Colonel
Forsyth and who is now a Vice-President of the Atlantic
Marine Insurance Company, New York City.
In the year 1837 Henry Ransom Noble married Cornelia
Gould of Essex. Their children were Charles Henry Noble
who married Lavinia Felicia de Hass, a Virginia lady, and
lives on the old Noble homestead, Mary Noble who married
Richard Lockhart Hand and John Gould Noble, now a New
York City physician of high standing.
In the latter 30s the forge, previously built by Frederick
Haasz at The Kingdom on the Black River, had fallen into the
hands of the Nobles and Henry R. Noble continued to operate

357 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
it until his death in 1863. Henry R. Noble was fatally injured
by being thrown out of a wagon while driving home from
Kingdom forge July 4, 1863. He lived several weeks but
never realized anything after the accident.
In the year 1837 Captain John Calkin, or "Col. John," as
he was locally referred to, left Elizabethtown, going with the
greater portion of his family to Lower Sandusky (later called
Freemont) Ohio, where he remained one year, after which he
went on to Johnson County, Iowa, where he lived up to within
one year of his death. Lucy Kellogg Calkin, his wife, died in
1847. Later he married Mahala Harlan. The last year of his
life was passed in Washington County, Iowa, where he died June
18, 1874. Brave, capable military officer and long time public
servant though he was, John Calkin did not, as is popularly
supposed, really come to be Colonel. On account of capable
service in the militia he became Lieutenant Colonel, but never
got to be Colonel, John Archibald's appellation "Great Colonel
John, My Joe John," etc., to the contrary notwithstanding.
The Raid on the State Arsenal in Elizabethtown.
The Canadian rebellion, commonly called the Papineau War,
broke out in December, 1837. On January 5, 1838, President
Van Buren issued a proclamation of neutrality, warning citi
zens of the United States against taking sides in the contest
or committing any unlawful acts. General Winfield Scott
was ordered to assume military command on the border and
the Militia of New York and Vermont was ordered out to guard
the lines. Throughout this northern region there was much
sympathy felt for the Canadian rebellionists and a scheme
was "hatched up" to aid the latter in their struggle. The
scheme embraced a raid on the State Arsenal in Elizabeth-
town village. One morning early in January, 1838, Hezekiah
Barber, father of Major Barber, of Barber's Point, in the town

CAPTAIN SAMUEL C. D^YER.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 360
of Westport, was told by his workmen that some one had stolen
his team of horses during the night Hezekiah went to the
barn apparently in a great flurry, but after seeing that his
horses were gone, went back to the house and ate his break
fast as though nothing had happened. Horace Barnes, (com
monly called "Hod") had borrowed the team, having had a
secret understanding with Hezekiah, hence the latter's com
posure under what would ordinarily have been trying circum
stances. It seems that one night after people generally had
gone to bed "Hod," Barnabas Myrick and others from West-
port met John Archibald and Jonathan Post of Elizabeth-
town and others in front of the State Arsenal and proceeded
to raid, etc. There was a high board fence in front of the
Arsenal but the raiders scaled it someway and got inside the
Arsenal. They passed out the muskets which were loaded
into Jonathan Post's famous sleigh box (painted green) and
into a sleigh behind Hezekiah's team from Westport and away
the drivers went with the stolen muskets up through Lewis
Center and on through Poke-O-Moon-Shine. One of the teams
stopped at the famous "Bosworth Stand," Bosworth being a
brother-in-law of John Archibald, and the muskets were put
in the barn and covered up with hay, to be found shortly af
terwards by William Whitman Root and Henry Ransom Noble.
This was indeed the irony of fate — John Archibald, employed
by Henry R. Noble and working with William W. Root, act
ing as pilot for the raiders and using his brother-in-law's barn
for a hiding place, only to be outwitted by his employer and
fellow workman. How this outcome must have chagrined John
Archibald 1
The other team went on to Keeseville and across the Ausable
River and thence westward by the road leading to Hallock
Hill. When the old Taylor Hill school house was reached,
probably about daylight, a halt was made. At least this is

361 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
supposable, as the muskets, etc , were afterwards found hid
den in the Taylor Hill school house. The other teams which
were to take the muskets on into Canada failed to come,either
because of President Van Buren's proclamation or the guard
ing of the Canadian line and consequently the muskets re
mained in the school house until discovered and reclaimed by
the State of New York.' A morning or two after the raid on
the Arsenal, Hezekiah found his team back in the barn all
right. ^ The morning after the raid a pair of mittens were
found in front of the Arsenal. Upon close examination it was
found that Barnabas Myrick's name was written inside the
mittens and hence his connection with the raid was established
beyond any doubt. That same morning a piece of wood
painted green, a small chip, was found in front of the Arsenal.
A man put the chip in his pocket and the next time Jonathan
Post drove down with his "green box sleigh" it was found that
the chip exactly fitted in where a piece had been broken out.
This circumstance pointed strongly to Jonathan and he al
lowed afterwards that he took part in the raid.
Augustus C. Hand was Superintendent of the Arsenal at
the time the raid was made. Edmund F. Williams was Colonel
of the 37th Regiment of infantry at that time but he was out
of town. Steptoe Catlin was Lieutenant Colonel and he was
also out of town. Willard F. Deming, Captain of our local
I This school house stood about one and a half miles west by north from Keeseville and
perhaps twenty rods north of the barn now owned by Samuel Evans. In those days the
farm was owned by Alvah Arnold and the school house was sometimes called the Alvah
Arnold school house. The school house stood on the north side just where the road bends to
the west as it goes up the hill. When the new school house was built on the plains nearer
Keeseville the old one was bought by Alvah Arnold and used by him many years as a repair
shop and now serves Samuel Evans as a hog-house or granary. — Letter from J. W, Hark-
ness, Jan. 2, 1905.
z Uncle John James, now a man past 76 years of age, informs me that he was a boy living
at Hezekiah Barber's at the time the team came up missing so mysteriously. He says "Hod"
Barnes drove Hezekiah's team the night the raid was made and that the horses were found
back in the barn all right a morning or two afterwards.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 362
Company of Militia belonging to the 37Lh, sent word to Lieu
tenant Alonzo McDonough Finney to come down off Simonds
Hill and take command. However, Lieutenant Finney was
;it that time teaching school on Simonds Hill and could not
well get away. Lieutenant Finney had held rank from July
22, 1837, having been appointed by Governor William L.
Marcy and having sworn in August 30th, 1837, before Ed
mund P. Williams, Col. of the 37th.
It was at this time that William Whitman Root of Eliz
abethtown mounted a horse and carried a despatch to General
Wool on the Canadian frontier.
Of course the barn was locked after the horse was stolen.
Men were put on guard nightly at the Arsenal, Levi DeWitt
Brown, father of the author of Pleasant Valley, being one of
those who slept there after the raid.
Before the Canadian troubles were settled General Winfield
Scott went north to Canada, passing through Westport, stop
ping at the hotel so long kept by Harry J. Person. General
Scott's conveyance through Westport upon that wintry occa
sion was the Red Bird Line of stages previously established
by Peter Comstock, after whom Comstocks in Washington
County was named.
Burchard's Revival and the Organization ot the First Society of the
Methodist Episcopal Church.
It was in the autumn of 1838 that Jedediah Burchard con
ducted his famous revival services in the Elizabethtown Bap
tist Church. The building had but recently been completed
at great cost and was a fit temple in which to hold such meet
ings. Burchard was, according to the testimony of those who
heard him, "a preacher of great power." Ox teams drawing
large loads of men, women and children came down the var-

363 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
ious hills and mountain slopes of this entire region. All were
clad in homespun garments and all were happ}' in attending
Burchard's meetings. The greatest interest was manifested,
men and women spending the daytime persuading their neigh
bors who had not attended, to turn out and hear Burchard.
One man named Kellogg residing in the Boquet Valley got
so excited that he let bis potatoes freeze in the ground. At
this time many were converted, including Mr. and Mrs. Harry
H. Glidden. Organization of the First Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
"At a meeting of the Male persons. Members of the Method
ist Episcopal Church and those who statedly worship there
with and have formerly been Considered as belonging thereto,
was held pursuant to due Notice thereof given according to
the Statute in Such case Made and provided at the Court
House in the Town of Elizabethtown the stated place of wor
ship of Said Church on the Twenty Seventh day of January,
A. D., 1839. O. E. Spicer was Called to the Chair and Wash
ington Osgood was appointed Secretary.
Resolved that we appoint Seven Trustees for the purpose of
Incorporation pursuant to the Statute in such case Made and
provided. Resolved that said Society or Body Corporate should be
known and Denominated the first Society of the Methodist
Episcopal Church in Elizabethtown and Vicinity.
Resolved that Washington Osgood, Horace W. Parkill,
Robert Thompspn, Jacob Allen, Horatio Deming, Winchester
Blood and Abial H. Smith be and they were there Duly
Elected to serve as trustees for Said Society and they and their
successors in office to be known by the name of first Society
of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Elizabethtown and
Vicinity.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 364
Resolved that the Trustees Draw for the number of Years
that they Shall Serve said Society as Trustees and the follow
ing was the Result. H. W. Parkhill and Washington Osgood,
two Years Each, Robert Thompson, Jacob Allen, three Years
Each, Winchester Blood, Four Years and Horatio Deming and
Abial H. Smith, one Year Each.
At a Meeting of the Trustees of the Methodist E. Church in
E'Town and Vicinity held at the Court House in Said Town
on the 9th day of December, A. D., 1839.
Bro. O. Gregg was called to the chair and H. W. Parkill was
appointed Secretary.
Resolved first that we Build a Church.
Second — Resolved that we appoint three persons as Build
ing Committee. Robert Thompson, Washington Osgood and
Lucius Bishop were then and there Duly appointed Such
Committee. Third, Resolved that the Committee and Trustees proceed
Immediately and Make preparations to Build as Soon as prac
ticable an Entirely Wood Meeting House with a Basement
Story and that to be seven feet in the Clear and Constructed
on the Same plan as near as practicable with the Drafts that
the Committee have obtained of Chamberlain and Wilson
taken from the Church at Lower Jay Village, the size of the
House to be determined by the trustees and Building Com
mittee. Fourth, Resolved that the Trustees proceed to obtain a Cite
for said Church.
Fifth, Resolved that the Cite be on the Level of the Land
opposite of the Brick School House in Said Town of E'Town."
It may well be stated here that Mrs. Ann Osgood, widow of
Solomon Washington Osgood, is the only charter member of
the Methodist Episcopal Church now living, she being in the
92d year of her age.

365 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
Captain John Lobdell served as Supervisor of Elizabeth-
town in 1839 and this is evidence that he had ere this moved'
down off the hill to what is now Meigsville, where he resided
till 1848.
In the month of March, 1839, Simeon Kneeland and all hi.";
family, excepting his oldest son Ozias H., moved from Charles-
town, Montgomery County, N. Y., to Elizabethtown, coming
by way of Chester, Schroon and North Hudson. Simeon
Kneeland's wife was Prudence Cady. Their children were
Ozias H., Cady, Benjamin, Lovina, Huldah, Abner and Pru
dence. Simeon Kneeland kept a wayside inn on the Plain, in
the office of which hung the following quaint sign :
Let my care be no man's sorrow,
Pay to-day and trust to-morrow.
Simeon Kneeland lived in Elizabethtown only five years,
selling the Plain property, (Cobble Hill Golf Ground, etc.,) to
Augustus C. Hand February 27, 1844. Simeon Kneeland's
wife died Jan. 3, 1843, and after selling out here he went west.
On his return from the west he died at Lyons, Wayne County,
N. Y., and there his mortal remains were buried.
In 1839 Colonel Edmund P. Williams of Elizabethtown was
elected Essex County Clerk.
Henry Ransom Noble served as Elizabethtown's Super
visor in 1840 and 1841.
September 10, 1840, the death of Deacon Levi Brown oc
curred at his home on Water Street. A big delegation on the
way to the Great W^hig Convention at Keeseville were march
ing the streets of Elizabethtown when Col. Williams announced
the death of the veteran of the Battle of Plattsburgh and im
mediately the drums were muffled. Deacon Brown was so
badly deafened at the Battle of Plattsburgh that his hearing
was impaired and he afterwards when attending church had a
seat in the pulpit with the preacher to the end that he might

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 366
hear better. He drew a pension as a veteran of the War of
1812 from the year 1834, his pension certificate being signed
by John Forsyth, acting Secretary of War. The mortal re
mains of Deacon Levi Brown were buried in the cemetery at
Lewis Center.
May 3, 1841, the Barrett brothers, Amos and Charles (twins)
arrived in Elizabethtown. They were then 21 years of age
and full of bu.siness. They fixed over the old grist-mill block,
which had been used as a store for some years and put in a
stock of goods. The Barrett brothers constituted quite a factor
in Elizabethtown business and social life until the spring of
1848 when Charles Barrett died, aged only 28 years. Amos
Barrett sold out shortly after the death of his brother and
went to California where he died while still a young man, com
paratively speaking.
May 4, 1841, Levi DeWitt Brown married Lovina Kneeland,
Rev. C. C. Stevens performing the ceremony.
In 1842 Dr. Safford Eddy Hale arrived in Elizabethtown,
coming here from Chelsea, Vt. Dr. Hale first lived on Maple
Street, where the E. E. Wakefield hardware store stands.
Shortly, however. Dr. Hale moved to Water Street. Dr. Hale's
wife was Elizabeth Churchill. Their children were Frederick
C. Hale, now a well-known Chicago attorney. Miss Clara
Hale, who occupies the homestead on Water Street, and
Joseph C. Hale, a railroad engineer operating in Colorado.
i Ehzabethtown's Supervisor from 1842 to 1845, inclusive,
was Orlando Kellogg.
March 17, 1843, James Bishop was hung in the Essex County
jail yard for the killing of his wife at Port Kent. "Jim."
Bishop was a stone mason by trade and during his trial was
defended by Augustus C. Hand, Gardner Stow, District At
torney, conducting the prosecution. The day before the exe
cution Mrs. Nancy Wall, wife of William Wall, made an old

367 HISTORY OP fiLIZ ABETHTOWN
fashioned English blood pudding for the condemned man.
After Mrs. Wall had tasted of the pudding in the presence of
the jail authorities. Bishop was allowed to partake of the treat.^
The scaffold was arranged so that the body went up suddenly
after the cutting of a rope, the cutting being done by Alanson
Wilder, then Sheriff of Essex County.
Bishop's corpse was turned over to Dr. Saffdrd E. Hale who
separated the flesh from the bones, putting the skeleton to
gether and preserving it.
Joseph Francis Durand died April 10, 1843, his remains be
ing buried in the Boquet Valley cemetery. He Was 78 years
of age at the time of his death and had served as a soldier
during the American Revolution. The following letter will be
read with interest by his numerous descendants in Elizabeth-
town and throughout the west :
"Depaetment of the Intekiob,
bureau of pensions,
Washington, D. C,
March 2, 1898.
Madam: — Replying to your request for information concern
ing Joseph Durand, a soldier of the Revolutionary War, you
are advised that he made application for pension on Septem
ber 28, 1832, at which time he was 68 years of age and resid
ing at Elizabethtown, N. Y., and his pension was allowed for
six months actual service as a private in the New York troops,
Revolutionary War ; a part of the time he served under Capt.
Lewis and Col. Canfield. He enlisted at Bedford, N. Y.
Very respectfully,
Mrs. a. B. HEWITT, H.' CLAY EVANS,
Lake Forest, III. Commissioner."
Mrs. Hewitt is a descendant of Calvin Durand.

JAY COOKE,
World Famed Financier.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 370
In 1842 and 1843 Cabot Clark was engaged fixing over the
Perry house on the Plain. About the same time or a little
later Hand & Marks were serving as a committee to fix over
the Court House. They raised the Court House to a two story
building. The Court House remained, substantially, as Hand
& Marks arranged it till 1880.
At this time Cabot Clark was superintending carpenter
work. The Livermores, brothers of Mrs. Cabot Clark, came
here from Hinesburgh, Vt., to work as masons.
In September, 1844, a great Whig Convention was held in
Elizabethtown. The Court House had just been completed
and a great demonstration was held on the Common in front
of it. Colonel Edmund P. Williams, who was still Essex
County Clerk, was one of the master spirits of that occasion.
Milo Durand played the tenor drum, while William Wall, who
had served as fifer under Wellington at Waterloo, manipula
ted the fife. Old men say "Uncle Billie" played the fife so
loud upon that occasion that it was heard a mile away.
According to all accounts ginger bread, doughnuts and noise
were plenty upon that occasion and a large portion of the
population of Essex County lunched in Elizabethtown that
day, the provision for delegates, etc., having been cooked up
by the fair Whig women.
At this period in the history of Elizabethtown the hamlet
named New Russia by Col. Edmund P. Williams in 184-5 was
a lively place. In addition to the old time forge there were
two saw-mills, one on the east and one on the west side of the
Boquet River, both owned by Lucius Bishop. There was also
a grist-mill and a whiskey distillery owned by Lucius Bishop,
these standing on the west side of the river. Rum from maple
sugar was made in the Bishop distillery.
Speaking of Lucius Bishop's operations at New Russia his
son. Dr. Midas E. Bishop, says in a letter to the author of

371 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
Pleasant Valley : "When my father sold out to Sherwood &
Co. in 1845 it (the old distillery building) was inoved and made
into a store and afterwards when a large store was built on
the main road, it was rebuilt for a dwelling house. When my
father came to man's estate he took upon himself the care
of his old father, built a grist-mill with three run of stones in it.
It was interesting to hear him tell of the difficulties he had in
doing it. Two of the sets of stones were from Mt. Discovery
in Lewis and it took a month's work for a man to cut and shape
one set. One set of stones, French burr, ground wheat. *
* * He learned the blacksmith trade and did all the iron
work for the grist-mill that a blacksmith could do and in those
days there were no machine shops to do it and all the small
shafting was made by a blacksmith. The heavy shafting was
of wood with wrought iron bearings."
Lucius Bishop was twice married, his first wife being Relief
Flagg. His second wife was Anne Sheldon, by whom were born
the following children ; Miletus, Lucy Anne, Boliver, Annette,
Midas Elijah, Amy Anne, Bainbridge, Thetis. Of this large
family only two are now living. Dr. Midas E. Bishop of
South Haven, Mich., and Thetis, now Mrs. Elbert H. Putnam
of Bennington, Vt.
In 1843 Robert Safford Hale arrived in Elizabethtown and
at once took high rank in town and county affairs. In 1849
he married Lovina Sibley Stone, daughter of Captain Jere
miah Stone. Their children were Abby Laura, Harry, Mary
Eddy, Elizabeth Vashti and Marcia Ellen. Abby Laura Hale
died April 29, 1888. Elizabeth Vashti Hale married Prof.
Robert P. Keep and lives (a widow) at Farmington, Conn.
Harry Hale married Cora M. Putnam, youngest daughter of
Herbert Asa Putnam, and lives in Elizabethtown. Mary
Eddy Hale and Marcia Ellen Hale occupy the house into
which their father moved in 1849, the building having since
been materially repaired and enlarged.
In 1845 Basil Bishop sold his Split Rock forge property to
the Wyman brothers from Schroon and went to Marquette,
Mich., where he lived 20 years, dying in September, 1865.
The Wyman brothers — Charles, George and Darius — oper
ated the forge at Split Rock a few years and then went to

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 372
Ohio and settled first on farms near Cleveland and from there
some of them went to Michigan.
Jacob Southwell of Elizabethtown died in 1845, being hur
ried in the Black River Cemetery.
Nov. 5. 1846, several ladies met at the residence of Mrs. H.
R. Noble in Elizabethtown village and organized a "Sewing
Circle." This Society met every Thursday at 2 P. M. to sew,
knit or engage in any work to advance its interests, the object
being to aid in benevolent purposes.
Following names of Members of the Elizabethtown "Sewing
Circle" are taken from preserved records, thanks to Mrs.
Richard L. Hand : Mrs. R. W. Livingston, Mrs. P. Reynolds,
Mrs. Ira Marks, Mrs. S. Hinckley, Mrs. S. E. Hale, Miss M.
E. Churchill, Mrs. J. Stone, Miss L. Stone, Miss C. Judd, Mrs.
D. Judd, Miss S. Brydia, Mrs. E. Marks, Mrs. C. Clark, Miss
F. Morse, Mrs. A. Finney, Mrs. A. C. Hand, Mrs. E. P. Wil
liams, Mrs. A. Evans, Mrs. H. R. Noble, Mrs. G. H. Wilson
Mrs. G. S. Nicholson, Miss Sherman, Miss T. Ruggles, S.
Nichols, Mrs. M. A.Furman, Mrs. L. D. Brown, Miss H. Knee
land, Mrs. C. H. Brainard, Miss S. Bishop, Mrs. E. S. Cuyler,
Miss C. G. Parkill, Mrs. O. Kellogg, Mrs. Gray, Mrs. Hodg
kins. The young gentlemen who joined this "Sewing Circle" were
Amos Barrett, Charles Barrett, A. P. Brainard, W. S. Judd,
William Higby, Edward S. Cuyler, William Root, Byron Pond,
T. H. Richards, Robert S. Hale, F. C. Brainard, Charles Wil
liams, Clifford A. Hand, Edmund C. Williams, A. M. Finney,
G. S. Nicholson, L. D. Brown.
Myron Durand served as Elizabethtown's Supervisor in 1846
and 1847.
In 1847 Alonzo McD. Finney embarked in the mercantile
business. He put a stock of groceries, dry goods, etc., into
the Marks store, so-called. This store stood where the Lam
son house now stands. At this time Ira Marks lived in a
house which has since been built on to and made over into
what is now the E. E. Wakefield hardware store. It was
shortly after this that Ira Marks built the substantial house
now owned and occupied by Mrs. Sarah K. Livingston, widow
of the late A. C. H. Livingston.

373 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
In the winter of 1847 and 1848 the canal was dng from the
dam on the Boquet River just east of Eliz.abethtown village to
the Valley Forge, around which there had clustered a little
settlement. The Whallon & Judd store and the old "board
ing house" still stand, all the other buildings of the Valley
Forge settlement having succumbed to the mutations of time.
Col. Edmund F. WilHams had superintended the construction
of the Valley Forge, a man named Theodore Olcott furnishing
the funds.
Shortly after the erection of the Valley Forge the Separator
building was erected on the Ladd Brook, just above Fisher
Bridge, so-called. Barney Mee superintended the construc
tion of the Separator, in which a 40 ft. overshot wheel was ar
ranged, the water coming in a cylindrical wooden flume froiu
a point in the brook a few rods below what is now the
entrance to "Garondah." This large building was put up at
a cost of $7,000 for the purpose of separating ore brought from
the Steele bed a short distance above it. However, it proved
to be one of the most complete failures in the history of Eliz
abethtown, there not being water enough to run the big wheel,
so but little ore was ever separated. And thus the big building
with its mammoth wheel (an attractive place for boys) stood
for 30 years, bearing mute but indisputable witness to the folly
of its progenitors, of whom William S. Judd was foremost.'
In the year 1848 there appeared a new and stirring figure in
Elizabethtown business affairs. Reference is here made to
Preston Singletary Whitcomb, who was born Nov. 19, 1819, in
New Hampshire, and came to Keeseville in 1826. In 1847 he
1 After the dam was built just below where the Little Boquet empties into the Boquet, the
farmers in the Bnquet Valley signed papers that no action would be brought against Whal
lon & Judd in case of damage from setting back and overflowing of water. The wives of
the farmers of course signed the papers and received their reward. The reward consisted of
a new dress (pongee) for each. Mrs. Lovina (Kneeland) Brown, mother of the author of
Pleasant Valley, is now the only woman living who received a dress from the new Whallon
& Judd store upon that occasion.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 374
was iu Willsboro acting as agent for the Kingslands. At the
age ot 29, a man of fine physique and distinguished bearing,
he arrived at New Russia and for about thres years was en
gaged in business there, Oliver D. Peabody being associated
with him, the firm name being P. S. Whitcomb & Co. Mr.
Whitcomb built the store still standing at New Russia and
also built over the grist-mill. He eventually sold out to David
W. Morhons, whose wife was Mary Putnam, sister of Herbert
Asa Putnam. Mr. Whitcomb went from New Russia back to
Keeseville, where he still resides, being remarkably well pre
served for one in his 86th year. Mrs. P. S. Whitcomb died in
1873 and for 32 years Mr. Whitcomb has continued along the
journey of life alone, having no relatives in Northern New
York. He is one of the pioneers whose acquaintance and
friendship the author of Pleasant Valley appreciates and en
joys. At this time Orlando Kellogg was in Congress serving his
constituents faithfully and capably and forming that strong
friendship with Abraham Lincoln which lasted till the assas
sination of the latter in April, 1865. The children of Orlando
Kellogg and Polly Woodruff, his wife, were Cornelia A., Or
lando, Sarah, Rowland Case, Robert Hale, Rosa, who died
young, William Roger, and Mary, who married Adelbert W.
Boyuton, the well-known Keeseville lawyer.
David Judd served as EHzabethtown's Supervisor in 1848.
In 1848 John E. McVine of Elizabethtown was elected Essex
County Judge and at the same time Dr. Safford E. Hale be
came Essex County Treasurer.
In 1848 George S. Nicholson of Elizabethtown was elected
Essex County Clerk. George S- Nicholson's wife was Louisa
Drowne. Their children were George Henry, Stella M., Wal
ter N., Mary L., Katharine K., John Drowne, Frank H., Sarah
Frances, Charles, Lynn J., Matthew H., and Robert H. Of

375 HISTORY OP ELIZABEfHTOWU
this large family only four are now living, Mrs.- Mary Tit
Rawson of Port Richmond, N. Y., John Drowne Nicholson,
Esq., Postmaster of Elizabethtown, Mrs. Lynn J. Fuller and
Miss Sarah Frances Nicholson of Los Angeles, Cal.
In 1848 Jesse Gay and Jonathan Tarbell were in Eliz--
abethtown. Just when these men came here I am unable to
state. John Geary, King of the Irish, was also a resident of
Elizabethtown village in 1848. And it may be added here
that Matthew Hale, brother of Safford Eddy and Robert Saf
ford Hale, arrived here shortly after 1848.
In 1849 Elizabethtown's Supervisor was Levi DeWitt Brown.
The Elizabethtown and Westport Plank Road Company.
It has been stated on the pages of history that a plank
road was built from Westport to Elizabethtown in 1845. This
statement is incorrect, as the meeting to organize the Eliz
abethtown and Westport Plank Road Company was held Oc
tober 30, 1849, at the inn of David Judd in Elizabethtown,
just a little south of the Maplewood Inn of to-day. Accord^
ing to the original papers on file in the law office of the late
Judge Byron Pond, Deacon Harry Glidden acted as Chair
man of that meeting and Robert S. Hale served as Secretary.
Articles of Association were filed in Albany February 15,
1850. The Directors were David Judd (President) James S.
Whallon, William D. Holcomb and Brewster M. Hodskins.
The stock was limited to $13,000, 260 shares of $50 each.
Upon the organization of the Co. Byron Pond was elected
Secretary, which position he held continuously till his death,
over half a century.
The following list of stockholders, showing number of
shares held by each, will be of interest to many of the present
generation :
A. C. Hand 20, David Judd 20, Ira Marks 10, Orlando Kel-

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 376
logg 5, George W. Phelps 2, W. E. Marshall 2, S. E. Hale 2,
Charles A Wakefield 2, P. S. Whitcomb & Co. 10, S. W. Smith
2, J. & J. H. Sanders 2, Lucius Bishop 2, H. S. Deming 2, E.
Lobdell 2, W. S. Furman 2, Leander Abel 2, Marcus Storrs 2,
N. H. Person 2, Glidden & Partridge 4, R. S. Hale 2, G. W.
Rice 2, K C. Williams 2, R. Nichols 2, J. A. Woodruff 2,
Whallon & Judd 20, B, M. Hodskins 8, H. R. Noble 10, F. H.
Cutting 6, K A. Loveland 1, W. D. Holcomb 1, Jas. W. Eddy
2, D. L. Allen 5, Jesse Sanders 2, A. B. Mack 2, H. J. Person
6, J. H. Low 2, Miles M'F. Sawyer 2, Alembert Pond 2, Byron
Pond 2, George S. Nicholson 4, A. H. Wilder 1, L. D. Brown 4.
A list of those "not yet paid up" included D. Clark 1, C. B.
Hatch 2, H. Pierce 1, J. Post 2, W. P. Deming 1.
Tli« round wood seal of the Company was made by Alonzo
McD. Finney and is still in existence.
The plank I'oad was actually built in the spring and sum
mer of 1850. P. S. Whitcomb & Co. furnished hemlock plank
for a mile of the road, hauling them from their New Russia
saw-mill. Deacon Harry Glidden also furnished some plank, the first
sawed at his new mill, erected on or near the site of the old
mill built by Robards Rice in early days.
Henry R. Noble also furnished over $500 worth of plank
used in the construction of this road.
There were two toll-gates on the Elizabethtown and West-
port Plank Road Company line, one standing near Elizabeth-
town village, where Robert Dougan now lives, and one near
where the D. & H. R. R. now crosses the highway.
This plank road was a great improvement and while the
planks were new worked well but eventually the road was
turnpiked again, one of the toll-gates being thrown up.
Another paper was commenced at Elizabethtown, in Jan.
1849, by D. Turner, and removed to Keeseville in about four

377 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
months. — Footnote on page 297, Gazetteer of the State of NdW
York by J. H. French. Richard Lockhart Hand informs mer
that the paper referred to in the Gazetteer was printed in the
second story of a house which stood until 1887 just south of
where the Judge Byron Pond law office stands. Mr. Hand
says he remembers going to the printing office one day to
get a copy of the paper for his father and that it was quite a
treat for a boy 10 years old to see the workings of a country
printing office.
David Turner was a native of England, his wife being Eliza
Jane Cameron of Keeseville. Their children were Ross Sterl
ing, born in Westport June 29, 1847, Charles B. R, born in
Keeseville February 23, 1850, Mathias Guy, born at Rouses
Point July 8, 1853, Byron Pond, born at Rouses Point Janu
ary 27, 1855, Jasper Curtis, born in Elizabethtown May 21,
1859, Cornelia Melvina born in Burlington, Vt., August 9, 1861,
Lewis McKenzie, born in Alexandria, Va., in 1863.
Ross Sterling Turner of Boston, Mass., is now one of the
best known American artists. Byron Pond Turner is con
nected with the Civil Service Commission at Washington,D.O.
July 25, 1848, Abijah Perry made out a list of the ordnance,
ammunition and all other property of the State of New York
entrusted to his keeping, presumptive evidence of his appoint
ment to be superintendent of the Arsenal. The list included
1130 American muskets, a lot of pistols, rifles, swords, scab
bards, knap sacks, bayonets, powder kegs, a cannon, etc., etc.
He was the last man in charge of the Arsenal and two years
after his appointment the muskets were auctioned off, Mr.
Perry acting as auctioneer. After selling all the guns for $1
a piece that could be sold for that price, a lot were sold for 50
cts. each and finally the price dropped to 25 cts. and then
every boy in town got a gun. These were all flint locks and
for the next few years Captain Jeremiah Stone was kept busy

RICHARD LOCKHART HAND,
President of the New York State Bar Association.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 380
fixing them over into cap lock guns. The Arsenal building
and ground was purchased by Ira Marks. It has since been
occupied.by AlmonStevens, John Simmons, John Gowett, Vinal
Denton and Ed. Longware, present occupant. The brick
walls of the building are 18 inches thick. Of course the tak
ing down of the high board fence and various improvements
made have changed the appearance of the place materialH
during the past 50 years.
The Essex County Agricultural Society was organized in
1849, the first Fair being in Keeseville. Prom 1850 to 1865
the annual Fair was held on the eastern side of the Plain in
Elizabethtown village. Since 1865 the annual Fair has been
held in Westport.
The year 1850 must have been a busy one in Elizabethtown.
During this year Judge Augustus C. Hand and family moved
into the new brick house, now the home of his son Richard
Lockhart Hand. Ira Marks completed his new house and
Milo Durand built the fine farm house which to-day adorns
"Durand Farm" and shelters summer sojourners from all parts
of the country, the new Congregational Church (now the front
part of the Village Hall) was completed, being dedicated in
July, 1850. The last named edifice stood on the corner just
across the street from the old Arsenal building until 1888,
when it was moved to its present location to give place to the
new stone church, one ol the most artistic buildings in North
ern New York. The Valley Forge (five fireS) was running full
blast, P. S. Whitcomb & Co. were booming at New Russia,
Guy Meigs was getting into gear in the little hamlet on the
Black River which has since been called Meigsville, being
named in honor of the active operator of the early 50s. Guy
Meigs was a son of Captain Luther Meigs (War of 1812) of
Highgate, Vt., and was a pioneer to California in 1849. His
wife was Lavina Walbridge, of P. Q. For a few years Guy

381 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
Meigs did an extensive iron and lumber business at Meigsville,
going west again about 1855. He died in 1885. Guy Meigs
was a brother of Captain Henry Benjamin Meigs of Baltimore,
Md., author of the Meigs Genealogy, a book of nearly 400
pages. The building of the new plank road and the increase of ac
tivity incident thereto is well remembered by old residents of
both Elizabethtown and Westport. Then too the Essex
County Fair made its appearance in Elizabethtown in 1850, at
which time and place John Brown, the great abolitionist, ap
peared from the wilds of North Elba (the town having been
set off from Keene in 1849) with "a number of very choice and
beautiful Devons."
Amos Barrett and William Higby left Elizabethtown in 1850,
going to California ere the echoes of the "gold cry" had
scarcely died away. Poor Amos Barrett died by his own hand
after a few years residence in California. And thus while the
mortal remains of his twin brother Charles rest in our old
cemetery here, the body of Amos became a part of the soil of
the great Pacific State to which he emigrated with so much
hope. William Higby rose rapidly in California, finally going to
Washington, D. C, as Congressman. He died at Santa Rosa,
Cal., in the latter 80s.
William Whitman Root and George S. Nicholson, under
the firm name of Root & Nicholson, succeeded Amos Barrett
in the old grist-mill block in 1850, enlarging the store to double
its former capacity. In the early 50s the Post Office was kept
in this block, Mr. Root being Postmaster.
In the spring of 1851 the Peak sisters gave an entertain
ment in the Baptist Church. Shortly afterwards several per
sons in Elizabethtown and vicinity came down with small pox,
among the number being Harry Jones, 'who was taken to an

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 382
improvised pest house which stood in the lot a few rods north
east of Fisher Bridge. At this time the road went up over
the hill where the "Garondah" garden is now located.
In October, 1851, The Elizabethtown Post was started by
Robert Wilson Livingston and Sewell Sergeant, both of whom
had been students in Middlebury College. Strangely enough
both of these men had taught school in Elizabethtown and
both had studied law in Judge Augustus C. Hand's office. The
Post started its career in what is now the H. A. Putnam barn,
which building then stood end to the road, being occupied for
school purposes, offices, etc. Samuel C. Dwyer had his law
office in this building and afterwards kept the Post Office in it.
The Post had lots of advertising in 1851, the lawyers, mer
chants, hotel keepers, tailors, and even the blacksmiths, all
carrying "Ads." The present home of The Post was
erected 1857 and the paper has, with the exception of a few
months in 1858, been issued weekly. Just before the civil war
David Turner edited The Post. In the early 60s Richard L.
Hand served as editor of The Post. In the 70s The Post was
owned in turn by John Liberty and Alva Marvin Lewis. With
these exceptions The Post has remained in the Livingston
family, the late A. C. H. Livingston owning and editing it the
last twenty years of his life. February 1, 1900, just after A. C.
H. Livingston's death, George L. Brown became editor and
manager, in which capacity he still serves. Alva Marvin Lewis
is the nestor among "typos," haying commenced in 1860.
Charles H. Palmer is foreman, the other "typos" being Frank
H. Durand, Earle A. McAuley and Virgil S. Clark. Pred E.
Milholland, a graduate "typo," is foreman of the New York
Tribune composing rooms. The Post is a Democratic paper
and is widely read by "old timers."
During the eventful year 1850 and also during 1851 Eliz-
bethtown's Supervisor was another farmer — Jonathan Post—

383 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
who lived on his farm just north of New Russia, the same
place to-day occupied by his daughter. Miss Adeline Post.
In November, 1851, Ehsha A. Adams of Wilmington was
elected Essex County Clerk. He married a daughter of Major
Reuben Sanford of Sanford's Battalionfame and brought a most
interesting and eminently helpful family to Elizabethtown.
His son Henry J. and daughters Mary, Annie and Hester
were prominent socially and Mr. Adams and wife, being Meth
odists, were a great help to the poor struggling M. E. Society
of that time.
In 1852 John E. McVine was re-elected Essex County Judge.
In 1852 Orlando Kellogg, though an ex-Congressman, served
as Elizabethtown's Supervisor.
Father Comstock died at his Lewis home Jan. 8, 1853.
In 1853 Byron Pond served as Supervisor and the next year
Alonzo McD. Finney ran on a stump ticket and beat Colonel
Edmund F. Williams for Supervisor. This was probably the
most exciting contest for Supervisor ever known in the history
of Elizabethtown and the defeat of Col. Williams who had so
long been "it" not only in Elizabethtown but in Essex County,
made him feel sore. In after years Col. Williams went down
into the wilds of Minerva and founded a settlement, naming it
"Aiden Lair," meaning a place for wild beasts. Aiden Lair
Lodge now stands a few rods from the wildwood home of Col
Williams and the Sage cottages on Hewitt Lake are but a
mile distant, the Superintendent of the latter being John S.
James, an Elizabethtown man.
In 1854 Hiram Putnam and sons took possession of the
forge and saw-mill property at New Russia. Herbert Asa Put
nam went west but returned to New Russia in 1862, since which
time the New Russia property has been in his hands. Elbert
H. Putnam left New Russia in 1868 and now lives in Benning
ton, Vt., having a summer home — Caldron Fell — at New Russia

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 384
where his wife and daughters spend considerable time each
year. In 1854 Levi DeWitt Brown and Charles Noble Williams
conducted mercantile business in the Marks store, the former
being Post Master and keeping the Post Office in that building.
In 1855 William Simonds served as Elizabethtown's Super
visor. In 1854 the Methodist Church was erected, being dedicated
in February, 1855.
Miss Amelia M. Murray, Queen Victoria's Maid of Honor,
arrived in Westport September 11, 1855, and joined Governor
Seymour and niece (Miss Miller) at Elizabethtown early on
the morning of September 12th. While in Elizabethtown she
met Prof. Spencer F. Baird, the great ornithologist, who was
staying here, studying birds, etc. Speaking of her departure
from Elizabethtown with Governor Seymour and niece Miss
Murray says on page 378 of her book — United States, Canada
and Cuba : "We set off after making backwood arrangements
and selecting kettles and pans. Tea, biscuits, lemons, porta
ble soup, and arrow-root went into small space ; these with
trout and venison, will feed us nobly for a week." The late
Samuel Hand accompanied Miss Murray and Governor Sey
mour on that "gipsy expedition" to Saranac Lake and thence
to the Raquette Lake region.
September 30 and October 1, 1856, will always be remem
bered in Elizabethtown history. The rainfall of September
30 so raised the streams of Elizabethtown that but few if any
bridges of consequence were standing October 1. The Lock-
wood barn, so-called, on Water Street, was carried away. Saw
logs came down Water Street with terrific force, striking peo
ple and knocking them down. Mrs. Eunice Williams was
nearly killed by being knocked down by a log while fleeing
from her home which was entirely surrounded by water. John

385 SISTOftY OP-ELlZABfiTHTOWN
Archibald was also hit by a log. The T. C. Lamson tin-shop
on Water Street was nearly ruined by the flood.
A temporary bridge, a ladder arrangement, was thrown
across the Little Boquet near where the iron bridge by Harry
H. Nichols' store now spans that stream and while Matthew
Hale and Miss Mary Churchill were crossing the hastily im
provised structure the latter became dizzy, the result being
that she fell off into the raging stream. Miss Churchill was
carried fully twenty rods down the swollen stream. Several
men, including Clifford A. Hand, plunged into the water in a
vain attempt to rescue. Finally Abijah Perry ran way down
stream to where the water was more shallow and jumped in
just in time to catch Miss Churchill as she passed. Miss
Churchill was taken to Judge Robert S. Hale's home a few
rods away and there received the congratulations of numer
ous friends upon her narrow escape from drowning. How
ever, the marriage of Matthew Hale and Miss Ellen Hand took
place at the Judge Augustus C. Hand home the evening of
October 1st just as though nothing had previously occurred,
Miss Churchill attending, and as has been well said, "if it had
happened in the Scottish highlands, what a ballad woulcJ
have been sung by some ancient bard to his harp that night."
The freshet of 1856 swept through the whole town with the
besom of destruction, doing great damage in the Boquet Valley,
especially at and above New Russia.
From a letter dated Oct. 5, 1856, written by Mrs. Safford E.
Hale describing the effects of the flood the following lines are
quoted; "No fire, which I have always dreaded so much,'
could have done half the mischief."
General Sylvester Churchill, Inspector General of the
United States army, visited Elizabethtown several times be
tween 1855 and his death in 1862. Gen. Churchill stopped
with Dr. Safford E. Hale, Mrs. Hale and her sister Miss Mary

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 386
Churchill being nieces of the Inspector General. Prior to this
Captain Jeremiah Stone had invented a breech loading gun
which General Churchill pronounced both safe and serviceable.
Richard L. Hand has one of the first ol these guns made by
Captain Stone and there is every reason for believing that it
was one of the first, if not the first breech loading gun ever
made in America.
Elizabethtown's Supervisor from 1856 to 1860, inclusive, was
Oliver Abel, Jr.
In 1856 Robert Safford Hale was elected Essex County
Judge and continued to serve as such till Dec. 31, 1864, two
four year terms.
In 1858 Elisha A. Adams was elected Sheriff of Essex
County. April 3, 1858, John Archibald died, aged 66 years. His re
mains were buried in the old cemetery.
February 21, 1859, the old Valley House burned and Wil
liam Simonds, who had been running the house since 1857,
went across the river and kept hotel in the Williams block,
which stood where the Post Office block now stands.
During the summer of 1859 two of Elizabethtown's pioneers
— Dr. Asa Post and Captain John Lobdell — died. Dr. Asa
Post died July 24, 1859, aged 92 years, his mortal remains be
ing buried in the Boquet Valley cemetery.
Captain John Lobdell moved on to a farm in the Boquet
Valley in the spring of 1848 and there the sturdy old warrior
died August 28, 1859, not only venerable in years but full of
glory, going to his grave thoroughly respected and appreciated
by all who knew him. The mortal remains of Captain John
Lobdell were buried in the Black River cemetery.
In 1859 and 1860 Root & Nicholson added a starch fac
tory to their business. The starch factory was just above
the Rice grist-mill. Potatoes were taken there in great

S87 HISTORY OP ELIZaBETHT(3WN
quantities but the starch factory did not prove a winner and
operations were discontinued in 1S60. In 1861 Root & Nich
olson went out of business and in 1862 Charles Noble Wil
liams moved into the old grist-mill block on the corner, where
he remained, Essex County Treasury and all, until 1869, when
he moved to his own new block across the street, where h&
continued in business until his death in the spring of 1905.
In the early autumn of 1859 John Brown, the abolitionist,
visited Elizabethtown for the last time, remaining over Sunday,
attending services at the Baptist Church with Levi DeWitt
Brown, whose guest he was upon that occasion. A few weeks
later the fatal attempt was made at Harper's Ferry and on
Dec. 2d, 1859, John Brown, having been convicted and duly
sentenced to die, was hanged, the body afterwards being re
spectfully delivered to the tender care of Mrs. Brown and
friends as had been promised by that distinguished Virginia
Governor, Henry A, Wise.
The mortal remains of John Brown were brought to NeW
York, from thence up the Hudson River, taken to Vergennes,
Vt., and then brought across Lake Champlain to Barber's
Point in the town of Westport and there furnished conveyance
for North Elba. The cortege arrived in Elizabethtown at 6
o'clock Tuesday evening, Dec. 6, 1859, going to the hotel
which then stood on the site of the "Deer's Head Inn" of to
day. The hotel was then kept by Elisha A. Adams, at that
time Sheriff of Essex County, and to-day living in extreme old
age at Plattsburgh, N. Y. With the body came Mrs. Brown,
Wendell Philips and Mr. McKim. The body of John Brown
was taken to the old Court House and placed in the Court
room. Four young men— Richard L. Hand, A . C. H. Living
ston, Orlando Kellogg and Henry J. Adams, "watched" with
the body. At 4 o'clock Wednesday morning Henry J. Adams,
son of Sheriff Adams and afterwards famous for bravery as a

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Essex County Court House, Clerk's Office, etc.

AROD KENT DUDLEY.

HISTORY 01? ELIZABETHTOWN 392
Lieutenant in Captain Livingston's Company, F, of the 118th
Reg't, N. Y. Vols, in the civil war, started for North Elba to
get the people of that section ready to receive the body of
John Brown, going on horseback and having a perilous pas
sage, as several bridges had been washed away by a recent
storm. The citizens of Elizabethtown turned out en masse to meet
and greet Wendell Phillips at the hotel. Many of our citizens
Went to North Elba to witness the burial of John Brown.
Rev. Joshua Young, then stationed at Burlington, Vt., was the
only minister at North Elba and officiated at the grave. Wen
dell Phillips delivered the oration, which as an oratorical
effort, has no parallel in America, with the possible exception
of Webster's greatest speech. Standing by the open grave,
the great hearted, finished scholar and all powerful orator gave
his hearers one of the most impassioned orations ever listened
to by mortal man, giving John Brown credit for having loos
ened the roots of the slave system, etc.
In the autumn of 1860 the "Lincoln Wide Awakes" occupied
a prominent place in Elizabethtown. This campaign company
was drilled by Charles Henry Noble, recently home from a
military school, and commanded part of the time by Captain
Levi DeWitt Brown of militia and old "training days" fame.
William Wall, the hero of the Battle of Waterloo, played the
fife and it was real martial music too, even if he was old and
bent over. 'Tis said that the "Lincoln Wide Awakes" went to
Schroon Lake and to Plattsburgh, besides making minor ex
cursions. During the campaign of 1860 Charles Williams, son of Col.
Edmund F. Williams, wrote letters to the Ehzabethtown Post
from the "Sunny South," predicting that in case of Lincoln's
election war would follow, a prediction which proved strictly
true.

393 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
In November, 1860, Charles Noble Williams was elected
Essex County Treasurer, which office he filled continuously
for 12 years, four 3 year terms.

Civil War Period.
Elizabethtown's Supervisor during the eventful years 1861
and 1862 was William Whitman Root.
As soon as news of the firing upon Fort Sumpter reached
Elizabethtown the tide of patriotic enthusiasm rose high
among our grand old hills, resulting in the formation of Com
pany K which went into the 38th Regiment, being the last
company accepted from New York by the United States gov
ernment under President Lincoln's first proclamation calling
for 75,000 troops.
Great stories are told of the pranks played by the "boys"
of Company K just before they left Elizabethtown. "Fort
Sumpter," as Wm. Simonds' hotel under the bank was called,
was their headquarters. The daguerreotype establishment
conducted by Thomas Felt, the first one in Elizabethtown,
stood on Maple Street. One morning people were surprised
to see that the picture taker had moved, his shop being in the
river down by Aunt Flavia Morse's. Felt said his shop
being down there might "make talk" and he wished the "boys"
would move it back. Accoodingly the shop was moved back
and the incident closed.
Company K left Elizabethtown May 28, 1861, under the
leadership of Captain Samuel C. Dwyer, Elizabethtown's Dem
ocratic Postmaster. In accepting the flag presented by the
ladies of Elizabethtown just before Company K left. Captain
Dwyer said he would protect the emblem with his life if need
be. Besides Captain Dwyer the other Elizabethtown men

HISTOHY 01? ELIZABETHTOWN 394
who Marched away in Company K that day were A. C. Hand
Livingston, Ensign, John H. Glidden and William H; Mitchell,
Serg'ts, Abraham Griffin and Walter N. Nicholson, corporals,
George P. Boutwell, William H. Cornwright, James A. Coburnj
Marten B. Davis, John R. Hall, Orson Hall, Abraham S. Kelly,
Francis LaDue, George Luck, Martin V* B. McDougal, Albert
P. Mitchell, Loyal A. Merrill, John Owens, Henry N. Palmer,
William Sharpe, Nelson Shene, William Todd, Joseph Trom-
bley. Loyal E. Wolcott, John Van Rensselaer Williams.
Company K as part of the gallant 38th Volunteer
Regiment under command of Colonel James H. Hobart Ward,
a veteran of the Mexican War, was mustered into service at
New York June 3, 1861. The 38th left the State of New
York on the 16th of J une and reached Washington on the 21st
and was soon after attached to Wilcox's brigade and Heintzel-
man's division. It advanced with the Union army to Bull
Run on the 21st of July (Sunday and an uncommonly hot day
without the effects of battle) and was engaged in that initial
conflict, suffering a loss in killed, wounded and missing of 128
men. It was distinguished by its heroic bearing. "During
four hours it was in close action," says Watson, "and exposed
for a long time to the deadly fire of artillery both in front and
on its flanks. Such an exposure affords the severest test to
the constancy and courage of fresh troops. The regiment
bore the heat and dust with all the suffering of the early part
of the engagement with the highest soldierly reslutionand
when confronted with the enemy, it firmly met and success
fully repulsed the attacks of his infantry. When compelled
by the disasters of the day to abandon the field, the 38th re
treated in comparative order and returned to the encamping
ground from which it had marched in the morning. Company
K, in this action, was in charge of Lieutenant Smith and Lieu-

395 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
tenant Livingston, owing to the absence' from sickness of Cap
tain Dwyer."
Speaking of this battle, Martin V. B. McDougal says : "We
went up to Bull Run on the double quick but after the battle
went back on the Dead Run."
In this initial battle of the greatest of civil wars recorded in
the world's history. Company K was the only organization
from Essex County engaged and on that hot July day the fol
lowing Elizabethtown men were wounded : James Alva Co-
burn, taken prisoner, Henry Van Ornam, afterwards killed at
Chancellorville, Loyal E. Wolcott, John H. Ghdden and George
P. Boutwell.
Early in August, 1861, Lieutenants Smith and Livingston
resigned. Until the opening of the peninsula campaign the 38th was em
ployed in picket duty and the construction of field works for
the defense of Washington. In August the regiment was as
signed to Gen. Howard's brigade. This brigade, known as the
3d brigade, was successively commanded by Generals Sedg
wick, Kearney and Birney. L^pon the organization of the
Army of the Potomac, the division to which this brigade was
attached, constituted the first division of the 3d corps and
these various designations were retained during the subse
quent services of the regiment.
The 38th was at the siege of Yorktown and sustained in the
operations before the works some slight casualties.
Marten B. Davis was the first Union man to enter the works
at Yorktown after the Confederates retreated and carried the
news of the evacuation to General George B. McClellan.
It may be stated that gallant old Company K of the 2d
Scott Life Guards took part in the following engagements aside
from those already named : Wilhamsburgh, Fair Oaks, Harri
son's Landing, Malvern Hill, 2d Bull Run, Chantilla, Freder-

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 396
icksburgh, Chancellorville, the Seven Days Fight, the skirmish
at Fairfax Court House, Hanover Court House, Glendale, the
Cedars and Seven Pines.
At Williamsburgh Company K bore itself conspicuously.
In this engagement the galknt Captain Samuel C. Dwyer fell
mortally wounded and died a few days afterwards at St. John's
Hospital in Philadelphia. His body, claimed by the popular
enthusiasm, was borne to the little mountain bordered village
of Elizabethtown. In the box with his body came the flag
made by the ladies of Elizabethtown, the emblem literally
serving as his shroud. The body of the talented but ill-fated
Captain Dwyer was buried in the old cemetery with imposing
and touching obsequies and in after years an appropriate stone
was placed over his grave.
The local Grand Army Post formed in 1885 was named S.
C. Dwyer Post in his honor.
In the autumn of 1861 the following Elizabethtown men en
listed in Company C, 7th Vermont infantry : John Allen,
Salem Denton, Alembert J. Durand, Henry Farmer, (died
in Marine Hospital, New Orleans.) Chester Gates, Philemon
Hanchett, George Jasper Miller, Edwin Shores and Charles
Westcott. Charles Westcott died in a hospital near Fort
Pickens on Santa Rosa Island. These men served in the
Department of the Gulf and while they were not mixed up in
heavy battles, they were nevertheless compelled to contend
with malaria and yellow fever and to sleep in swamps, a serv
ice which proved far from desirable.
Ezra Samuel Lewis of Elizabethtown went as a member of
Company A, 77th N. Y. Vols., and witnessed cavalry charges
and cannonading of which Marshal Ney, the great Napoleon's
first choice, would have been proud.
In the autumn of 1861 the following Elizabethtown men
wtot into Compay H of the famous 5th New York cavalry :

39Y filSfOftY OF ELlXABEfHTOWN*
Benjamin Cross, Brooks DwinUell, Edward McManus and E,
C. Marshall. E. C. Marshall died at Winchester, Va., Jan 6„
1865. His body was brought home and given burial in Riv
erside cemetery.
The membdrs of Company H constituted material such as
Ctomvfrell had in his memorable Ironsides, having signed un
der the following ; "We, thei undersigned, hereby agree to serve
the government of the United States in the mounted service
for three years, unless sooner discharged, subjecting ourselves
to all the rules and regulationsjgoverning troops in that branch
of the regular service.*'
Each Elizabethtown man iu Company H rode a horse of his
own selection. Company H was collected mainly through the
zeal and earnestness of John Hammond of Crown Point, who
was made Captain and rose to be Colonel. Hammond's cav
alry, as the 5th New York is locally referred to, faced the
music heroically, passing through an infinitude of toils, priva
tions, perils and triumphs.
The 5th New York cavalry fought at Hanover, Pa., the first
battle on free soil, was the first Union regiment that crossed
the Rapidan in Grant's canipaign, it received the first shock
at the Wilderness and was the last to leave the field.
Six Elizabethtown men Went in Company G ol the 96tb New
York Volunteers ; George Brittell, Jeremiah Brittell, (son of
George,) Patrick English, Alexander McDougal, Myron String-
ham, George Wiggins-
Speaking of this Company on page 251 of his History of
Essex County Watson says ; "The company for a time was in
charge of Orderly Sergeant Patrick English and Was ultimate
ly consolidated with Company C of Clinton County."
The 96th took part in Gainsville, 2d Bull Run, South Moun
tain, Antietam, Mine River, Fredericksburgh, Chancellorville,
Gettysburgh, Wilderness, North Anna, Mattapony, Spottsyl-

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 398
vania, Bethesda Church, Petersburgh, Weldon Rail Road,
Chapel House, Hatcher's Run, Yorktown, Williamsburgh, Fair
Oaks, Seven Days Battle, Blackwater, Kingston, Whitehall,
Goldsboro, Siege of Newborn, Drury's Farm, Port Walthull,
Coal Harbor, Battery Harrison, Charles City Road.
The following Elizabethtown men went to the front in Com
pany F, 118th New York Volunteers :
Captain Robert W. Livingston, Henry J. Adams, Nathaniel
P. Hoag, Sergeants, Harrison Allen, William A. Brittell, Har
vey D. Bronson, Chancy Denton, Lewis P. Daniels, Oscar J.
Gates, William H. Hays, Jerome Hanchett, Frederick C. Hale,
Macomb Kennedy, Rowland C. Kellogg, Lewis Morse, Samuel
Mayo, Fayette Nichols, Almon Post, Alfred E. Wakefield, Ira
Wakefield, Jr., Joseph Wilson, Henry Westcott, Cyrus Wescott.
The 118th was a fighting regiment and did a full measure of
service. At Drury's Bluff Elizabethtown's intrepid young
Lieutenant Henry J. Adams, at the moment the 118th was
driven back, seized a standard, and shouting the words so fa
miliar to the scenes of home and festive joyousness : "Rally
round the flag, boys," assisted in arresting the retreat and,
says historj', "essentially aided in rallying the troops."
At Battery Harrison Lieuts. N. J. Gibbs and Henry J.
Adams were the first men in the redoubts and promptly turned
the captured guns upon the retreating enemy. General Butler
afterwards said : "Lieuts. N. J. Gibbs and H. J. Adams of the
same regiment, the first men in the redoubts, are commended
for their presence of mind in turning the enemy's guns to bear
upon them. They are respectfully recommended to his Excel
lency the Governor of New York for promotion."
Captain Robert W. Livingston early in the action, while
standing exposed, was struck down by a frightful wound in
the arm and shoulder. Lieutenant W. H. Stevenson saw him
fall and called on the men to bring in their Captain. Lieu-

399 HiSl'dRY Ot* ELIZABETHTOWN"
tenant Stevenson, the ranking officer, who then took command,
was shot dead a moment after Captain Livingston was
wounded. Four men rushed out to bring in Captain Living
ston who admonished them of the great exposure they incurred
and urged that he might be left, but they persisted in their
noble purpose. Two of the brave men—George Miller and
William Huff— were prostrated by wounds, were captured and
died in southern prisons. However, Nathaniel P. Hoag(whose
wheelwright-shop a few rods below the Livingston homestead
on Maple Street is well remembered by elderly Elizfabethtown
people) succeeded in getting Captain Livingston on to his
back and as he was bearing him off the field another shot
struck the fated leader, terribly lacerating his foot and leg.
Captain Livingston was taken to Chesapeake Hospital, where
he languished over a year before his severe wounds permitted
a return to his beloved home among the mountains, a muti
lated and disabled soldier. A bullet taken from Captain
Livingston's leg was labeled by himself: "Away down in shin
Bone Alley."
It was indeed fitting that Captain Livingston should have
been made Major by brevet. He was a War Democrat of
whom Elizabethtown may justly be proud. A brother officer
in the 118th, Captain James H. Pierce, said of him ; "A bet
ter man never lived."
At Drury's Bluff Rowland C. Kellogg commanded Company
D of the 118th, composed of Warren County men, and was but
a few feet from Captain Livingston when the latter was wounded.
Major Kellogg, as he is known in military circles, now Essex
County Judge, says Lieutenant SteVenson was standing on the
embankment issuing orders when he was shot down. Some of
the Confederates had run up the white flag, a handkerchief on
bayonet. Other Confederates were crowding forward and as
the dense fog lifted, like a veil. Lieutenant Stevenson from his

The E, E. Wakefield Hardware Store.

JUDGE FRANCIS A. SMITH.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 402
elevated position shouted enthusiastically : "Give 'em hell,
boys, they're deceiving you." In that moment of recklessness
he made a target of, himself and fell, never to rise more.
It was of Companies D, P and K that General Burnham's
Adjutant General said : "There's a line the rebels can't break."
The 118th took part at Suffolk, South Anna, Drury's Bluff,
Coal Harbor, Petersburgh, Crater, Fair Oaks and Battery
Harrison,besides several skirmishes. The 118th was known
as the Adirondack Regiment and was the object of Congress
man Orlando Kellogg's special attention.
Calvin Denton served as a member of Company F, 83d
New York Vols., losing his right arm at Spottsylvania Court
House. Chauncey L. Denton, son of Alexander Denton, Charles
Miller and George Morgan served in Company F, 192d New
York Vols.
Morton H. Davis and Martin Brownson served in Company
E, 2d United States Sharp Shooters, the latter being Lieuten
ant. Nathan Mason served in Company H, 16th Regiment West
Virginia Vols. His brother William Mason was killed at 2d
Bull Run, but no one seems able to tell what Company and
Regiment he belonged to, though he went from Ehzabethtown.
Several Ehzabethtown men served in Company K, 4th New
York Heavy Artillery. Martin Van Buren McDougal of Eliz
abethtown furnishes the following list : Walter N. Nicholson,
William H. Cornwright, M. V. B. McDougal, Veterans, Adiel
T. Stevens, Robert Slaughter, Lewis H. Roscoe, Thomas
Roscoe (killed by a sharp shooter), Peter Cross, Edward
Cross. Peter Mayo served as a wagoner in a cavalry regiment.
Louis Careau also served in the Union Army from EHz
abethtown.

403 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
Elizabethtown furnished three men in Company C, llth New
York cavalry : James E. Patten, Daniel L. DeGroff and Syl
vester Smith.
Milton Hanchett served in the 142d New York Vols. Charles
Henry Davis went in the 2d Veteran N. Y. Cavalry and died
in New Orleans.
Orville Griffin, Charles Palmer, Cornelius Brittell, Joshua
Brittell, Ransom Hays and Philo Wiggins also served in the
Union army from Elizabethtown. Charles Palmer, abrother of
William H. Palmer, Elizabethtown's well-known blacksmith,
was accidentally shot through the body at Patrick Station by
one of his comrades. Charles Palmer has been credited to
Westport but the fact is Elizabethtown paid his mother the
$300 bounty money. Charles Palmer's mortal remains were
buried in Lewis.
Marten B. Davis re-enlisted in the 10th Vermont, being
transferred into the llth Vermont, where he served as Drum
Major. Melville J. Trumbull, an Elizabethtown boy, went into the
United States navy, serving with George Dewey and under
Admiral Farragut. "Mel" lives at Keene Valley, being one of
the few survivors of the Farragut Veteran Association.
Thomas H. Williams, son of Col. Edmund F. Williams, was
living in the "Sunny South" when the civil war broke out and
joined General James E. B. Stuart's cavalry where he served
as a Lieutenant, riding around McClellan's army with Colonels
Wm. H. H. Lee and Fitz Hugh Lee. Thomas H. Williams is
a brother of John Van Rensselaer Williams of Company K,
38th N. Y. Vols.
Elizabethtown's Supervisor during 1863 and 1864 was Levi
DeWitt Brown. Dec. 12, 1863, at a special town meeting it
was voted to pay a bounty to volunteers to fill the quota of
the town under the last call of President Lincoln for troops.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 404
On motion of Oliver Abel it was resolved to raise $350 for
•each volunteer credited to the town on its qUota. A committee
of three, consisting of Richard L. Hand, Oiver Abel, Jr., and
Levi D. Brown, was appointed to raise the sum required for
the purpose. The necessary amount was raised and the quota
filled. March 1, 1864, at the annual town meeting a resolution
offered by Byron Pond was adopted to the effect that the
credit of the town be pledged to pay $300 to volunteers and
drafted men "who have been or may be credited on the Presi
dent's last call for 500,000 men and who shall not have received a
town bounty." The wife and child of Cornelius Brittell of the
93d Vols., were provided $6 per month until further notice and
$5 a month was also provided toward the proper maintenance
of Martin Kelly's family.
July 27, 1864, another special town meeting was held and
it was voted to pay $300 town bounty to all credits on the call
for 500,000 made July 18, 1864. The following named men
were appointed recruiting officers :
Levi DeWitt Brown, Oliver Abel, Jr., Herbert Asa Putnam,
John H. Glidden and Horace B. Lincoln.
August 30, 1864, another special town meeting was held to
consider the advisability of raising $350 additional bounty for
each volunteer, in addition to that offered previous to any
draft. Charles H. Noble, Byron Pond and Matthew Hale
were designated to sell bonds and pay bounties.
February 6, 1865, another special town meeting was held
for further consideration of the bounty question, at which time
it was voted to raise a bounty fund, by tax, of $10,000, or so
much thereof as should be necessary, with which to pay boun
ties on the then last call of President Lincoln.
The ladies of Elizabethtown had throughout the war sent

405 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
clothing and eatables to the front, box after box having been
gratefully received by our "boys."
News of the surrender of General Robert E. Lee reached
Elizabethtown a day or two after the 10th of April, 1865, and
great rejoicing followed, here as elsewhere. And well might
the people of every community rejoice, as it was the end of
the mightiest civil conflict recorded in the annals of history.
In the year 1864 two men appeared in Elizabethtown who
were afterwards prominent in business affairs here — Richard
Remington and Jay Cooke, the great financier. Richard Rem
ington bought property here and at once became interested
in iron making, being associated with Perry Fletcher. Jay
Cooke had just passed through the ordeal of raising the funds
with which to finance the civil war and when he came here
with his brother-in-law, Mr. Moorhead, to see about buying
forge property, ore beds, etc., it didn't take but a short time
to convince him that it was a good opportunity to go fishing.
Upon that occasion he went fishing and for 40 successive years
he came to Elizabethtown to try for the speckled beauties.
In 1864 Jay Cooke and others purchased the Nigger Hill ore
bed (Haasz bed) property of the heirs of Henry R. Noble,
Charles Henry Noble arranging for the sale, the consideration
being $100,000.
In 1865 and 1866 Elizabethtown's Supervisor was Matthew
Hale.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 406

Elizabethtown After the Civil War.
Levi DeWitt Brown died February 4, 1866. Funeral services
(Masonic) were held February 6th, the interment being in the
old cemetery.
Adirondack Lodge, No. 602, F. & A. M., was chartered Jan
uary 19, 1866, (organization effected at Essex County Court
House) with DeWitt Stafford, W. M., Rowland C. Kellogg, S.
W., and Francis A. Smith J. W., who with sis other mem
bers, A. C. H. Livingston, Arod K. Dudley, George S. Nichol
son, L. M. Smith, Orlando Kellogg and Steptoe C. Williams,
had come from Sisco Lodge, No. 259, then of Whallonsburgh,
now of Westport. Meetings were first held in the 3d story of
what is now the E. E. Wakefield hardware store. The Mas
ters since Mr. Stafford have been Francis A. Smith, Rowland
C. Kellogg, John Liberty, A. C. H. Livingston, George S. Nich
olson, A. C. H. Livingston, John W. Chandler, Arod K. Dud
ley, Walter M. Marvin, Rowland C. Kellogg, Walter M. Mar
vin, Thomas A. Wasson, Walter M. Marvin, Thomas A. Wasson,
Steptoe C. Williams and John J. Deming, present incumbent.
The late George S. Nicholson served as Secretary of this
Lodge many years and Charles H. Palmer served in the same
capacity 11 years. In 1885 Adirondack Lodge had 77 mem
bers and in 1905 the members number 131. Meetings have
been held for more than 30 years in the 3d story of the Charles
N. Williams block. Adirondack Lodge is said to be one of
the largest and best working country lodges in the State of

i07 HISTORY OP iiiLiZASETHTOWN
Now York. The late Arod E. Dudley served as District Dep
uty Grand Master of this Masonic District.
Modern base ball was first played in Elizabethtown during
the summer of 1866.
The Elizabethtown High School building was erected during
the spring and summer of 1866, Woodruff brothers (Augustus
and Eugene) superintending the work. School commenced in
the new building iu September, 1866.'
Judge Byron Pond was first President of the Board of Edu
cation of the Elizabethtown Union Free School District (No.l)
and served as such about ten years, being followed by Richard
Lockhart Hand who served equally as long as Judge
Pond did. Since Mr. Hand's service Rowland C. Kellogg, Wal
ter M. Marvin, John S. Roberts and Thomas A. Wasson have
served as President of the Board of Education. The present
Board consists of Dr. Thomas A. Wasson, President, E. L.
Barker, Wm. H. Hanchett, Charles H, Derby, Almon O. Clark
and George L. Brown, the latter having served continuously
since August, 1895.
Arod K. Dudley served as Elizabethtown's Supervisor dur
ing 1867 and 1868, being elected District Attorney of Essex
County in 1867.
The Kingdom Iron Company was incorporated June 12,
1867, the Trustees for the first year being John A. Griswold,
Friend Fletcher, Richard Remington, John F. Winslow and
James P. Brinsmade.^' William C. Holbrook, late Colonel of
the 7th Vermont Vols., afterwards Judge Holbrook of New
York City, was counsel for The Kingdom, Iron Company and
frequently visited Elizabethtown.
I For list of teachers see chapter on Sciiools and Teachers.
2 The King-dom settlement was formerly referred to as the "Devil's Kingdom*' by a min
ister who went there to preach one Sunday. After awhile the derisive name came to be The
Kingdom, without that of his Satanic Majesty being attached. For this information I am
iniebted to the late Bainbridge Bishop.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 40',-',
David Judd died May 2, 1868, his remains being buried in
Riverside cemetery.
Two or three years after the civil war closed "Uncle Billie"
Wall died, being buried in the old cemetery. His son Robert
was the first cornet band leader Elizabethtown ever had.
Robert Wall went west and after "Uncle Billie" died, Mrs.
Wall joined her son at Eau Claire, Wis., where she died and
was buried.
Crowley & Hoblitzell were operating in Elizabethtown these
days, running the Valley Forge, etc.
In 1869 The Iron Mountains Company was organized.
Just after Crowley & Hoblitzell left Elizabethtown William
G. Neilson of Philadelphia came here. He superintended the
Valley Forge, etc., for Jay Cooke for some time and later be
came the owner of property at the head of Keene Valley. He
built "Noon-Mark Lodge" which has been his summer home
for over 20 years. He also served as President of the Adi
rondack Mountain-Reserve for 17 successive j-ears.
Elizabethtown's Supervisor from 1869 to 1873, inclusive, was
Rowland C. Kellogg.
In 1872 Oliver Abel, Jr., was elected Essex County Treas
urer, in which official capacity he continued to serve until Dec,
31, 1881, being defeated for a fourth term in November, 1881,
by Eugene Wyman.
In March, 1873, Jay Cooke deeded the Valley Forge prop
erty, etc., to The Champlain Iron Company.
Elizabethtown's Supervisor from 1874 to 1876, inclusive, was
Francis A. Smith.
In 1874 Wm. Simonds, who had occupied the Valley House
since its rebuilding by David Judd in 1861, went up on the
Plain and built the Mansion House, now Deer's Head Inn.
Mr. Simonds was then in company with his son-in-law Orlando
Kellogg.

409 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN

Incorporation of Elizabethtown Village.
In the year 1875 Elizabethtown village was incorporated.
Judge Robert S. Hale being father of the movement to incor
porate. Village election was held November 17, 1875, Judge
Robert S. Hale being elected President, Richard L. Hand,Wm.
H. Palmer and Arod K. Dudley being elected trustees. In
1877 Richard L. Hand was elected President, Harry Hale be
ing elected Trustee in Mr. Hand's place. The Village Fathers
continued the same till 1883, when John S. Roberts was
elected Trustee in place of Harry Hale. In 1884 Robert W.
Livingston was elected President and Herbert A. Putnam suc
ceeded W. H. Palmer as Trustee. In 1885 Milo C. Perry was
elected Trustee in place of John S. Roberts. In 1886 Herbert
A. Putnam was elected President, Walter M. Marvin and John
Liberty being elected Trustees in place of Herbert A. Putnam
and Arod K. Dudley. In 1887 the village officials were the
same as in 1886. In 1888 Byron Pond was elected President,
the Trustees remaining the same as in 1886 and 1887. In 1889
Harry Hale was elected President, A. C. H. Livingston being
chosen Trustee in place of John Li^berty. In 1890 the village
officials were the same as in 1889. In 1891 Byron Pond was
elected President, Charles H. Palmer being chosen Trustee in
place of Milo C. Perry. In 1892 the village officials remained
the same as in 1891. In 1893 George W. Jenkins was elected
President, Robert Bruce McDougal being chosen Trustee in
place of A. C. H. Livingston. In 1894 John D. Nicholson and
Byron A. Perry were elected Trustees, George W. Jenkins be-

lUDGE ROWLAND C. KELLOGG.

OC-*-*«-&' »*..*Ji* «» 4^,

Office of Elizabethtown Po^t & Gazette, where Pleasant Valley was Printed^

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 414
ing re-elected President. In 1895 Livingston Woodruff was
elected Trustee in place of Charles H. Palmer. In 1896
Charles H. Palmer was elected President, Walter M. Marvin
and Willard Ferrin being chosen Trustees. In 1897 President
and Trustees remained the same as in 1896. In 1898 John S.
Roberts was elected President, Wm. H. Hanchett being
elected Trustee in place of Willard Ferrin. A change to two
Trustees was made this year. In 1899 Silas P. Cross was
elected Trustee in place of Livingston Woodruff. In 1900
Harry H. Nichols was elected President, Livingston Woodruff
being chosen Trustee in place of Wm. H. Hanchett. In 1901
Albert A. Boynton succeeded Silas P. Cross as Trustee. In
1902 Arod K. Dudley was elected President, Albert P. Patter
son being chosen Trustee in place of Livingston Woodruff.
March 24, 1902, Albert A. Boynton resigned as Trustee and
Henry A. Aird acted in his place. In 1903 Orlando Kellogg
was elected President, Victor W. Prime and Almon O. Clark
serving as Trustees. In 1904 Dr. Albert A. Wheelock was
elected President, Walter M. Marvin and Charles C. Oldruff
serving as Trustees. In 1905 Livingston Woodruff was elected
President, Walter M. Marvin and Charles C. Oldruff being re
elected Trustees.
In 1875 the old Valley House was purchased by Hills H.
Sherburn, moved back from the river and enlarged.
In 1876 Orlando Kellogg, who had been in partnership with
William Simonds since 1865, went over to the old Corner
House, in other words "struck out for himself." Mr. Kellogg
served as Executive Clerk of the State Senate 11 years, being in
Albany winters but back in Elizabethtown building hotel dur
ing other seasons. He kept adding to the old Corner House
until it finally lost its identity entirely. To-day Orlando Kel
logg & Son have one of the largest hotels in the Adirondacks
and with the exception of "Paul" Smith, Orlando Kellogg is

415 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
probably the most widely known hotel man in Northern New
York. Milo C. Perry served as Supervisor of Elizabethtown from
1877 to 1882, inclusive. Wood Alcohol Making at New Russia.
In the latter 70s Herbert Asa Putnam erected a wood alco
hol and acetate of lime factory at New Russia. The building
stood on the west side of the Boquet River, at a point a few
rods below where the bridge spans the stream on the road
from New Russia to Simonds Hill. Hard wood, 4 ft., was put
into retorts and baked, the juice making the wood alcohol.
Oak made the most alcohol per cord of any wood obtainable
in this vicinity. The refuse mixed with lime made acetate of
lime. This chemical works was the 3d one of the kind ever
erected and the first two or three years after its erection busi
ness "boomed" at New Russia. John and William Harrison
were the adepts who attended to this chemical works and the
products were largely shipped abroad until after 1880. These
were prosperous days for New Russia with the forge, etc., run
ning, the store well stocked, two blacksmith-shops, a shoe-
shop and all the farmers hauling in from two to four loads of
wood to the chemical works daily. However, shortly other
chemical works were erected and after a time Mr. Putnam
found, being so far inland, that he could not compete with the
newer and more conveniently located factories and finally the
chemical factory at New Russia shut down, to start no more
forever. As a boy the writer often visited this factory, his
next elder brother, W. S. Brown, then being Mr. Putnam's
book-keeper and general superintendent at New Russia. There
is now nothing left to mark the spot where stood this unique
chemical works, which was the scene of great activity in the
the latter 70s and early 80s.

mSl'ORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 416
Oliver Abel, Sr., died April 2, 1880, in the 91st year of his
age, having lived in Elizabethtown 82 years. He was born in
1789, the year Captain Platt Rogers surveyed up the Schroon,
Valley and down the Boquet Valley and came to Elizabethtown
in 1798, the year of Captain Platt Rogers' death. He drew a
pension on account of service rendered in the War of 1812. A
few weeks before his death he gave the writer the spur with
which he urged his horse in that brief but glorious campaign
which ended in the Battle of Plattsburgh. That identical
Spur is proudly preserved by the author of Pleasant Valley
who is glad to have known the man who Was selected from
Captain John Lobdell's Cavalry Company to do scout duty at
the Battle of Plattsburgh. The remains of Oliver Abel, Sr.,
were buried in the old cemetery.
Enterprise Hose Company, the nucleus of Elizabethtown's
Pire Department, was organized in 1882.
W. S. Brown served as Elizabethtown's Supervisor from
March, 1883, to March, 1884, positively declining to accept a
renomination. In the spring and summer of 1883 the Elizabethtown Water
Company brought water in galvanized iron pipes from Cold
Brook to Elizabethtown village, a distance of nearly two miles.
The Water Co. was capitalized at $8,000, Richard L. Hand
being President and Rowland C. Kellogg Superintendent. Fol
lowing were among the stockholders : Richard L. Hand,
Charles N. Williams, William Simonds, Orlando Kellogg,
Charles H. Noble, Rowland C. Kellogg, John S. Roberts and
A. C. H. Livingston. The water was turned on in August,
1883, working successfully. The plant installed by the Eliz
abethtown Water Company was the first up-to-date water
works in Essex County. The water furnished has continued to
be the best, force, quality and quantity considered. Prof.
Mason of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute said of the Eliz-

417 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
abethtown water ten years after the plant was put in : "It is
the purest water I have ever analyzed."
In the spring of 1883 Charles N. Williams opened his drug
store. April 27, 1883, Henry D. Debosnys was hanged in the Essex
County jail yard, RoUin.L. Jenkins being Sheriff.
In 1884 the Ehzabethtown Circulating Library building
was erected on land obtained from Hon. Byron Pond. This
building, the first one erected in Essex County for strictly
library purposes, stands on River Street, is highly ornamental
and contains 2,500 volumes,Miss Mary E. Hale being Librarian.
During the spring and summer of 1886 James K. Thompson
fixed over the upright part of the Bullard or Williams block
for a store. At the same time Henry Jacobs fixed over the
old grist-mill building, making many alterations and improve
ments. Mr. Thompson occupied the upright part of the Wil
liams block until his death in the autumn of 1889 and Mr.
Jacobs remained in the old grist-mill block until the summer
of 1890 when he went to New York with his family.
January 12, 1887, Benjamin Calkin, Elizabethtown's last
Battle of Plattsburgh survivor, died, being nearly 92 years of
age. His remains were buried in the Calkin cemetery.
Elizabethtown's Supervisor from 1884 to 1888, inclusive, was
Arod K. Dudley, he being succeeded by Milo C. Perry, who
held the office till the spring of 1898, having been elected Dis
trict Attorney of Essex County in November, 1897.
In December, 1892, the Essex County Board of Supervisors
voted 10 to 8 to move the County Seat to Port Henry, but the
action was declared illegal by the Courts.
August 29, 1893, a flood swept through Elizabethtown in
broad midday. It was a short rain but a most destructive
flood, leaving tracks from which it took the town several years
to recover.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWt^T 418
In the spring of 1898 James M. DeLong was elected Super
visor of Elizabethtown and continues to serve in that capacity.
In 1898 Elizabethtown was connected with the outside world
by long distance telephone.
In 1-898 Charles M. Wood harnessed the water power at
Rice's Falls, utilizing it for the purpose of lighting Elizabeth-
town village with electricity. Mr. Wood has continued in the
work and is now giving good service, having his power house
just below the site of the old "Twin Bridges."
In 1901 local telephones were put in by the Lewis and Eliz
abethtown Telephone Association, George L. Brown serving
as first President of the organization. A line was first con
structed from Reber to Lewis Center and thence to Elizabeth-
town via the Nichols neighborhood and afterwards extended
up the Boq'uet Valley to Hunter's Home. A line was also run
to Brainard's Forge and Wadhams Mills and now good service
is on with all lake shore towns. The Lewis and Elizabeth-
town Telephone Company was incorporated in May, 1905,
Alembert' J. Durand being President.
In December, 1903, the Essex County Board of Supervisors
voted 10 to 8 to move the County Seat to Westport. People
voted on the question in November, 1904, but it was close and
the County Seat matter is now in the Courts for the second
time. Following is a list of town officials elected in March, 1905 :
Supervisor — James M. DeLong, Town Clerk— Em mett W.
Richards, Justices of the Peace — John D. Nicholson, Willard
Ferrin, Assessors— Steptoe C. Williams, Sidney F. Scriver,
Olon B. Norton, Collector— Albert W. Denton, Overseer of the
Poor — George H. Glidden, Commissioner of Highways — Rob
ert H. Wood, Inspectors of Election — Charles W. Dunn, Al
bert A. Boynton, Virgil S. Clark (Dem.), Fred J. Patterson
(Dem.), Auditors —Charles H. Palmer, Julius F. Burres, Byron

4ig HlSTOKY OF fiLl2ABEf STOWN
A. Perry, Constables— Wilham Barton, Nelson Shores, Joha
Barton, Percival V. Weeks, AlonZo M. Durand.
Elizabethtown Mountains, Ponds, Streams, Etc,
The physical formation of Elizabethtown combines peculiar
and striking characteristics. Here the beautiful and pictur
esque are singularly blended with the magnificent and impos
ing. Exhibitions of impressive grandeur like Split Rock Falls
and Cobble precipice are here to combine with scenes of in
comparable sylvan beauty and romantic seclusion. The beau
tiful Boquet Valley occupies the central portion of the town,
extending north from Split Rock to the Lewis town line. The
principal mountain peaks are Raven, Hurricane, Cobble, West
Cobble and Giant of the Valley. Other eminences having
more or less local fame are Wood Hill, Little Buck, Rocky
Peak, Iron Mountain, Pelt Mountain, Pine Hill, Rogers Moun
tain, Spruce Knoll, Green Hill, etc. The principal streams
are the Boquet River, the Branch or Little Boquet, Black River,
Ladd Brook, Little Pond Brook, Little Sucker and Big Sucker
Brook, Slide Brook, Stevens Brook, Beaver Meadow Brook,
Roaring Brook, Durand Brook, Jackson Brook, Falls Brook,
Deep Hollow Brook, and Barton Brook. The principal ponds
are Simonds Pond, New Pond and Little Pond.
Besides the patents already mentioned, there are lots located
in Roaring Brook Tract, Old Military Tract, Essex Tract, North
River Head Tract, etc,
Elizabethtown as a Summer Resort.
Elizabethtown has been a summer resort for half a century
and hundreds of tourists visit the place every season. Follow
ing are the names of a few of the many prominent men who
have visited Elizabethtown for rest and recreation : Joel T.
Headley, Alfred B. Street, Spencer F. Baird, J. Fennimore

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 420
Cooper, J. C. D. Parker, George Wilson, Jay Cooke, E. J.
Phelps, Dr. R. S. Storrs, Dr. Van Dyke and sons. Dr. Theo
dore Cuyler, Bishop Potter, G. B. Wood, Clifford Carleton, the
Harts, the Richards, Judges Moore, Sackett, McLaughlin, Gil-
dersleeve, Truax, Gregory, E. J. Denning, Governors Seymour,
Marcy, Cornell and Black, W. M. Kingsley, Horace Greeley,
Henry J. Raymond and Thomas Sutherland, the world famed
boiler maker.
Elizabethtown has three up-to-date hotels— The Windsor,
O. Kellogg & Son proprietors," Deer's Head Inn, B. F. Stetson
proprietor and Maplewood Inn, G. W. Jenkins proprietor. Be
sides these hotels are Pine Grove Cottage, Cottage in the Pines,
Durand Farm, Hunter's Home, etc.
Many summer homes dot our hillsides, such as "The Bal
sams" settlement. Windy Cliff, the cabins on Otis Mountain
so-called, Claircroft, Caldron Fell, Garondah, All View, Camp
Sunshine and Sunny Lawn, the palatial home of Mrs. Marks
which stands on the Plain in Elizabethtown village.
Here in Elizabethtown are all the wholesome attractions,
including golf, the Cobble Hill Golf links having been laid out
in 1896, Judge Henry A. Gildersleeve of New York City being
the man who introduced the "ancient and royal game" here.
The "old 40 acre lot" has been transformed into a beautiful
play ground, on which has been erected a spacious Club House.
Judge Gildersleeve is President of the Cobble Hill Golf Club,
having filled the position since 1896, Richard L. Hand being
Vice-President. Elizabethtown village is distinguished among small country
villages for the affectionate care and correct taste displayed so
generally in the style and condition of its homes and surround
ings, fully deserving to be called the "Queen of Adirondack
villages." Here in Elizabethtown village the summer sojourner finds

421 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
the largest, best equipped and conducted drug store in Esse^
County, two hardware stores and a half dozen other stores,
three blacksmith-shops, two saw-mills, a feed store, printing
office, an up-to-date meat-market, wheelwright-shop, furniture
shop, etc, Biizabethtown's Postmasters.
Following are the names of those who have served aa Post-
master in Elizabethtown :
Norman Nicholson, Alanson Mitchell, Augustus C. Hand,
Robert W. Livingston, Orlando Kellogg, Byron Pond, Wilham
Higby, William W. Root, Levi DeWitt Brown, Samuel C.
Dwyer, Oliver Abel, Jr., Theodore C. Lamson, Charles N. Wil
liams, Robert W. Livingston, A. C. H. Livingston, W. Scott
Brown, George L. Brown and John D. Nicholson, present in
cumbent and grandson oi Elizabethtown's first Postmaster.
New Russia has had two Postmasters^Lucius Bishop and
Stephen B. Pitkin.
For a short time there was a Post Office at Euba Mills about
1870, George Mason being Postmaster,
Schools and Teachers.
Dr. Kincade is said to have been Elizabethtown's first school
teacher, teaching on Water Street in Elizabethtown village.
Following him in the village were Ashley Pond, Joel Emmes,
Russell Finney, Mr. Campbell, Betsey Brown, Juliet Gross,
Miss Miner, Robert W. Livingston, Orson Kellogg, William
Plummer Graves, Hugh Evans (died March 8, 1842, of black
throat ail) Miss Mary Ewer, Miss Harriet Ewer, Cyrus Blanch
ard, Cabot Clark, John Pollock and wife, Jesse Gay, Robert
S. Hale, Matthew Hale, William H. Burbank, Sewell Sargeanfc
Henry Parmerter, Bovette B. Bishop, Phihp Miller, Freedom
G. Dudley, John William McVine, Fayette L. Miller, Angelina

<^V«^^3!$l***'»^^ .^;

The Charles N. Williams Block.

Elizabethtown High School Building, Erected in 1866.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 426
Chandler, Affa Deming,, Hiram A. Gillett, Theodosia Ruggles,
Roger Hickok, Sarah Ann Nicholson, Sarah Ann Williams,
Asahel Lyon, Miss Shattuck, Mrs. Blake, Miss Talcott, Mar
cus A. Edmunds, John Q. Dickinson, Edgar Pierce,
Elizabethtown Union FreeSchool District No, I.
In September, 1866, school commenced in the new building,
Harry H. Scott being Principal, with Lucy E. Fairbanks and
Nancy P. Lewis as the other teachers.
Principal Scott was succeeded by James H. Robinson.
Principal Robinson was succeeded by John G. Murphy,
whose daughter, Miss Ella Murphy, also taught in the school.
In September, 1869, John W. Chandler came to Elizabeth-
town to serve as Principal of the school which had then been
running three years. He had served as a soldier in the Union
army during the civil war and was a graduate of Falley Sem
inary. He remained here as Principal 14 intensely busy
years, leaving Elizabethtown shortly after the close of school
in June, 1883.
Following teachers taught under Principal Chandler here ;
Lucy E. Fairbanks, Cornelia A. Kellogg, Mariette E. Perry,
A. Estelle Leonard, Martha A. Young, Emma Roscoe, Laura
H. Hinds, Louise A. Perry, Emma E. Northup, Mary A. Ros
coe, Katharine K. Nicholson, Cora Root, Sarah J. Wickes,
Emma Wickes.
In September, 1883, William H. Coats became Principal and
remained till June, 1890. The following teachers taught under
Principal Coats : Sarah J. Wickes, Emma Wickes, Sarah Rice,
Louise A. Perry, Elizabeth M. Parrish, Wilbur H. Brownson,
George L. Brown, Alice E. Abel, Herbert P. Coats, Lizzie M.
Palmer, C. H. Derby, Fred W. Dudley, Mary A. Palmer,
In September, 1890, Herbert D. Hoffnagle (Vermont Uni
versity) became Principal and remained till June, 1894. The

427 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
following teachers taught under Principal Hoffnagle : Louise
A. Perry, Alice E. Abel, M. Ethel Clark, Edith M. Durand,
Milo A. Durand.
In September, 1894, Schuyler F. Herron (Syracuse Univers
ity) became Principal and served till June, 1897. The follow
ing teachers taught under Principal Herron : M. Ethel Clark,
Alice E. Abel, Edith M. Durand, Grace Woodin, Glenn A.
Crumb, Jennie Clock, Katherine E. Palmer.
In September, 1897, Nelson L. Coleman (Colgate Univers
ity) became Principal and remained two school years. The
following teachers taught under Principal Coleman : Ada V.
Deming, Alice E. Abel, Louise Payne, Mary E. Darrah, Wil
liam H. Roberts.
In September, 1899, Charles W. Dunn, (St. Lawrence Uni
versity) became Principal and has had the following teachers
with him in his educational work here : Ada V. Deming, Ella
H. Dudley, Viola L. Still, Jessie Emnott, Pearl V. Emnott,
Wm. H. Roberts, Clara L. Dunster, Margaret T. Shepson,
Lizzie Shepson, Alice E. Abel.
Brainard's Forge Teachers.
Following is a partial list of those who have taught in the
Brainard's Forge district : Henry Lee, Franklin Lee, Lucuis
Leonard, Abigail Mitchell, Prusia Mitchell, George Blake,
Frank K. Shattuck, Albert Hurd, Lovina Hodgkins, Martha
A. Young, Jennie Wood, Ada V. Deming, Wm. H. Lobdell
Gertrude Spear, George Chamberlain, Milo A. Durand, Alice
E. Abel, Nellie Simonds, Mary Lodbell.
Pine Grove District.
Following is a partial list of those who have taught school
in the Pine Grove district :

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 428
Silas Rowe, Asahel Lyon, Matilda Hooper, Rebecca Perry,
Harriet Holcomb, Jane Holcomb, Chloe Bristol, Robertson J.
Roscoe, Charlotte Roscoe, Walter Kellogg, Theron Kellogg,
Sally Post, Ralza Roberts, Thalia Post, Pearl Markham,
(sister of Gov. Markham of California), Lucy Stafford, Min
erva Thompson, Juliet Calkin, Emily Glidden, George Blood,
Fayette L Miller, Arod K. Dudley, Edward J. Smith, Nancy
P. Lewis, Alice Pierson, Sarah Ann Williams, Alice Baird,
Rose Wakefield, Delia Graves, John J. Ryan, Walter D. Mac
Dougal, Alice E. Abel, Minnie A. Smith, Viola L. Still, Nellie
Simonds, Martina Emnott, Miss White, Ada V. Deming.
Meigsville District,
Following are a few of those who have taught school in the
Meigsville district : Henry Lee, Amny Storrs, Norton Hart-
Well, Mania Hoisington, Wallace W. Pierce, Charlotte Ingra
ham, Mason Gates, Celintha Gates, Eleanor Rowe, Susanna
Wolcott, Egbert Braman, Lula Hickok, Edward J. Lobdell,
Rose Brewster, Walter D. MacDougal.
Post District.
Following is a partial list of those who have taught in the
Post District, so-called, in the Boquet Valley : Mary Ann
Cook, E. P. Hendee, Alonzo McD. Finney, Calneh Ames, Al
fred Ames, Affa Deming, Nelson J. Roscoe, Elvira Ellis, Miss
Babcock, Midas E. Bishop, Mr. Walker, Mr. Woodruff, Viola
Burroughs, Jerome T. Lobdell, Fannie Gates, Jennie Holt,
John L. Vaughan, Ada V. Deming, Jennie Deming, Miss Sev
erance, Ida E. Palmer, Lillian Archambeau, George L. Brown,
Nellie Emnott, Pearl V, Emnott, "Del" Wilkins, Jennie Lav-
erty, Anna Otis, Alice E. Abel, Cora Root, Viola L. Still, Ryan
L. Hennessey, Mary A. Palmer, Fannie Barker.

429 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
Simonds Hill.
Following is the best list available of those who have aided
in teaching the "young idea how to shoot" on Simonds Hill :
Huldah Little, Amanda Barnum, Rebecca Wright, Lucetta
Loveland, Sally Post, Almira Churchill, Almira Sykes, Louisa
Foster, Sophia Havens (sister of Palmer E. Havens), Amanda
Mason, (daughter of Judge Ambrose Mason), Lorinda E. Dav
enport, Harriet Tarbell, Susan Tarbell, (sisters of Jonathan
Tarbell), Millie Braisted, Aretas Loveland, Leland Rowe,
Richard Phelps, James C. Knapp, John Vanderburg Barker,
Truworth Barker, Henry H. Havens, George O. Roberts,
Richard Henry Lee, Alonzo McD. Finney (1838), William
Plummer Graves (1839), Nelson J. Roscoe, Clifford A. Hand,
Wallace W. Pierce, Midas E. Bishop, Fayette L. Miller, Mat
thew Ryan, Fannie Baird, Jennie Deming.
Alonzo McD. Finney is unquestionably Elizabethtown's old
est surviving school master, being now in his 90th year. He
served as Inspector of Schools for the town of Elizabethtown
during the year 1848, receiving therefor $1.25 per day for
work actually and necessarily performed, examining candidates
for teachers, presiding at "school district row trials," etc.
Among the candidates granted a certificate by Mr. Finney
was Clifford A. Hand, afterwards the distinguished Wall Street
lawyer. South Valley District.
Following are several teachers who have taught in South
Valley : Jerome T. Lobdell, Ada V. Deming, Jennie Freeman,
John L. Vaughan, Kate Condlin, Mary McDonald, Abbie
Roscoe, Kate Reil, Charlotte Ingraham, Fannie Glidden, Mary
Gilligan, Mary Harrington, Nellie Emnott, Anna Davern,
Jennie Laverty, Kate Gilligan, Minnie Dunning, May Marvin,

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 430
.Almina Bull, Emily Bull, Jennie Lawrence, Olive Denton,
Ella Dudley, Jessie Laverty, Lucy Holcomb, Viola L. Still,
May Thompson, Ida Roscoe, Fred Chappell, Miss Spaulding,
Gertrude Stevens, Alice E. Abel, Florence D. Strong, Mary
Ryan, Pearl V. Emnott, Dollie Dickson.
Following are a few of those who have taught in the Euba
Mills district : Ada V. Deming, Julius F. Burres, Eliza Chap
man, Jennie Laverty, Mrs. Emma Smith, Susie Dickson, Lil
lian Meagher, Jessie Laverty, Musa Smith (now Mrs. Elmer
E. Wakefield), Henry Leonard Barton, Minnie A. Smith, Viola
.L. Still, Miss Blaw, Miss Colburu, Mary Ryan.
Following are three teachers who taught in The Kingdom
district during its existence : Miss Stanton, Miss Lord, Sarah
Hammond. The Blake district school was thrown up 40 years ago. Fol
lowing are three teachers who taught in the Blake district :
Martha Braman, Charlotte Ingraham, Jennie Goff.
Elizabethtown Physicians,
The first man to practice medicine here was Dr. Asa Post,
who rode on horseback from Panton, Vt., to Pleasant Valley
with his saddle bags ere Elizabethtown was formed from
Crown Point. He afterwards settled on a farm in the Boquet
Valley, where he lived and died.
Dr. Alexander Morse came to Elizabethtown about 1800.
He was the first physician to settle in Elizabethtown village.
He died in 1852, his remains being buried in the old cemetery.
The historic Dr. Morse saddle bags are still preserved, also
the lance with which he bled so many of his patients.
Dr. Safford B. Hale came to Elizabethtown in 1842 and
practiced medicine here until his death in the spring of 1893.
Above we have a record of three physicians, each of whom
resided in Elizabethtown over half a century.

m fflSTORY 6^ fiLl^ABETaTOWN'
Dr. Green lived in the Upper Boquet Valley, on a faftrf ilOW
owned by the Ritsons. He is well remembered by those wha
can recall events of half a century ago. His salve had a rep
utation before G. G. Green of to-day dreamed of healing the
public. Dr. P. P. AtWell, Methodist minister and physician. Was
here in 1852.
Dr. Midas E. Bishop practiced medicine in Elizabethtown
several years, living at New Russia. He now lives at South
Haven,- Mich,
Dr. Edward Tudor Strang practiced medicine in Elizabeth-
town from 1882 to 1893. He died (spring of 1893) in Califor
nia and was buried there.
Dr. George E. Whipple practiced here about 1885.
Dr. Joseph A. Tittis practiced here a short time previous to
his death in 1880.
Dr. W. E, Pattison practiced here for a short time in the
early 80s, living in the Lamson house.
Dr. Arthur practiced medicine here and afterwards went to
Vergennes, Vt.
Dr, L. J. Dailey was here as a practicing physician for »
short time in the early 80s,
Dr, Thomas A. Wasson came here in the latter part of the
year 1886 and enjoys an extensive practice.
Dr. Charles T. Washburn came here in 1892 and went away
in 1894, being succeeded by Dr. Fred S. Hallett who remained
till 1899, being followed by Dr. Albert A, Wheelock who is
still in practice here.
filizabethtown Cfatlrche's and Mltnis'ter^.
MeItSodist, a consecutive list of ministers who have served
the Methodist Episcopal Society of Elizabethtown since its
organization in 1839. The record is the best obtainable from

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 432
the material at hand and was prepared by the present pastor.
Rev. A. S. Clark. Elizabethtown was for years a part of a
large circuit known as Elizabethtown Circuit and bore the
name of Pleasant Valley class.
1839 Oren Gregg ; 1841 Chester Lyon ; 1844 Jeremiah Hul-
land, Joseph Westcott; 1846E.Liscome8 ; 1848 Albert Cham p-
lin ; 1850 H. F. Fenton ; 1852 P. P. Atwell, (also a physician);
1854 William Bedell. This year the Church edifice was be
gun and was dedicated in February, 1855, Wm. Griffin, Pre
siding Elder. 1857 Bennett Eaton ; 1859 J. E. Kimball ; 1861
S, Gardiner; 1863 Henry Muusee; 1865 M. A. Wicker, 1866
J. C. Walker ; 1867 to 69 Elam Marsh ; 1869 to 72 David C.
Ayers ; 1872 to 75 G. C. Gould ; 1875 to 77 Joseph Cope ; 1877
to 80 Robert Patterson ; 1880 to 83 E. L. Arnold ; 1883 to 84
George Kerr : 1884 to 87 Charles L. Hager (Chaplain 118th
N. Y. Vols.); 1887 to 89 Alfred Eaton; 1889 to 91 F. S. Fran
cis ; 1891 to 93 Albert W. Wilcox ; 1893 to 95 Gordon L.
Thompson ; 1895 to 99 Joseph C. Booth ; 1899 to 1900 John
N. Goodrich ; 1900 to 1904 Leigh Diefendorf ; 1904 and 5 A.
S. Clark.
Baptist — The Ehzabethtown Baptist Church was organized
in the spring of 1796. Elder Reynolds is the first pastor of
whom there is record. Elders Brown, Babcock and Chamber
lain served before Daniel Hascall, whose name is in the min
utes for several years after 1808. Elder Churchill, 1818, and
John Stearns, 1824. Then followed the Free Mason trouble
heretofore mentioned. In 1835 Elder Brandt was pastor. He
is said to have been a lineal descendant of Joseph Brandt,
the notorious half-breed of Johnson Hall fame. At any rate
he is remembered as a benevolent, pious man. The Baptist
Church edifice was erected in 1837. In the autumn of 1838
Burchard's revival occurred. In the autumn of 1839 there
were 68 baptisms reported and 19 other additions, making a

433 flisToftt OP ELIZABETHTOWN
total membership of 206, the high water mark so far as 1' caii
learn. Elders Gale, Garfield, Seaver, Dickens, McCollum and
Churchill served the Baptist Church. J. H. Walden, Calvin
Fisher, 8. Ewer, Elias Hurlbut, Lorenzo Kellogg, (blind), M.
N. Stearns, G. B. Bills, R. A, Hodge, S. Jones, Levi S. Smith,
S. Jewett, H. Steelman, George S. Pratt, S. W. Nichols, Wayne
Brewster, George S. Nichols, J. F. Genung, now an Amherst
College professor, served in turn as pastor. Rev. P. S. Mc-
Killup served as pastor in 1883 and 1884. S, P. Smith, a grad
uate of world-renowned Rugby, served in 1885, being followed
by Rev. F. W. Gookin. Rev. Alexander MacGeorge was pas-*
tor in 1886 and 1887. Rev. James Hewitt was pastor the
latter part of 1888 and the first few months of 1889. Clayton
W. Grinnell supplied the Baptist pulpit during the summer of
1891 and John H. Strong in the summer of 1892.- During
the winter of 1894 Evangelist Blanchard (blind) supphed and
Rev. J. N. Lattimer was pastor from June, 1894, to June, 189.5,
Rev. W. H. Barker came back to Elizabethtown from Wiscon^
sin in November, 1895, and shortly aftewards commenced to
preach, serving as pastor till October, 1904, being followed by
Rev. George O. Webster, who is not only a good preacher and
pastor but a poet of no mean order.
The centennial of the church was observed April 7, 1896,
George L. Brown being historian of the occasion.
The Deacons of the Baptist Church are Wallace W, Pierce,
Steptoe C. Williams and Friend A. Brown. Trustees are Al
bert Farnsworth, Friend A. Brown and George L. Brown,
The Church Clerk is Miss Esther Barker.
CoNGKEGATiONAL. The First Congregational Church in Eliz
abethtown was organized March 25, 1821, by Rev. Cyrus Com
stock. Rev. Vernon D. Taylor was first pastor. From Sept,
1830, to May, 1831, Rev, Moses Ingalls supplied and Ovid
Miner, a licentiate and student ol Auburn Theological Semin-

ot,. pi

Map of Elizabethtown Village.

M

ll

>

o

^^J^iM^

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 438
ary, was the acting pastor from Oct. 1833, to May, 1834. For
the next six years the church had no regular pastor. In
March, 1841, Rev. C. C. Stevens became pastor and remained
until February, 1846. Mr. Stevens was followed by Rev. Par
ker who was pastor one year, from May, 1845, to May, 1846,
after whom the Rev. J. Headley supplied from Dec. 1846, till
July, 1847.
In March, 1847, the society was reorganized and assumed
the name of "The First Congregational Church of Elizabeth-
town." Rev. S. Hine acted as pastor from Oct. 1847, till April, 1848.
Up to this time service had been held in the Court House,
school house, etc. Movements were now begun for the erec
tion of a church edifice which was completed and dedicated in
July, 1850.
Rev. John Bradshaw was pastor from Dec. 1850, to June,
1852. Rev. Cyrus Hudson was pastor in 1855 and 1856. Rev.
Charles Redfield served from Feb. 1858, till Nov. 1860. Rev.
Samuel Storrs Howe was pastor in 1861.
In January, 1864, Rev. George Wellington Barrows became
pastor, remaining till his death, September 26, 1881.
Rev. Quincy J. Collin was pastor from July 1, 1883, to Dec.
31, 1884, Rev. Farley Porter from July 1, 1885, to October 1,
1886. Rev. Jabez Backus was pastor from January, 1887, to Dec.
31, 1888.
In the summer of 1888 the new stone church was erected.
Rev. Wm. S. Smart, D. D., a man smart both by name and
nature, supplied the pulpit in 1889.
In May, 1890, Rev. A. W. Wild was called to the pastorate
and his services commenced June 29th, and he served till July
1, 1898. Mr. Wild was one of the most scholarly preachers
Elizabethtown ever had. Rev. Williams supplied awhile after

439 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
Mr. Wild left. Rev. John K. Moore, a Yale graduate, followed
Mr. Williams, remaining till October, 1904. The Church was
without a pastor from October, 1904 to May 2, 1905, when
Rev. Jabez Backus returned to Elizabethtown from Westport,
Conn. Mr. Backus is a graduate of Yale and is in love with
Elizabethtown in general with his pastoral charge in particular.
Catholic. The corner stone of St. Elizabeth's Church, next
the old cemetery, was laid by Bishop Edgar Prindle Wadhams
May 23, 1881. Rev. Father O'Rourke helped build the church
edifice, which was erected during the summer of 1881. Since
the erection of the edifice the following priests have served :
Reddington, Hallahan, Sullivan and LaChance. Father La-
Chance, present priest, lives at Westport and officiates here
every other Sunday.
Episcopal. During the summer of 1880 Mrs. Ogden Hoff
man of New York City and daughter passed the summer with
Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Durand at Pine Grove Cottage. That
summer Mrs. Hoffman formulated plans for raising money
with which to build an Episcopal Church. The Church of the
Good Shepherd was erected in 1881, being consecrated July 8,
1882, by Bishop William Croswell Doane. The rectory was
built in 1887. The Church of the Good Shepherd was moved
from the rectory site (where Charles C. Oldruff lives) to the
present site in the spring of 1899. Following are the names
of rectors : Rev. Eugene L. Toy, Rev. Phineas Duyrea, Rev.
Sherman, Rev. W. Hughes, Rev. B. R. Kirkbride, Rev. C. C.
Edmonds, Rev. John W. Gill, Rev. M. H. Troop, Rev. J. N.
Marvin, Rev, Henry Rollings, Rev. J, L. Lasher, Rev. James
D. Simmons, Rev. George F. Langdon.
Bench and Bar.
It has been said that the tremendous influence of lawyers upon
the condition and destiny of every people which has attained

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 440
to a high degree of civilization is rarely recognized and but lit
tle appreciated. However, the function of the bar is most im
portant. It is the political agent in government and jurispru
dence, exercising as it does the creating faculty, bringing
system into being, adjusting all new creations in the form of
constitutions and statutes to the diversified relations and con
venience of society, leveling distinctions among men, succoring
the weak and holding in check the strong.
Elizabethtown has attained a reputation of having contrib
uted more eminent and worthy men to the legal profession
than almost any other town of similar population in the Em
pire State and in fact the reputation of the town in all respects
relative to the profession is eminently creditable. June 2,
1899, Richard Lockhart Hand said at the Essex County Cen
tennial held at the Court House in Elizabethtown : "I assert
with confidence and challenge comparison, that for profes
sional learning and skill, elevation of character and conspicu
ous ability no community of similar numbers can show so
brilliant and so honorable a roll of lawyers as our own, through
out the Empire State."
Among Elizabethtown's early lawyers was Ezra Carter
Gross, who served as Surrogate, Member of Assembly and
Congressman. Ashley Pond was an early attorney here. He, served as
Surrogate and Essex County Clerk, dying in 1827.
Gardner Stow practiced here before 1831. He afterwards
served as District Attorney of Essex County and as Attorney
General of New York State.
John S. Chipman practiced law here from 1830 to 1838. He
went to Michigan and afterwards went to Congress from that
State. Augustus C. Hand, son of Captain Samuel Hand of Battle of
Plattsburgh fame, born September 4, 1803, in Shoreham,

441 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
Vt., came to Elizabethtown in April, 1831, having been ap
pointed Surrogate of Essex County. He had studied law at
the famous school of Judge Gould in Litchfield, Conn., and in
the office of Hon. Cornelius L. Allen at Salem, N. Y. In the
autumn of 1838 he was elected to Congress, serving with ability
in 1839 and 1840. In 1844 he was elected to the State Senate
and served as chairman of the judiciary committee of that
body during his term. It was during this time that the Con
stitution of 1846 was adopted and made such radical changes
in the organization of the Courts and the practice and proceed
ings in them, that some scheme to harmonize the old and new
systems became necessary. This result was effectually se
cured by the law, commonly known as the Judiciary Act,
which was originated and drafted by Judge Hand. During
this period of time the State Senators, with the Lieutenant
Governor, Chancellor, and Justices of the Supreme Court, con
stituted the Court of Final Resort in the State. In this
body Judge Hand occupied a high position. Under the
new constitution Judge Hand was elected a Justice of the
Supreme Court and served eight years in that capacity with
great distinction. Barbour's Reports, volumes 1 to 20, give
something of the character and scope of the work accom
plished by Judge Hand while he was on the bench. During
the year 1855 he was a member, ex-officio, of the Court of Ap
peals and wrote a few carefully prepared opinions, reported in
volumes 2 and 3 of Kernan's Reports.
As a lawyer Judge Hand was a model for imitation. Indus
trious, scholarly, careful, conscientious and strictly honest, he
was especially kind and considerate towards young and timid
members of the profession. As a citizen and neighbor Judge
Hand was the embodiment of manhood's ideal, kind, liberal,
truthful, upright. Many prominent attorneys went to differ
ent parts of the country from Judge Hand's law office and all

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 442
Kiarried with them memory of a man of pure life and one having
a thorough contempt for all knavery and sham.
Judge Augustus C. Hand died February 8, 1^8 at his Eliz
abethtown home.
Judge Hand's sons all became lawyers. Clifford A. Hand
went to New York and became one of the strong lawyers of
that great Metropohs, having his office at 51 Wall Street. He
declined appointment to the Court of Appeals. He died in
Elizabethtown in 1901.
Samuel Hand, like his brothers Clifford A. and Richard L.
graduated from Union College. After a few years practice in
Elizabethtown Samuel Hand went to Albany. He refused a
nomination to the Supreme Court and afterwards became a
Judge of the Court of Appeals by appointment. He died in
1886. Richard Lockhart Hand was born in Elizabethtown in Feb
ruary, 1839, and was admitted to the bar at Plattsburgh in
1861. He has repeatedly served as President of the Board of
Education, President of the village of Elizabethtown and has
served continuously as President of the EHzabethtown Water
Company since its organization in 1883. He has been leader
of the Essex County bar for a quarter of a century and is now
serving his second year as President of the New York State
Bar Association. The election and re-election of Mr. Hand, a
resident of a little mountain bordered village like Elizabeth-
town, as President of the New York State Bar Association, is
one of the greatest honors ever paid to any lawyer of the Em
pire State.
As a lawyer Richard L. Hand unquestionably ranks among
the ablest in the great State of New York. As a citizen, a
neighbor and friend his rank is the highest, being most ad
mired and respected where best known. To appreciate the
charm of his domestic character, it is necessary to have seen

443 HISTORY OB' ELIZABETHTOWN
him at his own home and in the midst of his family. Thers
he is as the sun in the center of the system, quickening all
things into hfe by his cheerful influence and shedding bright
ness and animation around him by the almost youthful fresh
ness and gaiety of his disposition.
Mr. Hand's family consists of his wife, formerly Miss Mary
E. Noble, one son, Augustus Noble Hand, a distinguished
young New York lawyer, and three daughters, Mrs. Henry M,
Baird, Jr., of Yonkers, N. Y., Mrs. Albion James Wadhams of
Riverton, N. J., and Miss Theodosia Hand of Elizabethtown.
Orlando Kellogg was born in Elizabethtown in 1809. His
grandfather, William Kellogg, had been mixed up in the Wy
oming massacre. His father, Rowland Kellogg, died in 1826,
leaving Orlando at the tender age of 17 to look after a widowed
mother and a large family of children. He worked at the car
penter trade several years and finally taught school and stud
ied law. A few years after his admission to the bar he served
as Surrogate of Essex County and went to Congress in the
latter 40s, serving there with Abraham Lincoln and forming
that strong friendship which lasted between the two great
men so long as the latter lived, Mr. Kellogg's mother married
for her second husband Col, Jeduthan Case and is buried be
tween her two husbands in the Boquet Valley cemetery. For
several years Mr. Kellogg was associated with Robert S. Hale
in the practice of law, the firm being Kellogg & Hale. In 1862
Mr. Kellogg was again elected to Congress and was re-elected
in 1864. During the civil war Mr. Kellogg stood exceptionally
near to President Lincoln and his influence with the latter was
great as his efforts in behalf of "Hank" Fuller proved. Henry
C. Fuller of Company C, 118th Regiment, N. Y. Vols., com
monly called "Hank" Fuller, was sentenced to be shot as a mat
ter of military discipline. Rowland C. Kellogg of the 118th
happened to be writing his father in Washington just after

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 444
sentence was passed upon "Hank" and wrote the news in a
postscript to the letter. As soon as Congressman Kellogg
received his son's letter he went to the President's room in the
White House, late at night though it was, and entered a plea
for "Hank's" life, saying the "boys" of the 118th didn't go to
war to be shot that way. President Lincoln allowed that it
wouldn't do the poor fellow any particular good to shoot him
and decided to interfere in his behalf. The necessary papers
were sent to the front, arriving just as "Hank" was passing
down the "Street" to be shot. Of course execution was sus
pended. As soon as President Lincoln received word from
the front he wrote the following on a card to Congressman
Kellogg : "I have answer that the execution of Henry C. Ful
ler is suspended.
Jan. 22, 1864. A. LINCOLN."
That card with President Lincoln's handwriting upon it is
before me as I write, having been preserved by Miss Cornelia
A. Kellogg and Mrs. A. C. H. Livingston, daughters of Con
gressman Kellogg. "Hank" Puller still lives, residing on the
Ausable River at a point just below Keene Center.
Comparing Abraham Lincoln and Orlando Kellogg, Richard
L. Hand said at the Essex County Centennial June 2, 1899 :
"His fondness for 'pointing a moral' by a good story— some
delightful bit of humor, some apt and amusing illustration
drawn from life, and his profound and genuine interest in men
as men, without regard to their station or claims, as well as
a singular endowment of what we call, wanting a better term,
common sense, have often suggested a strong resemblance
between Mr. Kellogg and Abraham Lincoln, whose personal
friendship he enjoyed. And doubtless, after all due allowance
for natural exaggeration in such cases, there is sufficient foun
dation for this. Both were fountains of humor ; both were

445 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
born orators ; both were of peculiarily tender and gentle nature?
and each was extremely simple in manner, speech and dress,
never ceasing to be and rejoice in being 'A man of the people.
It would be strange if it were not true that, in the dark days
of 1863 and 4, the President derived from the optimism, the
courage, the genial sympathy and ceaseless flow of wit of Or
lando Kellogg, relief and hope and renewed strength."
It is recalled that President Lincoln said during the dark,
trying days of the civil war : "If it were not for Mr. Kellogg's
stories I should get blue sometimes."
Truly, Orlando Kellogg's wit, his intense sympathy with
and intuitive reading of all classes of people and an exception
ally rare gift of eloquence overcame every obstacle, made him
a leader of men and placed him on a high plane of power and
fame. At the Lincoln memorial exercises held in Elizabeth-
town in April, 1865, Orlando Kellogg was the principal orator
and four months later the people of central Essex County fol
lowed that great-hearted speaker to his grave in Riverside
cemetery, the expression on every face, the appearance on
every side indicating both public and private loss.
Three of Orlando Kellogg's sons became lawyers. Rowland
Case Kellogg (born in Elizabethtown Dec. 31, 1843) served in
the Union army during the civil war, rising to be Major. After
the civil war Major Kellogg attended the Albany Law School,
being a fellow student there with Major William McKinley,
the late lamented President of the United States. Major Kel
logg was admitted to the bar in 1867, served as District At
torney of Essex County from January 1, 1877, to December
31, 1885, inclusive, and as State Senator from January 1, 1886,
to December 31, 1889, inclusive. He was appointed Essex
County Judge by Governor Levi P. Morton in 1895, elected to
the same office in November, 1896, and re-elected in November,
1902.

Company K (38th N. Y. Vols.) Survivors May 27, 1899.

Hunter's Home in the Upper Boquet Valley.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 450
Robert Hale Kellogg, born 1847, also attended the Albany
Law School and was admitted to the bar. He resides in bis
native Elizabethtown but does not practice law.
William Roger Kellogg was admitted as an attorney in 1877
and as counselor in 1879. He is at present practicing law in
Westport. Robert Wilson Livingston, born in Hebron, N. Y., April 2,
1810, studied law in Judge Augustus C. Hand's office, being
admitted to the bar in 1837. From 1837 to 1842 he practiced
law in partnership with Judge Hand. In 1844 he was ap
pointed Surrogate of Essex County, succeeding Orlando Kel
logg, and continuing in that position until under the Consti
tution of 1846 the duties of Surrogate were transferred to the
County Judge. He also practiced law with Jesse Gay, the
firm being Livingston & Gay. In November, 1857, he was
elected Essex County Clerk and served as such three years.
In 1862 he went into the Union Army as Captain of Company
F, 118th New York Vols., and became a Major. After his
terrible military experience Major Livingston came home
wrecked in health and gradually yielded his life to the persist
ent attacks of disease. His soul, great as it was gentle, pos
sessed in patience, waited for the hour when the good God he
loved and served should give to His beloved sleep. Glad to
have served his dear country, glad to have given his life to
his fellow men, with a smile upon his gentle and refined face,
he calmly "crossed the bar" January 27, 1886, his remains
being buried in Riverside cemetery. Dignity, ease, complacency,
the gentleman and the scholar, were agreeably blended in
Major Robert W. Livingston, modesty marking every line and
feature of his face.
Jesse Gay and Wilham Higby practiced law here in the lat
ter 40s. Gay went to Plattsburgh and Higby to California.
Byron Pond was born in Elizabethtown February 3, 1823,

451 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
being a son of Ashley Pond and a grandson of Hon. .Benjamin
Pond, both of whom served at the Battle of Plattsburgh. In
1838 Byron Pond entered Judge Augustus C. Hand's office to
study law and remained there as a student seven years. After
his admission to the bar he formed a partnership with Judge
Hand and after the latter's elevation to the Supreme Court
bench Mr. Pond was in partnership with Clifford A. Hand.
In 1858 Mr. Pond was elected District Attorney of Essex
County, serving one term of three years. In November, 1864,
he was elected Essex County Judge, an office which he cred
itably filled for 14 successive years, the longest continuous
service since the constitution of 1846 went into effect. Judge
Pond was an industrious, temperate, dignified man, upright
and fearless upon the bench, a gentleman of the old school, a
worthy scion of the patriotic stock from whence he came. In
deed, he exemplified the sterling virtues of a family to whom
Essex County owes much and was the last to survive of the
old school of lawyers, those who sustained the dignity of Eliz
abethtown at home and gave the place an enviable reputation
abroad. Judge Pond's wife was Mary Hinckley, who died
about 30 years ago. Judge Pond died at his Elizabethtown
home July 6, 1904, in the 82d year of his age and his remains
were buried in Riverside cemetery where Judge Augustus C.
Hand, Congressman Orlando Kellogg and Judge Robert S.
Hale had gone before. Judge Pond is survived by four sons —
Ashley, Byron G, Benjamin S. and Levi S., the latter hav
ing served as Essex County Surrogate's Clerk for nearly 10
years, and four daughters. Miss Cordelia Pond, Mrs. W. S.
Brown, Mrs. William H. Abel and Mrs. William A. Hathaway.
Alembert Pond, a native of Elizabethtown, brother of Judge
Byron Pond, practiced law here in the early 50s, after which
he went to Saratoga, and became head of the famous law firm
of Pond, French & Brackett.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 452
The three Hale brothers long familiar in Elizabethtown —
Safford Eddy, Robert Safford and Matthew — were the sons of
Harry Hale, Esq., of Chelsea, Vermont, and of Lucinda Eddy,
his wife. Harry Hale's earliest ancestor in this country was
Thomas Hale who with his wife Thomasine came from the
parish of Watton in Hertfordshire, England, in 1635, and who
settled in Newbury, Mass.
Lucinda Eddy was also of Puritan descent, five of her lineal
ancestors, among whom were both Captain Miles Standish
and John Alden, having been members of that ever to be re
membered company who came to the New World from the Old
in the ship Mayflower.
Robert Safford Hale was born September 24, 1822, and
graduated from the University of Vermont iu 1842, Henry J.
Raymond being one of his college mates. He taught school
in Vermont and afterwards in Elizabethtown. Admitted to
the bar in 1846, Mr. Hale shortly afterwards commenced prac
tice in partnership with Orlando Kellogg. In 1856 he was
elected Essex County Judge and held the office eight years,
two four year terms. In 1859 he was made a Regent of the
University of the State of New York. In 1860 he was a Repub
lican Presidential Elector and in 1865 he succeeded Orlando
Kellogg in Congress from this district. In 1868 he was em
ployed as special counsel of the Treasury before the Court of
Claims of the United States. In 1871 he was appointed agent
and counsel of the United States before the mixed Commission
of Claims under the Treaty of Washington. In 1873 he was
again elected to Congress. To the discharge of his various
professional and public duties Judge Hale brought a singular
combination of powers. His fine natural ability was admirably
trained by various study and accomplishments. His mind
was alert and accurate, his memory being a treasury of well
ordered knowledge and his ability to speak and write clearly

453 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
and forcibly was known and recognized at home and abroad.
His political like his professional career was distinguished by
that independence which is as rare as it is manly and which of
itself is a public influence of the highest character.
Judge Hale died at his Elizabethtown home Dec. 13, 1881.
Judge Hale's only son, Harry, became a lawyer and for the
past few years has been junior member of the firm of Hand
& Hale.
Frederick C. Hale, eldest son of Dr. Safford Eddy Hale,
after serving as a soldier in the Union army, studied law in
Judge Robert S. Hale's office, was admitted to the bar in 1867
and is now one of Chicago's well-known attorneys.
Matthew Hale practiced law in Elizabethtown, served as
State Senator, went to Albany and became one of the distin
guished lawyers of the State.
Oliver Abel, born in Elizabethtown Nov. 11, 1830, was ad
mitted to the bar when about 23 years of age. In 1872 he
was elected Essex County Treasurer, holding the office nine
years in succession. He afterwards built the famous Westsido
Hotel, Lake Placid. He died suddenly in 1892.
Arod Kent Dudley was born in Keene in 18.S8. He studied
law with Orlando Kellogg. He served as District Attorney of
Essex County from 1868 to 1876, inclusive, and again from
1892 to 1897, inclusive, fifteen years in all, and also served as
Essex County Surrrogate for a short time in 1895. He died
in October, 1904.
Two of Mr. Dudley's sons, Fred W. and Robert B., are law
yers, the former practicing in Port Henry, the latter in Eliz
abethtown, occupying the office which the elder Dudley built
over 30 years ago.
Milo C. Perry, born in Elizabethtown village in 1844, wfts
admitted to the bar in 1868. He was once associated with A.
C. and R. L. Hand, the firm being Hand & Perry. Mr. Perry

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 454
served as Distri(Jt Attorney of Essex County from 1898 to
1904, inclusive.
W. Scott Brown, born in Elizabethtown, .January 9, 1854,
studied law with Arod K. Dudley, was admitted as an attor
ney in March, 1877, and as counselor in 1879. He has served
as Sup't of Adirondack Mountain-Reserve since the latter 80s.
Franklin A. Rowe, now a prosperous Glens Falls, N. Y.
lawyer, studied with Arod K. Dudley.
DeWitt Stafford, now a well-known New York lawyer, stud
ied law in Judge Augustus C. Hand's office, being admitted in
1867, previous to which he had served as a soldier in the
Union army.
Sidney F. Rawson, a law partner of Mr. Stafford in New
York, studied law with Judge Byron Pond and was admitted to
the bar in 1867. He has served as District Attorney of Rich
mond County. Mr. Rawson served in Company E of the 118th
Regiment, N. Y. Vols., during the civil war.
George C. Markham studied law with Judge Robert S.Hale,
being admitted in 1869. He is now one of the best known
and most prosperous lawyers in Milwaukee, Wis. Mr. Mark
ham married Rose Smith, a Boquet Valley lady, who died
several years since.
Francis Asbury Smith was born in East Salisbury, Massa
chusetts, November 29th, 1837, the second son of Reverend
James G. Smith, for many years a Methodist Clergyman of the
New Hampshire Conference. His father retired in 1846 on
account of ill health, to a farm in Plymouth, New Hampshire,
where the subject of this memoir resided until the age of sev
enteen. He prepared for college at the Plymouth Academy,
and entered the Wesleyan University in 1855. He graduated
in 1859, taught a select school in Canaan, New Hampshire, in
1859 and 1860, and there commenced the study of law with
Counselor Weeks.

455 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
He came to the State of New York in 1860, taught a select
school atCarmel, Putnam Countj', and continued the study of
law and was admitted to practice in 1861 at Poughkeepsie,
New York, and commenced practice in the summer of 1861 in
the office of his relative, Hon. Horace E. Smith, at Johnstown,
New York.
Patriotism was too strong for ambition, and in October,
1861, he enlisted as a private soldier at Albany, in the Third
New York Volunteers, and served as a private and Corporal
in Company F, of that regiment until July, 1862, during which
time the regiment was stationed iu Fort McHenry and Fort
Federal Hill in Baltimore, under the command of General
Dix. During the winter of 1861 and 1862, he was one of a
detailed guard over government property on the boats plying
between Baltimore and Fort Monroe. During this service he
witnessed the fight between the Monitor and Merrimac. On
the 18th day of July, 1862, he was commissioned as Second
Lieutenant in the Third New York Volunteers by Governor
Morgan, with rank from the 10th of May of that year. Shortly
before that date the regiment had been ordered to Suffolk,
Virginia, under the command of Major General Mansfield. In
the autumn of the same year the regiment was transferred to
Fortress Monroe, and garrisoned that fort during the winter of
1862-3, under General Dix.
In the spring of 1863 the two-years men of the regiment
were discharged, but the recruits who joined the regiment sub
sequent to its organization were held for three years service.
This portion of the regiment was united with the three-years
men of Hawkens's Zouaves, and subsequently until his dis
charge. Lieutenant Smith commanded Company F, but never
mustered as Captain because the Company did not have the
requisite number of men.
On the llth of April, 1863, he married Julia A. Scott, a

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 456
daughter of Reverend Elihu Scott, late ot Hampton, New
Hampshire. Returning to his regiment shortly before the
discharge of the two-years men, he was stationed with it for a
short time at Bowers Hill, near Portsmouth, Virginia. From
thence he accompanied the regiment to Yorktown, the White
House and other points on the Peninsula, under General Dix,
and in July of the same year the regiment was ordered to
Folly Island, South Carolina, under General Gilmore, and did
duty in the trenches on Morris Island in front of Fort Wagner,
where there was some gunpowder burned on both sides. He
was sent to General Hospital on Folly Island suffering from
fever in the early autumn of 1863, and there lost track of him
self for several days. On his partial recovery he was given a
sick leave, and reached his wife's residence in New Hampshire
weighing ninety-eight pounds. On account of protracted ill
ness, he was honorably discharged from the .service by Special
Orders No. 603, dated 13th November, 1863, issued by Major
General Q. A. Gilmore.
During the winter of 1863-4, he with his wife remained at
his father's residence in Plymouth, New Hampshire, and in
the spring of 1864 went to Fonda, Montgomery County, New
York, and opened a law office.
During the second Lincoln canvass in 1864, he took some
part as a "spell-binder," in the Counties of Montgomery, Scho
harie, Otsego and Fulton.
In February, 1865, Mr. Smith formed a partnership with
his wife's uncle, Hon. Robert S. Hale of Elizabethtown, which
continued until the 1st of January, 1879. During this time
Mr. and Mrs. Smith adopted as their daughter Louise Scott
Smith, the infant daughter of Mrs. Smith's deceased sister.
Mr. Smith was elected County Judge of Essex County in
the fall of 1878, and re-elected without opposition and with
the endorsement of the opposing party in the fall of 1884, re-

457 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
tiring at the end of his second term on the 31st day of DecetEf-
ber, 1890. He has since that time continued in the practice
of law at Elizabethtown, with Patrick J. Finn during a por
tion of the time, and Frank B. Wicks of Ticonderoga during
the remainder.
Aside from those already named George W. Perry, Mal
colm Neil MacLaren, Jr., (the man who introduced modern
base ball in Elizabethtown) Robert G. Shaw, George Henry
Nicholson, George W. Patterson, Lawrence Flinn, Percival G-
Ullman, Samuel B. Hamburger, Henry P. Gilliland, 2d., and A,/
W. Boynton studied law in Robert S. Hale's office.
John Emmes studied law with Orlando Kellogg.
Orlando Kellogg, Jonathan Tarbell, William Higby, Hugh
Evans, Jesse Gay, Robert S. Hale, Sewall Sargeant, Melville A-
Sheldon, James C. Rogers, Kleber D. Taggard, Frank A. Nay-
lor, Scott G. Sayre, Charles H. MLenathan studied law in
Judge Hand's office and since the latter's death, George W.
Smith, John J. Ryan, Fred E. Frisbie, Charles A. Marvin,
Augustus Noble Hand, Charles W. Morhous, Fred Higgins,
James M. Singleton, LeRoy N. French, Roy Lockwood, Milo
A. Durand, Arthur B. Smith, and Charles David Kennedy
have studied law with Richard L. Hand. Milo A. Durand
now represents the Right of Way Department of the American
Telephone and Telegraph Company,
Patrick J. Finn, Essex County's present District Attorney,
and Frank B. Wickes studied law with Judge Francis A,
Smith. Edward S, Cuyler practiced law in Elizabethtown after his
service as Essex County Clerk.
Martin F. Nicholson also practiced here as a contemporary
of Mr. Cuyler.
Elizabethtown village, never I suppose having a population
of 600 souls, has furnished the following :

Block Built by Jacob H. Deming 1895.

The Windsor, Orlando Kellogg & Son, Proprietors.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 460
One Delegate to the Constitutional Convention, Matthew
Hale ; six Members of Congress, Ezra C. Gross, Augustus C.
Hand, Orlando Kellogg, Robert 8. Hale, John Chipman
(from Michigan), William Higby (from California); one Judge
of the Court of Appeals, Samuel Hand ; one Justice of the
Supreme Court, A. C. Hand, who was also a Member of the
Court of Errors, prior to 1847 ; one Judge of District Court in
North Dakota, Charles A. Pollock ; one Regent of the Uni
versity, Robert S. Hale ; three State Senators, A. 0. Hand,
Matthew Hale and Rowland C. Kellogg ; one Member of As
sembly, Theodorus Ross ; one Presidential Elector, Robert
S. Hale; five County Judges and Surrogate, John E. McVine,
Robert, S. Hale, Byron Pond, Francis A Smith and Rowland
C. Kellogg, and six Surrogates before the change in 1847, Ezra
C. Gross, Ashley Pond, John Calkin, A. C. Hand, Orlando
Kellogg and Robert W. Livingston, besides one Special
County Judge and Surrogate in 1857, Martin P. Nicholson ;
four District Attorneys, Byron Pond, Arod K. Dudley, Row
land C. Kellogg and Milo C. Perry, and last but not least a
President of the New York State Bar Association, Richard L.
Hand. Is it any wonder that surrounding towns turn green with
envy when such a long and distinguished list is surveyed?
Again, has any country village of similar size in the Empire
State or elsewhere furnished such a commanding list?
Abijah Perry.
Abijah Perry, son of Nathan Perry and Rebecca Brown,
was born in Lewis, Essex County, N. Y., January 16, 1807.
In 1814 he moved with his father to what is now locally and
familiarly known as "Durand Farm," where the Perry family
resided several years. It was from this farm that Nathan

461 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
Perry went to the Battle of Plattsburgh. Abijah Perry grew
up among the pioneers, receiving only a common school edu
cation. September 6, 1832, he married Eliza Kellogg, only
daughter of Rowland Kellogg, and sister of Congressman Or
lando Kellogg of Elizabethtown. Eight children were born to
Mr. and Mrs. Perry : Ellen R., Mariette E., Lafayette, Byron
A., Milo C, Evelyn S., Louisa A. and Carolyn E.
Ellen R. Perry married William H. Burbank, who w.as a
clerk in the War Department during the civil war and Mrs.
Burbank passed some time in Washington, being there at the
time of the assassination of President Lincoln. After the war
Mr. Burbank was a merchant in Boston, Mass., but his health
failing, he came to Elizabethtown, where he died March 10,
1892. Byron A. Perry is one of Elizabethtown's merchants and
Milo C. Perry is ex-District Attorney of Essex County.
Miss Louisa A. Perry is Critic Teacher in the Model De
partment of the State Normal School at Plattsburgh.
Miss Evelyn S. Perry died in January, 1903, and the other
brother and sisters reside at the Perry homestead on the Plain
in Elizabethtown village.
Abijah Perry served as Constable, Justice of the Peace, Un
der Sheriff, Essex County Treasurer and Essex County Sheriff
besides Superintendent of the State Arsenal In all official
capacities Mr. Perry honestly tried to do his duty regardless of
fear m- favor. He was a natural detective and woe unto the
law breaker upon whose trail "LIncle Abijah" camped, as the
faithful official never came home empty handed. In the days
when there was no telegraph, no telephone or railroad Mr. Perry
went through the woods like an Indian, guided by instinct,
and it is safe to say that if he lived to-day he could give Pink
erton's force points. He was a large and powerfully built man
and it is said that the descendants of the criminal classes of

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 462
his day still tremble at the very mention of his name. Abijah
Perry died at his Elizabethtown home September 20, 1882,
and was buried in Riverside cemetery.
Elijah Simonds.
Originally the various hillsides of Elizabethtown were
clothed to their summits with giant pines, hemlocks, spruces
and the many varieties of hard and soft woods peculiar to
this latitude, alike giving beauty to the landscape and afford
ing food and shelter for every kind of northern game. When
the pioneers first came, here were wolves, panthers, bears,
beavers, otters, small game too numerous to mention, and last
but not least the noble moose, his choice of quarters being
regulated by the change of seasons. Of course the pioneers
and their sons learned to handle the muzzle loading rifle effec
tively. Elijah Simonds, the greatest hunter and trapper the Adiron
dacks ever produced, was a son of Erastus Simonds and was
born on Simonds Hill February 10, 1821. Elijah Simonds had
three elder brothers who were passionately fond of hunting,
fishing and trapping and he took to the woods as naturally as
a duck takes to water. When 6 y-ears old he caught his first
mink (in an old "wood trap") and at 8 years of age caught his
first fox. At 10 he caught his first wolf and at 11 captured a
bear. When 17 he went west, going by canal from Whitehall
to Buffalo. He went from Buffalo by way of the Great Lakes
to Spring Harbor, Mich. He trapped otter, etc., on the Kala
mazoo River, his only companions there being Indians. Re
turning east, he was commissioned Captain of a "Lumber
Raft on the Great Lakes."
In 1840 he caught 8 otter on the Salmon River. In 1842
his father died. This year he first visited Saranac Lake, Tup-

463 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
per Lake, etc., being accompanied by his brother William and
Alonzo McD. Finney. They went there to fish, catching a
barrel of trout, four of which weighed 100 lbs.
In 1843 Elijah went to Blue Mountain Lake, the forests
around which were then in their thrifty prime, not having
been disturbed by the hand of the white man. In 1850 he
caught his first panther near Ampersand Pond. The second
panther that fell a victim to his prowess was caught near
Moose Pond. The last named panther had "kits," one of
which, a spotted little fellow, was sent to Elijah's intimate
friend, Spencer F. Baird, the great naturalist, and the speci
men is said to be still on exhibition in the Smithsonian Insti
tution at Washington, D. C. Elijah visited Michigan, Minne
sota, Wisconsin and Iowa in 1853 but shortly returned to
Elizabethtown. He next went to the Boreas region and while
hunting there shot and killed six deer without moving from
his tracks. He hunted for the New York market several
years. He once took 102 deer (saddles) to New York at one
time, all having been killed by himself.
In 1860 Elijah visited Michigan again. This time he
trapped in Michigan waters for beaver, catching 26. A. few
years later he went to Michigan for the last time, finding that
the advancing wave of civilization had destroyed his old hunt
ing grounds.
Soon after the close of the civil war Elijah married Miss
Rosamond Gowett of Lewis, by which union two daughters,
Mary and Nellie, were born. The last years of Elijah's life
were peacefully and happily passed on his httle place on the
east side of Mt. Raven. Elijah differed from most hunters, as
he was the beau ideal of the old time country gentleman, noth
ing in the nature of uncouthness being in his make up. A
visitor to that happy home invariably found Elijah neatly
dressed, his white starched shirt and collar being noticeable.

HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN 464
as few old hunters don such habiliments even upon extraordi
nary occasions. His clean shaven face, high forehead and
classical features generally impressed one as being unusual
accompaniments of a man who had killed 3,000 foxes, 2,000
deer, 150 bears, 12 wolves and 7 panthers and who had with
out doubt caught more mink, otter and marten than any other
man who ever lived in the Adirondacks.
Elijah died April 3, 1900, and was buried in Brainard's
Forge cemetery, one of the most sincere mourners outside the
Simonds family at the funeral being the author of Pleasant
Valley, who had known the venerable hunter long and inti
mately. The Stock From Which the Browns of Elizabethtown Descsnded.
Thomas and Edmund Brown, brothers, came from Bury St.
Edmunds, England, a,bout the year 1638 and settled at Sud
bury, Mass., Edmund being the first preacher there.
Thomas Brown with his wife Bridget, went to Concord,
Mass., about 1681 and died there in 1688. On page 123 of the
1st edition and on page 171 of the 2d edition of a book by
George Madison Bodge of Leominster, Mass., called "Soldiers
in King Philip's War" is given a list of men who were slain
and wounded in Capt. Nath'l Davenport's Company. In the
list of wounded, among 11 names, appears the name "Tho.
Browne of Concord." Bodge refers to the Mass. Archives,
Vol. 68, page 104.
Thomas Brown's children were Boaz, Jabez, Mary, Eleazer,
Thomas. Boaz Brown was born Feb. 14, 1642, and married
Mary Winship Nov. 8, 1664. Their children were Boaz,
Thomas, Mary, Edward, Mary, Mercy and Jane. Boaz Brown's
second wife was Mrs. Abigail Wheat of Concord.
Thomas Brown, son of Boaz, married Rachel Poulter.
Their children were Rachel, Mary, John, Rachel, Jonathan,

465 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
Thomas, Hannah, Abigail, Dinah, Thomas, Mercy and Lydia,
John Brown, son of Thomas Brown, married Elizabeth Pot
ter Feb. 23, 1715. Their children were John, Elizabeth, Grace,
John, Hannah, Josiah, Joseph, Rebecca and Josiah, the latter
born Jan. 30, 1743.
Josiah Brown (b. 1743) married Sarah Wright Oct. 31, 1765.
Their children were Josiah, Joseph Jonas, Sarah, Aaron,
Amos, Abner, Rebecca, Levi, Nathan, Howard and Abigail,
all born in New Ipswich, N. H.
Josiah Brown, father of the 12 children named, was a Ser
geant in Thomas Heald'sNew Ipswich Company and marched
from New Ipswich April 20, 1775, on the Alarm of the Battle
at Concord, 13 days, also First Lieutenant in Captain Ezra
Towne's 4th Company in Colonel James Reed's Regiment,
New Hampshire troops, serving 2 months and 27 days from
May 10, 1775. This regiment was engaged at Bunker Hill,
where Captain Towne's Company, says history, "did sharp
execution, being good marksmen and having the wind in their
favor. They were the last Company to leave the field and
Lieutenant Brown believed he fired the final shot before the
retreat." Josiah Brown also served as Captain of a Company de
tached from Colonel Enoch Hale's Regiment, New Hampshire
Militia, and marched to reinforce the Continental Army at Ti
conderoga May 6, 1777, and June 29, 1777. Reference to Jo
siah Brown's service in the Revolutionary War may be found
in New Hampshire State Papers, Volume XIV, pages 34, 88,
Volume XV, pages 1, 20-22, 92-94.
On page 20 of the Life of Nathan Brown one learns that
Captain Josiah Brown's "resolute right hand wore the blue
mitten once famous in New Ipswich town meetings. It be
came a common saying in regard to undecided voters, that
'they always waited till they saw the blue mitten go up.' "

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 466
Nathan Brown, the Baptist Missionary to Tokio, Japan, and
William Goldsmith Brown, author of the famous war lyrics
"A Hundred Years to Come," "Roanoke," "Before Petersburg,"
etc., were grandsons of Captain Josiah Brown.
A century ago Captain Josiah Brown bought land in what is
now the town of Lewis, Essex County, N. Y., and there his
son Deacon Levi and two of his daughters — Rebecca who
married Nathan Perry and Abigail who married Deacon Asa
Farnsworth — settled.
Deacon Levi Brown married Betsey Temple May 15, 1803.
Their children were Eliza, Elewisa, Sally, Phebe, Betsey, Levi
DeWitt and Benjamin. Deacon Levi Brown's military record
has been touched upon in the chapter on War of 1812. Suf
fice to say that his son Levi DeWitt became Captain of an in
dependent Militia Company. Levi DeWitt Brown married
Lovina Kneeland. Their children were Augusta Prudence,
Friend Abner, John Kneeland, Walter Scott and George
Levi. Augusta Prudence Brown married Edward J. Smith. She
died at Fort Ann, N. Y., in 1877 and was buried there. A son,
Edward Levi, and a daughter, Minnie A., live in Maryland.
Friend Abner Brown married Hila E. Partridge and they
occupy the Brown farm in the Boquet Valley.
John Kneeland Brown married Lizzie N. James. They
have one daughter, Mrs. Fred A. Marvin of Lewis.
Walter Scott Brown, now Superintendent of the Adirondack
Mountain-Reserve, married Mary L. Pond. They have one
daughter, Mary Elizabeth.
George Levi Brown married Edith Mary Durand. Their
children are Edith Lovina, Anahta Augusta and Thomas
Augustus. All the children of Levi DeWitt Brown were born in Eliz
abethtown and brought up, largely, on a farm, being bred to

467 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
live religious, temperate, industrious lives, both parents being
Baptists. That the escutcheon of the Brown family has never
been tarnished by any act of her children and that not one of
them has ever brought reproach to her fair name, a kind and
loving mother can now say, in her old age, without fear of con
tradiction. Ore and Peat,
Castaline Bed was discovered and worked to some extent
about 1800. The bed is situated on the Post farm.
The Ross Bed is located on lot No. 72, Roaring BrookTract,
and was discovered about 1800.
Nigger Hill Bed, so-called, was discovered by Frederick
Haasz about 1825. This property was sold by the Henry R.
Noble heirs to Jay Cooke, etc., for $100,000.
Wakefield Bed was discovered about 1845 and was opened
by Col E. F. Williams. This bed is on the Stephen B. Pitkin
farm just south of New Russia.
Little Pond Bed is on lot No. 199, Iron Ore Tract, and was
also opened by Col. E. F. Williams in the 40s.
Judd Bed was discovered about 1845 and opened by David
Judd. Finney Bed was discovered in 1854 on lot No. 136, Iron Ore
Tract. This bed was named after Anson Finney upon whose
farm it was located. It was opened by Oliver Abel, Jr., Wil
liam Whitman Root, John E. McVine and John H. Sanders,
the latter finally trading his interest and getting well off out
of it.
Gates Bed was discovered on the Gates farm in 1840. This
bed was operated as late as the early 80s by H. A. Putnam.
Steele Bed is located on lot No. 189, Iron Ore Tract. This
bed was discovered in 1810 and named after Jonathan Steele.
Mitchell Bed was discovered about 1830, being located on

Deer's Head Inn, B. F. Stetson, Proprietor.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 470
lot No. 116, Iron Ore Tract. It was opened by Eliab Mitchell,
hence its name.
Buck and Noble Beds are situated on lots No. 109 and 110,
Iron Ore Tract, near the boundary hne between Elizabethtown
and Moriah, having been discovered about 40 years ago.
Burt Bed was discovered about 1840, being in the extreme
southeast corner ot Ehzabethtown.
Practically all this ore deposit is as so much stone, not hav
ing been used for lo these many years.
A large peat bed is situated on land owned by Richard L.
Hand, just above the old Camp Ground. This bed was sur
veyed and ditched over half a century ago and is said to be
the most valuable deposit of peat in Northern New Y ork.
Saw Mills and Forges.
The first saw-mills erected in Elizabethtown were un
doubtedly the one on the Boquet River at what is now New
Russia and the one built by Stephen- Roscoe at what is now
known as Rice's Falls on the Branch or Little Boquet.. The
first saw-mill at New Russia stood on the east side of the Bo
quet and afterwards one was erected on the west side of the
stream, in fact one is located there to-day, being operated by
Julius Burres.
Six saw-mills originally stood along the Black River. The
upper one was known as the Kingdom saw-mill, just below
which was one operated by Willis Gates, Sr. Next below
Gates was the Douglass saw-mill and a short distance below
Douglass was the Steele mill. At what is now Meigsville stood
what old men still refer to as the Smith saw-mill and last on
the Black River was the saw-mill at what has long been known
as the Brainard's Forge settlement.
The Eber Ober saw-mill wag at Silver Cascade on the Barton

471 HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN
Brook and there Eber Ober is said to have lost his life shortly
after 1817.
The Thompson saw-mill stood just across the road from
the present residence of Nelson Shores. After the old saw
mill rotted down a new one was erected, which latter structure
the writer remembers. James Edwin Thompson was th© last
operator of this mill.
The Call saw-mill stood on the Ladd Brook, just above
where the Separator afterward stood.
The Robards Rice saw-mill stood just across the road from
the old Deacon Harry Glidden farm house. The modern
Deacon Glidden saw-mill stood on the site of the old Robards
Rice mill.
Lorenzo Rice built a saw-mill on Deep Hollow Brook just
below The Balsams settlement of to-day but found the stream
too small for successful operation, took the mill down and re-
erected it on the Durand Brook at the falls just back of where
Arthur Cauley lives in the Boquet Valley.
Moses Swinton once had a saw mill on Big Sucker Brook
which flows into Simonds Pond from the Moriah Mountain
side. This saw-mill burned under circumstances which indi
cated a fire of incendiary origin.
Jonathan Post for years operated a saw-mill on Roaring
Brook, though but little trace of the old structure now re
mains. There was also a saw-mill at the Miller settlement on the
road to Keene and one in the southwestern part of the town,
known for many years as the Yaw mill.
Whallon and Judd had a saw-mill which they operated at
the Valley Forge settlement.
The late Charles N. Williams built and operated two saw
mills, one on the Little Boquet, just below the Rice grist-mill,
and one on the Boquet River just below Fisher Bridge, so

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 472
called. The latter mill is now owned and operated by Living
ston Woodruff.
The Lobdell Brothers have a new saw-mill which stands
near where the Roscoe mill stood.
Six forge sites are pointed out along the Black River.
Highest up on the stream was The Kingdom forge built by
Frederick Haasz about 1825, the Nobles backing the venture
and possessing the property a few years later. Next below
The Kingdom forge stood the one known as the Hatch forge,
(Hatch & Storrs) this being on the east side of the stream, in
what is now Westport. Next below the Hatch forge stood
the one built by Captain John Lobdell during the summer of
1836, according to a contract in possession of his only sur
viving son, Jerome T. Lobdell. Barnabas Myrick was a "silent
partner," furnishing capital while Captain John Lobdell did
the work. The Lobdell forge stood on the west side of the
stream, being on lot No. 5, Morgan's Patent. It was this forge
that Guy Meigs and Elder Calvin Fisher operated after Cap
tain John Lobdell left Meigsville. A short distance below the
Lobdell forge stood the one built by Jonas Morgan. This was
long known as the Southwell forge and stood on the west side
of the stream. At the Brainard's settlement stood the Brain
ard forge and some distance below this was a forge built and
operated by Joshua Daniels, father of Andrew J. Daniels of
Wsstport. A man named Rich built a forge at what is now New Russia
in 1802. H. A. Putnam afterw ards built a new forge at New
Russia. Basil Bishop built his famous cold blast forge at
Split Rock in 1825 and the Valley Forge was erected in 1846.
A forge was erected in the Miller settlement about 1830.
The Eddy forge and the forge operated by Deacon Levi
Brown on the Little Boquet between the Rice grist-mill and

473 HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
the site of the old twin bridges were both in operation along
in the early 30s.
Jonathan Steele is also said to have had a forge in this town
in pioneer days but where it was located I am unable to state.
However, when one stops to speak of the number of forges
once in operation here it seems to a member of the younger
generation like a romantic story, as the last forge fire went
out at New Russia over 20 years ago. Indeed, the passing
away of the old forges, saw-mills, etc., not to speak of the mis
sing members of the human family, makes us all think with
mingled feelings of pleasure and sadness of the "good old
times." How many changes time has wrought and how many
of us feel like saying :
"And my heart still bends
To my old, old friends,
To the dear old friends of yore
And I think with a sigh
¦ Of the days gone by
And of friends who shall greet me no more. "
Errata and Addenda.
The author begs pardon of the public for several typograph
ical errors that have "slipped through" in spite of him.
It is about 100 miles from Esopus to Saratoga instead of 50
miles, as implied on page 11.
Jane Ann Kellogg, wife of Wm. Codman, died at St. Charles,
Minn., instead of Winona, Minn., as stated on page 114.
In listing Elizabethtown's soldiers at the Battle of Platts
burgh the name of Lt. Samuel Webster Felt, a pioneer of the
Wadhams Mills section, was omitted.
Judge Francis' A. Smith informs me that, while he was
made a Mason in 1861, he was not a member of Sisco Lodge,
as is stated on page 406.
Exception may be taken to listing Miss Shattuck and Mrs.

HISTORY OP ELIZABETHTOWN 474
Blake, one and the same person, as two teachers on page 426.
The fact is Mrs. Blake appeared before her pupils as Miss
Shattuck and was so addressed by all for several weeks, al
though she had been married some time. Her husband was
in college where there was a regulation against marrying dur
ing the course, hence the secrecy.
Milo C. Perry served as District Attorney of Essex County
from Jan. 1, 1898, to Jan. 1, 1904, not including the year 1904.
The Bullard block, so-called, in Elizabethtown village, was
destroyed by fire early on the morning of Jan. 24, 1895. The
block built by Jacob H. Deming took the place of the one de
stroyed by fire, extending a little further west but not quite as
far east as the old building.
Squier Lee died at the home of his son, Squier John Lee,
Bristol, Ind., May 12, 1905, since the printing of this book
commenced. Daniel Cady Jackson died at his Delta, Col., home July 20,
1905, in the 75th year of his age.
Besides the cemeteries already mentioned in this book there
is a cemetery in the old Miller settlement on the road to Keene,
known as the Miller cemetery, and also an old cemetery on
Simonds Hill, the latter being in a neglected condition. In
the old cemetery on Simonds Hill some of Elizabethtown's
bravest and best — a number of the old Simonds family — were
buried and it seems too bad that that once beautiful "God's
acre" should grow up into a forest again. Cannot something
be done by those who survive the pale nations of the dead to
preserve the sacredness of the spot where so many of our pio
neers were committed to the earth "dust to dust, ashes to
ashes?"

INDEX.

PAGES.
A
Abel, Azel 57, 60, 62, 64, 82, 83,
94, 157, 243, 304, 331
" Oliver 60, 265, 266, 272
281, 297, 416
" Jr. 60
" Leander 60
" Mary 60
" Henry 60
" Adelaide V. 60
" James 60
" Benjamin 60
" Charles 60, 61
" Eunice 60
" Betsey 60
" Lucretia 60
" Alice E. 50, 102
Adams, Elisha A. 383, 386. 387
Adams, 160, 383, 398
Adirondack Lodge 406
Adgate, Asa 72
Allen, Jacob 321, 323
Allen, Ethan
Andrews, Abigail 96, 97
Rev. Eber 96
Reuben 97, 100, 101
Archibald, John 306, 360, 386
Arnold, Benedict B
Bailey, Major William 103
Barber, Hezekiah 74, 116, 117,
121, 183, 191, 202
Barber, Ernest 35
Barber's Point, Settlement 11, 12
Belton, George 4
Burgoyne, Sir John 3
Boquet, origin of name 3
Bishop, 366, 370, 371
Elijah 31, 36, 91
Basil 91, 312, 371
Bill, Patience 87
Benson, 324
Bench and Bar, 439-460

PAGE.S .
Blood, R. C. 45
Bostwick, 74, 81, 103
Breckinridge, Jonatlaan, 74, 83
Braman, 111
Brown, Levi D. 32, 42, 375, 392,
403, 404, 406
'I Friend A. 42
" Captain Josiah 87
Deacon Levi270, 317, 365
W. S. 290
John, 381, 387, 392
Buck, Walter 31
Burchard's Revival 362, 363
Butler, John, 96
C
Call, 167, 170, 264, 265
Calender, David 74
Carleton, 8
Cauley, Arthur 42
Chislm, John 4
Churches and Ministers, 431-439
Clinton, Governor George 14
Calkin, 112, 113, 273, 274, 417
Milo, Journal of 337-350
Coll, James W. 193
Comstock, 252, 307
County Seat, 185-190, 197-202
Counterfeit Money, 304, 305
Churchill, Gen . Sylvester 385, 386
Cooke, Jay 405
Craig, Mrs. 4
Cuyler, John Bleecker 53
Stephen 72,73
Edward S 73
James 73
Richard W. S. 73
Cutting, Sewall Sylvester 297
D
Davis, Noah 32, 42
Dart, Thomas 102
Deming, Ira 47
John J. 47
Ada V. 47

INDEX.

32,32,

42,

42,

Deming, Marion C.
" Jennie L.
Horatio 30,
" Willard
" Austin
Denton, Deyoe, Jacob
Downie, Durand, Joseph 32,
" Francis J.
" Charles Emanuel
'' AlexanderCalvin
' ' Simeon Milo
" . Horace
" Betsey
Polly Sarah
Lucy
" Myron
Edgar M.
" Alonzo M.
Helen M.
" Almeron M.
" Albert A.
" Alembert J.
Oliver H.
" Anderson K.
" Achsa A.
" MerariCharlotte
" Anna
" Mary
Dwyer, Samuel G.
E
Elizabethtown Circulating Library,
Elizabethtown and Lewis
Telephone Co.
Elizabethtown High School,
Elizabethtown Post,
Elizabethtown Water Co.

PAGES. 47

47
336336336
35, 337
32, 37
277
41, 367 41414242 42
380 42 41
42 4242
372 42 42424242 42424242 42
42 4242
396

PAGES.
Elizabethtown, organization 55-57
Elizabethtown and Westport
Plank Road Co. 375, 376
Elizabethtown Village, 409
Errata and Addenda, 467-470
Essex County Agricultural Society, 380
Essex Co., Organization of 67-71
Essex Co. Goal Limits, 210, 211
Essex Co. Times, 332, 333, 334,
335, 336
Essex Co. Times Subscribers,336

Essex Patriot,

393

304

P

417418407 382 416

Pelt, Aaron 111
Eerris, Noah 32, 33, 94, 111
Finel, Ozro 352
Egbert O. 353
Finney, Heman 35, 36
Joel 36
Anson 36
A. McD. 36, 372
Fisher, Josiah 297
Frisbee,Simeon 121, 183, 202, 211,
223, 226, 232, 291, 302
Elisha 202, 291
Henry Clinton, 291, 292
Captain Levi 282
Freshets, 324, 325, 384, 385, 417
G
Garrison, Rev. Freeborn 53
Gibbs, Jonas 32, 77
Gilliland, Wm. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
10, 12, 52, 53
Henry P. 57
B. P. 35
102, 292 111 26
40, 213, 297,
304-306
Emily P. 353
Juliet 353

Gilligan, Graves,Goodrich, Charles
Goszard, Mr.
Gress, Ezra C.

INDEX.

PAGES.
Gross, Charlotte, 353
H
Hale, Robert S. 36, 371, 386
" Matthew 385, 460
" Safford Eddy, 366
" Daniel 73
Halstead, John 80
Platt Rogers, 80
Caroline Eliza 80
Hamilton, Alexander, 117, 120
Hanchett, Jonah 31
Hatch, Charles 105, 110
Hammond, 191
Hand, 35, 326, 361, 380, 382
Hascall, Elder 196
Hendee, Edward 27
Hiern, Roger Alden 72
Hinckley, Thomas 74
Holcomb, Benjamin 32, 36, 190
Ansel 190, 274
Holcomb, Almond 32
Holt, Lodisa 47
Hodskins, 195, 196
Hoisington, James 36
Hubbell, Julius C. 275, 277
Hull, Eli 102. 103, 104, 320
Hurd, Zadoek, 102, 103, 117,
121, 183
I
Indians, 62-66
Ingraham, Henry 284
Iron Mountains Co. 408
Izard, 265, 266, 320
J
Jackson, 327, 330;
Jacobs, Rev. Richard 53, 54
" Henry 417
Jay, John 72, 73
Je'nks, Joseph 93, 94, 95, 117, 217
Judd, Ithai 35
Judd, David 35, 361, 403
Jury List, 300

PAGES.

K

Kellogg, William 32, 37, 40
Rowland 40, 41
" Amy 40
Orlando 40, 84
Eliza 40
" Alonzo 40
" Edwin 40
Lafayette 40
Valentine 114
Orson 114
Eldad 115
Elijah 113
Josiah 113
Kingdom Iron Company, 407
King, Mrs. Richard 86, 87
Kneeland, 365, 366
Knox, 112, 285
Knapp, Isaac 32, 183
Knoulton, Ruth 47, 83
Brook 47, 83
Henry 83
L
Lamb, Eliphalet 26
LaMountain, Louis 37
Lee, John 192
" Squier 192
Lewis, Morgan 26, 190
Lewis, Nathan 32, 74
Livingston, Lucy Jane 85
Robert R. 120
" W. 331, 332,
334, 356.
A. C. H. 372, 382
Loveland, Enos 90, 111, 117, 121,
191, 196, 197, 2i0,
243, 285.
Ralph A. 91
Lobdell, Sylvanus 32, 43, 73, 81,
111, 117, 121
" Simon 43
John 43, 197, 210, 243
272, 332, 365, 368,

INDEX.

INDEX.
Lobdell, Jacob 43
Joshua 43
Erastus 44
Levi 44
" James 44
" Nancy 44
" Caroline 44
" Rosamond 44
Jerome T. 44
Boughton, 43, 243, 285
Lockwood, Leander, J. 306,311
325.
Luckey, Rev. Dr. 54
M
MacDonough, 254, 255, 256, 263
264, 265, 276
Matthews, Jacob, 92
" Grandmother 93
Marvin, 84, 322, 323
Marsh, 291, 302
Maclane, Robert 4
Mattoon, George 4
MacDougal, Alexander 62
Melson, George, 4
McAuley, Robert 4, 6
McNeil, David B. 261
Marks, 305, 306, 380
Merritt, Cynthia 47
Meigs, 380
Miller, 286, 287
Mitchell, Alanson 311, 324
Wm. N. 335
Mooers, Benjamin 257, 267
281, 282
Morgan, Jonas, 76, 191
Morse, Dr. Alexander, 84, 183
213
" Alpheus 85
Percival 85
" Ralza 85
Alpheus A. 85
Mountains, Ponds & Streams, 419
Murray, Miss Amelia M. 384

INDEX.

N

Newell, Ebenezer 73, 74, 81, 191
197, 210
' Norman 73, 74, 81
' Pollaus A. 157, 306
Nichols, Reuben 31
Harry H. 75
Nicholson, Norman 101, 105
304, 306
Georges. 105
" John D. 105
Noble, Henry Harmon 72, 254
Ransom 254, 314
Charles H. 297, 404, 405
Northwest Bay, 110, 182, 183
Notes of the Settlement
of the Boquet Valley, 25-34
O
O'Donnell, Thomas B. 36, 37
Oldruff, Charls C. 77
Ore and Peat, 467, 468
Osgood, 286
Otis, William N. 37
P
Pangborn, Timothy 102
" Joseph 74
Partridge, Adolphus R. 43
" Mason H. 43
" Winslow R. 43
Parkman, Francis 65, 66
Peck, Reuben 42
Phelps, Hezekiah 31
" George 47
Brook 47
Philips, Wendell, 387, 392
Pierce, Alonzo 47
Pleasant Valley 50, 51, 66, 67
74, 260
Payne, Benjamin 102, 111
Betsey 102
Pond, 282, 292, 307
Post, Dr. Asa, Letter of 25-34
" " " 161, 197, 210, 213

INDEX.

INDEX.

Post,Dr. Asa 243,285,293,304, 386 Roscoe, Ruth

Post, Jonathan,
Perry, 292, 293,
Person, Potter, John
Postmasters,
Physicians,

32, 274, 312
377, 417, 460-462 290 74
421
430, 431

Q

Queen Victoria's R

Maid of Honor, 384

Ray, Wm.
Raymond, Edward
Reynolds, Gen.
Elder
Reveille,

Rice,

205-252 7
102
105, 287
233, 235, 287, 290
291, 302, 394 95

Amos,
" Solomon
" Truman,
' ' Lorenzo,
Rice, Luke
Richards, William
" Mary Ann
Rich, Elijah
" Eliza
Rogers, Robert
" Platt, Field Notes,
etc. 4-25, 51, 52, 55
' ' Ananias
Roscoe, Stephen
" William E.
" Azor
" Simeon
" Friend M,
" Kaziah Phila
" Lucy
Polly
" James
" NancyAbbie
Lois

100, 101101
101, 102 31 9595
748'^
1,

107107 4444464646 46
46 46
4646
464646

Ross,

INDEX. 46 47
47474747 4750 50
72, 73, 76
72, 73
73, 261, 263
74, 75, 76,
117, 121, 290
Van Rensselaer 76

James
Robertson Nelson J.
Charlotte,
John B.
HudsonEsther Mary Daniel
Henry H.
William D.
Theodorus

" Gansevoort
'' Sarah Ann
Royce, Caroline H.
S
Saw-mills and Forges,
Schools and Teachers,
State Arsenal, " Raid,

7676
52, 105, 182
183, 257, 261

468-470 421-430203-205
357, 360
361, 362
316, 317
74, 120 4
42
42
115
8, 117

Sanders, John 31
Schuyler, Gen. Philip
Shepherd, Catherine
Sherman, John
" Jesse
Sheldon,Skene, Major Philip
Simonds Hill, Historv of 161-181
' ' Elijah 462-464
Split Rock, 5
Smith, Stewart 31
" Sampson 31
Soper, John 84
Southwell, Jacob 73, 77. 117, 197
210, 304, 306, .372
Soldiers, War of 1812 270-284
Civil War 393-403
Starch Factory 386, 389

INDEX.

PAGES.

Stark, Col. John
Steele, James W.
Steamboat, Invention of 183, 184
Stone, Jeremiah
Stow, Gardner
Sutherland, Thomas T
Tappan's Line
Taylor, Thomas
Temperance Society,
Tompkins, Daniel D.
Toms, Isaac,
Turnpike, Great Northern 122-196
Turner, David 376, 377
V
Van Rensselaer, Elizabeth. 74
"Sweet Kitty "75
W
Wadhams, Gen. Luman 83
Edgar Prindle, 83

303, 377297 35 13
102
354, 356
203-251
274, 281

PAGES.
War of 1812, 244-284
Watson, Winslow C. 52, 80
Walbridge, Ebenezer 191
Walworth, Major 281
Weed, Patience 41
Westport, 293-295
Whitcomb, P. S. & Co. 373, 374
376, 380
Wilhams, Charles N. 61, 313
E. F. 306, 370
Wise, Gov. Henry A. 387
Wood, Robert H. 72
" Charles M. 418
Woodruff, Roger Hooker 83, 84
Wood Alcohol Factory, 415
Wright, Daniel 87, 90, 250, 254
257, 261, 262, 263, 264
266, 270, 276, 282, 310
Wyman, 316, 317, 371
Y
Yaw, Elisha 336

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