Full text of "The centennial history of the town of Dryden. 1797-1897"

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pS'Cket of book after 'feacn i

JOHN ELLIS, " KING OF DRYDEN.

I tin oil pnitrait painted in Albany in the year 1831 or 1832, while he was a representative
of Tompkins county in the State Legislature, the original oil painting still
being in the possession of his descendants.

TH e

CENTENNIAL HISTORY

TOWN OF miDEE,li^lhi^

'797" '897-

COMPILED AND EDITED BY
GEO. E. GOODRICH.

WITH THE AID OF THK CENTENNIAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
AND MANY OTHERS.

J. GILES FORD, PRINTER:

The Dkvden Herald Steam Printinc; House.

dryden, new york.

I«t8.

iv PREFACE.

which appear liave been provided upon the request of the Committee
by the persons represented, or their friends, and the portrait of no liv-
ing resident of the township will be here found. Little attention lias
been given in this work to the present, while the great effort has been
to resurrect and preserve the past, representing so far as possible old
land-marks and dwelling upon old habits and conditions as they for-
merly existed. The table of contents and list of illustrations immedi-
ately following will serve the purpose of a more complete index which
it had been intended to supply at the end of the volume. Such a one
had been partly prepared, but when the types were all up it was dis-
covered that we had already occupied more than the space provided,
and this feature was therefore reluctantly given up.

While it would be inadvisable here to attempt to mention all who
have lent a helping hand to the preparation of this work, the writer
Avishes to acknowledge his special obligations to Chas. F. Mulks, of
Ithaca, a descendant of the Ellis family, of Dryden, for his exhaustive
and painstaking researches, of which this book has the benefit, and
without which it Avould suffer, especially in the matter of statistics and
genealogy, as well as in general accuracy. We are also under great
obligations to Ex-Governor William Marvin, of Skaneateles, formerly
a Dryden boy, now ninety years of age, who, with his own trembling
hand, has, by letters and manuscripts, answered many inquiries and
supplied much information not otherwise obtainable.

To the members of the Committee, one and all, whose names are
given upon the reverse of the title page, the public will be indebted
for whatever shall be found worthy to be preserved in the future from
this first attempt to accurately record and perpetuate at length the
annals of the town of Drvden. G. E. G.

254, after "Assum/s the god," /ear thetottom oftheWirread "AK'to nod.""''"''"' '^^^ "^"Irew.'

Page
Page

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Prehistoric Conditions, _ _ _

Indian Occupation, _ _ . -

The Approach of Civilization,

The First Settlement, - - - -

The First Resident Freeholder,

Other Settlements of 1798 and 1799, -

Settlements from 1800 to 1803 Inclusive, -

The Political Organization of the Town,

Events from 1803 to 1812, -

The War of 1812, . . . _

Events from 1812 to 1822, -

Review of the Pioneer Period,

The Period of Development — Transportation,

Immigration and Emigration, - - -

Occupation of the Inhabitants,

Review of the Development Period, -

The Civil War Period,

The War of the Rebellion,

Personal Record of Dr3^den Soldiers,

Internal Improvements, . _ _

The Period of Maturity, _ - -

Dryden Village in the Pioneer Period,

Pioneer Families of Dryden Village,

Dryden Village in the Development Period, -

Dryden Village in the War Period,

Dryden Village in the Maturity Period,

Anecdotes of Dryden Village,

Schools, Churches and Cemeteries of Dryden Village,

The Southworth Library, - - -

Willow Glen, - - -

West Dryden, - - - -

Varna and Fall Creek, - - - -

Etna, - - . - _

Isaiah Giles and Gilesville,

McLean and Malloryville, -

Freeville, _____

The Octagonal School-House,

Further Historv of the South-west Section, -

CHAPTER.

PAGE.

- 12

- 11

- 16

- 18

- 20

- 22

- 24

- 26

105

B, 28

107

113

- 30

116

121

- 32

131

137

- 34

144

149

- 36

152

159

- 38

162

CONTENTS.

Further History of the North-west Section,

Further History of the North-east Section,

Further History of the South-east Section,

The Dryden Agricultural Society,

The Ellis Family in Dryden,

The Snyder Family in Dryden,

The McGraw Family in Dryden, -

The Benjamin Wood Family in Dryden,

John Southworth, - - - .

Milo Goodrich,

Jeremiah Wilbur Dwight, - - -

John C. Lacy, - - - -

Andrew Albright, - - - -

Other Dryden Men of Note, -

The Dryden Centennial Celebration,

CHAPTER.

PAGE.

167

- .0

175

180

- 42

184

191

- 44

194

199

- 46

202

208

■ 48

212

215

■ 50

218

220

■ 52

224

244

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE.

]

PAGE.

Township Map,

The Octagonal School-House,

, 160

Porket insiih fro)it

cover

Church at Snyder Hill, -

167

John Ellis, " King of Dry

Ellis Hollow Church,

• 168

den," - - Fro)iH

'■s niece

Main Building, Dryden Fail',

185

Dryden Lake,

- 3

Scene at Dryden Fair,

■ 189

The New Log-Cabin,

Major Peleg Ellis,

192

Dryden Center House,

- 41

John McGraw,

200

The Old Brick Store,

John Southworth,

209

Dryden Woolen Mill,

- 95

Milo Goodrich, (facing)

212

Park and M. E. Church, -

100

Jeremiah Wilbur Dwight,

Main Street, Dryden,

- 104

(facing) -

215

Map of Dryden Village, (fac

John C. Lacy, (facing)

218

ing)

- 104

x\ndrew iVlbright, (facing)

220

The Presbyterian Church,

109

Smith Pvobertson,

225

Jennie McGraw-Fiske,

- 113

William Marvin, -

227

The Southworth Library,

115

Richard Marvin,

229

West Dryden M. E. Church,

- 123

Thomas J. McElheny, -

230

Mrs. Alletta George,

127

Orrin S. Wood,

232

Map of Varna,

- 130

Otis E. Wood, -

234

Varna, from E. K. Station,

132

John Miller, - - -

236'

Main Street, Varna, -

- 134

Samuel D. Halliday,

238

Map of Etna,

136

George B. Davis,

239

Etna, West Side,

- 139

John D. Benton, -

240

Etna, East Side, -

143

Dr. Francis J. Chenev,

242

Samuel Mallory,

- 150

Warren W. Tyler, ^ -

243

Freeville Grist-Mill,

152

Inside the Log-Cabin,

251

Shaver's Hotel,

- 153

Joseph E. Eggleston,

261

Freeville Junction,

155

" Everything Goes, " -

263

Map of Freeville, (facing)

- 156

The George Junior Republic,

157

THE

CENTENNIAL HISTORY

OF THE

TOWN OF DRYDEN

CHAPTER L

PREHISTOIUC CONDITIONS.

The complete history of evei\y atom of matter extends back to its
creation ; so the early history of the territory now known as the town
of Dryden, is coeval with the formation of the present surface of the
earth itself. While the scope of our work will be mainly confined
to the century })erio(l immediately following the first settlement of the
township by its present race of inhabitants, a brief reference to its
earlier conditions will here be permitted, bringing it down to the time
when our History properly begins.

Our knowledge of the earth's early history must be principally de-
rived from the science of geology, which teaches that this portion of
the state of New York was once the bottom of an ancient ocean, of
which the sea shells and fossil fishes, found in the stratified layers of
our native rocks, and the extensive beds of salt which are now known
to underlie the surface of certain sections, if not all of our county,
seem to afford abundant proof. Scientific scholars tell us that the
northern part of oui state first emerged from this prehistoric sea,
which, gradually receding toward the south, left bare the native strati-
fied rock formation of our locality in what the geologists term the
Chemung period of the Devonian age. The}- teach us that subse-
quently powerful forces, by means perhaps of icebergs and glacial ac-
tion, brought here and scattered about boulders and gravel beds from

2 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

older and more northern geological formations, at the same time plow-
ing up and pulverizing into soil the native strata, and scooping out
our valley's, in some places so deep as to form the beds of the numer-
ous lakes which are a marked physical feature of Western New York.
These lakes and valleys, with their intermediate ridges of hills and
uplands, usually extend in a general north and south direction, the
hills of our township var3'ing from 1500 to 1800 feet above the present
sea level, while the beds of some of the neighboring lakes, Seneca for
€xam]ile, lie below the surface of the ocean itself. Just how these re-
sults were brought about must still be a matter for scientific study, but
certain it is that this process of creation or development, whatever it
may have been, resulted in leaving a rolling surface and a deep and
fertile soil covering the beautiful hills and dales of our county of
Tompkins.

When first discovered by civilized man our town was a dense forest,
mostly of hemlock and hard wood timber, liberally sprinkled with
large trees of white ]nne, which in some places grew to be so thrifty
and thick as to monopolize the soil and overshadow and crowd out the
inferior growth. How many generations of these undisturbed forest
trees grew and tlecayed before being seen by the first settler, must be
a matter of pure speculation ; how this primeval forest appeared to
the hardy pioneers who cleared it from the sites of our present homes,
must be to us a subject for interesting reflections.

The physical features of the country which have suffered the least
change in their appearance during the century period of our history, are
the larger streams, which " while man may come and man may go "
still " flow on forever " from their fountains to the sea. When first
discovered, Virgil, Fall and Cascadilla creeks, although unconscious
of their present names, with more obstructed channels l)ut with larger
volumes of water, drained the same valleys through which they still
flow. They were then in their wild, untrained and unbroken state, un-
saddled by bridges and unbridled by mill dams, but they took the
same general courses which the}^ now pursue, and were the first land-
marks in the boundless forest. The hills, too, although hidden from
view by the foliage of the unbroken shade, must have presented the
same general form as now. Our Dryden lake, since enlarged by arti-
ficial means, still had an existence as a small bod}^ of water, wlien na-
ture turned it over for the use of man. For unknown ages its tiny
Avaves broke on the lonely shore, or, in more placid mood, its calm sur-
face, all unseen, reflected the shadows of the virgin forest of pin<^ with
which it was completely surrounded.

4 ' HISTOKY OF DliYDEN.

CHAPTER 11.

INDIAN OCCUPATION.

Although there is iki record that the town of Drytlen was ever the
site of any permanent Indian settlement, there is abundant evidence
that the Indians occupied it as a hunting ground. The little Hint ar-
rowheads which are still found, es])eci:dly along the banks of the
streams and upon the shoi'es of the Lake, are unmistakable proof of
the presence of the Indians, and the chips of Hint, the waste product
of the rude manufacture of these arrowheads, and other im])lements
of stone found frequently about the shores of the Lake, indicate that
at some time the}^ had there at least a tem})orary encampment. The
nearest Indian villages of which we have any authentic account were
tlie habitations of the Cayugas, near the present site of the city of
Ithaca, and extending on both sides of Cayuga Lake to its outlet.
Central New York, when first known to civilization, was the home of
the " Iroquois, " a term applied first to five and afterwards to six ccni-
federated Indian tribes, which included the Cayugas, and is said to
have constituted the most powerful force of Indians on the American
Continent. We may perhaps claim some significance in the fact that
the territory Avhich now constitutes the central and western part of
the Empire State was once the home and hunting ground of the
victorious Iroquois, the conquerers of all the neighboring tribes. It
was said that such experiences had the New England tribes of Indians
suffered from the Mohawks — the eastei-n branch of the Iroquois — that
the very mention of the name of "a Mohawk" caused them to flee
with terror. The Iroquois had recently conquered the Adirondacks
on the north and the Eries and Hurons on the west, and after becom-
ing known to wdiite men, in one of their southern excursions, they res-
cued from their enemies the whole tribe of Tuscaroras of North Caro-
lina, whom they brought home with them and adopted as the sixth
branch of their nation.

The conditions and habits of these al)origines form an interesting
study to those wdio have investigated the subject. The first white
men to go among them, except occasional fur traders, were the mis-
sionaries of the French Jesnits, wdio for a century prior to the Eng-
lish occupation of their territory, had lived and labored among them
in the vain effort to effect their conversion to their form of Christianity.
These, like other American Indians, from the first seemed to take much
more naturally to the vices than to the virtues of their white brothers

INDIAN OCCrPATION. 5

find the sacrifices of those zealous men, wlio left their pleasant homes
in France to live and work among tiie Indians of North America for
their education and development in the Christian faith, were worthy
of better success than resulted. But the reports which these French
Catholic priests sent back to their native country of their experiences
among them are now found carefully preserved in French monasteries,
and constitute one of the most interesting and trustworthy sources of
our knowledge of the actual condition in which the Indians were tJien
found. The " relations " (as they are called) of one Father Carheil,
who spent over twenty years of his life anjong the Ca3'Ugas, and wdio
in the year 1672 describes Lake Tiohero (now Cayuga) and the beauti-
ful country surrounding it, with its abundance of fish and game, have
thus recently been resurrected and translated into English, throwing
much light upon this subject so interesting to the antiquarian.

In the French and Indian wars, which preceded the Revolution,
the Iroquois, in spite of the French priests, took sides with the Eng-
lish, and rendered eflicient assistance in the conquest of Canada from
the French. When the War of the Revolution followed between the
English colonies and their mother country, the Iroquois at first de-
cided to remain neutral, but the most of them were afterwards per-
suaded to join their old allies, the English. This exposed the out-
posts of the colonies to a merciless enemy in the rear, and the fright-
ful massacres of Cherry Valley and Wyoming were among the results.
Fortunate it was for the early settlers of our locality that these bloody
times passed before they ventured into the Western Wilderness.

To avenge these outrages and to punish the hostile Indians and
drive them from the neighborhood of the advance settlements, an in-
vasion of the Iroquois country was executed in the year 1779, known
as " Sullivan's campaign, " which, after a b;ittle with the combined
forces of Indians and Tories near Newtown (now Elmira), resulted in
their complete defeat, followed by the subsequent overrunning of the
Indian country and the destruction of their villages, including those
along Cayuga and Seneca lakes. This campaign, forming a part of
the Ilevolutionar}^ war, planned by Washington and executed by Gen-
erals Sullivan and Clinton with a force of about five thousand men,
detachments of which marched within a few miles of the town of Dry-
den, and perhaps within its borders, resulted in the complete humili-
ation of the fierce Iroquois, and opened the way for the subsequent
purchase and settlement of this section of Western New York, over
which up to that time they had held absolute sway. With the excep-
tion of the Oneidas, who had remained friendly to the colonies, and

6 HTSTOEY OF DEYDEN.

a part of the OnoiKlagas, whose descendants still remain on their res-
ervation near Syracuse, the Iroquois were driven from this part of the
state never to return in large numbers. Some took refuge in Canada
and along the Niagara frontier, others, including a number from the
Cayuga and Seneca tribes, were colonized in the extreme western
part of this state, while most of the Cayugas were induced to make
their homes in the Indian Territory, where their descendants now re-
side in considerable numbers. Thus it happened that the early pio-
neers of our town escaped all annoyance from hostile Indians, who had
been effectually driven out of the country before any settlement was
attempted.

Those readers who desire to follow more minutely the details of
" Sullivan's Campaign " will find the journals of the officers of that
ex})edition, with full ex]:)lanatory notes and maps, given in a large vol-
ume recently published by the State, a copy of which can be found in
the Dryden village school library.

CHAPTER TIL

THE APPROACH OF CIVILIZATION.

The War of the Revolution was practically ended in 1781, two years
after Sullivan's Campaign was carried out against the Indians of West-
ern NeAv York. Within the next ten years the remnants of the Iro-
quois confederacy ceded their lands, by various treaties, to the State.
Conditions favorable to the settlement of this locality were thus rapid-
ly developed. Other sections of the countr}^ both north and south of
us, more readily reached by means of navigable lakes and rivers, were
already occupied by the pioneer settlers, while the ridge separating
the head waters of the St. Lawrence from those of the Susquehanna,
of which our town forms a part, was still uninhabited. In February,
1789, the N. Y. State Legislature passed a law for surveying and set-
ting apart for the use of its soldiers of the Revolution who then sur-
vived, a large section of land between Seneca and Oneida lakes after-
wards known as the " Militar}^ Tract," comprising nearly two million
acres, and including the town of Dryden, which was designated in the
survey as Township No. 23. This tract was surveyed in the years 1789
and 1790, and divided into twenty-six townships, to which two more
were afterwards added, making twenty-eight in all, each being about
ten miles square and containing one hundred lots of about one mile
square each, Dryden is one of the few to retain nearly its original di-

THE APPROACH OF CIVILIZATION. 7

mensions. The little iK)tcli wliicli formerly existed in tlie southeast
corner of the town before the seven lots were set oft' to Caroline, was
caused by the overlapping of the territorj' known as the Massachusetts
Ten Townships upon the Military Tract, the West Owego Creek, which
rises in Dryden near the southwest corner, being the west boundary
of the former. The lots of Dryden were surveyed in the year 1790, b}'
John Konkle, of Schoharie. In the southeast corner of each lot was
set apart one hundred acres, known and frequently referred to in old
descriptions, which are brought down into deeds of even this date, as
the " State's Hundred Acres, " which the owner had the option of
exchanging for an equal number of acres of the U. S. lands in Ohio ;
and out of each lot was reserved a piece of fifty acres, known as the
" Survey Fifty Acres, " which was retained by the surveyor for his ser-
vices, unless redeemed by the owner at eight dollars. So poor were
the earlv inhabitants in those da^^s, and so scarce was money, that
many of them were unable to raise the eight dollars necessary to save
the Survey Fifty Acres of their lots even on these terms.

Out of each township one lot was reserved for gospel and school
purposes and another for promoting literature, the gospel and school
lot in Dryden being No. 29 and the literature lot No. 63. The other
lots were drawn by ballot in the year 1791 by the New York soldiers
of the Revolution, each private and non-cc^mmissioned officer being en-
titled to draw one lot. A copy of the " Balloting Book " containing
the names of the soldiers of the Revolution by whom the lots of the
t(nvn of Dryden were originally drawn, can now be found in the Tomp-
kins county clerk's office. This method of distribution of the land of
the township l)y ballot, accounts for the fact that the early settlers of
the town did not come in large colonies from any particular part of
the older settlements, but came singly or in small groups from locali-
ties widely separated.

Prior to this time all of the western part of the state was embraced
in the old county of Montgomery, but in the j'ear 1791 Herkimer and
Tioga counties, the latter including Dryden, were set off fronj Mont-
gomery and in 1794 Onondaga county, then made to include all of the
Military Tract, was formed and set off' from Tioga and Herkimer.
Thus our Township No. 23 was, from 1791 to 1794, a, part of Tioga
county, l)econiing in 1794 a ]iart of Onondaga county, and so remained
until it was appropriated to form a part of the new count}^ of Cayuga
in 1799, and was afterwards set off to form a part of the present coun-
ty of Tompkins u})on its organization in the year 1817.

It is thus seen how it happens that all of the records of land titles

8 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

of the town of Dryden, prior to 1817 and subsequent to 1799, are found
in the clerk's office of the county of Caynga, the records of our own
county comniencing- with its formation in the year 1817. Township
No. 23, while in Montgomery county, was included io the political sub-
diyision of Whitestown ; upon its incorporation into Tiogji county in
1791 it became a ]iart of the old town of Owego ; l)ut when it
was absorbed by Onondaga county it was at first included, in its po-
litical existence, with the present townships of Enfield and Itha-
ca in the original town of Ulysses, the organization of which dates
back to the formation of Onondaga county in 1794. On Feb. 22,
1803, Township No. 23 was set off by itself, having been previoush'
named Dryden by the commissioners of the land office, in honor
of John Dryden, the English poet. 'Jdie townships of Ithaca and
Enfield remained a part of Ulysses, in their political organization,
until four years later.

But few of the soldiers of the Revolution came and settled upon the
lots which fell to them. The old veterans of those days, like some of
later times, cared more for their present comfort than for an oppor-
tunity of finding new homes in the wilderness of the Military Tract.
Nor can the old Revolutionary soldiers, after having passed through
the hardships involved in the seven years' Avar with England, be
blamed for shrinking from the privation and suffering incident to pio-
neer life in a new country. Many of them disposed of their titles for a
mere trifle. For instance it is said that the original owner of the lot
of 640 acres upon which the Dryden Center House now stands, sold it
for a coat, hat, one drink of rum, and one dollar in money, and that
the soldier who drew Lot No. 9 sold it for one "great coat. " "Land
sharks" existed e^■en in those days and manv^ of the soldiers' claims
to the territory of Dryden were bought up for a trifling consideration
by speculators in the East, who held them for advanced ]-)rices, at
which the}' were sold to those who became actual settlers.

So great a length of time elapsed between the drawing of the lots
and the actual occupation of them, and so many loose and fraudu-
lent transfers were made of them in the meantime, that the uncertain-
ty of titles resulting was one of the troubles which vexed and disap-
pointed the early settlers, much more than we of the present day can
realize. Some, however, of the original owners retained their lots and
occupied the lands which the government had given them as a bounty
for their services. As an example, Elias Larabee, who drew Lot No.
49, including tlie southeast quarter of Dryden village, came and lived
for a long time upon his lot, and one of his descendants, Daniel Law-

THE APPKOACH OF CIVILIZATION. 9

sou, a peosioner of the War of the Rebellion, still owns aud occupies a
small part of it.

The town liavino- been surveyed in 1790 and the lots being drawn in
1791, the next question was how were these jx^ssessions in the wilder-
ness of the Military Tract to be reached. The first settlers had al-
ready arrived at Owego and Elmira by way of the Susquehanna and
Chemung rivers, while others had come to Syracuse and Auburn b}'
way of the Mohawk and Seneca rivers and the lakes, and settlements
had been commenced in and about Ithaca and Lansing, on the banks
of Cayuga Lake, by parties who had taken these routes, but there was
uo direct practicable way to reach from the cast the elevated water-
shed lying between the two, until a road was cut through the woods
from Oxford on the Chenango River to Ithaca at the head of Cayuga
Lake, which was done in the years 1793, 179-1 and 1795, by Joseph
Chaplin under a contract from the State. Mr. Chaplin was the first
settler in the town of Virgil and we quote from Bouton's History of
that town, pages 9 and 10, concerning him and his work as fol-
lows :

"To facilitate the settlement of this section of the country, a
road was projected connecting Oxford with the Cayuga Lake, to pass
through this town [Virgil.] Joseph Chaplin, the first inhabitant, was
intrusted with this work. The instrument by which he was author-
ized to engage in it was authenticated on the fifth of May, 1792. He
spent that season in exploring and surveying the route, the length of
which is about sixty miles. He came to Lot No. 50 [of Virgil], which
he owned and afterwards settled, erected a house and prosecuted his
work, having a woman to keep the house and cook for workmen. The
work of cutting and clearing the road was done in 179o-4 ; so that he
moved his family from Oxford over it in the winter of 1794-5, employ-
ing six or seven sleighs freighted with family, furniture, provisions, etc."

But it seems that when he had completed the road as far as Virgil
he was persuaded by some settlers from Kidder's Ferry (near Ludlow-
ville) to continue the road from Virgil through to that point, as it then
contained more inhabitants than Ithaca. Having done so he present-
ed his lull to the Legislature, Avhich rejected it on the ground that he
had not complied with the terms of his contract, which required the
road to be built to Ithaca. He then returned and in the year 1795 cut
the road through from Virgil to Ithaca known as the "Bridle Road,"
and thus became entitled to his pa^', the first road opened by him
being now known as the old State Road, extending between the towns
of Dryden and Groton and through Lansing to the Lake.

10 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

The foregoing is tlie version of tliis matter wliich has appeared in
the local histoi'ies previously published, but it is now claimed, with
better reason as it seems to us and more consistently with the con-
ditions which are known to have then existed, that the Bridle Road
was the trial route lirst partly opened by Cha|)lin, and which the state
government refused to accept because it did not terminate as required
by the contract at a point on Cayuga Lake, the early Ithaca settle-
ment being at least a mile from its nearest shore ; and that he then
fuliilled the letter of his contract by afterwards opening the old State
Road to Kidder's Ferry, leaving the lirst route only a bridle path
which Capt. Robertson, as we shall see hereafter, was obliged to widen
in order to reach with ox teams by way of Ithaca his site on Lot 53 of
Dryden.

We are told that in this work of cutting these new roads tlirough
the wilderness, Mr. Chaplin was assisted by his step-sou, then a
young man, Gideon Messenger b}^ name, who is the ancestor of the
present Messenger family of Dryden and the uncle of H. J. Mes-
senger, of Cortland. From Bouton's History we learn that tins same
Gideon Messenger was the first town clerk of Yirgil in 1795, after-
wards its supervisor, and that he passed over the State Road from
State Bridge, in the eastern part of Yirgil, to Cayuga Lake, before
there was a single habitation in the whole distance. (Bouton's Sup-
plement, page 39.)

CHAPTER lY.

THE FIRST SETTLEMENT.

It seems to be conceded that the first actual settler in the town of
Dryden was Amos Sweet. Our information upon this subject is de-
rived almost entirely from the " Old Man in the Clouds, " the fictitious
name of the author of a series of articles published in " Rumsey's
Companion, " the first newspaper published at Dr3^den, in the years
1856 and 1857, and which were, in fact, compiled by the editor from
the information afibrded by old men, then living, but since dead, and
in that way preserved. We quote from the first number as follows :

" It was in the spring of 1797, that a man by the name of Amos Sweet
c me from the East somewhere, and, after ascertaining the location of
his lot, put up a log house about ten feet square, just back of where
now resides Freeman Stebbins [now John Munsey] in this village,
where himself, his wife, two children, his mother and brother all lived.

THE FIRST SETTLEMENT. 11

This would seem to be m very small and rude habitation to the people
of our present gay and beautiful village. It was built of logs about a
foot thick ; these were halved together at the ends and the cracks
chinked in with split sticks and mud. The house was eight logs high,
covered with bark from the elm and basswood. Through one corner
an opening was left for the smoke to pass through, there being no
chimney or chamber Hoor. The lire-place was composed of three
hardhead stones turned up against the logs for the back, and three or
four others of the same stamp formed the hearth, these being laid
upon the split logs which formed the floor. Inasmuch as there was
no sash or glass in those days in this vicinity, their only window con-
sisted of an opening about eighteen inches square cut through the
logs, and this, to keep out the inclement weather, was covered with
brown paper, greased over to admit the light. The door was also in
keeping with the rest of the house, being composed of slabs split from
the pine and hewn off as smooth as might be with the common axe.
The hinges were of wood and fastened across the door with pins of the
same material, serving the double purpose of cleet and hinge. In this
house, thus built without nails and with benches fastened to the sides
of the house for chairs, eating from wooden trenchers and slab tables
much after the fashion of the door, did this little family of pioneers
live. "

But the title to the lot upon which Mr. Sweet built seems to
have been defective and one Nathaniel Shelden appears to have had
the real ownership, for in 1801, he compelled Mr. Sweet and his family
to leave it. Elsewhere Mr. Sweet is spoken of as a " squatter, " or one
having no title, and Mr. Shelden is represented as using "fraudulent
means" to dispossess him, but charit}' for both of these early pioneers
compels us to believe that the difficulty grew out of the great uncer-
taint}' and confusion which then existed as to the titles derived from
the old soldiers of the Revolution, some oi whom had undertaken to
sell the same lands se\'eral times over to different parties. At any
rate Sweet was compelled to leave his pioneer home in 1801, and soon
after, as the account says, "he sickened and died, and his remains,
together with those of his mother and two children, " were buried
directly across the road from the Dryden Springs Sanitarium. The
house remained for some time after, for we are told that it was used as
the first school house for the children of the early settlers in the
year 1804.

The new log cabin constructed during the summer of 1897 on the
grounds of the Dryden Agricultural Society was built of green

12 HISTORY OF DEYDEN.

chestnut logs and modeled after this tirst pioneer honse in Drvden.
It is intended to be preserved and it is hoped it will long remain as
a relic of that kind of architecture, once so prevalent here, where now
onh^ the decay ing remains of two or three log houses can be found
in the whole township.

The fact that we now find no signs of the graves Avhere Mr. Sweet
and his family are said to have been buried, strikes us at first as
singular, but a little reflection and an examination of the customs of
the early settlers in that regard, su]^plies us with the explanation.
The pioneers had too much to do to spend much time or efi'ort in the
burial of their dead and were too poor to go to much expense in such
matters. Mr. Bouton, in his History of Virgil, says that the first grave-
stone in that town was erected in 1823, although deaths had occurred
there from its earliest settlement. He also explains their method of
selecting places for the burial of their dead, which seems to us
strange. We quote from pages 13 and 11 of the Supplement, where
he speaks of a stranger who lost his way and perished in l^the woods,
and mentions that he was buried near where he was found.

THE FIRST RESIDENT FREEHOLDER. 18

"Only ;i few families ;it tin; time (1798) resided in the towu, wliic-li
exteiuUnl over ten miles of tenitory. There was no pnblic l)uryin^-
ground and it was not possible to know where it would be located. ■'"
^^ ■• Families buried their dead on their own ])remises, and others,
strangers and transient persons, were permitted to be laid in these
family grounds. Ultimately it came to pass that one or more of
these grounds came to V)e considered piJilic, in a subordinate sense.
There were a large number of them which continued in use after the
public ground was o})ened."

Grave-stones as seen in old cemeteries, where any existed at all, were
then of the simplest character, many being made of nati\e tlag-stones,
and the coffin of the pioneer was a coarse wooden box manufactured
by the local undertaker, tifteen dollars paying for the very best.

When we come to think of it, a cemetery would not be much of an
institution in an earh' settlement in the woods, especially where the
living inhabitants had all they could do to keep soul and body to-
gether. Far ditferent is it in a communit3' of a century's growth,
where now our cemetery tombstones, many of them imported from
Italy and Scotland, represent the expenditure of very many thousands
of dollars, and the earth beneath them already envelops the forms of
the ever-increasing, yet silent, majority.

CHAPTER V.

THE FIRST RESIDENT FREEHOLDER.

While Amos Sweet was the tirst man to take up his residence in
Dryden, he seems never to have held permanent title to any of its real
estate, ;rnd, so far as we can learn, he left no relatives or descendants
from whom any of the present inhabitants can trace their ancestry.
We know not wdience he came, except from the " Old Man in the
Clouds," who says that he came from "the East somewhere," and our
short story of his appearance and residence here is an unsatisfactory
and a tragic one. We have already given all the facts which we can
learn of him except the statement derived from an old obituary notice
of Seth Stevens, a relative of the early Eummer family in Dryden,
which relates that Stevens, while probably residing in Virgil, helped
to build the first log house in Dryden, presumably the Amos Sweet
house. We have accidentally come across his signature as a witness
to an old Dryden deed, which shows that he could write, an accom-
plishment at that time none too common.

U HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

The next settlement in the township was made by a man whose life
had a permanent intlnence upon the town, and who well-earned the
title which was afterward i;iven him of bein^- the "Father of the Town,"
having been its first resident freeholder and afterward its tirst super-
visor.

In the year 1797 there lived near Sehuvlerville, Saratoga county,
N. Y., George Robertson, a T(n-ing carpenter and millwright, who by
piatieut industr}^ had acquired a home and a little pro])erty, but whose
ambition prompted him to become a pioneer in the undeveloped wil-
derness of the Military Tract. His father, Robert Robertson, who
had recently died, had in 1769 emigrated with his family, consisting
of his wife, Josephine, and two small children, young George and his
older sister, Nancy (McCutcheon), from near Glasgow, Scotland,
to Saratoga county, where, upon the breaking out of the Revolu-
tion, the father enlisted and gallantly served throughout the struggle
for independence. The old flint-lock musket which he carried in the
army of Washington under the command of General Philip Schuyler,
by and after whom one of his sons was named, is still kept as a treas-
ure in the family and was on exhibition at Drjden's Centennial Cele-
bration.

Young George Robertson, in 1797, had an opportunity of purchasing
Lot No. 53, of Drj'deu, from a neighbor, Benoni Ballard, the soldier
to whom it was allotted, and in the autumn of that year he made a
prospecting tour on foot from Saratoga county to Dryden, reaching
Lot 53 by way of the Mohawk Valley, Auburn, Cayuga Lake and Itha-
ca, returning b}' way of the Bridle Road through the present site of
Dryden village, to Oxford, and thence by way of Utica to his home.
Upon this preliminary visit the only habitation which he found in
Dryden was that of Amos Sweet, described in the last chapter, where,
as he related, there was a clearing of abcnit half an acre which he
called a " turnip patch. "

Being pleased with the new country and possessed of a courage
which, we fear, would be lacking in these days of luxury and refine-
ment, Robertson sold his home and with the proceeds completed the
purchase of Lot No. 53 for eight hundred and fifty dollars. He left
his wife and two children for the time being and set out in February,
1798, with a sleigh loaded with such implements and provisions as
could be carried, drawn by two yoke of oxen, for the long journey.
He was accompanied by at least two young men, including his younger
brother, Philip S. Robertson, and Jared Benjamin.

Of Philip S. Robertson we shall have occasion to say more here-

THE FIRST RESIDENT FREEHOLDER. 15

iifter as being one of the pioneers of tlie northwest section of the town,
but of Jared Benjamin we sliall say here, lest it be omitted hereafter,
tliat he was then a lad sixteen years of asje who had been apprenticed
to George Robertson to learn the carpenter's trade and who was in-
duced to accompany him into the wilderness by the promise of eighty
acres of land, and who, during the journey and for the first year of the
settlement, served as the housekeeper and cook of the party. He af-
terwards served as a soldier from Tompkins county in the War of
1812, after which he journeyed and settled further west, but his son,
Cliarles Benjamin, returned to Dryden and at one time occupied and
enlarged the Dryden village tanner}^ and afterwards built a tannery
at Harford, one of the old buildings still standing there unoccupied
neai- the railroad station ; and his son is Chas. M. Benjamin, now one of
the proprietors of the Ithaca Journal. Another of the descendants
of this pioneer lad, Jared Benjamin, is Mrs. D. B. Card, of Dryden.

To return to our narrative, it is claimed by some that Walter Yeo-
mans, and by others that Moses Snyder also accompanied George
Eobertson on this pioneer journey, but neither are mentioned in the
first account, published forty years ago when the facts were more at-
tainable, and either may have come a year or two later, although it is
certain that both were early pioneers of Dryden from Saratoga county.

The pioneer party were three weeks on the journey, coming by way
of the Mohawk Valley, Utica, Hardenburg's Corners (now Auburn),
reaching Ithaca (then called " Markle's Flats,") Avhere there were then
three log houses, March 1, 1798. It took the whole of the next day to
widen the Bridle Road through from Ithaca to Lot 58, upon which
Mott J. Robertson, the youngest son of Captain George Robertson,
now resides, so as to admit of the progress of the team and liaggage.
The}- arrived towards evening on March 2nd and made hasty prep-
arations to spend their first night on the site of their new home. In
later years Captain Robertson pointed out to his sous the very spot,
now located between the highway and railroad track near the west
line of Lot 53, where, on that March ev-ening, on split basswood logs,
they ate their first meal and stretched themselves out to spend the
night, having provided the oxen with the tops of the basswood trees
for a supper of browse. A fall of two inches of snow during the night
caused Philip S. to get up and stretch over them a blanket on stakes,
to protect them from the storm. The next morning the men set to
work to build a log house and make a clearing so as to secure a crop
of grain that season. The trees were chopped down, girdled and
burned, the seed was dragged in with the aid of a tree top as a har-

16 HISTORY OF DRY DEN.

row, and the rich, ineUow, new ojround viekled alMindant harvests in
that and the succeeding years. Thus the energy and prudence of
young George Robertson enabled him to harvest the first considerable
crops in the town, and when the subsequent settlers came to him to
obtain seed grain, it is said that he supplied those who had no present
means of paying for it, but refused those who had money which would
enable them to get it elsewhere, lest he should not have enough to
su})})ly all of his poorer neighbors. Whether such a policy of su|)ply-
ing only those who had no money could be successfully carried out in
these times, ma}' be seriouslv questioned, but it served to exhibit the
unselfish character of Capt. R()l)ertson and entitled him to tiie grati-
tude of his fellow })ioneers, ;is well as to tliat of their posterity. His
wife and children came on, the next season (1799), m care of her broth-
er, Wm. Smith, of Saratoga, who, after viewing the uninviting pros-
pect of the single log house, surrounded for a short distance with the
clearing full of charred stumps and then by the dense wilderness,
advised his sister to return with him to bis home in Saratoga, Init she
bravely resolved with her husband to share the hardships and reap
the rewards afforded to pioneers in a new country. Their son, Rol)ert
R., whose birthday was x'Vpril 7, 1800, was for a long time sup[)osed to
have been the first white child born in the tcjwn of Dryden, but we
now learn upon reliable authority that Melinda>, the daughter of David
Foote and the mother of Mrs. Darius Givens, now residing in Dryden
village, was born at Willow Glen, on February 21, 1800, and was
therefore the first native-born child, while Robert R. was the first
native-born male citizen of the town.

The heroic and unselfish conduct of Captain Robertson, and his in-
dustrious and prudent life, together with abilities of no common or-
der, gave him prominence in our early history and when the town
came to be organized as a separate political township in 1803. Ik- was
made its first supervisor. Although not the first settler, lie was tlie
first resident freeholder of the town, raised the first crop of any ac-
count, and, his house being a hospitable refuge for the early settlers
perhaps less provident than he had been, he is credited with being
the first innkeeper of the town in 1801. These facts well entitled him
to be regarded, as he was by the early settlers, the " Father of the
Town of Drv'den." He was afterward a captain of the State militia
and the field opposite the present residence of his son, Mott J. Rob-
ertson, upon which this log house was built in 1798, Avas the training
ground for the early yeomanry of Dryden, who were here required to
be annually drilled in military tactics. Captain Robertson died April

SETTLEMENTS OF 171)8 AND 1799. 17

4, IS-i-l, havino- v;iised a family oi thirteen ehilclreu, many of whom
litve lield ])ositioi)s of honor and trust in this and other states, at
least two of his sons having; served as sherili's of the county of Tomp-
kins. His oMest child, Nancy, married Thomas Bishop and she and
her oldest brother, Thomas, lived and died in the town of Lansing.
Hobert died in Chautauqua county, N. Y. Phoebe became the wife of
Peter V. Snydei-, and Gorilla the wife of "Wm. Biown, who, with her
brothers, John, Theodore, Cyrus and Hiram D., made their home in
Albion, Mich. Pauline became the wife of Benjamin F. King, at Par-
ma, Mich., and Philip died in Crawford county. Pa. Smith, of whom
we sliall say more hereafter, resides at Eau Chiire, Wis., and Mott J.,
the only son now residing here, is one of the present Centennial Com-
mittee of the town of Drydeu.

CHAPTER YI.

OTHER SETTLEMENTS OF 1798 AND 1799.

In the fall of 1798, three families settled at Willow Glen. They con-
sisted of Ezekiel Sanford, his wife and one son, David Foote, his wife
and four daughters, and Ebenezer Clauson, his wife, one son and two
daughters, making m all a party of fourteen persons, who came to
Dryden over the new State Road, from the Chenango river, with a sin-
gle team of oxen drawing a heavy ox sled of the olden times, which was
made with wooden shoes ami a heavy split pole. This conveyance
carried all of the household furniture of the three families, which we in-
fer from that fact could not then have been very rich in housekeeping-
materials. Sanford located ojiposite the residence of the late Elias
W. Cady, Clauson on the premises now owned and occupied by Moses
liowland. while Foote built his log hut between the two. They are
said to have passed a very " comfortable winter, " subsisting largely
upon the abundant game found in the new country, the oxen being
supplied with plenty of browse from the trees. That they were able
to live through the winter at all in this way is a mystery to us of the
present age, who are supplied with so many of the comforts and lux-
uries of life. It seemed to the writer at first impossible that cattle
could be wintered on "browse" without hay or grain, but he is as-
sured by old men that such is not the case, and that it was not un-
common in old times when fodder was scarce to fell trees in the woods,
especially maple and basswood, so that cattle could have access to
the tops for their subsistence. We are also reminded that wild deer

18 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

wintered in the woods in this locality, when tne snow was deep, with-
out this assistance of the woodman. These new settlers did survive
aud seem to have prospered in their new homes, and as proof of these
facts we know that our present popular highway commissioner, San-
ford E. Smiley, is one of a large number of direct descendants of that
same pioneer, Ezekiel Sanford, one of the party who wintered tljeir
oxen on browse and themselves on the " abundant game found in the
new country " in the winter of the year 1798-9. Like Amos Sweet,
who had })receded them one year, they seem to have had, when they
came, no permanent title to the land upon which they located, hut
came empty handed to grow up with the new country as thev did,
having become the ancestors of many of its now prosperous inhabit-
ants.

The writer was at first unable to learn whether auy of these three
pioneers except Sanford left descendants now residing iu the town-
ship, and was surprised to learn that both Mrs. Darius Givens and
Mrs. Robert Sager are grandchildren of that same David Foote. Clau-
son, with all his family, is believed to have moved further west, one of
his daughters having married a brother of Wyatt Allen, formerly of
Dry den.

Others who settled in 1798, coming here from Lansing, where they
had sojourned a short time, were Daniel White and his brother-in-law,
Samuel Knapp, a soldier of the Revolution, who was engaged in the
battles of Trenton, Princeton, Stony Point, Brandywine and Mon-
mouth. Knapp took up his location on Lot No. 14, where he raised
a large family and died July 1, 1847, aged 91 years. His remains are
buried in the Peruville cenieter3\ Mr. White gave his attention to the
construction of the first grist-mill of the town, which stood about forty
rods west of the present grist-mill in Freeville, just north-west of
where the highway now crosses Fall Creek. He procured a stone
which he found on the Thompson (now Skillings) farm, split it and
himself dressed out and took to the mill the first millstones, which
answered the purpose and were in constant use until the mill was re-
constructed in 1818. His mill w^as completed in 1802, prior to which
time the pioneer was obliged to take his grist to Ludlow's Mill
(now Ludlowvillej to be ground, or pound it into meal in the hollow
of a large stump, as was sometimes done by hand. During the past
summer parts of this boulder out of which Mr. White worked these
first millstones, were brought to the grounds of the Dryden Agricul-
tural Societ}' by Samuel Skillings, a descendant of Samuel Knapp, aud
left near the new log cabin, where they wall remain as a relic and re-

SETTLEMENTS OF 1798 AND 1799. 19

minder of the use which Mr. White made iu 1802 of a part of this
rock. Besides being a practical miller, Mr. White was an ordained
deacon of the M. E. church and preached on the Cayuga circuit iu
1802, and for several years afterwards. He came to Lansing from
Pennsylvania, but was originally from Roxbury, Mass., and died at the
age of seventy-eight, leaving a family of fourteen children, of whom
the only present survivors are Daniel M. White, of Dryden, secretary
of the present Centennial Committe*^, Mrs. Anna Montfort, of Peru-
ville, and Mrs. George F. A. Baker, of West Dryden. Many of his
grandchildren and great-grandchildren are now living.

Aaron Lacy, father of the late John R. Lacy, came from New Jersey
and settled at Willow Glen early in the year 1799, on tlie corner since
occupied by the Stickles family.

Zephaniah Brown came from Saratoga and settled on Lot 71, ad-
joining the town of Ithaca, in the year 1799, cutting the first road from
that portion of the town to Ithaca, which was extended two years later
by Peleg Ellis to the Ellis Hollow neighborhood. Brown seems to
have been the first pioneer in that part of the town and resided for a
number of years on the farm since occupied by Chauncey L. Scott.
But in about 1830 he and his family moved to Michigan, leaving, so
far as we can learn, no descendants in the town.

Tradition has handed down to us an incident worthy of being here
preserved of the first visit between the two pioneer families of Peleg
Ellis and Zephaniah Brown, after a patli had been made connecting
their respective clearings in the forest. Mrs. Ellis came to make her
call upon her new neighbor on horseback, one of her little girls sitting
in front of her and the other behind. As they emerged from the
woods into the clearing Mrs. Brown saw them and anxiously called
out to her husband in a voice loud enough to be heard by Mrs. Ellis :
" Zephaniah ! Zephaniah ! Mrs. Ellis is coming. What shall we have
for tea?" To which her husband replied in a voice still heard by the
visitor : " Make a shortcake ! Make a shortcake and put the cream in
tliick ; put it in thick, I say."

Society did not then require of Dryden neighbors the formalities,
and shall we say hypocrisy, now in vogue ; but who can say that there
did not then exist among these pioneers dressed in homespun clothing
and living in their log houses in the clearings, more genuine, heartfelt
hospitality than exists to-day among their more polished descendants
in their expensive mansions, furnished with all that modern luxury
and elegance can suggest ?

20 HISTORY OF DEIYDEN.

CHAPTER VII.

SETTLEMENTS FROM 180u TO 1803 INCLUSIVE.

In the year 1800 Lyman Hurd came in from Vermont and settled
with his wife and chiklren at Willow Glen, on the corner opposite the
blacksmith shop, now vacant. His house which he built there was
then the best in town because it had a i-hininey, the others having
merely a hole in the roof for the smoke to pass out. This chimney
was not made of bricks and mortar, but of sticks and mud, built up
from the beam over the fire-place in cob-house fashion, such as was
known in those days as a "stick chimney," the best that could be made
with the material at hand. Mr. Hurd brought with him a pair of
horses, the first seen in the new settlement, but unfortunately one of
them died during the first Avinter, not being able perhaps to subsist
upon "browse," which, as we have seen, was about all the food for
domestic animals which the town then afibrded. In this dilemma Mr.
Hurd and his hired man went oft' through the woods to Tully and
there procured an ox, which they brought home and harnessed in with
the surviving horse by means of what was called a half yoke, and the
"Old Man in the Clouds" certifies to us that for all purposes, "such as
plowing, logging, going to mill and to meeting, this team worked to-
together admirably."

Other settlers of the same year were Nathaniel Sheldon, the
first physician to reside in the town, and Ruloti' Whitney, who built
the first sawmill of the town, which was located on Virgil rreek, on the
road leading north from Willow Glen, which was opened at this time
by the authorities of the town (still Ulysses) to connect at this point
the "Bridle" road with the old "State" road. This mill was located
tipon what has since been known as the Joseph McGraw farm, and
furnished the first lumber for the new settlement. Ruloft' Whitney
was also the first bridegroom of the town, having wooed and won one
of Virgil's fair daughters. Miss Susan Glenin% whom he married in
this, the first year of the nineteenth century, or perhaps more accu-
rately speaking the last of the eighteenth. From this time on settlers
were numerous and will be noticed further on when we come to treat
of the separate localities of the town with which they are associated,
mentioning here in detail only those who, to some extent, are promi-
nently connected with the history of the town, as a whole.

Among these were the two brothers John and Peleg Ellis, who came
originally from W^est Greenwich, Rhode Island, and first settled in

SETTLEMENTS OF 1800 1803. 21

Herkimer count}' of this state, from which John came to Virgil in
1798, having purchased of the Samuel Cook estate Lot No. 23 of that
town, upon which he remained about three years. In the meantime
his brother Peleg, having exchanged with this same Cook family his
lionje in Herkimer county for Lot No. 84 of Dr3-den, in the localit}'
since known as Ellis Hollow, first came out to view his new posses-
sions in the fall of 1799. He had difficulty at first to locate his newl}^
acquired property in the universal forest, until meeting with Captain
Robertson, he received such directions as enabled him to find it, by
means of a map and the marked trees which, when properly under-
stood, indicated the boundaries of the recently surveyed lots. Having
found his property he immediately commenced chopping for a clear-
ing, and he is said to have passed eleven da3's alone at work without
once seeing a human being. On the eleventh day Zephaniah Brown,
who, as we have seen, had already settled on Lot 71, hearing the sound
of the axe came up with his gun in hand to make his first call upon
his new neighbor.

Returning home to spend the winter, Mr. Ellis came on, the next
summer, with his family, then consisting of his wife and two daugh-
ters, and built on the headwaters of Cascadilla Creek, which flowed
tluoiigh his lot, his first home of logs, in which he lived for eight
years. Here, on January 30, 1801, was born Delilah (Mulks), the
oldest of the family of Major Ellis to be born in Dryden, the two
eldest daughters having come here with their parents. We shall
have occasion to refer to Major Ellis hereafter as the captain of
the first company of Dryden men to engage in the War of 1812,
having afterward been commissioned as major of the militia of the
olden time. He lived on the farm which he had thus commenced
clearing in 1799 for nearly sixty 3'ears and died there on his eighty-
fourth birthday. May 9th, 1859. Four of his family of twelve chil-
dren are still living, one of them, Mrs. John M. Smith, still occupying
the Ijomestead. Major Ellis is said to have been a man universally
esteemed for honesty and the qualities which make a good citizen and
a faithful friend.

His brother John, whom we left in Virgil, sold his property there
and came to Dryden in 1801, first settling here on the farm near Mal-
lor^ville, since owned by A. B. Lamont, where he remained about
three years. Afterwards he also resided in Ellis Hollow near his
brother; but a few years before his death, which occurred April 10,
184(5, he took up his final place of residence in the town on the place
now owned by J. Wesley Hiles, one-half mile north of Dryden village.

22 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

nearly opposite to the farm wliere his grandson, Geo. A. Ellis, now
resides. From the date of his residence here to his death, John Ellis
seems to have been the most prominent citizen of the town. Before
the county of Tom})kins was organized he held the position of Judge
of the Court of Common Pleas of Ca3'uga county, and afterwards he
held the same office in Tompkins county. He was chosen supervisor
of the town for twenty-seven years, was a member of the State Legis-
lature in 1831 and 1832, besides liolding many minor offices. Subse-
quent politicians must despair of equalling his record as an otfice
holder, and we must all concede that he was entitled to the designa-
tion which was given him at the time, of being " King of Dryden. "
Among his many descendants are Thomas J. McElheny, of Ithaca,
John E. McElhen}^ of Dryden, and the late Jennie McGraw-Fiske, to
whom we are indebted for the South worth Library. Judge Ellis is
said to have been a man of commanding presence, keen and quick in
the use of his intellectual powers. A portrait of him, painted in Al-
bany during his attendance at the State Legislature, is still owned by
his grandson, John E. McElheny, and was on exhibition at Diydtn's
Centennial Celebration, a copy of which is the frontispiece of this vol-
ume. For further particulars concerning John and Peleg Ellis see
the subsequent chapter of this History which treats of the Ellis Family
in Dryden.

In the year 1801 the first merchant of the town, Joel Hull, from
Massachusetts, settled at Willow Glen, taking up his abode on the
corner now occupied by Moses Rowland. He was also the first resi-
dent surve^'or in the town, but it is said that he was neither a hunter
nor a shingle maker, two qualifications which all other early settlers
were supposed to possess. He was, however, a man of much intelli-
gence, the first town clerk, in 1803, and a man whose advice was
sought in legal matters, being an expert in drawing deeds and con-
tracts. His store was opened in an addition to his house in 1802.
His stock of goods was purchased at Aurora and consisted of a chest
of old Bohea tea, which he sold at one dollar per pound, a quantity of
Cavendish tobacco, at three shillings per pound, and two or three rolls
of pig-tail tobacco, at three cents per yard, cash. As money was
scarce, barter was in order, and one bushel of ashes would buy one
3'ard of pig-tail. His stock also included a keg of whiskey, two or
three pieces of calico and some narrow sheetings. He ventured more
extensively in trade afterwards and failed in business, thus setting a
bad example which succeeding merchants have too often followed.
He and his familv afterwards removed to Pennsvlvania. An incident

POLITICAL ORGANIZATION. 23

of him is vouched for by the " Old Man iu the Clouds " which ouoht
to be preserved, as illustrating the condition of the country at that
time, and is as follows : In the spring of 1803 he received, from some
distant friends in the East, a pig, wliich was allowed to run at large
about the liouse and in the woods and grew to be a tine shoat of sixty
to eighty pounds. One day as Mr. Hull was choj^ping wood at his
door he heard the pig squealing in the edge of the clearing, some fif-
teen rods distant, as if something unusual was the matter. A windfall
oi large pines lay between the house and the standing timber, which
concealed the location from which the sound was heard, but taking his
axe in hand and followed by his oldest son and Thomas Lewis, Mr.
Hull rushed to the rescue. Arriving upon the scene he discovered a
large bear, with the pig closeh' embraced in its fore paws, marching
off towards the swamp. The bear shortly arrived at a log over which
he was struggling to carry his ])rize, when Mr. Hull dashed up from be-
hind and drove his axe into the head of the robber, killing him in-
stantly and exclaiming at the same time, " Damn you, Bruin, I'll teach
you the result of stealing my onl}- pig in broad daylight. " The pig,
though badly injured, recovered antl reached full grown proportions.

In the year 1801, there arrived from New Jersey the Lacy brothers,
Richard, Thomas, Daniel, Benjamin and James, who located, the first,
where Jackson Jameson now lives, the next three in Dryden village,
and the youngest, James, near Dryden Lake. All afterwards removed
fartlier west, except Benjamin, the father of the late John C. Lacy, of
whom we shall have more to say hereafter in connection with Dryden
village. In the same year two brothers, Peter and Christopher Sny-
der, came from Oxford, N. J., and commenced a clearing on Lot 43, to
which the}' emigrated iu the following season, as will be seen at length
in a succeeding chapter upon the " Snyder Family in Dryden. "

William Sweezy lived one-half mile north of Varna and a man by the
name of Cooper settled one-half mile south of Etna as early as 1801.

Andrew Sherwood, a soldier of the Revolution, who was the ances-
tor of another family which has multiplied and flourished in Dryden,
came with his son Thomas and settled on Lot No. 9 in the year 1802.

CHAPTER VIIL

THE POLITICAL ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWN.

From 179-I until 1803, as we have seen, Township No. 22 (including
all the present towns of Enfield, Ulysses, and Ithaca, town and city)

24 HISTORY OF DRYDE^.

was merited iu its ])olitical organization with Township No. 23 (Diy-
den) under the name of Ulysses. In the year 1794, the assessed valu-
ation of the whole town, as thus constituted, was XlOO, and the tax
levied £12 and 10 shillings, as they then counted money, being a tax
of more than twelve per cent on the valuation. In 1797, the popula-
tion of the whole town of Ulvsses was returned at 52 and the vahiation
at $4,777, our decimal system of currency having been substituted
for the old English form of money. In 1798 the population had in-
creased to 60 and the valuation to $5,000. In the year 1800, the cen-
sus shows a population of 927, a rapid increase, which continued for
some years, but not more than one third of it belonged to what is now
Dryden. On the jury list of Ulysses for 1801, are found the names of
three men who resided in Township No. 28, viz : Peleg Ellis, Ichabod
Palmerton, and Jeliiel Ronton. At the town meeting of Ulysses, held
at the home of Nathaniel Davenport (the location of which is now in
Ithaca) in March, 1802, it was voted "that the township of Dryden be
set off from Ulysses." From this we infer that the name Dryden was
commonly applied to Township No. 23 before it had a separate politi-
cal existance, which was eftected by an Act of the Legislature passed
Feb. 22, 1803. At the tirst town meeting, held at the home of Ca})tain
George Robertson, March 1, 1803, the following ofRcers were chosen :

Supervisor — George Robertson.

Town Clerk— Joel Hull

Assessors — John Ellis, Joel Hull, Peleg Ellis.

Constable and Collector — Daniel Lacy.

Pocn-masters — William Garrison, Phili]) S. Robertson.

Commissioners of Highways — Lewis Fortner, Ezekiel Sanford, Will-
iam Harned.

Fence Viewers and Overseers of Highways— Amnali Peet, Ebenezer
Clauson, David Foote, Joseph Schofield.

Pound Master — Jolin Montayney.

It must have been a veritable paradise for office seekers in those
days, for every one could hold an office and still ha\e offices to s))are.

We give in this place the full list of Supervisors, Town Clerks, and
Justices of the Peace of the town to the present time, thus calling to
mind many prominent citizens of by-gone days :

SUrERVISORS.

George Robertson,

- 1803 William Miller, -

- 1805

John Ellis,

1804 John Ellis, -

- 1806-12

POLITICAL ORGANIZATION.

Jesse Stout,

- 1813

Smith Robertson,

- 1851-3

John Ellis,

1814

Hii'am Snyder,

1854-6

Parley Whitmore,

- 1815

Jeremiah W. Dwight,

- 1857-8

Jolm Ellis,

181()

Lemi Grover, -

1859-61

Parley Whitmore,

- 1817

Caleb Bartholome^v,

- 1862

John' Ellis,

1818 34

Luther Griswold,

1863-5

Joshua Phillips, -

1835-37

John M. Smith, -

1866-71

John Ellis,

1838

James H. George,

1872-3

Joshua Phillips, -

- 1839

Edwin R. Wade, -

- 1874

Elias W. Cady,

1840-1

Harrison Marvin,

1875 9

Hem y B. Weaver,

1842-3

James H. George,

-1880-1

Jeremiah Snyder,

1844

George M. Rockwell, -

1882-4

Wessels S. Middaugh,

- 1845-7

James H. George, -

- 1884-5

x\lbert J. Twogood, -

1848

George M. Rockwell, -

1886-7

Hiram Snyder,

- 1849

John H. Kennedy,

1888-95

Charles Givens,

1850

Theron Johnson,

1896-7

TOWxN <

JLEKKS.

Joel Hull,

1803

Walker Marsh, -

- 1844-5

William Miller, -

- 1804

Nelson Givens,

1846-7

Joel Hull,

1805-7

Walker Marsh,

- 1848-9

Derick Suttin,

- 1808

Nelson Givens,

1850

John Wickham,

1809

Oliver Ste\yart,

- 1851-3

Thomas Sonthworth,

1810-11

Richard M. Beamau,

1854-6

Isaiah Giles, -

1812

George H. Houtz, -

1857-74

Parley Whitmore,

1813-14

George S. Barber,

1875-7

Josiah Ne\vell,

1815-16

John S. Barber,

- 1878

Henry B Weaver,

1817-19

DeWitt T. Wheeler, -

1879

Beuj. Aldridge,

1820-31

Geo. H. Houtz, -

- 188r-7

Abram Bouton,

- 1832

C. B. Snyder, -

1888-9

Hiram Bouton,

1833

Henry C. Warriner,

- 1890

Henry B. Weaver,

- 1834-9

Fred E. Darling,

1891-3

Rice Weed, -

1840

John M. Ellis,

- 1894-5

Bryan Finch,

- 1841

Fred E. Darling,

1896-7

C. S. C. Dowe,

1842-3

JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.

Derick Sutfin, -
Rulofi' Whitney,

1803 Samuel Hemmingway.
1803 Isaiah Giles,

1803
1810

HISTOEY OF DRYDEN.

Ruloff Whitney, - 1810

Jacob Piimrose, - 1811-12

Ithamar Whipple, - 1811-12

James Weaver, - - 1818

Jesse Stout, - - 1818

Parley Whitmore, - 1818

Rice Weed, - - 1825

Thomas Hance, Jr., - 1825

Jesse Stout, - - 1825
Wessels S. Middaugh, - 1829

James McElheny, - 1830

Schuyler Goddard, - 1831-2

Rice Weed, - - 1833

William H. Miller, - 1833-4

Ephraim Sharp, - 1835

Moses C. Brown, - - 1836

Henry B. Weaver, - 1837

Moses C. Brown, - - 1837

Parley Whitmore, - 1838

Rice Weed, - - 1838

Wm. H. Miller, - 1838

Elijah Fox, - - 1839

Pai-ley Whitmore, - 1840

Rice Weed, - - 1811

Nicholas Brown, - 1842

Thomas Hunt, - - 1842

S. S. Barger, - - 1943

Abraham Tanner, - - 1844

Walker Marsh, - 1845

S. S. Barger, - - 1846

Thomas Hunt, - 1847

Abraham Tanner, - - 1848

Walker Marsh, - 1848

Andrew P. Grover, - 1849

Thomas Hunt, - 1850

Abraham Tanner, - - 1851

Andrew P. Grover, - 1852

Walker Marsh, - - 1853

Abraham Tanner, - 1854

Eleazer Case, - - 1855

Wdliam Scott, - 1856

Abraham Tanner,
Alviras Snjder,
James H. George,
Thomas Hunt,
Edmund H. Sweet,
Alviras Snyder,
James H. George,
Isaac Cremer, -
Abraham Tanner, -
Hananiah Wilcox,
James H. George, -
Thomas Hunt,
Hiram Bouton,
Hananiah Wilcox,
Wm. W. Snyder, -
Almanzo W. George,
Geo. E. Goodrich,
John W. Webster,
Warren C. Ellis, -
John Snyder, -
Almanzo W. George,
Wm. H. Goodwin, Jr.

Wm. J.

itl)

John W. Webster,
John T. Morris, -
Geo. R. Burchell,
Wm. E. Brown, -
Geo. E. Monroe,
Geo. E. Hanford, -
Geo. Snyder, -
Wm. J. Shaver, -
Wm. E. Brown,
Geo. E. Underwood,
Geo. E. Monroe,
Alviras Snyder,
Artemas L. Smiley,
Geo. E. Underwood,
Wm. E. Brown,
Artemas L. Smiley,
Geo. E. Monroe,
Everel F. Weaver,

1857

1858

1859

1860

1861

1862

1863

1864

1865

1866

1867

1868

1869

1870

1871

1872

1873

1874

1875

1876

1877

1878

1879

1880

1881

1882

1883

1884

1885

1886

1887

1888

1889

POLITICAL ORGANIZATION. 27

Geo. E. Underwood, - 1890 Geo. E. Hanford, - - 1893

Samuel S. Hoff, - - 1891 Geo. E. Underwood, - 1894

Wm. E. Brown, - 1891 Erastus M. Sager, - 1895

J. Dolph Ross, - - 1892 J. Dolph Ross, - 1896

Geo. E. Hanford, - 1892 Bert D. Oonklin, - - 1897

We thus have before us the names of the men who for nearly a cen-
tur}^ have had the care and management of the political organism
known as the "Town of Drvden. " The only material change in the
territorial extent of the township was made in 1887, when the easterly
seven lots of the southern tier were set off and annexed to Caroline,
for the reason that the}' were located much more conveniently to
Slaterville as a business center than to any similar place within the
town of Dryden. The town meetings were early held at different ho-
tels in the town, subsequently more often at the Dryden Center House,
until within a few years past, during which they have been held in
election districts. The town was formerly divided into four, l)ut now
consists of six election districts. In the old times one of the duties
of people at town meeting was to apportion the income derived from
the gospel and school lot between the support of the churches and
schools, the statute requiring that it should be annually distributed
by the voice of the people at town meeting so that each should have
some share. In accordance with this requirement it used to be a
standing custom at every town meeting to pass a resolution that of
the gospel and school funds " six cents be appropriated for the sup-
port of the gospel and that the balance be devoted to school pur-
poses. " This was done not from disregard for the welfare of the
gospel, but was in accordance with the general spirit of the country,
which, wliile liberally providing for public education in the common
schools, declined to impose any compulsory tax upon the people di-
t rectly or indirectly, for the support of sectarian or religious institu-
i tions. The gospel and school lot was for a long time rented and the
I rents ap]ilied annually as above stated, but subsequently the lot was
sold and the proceeds, about eleven thousand dollars, now forms the
town school fund, which is loaned by the supervisor on bonds and
mortgages and the interest applied annually for the benefit of the
common schools of the township.

28 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

CHAPTER IX.

EVENTS FROM 1Sl3 TO IS 12.

One of tile iDemorable occurrences of this time in the town of Dry-
den was tlie "Great Eclipse" which was witnessed June 16, 1806,
when total ihirkness came on suddenly at mid-day, and the foAvls went
to their roosts as though it were night. This was the only total
eclipse of the sun to be visible in this section of the country during the
nineteenth centuiy, and, as we may w^ell imagine, it made a deep im-
pression upon the minds of the early inhabitants, who, as we may
safely say, were more superstitious and less informed upon those sub-
jects than are we of the present age. It furnished a means of fixing
dates, and old people in later years were accustomed to speak of
things as having taken place before or alter the " Great Eclipse, " as
the case might be. The immigration to the town was veiy rapid dur-
ing this time, so much so that wdien the g(nernnient census came to
be taken in 1810, it w^as found that the town of Dryden alone con-
tained 1,893 inhabitants, considerably more than one -third of the
number of the present population of the town.

We shall speak more particularly hereafter in connection with Dry-
den village, of the arrival of the Griswolds from Connecticut and the
Wheelers from New^ Hampshire in 1802, and of Jacob Primrose and
others who settled at West Dryden, when we treat of that particular
locality. Thomas Southworth, a tanner and currier, originally from
Massachusetts, and his son John, then ten j^ears of age, located first
at Willow Glen in 1806, and we shall have occasion to refer to them
often hereafter in connection with Willow Glen, and Dryden village
to which they afterward came. Rev. Daniel McAi'thnr, from Scotland,
settled in 1811, on the farm which was after his death owned and oc-
cupied l)y the late Ebenezer McArthur, who in his will (having no
surviving children) devised it, subject to the life estate of his wife, tf)
the town of Dryden as an addition to the school fund of the town.

At about this time a small company of emigrants from the north of
Ireland, who had temporaraily made a home in Orange countj^ of this
state, located in the South Hill neighborhood at a place which, from
this fact, has since been known as the Irish Settlement. This colon v
included Hugh Thompson, who became a rigid and prominent member
of the Presbyterian church in Dryden village, William Nelson, the
father of Robert Nelson still residing in town, and Joseph McGraw,
Sr., who in after vears was known to the writer as ;in active, talkative,

EVENTS FROM 1803 TO 1812.

2V)

but quick-witted old man, displayin,i;' in bis ready speecli a lic-li Irish
brogue. His son John, born in this "Irish Settlement" in 1815,
became one of the most accomplished and successful business men
Avhich this or any other town ever produced, and his family will merit
from us later a special biography. We here give the list of those,
some of whom have not already been mentioned, who are known to
have become inhabitants of the town before 1808, many of them being
the ancestors of their now numerous descendants and of many of whom
we shall again have occasion to speak when we come to mention the
particular families or localities with which they are associated. The
list is as follows :

Bartholomew, Jesse,
Barnes, Ichabod,
Brown, Zephaniah
Brown, Reuben,
Blew, Michael,
Brown, Israel
Brown, Obadiah,
Brown, Obadiah, Jr.,
Bailey, Morris,
Bush, Peter,
Carr, Job
Carr, Peleg,
Carr, Caleb,
Conklin, John,
Clark, Samuel,
Gallon, William,
Cornelius, John,
Carpenter, Abner,
I Cass, Aaron,
i Dimmick, Elijah,
! Fortner, Lewis
i Fulkerson, Benjamin,
) Genung, Benjamin,

Girvin, Samuel,
Gray, George,
Giles, Isaiah,
George. Joel,
Griswold, Edward,
(iriswold, Abram,
Grover, Andrew,
Hile, Nicholas,
Horner, John,
Hart, J(jseph,
Hollenshead, Robert,
Hoagland, Abraham,

McKee, Robert,
Ogden, Daniel
Owens, Timothy,
Pixley, Enoch,
Palmerton, Ichaliod,
Rhodes, Jacob,
Southwick, Israel,
Skellinger, Samuel,
Snyder, Jacob,
Smith, William,
Teeter, Henry,
Van Marter, John,

Heramingwav, Samuel, Wheeler, Seth,

Jennings, Benjamin,
Jay, Joshua,
Jameson, Thomas,
Lewis, Amos,
Lewis, David,
Legg, Matthew,
Luther, Nathaniel,
Luce, Jonathan,
Mineah, John,
McKee, James,

Jr.

Wheeler, Seth
Wheeler, Enos,
Woodcock, Abraham,
Wickham, John,
White, Richard,
Waldron, John,
Weeks, Luther,
Whipple, Ithamar,
Yeoman s, Jason,
Yeomans, Stephen,

We may here pro])erly refer to the fact that the population of the
town of Dryden, as well as of our county in general, was early made
up of individuals from different, though nearly related nationalities
and from localities widely separated. Ethnological scholars tell us
that the superiority of the Anglo-Saxon race is accounted for from the

30 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

fact that it is made up of a union of difierent races having at no re-
mote period the same common origin. The Saxon, Norman, Dane and
ancient Briton were none of them es])ecially distinguished as a na-
tionality bj- themselves, but when united for a number of generations
the result was the formation of the Anglo-Saxon race, whose power
and influence among the nations of the earth now surpasses all otliers^
and whose language, it is now conceded, will in time become the uni-
versal language of the world. May we not in like manner expect
great results from the development of a population whose progenitors
included the McGraws, McElhenys, Nelsons, McKees and Lormors,
emigrating from Ireland ; the Lamouts, McArthurs, Robertsons and
Stewarts direct from Scotland ; the Snyders and Albrights, of Dutch,
as well as the Dupee and DeCoudres families, of French ancestry,
while the great majority of the early settlers, the groundwork, so to
speak, of the new society, were of the genuine New England Y^ankee
stock of recent English derivation, many of them coming here from
the very confines of the " Nutmeg State."

CHAPTER X.

THE WAR OF 1812.

In the minds of the great mass of people of the present age, the im-
portance of our war with Great Britain, known as the War of 1812, is
overshadowed and lost sight of in view of the War of the Revolution
which preceded it by about thirty-five years. It is not so regarded by
the careful student of history. The earlier war made our country free,
but it required the latter to make us really independent and respected
as a nation. The latter war also did much to strengthen the bond of
union between the colonies and to make of us a nation rather than a
mere confederation of states.

Our ancestors were poorly prepared for either conflict with the
mother country, supplied as she was with powerful ai'maments and
standing armies, and it was only the necessities of the occasion which
seemed to suddenly call forth and develop in them the courage and
heroism which enabled them to suceeed. History affords but few in-
stances where an inferior number of untrained men, called suddenly
and unexpectedly to arms, have overwhelmingly defeated trained sol-
diers as did Jackson with his hasty recruits at New Orleans ; and we
are not required to look so far away from home for instances of the
same character. On the Niagara frontier in 1814 (" on the lines," as it

THE WAR OF 1812. 31

was termed in those davsj General (then Colonel) Winfield Scott and
his l)rave followers, usually opposed to superior numbers of the en-
emy, performed feats of military strategy and heroism, in the battles
of Lundy's Lane and Chippewa, which forced from the unwilling Brit-
ish officers exclamations of wonder and admiration, and cannot be
read by us to-day without arousing pride within us, that we are among
the descendants of such heroes. As we read of these instances we can
hardly realize that they are not the events of some far-oft" country, be-
longing to some remote period of time, while they actually did occur
within the present century and within five hours ride by rail fi-om
wliere we now live. With the exception of some skirmishes with the
Indians, and some events of the same character near Oswego, this is
tlie nearest that war ever came, and we trust it is the nearest it ever
will come, to our doors. How many of us realize that the company of
Dryden militia which went out to " the lines " under Captain (after-
wards Major) Peleg Ellis, in July, 1812, were taken prisoners together
with Colonel Winfield Scott at the battle of Queenston, which proved
to be the Bunker Hill or Bull Ptun of that war, but was followed by
hard earned victories which in the end placed the balance largely in
our favor and secured a triumphant result?

It is to be regretted that we — and especially our young people — in
choosing our reading matter, select descriptions of incidents far re-
moved from us in time and space, or more often amuse ourselves by
reading the alluring inventions of fiction ; and then, when we chance
to visit Niagara Falls and see on the opposite shore the imposing and
magnificent Brock monument, 194 feet high, constructed of Niagara
limestone and erected on Queenston Heights, the most prominent
landmark as seen from Lewiston on the American side, we are com-
pelled to remain silent or expose our ignorance by asking what that
imposing column was designed to commemorate. If my readers will
obtain from the Southworth Library, or elsewhere, " Lossing's Field
Book of the War of 1812, " a large and interesting volume, devoted to
the description and illustrating the leading events of this war, they
will find that the perusal of it will well repay their efi"ort and enable
them to repel to some extent at least the charge so often made with
a degree of truth, that Americans are wofuUy ignorant of their
own history. They will find in it a reference to Colonel (afterwards
General) Bloom, of our adjoining town of Lansing, and afterwards
sheriff of Tompkins county, and to the regiment (which included the
first Dryden company) which he led at Queenston, where he was
wounded. We are indebted to the researches of Charles F. Mulks, of

32 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

Ithaca, for the iiit'onnation that A;iion Cass, oue of the Dryden com-
pany from near Ellis Hollow, was struck on the head by a British
cannon ball and instantly killetl while the regiment was crossino- the
Niao-ara river in l)oats to take ]>art in the liattle of Queenston. Cass
had been a distinguished soldier of the Reyolution from Connecticut,
was a brother-in-law of Aaron Bull, and settled in Ellis Hollow in
180-i. Other soldiers of the Dryden company were Aaron Genung,
from near Varna ; Arthur and Stephen B. June, Marcus Palmerton,
Jonathan Luce, George McCutcheon and Peter Snyder. With the ex-
ce]ition of the statement that Judge John Ellis afterwards went out to
" the lines " with the second Dryden ci)m|)any of militia, leavmt^- but
fourteen iible -botlied men in the townshi}), these are all of the re-
corded facts which we are ;d)le to giye concerning Dryden's i^articipa-
tion in the War of 1812. It is regretted that the accounts of Dryden's
yolunteers (^f that date are so meaner, and it reminds us of the
necessity of committing to a written record the achievements of the
Drj-den soldiers in the War of the Rebellion, before all of thera shall
have passed away, or they, too, will be lost to local history.

We are fortunately able to give from the relation of Thomas J. Mc-
Elheny, wdiose mother was a niece of Major Ellis, an incident of the
battle of Queenston w-hich he has often heard his great-uncle relate,
and which is as follows : As the Dryden company were crossing the
Niagara river to the Canada side, Stephen B. June, impressed with
the importance of the occasion and boiling over with the true martial
spirit, arose in his lioat and swinging his hat tletiantly called out as
the watchwords of the expedition: "Death, Hell or Canada." This
was early in the morning of the day when everything was hopeful and
but few of the enemy were in sight. The battle of the morning was
successful. A landing on the Canada shore was effected, the Queens-
ton Heights were gallantly scaled and captured and the Commanding-
General Brock of the enemy was mortally wounded in the conflict.
But in the afternoon the reinforcements of the enemy arrived in over-
wdielming numbers, while the help expected from the American side
failed to appear, and after a brave but hopeless effort at resistance,
the wdiole American force, including Colonel Scott and Captain Ellis
with their followers, were taken prisoners. Not seeing his townsman,
Stephen B. June, among the prisoners, Captain Ellis went back on
the battle field to look him up, and after searching found him very
severely wounded by a ball which had entered his mouth and ]iassed
out of the back of his neck, just below the base of the skull, fortunate-
ly missing the spinal cord. Finding that June was alive and still con-

EVENTS FROM 1812 TO 1822. 33

scions, altliouoh fearfully wounded, Captain Ellis asked liim which it
was now, " Death, Hell or Canada, " to which the wounded soldier
feebly but firmly replied : " I can't tell quite yet, Captain, which it is,
l)ut when the British bullet struck nio I thought I had them all three
at once. " June lived to return home and, if we are not mistaken,
some of his family descendants are still inhabitants of the town.

Since writing the above we learn that Geo. R. Burchell, Esq., of Dry-
den, is a great-nephew of that same Stephen B. June, although the
most of that family have removed to Alleghany county and further
west. The original commission of Major Ellis as captain, issued to
him February 11, 1811, by Daniel D. Tompkins, then governor of the
state, is one of the relics which were on exhibition at Dryden's Cen-
tennial Celebration.

CHAPTER XL

EVENTS FROM 1812 TO 1822.

In the year 1813 there was pul)lished at Albany the first edition of
" Spatford's N. Y. State Gazetteer, " which contains the earliest de-
scription of the town of Dryden which we have found, and probably
the first ever printed, which we therefore reproduce here in full as-
follows :

" Dryden — A post-township in the southeastern extremity of Cayuga
county, 35 miles S. of Auburn, 170 west of Albany ; bounded N. by
Locke, E. by Virgil in Cortlandt county, S. by Tioga county, ^Y. by
Seneca county | which then included Ithaca] and the town of Geneva
I Genoa (? ) the part now Lansing.)

" It is 10 miles square, being one of the military townships, and has
a considerable diversity of surface, soil and timber.

" Fall Creek of Cayuga Lake with several branches spreads over the
northern and central parts, and Six Mile creek, a fine mill stream^
rises in the S. E. corner, runs into Tioga comity and returns across
the S. W. towards the head of Cayuga Lake. There is also another
small stream, and there is an abundance of mill seats, with consider-
able tracts of alluvion ; though the general character is hilly Avitli
pretty lofty ridges. The soil of the alluvion is warm, rich and pro-
ductive ; that of the uplands rather wet and cold, but excellent for
pasture and meadow. There are two grain mills and carding ma-
chines. There are some congregations of Baptists and Presbyterians

34 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

who have houses of worshij), but I am not infoimed of their uuniber ;
and 4 or 5 school houses. The settlements were commenced about
1800, and in 1810 the population amounted to 1890, when there were
310 families and 213 senatorial electors. The whole taxable property,
as assessed in 1810, $84,099. There are 3 turnpike roads that cross
this town, besides common roads in various directions. The inhab-
itants are principally farmers whose farms and looms sup]ih' much of
their common clothing. — N. T. R. P. "

In the year 1814 at a special town meeting a board (4 town school
superintendents was first elected, consisting of Joshua Phillips, Peleg
Ellis and John Ellis. Afterwards in the same year they met and
divided the town into fourteen school districts, which have since Ijeen
increased to twentj^-seven. The amount of public school money dis-
bursed by this board to all the districts in 1814 was $192.47, not one
quarter of the amount now annually received b}^ the Dryden village
district alone. In no department of public affairs has there been such
a marked and continual improvement as in the matter of education in
the common schools. Our young people should realize that in school
opportunities they have a great advantage over the school children of
even twenty-five years ago, while their privileges in this respect are
not to be compared with the very meager opportunities which were
offered for school education in the Pioneer Period of Dryden's history.

The year 1816 was known as the " cold season, " in which nearl}" all
of the crops were destroyed by summer frosts, and great scarcity,
almost a famine, resulted. It should be borne in mind that there
were no such means of transportation then as now to relieve a section
where the crops had failed, and no great supply of produce was car-
ried over from year to year.

In this year, 1816, Elias W. Cady moved in from Columbia county
and located on the farm near Willow Glen which he owned and oc-
cupied for more than sixty years, becoming one of the most prosper-
ous farmers of the town. He was a member of the State Legislature
in 1850 and 1857, and his grandson, John E. Cady, has in recent years
twice held the same position. Elias W. Cady in his later years used
to delight to tell how, when he first came to Dryden, Parley Whitmore,
who kept a store in Dryden village near where the M. E. church now
stands, refused to trust him for a few pounds of nails, and he was
obliged to take a load of produce to Albany to get them.

In the next year, 1817, the new county of Tompkins w^as formed,
and Dryden became a part of it, instead of being the southeast cor-

THE PIONEER PERIOD. 35

ner of Cayuga county. Cortlandt county (so spelled in those days)
had been formed in 1808, and an unsuccessful effort Avas made in the
Legislature in the same year, supported by petitions from some of
Dryden's citizens, to make this town a part of it.

A state census made in 1808 shows that the number of electors at
that time in the town of Dryden whose farms exceeded in value XlOO
(about $500) each, was seventy-four; two others had farms exceeding
in value =£'20 (about $100), while the number of electors who rented
tenements of the yearly value of forty shillings was returned at 174.
The census of 1810 having shown a population in the town of 1890,
that of 1814 shows an increase to 2545, while that of 1820 returns a
population of 3995, showing a very rapid increase and reaching, near
the end of the first quarter of the Century Period, a number slight!}'
exceeding that of the present population, the highest number ever
reached being 5851 returned in 1835, while the latest returns, accord-
ing to the census of 1892 after the loss of seven lots in 1888, show
a present population of 3912. The causes which have influenced this
sudden increase and afterwards the gradual decrease of our popula-
tion will be treated of in a separate chapter hereafter.

CHAPTER XII. 1235123

REVIEW OF THE PIONEER PERIOD.

We have now hastily passed over the first twenty-five years of the
liistory of the town of Dryden, as a whole, commencing from the first
settlement in 1797 and extending to the year 1822. We shall refer to
it hereafter as the Pioneer Period, being the first quarter of the cen-
tury of DrA^den's inhabitation by her present race of population. To
obtain a correct and reliable view of this period, we have been obliged
to look back beyond the reach of human memory and to rely upon
such information as tradition and the fragmentary records of those
early times afford. Reliable memoranda of those times, when ob-
tainable, have been quoted minutely as furnishing the most trust-
worthy means of obtaining a correct idea of the condition and habits
of our ancestors in that distant period.

We can readily understand that the wilderness was not transformed
into fine cultivated fields, such as we now have, during that time. The
best of the farms must have been thickly beset with, stumps and cradle
knolls when the year 1822 dawned upon the new country. Farming
tools and implements of husbandry were then few and of the rudest

36 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

character. Mr. Bouton says that the first cast iron plow seen in the
town of Virgil was introduced there in the year 1817, and we may as-
sume that Dryden was not much in advance of her older sister town
in that respect. Hitherto plowing had been done with a home-made
wooden implement, held with a single handle, tlie original " mould
board "' being of wood instead of iron. Fortunate was the farmer in
those days who possessed a sickle with which to cut by hand his grain
standing in the fallow, a handful at a time, and when it had been
threshed with the flail, the willow fan and riddle afforded the best
means of cleaning it for use or market. Such roads as then existed
through the woods would now be considered almost impassable and
all means of ti*ansportation were so difficult and expensive that people
lived as far as possible upon their own productions. Log houses were
the rule and frame buildings the exception, even at the end of this
period. We have queried as to whether any old houses, first con-
structed in those times, still exist, without becoming much tbe wiser
for the speculation ; but we mistrust that the little red house, now
used as a storage building on the Burlingame farm, near the reservoir
of the Dryden Village Water Works, is among the oldest survivors of
former dwellings. It Avas the home of Edward Griswold, Sr., when he
was the owner of a large jjart, at least, of the lot (No. 39), a mile
square, near the center of which it still stands. John C. Lacy, in his
Reminiscences, states that within his recollection (he was born in Dry-
den in 1808) the Dr. Briggs house, originally built by Dr. Phillips, on
South street, but now moved off and occupied by John McKeon, on
Lake street, was the finest house in Dryden village.

All of the dwellings of this period were lighted as well as heated
from the fire in the open fire-place, tallow candles even at this time
being a luxury only to be used on special occasions. Many a time
has the thrifty, industrious housewife of our ancestors, with the aid
of the numerous small children " who played around her door, " gath-
ered in at twilight a suppl}^ of pine knots so that she might have them
to throw on the fire as needed to enable her to spin b}^ their light in
the long fall and wdnter evenings. We regret that we are unable to
do justice to the pioneer Mother of that period, for the reason that
no record was ever made and kept of her hardships and privations,
there having been no " strong-minded women " in those days to record
them ; and our only remedy is to give to her a full half of all the
credit which belongs to the pioneer families for all of that which was
accomplished.

Sheep husbandry prospered in the new country as soon as the

THE PIONEER PERIOD. B7

sheep could be protected from the wild animals of the surroiindiii<4-
forests, and the cultivation of flax was early introduced. So abundant
was the flax seed left after the fiber was worked up into cloth, that an
oil mill to express the linseed oil was early in operation on what is
now South street in Dryden villaoe, the heavy frame of which mill
still serves to support a dilapidated barn, the covering of which was
put on new since its use as an oil mill was discontinued. The plain
clothing of the family was made from homespun linen and woolen
cloth, coarse and heav}^ but at the same time strong and durable.

Joseph McGraw, Sr., already referred to as the father of the mil-
lionaire, John McGraw, came into the settlement in this period as a
professional weaver, going from house to house to work on the hand
looms of those days and to instruct others in the art ; and his fellow
townsman, Benjamin Wood, the grandfather of our ex-governor, A.
B. Cornell, at the same time was known and employed as a " reed
maker, " manufacturing by hand from reeds the delicate parts of the
looms by which the warp was manipulated in the process of weaving.
Mr. Wood early resided near Willow Glen in the little old wood-
colored house recently taken down on the farm formerly owned by
Charles Cady ; but afterwards he became the proprietor of the prem-
ises near Etna, known as Woodlawn. A subsequent chapter will be
devoted to Mr. Wood and his family.

We have intentionally omitted from our narrative some hunting and
fishing stories which have come down to us, suspecting that even the
good and true old men of those times, like their descendants, might be
given to exaggeration upon those subjects, and preferring to leave them
out altogether rather than to furnish exaggerated fiction under the
guise of reliable history. We should, however, say something con-
cerning the wild animals which were native here when disturbed in
their haunts by the pioneers.

Of the larger animals the deer were very abundant and did not
wholly disappear from the forests of the town until about 1835. It
seems to be stated upon good authority that Peleg Ellis, during the
flrst autumn of his settlement in Dryden, lulled eighteen deer so near
his log house that he drew them all up to his door upon his ox sled.
The woods were full of small game and the squirrels and chipmunks
were so abundant that when the raising of grain was first attempted
in the small clearings entirely surrounded by the forest, it was almost
impossible to save it from destruction b}' these pests. It was only by
|)ersistent trapping and hunting and sometimes by the use of poisoned
bait that the crop was secured. The bears and wolves were some-

38 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

what troublesome, but tliey soon avoided the neighborhood of the
settlements. The only animal which seriously endangered human
life, and that not often except when hunted and at bay, was the cou-
gar, or puma, or American lion as it was sometimes called, and often
referred to by old people as the painter or panther, but improperly so,
the true panther being a denizen of Africa. This cougar or puma was
a cat-like carniverous animal about five feet long, of a reddish brown
color above and nearly white underneath, being closely related to the
leopard family of animals. It was King of Beasts on the American
continent, nearly all of which it originally inhabited, and woe to the
unsuspecting deer or other animal which passed under the tree from
which it was watching to spring upon its prey. It had a peculiar cry
which was sometimes mistaken for that of a human being in distress,
and many were the thrilling stories told of it by the early settlers,
although it was too cowardly to often attack mankind.

The American eagle, too, in early times made his home in Dryden,
as appears from the following account published in the Ithaca Daily
Journal of April 20, 1880, as copied from the Dubuque (Iowa) Times
of an earlier date :

" In the years of 1828-9 a man discovered an eagle's nest in the top
of a pine tree on the bank of Fall Creek in the town of Dryden, Tomp-
kins county, N. Y., east of the town of Ithaca. The tree was cut and
three young bald-headed eagles just ready to fly left the nest before
the tree reached the ground. They were caught. One of them was
presented to Roswell Randall, a wealthy and prominent merchant re-
siding in Courtland Villa, Courtland county, N. Y. He caged, fed and
cared for the bird two or three years. It grew fast and became a very
large, noble bird of attraction. Mr. Randall placed the caged prisoner
by the side of the front walk leading to his beautiful mansion, in the
foregrounds, that visitors and passers-by could easily enjoy the sight.
Finally the bird caused so much trouble that Mr. Randall gave it to
William Bassett, a near neighbor, who was an engraver and silver-
smith ; in politics an old line Whig. In 1881 a Fourth of July cele-
bration was had in the village. Mr. Bassett being a public spirited
man, added largely to the enjoyment of the day by preparing a silver
clasp with these words engraved upon it, viz : ' To Henry Clay, of
Louisville, Ky., from Wm. Bassett, of Courtland Villa, Courtland coun-
ty, N. Y.,' and riveting it loosely, around one of the legs of the eagle
carried the bird and placed it on top of the cupola of the Eagle Hotel
in the village, its head in a southwest direction. The military corpa

THE PIONEER PERIOD. 39

and citizens being drawn up in front of the hotel, the eagle Avas set
at liberty. It stood erect upon the cupola, made three flaps with its
wings, then set off southwest. The military were ordered to fire, the
citizens, swinging their hats, gave three cheers for Henry Clay. The
eagle continued its course till out of sight. "

This was on the Fourth of July, 1831. The sequel subsequently
appeared in the Western papers giving an account of a " large bald-
headed eagle being shot by an Indian on a high, towering bluff on the
v/est bank of the Mississippi, about three miles north of Dubuque, on
the eleventh day of Jaly, 1831, measuring seven feet three inches from
tip to tip of outstretched wings, having an engraved silver clasp rivet-
ed around one of bis legs reading as follows, viz : ' To Henry Clay, of
Louisville, Ky., from Wm. Bassett, of Courtland Villa, N. Y. ' In
seven days from the time this noble bird graced the dome of the Eagle
Hotel and set sail in the direction of Henry Clay's residence he was
shot as above stated. "

This incident was first furnished to the press by G. R. West, who
was present at the celebration at Cortland in 1831 and saw the eagle
take its flight from the old Eagle Hotel, which stood where the Mes-
senger House is now located in Cortland village, and the promontory
on the Iowa bank of the Mississippi river, where the eagle was shot
as above stated, has since been known as " Eagle Point, " and is a
land-mark for all steamboat men on the upper Mississippi.

But the most interesting of the native animals which inhabited Dry-
den was the beaver. These industrious creatures were about the size
of a small dog, and lived on the bark of trees, taking up their habita-
tions in colonies of fifty or more each, in the streams, across which
they built dams with wonderful instinctive sagacity. They formed
houses of sticks plastered with mud so regular and perfect that they
seemed almost to be the work of human hands. It was some time
before the writer could ascertain to a certainty that the beaver in-
habited Dryden. The name " Beaver Creek, " applied to a sluggish,
muddy stream in the northeast corner of the township, first suggested
the thought and was followed up by inquiry which develops the fact
that the remains of a beaver dam could be distinctly seen in the woods
on this creek as late as twenty-five years ago. These interesting ani-
mals carried so much value in the fur upon their backs that they could
not long survive the efforts of the pioneer hunters to capture them, and
hence they early disappeared from this section of the country, so that
their former presence here had been almost forgotten.

40 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE PEPilOD OF DEVELOPMENT — TRANSPORTATION.

We now enter upon the second quarter-century of Dryden's inhab-
itation, extending from 1823 to 1847 inclusive, which, for the want of
a more appropriate name, we shall refer to as the " Period of De-
velopment." The term development might properly be applied to
the entire period of Dryden's history, but we feel justified in ap-
plying it especially here from the fact that during this particular
time the town suppi)rted, and was developed by the aid of, its larg-
est number of inhabitants, and the change of its territory- from a
^'howling wilderness" to a productive, civilized country township was
more rapid at this time than at any other. We shall not attempt
to revieAv the events of this period so much in their chronological
order as was done in treating the " Pioneer Period, " but we shall
view the development of our subject from several different standpoints,
first giving attention to the matter of transportation.

As we have already seen, the earliest pioneer settlers came bringing
their scanty supplies on ox-sleds with wooden shoes, the primitive
" Bridle Road " presumably not being adapted to transportation by
wheeled vehicles, even in the summer time. At the end of the first
twenty -five years the principal thoroughfares had become passable
by wagons and stages, the stumps having been removed, the low-
places being filled with corduroy crossing and the principal streams
being spanned with ])ole l)ridges. Our highwa3^s are none too good
a,t the present time, but we can realize that very much has been done,
and much time and labor has been required, to bring them to. even
their present state of development. Those of us who have occasion to
use '• woods roads " of the present day are not surprised to read the
accounts of the frequency with which the early teamsters became
" mired " in using the only means of transportation which was then
afforded. In view of these circumstances we are not surprised to
learn that the first mail was carried by a man on f(wt between Oxford
and Ithaca from 1811 to 1817, and that the first stage commenced
running between Homer and Ithaca through Dryden in 1824. Other
localities seem to have been more early favored than ours in thi.^
respect and the Bath and Jericho Turnpike, chartered by the State in
1804, and later forming a part of the old Ithaca and Catskill stage
route and still known as the "turnpike" from Slaterville to Ithaca,
passing through the southwest corner of our town, was one of the

DEVELOPMENT— TRANSPORTATION.

•early^tlioroughfares connecting the East with the West. But during-
the period of which we are now speaking transportation on the prin-
cipal highways, in the absence of all other means, was very much em-
])loyed, and upon the Bridle Road between Dryden and Ithaca nearh',
if not quite, a dozen local hotels or " Taverns, " as they were then
called, ministereil to the wants of travelers and teamsters, and in so
doing conducted a thriving business. One of them was the Dryden
Center House originally built and operated early in this period by
Benjamin Aldrich, already mentioned among the early town oflicers.

DRYDEN CENTER HOUSE.

Unlike most of these country inns the Center House has not been per-
mitted to run down, but under the management of its present proprie-
tor, Gardner W. S. Gibson, has been rejiaired and improved so that
it now presents a modern appearance, fully in keeping with its prom-
inence in the early history of the town. Here for a long time town
meetings were held and the official business of the town transacted
and it is still patronized as the proper place for holding town cau-
cuses. It was not uncommon in those days for such farmers as Ed-
ward Griswold and Elias W. Cady to take a wagon load of produce to
market at Albany, returning with a load of store goods, and at certain

42 HISTORY OF DRYDE^;.

seasons of the year the roads to Syracuse \\evo, lined with teamsters
returning with wagon loads of salt, lime and plaster, after having
taken loads of farm produce to market. Towauda, then the head of
navigation on the Susquehanna river, was also a favorite shipping-
point at which Dryden farmers marketed their produce.

The Erie Canal (" Clinton's Ditch" as it was derisively called in
those times) was opened to navigation in 1825, and in the absence of
railroads it soon became a great aid in the means of transportation.
Some of the later settlers of this period, James Tripp, for example,
who came in from Columbia county in 1836, shipped their goods by
way of the canal and drove across the country with their horses and
wagons. The Ithaca & Owego Railroad, the second to be chartered
in the State, passed over a small corner of Dryden and was opened in
1834, but it was operated wholly by horse powder in those days, and
gave but little indication of the efficiency, as a means of transporta-
tion, afforded by railroads of the present time. Still until the finan-
cial panic of 1836, which was a temporary set back, this w^as a time of
rapid growth and prosperity. Permanent buildings were constructed
and manufacturing enterprises were instituted. The only brick dwell-
ing ever constructed in Dryden village was built by John South worth
in 1836. The Mallory brothers, from Homer, in 1826 located on Fall
Creek at a point since called from them, Malloryville, and there oper-
ated a saw-mill, chair factory, carding and cloth dressing machinery
and a dye house, employing from thirty to forty hands, and prosper-
ing until their mills were destroyed by fire in 1836, when they re-
moved farther w^est. One of these Mallory brothers (Samuel) recent-
ly died at Elkhorn, Wisconsin, in his ninety-ninth year.

One of the distressing occurrences of this time, but one which we
do not feel at liberty to omit from our History, which professes to
speak of all the prominent events, resulted from the connection of the
murderer, Edward H. Ruloff, wdtli the town of Dryden. In the year
1842 he served as a school teach 3r in Dryden village and numbers of
his pupils are still residents here. He came originally from the
province of New Brunswick. On December 31, 1843, he married
Miss Harriet Schutt, a lovely Dryden girl seventeen j-ears of age, who
had been one of his pupils. They moved to the town of Lansing. In
1845 a daughter was born to them, but shortly afterw-ards the wife
and daughter disappeared, the only visible means of their disappear-
ance being a large strong wooden box with which Ruloff was seen
to drive away in a wagon towards Cayuga Lake.

He w^as soon after arrested in the West and brought back to this

IMMIGKATION AND EMIGEATION. 43

county; the bottom of the lake was diedo;ed for the box in vain, and,,
there being no direct evidence of murder, Ruloff was finally sentenced
to ten years in State's Prison for abducting his wife. Having served
his term he was released and disappeared from pul)lic view until the
3'ear 1871, when he was convicted of participating in a robbery and
murder at Binghamton, for which he was executed. He was a singu-
lar character, being a profound and diligent student, and his career was.
an interesting, though terrible one, afterwards being made the sub-
ject of magazine articles upon moral insanit}', of which it seemed to
furnish a striking example.

CHAPTER XIV.

IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION.

If we examine a small inland body of water, such as our Dryden
Lake — known to the early inhabitants as " Little Lake " — we shall
find that it is connected with a small stream known as the inlet and
a larger one called the outlet. During the spring floods the inflow is
greater than the outflow, the result being that the water rises in the
lake until it reaches what is called " high water mark. " Then during-
the dry summer and autumn, as the inflow is rapidly decreased while
the outflow continues unabated, the supply of water is reduced until
" low water mark " is reached. Now, if we will picture to ourselves
our town of Dryden as the dry bed of a lake, to which the tide of im-
migration commenced to flow in 1797, and continued to flow rapidly
until 1835, when the increasing outflow of emigration exceeded the
diminishing inflow of immigration, and has so continued ever since^
we shall have in mind before us the comparison sought for, to cor-
rectly illustrate this subject. Many of the early inhabitants or their
children continued their migrations to points farther west. For ex-
ample we have seen that a number of the children of Captain Robert-
son, the first freeholder of the town, early sought new homes in the
West, where they have made reputations for themselves. Of the five
Lacy brothers all of whom settled here in 1801, four in later years
moved on further west, while only one, the father of the late John C.
Lacy, remained. Until we come to consider it carefully, but few of us
can realize the great and continuous drain which has been made
upon the older settlements of the East to build up and populate the
Great West during the past seventy-five years.

The writer was strikingly reminded of the reality of this fact upon

44 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

liis first visit to the West some twenty-tive years ago. At the end of
liis journey he found liimself in an inhmd town of tlie state of Michi-
gan, imagining himself to be a stranger in ;i strange hind. Having
occasion to call upon a justice of the peace he stopped at the first
office wliich displayed a sign of that character, hesitating to introduce
himself as from Dryden, N. Y., doubting whether the inmate of the
office had ever heard of such a place. Mustering up his courage,
however, he ventured to state to the officer where he was from, and
you may imagine his surprise upon the magistrate's extending his
hand saying : " Why, I used to live in Dryden, " and he immediately
commenced inquiring about some of the old citizens of Dryden, whom
he had known here thirty years before. A gentleman who happened
to be in the office reading a newspaper, here interrupted by saying :
"'■ I never lived in Dryden, but ni}' wife used to be a resident of that
town. " The surprise and revelation was coniplete, and furthei- ex-
perience in states farther west has confirmed the fact, that the great
western part of our country is thickly sprinkled over with inhabitants
who have either themselves been at some time residents of Dryden or
whose ancestors came from our town. Hardly a city of any size or
n county in any of the Western States can be found to-day which has
not some inhabitants who in this way derive their origin from the
town of Dryden. They are found among all the classes and condi-
tion of the Western population, from the farmer and common laborer
to the Legislators and Judges, the town of Dryden having recently
furnished to one of the newly formed Western states its first elected
governor.

If all of the western population who can trace their origin directly
or indirectly to the town of Diyden, could have been brought together
at our Centennial Celebration, the whole township would have been
taxed to its utmost to furnish accommodation for the vast concourse
of people, and the grounds of the Agricultural Society would have
been inadequate to furnish them standing room.

In view of these facts it is no disparagement to the town that its
population has decreased for the past sixt}^ years. The Great West
has continuall}' been offering superior advantages to our young men,
the more ambitious and adveutursome of whom have been and still
are taking advantage of these opportunities, leaving behind the more
conservative (and shall we say less enterprising?) to till the same
farms and pursue in a quiet way the same avocations as was done by
our fathers before us. And yet, m spite of this drain upon the best
life blood of the po]nilation, we shall submit to those former residents

LUMBERING. 45

who shall from time to time revisit us, that we have not permitted
the town to run down in its enterprise and productiveness, l)nt that
with the aid of improved machinery and better buildings and methods,
the farms, as a whole, have been improved and rendered more pro-
ductive, while the general business interests of the people, with bet-
ter means of manufacture and transportation, and superior education-
al advantages, have not suflered in comparison with the earlier times.
There is coming a limit to this outflow of population, the Great West
is filling up, and the time is sure to come when the tide of migration
Avill ebb back to our shores, and then the town of Dryden will support
a greater and we trust a more prosperous population than ever before.

CHAPTER XV.

OCCUPATION OF THE INHABITANTS.

During this " development " period Dryden was emphatically a lum-
bering town. Agricultural operations had been developed sufficiently
to support the population, but the surplus product of the township at
this time in this era of building was mainly pine lumber of a superior
quality. This did not need to seek a distant market but was in ready
demand at the low price which then prevailed of from four to five dol-
lars per thousand feet by the country immediately north and east
of us, which was not well supplied with pine timber. The following
statistics concerning Dryden are gathered from the second edition of
" Spafl^ord's N. Y. Gazetteer," published in 1824, and furnish valuable
data bearing upon this subject of the occupation of the people :

Number of grist-mills in town, 4 ; saw-mills, 26 ; fulling-mills, 2 ;
carding-machines, 4 ; distilleries, 5 ; asheries, 4 ; population, 3,950 ;
taxable property, $208,866 ; electors, 733 ; farmers, 2,005 ; mechanics,
132 ; shop-keepers or traders, 4 ; numl)er of families, 634 ; acres of im-
proved land, 14,323 ; number of neat cattle, 3,670 ; number of horses,
674 ; number of sheep, 6,679 ; number of yards of cloth manufactured
in families in 1821, 37,300 ! ! Number of school districts, 20 ; public
school money in 1821, $576.05.

We observe from this record the small number of horses kept com-
pared with cattle ; the small number of store-keepers compared with
the number of farmers and mechanics, and the small amount of tax-
able property, not being one-fifth of what the farm buildings of the
town are to-day insured for in the Dryden and Groton compan}'.

In the year 1835 the number of saw-mills in operation was fifty-

46 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

three, all employed in working up the great quantity of timber, mostly
pine, which produced the read}' money for the people, the predomi-
nance of which industry greatly retarded other farming interests.
The picturesque fences of pine stumps, now disappearing, but which
have served their purpose in this form for half a century, often attract
the attention of strangers and are reminders of tlie former abundance
of pine. Any person who has occasion to pass through the wood-
land remaining on the Dryden hills to-day may observe the large
weather-beaten but almost imperishable pine stumps still standing in
the woods, from which the wealth of pine timber was taken in this peri-
od of our history. Every merchant of those times kept in connection
with his store a lumber yard, where he received from his customers
lumber in exchange for goods. John McGraw, then a clerk in a Dry-
den village store, obtained his first lessons in the lumber business in
handling the local pine timber of the town, from the profits of which
he obtained his start in the financial world, and afterwards applying
his experience thus obtained to larger operations elsewhere, he amas-
sed the fortune which netted over two million dollars to his estate
after his decease. Dryden must then have presented the appearance
of a vast lumber camp, the fifty-three saw-mills, all run by water
power, giving employment to a great many men in cutting logs, draw-
ing them to mill, and manufacturing and marketing the lumber, opera-
tions all requiring much more labor to produce the same results then
than now. Like all lumbering communities Dryden did not present a
very advanced or refined state of development in that period, and
John Southworth, who was a keen and careful observer of men and
things in those times in which he participated, used to say in after
years that the Dryden farmer, who occasionally took out of his clear-
ing in those days to the county seat of this or an adjoining county
with his ox team a load of lumber, or perhaps a cargo of charcoal, or
sometimes a feAv barrels of potash salts leached from the ashes
gathered after the burning of his fallow, when he was interrogated by
the tradesmen to whom he sold his products as to Avhere his home
was, would admit with no little hesitation and embarrassment, that he
lived "just in tlie edge of Dryden."

A great change has taken place since that time. The pine timber
lands, so valuable to the lumbermen, but after the removal of the tim-
ber, so beset with obstacles in the shape of the pine roots and stumps,
so troublesome to the agriculturist, have at length been subdued and
reduced to cultivation, and prove to be possessed of rich and enduring
qualities of fertility. The disposition of the Dryden farmers to devote

THE DEVELOPMENT PERIOD. 47

their efforts to dairyiiifjj iusteacl of grain-raising has tended to improve
rather than diminish the natural resources of the soil. In place of the
original pine timber, excellent farm buildings have been supplied, and
the Dry den farmer is no longer ashamed to acknowledge the location
of his home. In fact his tendencies now seem to be in the other ex-
treme, and subject him to the charge that he believes that his town
was created a little better than the rest of the world in general. The
interest which was manifested in the celebration of Dryden's Centen-
nial, is proof of the pride which her inhabitants now take in acknowl-
edging and honoring their native town.

CHAPTER XYI.

REVIEW OF THE DEVELOPMENT PERIOD.

We have failed to mention the war with Mexico, which occurred
during this period from 184G to 1848, resulting in the addition to our
country of a vast amount of western territory, including California.
This war did not excite great interest in the state of New York, and so
far as we can learn no organized effort was made in Dryden to pro-
mote it, and no volunteers, except perhaps a few scattering adven-
turers, went from Dryden to engage in it. It was a Southern measure,
not over popular at that time in the North, although in its results it
proved to be important and highly beneficial to the country at large.

This was an era of prosperity in which the value of real estate and
other property maintained a healthy improvement. As the water
power used by the saw-mills ceased to be required for that purpose
on account of the rapidly decreasing supply of saw logs, attention was
given to other kinds of manufacturing to which these water powers
were adapted ; and hence many of the mills and factories of the town
date back to this period.

During this time stoves to a great extent took the place of the old-
fashioned fireplaces, and tallow candles furnished the means of house
lighting in the evening, supplemented toward the end of this period by
sperm oil lamps and an explosive burning fluid com]iounded of cam-
phine and alcohol.

The anti-slavery movement developed largely during this time.
The census of 1820 shows that there were then held in the county
of Tompkins fifty slaves, of whom thirty-two were held in the town of
Caroline, nine in the town of Hector, six in the town of Danby and
three in Ulysses ( then including Ithaca), but none were then held in

48 HISTORY OF DRY DEN.

the towns of Drydeu, Groton or Lansing. In the preliminary draft of
this chapter we said that we found no evidence that negro slavery ever
existed in the town of Dryden. We had learned that Edward Gris-
wold kept in his family an old negro by the name of Jack O'Liney,
who had once been a slave, but who seems to have been harbored by
Mr. Griswold as a subject of charit}'. Further investigation develops
the fact that Aaron Lacy, who came to Dryden in 1799, while he re-
sided on the Stickles corner in Willow Glen, bought and kept as a do-
mestic servant, a slave girl by the name of Ann Wisner, remembered
by some of the older people as " Black Ann," who was sent to school
b^' her master m the Willow Glen district in those earl}' years, and
who, after her emancipation moved to Ithaca and has since then fre-
quently revisited the family of her former master. In the will of Aa-
ron Lacy dated in the year 1826 and recorded in the surrogate's office
of Tompkins county in book B, page 69, this slave girl is bequeathed
to his widow, Eliza Lacy. Perhaps other slaves were held in Dryden,
but we learu of no others, and slavery was abolished in the whole state
of New York early in this period, July 4, 1827.

A great change in the customs in regard to the use of alcoholic and
spirituous liquors took place during this time. As we have seen, in
1824 there were live distilleries of whiskey in operation in the town
and we are told that everybody in those days made use of it. Intoxi-
cating liquor of some kind was considered a necessity to be furnished
at every raising of the frame of a new building, and no farmer could
commence haying without providing a supply of strong drink for the
use of himself and his help during this laborious operation in those
times. Tradition says that for the raising of the frame of the Presby-
terian church edifice in Dryden village, which occupied a week in the
year 1819, a large amount of wdiiskey was supplied to the volunteer
workmen. Whether, as is sometimes claimed by old i)eople, the whis-
key of those days was so pure that it had none of the pernicious ef-
fects wdiich attend the intemperate use of the modern article of the
same name, is fortunately not within the province of history to deter-
mine.

In revieAving the first fift}- years of Dryden's inhabitation we cannot
but be impressed with the great progress and improvements which
had been made, and doubtless the inhabitants of 1847 considered that
the limit of progress in art and science had then almost been reached,
and that but few improvements could be expected in the future. Yet
at that time not a single mowing machine, reaper or family sewing
machine had ever been brought into the township, the first of the for-

THE DEVELOPMENT PERIOD. 49

nier, an Emory mower, having been brought into town by Elias W.
Cady in 1850, and of the latter the first was a Grover & Baker sewing
machine presented to Mrs. John E. McElheny by her brother, Vol-
ne}^ Aldrich, of New York, in about 1857, the cost of which was one
hundred thirty dollars. At that time people came from as far as West
Dryden to see a machine which could " actuall}- sew," and that same
machine is still in active use.

Up to this time not a single bushel of mineral coal ("stone coal" as it
was called in those days) had ever been introduced, the first, as we learn,
being a barrel of blacksmith's coal brought in from Ithaca as an experi-
ment by Obed Linclsey and Jim Patterson in 1850. Kerosene oil had
then never been heard of, and it was some time before "stone coal" was
used here for heating houses, the term "coal" then being universally ap-
plied to charcoal, which was used much more commonly than now.

W« believe we are safe in stating that up to this time not a single
steam engine, either stationary or portable, had ever been introduced
into the town except where the D. L. & W. R. E. now crosses the
south-west corner. On that old road in 1840 it was attempted to use
the first locomotive, but without success until it was sent back to
Schenectady to be enlarged and improved. When returned it was so
heavy that it wrecked one of the bridges and was abandoned until
about 1847, when steam power first became a practical success on this
old line of railroad.

In concluding this chapter we quote two stanzas from a centennial
poem written by a lady who was born in our adjoining county of Cort-
land and who is a relative of the Hammond family in Dryden, as
follf)ws :

" Where women sat beside their looms, '

A hundred years ago,
And wove in cloth the threads they spun

Of linen, wool, and tow,
Now great King Steam, in Avork shops large.

Like some old giant elf.
Gets up with angry puff and roar

And does the work himself.

" The poor, old stage coach lumbered on,

A hundred years ago,
O'er rugged roads and mountains steep.

Its progress was but slow ;
Now, through the mountain's heart, and o'er

Deep chasms, yawning wide,
With iron steeds, in palace cars.

How fearlessly we ride. " — Luranali HammomJ.

50 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

CHAPTER XVII

THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD— SLAVERY.

It is with a consciousness of our inability to do the subject justice
that we undertake to record the histor}^ of Dryden in connection with
the War of the Rebellion and the great events which immediately pre-
ceded and followed it, occupying the third quarter of our Century
Period, and extending from 1847 to 1872. It was no slight misunder-
standing or sudden outburst of jealousy or auger which caused the en-
lightened and usually sober-minded people of our country — North
and South — to engage with all their might in a fierce and bloody con-
flict lasting over four years, sacrificing hundreds of thousands of lives
and expending billions of money, involving in its results the very ex-
istence of the nation itself. No section of the country stood more loy-
ally by the government, freely offering up its treasure and the lives of
its best citizens for the support of the Union and the cause of freedom
in this desperate struggle than did the town of Dryden, and none can
claim a greater interest in, or credit for, the result. In the darkest
days of the conflict, when the draft riots in New Y'ork city indicated
weariness of the war, and the votes of the majorities in some sections
seemed ready to declare the war a failure, our people continued to roll
up increasing majorities at the polls for the war party, and with a firm
determination to win, promptly responded to all calls for men and
money. To the extent in which she participated in it, the history of
this war is the history of Drj'den and will be so treated.

In the light of liistor}' it is no uncertain fact that the cause of this
war was negro slavery. It was not so fully recognized as such at the
time, neither party being willing to admit it, the North claiming that
they were simply fighting to preserve the Union, while the South con-
tended that they were merely seeking their independeuce. History
removes all sham pretenses from both sides and clearly reveals the
fact that the subject of the contention was the perpetuation of slavery
in the United States.

As we have seen, slaves were held in Tompkins county at least
as late as 1820, when the number was fifty. In the year 1799 the
population of the state of New York included twenty thousand slaves,
but in that year provision was made by the state government for their
gradual emancipation, and on July 4, 1827, the last slave in the state
was declared forever free. The colored people of the county cele-
brated the event at that time at Ithaca. While all the Northern States

THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD. 51

voluntarily abolislied slavery within their limits early in the century,
the institution flourished with increasing vigor in the South, and the
antagonism between the two sections, engendered and maintained by
the subject of the existence and entension of slavery, led slowly but
surely to the terrible War of the Rebellion.

One of the local circumstances which early served to call attention
to and agitate this subject in our county was the trial of Robert H.
Hyde, the father of the late R. H. S. Hyde, Esq., of the town of Caro-
line, who was charged with taking to Virginia and selling a negro
slave girl, Eliza, whom he had held here, in violation of the laws
which provided for the gradual abolition of slavery in this state and
prohibited the removal of slaves to other states to evade this law for
their emancipation. In 1805 there had settled in Caroline a small
colony from Virginia, including the Hyde and Speed families, who
brought their slaves with them. Hyde was indicted and twice tried
upon this charge at Ithaca in the year 1825. He escaped convic-
tion, being ably defended by Ben Johnson, the most noted lawyer of
the county in those years, but the affair served to stir up the rapidly
growing anti-slavery sentiment in this county. While the South
undertook to defend the institution of slavery as of divine origin, best
calculated to subserve the highest interest of the colored race as well
as that of their masters, the prevailing sentiment of the North was
rapidly growing to condemn it as radically wrong. Still the mass of
the Northern people were not prepared before the war to interfere with
slavery in the old states where it had been established, but the ques-
tion as to permitting it to be introduced and further extended in the
new states and territories led to heated and bitter discussion and an
increasing enmity between the two sections. The sentiment at the
North was, however, divided on the subject, and there were some citi-
zens, even in Dryden, who, up to the time of the war, openly defended
negro slavery. The writer remembers that Mills Van Valkenburgh,
a lawyer of Dryden and afterwards county judge, who taught the Dry-
den village district school in about 1855, had such pronounced views
upon the subject of tolerating slavery that some of the radical abo-
litionists of the village, R. H. Delamater for one, refused to send their
children to school under his instruction, although he was everywhere
recognized as an excellent teacher and an exemplary citizen.

When John Brown in 1859 made his raid into Virginia to free the
slaves and create an insurrection among them in defiance of law, the
masses of people in Dryden, as well as elsewhere in the North, con-
demned it as a mad and foolish act. Still there was a growing seuti-

52 HISTORY OF DEYDEN.

meut ill sympathy with him, which was disposed to resist the fugitive
slave law requiring the return of runaway slaves to their masters,
maintaining that there was a law higher than the law of the land upon
that subject, and the readiness Avith which the soldiers of the North
afterwards took up the song :

" John Brown's body lies a mouldering in the grave,
But his soul goes marching on, "

demonstrated that this sentiment was not then forgotten.

The presidential campaign of 1856, in which Fremont and Dayton
were defeated by James Buchanan, was an exciting time in Dryden,
only exceeded by the subsequent election of Lincoln and Hamlin in
1860. While there were never very many colored people residing in
the town, the anti-slavery feeling became so intense and prevalent
prior to aGd during the war, and the " Black Republican" majorities
given in sympathy with the negroes grew to such an extent, that the
town came to be known in those days as " Black Dryden."

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE WAR OF THE REBELLION.

It is now easy to see in the light of history that in their efforts to
preserve and perpetuate the institution of slavery, the Southern States
by their attempted secession hastened its doom to speedy abolition.
Slavery might have been one of the perplexing subjects of politics to-
day had not the crisis been precipitated by the commencement of
hostilities in April, 1861.

It will be difficult for succeeding generations to realize with what
anxiety and interest the investment and capture of Fort Sumpter and
the subsequent progress of the war were watched by the people of
Dryden in common with the inhabitants of all of the states of the
North. No railroads or telegraph then served to deliver the war news
within the town of Dryden. The only mail which was then received
was brought by the daily stages from Ithaca and Cortland, meeting at
Dryden village at noon. The New York daily papers of the morning
would in this way reach Dr^^den the next day at noon, when the first
news was obtained, unless, as was frequently the case, a messen-
ger was dispatched by private contributors to Cortland, the nearest
railroad and telegraph station in those times, to bring back the latest
news late in the evening. Those who remember how anxiously the

THE REBELLION. 53

tidings of the war were watched for, will call to raind with what feel-
iiii^s of disappointment the frequent stereot3^ped response was re-
ceived, "All quiet on the Potomac."

The capture of Fort Sumpter by the Confederates served immedi-
ately to strengthen and unite the people of the North in their determi-
nation to preserve the Union with or without slavery at first, but
finally only with the complete abolition of that troublesome institu-
tion. For that purpose a large part of the Democratic party, known
as " War Democrats," united with the government in its effort to pre-
serve the Union and with that determination stood by it until the
termination of the war, while the remaining Democrats, who opposed
the war, or professed to be indifferent on the subject, were openly
denounced and branded as " Copper-heads."

The first volunteers to go into the military service from our town
joined some companies organized in Ithaca, which were afterwards
united at New York with others to form the 32nd Infantry', with which
they went to the front in June, 1861. Among these volunteers was
Captain Sylvester H. Brown, who was killed at City Point, Va. This
regiment enlisted for only two years, but saw severe service, partici-
pating in the battles of West Point, Gaines Mills, White Oak Swamp,
Malvern Hill, Crompton Gap, Antietam, and Fredericksburg. After
their term of two years had expired many of the survivors re-enlisted
in other regiments. In the fall and winter of that year the 76th regi-
ment was organized, of which companies F. and C. were largeW re-
cruited from the town of Dryden. This organization had an unfor-
tunate beginning, growing out of a personal cjuarrel between Col.
Green and one of his subordinate officers, resulting in the shooting
and wounding of the latter, while they were encamped at Cortland.
Afterwards the 76th, under Col. Wainwright, did valiant service and
took part in the battles of Rappahannock Station, Warrenton, Gaines-
ville, Second Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, LTpperville, Fred-
ericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg and Mine Run.

The early campaigns of the Union forces in Virginia were not suc-
cessful. Such disasters as the battle of Bull Run served to convince
the people of the North that greater efforts must be made. War
meetings were held in all parts of the count}', attended with bands of
music and patriotic speakers. At these meetings liberal contributions
were made for the aid of the families of sucli as should go to tlie front.
A senatorial war committee was appointed, of which our late towns-
man, Jeremiah W. Dwight, was the member from this county, and a
local town committee was selected, consisting of Luther Griswold,

54 HISTOEY OF DEYDEN.

Smith Robertson, Charles Giveiis, Thomas J. McElheny, and W. W.
Snyder.

In the summer of 1862 the 109th regiment was organized, Company
F. being largely made up of Dryden volunteers. It was mustered into
service Aug. 28, 1862, but was kept on guard duty for the first year
and more. Its first fight was in the terrible battle of the Wilderness
when more than one hundred of its men were left upon the field of
battle. Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor and the battles before Petersburg
followed in quick succession, in all of which this regiment made a gal-
lant record, but suftered severely, so that when they came to be mus-
tered out of the service in June, 1865, there were only two hundred
and fifty men left of the tAvelve hundred which first went into the Wil-
derness.

In October, 1862, the 143d regiment, of which one company was made
up mostly of Dryden men under Capt. Harrison Marvin, was mus-
tered into service. Although this regiment did not see such severe
service it had an honorable record and its roll of honor bore the fol-
lowing inscriptions : Nansemond, Wauhatchie, Lookout Mountain,
Chattanooga, Knoxville, Resaca, Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain, Culpep-
per Farm, Peach Tree Ridge, Atlanta and Savannah.

Capt. Geo. L. Truesdell with quite a number of other Dryden men
joined earl3' in 1864 the 15th New York Cavarly, which was organized
from Aug 8, 1863, to January 14th, 1864, to serve for three years.
Nine companies were recruited at Syracuse, one at Elmira, one at Cav-
alry Depot, Washington, D. C, and one in the state of New York at
large. It was consolidated with the Sixth New York Cavalry June
17th, 1865, and the consolidated force designated the Second Provis-
ional New York Cavalry. Col. Robert M. Richardson resigned Jan.
19, 1865, leaving in command Col. John J. Coppinger. The regiment
lost by death during its service in killed during action, three oflicers
and eighteen men; of wounds received in action, nineteen men; of dis-
ease and other causes, four ofiicers and 129 men ; a grand total of one
hundred seventy men. It was at Hillsboro, Upperville, Franklin,
Romney, New Market, Front Royal, Newton, Mount Jackson, Pied-
mont, Stanton, Waynesboro, Lexington, New London, Diamond Hill,
Lynchburg, Snicker's Gap, Ashby's Gap, Winchester, Green Spring,,
and the Appomattox campaign.

The early enlistments were all volunteers aided and encouraged at
first by liberal provisions for the families of those who should enlist,
and afterwards by large bounties in addition, to the soldier himself.
Only one draft was made in this town, which was executed in July,

DRYDEN SOLDIERS. 55

1868, accordinoj to the terms of which the drafted man himself coukl
hire a substitute to go in his place or, by paying three hundred dol-
lars, the government would provide the substitute, A second and
third draft was ordered but the supervisors of the county here came to
the rescue and hired, at the expense of the county, enough non-resi-
dent soldiers to make up, with those who had volunteered, the full
quota of the towns of Tompkins county.

We regret that we are not able to make our military record more
complete, having given only a brief reference to the companies which
were made up almost wholly of Dry den men. Many others were scat-
tered through different regiments and in all branches of the service,
and we supplement this brief record by the following chapter, which
aims to give a complete list of the Dryden soldiers, specifying those
who died or were severely wounded in the service.

CHAPTER XVIII.

PERSONAL RECORD OF DRYDEN SOLDIERS.

The preparation of this chapter has involved no small amount of la-
bor, and great care has been taken to make it correct and complete.
Still there are, doubtless, some errors and omissions ; but the follow-
ing data arranged in tabular form will, it is hoped, at least serve as a
basis from which a more perfect record shall be made at some time in
the future. If happily "grim visaged war" shall never again make its
imperative demands upon the town of Dryden, its inhabitants of the
rising and future generations will never fully realize what it is to have
the lives of the father, brother and sons of the people of the township
exposed to the hazards of camp and of battle and sacrificed in the ser-
vice of their country.

Thomas J. McElheny, one of the war committee of Dr3^den who
gave his time very fully in those years to the details of filling the quo-
tas of soldiers required by the government from this town, relates
with pardonable pride the experiences which he had in performing his
arduous duties in these matters and bears witness to the liberality and
patriotism manifested by the people in sustaining his efibrts.

No attempt is made in this chapter to complete the record of non-
resident volunteers who were induced by the liberal bounties ofierred
by the town of Dryden to help to fill out her quota and when Dryden
men had removed to other places before their enlistment their names
will not be likely to be found in the following table :

o6 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

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DRYDEN SOLDIERS. 57

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58 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

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64 HISTOEY OF DRYDEN.

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68 HISTOEY OF DEYDEN.

CHAPTER XX.

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.

While the period of the war involved great loss of life and property
to the North as well as to the South, it was, to our section of the
country, in some respects a time of unusual prosperity. The money
which was freely paid out by the provernment for services and supplies
came into ready circulation among the people, and the prices of every-
thing went up to high figures, so that those people who remained at
home and formed the producing class were able to secure enormous
prices for their products. Wheat brought $2.50 per bushel ; wool one
dollar per pound ; while butter was sold for sixty cents and at some
times even more than that per pound. Heal estate, as well as other
property, was booming, and everybody holding property of any kind
was agreeably surprised upon finding himself richer than he had
previously supposed himself to be. This increase in wealth was
in a measure imaginary, and to some extent, at least, due to a depre-
ciated currency by which the value of things was then estimated.
When the currency was brought up to a par value with gold, some
time after the close of the war, the delusion began to be dispelled, and
the value of property has ever since then seemed to depreciate.

Still there were people during the war, as there always have been
and always will be, who were continually complaining of the hard
times, and suggesting that if ever the war should cease then they
might accomplish something, while those who then went to work and
made their efforts productive, accumulated property more rapidly than
it was possible to do in the same length of time either before or since
that period.

The apparent prosperity which then prevailed m business matters
stimulated local enterprises, and the first railroad to furnish means of
transportation within the town, at first known as the Southern Central,
was opened for travel between Owego and Auburn in the year 1869.
Such a project had long been dreamed of and hoped for by the people
of the town, and we find on an old map of Tompkins county published
in 1838, a copy of which is in the possession of Dr. Mary Briggs of
Dryden village, a railway projected from Ithaca to Auburn by way
of Etna and Freeville, over almost the same route now occupied by
the branches of the Lehigh Yalley. The old Ithaca and Cortland
railroad, known in those days as the "Shoo Fly," was opened as
far as Cortland running diagonally through the centre of the town of

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 69

Dryden, in 1871. A great effort was made by and in behalf of Dryden
people, especially those living in and about Dryden village, to secure
the constructtion of the Southern Central. Many other towns along
the proposed line were bonded to furnish means with which to con-
struct it, but the town of Dryden was never obligated in that way.
The citizens, however, believed that only by very liberal subscriptions
to the stock of the company could the road be secured, and a sub-
scription amounting to nearly two hundred thousand dollas was ob-
tained from the people, only about one half of which materialized.
Many under the strong intiiience brought to bear upon them and out
of a sense of duty to the public interests of the town, agreed to take
more stock than they afterwards felt able to pay for, and subsequent
developments indicated that the road would have been finally built
without so great a sacrifice on the part of the people. Those towns,
however, which bonded themselves fared the worst, for their bonds
were paid when times were harder and property had greatly depreci-
ated in value. The Midland Railroad Company projected a road in
this period from Freeville to Auburn by way of West Dryden and Lan-
sing, which was not completed until 1880, and after being operated for
about ten years was absorbed by the Lehigh Valley Company and
discontinued. The telegraph accompanied the railroads, or in the case
of the Southern Central preceded it by a few years. /Ihus the
town from being wholly destitute of railroad privileges up to 1869, has
ever since been traversed by at least two lines of railroad, crossing
each other at nearly right angles near the centre of the township,
providing five railroad and telegraph stations within its borders.

Near the end of this period, and about the year 1870, attention was
called to tlie fact that Dryden was holding rather more than her full
share (in fact nearly all; of the political honors of the county. It so
happened at that time that Hon. Richard Marvin, as Supreme Court
Justice, then residing in Chautauqua county but brought up as a Dry-
den boy, was assigned to hold a term of Supreme Court at Ithaca.
Mills Van Valkenburg was then serving as county judge and surrogate,
elected from Dryden ; Horace L. Root was serving as sheriff, as well
as Thomas J. McElheny as county clerk, both elected from Dryden ;
while Benjamin F. Squires, the court crier had formerly been a Dry-
den merchant. With Milo Goodrich, of Dryden, then a member of
congress from this district and a prominent figure at the bar of that
court it was conceded that for a country town Dryden then had a
-claim upon at least her full share of the offices of that court and of the
■county.

70 HISTOEY OF DKYDEN.

CHAPTER XXL

THE I'EIIIOD OF MATURITY.

By applying the term "maturity" to this present time, the hist
quarter of the Century Period of our history, we do not intend to
imply that it is a time when perfection has been reached, or that
further developments of a prop;ressive nature may not be expected in
the future histor}' of our town. It is regarded by us as mature only
as we view it from the stand])oint of the present as compared with the
primitive conditions of the past, while to those who may review it one
hundred years hence, the present time will doubtless appear, in some
respects at least, as a period of rude development. This period will
be treated of here very briefly, as it is not yet ripe as a subject for
history, and it is rather to give those who shall come after us and who
may chance to peruse our efibrts, some idea as to how our times ap-
pear to us to-day than for any other purjDose that we complete our gen-
eral history of the town of Dryden with this chapter.

There are some few respects in which great progress has been made
during the past hundred years where it would seem that but little im-
provement need be expected or asked for in the future. One of them
is in the matter of highway bridges, of which our town is required to
maintain many, although none of extraordinary dimensions. In the
Pioneer Period it is presumed that there were no bridges of any ac-
count, the inhabitants then being required to ford the streams in sum-
mer and cross them on the ice in winter. In the Second Period pole
bridges were constructed, rude affairs — many of which were carried
away with every spring flood. These were replaced in the War Per-
iod with comparatively substantial structures of wood, of the truss
pattern, but they were subject to decay, the life of such a bridge,
however well constructed and protected, being less than twenty A'ears.
But now all or very nearly all of them have been rejilaced during
the past twenty -five years by substantial iron structures, supplied by
the town at considerable expense, placed upon solid piers of masonry
or iron piles, in such a manner that they seem to be almost inde-
structible and imperishable.

Another respect in which great progress has been made and ap-
parently the limit of perfection almost reached is in the matter of
educational advantages. Common school education for the young is
now not only free, but in a measure compulsory, and there can be but
little hope for the children of to-day who do not readih' improve the

THE MATURITY PERIOD. 71

superior advantages now afforded them by our schools. If we com-
pare the school buildings of to-day with those of twenty-live years
ago, and then again with those of fifty and seventy-five years ago, we
shall be impressed with the degree of comfort and elegance which our
own times afford in comparison.

The dwelling houses and farm buildings of the present time are not
to be compared with the rude habitations of fifty and seventy-five
years ago. It was not then considered necessary to winter cattle
under cover except in the worst storms, and then the poorest shed
was supposed to furnish ample protection. When the country was
mostly covered with forests the severity of winter was not felt by man
or beast as it is now, and we are told that in the Pioneer Period snow
drifts were unknown. Now the cattle barn of the Dryden farmer is
usually larger and often more expensive than the house in which he
lives, which is itself a palace in points of convenience and elegance as
compared with the homes of his ancestors.

The methods of dairy farming as practiced in the town have met
with a wonderful change, since fifty years ago. Then the milk was all
made up into butter and cheese at home, while now all that which is
not consumed in fattening calves for the city markets is, in most local-
ities, taken to the railroad stations to be shipped on the milk train, or
to the nearest of the cheese or butter factories which are distributed
throughout the township.

We should not pass over the present time without mentioning the
now omnipresent "bicv'cle," which within the past twenty-five years
has developed from its first appearance as the old "velocipede" and
within the past few years has come into very general use as a means of
pleasure and convenience even in the country. It promises at least to
compel the farmers to build and maintain better roads, which will re-
sult greatly to their own advantage and profit in the end.

In one respect there is some reason to complain of our times and
that is in regard to the depreciation in the market value of real estate
within the past twenty-five 3'ears. In the Pioneer Period, as we have
seen, land was purchased for a few dollars per acre. For the first sev-
enty-five years and until about the close of the War Period the value
of real estate had a steady and constant upward tendency, until good
farms in the town were readilj^ sold at from sixty to one hundred dol-
lars per acre. The young farmer who had invested in land and lived
daring that time, as old age came on often discovered tliat his in-
creased wealth was as much due to the nattiral increase in the value of
his farm as to the crops which he had raised and sold off from it, while

72 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

the farmer of to-day, who invested bis resources in land twenty-five
years aj^o, finds to his sorrow that the depreciation in the market val-
ue of his farm often counterbalances the labor and eftbrts of a lifetime
expended upon it. The actual market value of the real estate of the
town during that time, in spite of improved buildings, has depreciated
nearly, if not quite, one half. From this tendency of the times, which
was unforseen and unexpected, many, and especially those who had in-
vested beyond their means in real estate, have suffered severely ; but
in other respects these times are propitious. It is the abundance and
cheapness of the necessities of life which now surround us, and not
their scarcity as it was in the year 1816. In spite of this plenteous
supply of its various products, labor itself is in good demand and well
paid, and at no time, it is safe to say, within the century would the
same amount of well directed labor purchase so much good common
food or clothing as at present. The very prosperous times which have
immediately preceded the present have unfortunately stimulated ex-
travagance, and to this more than to any other cause is due the com-
plaint of hard times so commonly heard.

As an illustration of this the writer remembers that about fift}^ years
ago old Esquire Tanner used to keep in his postoffice at Dryden vil-
lage, in two small glass jars with tin covers, and four square red boxes
with sliding glass fronts, the stock of sugar candy which supplied the
children of the village and surrounding country, more numerous then
tlian now. One jar contained lemon drops — thirteen for a penny ; an-
other Jackson balls, at a cent apiece ; and the four others contained
stick candy of different kinds. His total sales of that commodity could
not have exceeded twenty-five dollars per annum. Now the merchants
tell us that the retail trade in candy in Dryden village exceeds one
thousand dollars i:»er annum, and is more than equalled by the sale of
southern grown fruit, which fifty years ago was unknown to us. Not
only is extravagance exhibited in such kinds of food, much of which
is worse than useless, but so extravagant have people become in these
" hard times" in the matter of superfluous clothing throughout the
country, that during the past winter the Legislature of the great State
of New York has in its wisdom enacted a law requiring the ladies who
insist upon displaying such a profusion of flowers, ribbons and feath-
ers in their head-gear as to eclipse the view of everything else, to re-
move their hats when attending entertainments, and at the same time
we believe an amendment was offered but lost limiting the number of
yards of cloth which might be wasted by the ladies in making up their
puffed sleeves.

DRYDEN VILLAGE. 73

But in spite of the so-called hard times, useless extravagance and
the depreciation in the value of real estate, there are many respects in
which marked improvement has been made throughout the country
with prospects of still greater advancement.

We read of many of the earlier settlers who lost the land which the}'
had under many hardships and with much difficulty paid for, without
any fault of their own, through defective and fraudulent titles, which
were then very common. Now the system of recorded laud titles is so
perfect that very seldom does any such loss occur, and even then it re-
sults from gross carelessness.

We learn that in early times there was a great deal of local litiga-
tion, and that a number of pettifogging lawyers were kept busy in
every hamlet of the township settling the disputes of neighbors by
contested law-suits in Justice's Court over horse trades, dog fights,
and other foolish matters. This state of things has almost entirely
disappeared.

We are told by old people that in those "good old times" there was
never a town meeting held without more or less fighting being wit-
nessed. These were not wrestling contests or boxing matches, but
real bloody, brutal fights, in which the "bullies" of the town exhibited
their powers of inflicting and enduring blows to the crowd of their as-
sembled townsmen. Now happily such an exhibition would not be
tolerated at our town meetings or elsewhere, and the most noted of
pugilists are obliged to seek a refuge as far away as New Orleans or
Nevada in which to exhibit themselves in their contests.

It is said that in the earl}' days of Dryden the Lacy and Knapp
families were noted for their pugilistic contests with each other in
dead earnest. Think of the family from which our very exemplary
late lamented John C. Lacy descended, being noted for its brutal fight-
ing qualities, frequently exhibited at town meetings, and then tell us
whetlier the times and the manners have not greatly improved during
the century.

CHAPTER XXII.

DRYDEN VILLAGE IN THE PIONEEK PERIOD.

We now return from our general survey of the whole town to take
up each separate localit}^ giving to each its own particular local his-
tory, commencing with Dryden village, where, as we have seen, the first
settlement was made. There were then no corporate limits and we

74 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

shall include with the village iu these times all of the events and fam-
ilies naturally connected with it without regard to definite boundaries

After the settlement of the Amos Sweet faniil}^ on Lot No. 39, as we
have seen, in 1797, the next to locate upon the site of Dryden village
appears to have been Dr. Nathaniel Sheldon, who was the first physi-
cian of the town and who built the first frame house on the corner
now occu})ied by the brick store of D. T. Wheeler & Co. Ruloff Whit-
ney, who, as we have seen, assisted Col. Ho|)kins, of Homer, to l>uil(l
the first saw-mill of the town on Fall Creek near Willow Glen in 1800,
soon after had a saw-mill of his own where the Dryden Woolen Mill
now stands, but the exact dates of these events cannot be given. Ser-
ren H. Jagger, Sr., built one of the first frame houses on tiie premises
since owned by D. J. Baker, where his oldest daughter, Betsey, was
born in 1805, who afterwards became the second wife of John South-
worth, and the grandmother or great-grandmother of nearly all of his
living descendants. Mr. Jagger was a tanner and currier by trade and
then operated a small tannery in the rear of his residence. The five
Lacy brothers located in and ab<n;t Drydeu village in 1801, and the
Seth Wheeler family from New Hampshire and the Edward Griswold
family from Connecticut in 1802, as the former accounts have it ; but
;3ome investigation leads us to believe that it was about two years later.

The first postoflice in the town and the only one for some time after,
was established at Dryden village, as shown by the department rec-
ords at Washington, October 1, 1811, with Jonathan Stout as post-
master. He was, however, succeeded on July, 1812, by Parley Whit-
more, who retained the office for a long time.

The most vivid and reliable pen picture which we can give of Dry-
den village in this period is afforded by the dercription of the late
John C. Lacy, furnished for publication by him on his eightieth birth-
day, October 21, 1888, and from which we c^uote as follows :

" Mr. Editor — Having some recollection of the situation of things
in this village and vicinity seventy or more years age, and as this is
the eightieth anniversary of my birth and residence here, I thought I
could in no better way notice the event, than to state briefly some of
my recollections of these times, to wit :

"There were but two roads in the village, and crossing at right
angles, forming the four corners as now. They were rough and
crooked, the one running north and south was difficult of travel and
was noted for the frecjuency in which teamsters became mired with
their loads of lumber and produce bound for the Homer and Syracuse

DRYDEN TILLAGE. 75

markets and returning with salt, which sokl at five dollars per barrel.
A brook ran across the east and west road near D. J. Baker's (now
Henry Thomas's) over which was a pole bridge. A brancli of Virgil
Creek crossed the road near the late Wm. West's (now D. T. Wheel-
er's) residence, over which was a bridge, under whicli I have caught
fish ; where Mr. Rockwell's factory (the Woolen Mill) now stands was
a saw-mill owned b}' a man by the name of Whitney, and after-
wards by Jason Ellis. Near this mill was a little shop where a ujan
by the name of Ballard made nails by hand, which he sold at eighteen
pence per pound. Where Mill street now is there was nothing but a
foot-path, and the crossing of the streams was over trees that had
fallen across them. The highway then ran on the west side of Whit-
ney's pond (or Rockwell's) and entered the village road where Mr.
Rockwell's wool house now is. On this road was a log house where
different families had lived for several years before the road was dis-
continued, to wit : R. Whitney, Joseph Thomas, and Stephen B.
Lounsberry. James, Union, Pleasant, Lewis, George, Rochester,
Marsh, and Elm streets were either in the state of nature or under
cultivation by the farmer. The village was small, the houses small,
few and scattering ; one small tavern where the Blodgett House stood,
one store where C. Green's tailor shop is, one school house near H.
Cliff's residence gotten up by private subscription, in shares — some
took more and some less. (Benjamin Lacy had about one-fourth of
the stock.) For a sample of the houses, I would cite you to the house
on Rochester street, of which unknown miscreants made a bonfire on
the Fourth of July not long since. This house, in its best days, stood
where E. Rockwell now resides. With this exception there were no
houses between J. Cole's and the creek. The other side of the road
Avas equally vacant of buildings from D. J. Baker's down to the cieek.
Where Dr. Montgomery's office now stands there was a log distillery
in full blast, and on the site of the Geo. Hill block was a small cab-
inet sho]3. The best house was on the Moore lot, built and owned
by Dr. John W. Phillips, — since having been moved and now owned
by John McKeon. The four corners of the village, comprising six
rods square each, were not then built upon, but remained a public
green, as was intended by the several donors who gave them to the
good people of the town for that purpose.

" Air was in a rude state — the farms but partially cleared, stumps,
straggling and girdled trees all over, swamps not drained. The peo-
ple worked and suffered many privations and hardships, unaided by
modern labor-saving machines ; the work of both men and women

76 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

was (lone by hand — the baying, witb tbe scytbe, tbe barvesting, witb
tbe sickle and tbe grain cradle, and tbe tbresbing witb tbe flail. The
wearing apparel was spun and woven by the women oi] tbe band
wheels, and on tbe band looms. This, in addition to their household
work, made it doubh* hard for them. When they rode out they either
rode on horseback or in lumber wagons and sleds, but oftener went on
foot ; if to parties or to get married, all tbe same. No fine carriages
or railroad coaches, no mowing machines, no reapers, horse pitch-
forks, sulky rakes or sulky plows, no threshing machines, no Woolen
Factory, no meeting houses, no grist-mill or tannery, no newspaper, no
Dryden Springs Place. Tbe mineral springs were discovered by tbe
Lacy brothers while digging and prospecting for salt in 1820-21. No.
free school. The boy that went to school a few days in the year fur-
nished his own wood and paid his own tuition. No two-cent postage
on letters ; a letter to a friend five hundred miles away required eight-
een pence postage, and for friends to separate sucli a distance was
almost equal to separating forever ; for tbe parties bad but little time
to write and still less money to pay the heavy ])ostage and telephon-
ing and telegraphing were not then thought of, so they would lose
track of one another altogether. Mone}' was hardly thought of in dec],
except to pay taxes, tbe payment of w^liicb was one of tbe most im-
portant matters that annually perplexed and disturbed the people,
money was so bard to be got. Barter was tbe order of the times. A
bushel of corn was tbe price of a common laborer's day's work, and a
bushel of wheat the mechanic's.

" Tbe cold seasons of 1818, '19 were times that tried tbe men's souls.
Corn was entirely cut off by the frosts, wheat and other products were
scarce and dear, eighteen to twenty shillings per bushel for wheat, lit-
tle or no money to buy witb. If it were better in older and larger
places tbe transportation of produce was so difficult and expensive it
did them no good. This is the time when Capt. Geo. Robertson, then
a well-known citizen of another part of the town, refused to sell
his grain to men who bad money, but sold it to tliose who had no
money, on the ground that tliose who had could get it somewhere else,
(in Lansing.) This is the time one of my neighbor's boys told me
be " lived three days on two cold potatoes, and nothing under Hea-
vens else, " and another neighbor's little girl told me she had bad
nothing to eat for two days and was as weak as a little frog. This
was a time, too, when a dollar to a man was more than a pound ster-
ling would be to-day. The snows and frosts of those years have nev-
er since been equalled here for severity. "

DRYDEN VILLAGE. 77

We think that Mr. Lacy was mistaken as to the years of the famine,
which were 1816,'17 instead of 1818, '19.

As corroboration of the six rods square from each of the four cor-
ners intended as a public common referred to by Mr. Lacy, we find
on the county records a deed bearing date May 18, 1812, exeecuted by
" Abram Griswold, Nathan Goddard, John Taylor, and Joshua Holt,
all of Dryden, Cayuga Co., " to " The Good People of the town of Dry-
den, " purporting to convey six rods square from each corner, consti-
tuting 144 square rods, nearly an acre, in the exact center of the vil-
lage. As a matter of law " The Good People of the Town" constituted
a grantee too indefinite to hold the property, and each corner was
afterward appropriated for private use, except the M. E. church corner,
which was afterward conveyed with other premises to the Presbyte-
rian society subject to the rights granted to " The Good Peojile " as
aforesaid.

In this period there was an earnest rivalry between this settlement
and Willow Glen as to which should become the metropolis of the
town, and from the active part which Edward Griswold, Sr., took in
it, giving a blacksmith forty acres of land off from his lot in order to
induce him to locate here, and from his successful efforts through his
son Abram to establish the Presbyterian church with other enterpris-
es here, as well as the gift, through his son, of the corner to "The
Good People " and the knoll to the east for a cemetery, we believe he
is entitled to be regarded as the " Father " of the village as Captain
Robertson was of the town. In addition to the description b}' Mr.
Lacy of the village in the early times, we can say that in the year
1816 Hooker Ballard kept the tavern, Joshua Holt had a grocery
store, and afterwards manufactured chairs at the old oil mill on South
street. Parley Whitmore kept a store as well as the })ostoffice near
where the M. E. church noAV stands. James H. Hurd and Timothy
Stowe were calnnet makers. Thomas L. Bishop had a saw-mill west
of the village ; Jesse B. Bartholomew was a distiller on Main street ;
and Ebenezer Tuttle was a carpenter and builder. Of the farmers,
Seth Wheeler, Edward Griswold and Selden Marvin lived north of
the village ; David Foote, Abram Griswold, Nathan Goddard and Ne-
hemiah Tucker east ; Michael Thomas, Daniel and Thomas Lacy and
James Bowlby south ; and Benjamin and Richard Lacy west. Jedidi-
ah Phelps was a brick maker, and John Phillips as well as John Tay-
lor and Nathaniel Shelden were the physicians.

As Mr. Lac3' remarks there were no streets then in Dryden village
except the two main roads crossing at right angles and forming the

78 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

four corners, and the place, for tlie want of another name, was for a
long time called " Dryden Corners. "

CHAPTER XXIII.

PIONEER FAMILIES OF DRYEEN VILLAGE.

It is recognized that this chapter and other similar memoranda
of the pioneer families is incomplete, there being others which de-
serve a place among the pioneers of Dryden village if we only could
have obtained the material out of which to have written their early
history.

Baker, David J., was born at Great Bend, Pa., March 3, 1795, but
when he was two months old his father's family moved to Homer, N.
Y., the mother and child being conveyed from one place to the other
in a canoe on the Tioughnioga River, there being no roads at that
time for transportation. There he lived until eighteen years of age,
when he went to Aurora, and a few years later ( 181G) he came to Dry-
den. Here he soon built a house on the premises now owned by his
son Albert and his daughter, Mrs. Thomas,- where he continued to
live until his recent death at the age of ninety-five years. On Nov. 10,
1823, he married Samantha, daughter of Hooker Ballard, whose hotel
at that time was located just west of where the stone block has since
been built. Mr. and Mrs. Baker occupied the same house on Main
street in Dryden village for nearl}^ seventy years and he was a member
of the Masonic order for nearly seventy-five years, being at his death
the oldest Mason in the state. In about 1832, he organized a fine cav-
alry company in the old state militia, of which he was captain, and he
afterwards held the rank of major. His death occurred January 11,
1890, his wife surviving him less than two years. Of their five chil-
dren all survive except their daughter Samantha, who died recent-
ly, and all of the remainder are residents of Diyden village except
Mrs. Helen A. Frost, of Wheatland, Iowa.

Mr. and Mrs. Baker are among the few residents of Dryden who, by
their long and useful lives, were able to connect the Pioneer Period
with the present time. Both were too well known to the present gen-
eration to require any extended history to be given here. They were
very exemplary citizens in their domestic as well as in their social and
public relations, she being always a devoted, industrious and dignified
wife and mother as well as a leading and active member of the M. E.
church, and he being a prominent, public s])irited and prosperous
business man.

PIONEER FAMILIES. 79

BowLBY, James, came with other early settlers between 1805 and
1810 antl located upon two hundred eight acres where Martin E. Tripp
now resides south of the village. Of his nine children all early went
west or to Bath, N. Y., where some of them still reside, except Nancy
A., wife of Henry H. Ferguson, who still resides here in the town
where she was born in 1816. She recollects man}^ interesting inci-
dents of the old times. Her father was drafted here in the War of
1812 and her mother to help raise money to hire a substitute to go in
his place sold her wedding dress, the most valuable article of clothing
Avliich she had. Mrs. Ferguson recollects the old log distillery in Dry-
den village referred to by Mr. Lacy, and says that at one time when
her father emptied out the barrel to be taken to the distillery to be
refilled, he threw out some cherries which had been kept in the liquor
to give it tlavor, and that she and the other small childien after
eating some of the fruit which was well preserved and very nice, felt
a very peculiar sensation from the effects of .which for a time they
could not see, and they did not know what was the matter of them.
l*erhaps those who have had some similar experiences with the prod-
uots of the modern " still" can appreciate what was the trouble.
When she was about twenty years of age her father and mother and
the rest of his family moved to Bath where he died.

BuRCH, John, Sr., settled in Dry den as early as 1810, coming here
from Lewis count}-, but originally from Connecticut. Soon after lo-
cating in Dryden he married Betsey Topping, and their oldest son,
John, who is the ancestor of the members of the Burch family now
living in Dryden, was born here in 1811. In 1812 John Burch, Sr.,
joined the army and served near Sackett's Harbor. He was after-
wards a i^ensioner by reason of that service and died in Dryden al)0ut
twenty years ago. His son, John, Jr., was a captain of militia and is
also dead. His daughter Nancy, widow of Thomas Lormor, is still
living in Dryden, and his daughters, Martha Burch and Mary Win-
ship, are living at Newark Valle}^ N. Y. Many of his descendants are
living in the West.

Griswold, Captain Edward, is the ancestor of a now numerous Dry-
den family. He was early a sea ca])tain residing at Killingworth,
Connecticut. Having served in the War of the lievolution, his wife,
Asenatli (Hurd), prevailed upon him, after i^eace Avas declared, to
abandon his sea-faring life and cast his fortunes in the undeveloped
West, which then included a large part of New York state. They first
settled in Fairfield, Herkimer county, from which so many Dr3den
pioneers came, where they sojourned several j-ears and where their

80 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

younger cliildreu were born. They are said to have come to Dryden
in ISO'i. The deed to Edward Griswold of Lot 39, including the
northeast quarter of Dryden viUage, is dated October 16, 1805, con-
veying six hundred forty acres for a consideration of $2,250.00. He
must have been a man of considerable means for those days and was
prosperous. He was short and thick-set in his make-up and honor-
able and upright in his character. There is no evidence that he ever
built a log cabin, but he earl}^ constructed near the center of his lot
the little red house, not far from where the Dryden village reservoir
is now located, in which he lived. He died at the age of 84, his wife
surviving him to the age of 95.

Their children were : Abram, who married Margaret Givens, leav-
ing many descendants, among whom are A. G. Hunter and Mrs. La-
fayette Sweetland, both of Dryden ; Polly, who married Timothy
Stowe, having no descendants ; Asenath, who married William Hoag-
land, leaving a number of descendants ; Nancy, who married George
Carr, and left descendants all now non-residents; Charles, who married
Hannah Tanner, leaving many descendants including the late Leon-
ard and Luther Griswold ; Jerusha, who married Daniel Bartholomew^
and after his death, Jesse Topping, leaving descendants of whom
one is our present Daniel Bartholomew ; Edward, who married Polly
Tyler, leaving numerous descendants, mostly non-residents ; and Na-
than, who married Patience Lindsey, and left descendants, among
whom are Benjamin Griswold and Mrs. Chester Carmer, of Dryden.

HuRD, James H., migrated from Killing-worth, Conn., to Seneca
county, N. Y., in the year 1800, and a few years later he moved to
Dryden, where he built, in the year 1817, what is still known as the
Hurd house, now occupied by Benjamin Griswold on East Main street.
He was a cabinet maker and for many years the undertaker of Dry-
den, like all undertakers of those days, manufacturing usually to or-
der in his own shop as well as trimming, staining and varnishing the
coffins which he sold. They were usually made of pine, the price of
such an article Vieing from five to nine dollars, some undertakers
charging one dollar per foot for the box, according to its length. Be-
ing hastily made after the death of the person for whom they were
designed they were freshly varnished and thus the odor of varnish
was always associated with the grief of the mourners at funerals of
the olden times. Among the children of Mr. Hurd were Denison, the
father of Mrs. J. H. Pratt, late of Dryden but now deceased ; Clemen-
tine, the wife of Jesse Givens, and Laura, the only child surviving,
who is the wife of Benjamin Griswold. James street was laid out

DEYDEN VILLAGE. 81

througli some of the land of Mr. Hurd and was named from him. He
was at one time captain of a Dryden company of lij>ht infantry and
was for a long time a man of prominence in the town.

Jagger, Serren Halsey, was one of the very early settlers, coming
to Dryden about the year 1800 from " between the lakes, " probabl}^
from Ovid. It is claimed that he built one of the first frame dwellings
in Dryden village, located on the lot between the present residences
of Albert J. Baker and Henry Thomas. Here his oldest daughter,
Betsey, who became the second wife of John Southworth, was born in
1805. He was a tanner and currier as well as a shoemaker and had
a small tannery back of his residence where he employed at least one
man, by the name of John Welch. This must have been one of the
earliest mechanical industries instituted at Dryden Corners. Another
daughter, Mrs. Prudence Stevens, now of New Woodstock, N. Y., was
born here in 1816, and is one of the oldest survivors of those who were
born in Dryden now living. She joined the Presbyterian church at
Dryden in 1835. Another younger daughter is Mrs. Harriet Shep-
ard, of Homer, N. Y. There were two sous, Serren H., Jr., and Mat-
thew, both of whom have died leaving families.

Lacy, John C. (See special biography.)

Larabee, Elias, was one of the original lot owners, who drew by
ballot Lot No. 49 of Dryden, including what is now the southeast
quarter of Dryden village. He served in the fourth regiment of New
York Continental troops and drew a pension of forty-eight dollars per
annum under the act of 1818. In September, 1825, he was indicted
for the murder of Amasa Barnes and after trial in December following
was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to fourteen years in the
State Prison. This incident grew out of his shooting at some persons
who were hanging about his house at night, and in the darkness he
fatally wounded Barnes, who was a friend of his. This, so far as we
know, was the only act of homicide ever committed in Dryden village,
and occurred on the Goodwin lot just east of the Kennedy bridge.
Shortly afterwards in view of the circumstances and his services as a
soldier, Larabee received a pardon, after which he lived in Dryden
village and on the Carty place near the Lake, until near 1850, when
he died, over eighty years of age. The Corrington and Lawson fami-
lies are descendants of his.

Marvin, Selden, in the winter of 1808-9 moved, himself, wife (Char-
lotte Pratt Marvin, formerly of Saybrook, Ct.), and five children, from
Fairfield, Herkimer county, N. Y., on a sled — tradition says an ox
sled — to Dryden, and settled on the hundred acres since known as the

82 HISTORY OF DEYDEN.

Albright farm north of the village. Some six or eight acres had been
chopped over and parti}' cleared before his arrival. He was hospita-
bly received and entertained by Mr. and -Mrs. Barclay, who lived in a
log house across the road and a little south. The Barclays were then
elderly people, and although they had children, their names seem to
have disappeared long since from among the descendants of the town.
Mr. Marvin soon had his little log house built and his family moved
into it. It was much like other log houses of the time — having a
loft or garret above, and two rooms below, in one of which was a
large, open fire-place built mostly of stones and without jambs. After
a few years a lean-to was added in which there was a bed, a hand-loom
and spinning wheels. His struggles to clear up his farm and at the
same time to feed, clothe and educate his children, were like those
of his neighbors around him. who undertook a big job when they,
poor as they were and with scarcely any kind of labor-saving machin-
ery, possessing but few agricultural implements, and these poor both
in kind and quality, settled down upon lands covered by dense for-
ests and undertook to clear them up and get their living out of them.
Their faith was truly sublime !

Mr. Marvin had cleared up the greater part of the hundred acres
and built a frame barn upon it in about 1824 or '25. He sold it to
Elislia Albright in ] 832, and moved himself and family to Chautauqua
county. He was induced to take this step in part by a revival in him
of the old pioneer spirit of adventiire and change, and in ]:)art by his
desire to buy land to make farms for his younger children, and to be
settled nearer his two sons — Erastus the elder, who had settled at
Kenuedyville, in Chautauqua county, and Richard at Jamestown.

But man proposes and God disposes. Mr. Marvin never realized
either one of these objects. He had journej^ed, with his wife and sev-
en little children in an old-fashioned two-horse lumber wagon, over a
rough and long road and arrived safely and all well at his son's house
in Kenuedyville. But before he had had time to explore the country
or buy a single acre of land, either for himself or his children, his son
Erastus was taken sick and died of a fever and he himself and his Avife
died soon after. The three died within a month with the same fever
and in the same house. Their remains repose in the cemetery at
Janipstown. Such was the sad ending of Mr. Marvin's unadvised and
ill-judged last attempt to establish a new home in a new country. He
died at the age of fifty-nine years.

It is not to be doubted that a special providence cares for orphans.
Seven small children, the oldest not vet fourteen, were here suddenly

DRYDEN VILLAGE. 83

deprived of both parents. In this emero-enc}" their elder brother, Will-
iam, then twentj^-four years old, took charge of the estate, moderate
in amount, and the children. He found homes for four of them, Hen-
ry, Harrison, Wesley and Harriet ( Tanner), among friends of their
father and mother in Dryden. Homes were found for the others
among friends elsewhere. The seven all grew up, married and settled
in life. All became, too, by varir)us means, well educated and have
made useful and highly respectable citizens.

Mary Hibbard, the widow of Erastus, returned to her parental home
in Homer carrying with her a baby boy. He died in New Haven, at
the age of eighteen, while attending Yale college.

Mr. Marvin was born in Lyme, Ct., and was twice married. His first
wife died in 1816. She was buried in the old burying ground in or
near the village of Dryden. By her he had seven children. One of
them, Richard, represented Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties in
Congress for several years, and was afterwards one of the judges of
the Supreme Court in the Eighth Judicial District for twentj-four
years. His home was in Jamestown, where he died in 1892.

Another son, William, was appointed U. S. District Attorne}^ foi- the
Southern District of Florida by President Jackson in 1835, and after-
Avards judge of the same district by President Polk. After the civil
war he was appointed Provisional Governor of that state by President
Johnson. He is still living in good health at Skaneateles, N. Y., and
celebrated his eighty-ninth birthday last April, (1897.)

[For further particulars concerning Richard and William Marvin,
and their portraits, see a subsequent chapter of this volume.]

By his second wife (the widow Vandenburgh whom he married in
Truxton, from which place he brought her and her three children
to Dryden in the bottom of -an old fashioned sleigh) Selden Marvin
had seven children, one of whom, George W., is a lawyer in Norwich,
N. Y^., and another, Harrison, has served several years as supervisor
of our town and president of Dryden village, being now in the employ
of the State Government at Albany.

Selden Marvin was a public spirited citizen, who generally attended
the town and district school meetings. He was quite often elected a
<'ommissioner of highways and was for a considerable number of years
trustee of the gospel and school lot. In politics he was a Federalist,
but he was known less for his civic virtues than for his religious char-
acteristics. He was a Methodist — a class leader and exhorter. The
few Methodists in and about the village, consisting of Mr. Marvin,
JoJm Guiunip, Mr. Hunting, old Father Holt, and a few others whose

84 HISTORY OF DEYDEN.

names are not recalled, used to meet together on Sundays, sometimes
in private houses, but more often in the old school house in the vil-
lage. At these meetings the faithful prayed and sang hymns together.
Mr. Marvin was their leader. He used to pray and exhort with great
earnestness and power and in a loud voice which was often heard over
half the village. A great number of persons in that day declared that
they had been converted or greatly strengthened and comforted by
his prayers and exhortations. His memory is still fragrant in the
minds of a few persons yet living. He was an honest, simple hearted,
humble minded, God fearing man, inoffensive and much beloved by
his friends and neighbors.

SwEETLAND, BowEN and James, brothers, came from Vermont as
young men early in the century and together owned and operated a
saw-mill on the creek about twenty rods below the Woolen Mill,
where the banks of the old mill pond can still be seen in the pasture
lot of D. Bartholomew. Afterwards Bowen kept hotel where the
Blodgett hotel was built later. Tlie old building where Sweetland
served as landlord, having been moved off and remodeled, is believed
to be the house where Thomas Tamlin now resides on Union street,
having been first occupied after its removal by Esquire E. H. Sweet,
the nurseryman and shoemaker. Bowen Sweetland finally owned and
occupied the Burlingame farm, one-half mile north of the village,
where he died March 13, 1859, 72 years of age. His seven children
all settled in the West except Bowen, Jr., who died in Dryden a few
years ago, and Luciuda, who married Alansou Burlingame, Sr., and
died in Dryden about thirty-five years ago.

James, after leaving the saw-mill, purchased the farm a mile east of
the village which he afterwards sold to Bradshaw, and then removed
to the Layton farm near the Lake, where he died in 1862, aged 74
years. His wife was Frances Wakely and his eight children all found
homes in the West except two sons, George and Lafayette, still resi-
dents of Dryden, and Sarah (Hiles), who recently died here.

Tannek, Abraham and William T., two brothers, from Petersburgh,
Rensselaer county, N. Y., after serving in the Wa,r of 1812, came to
Dryden. Their younger sister, Hannah (Griswold), had preceded
them, she having come with Amos Lewis, and it was a visit to her
which resulted in the early settlement here of her brothers. They
were blacksmiths and opened a shop together near where the Brad-
shaw house is now located, one mile east of the village, but Abraham,
on account of his health, was obliged to seek lighter work, and, after
some experience as a merchant, which was not altogether successful

DRYDEN VILLAGE. 85

and as hotel keeper where James Lormor, Sr., recently resided, he
became postmaster and justice of the peace, offices which he held for
more than twenty-five years, and in administering which he gave very
geneial satisfaction. His first wife, whom he married in 1818, was
Asenath Wakel}^ after wliose death he married for his second wife
Betsey Lum, by both of whom he left descendants.

William T. continued in the blacksmith business and afterwards
with his sons embarked too largely in the manufacture of wagons, and
failed. In 1820 he married Polly West, who survived him, and by
whom he had a large family of children. Both of these brothers were
men of excellent character and good common sense, but both seemed
to have been wanting in some of the sterner qualities which go to
make up a thoroughly successful business man.

Thomas, Michael, left the state of New Jersey in the summer of
1811, traveling northwest, seeking a home in the wilds of New York.
After prospecting some time among the lakes he came to Dryden Sept.
11, 1811, and bought one hundred six acres in the south-east corner of
Lot No. 48, for which he paid $430.23 in sound money of the State of
New York and received a good warranty deed, still in possession of
the family, from Egbert Benson, executor of John Lawrence, who died
a resident of New York cit}^ but who had been an extensive dealer in
Dryden real estate. Four cows, two span of horses, two covered
wagons well filled and one thousand dollars in money then constituted
his worldly possessions in addition to his land.

His family at that time consisted of seven children, the youngest
one of whom was the only child of his second wife, who accompanied
them. Four more children were born to them in Dryden. The oldest,
Martha, or Mattie, was already married to the ancestor of the Space
family in Dryden, Jacob Space, who at this time accompanied his
father-in-law in his migration from New Jersey, and located where his
son William now lives. Elizn, married Sanford Bouton and moved to
Yirgil. Fannie married Edward Cole and died in Freeville. Polly
married William Sutfin and lived in Freeville. John married Sophia
Bowlby and moved to Bath. Joseph married and lived in New Jersey.
Michael married for his first wife Catharine Trapp, and for his second
wife Ellen Swart, and lived near Dryden Lake, where he died in
March, 1897, 87 years of age. Anna married twice and is still living
near the Black River in the northern part of the state. Charlotte
married George Bouton, a clergyman of the M. E. church, and became
the mother of Ex-Mayor C. D. Bouton, of Ithaca. William married
Catharine Caswell and is still living in the house originally built by

86 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

his father in 1824, and in wliich he was born a year hiter, the house
having since been extensively enlarged and repaired. Malvina, the
youngest of the family, married Almond Trapp, who Avas the youngest
of a family of eleven children, and both are living near McLean.

Grandma Thomas, as she was, in her old age, familiarh' called, had
a good memory and often told amusing and interesting incidents of
this journey from New Jersey to Dryden and described many in-
stances of the privations and hardships of pioneer life. The south
half of Lot No. 48, with the exception of a small clearing where the
wagon house on the Thomas farm now stands, was then covered with
a heavy growth of timber. Fish and game were plenty, bears being-
common, and it was no unfrequent sight to see deer in cold weather
when the snow was deep feeding with the cows near the barn. A jug
is still preserved in the family which was used in the pioneer journey
to carry milk for the children, it being over one hundred years old.

South street was then located where is now the lane to the barn-
yard, west of the clearing, which contained a log house and barn and
a grove of small elm trees. One of these elm saplings which is de-
scribed as being, when the Thomas family came there, " no larger
than a chair post, " has grown with the growth of Dryden, the trunk
of which is now sixteen feet in circumference near the ground and is
one of the largest if not the oldest elm tree in the township.

Michael Thomas and his wife worked hard in clearing up their
farm and lived long to enjoy the fruits of their labor, he having died
in 1858 at the ripe age of 92, while she, being thirty-two years his
junior, survived him twenty-seven years.

Thomas, Joseph, Sr., a brother of Michael, was an early pioneer of
Dryden from the same family in New Jersey, among whose children
were Joseph, Jr., and John Thomas, who resided only a few^ years ago
near where Walter Thomas, the son of John, now lives, and Mrs.
Abram Carmer and Mrs. George Tripp, all of whom are .represented
by numerous living descendants.

West, John, and wife lived in Rhode Island in 1798, where their
son Gardner was born May 7th of that year. In some wav they
caught the "Western fever" of those days and with a brother, Mason,
came as far as Fairfield, Herkimer county, N. Y., where they bought
a home together and where their daughter Mary (Aunt Polly Tanner)
was born July 21st, 1803. The partnership between the two brothers
was not entirely satisfactory, as is usually the case under such circum-
stances, and in 1805 John came out to Dryden prospecting for a new
home still further west. As the result he sold out his possessions in

DKYDEN VILLAGE. 87

Herkimer county to his brother aud moved his famil}' to Dryden,
where they arrived in February, 1806, with all their goods on an ox-
sled. They stopped temporarily in a log house which stood in the
orchard near the house where Harrison Hiles now lives, which was
then, or shortly after, the home of Joshua Holt, known also as "old
Father Holt. " Together with Benjamin Tucker they purchased the
greater part of Lot 28, one mile and more north from Dry den village,
and Mr. West built for himself a log house, where his son, William
West, was born May 18, 1806. Their next eldest child, Percy Hiles,
was born there June 12th, 1808, on the same farm where she now re-
sides with her son John, the log house being located where the or-
chard now is. She will therefore be ninet}' years old next June and is
able to furnish more details of the early events of those years than
most other old people now living. One brother (Nathan West) and
three sisters (Sally M. Draper, Flavilla Hiles and Lovina Clark) were
afterwards born. A frame hcnise was built where the house of her
son, John W. Hiles, is now located, when she was ten 3'ears old (1818),
and up to that time her father, John West, had nothing but an ox
team. Some time after, he purchased one hoi'se, but Aunt Perc-y
says that the roads were not suitable for horses to travel on in those
days. Nearly all of the children of John West will be recognized as
familiar characters'to the people of Dryden village, and his descend-
ants now living here are numerous.

Wheeler, Deacon Seth, served in the War of the Kevolution, at the
close of Avhich he married Rebecca Eliott, of Boston, and lived in
Croydon, N. H. In the spring of 1804, he, with his oldest daughter,
Rebecca, and son John, came to Drj'den, prospecting for a new home
in the West. Being pleased with the countr}" Seth and his son re-
turned in the fall for the rest of the family, Avhich included, in all,
his wife and ten children. They came with one ox team, three horses,
and two wagons, carrying all their worldh^ goods, including about one
thcnisand dolhirs in mone}', with which was purchased one hundred
eighty acres of land one mile north of Dryden village on both sides
of the highway still known as the " Wheeler road, " being premises
now owned by 8. C. Fulkerson, James McDermott, and E. P. Wheeler.
In 1822 a commodious frame house Avas built, replacing the log cabin
which had accommodated the family until that time. Seth Wheeler
was a fluent talker, a man of marked ability, deacon in the Baptist
church, an earnest exhorter, holding meetings frequently in the neigh-
boring school districts. He died in 1828 aged 72, aud was buried
with his wife, whose death preceded his, in the old cemetery east of

88 HISTORY OF DKYDEN.

the village, where a double slate slab still marks the location of their
graves.

Of their children, Rebecca married Eliseph Sanford and moved to
Greenwood, Steuben county, N. Y. Betsey married Jared Todd, of
West Dryden, and afterwards, with eight children, moved to a new
place in Michigan, named from them Toddville, where their descend-
ants are now numerous. Susan married John Pettigrove and moved
to Owego, some of their descendants now living in Ithaca. Lucy and
Polly died unmarried. Seth, Jr., married Arnantha Lacy, lived on the
east part of the farm and died without surviving issue. Enos, the an-
cestor of the most of the family still living in Dryden, married Mary
Blair, and was a successful farmer, a genial and public spirited citi-
zen, a school trustee and an active member of the Presbyterian so-
ciety of Dryden. He died in 1867. John also left descendants living
in Dryden, married Eliza Blair, was a Methodist, and moved from
Dryden before his death, Salinda, born in 1799, is still living, at the
age of 98 years, with her son in Litchfield, Mich. [Since the foregoing
was in type for printing this book, news is received of her death in
February, 1898.] She married William Marsden Blair, and one of
their daughters is the wife of Representative Flickinger, of Ohio.
Anna, the tenth child, married Anson Cook and moved to Michigan,
where their descendants still reside.

Whitmoke, Parley, was Dryden's early merchant, druggist, post-
master, justice of the peace, and scrivener. No History of the town
would be complete Avhich did not take notice of him, although our
data concerning him are very incomplete. He came to Dryden early,
was postmaster in 1812, and in his latter years here he lived on South
street about where the I. P. Ferguson house now stands, and his store
was on what is now the church corner. He seems to have been, finan-
cially, somewhat dependent upon Capt. Edward Griswold, who fur-
nished, to a great extent, the capital stock invested in his business,
his goods being brought by teams from Albany, on the return trip
from marketing loads of pioneer produce. Those who kncAv him say
that he was a valuable man in a new country, although he seems to
have been too easy and indulgent to become a successful merchant.
He was somewhat more intelligent and better acquainted with the
rules of law and ways of business than the farmers about him. He
administered justice among them very fairly and settled many of their
disputes without suit, drawing up for them their contracts and other
papers. Old Dryden village deeds and contracts are usually ac-
knowledged before or witnessed by him. We are not able to learn

DEYDEN VILLAGE. 89

that the town supported any lawyers in the Pioneer Period and still,
strange as it may seem, (?) under such guidance as Squire Whitmore
gave them, the people lived and prospered. He had two sons, Philo,
who long ago married and settled in Corning, and George, who mar-
ried and lived in Ithaca, but we are unable to learn of them now and
it seems that we shall be obliged to confess that Dryden has lost trace
of the race of one of its earliest citizens and benefactors, Esquire
Whitmore.

CHAPTER XXIV.

DKYDEN VILLAGE ]N THE DEVELOPMENT PERIOD.

Whitney's saw-mill, located on the site of the present Woolen Mill,
must have called into existence the first use of water power in the
village. Its origin was very early in the century and it remained in
use as late as 1845, very nearly up to the time when the stone walls of
the new Woolen Mill were erected in about the year 1850 by A. L.
Bushnell. The origin of the Woolen Mill dates back to 1819 when the
first " clothing works, " as they were then called, were established by
Benjamin Lacy. A flume from the saw-mill pond carried water to
drive the carding-machine, fulling-mill and cloth dresser of those
times, which constituted the " clothing works, " the yarn being spun
and the cloth woven on the hand wheels and looms of the neighboring
farmers. Such cloth finishing machinery, used to finish the home-
made cloth of that period, was quite frequently met with throughout
the country. Ethel Barnum, who first came to Dryden with his
brother-in-law, Samuel Williams, in the year 1818, and was the father
of our Ralph W. Barnum, became the proprietor of this enterprise
after the death of Mr. Lacy, but he died soon after, in 1823. It was
not until after the property was sold to Bennett &. Gillett, about
1844, that cloth was actually woven there, a brand of " sheep's gray "
cloth being manufactured by them wbich had a local reputation for
good quality among the farmers.

The village had no grist-mill until 1881, but Benjamin Bennett came
down from Locke the year before and, after carefully looking over the
ground and measuring the fall of water which could be obtained for
power by combining the lake outlet with Virgil Creek, selected the
site of the present stone mill, upon which a wooden building was then
erected for a grist-mill. Edward Davidson, a brother-in-law to Ben-
nett, became a partner with him in the enterprise. They purchased of

90 HISTORY OF DllYDEX.

Cyrus l-iuminer the rii^lit to construct and maintain a raceway tVoni
Virgil Creek over his premises and sold to Tabor ct Blakeslee a water
privilege where the Kennedy tannery is now located. They -were
obliged to purchase of Michael Thomas and John C. and Garrett Lacy
rights to conduct in a raceway the water from both streams acioss
their ]3remises, and thus the present grist-mill water privilege had its
origin in 1831. Lyman Corbin afterwards purchased the property and
in 1845 replaced the wooden grist-mill by building the present stone
structure.

About the ^^ear 1824 there came from Middletown, Conn., Asa Phil-
lips, a young man of some prominence in Dryden's history, wdiose
brothers were Dr. John W. Phillips, of Dryden, and Dr. George W.
Phillips, of Ithaca, both registered at Ithaca in the years 1820 and
1821 respectivel}'. He first came as a school teacher, married in 1828
a niece of Daniel J. Shaw, who had been a Dryden merchant, and be-
came postmaster under the appointment of President Andrew Jackson
on March 3, 1831 — a position which lie lield until his death, July 4,
1843. He was a partner wath Moses Brown in the mercantile business
and was an influential member of the M. E. church of the village, for
which the first church edifice was erected in these times. His son
Robert A. Phillips, now a real estate dealer of Washington, D. C, w^as
born in Dryden village in 1833, and has contributed some interesting
data derived from his residence here, which continued until 1850. He
relates that wdthin his recollection the United States mail was brought
into Diyden Corners daily in a four-horse thoroughbrace coach, the
driver blowing a long tin horn as lie entered, loud enough so that it
was heard throughout the whole settlement. The postage on a single
letter was then eighteen pence (18j cents). Eggs were then received
at the store in exchange for goods at five cents per dozen, and butter
at from ten to twelve cents per pound, but wheat was higher then than
now, the average price being about $1.50 per bushel.

Amos Lewis, wdio lived east from the village, was a great horse deal-
er in those times, carefully matching and training horses for the New
York market to which he took them, sometimes realizing as high as
one thousand dollars for a pair of horses thus prepared by him.

In the 3'ear 1836 John Southworth built his brick house on North
street and the original section of the brick block on the southwest
of the Dryden four corners. In later years (about 1850) Hiram W.
Sears, who came to Dryden from Madison county about 1845, ex-
tended the original brick store in front as seen in the accompanying
cut produced from an old photograph of that time taken by Dr. F. S.

DRY DEN VILLAGE.

Howe, whose s;;illerv was opposite, and later (about 1865) Meriitt Bau-
cus constructed the addition on the west side, the original building
being less than one-third of its present dimensions. While his house
and store were being built Mr. Southworth lived in the little house on
East Main street now occupied by Will Mespell, where his first wife
had died in 1830, and which it is suspected had been removed from
the site of the brick store to make room for it ; if so it is the oldest
house now existing in town, being the first frame house built by Dr.
Sheldon about 1800. This supposition is supported by the fact that
it lias two sets of sills under it, indicatinc; that it has been moved to

THK OLD BRICK STORE.

its present location, aud the additional fact that there never was any
plastering on some of the walls and the partitions are made of wide,
rough, but clear pine boards such as would naturally be very abundant
when lumber first began to be manufactured. The roof, cornice and
outside covering are doubtless of a later date.

In 1840 Joseph McGraw, Jr., built the brick store on the opposite,
southeast corner known as the hardware block, where he for some
years after carried on business as a merchant. At about this time
two of the best dwellings in the village in those days were erected on
Main street ; one, now occupied by E. Baufield and formerly owned by
Esquire Tyler, was built by Bradford Potter, and remains very much
as it was originally built, and the other, the Dr. Montgomery house on

^2 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

the opposite side of the street, was built by a Mr. Putnam, and a
third story has since been added. Both are said to have been
raised on the same day, one with the use of liquor for the workmen,
which was the established custom on those occasions, but at the other
raising a supper was substituted, being the first effort to promote the
cause of temperance which we are able to record in Dryden village.
Thus it is seen that the building of the village was materially ad-
vanced in this period.

In these days there had come to the village from the farms on the
neighboring hillsides, three young men who were all destined after-
wards to become Dryden merchants, and one of them to take a leading
part in the public affairs of the town and county. All were of
humble but respectable parentage and all had been obliged to spend
their boyhood at work upon the farms of the backwoods, so to speak,
of a lumbering town, with very scanty means of education. But all
were entering manhood possessed of excellent habits, and had within
them the elements of true gentlemen with all which that term implies,
as was afterwards developed in their lives, but neither of them other-
wdse possessed any apparent advantage over the ordinary farmer boy
who goes to town to seek his fortune. They were John McGraw
and Jeremiah W. Dwight, both from the rather forbidding South Hill
neighborhood, and Edwin Fitts from near Willow Glen. From small
beginnings in their business careers the two former accumulated
large fortunes, Mr. Dwight in his latter years adding political honors
to his business success, while the latter, though no less a gentleman
and esteemed and respected by all who knew him, lacked those stern-
er qualities which are essential to make up the successful man of bus-
iness. It is said that Mr. McGraw commenced his business appren-
ticeship with the early Dryden merchant, Daniel J. Shaw, and after-
wards served as a clerk in the brick store then kept by his older
brother, Thomas McGraw, and John Southworth, and upon the death
of Th(nnas, about 1838, he succeeded to his interest. Mr. Dwight,
who was four years younger than McGraw, commenced his clerkship
in the year 1838 in the store of Alanson Benjamin, which stood near
where Charles Green's shop is now located, and soon afterwards be-
came a partner with A. L. Bushnell in the brick store since known as
the hardware block. The subsequent careers of these two Dryden
boys will be treated of hereafter in special biographies. Mr. Fitts,
who was between the others in age, after a clerkship with McGraw &
Phillips (Joseph McGraw, Jr., and George W. Phillips) in the brick
store, carried on business for himself in the Blodgett Block, and failed.

DRYDEN VILLAGE. 9^

He was afterwards emploj'ed in the custom house in New York.

We would like to impress upou the ambitious young men of the ris-
ing generation that although the use of intoxicating drink and tobacco
was much more universal then than now% the women as well as the
men of those days freely enjoying the use of the pipe as well as the
snuff-box, and a bottle or jug of "si^irits," if in no larger quantities,
being considered a necessity for frequent use in every household, nei-
ther of these young men ever indulged in the use of intoxicating bev-
erages and the two of them most successful never acquired the habit
of the use of tobacco in any form whatever.

At this stage of its development Dryden began to possess legal tal-
ent, the first full Hedged attorue}^ to reside here being Corj'don Tyler,
whose home and office were both located on Main street opposite to
where is now the Grove Hotel. His office was a nice little ])uilding,
still interesting to the writer, which was afterwards moved up-town
and located on the Pratt corner, where it was used by Milo Goodrich
in 1850 for his postoffice, on the exact spot to which the present post-
office has recently been removed, and is now, in its old age, annexed
in the rear to the Pratt row of business places. Esquire Tyler seems
to have been a man of character and ability ; although from some
anecdotes told of him we surmise that he was almost too aristocratic
in his nature and too hasty in his temper to be able to adapt himself
entirely to the requirements of his profession in a new country town.
He had law students under him, one of whom was Harvey A. Dowe, a
native of Dryden village, who afterward made Ithaca his home. Hi-
ram Bouton was also a local attorney of considerable ability and tact,
who took up his abode here as early as 1833, and held the office of
justice of the peace as late as 1872.

Milo Goodrich, then a 3'oung man without reputation or fortune, lo-
lated here with his wife soon after their marriage in 1844, renting
rooms for house-keeping of Thomas Lewis in the building on Main
street which has since been enlarged and converted into the Grove
Hotel.

The local physicians of this period included John W. Phillips and
Michael Phillips, registered in 1820 ; James W. Montgomery, and Dan-
iel D. Page, in 1828 ; Isaac S. Briggs and Edwin P. Healey, in 1841.
Dr. Page resided on what is known as the John C. Lacy corner, and
there in his orchard, on the corner of Main and Mill streets, accord-
ing to so good an authority on pomology as Charles Downing, origi-
nated the Bunker Hill apple, still greatly prized in this locality where
it is well known.

94 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

Dr. Montoomerv, who was a man of social and literary standing- as
well as of professional ability, having twice represented Dryden in
the Legislature at Albany, as well as being an active member of the
local reading and debating society of that time, lived where his son
and daughter still reside on Main street.

Dr. Briggs was also a man of literary as well as of professional
abilit}^ and an excellent citizen.

At or near the close of this period a terrible scourge, known here
and remembered as the Dryden fever, swept over the new country
and was particularly fatal in the village and its vicinity. It is now
said to have been a species of malignant typhoid fever, developed per-
haps b}' the rapid changes in the condition of the lowlands so recent-
ly deprived of their natural covering of foliage and not yet reclaimed
l3y artificial drainage.

CHAPTER XXIV.

DRYDEN VILLAGE IN THE WAR PERIOD.

While the town and rural districts have l)een decreasing in popula-
tion ever since 1836, the village of Dryden has had a slow but steady
and continuous growth from the beginning of its settlement. Per-
haps, however, at no time was that growth so rapid as at the com-
mencement of this period. The building of the stone Woolen Mill by
A. L. Bushnell at this time afforded a promise of future business
prosperity to the village, but if its somewhat checkered career, in-
volving at least two failures, and two fires, in one of which all of the
combustible material was destroyed, could have been foreseen, the
high hopes based upon its success would have vanished. Still in its
periods of prosperity it has been a source of great advantage to the
village, giving employment to a considerable number of inhabitants,
and at no time has it been capable of yielding products of so much
value as at present.

The building of the stone l)lock in 1852-3 by Jeremiah W. D wight
was a great undertaking for a young business man in a small village,
but under his efficient direction and management it has always been
■a success, affording a good and continuous income from the invest-
ment.

At about the same time P. M. Blodgett built next west of the stone
block the three-story wooden building known as the Blodgett block,
which was not so successful, and which was destroyed by fire about

DRYDEN VILLAGE.

1866. Stimuliited by these iinprovements Col. Lewis Barton, who
kept tlie old hotel o))])osite the stone block, enlarged it by adding a
third story at this time, (1855.)

Col. Barton was a very popular landlord and a public spiritetl citi-
zen, serving as ])resident of the village in 1860, and as marshal on
various occasions, one of which was a large temperance parade. He
came to Dryden from Virgil early in this period and died in 1868.
Among his descendants were Lieutenant Daniel W. Barton, who was
killed in the battle of Spottsylvania, May 12, '61; Chas. W. Barton,

DRYDEN WOOLEN iMlLL.

whose surviving son, Daniel W., resides at Elizabeth, N. J. ; Mrs.
Mary E. Hiles, whose surviving son was recentl}' engaged here in
tracing out the annals of the Hiles family, and Lucy Ette Spiece, of
Ardmore, Pa., who is now the only surviving child of Col. Lewis
Barton.

The first newspaper published in the village came from the hand-
press of H. D. Rumsey, in 1856, and was first known as " Rumsey's
Companion. " After several changes in the name and ownership it was
discontinued, within two years after it commenced publication. It
had, however, fortunately for us, published and thus preserved under
the title of the " Old Man in the Clouds, " the series of articles wliich

96 HISTORY OF DRYDEI^.

have been of great aid in the preservation of the early history of Dry-
den. In July, 1858, it was revived under the name of " The Dryden
Weekly News, " by Asahel Clapp, who continued its publication suc-
cessfully until 1871, when he removed it to Ithaca where it is still
published by his son as The Weekly Ithacan. Soon after, a new pa-
per was published at Dryden village under the name of The Dryden
Herald, which, after changing hands several times, was greatly en-
larged and improved under the management and ownership of A. M.
Ford and now under the proprietorship of his son, J. Giles Ford, ia
one of the most enterprising local papers to be found issued in a
country village.

The war itself left but very little impress upon the village, and, as
already stated in the town history, it was from a business point of
view a time of unusual prosperity.

The advent of the Southern Central railroad in 1869 has already
been referred to and produced no great immediate change in the af-
fairs of the village. To the merchants the advantage of reduced
freight rates and quicker transportation was oti'set by the ease and
frequency with which their customers sought places in larger towns
to do their trading. To the farmers, because it oftered a better and
nearer market, especially for such bulky articles of produce as pota-
toes and hay, the permanent benefit of the railroad has been consid-
erable, and without railroad facilities to-day our condition would in-
deed be deplorable. A proposition was made when the Ithaca &
Cortland railroad was being built that by raising the sum of twenty-
five thousand dollars, the junction could be secured within the limits
of Dryden village, and at almost any other time it would have been
seriously entertained, but at this time the village had almost exhaust-
ed itself in the effort to secure the Southern Central, and affected with
the reaction already being experienced from the decline of the unusu-
al prosperity of the preceding years, the people were content to let
the opportunity pass by.

The merchants of this period included J. W. Dwight & Co., (the
company including E. S. Farnham, Isaac P. Ferguson, and A. F. Tan-
ner) in the stone block, George L. Truesdell and William H. Sears,
in the Exchange block, and Hiram W. Sears, Eli A. Spear, and later
Merritt Baucus, in the brick block. Hiram W. Sears, who married a
daughter of John Southworth, for a number of years carried on an ex-
tensive business in packing pork, buying wool and other mercantile
enterprises.

Cyrus French developed a flourishing business in the hardware

DKYDEN VILLAGE. 97

block. G. H. Sperij and Alanson Burliiigame inaugurated the coal
and lime business at the railroad station. H. F. Pierce conducted a
moderate furniture and undertaking business, while Harrison Marvin
and Otis Murdock conducted the boot and shoe business.

The Woolen Mill flourished in the hands of E. Eockwell, the tan-
nery was greatly enlarged and improved by the Kennedy Brothers,
and the grist-mill was managed by John Perrigo, assisted later bv his
son, Charles M.

The medical profession was reinforced during this time by the ar-
rival of Dr. Wm. Fitch, from Yirgil ; and Dr. J. J. Montgomery suc-
ceeded to the practice r.f his father.

The old hotel passed from the proprietorship (jf Col. Lewis Barton
to Deuel & Jagger, then to Jagger alone, and afterwards into the hands
of Peter Mineah, whose co-partner at one time in the business was
Ex-Sherifi' John D. Benton, while James H. Cole developed the Grove
Hotel after the Blodgett House was destroyed by fire. Mills Van
Valkenburgh, Garry E. Chambers, W. W. Hare and Silas S. Montgom-
ery developed into lawyers from law students in the office of Milo
Goodrich.

A literary societ}^ existing sometimes in the form of a reading cir-
cle and at others as a debating club, flourished in these days and
many of the older citizens will remember with what earnestness and
zeal Dr. Briggs, J. W. Dwight, T. J. McElheny, John C. Lacy, and
man}' others maintained the affirmative or negative of numerous ques-
tions in debate at the old school house. Our attention has recently
been called by one of the old members of this literary organization,
to the beneficial results which were seen in the subsequent careers of
some of its members, and a little reflection should awaken in us of the
present generation an appreciation of such means of self-culture.

In the year 1857 Dr3'den village was incorporated, the population
then being about four hundred and the corporate limits including 999;^
acres. The petition for incorporation was signed by Thomas J. Mc-
Elheny, Isaac P. Ferguson, George Schenck, Lewis Barton, Freeman
Stebbins, Hiram W. Sears, William W. Tanner, David J. Baker, N. L.
Bates, Abraham Tanner, Jeremiah W. Dwight and fifty-eight others,
and upon the vote taken upon the question of incorporation one hun-
dred and twelve ballots were cast, of which seventy-eight were in the
affirmative. In 1865 the village was re-incorporated under a special
charter (chapter 320 of the laws of 1865) prepared Avitli great care by
Mills Van Valkenburgh, then an attorney residing in the village and
afterward county judge.

■98

HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

The first officers elected in 1857 were as follows : Trustees, David
P. Goodhue, Rochester Marsh, William W. Tannei', John B. Sweet-
land, and Isaac H. Ford ; assessors, Augustus H. Phillips, Orrin W.
Wheeler, and John C. Lacy ; collector and poundmaster, Godfre}^
Sharp ; treasurer, Horace G. Fitts ; clerk, Thomas J. McElheny.

The following table gives the names of the presidents and clerks of
the village to the present time :

PRESIDENTS.

David P Goodhue, - 1857-8

Freeman Stebbins, - 1859

Lewis Barton, - 1860

Freeman Stebbins, - 1861

John C Lacy, - - 1862

John Ferrigo, - - 1863

John W. Phillips, - 1864

Rochester Marsh, - - 1865-6

Eli A. Spear, - - 1867

D. Bartholomew, - - 1868

G. H. Washburn, - 1869

Alvin Cole, - - 1870

John H. Kennedy, - 1871-2

Rochester Marsh, - - 1873

G. H. Sperry, - - 1874-5

Hiirrison Marvin, - - 1876

George E. Goodrich, - 1877

J. E. McElheny, - - 1878

John H. Pratt,^ - 1879-80

John H. Kennedy, - 1881

Erastus H. Lord', - 1882-3

D. R. Montgomery, - 1884-5

Albert J. Baker, - 1886

John H. Kennedv, - 1887-8

D. R. Montgomei-v, - 1889 90
George E. Goodrich, - 1891-4
C. D. Williams, - 1895
George Sutfin, - - 1896

E. Davis Allen, - 1897

T. J. McElhenv, - - 1857

M. Van Valkeuburgh, - 1858

Harrison Marvin, - - 1859

William H. Sears, - 1860

I. P. Ferguson, - - 1861

Mott L. Spear, - 1862

William H. Sears, - 1863-4

C. D. Bouton, - - 1865

M. Van Valkenburgh, - 1865

William H. Sears, - 1866

S. S. Montgomery, - 1867

C. D. Bouton, - - 1868
S. S. Montgomerv, 1869-70
George E. Goodrich, - 1871-2
William E. Osmun, - 1873-5
George E. Goodrich, - 1876
W. H. Goodwin, Jr., 1877-80
L. D. Mallery, - - 1881-2

D. T. Wheeler, - 1883-94

E. D. Branch, - 1895-97

CHAPTER XXVI.

DRYDEN VILLAGE IN THE MATURITY PERIOD.

Near the beginning of this time (1872 to 1897) the outlook for the
business prosperity of the village was not encouraging. Asahel Clapp
had moved his printing office and newspaper from Dryden to Ithaca;

DKYDEN VILLAGE. 99

Jackson Graves, who had maintained a nourishing select school, the
old Dryden Academy, was about giving up the enterprise, and por-
tions of the Blodgett lot where the large hotel building was burned in
1866 had not yet been rebuilt. In fact there had been and was for a
few years to come but very little new building in the village ; the time
of unusual prosperity had passed and the future was unpromising.

In these dark times for the village, the first sign of returning confi-
dence was seen in the establishment of a Union Graded Free School
to take the place of the old District School and defunct Academy.
The writer well remembers the meeting at the old school house on
Main street, where D. Bartholomew now resides, at which this change
was made which seemed to be a turning point in Dryden's future pros-
perit}- as a village. Nearly every voter was present at the meeting,
including such conservative taxpayers as John Southworth, John C.
Lacy and Alpheus F. Houpt, to oppose the measure, and the more
confident, progressive citizens, such as Harrison Marvin, Merritt Bau-
cus and Barnum S. Tanner, to favor it. The attendance was full, the
discussion excited, and the result for a time doubtful. The successful
issue of the matter was supposed to have been brought about b}^ a lit-
tle strategy practiced by Harrison Marvin, whose duty it was, as clerk
of the district, to prepare a Jist of the voters who answered upon the
call of their names to the question, "yes" or "no." Mr. Marvin placed
at the head of the list those who were most likely to favor the meas-
ure and the responsive "yes" came so frequenth' at the beginning of
the call that the opponents were disheartened and the doubtful voters
joined the majority.

In the year 1876, under the leadership of Capt. Marvin as president,
the Village Hall was built on South street at an expense of about six-
teen hundred dollars, furnishing accomodations for a fire department
and fire extinguishing apparatus as well as a lock-up, and a public
hall above. A hand engine was purchased and cisterns were con-
structed in different parts of the village as resesvoirs of water for fire
extinguishing purposes, but fortunatel}" their practical utilit}^ Avas nev-
er very much put to the test.

The business failures during this period included John and Chas.
M. Perrigo, at the Grist Mill ; Sears & Baucus, at the Brick Store ;
the Rockwell Bros., at the Woolen Mill ; and finally Kennedy Bros.,
at the Tannery, which, following in too quick succession, combined to
depress further business enterprises.

In 1892 another crisis in the public affairs of the village was reached
when the question of bonding the village for a gravity system of water-

100

HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

works was submitted to the taxpayers, who, after considerable dis-
cussion and much opposition on the part of the more censervativ&
elemerit, decided by a majority of twelve upon a full vote, to issue thfr
bonds and undertake the work, which was completed in the two years-
following. The system was put in at an expense of about twenty-
live thousand dollars, and has since had one practical test in ex-
tinguishing a fire under full headway in the third story of the Woolen
Mill, and it is now believed that this important step in the progress of
the village, supplying excellent water permanently for all j^urposes,
although involving a considerable expense for a small village, will
never be regretted.

PARK AND M. E. CHURCH.

Stimulated by this enterprise and by an offer on the part of a for-
mer citizen, Hon. Andrew Albright, of Newark, N,. J., to present to
the village an elaborate ornamental fountain as a memorial to his pa-
rents, who were early residents of the town, upon the condition that
citizens would provide for the removal of the church sheds which
then occupied a part of the village " green " and prepare a suitable
foundation and surroundings for such a fountain, this improvement
was also undertaken, and at an expense of upwards of fifteen hundred

DRYDEN VILLAGE. 101

■dollars, mostly provided by voluntary contributions, additional land
was purchased to furnish sites for the sheds of both church organiza-
tions, which were then removed to the rear ; the " green " was enlarged
and graded so as to be worthy to be called the village " park, " and
the fountain was accepted and connected with the village system of
waterworks.

About the same time another public enterprise, designed to provide
n suitable hall for public meetings and entertainments, was instituted
by the citizens under the leadership of John W. Dwight, who was the
most liberal contributor and most efficient promoter and manager of
the undertaking. A stock company was organized under the name of
the Dryden Opera House Co., and a building erected on the new Li-
brary street in the year 1893 at an expense of about three thousand
tive hundred dollars, which does credit to the village and to those who
-contributed the stock as a public benefit, not expecting any immediate
dividends on the stock as an investment.

An effort was also made at this time to revive the manufacturing in-
dustry at the Woolen Mill, which had been idle for a number of years,
and Hugo Dolge, whose brother, Alfi-ed Dolge, built up the manu-
facturing interests in Herkimer county, was induced to locate here by
a loan of five thousand dollars, contributed equally by the mill own-
ers and citizen^ to be used as capital in carrying on the business. In
spite of the business depression which has paralyzed almost all man-
ufacturing concerns during the past two years, the mill has been put
in much better condition than ever before and its products seem to be
finding ready market, with prospects of increasing success as the times
improve.

As a result of these efforts, in the year 1895 a dozen or more new
liouses were constructed in the village, as many as had been built in
the dozen years preceding, and the prospects of Dryden as a flourish-
ing country village were very much improved.

The building of the Southworth Library at this time will be con-
sidered in a separate chapter.

The thorough and systematic lighting of the streets is a public im-
provement recently inaugurated by the board of village officers, which
is already much appreciated and completes our list in the review of
recent public improvements of the village.

As business developments of this period in (Hir village worthy of
note here, we should mention the prosperous marble and granite
works of Williams & Bower and the furniture business of the French
I3ros., both originating in a small way and now much exceeding simi-

102 . HISTORY OF DEYDEN.

lar coueerus in most country towns. The groceiy business, as con-
ducted by the Baker Bros., in the stone block, will compare favorably
in the variety and quality of its stock with any similar concern in the
county.

The medical fraternity of the village has been reinforced in these
later years by Doctors E. Davis Allen, Frank S. Jennings, and Mary
L. Briggs, while the lawyers consist of George E. Monroe, George E.
Goodrich, and L. D. Mallery, Esquire J. Dolph Ross officiating as
town and village magistrate.

Mention should here be made of the Dryden Springs Sanitarium,,
built up and conducted by Miss S. S. Nivison, M. D., during the last
half of the Century Period, just outside of the village limits. A hotel
building was first erected on this site early in the forties by Uncle
Thomas Lewis and by him rented to different parties who conducted
it as a hotel and water cure. The medicinal spring waters which were
here developed or discovered early in the century by the Lacy Broth-
ers while prospecting for salt, have always been esteemed and made
use of by the people of the community and have recently been care-
fully analyzed for Dr. Nivison with the following results :

MAGNETIC SPKINCt.

Total solids, 11.5 grains per gallon.

Residue consists of Lime, Soda, Patassium, trace of Iron — as Sul-
phates and Carbonates.

Carbon Dioxide free and combined, 13.00 grains per gallon.
Lithia, traces.

SULPHUR SPRING.

Total solids, 22.00 grains per gallon.

Residue consists of Lime, Soda, Magnesia, Iron in form of Carbon-
ates and Sulphates, also Chlorides.

Carbon Dioxide free and combined, 6.5 grains per gallon.
Calcium Carbonate, 5.8 grains per gallon.
Hydrochloric Acid combined, 1.0 grains per gallon.
Silica, 0.55 grains per gallon.
Lithia, traces.

As in reviewing the town, so in closing the village history we can-
not but compare some of the present conditions with those of the
earlier times.

DEYDEN VILLAGE. 103

For instance the shoemakers of one hundred years ago were " trav-
eling men," not "drummers," as the term "traveling men" would
now imply, but men who with their kit of shoemaking tools went
about from house to house in the new settlements, making up the
farmers' leather into footwear for the family, enough to last for a year,
svhen the shoemaker would again visit them. T. S. Deuel, whose
grandfather, Reuben Deuel, was one of these traveling shoemakers,
has the old account book of his ancestor, in which are charged in
shillings and pence the work which he did in each family as he visit-
ed them one hundred years ago. Fifty years ago instead of traveling
shoemakers the work was done in the shop in the village, and W. S.
Moffat used to keep in his shop on East Main street at least half a
dozen men constantly employed in making boots and shoes to order,
and every person who was about to need some footwear was re-
quired first to go to the shop and have his foot measured. All is now
changed and the boots and shoes of to-day are nearly all manufac-
tured in the large cities and distributed through the traveling drum-
mer and local salesman.

Dryden village to-day supports two excellent meat markets, supplied
with refrigerators, power meat choppers propelled by motors connect-
ed with the village system of waterworks, and furnished with all other
modern conveniences in that line. Nearly fifty years ago old Uncle
John Wilder and Godfrey Sharp undertook to carry on a meat market
in the basement of the stone block, promising to butcher and furnish
fresh meat of some kind during certain days of each week, but, as we
remember it, the enterprise was given up as a bad job, until it was
afterwards successfully revived by Levi Messenger. The difficulty in
those days with the meat market was that everybody was supplied
with salt beef and pork which was laid down in barrels for each fam-
ily in the fall or early winter as regularly as we now provide potatoes
for the year, and fresh meat was a luxury not often thought of.

The first permanent barber to locate in Dr3"den was Wm. H. Lester,
who, when a young man twenty years of age, opened a shop July 1,
1858, in the southeast room of Barton's Hotel. Prior to that time
Dryden men either shaved themselves or let their beards grow in the
natural way, as was quite often done. Now the village supports two
very creditable barber shops with four men censtantly employed.

Thus we are able to see how times have changed with us during the
past hundred years.

RYDEN VILLAGE

ige,

13 Mrs. C. Rummer,
19 E. E. Bannell.

Wall Street.
I J. D. Ross,
4 C. J. Bailey,
8 J. D. Ross.

Lewis Street.

1 D. D. Edwards,

2 Abram Hutchings,

4 George Hart,

5 Fred Sherwood,

6 D. R. Montgomery,

7 D. Bartholomew,

8 D. C. McGregor,
ID A. C. Rockefeller,
15 Wm. W. Ellas,

19 Joseph Basil,

20 Abram Hunter,

23 Mrs. Sidney Sorrell,

24 James Graham,

25 29, M. Tripp,

32 R. H. Newsome,
40 Mrs. John Hunter.
Hill Street.
2 H. A. Lormor,

4 Arnold Hopkins,

6 O. Coleman,

7 George Bradley,

8 Barney Tyler,

10 Mrs. Harriet Carpenter,
14 I. D. Jenks,

18 E. D. Branch,

26 Dryden Stone Mill,

28 Guy Chew,

29 A. Marsh,

34 Chas. Ivormor.

Lake Street.

9 John McKeon,

11 I. P. Ferguson estate,
13 Edward Swart,

17 Hiram Pugsley,

21 John Swart,

22 John Swart, cidermill,
25 John Goodwin,

40 David O'Dell,
48 J. H. Kennedy,
50 P. E. Kennedy,
52 Dryden Tannery.

Montgomery Street.

5 Wm. Wheeler,

11 John Sandwick.

James Street.
8 D. S. Messenger,

12 Thomas Tamlin,
16 R. E. Stilwell,

21 W. Pond,
25 B. Bishop estate,
31 Charlie Ballard,
33 Carson Vunk,
35 A. P. Brown,
37 Irving Brown,
43 Wm. H. Moore.

South Street.

I Weyant & Kingsbury, hard-
ware,

3 Mrs. W. H. Moore,

5 W. H. Moore, shoes,

6 Wheeler & Co., storehouse,

7 W. H. Moore, residence,

8 Wheeler & Co., storehouse,

9 George Cole, residence,
10 M. Tyler, carriages,

12 Bailey & Ellison, bl'ksmiths

13 H. Marvin,

14 S. W. Daniels, shop,

15 Kllery Vunk,

16 Firemen's Hall,

18 Chas. Tanner,

19 Mrs. I. P. Ferguson,

21 Chas. Williams,

22 R. C. Rummer,

23 J. E. McElheny,

24 Wm. Tanner,

25 Geo. E. Goodrich,

26 Mrs. Chas. LaBarr,

27 Mrs. A. Hill,

28 James E. Lormor,
36 Mrs. Anna Stewart,
38 Mrs. A. Collings,
42 Truman Parker,

46 W. F. Miller,

47 Dr. Mary Briggs,

48 S. M. Stanton,
58 Henry Small,

64 F. & F. Caswell,
68 Mrs. Catharine Mellon,
70 Orris Church estate.
Miscellaneous.

a Frank Stout,

b J. B. Wilson,

c S. S. Nivison,

d Barney Weber,

e Daniel Lawson,

/ Southworth estate,

g Depot,

A Milk Depot,

i Rockwell's Coal Yard,

y Chappuis' Coal Yard,

A Hart's Stock Yard,

p Old Griswold House.

KEY TO THE MAP OF DRYDEN VILLAGE.

West nain Street.

4 J. H. Frati, harness,

5 Wflvle's Hotel,

6 Wm. Mespell, marke
S J. H. Pratt, store.

O. C. Sweet, uudertakt
1 R. Beam, jewelry.

leun

31 Clias.

33 Henry Thomas,

34 IJ. McLachlan,

36 R. h. Weaver,

37 A.J.Baker,

38 Lucien Weaver, drugs,

39 F. S. Howe,

40 Isabelle Loriuor,

41 J. B. Fulkerson,

42 Dr. J.J. MoutKomery, c

43 J. R. French,

44 Dr. J. J. Montgomerv,

45 E. E. BanSeld,

46 Grove Hotel,

53 Mrs. D. F. Van Vleet,

54 L. D. Mallery,

56 Chas. M. Perrigo,

57 Misses S. & L. Tanner,
59 D. S. Messenger,

62 D. P. Bartholomew,

63 G. C. Sweet,

66 Mrs. M. L. Keeney.

67 Mrs. Mary Hyde,

63 Mrs. Abram Hutchiu

70 D. T. Wheeler,

71 Geo. W. Bailev,
73 R. M. West,

75 Georee Wickham,

76 A. Bailey,

77 Miss P. Smith,

78 Henley Hunter,

79 George W. Sutfin,

81 Hugo Dolgc.

82 Hugo I>olge, residence,

83 Mrs. M. A. Dean,
84, 85. 86 Hugo Dolge,

87, 89, 91 93 Dryden Woolen

88 Hugo Dolge, woolen mill

90 W. W. king, planing mill,

95 A. Hoiipt estate,

96 W. W. King,

97 George E. Monroe,

98 Mrs. Mary Swift,

107 Robert Schutt,

108 Sylvester Foster,

109 Charle; Meade,

Miss S. S. Nivison,

2 M. E. l.'hurch,
5 Former &.Sut6n,und'takers
7 French Bros., furniture,
9 Mrs. R A, Dwight,'

.0 H. H. Ferguson,

13 Chapman Strong,

15 Wm. Mespell,

16 John Munsey,

21 A. Burlingame estate,

23 Frank Hutchinson,

24 Dr. E. D. Allen,

26 Dr. E. D. Allen, office,
28 C H. Seamans,

30 C. H. Se.
33 D. E. An

39 Mrs. wjil.

Griswold,
ine Beattie

nmng.

43 Mr

51 Harrison

56 James Steele.

Noi-th Street.
2 Win H Silcoi, photo.,
4 Williams & Bower, mai
6 J. H. Pratt,

10 J. H. Pratt.

I : Presbyterian Church,

14 H. C. Loomis,

16 Mrs. Fred Ward,

18 Mrs. Lo Vina Lord,

21 Southw<irth estate,

22 A M. Clark.
26 A. M. Clark.
32 H F. Pratt.

54 A. D. Burlingame.

55 Mrs. Mary Burlinga:01

Elm Street.
(J. Giles Ford,
** \ Wm. A. Glazier.

5 Geo. P. Hatch,
10 John Tripp,

12 Mrs. Martha Tyler,
31 Dryden Herald.

Library Street.

4 Opera House,

6 John Ellis.

7 R. F. Chappuis,

8 Dr. F. S. Jennings,

14 Mrs. Geo. Pratt.

Qeorge Street [

1 Chas. Burghardt,

2 John D. Lament,

3 Merritt Tyler,

5 Lyman Smith,

6 H. Witty,

15 Mrs. F. Dutcher.
17 Wm. Shelton,

21 George Culver.

Union Street.

1 Charles Williams,

2 J. C. Lormore,

4 J. D. Lamont,

5 C. J. Sperry,

6 Aaron Albright,

7 Mrs. Mary Tucker,

8 Darius Givens,

9 W. H. Sandwick,

10 Presbyterian parsonage.

-umbard.
Pleasant Street .

G. J. Sweetland,

3 J. A. O'Field,

4 G. H. Sperry,

5 John Carpenter,

6 A. J. Fortner,

7 Miss A. Mineab,

8 Mrs. S. Ballard,

10 Delos Mahan,

11 Miss Anna Donley,
14 Scott estate.

Rochester Street..
I Mrs. Abram Hutchin gs,
3 C. J. Sperry,
5 Hubbard Lusk,
7 J. C. Vauderhoef.

10 W. W. French,

11 Leander Hutchings,

19 E. E. Bannell.

Wall Street.

1 J. D. Ross,
4 C. J. Bailey,
8 J. D. Ross.

Lewis Street.

1 D. D. Edwards,

2 Abram Hutchings,

4 George Hart,

5 Fred Sherwood,

6 D. R. Montgomery,

7 D. Bartholomew,

8 D. C. McGregor,
10 A. C. Rockefeller,
15 Wm. W. Ellas,

19 Joseph Basil,

20 Abram Hunter,

23 Mrs. Sidney Sorrell,

24 James Graham,

25 29, M. Tripp,
32 R. H. Newsome,
40 Mrs. John Hunter.

mil street.
2 H. A. Lormor,
4 Arnold Hopkins,

6 O. Coleman,

7 George Bradley,

8 Barney Tyler,

10 Mrs, Harriet Carpenter,
14 1. D. Jenks,

18 E. V. Branch,

26 Dryden Stone Mill,

28 Guy Chew,

29 A. Marsh,

34 Chas. Lormor.

Lake Street.

9 John McKeon,

11 LP. Ferguson estate,
13 Edward Swart,

17 Hiram Pugsley,

21 John Swart,

22 John Swart, cidermill,
25 John Goodwin,

40 David O'Dell,
48 J. H. Kennedy,
50 P. E. Kennedy,
52 Dryden Tannery.

Montgomery Street.
5 Wm. Wheeler,
II John Sandwick.

James Street.
8 D. S. Messenger,

25 B. Bishop estate,
31 Charlie Ballard,
33 Carson Vunk,

35 A. P. Brown,

37 Irving Brown,
43 Wm. H. Moore.

South Street.
I Weyant & Kingsbury, hard-

3 Mrs. W. H. Moore,

5 W. H. Moore, shoes,

6 Wheeler & Co., storehouse,

7 W. H. Moore, residence,

8 Wheeler & Co., storehouse,

9 George Cole, residence,
10 M. Tyler, carriages,

12 Bailey & Ellison, bl'ksmiths

13 H Marvin,

14 S. W. Daniels, shop,

15 Ellery Vunk,

16 Firemen's Hall,

18 Chas. Tanner,

19 Mrs. .

21 Chas. Willi.

22 R. C. Rummer,

23 J. E. McElheny,

24 Wm. Tanner,

25 Geo. E. Goodrich,

26 Mrs. Chas. LaBarr,

27 Mrs. A. Hill,

28 James E. Lormor,

36 Mrs. Anna Stewart,

38 Mrs. A. Collings,
42 Truman Parker,

46 W. F. Miller,

47 Dr. Mary Briggs,

48 S. M. Stanton,
58 Henry Small,
64 F. & F. Caswell,

68 Mrs. Catharine Mellon.
70 Orris Church estate.

a Frank Stout,

i J. B. Wilson,

c S. S. Nivison,

d Barney Weber,

g Daniel Lawson,

/ Southworth esUte,

g Depot,

/• Milk Depot,

r Rockwell's Coal Yard,

J Chappuis' Coal Yard,

t Hart's Stock Yard,

p Old Griswold House.

DEYDEN VILLAGE. 105

CHAPTER XXVIL

ANECDOTES OF DRYDEN VILLAGE.

It was the privilege of the writer some years ago to spend an even-
ing in a small company of former Dryden men at Fargo, North Da-
liota, Avith John Benton, formerly sheriff of Cortland county, and af-
terwards for a few years one of the proprietors of the Dryden Hotel
as a partner with Peter Mineah. On that evening Mr. Benton enter-
tained the company very agreeably by telling Dryden stories, which
he can do to perfection, and after keeping his hearers in convulsions
of laughter for an hour, he concluded by saying that there was no
place on earth where he had ever been which furnished such a fund
of anecdotes as Dryden, and among his many excellent characters for
humorous stories he placed John Tucker, of Dryden, with his inno-
cent smile and stammering tongue, head and shoulders above all
others. If my readers could have listened to the genial ex-sheriff on
the evening in question while he was giving his recollections of some
of the humorous incidents of his sojourn in Dryden village, I think
they would readih' accede to the truth of his conclusions.

It is designed in this chapter briefly to give a very few samples of
some of the true anecdotes which are connected with the history of
Dryden village.

The first one concerns Parley Whitmore, who, as we have seen, was
the postmaster and justice of the peace located at the " Corners " in
pioneer times. Among the numerous attendants at his court upon
the occasion in question were the two McKee brothers, James and
Robert, who lived north of the village and who are the ancestors of
many of the present inhabitants of Dryden. In some way these two
brothers were very much displeased with something which occurred
I)efore the justice at this time and they had not much ability or dis-
position to conceal their displeasure. 80 excited did Jimmy become
that in giving vent to his feelings upon the subject he used profane
language in the very presence of the court. This could not be toler-
ated or overlooked, and the justice arraigned the culprit on the spot,
imposing a fine of one dollar upon Jimmy for contempt of court.
This produced quiet in the court room, but the two brothers were
more angry than ever, fairly ready to burst with suppressed indigna-
tion, when Robert, who had the most money but who was the less
fluent in his speech of the two, stepped forward and laid down on the
table before the court one dollar in payment of the fine, and started to

106 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

put up bis pocket-book ; but upou second thought he opened it again^
taking out this time a live-dollar bill which he plumped down before
the court and turned triumphantly to his brother, saying, " Now, Jim-
my, swear 3'our till. "

It was before the same Justice AVhitmore that at one time in the
early days of Dryden a rather pompous individual whom we will call
Mr. T., stepped up in the presence of a crowd of spectators and asked,.
" 'Squire how much will it cost me to knock down Jim Beam? " Jus-
tice Whitmore, who seems to have had souje common sense as well as
a knowledge of the rules of justice, answered rather officiously some-
what as follows ; " It would be improper, Mr. T., for me to fix in ad-
vance the penalty for such an offense, but I will say that in my judg-
ment an attempt on your part to commit the crime which you mention
would cost you among other things a good threshing."

As illustrating the state of school discipline in our early times,
which we are happy to be able to say has sustained some improve-
ment since then, we relate an incident which occurred in the old
schoolhouse on Mill street, which was located where the John Gress-
house now stands. A "man" teacher was commonly employed in the
winter term, whose duty it was to train the older boys, many of whom
could attend only in the winter season, and lucky indeed was the
teacher who was not turned out of the schoolhouse before the first
warm days of spring called them back to their work on the farm.

One winter over fifty years ago Nehemiah Curtis was the name of
the teacher, and so faithful had been his work and so gentlemanly his
bearing that all the scholars liked him and the last day of school ap-
proached without any serious difliculty. In view of the fact it was de-
cided to have some special exercises upon the last day and the schol-
ars on the day before trimmed up the school room with evergreens
procured from the woods, which were then not far away. But on the
morning in question when the teacher and pupils, dressed in their
best apparrel for the occasion, entered the schoolhouse they were
met at the door by two cows, one belonging to Abraham Tanner and
the other to James Patterson, which had been locked in oyer night
and had browsed and trampled down the trimmings and mussed up
the school room generally. The good-natured teacher's high hopes of
ending the term prosperously were thus suddenly crushed and he was
about to give up in disgust when the better disposed pupils ofi'ered to
take hold and repair the damage so far as possible and clean out the
school room for the exercises, which they did. Of course no one knew
who the guilty culprits Avere who caused the mischief, although great

DRYDEN VILLAGE. 107

efforts were made at the time to ascertain, but one of our present
peace officers of the town now admits that he then persuaded his
" best girl" to falsely represent to his inquiring- parents that he spent
the evening in question with her in order to shield him from the sus-
picion of having been among those who introduced the cows into the
schoolhouse.

One short stor}^ must be told of John Tucker as a sample of his
read}^ wit and stammering tongue, although we cannot undertake to
convey to the reader who has not seen it an adequate conception of
the innocent smile which lights up his countenance upon these occa-
sions. The incident which we shall attempt to relate has in its repeti-
tion been associated with different individuals, which is immaterial,
for in all versions of it the part of the essential character, John, is the
same. For the benefit of those readers who are not acquainted with
him it must be stated that John is a great trapper and his favorite
game is the skunk. He is thoroughly acquainted with the haunts and
habits of these peculiar animals and derives no little revenue annually
from the sale of their pelts which he thus collects and which are quite
valuable for fur.

One day in the spring when John was looking over his stock of skins-
in compan}- with a friend, his next neighbor, Mrs. Dupee, hap])ened
out at the back door near Avhere they were and inquired incidentally
of John how many skunks he had caught that season, to which he re-
plied, "Twenty." She went in-doors and a few minutes later her hus-
band, William Dupee, came along and he asked John how many
skunks he had caught that season, to which he readily replied, " F-f-
forty-five." After William had disappeared his friend remonstrated
with John for showing such disregard for the truth and giving such
contradictory statements concerning the result of his winter's trapping,,
when he replied with an innocent smile on his face, *' Why, B-b-ill can
stand more s-s-skunks than she can ! "

CHAPTER XXVIII.

SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, AND CEMETERIES OF DRYDEN VILLAGE.

As we have alreadj^ seen, the pioneer log cabin of the township,
after it had ceased to be used as a place of habitation by Amos Sweet,
became its first schoolhouse in the year 1804, with Daniel Lacy serv-
ing in it as the first schoolmaster of Dryden. Imagine the children of
the pioneers Avho first settled about "Dryden Corners" coming togeth-

108 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

er to receive their first school education and couoregatiiig in a room
ten feet square inside, with one door and one window without sash or
glass, and no stove, but a fire-place made of a few hardliead stones
placed together, and no chimney but a hole in the roof for the smoke
to pass out. The next teacher at the "Corners," of which we have
any note, was Charles Grinnell, who came from Columbia county early
in the century and taught school, boarding with John Southworth be-
fore he built his brick house in 1836. But the first account which
we are able to give of the schoolhouses of the village brings us down
to near the middle of the century, when there were two public school
buildings, one being a wood-colored house on South street where the
Marvin house is now located and the other a red schoolhouse on
Mill street, which has since been remodeled where it stood, into what
is now known as the John Gress house.

There was also another school building which stood on the site now
occupied by the residence of Charles Perrigo, on the corner of Main
and Lewis streets, but this accommodated a private school and here
the celebrated criminal, Rulofi", in the year 1842, served as a teacher
for a short time, and here, over fift}^ years ago, a very capable teacher
by the name of Burhans trained the youth of the village.

This building had a belfrey and bell but was afterward used as a
shop and was finally destroyed by fire. About the year 1850 a new
union school house was built, taking the place of the others, on the
lot now occupied by Daniel Bartholomew as a residence. The up-
right part of this building, which Avas an imposing edifice at the time,
now serves as the plaster and lime storehouse of G. M. Rockwell,
near the railroad depot, and one of its wings is the Wall house on
Wall street. Here various principals of the district school ably pre-
sided and succeeded each other, including a Mr. Starr, Mills Van
Valkenburgh and finally George E. Monroe, Esq., avIio continued to
teach there until the Union Free School District was organized in
1872.

About the year 1860 Jackson Graves from Pottsville, Pa., who had
then recently married Mary J. Bishop, who was a very capable and an
excellent Dryden teacher, purchased the site of the present public
school property in Dryden village, and erected the present academy
building, which was known as the Dryden Seminary, conducting it as
a private school enterprise under their efficient management for about
ten years, when the property was purchased by the school district
-and has since been maintained as a public Union Free School and
Academy. Prof. Graves had in the meantime been elected School

DEYDEN VILLAGE.

109

Commissioner of the second district of Tompkins count}', and has
since resided in the town of Danhy, his first wife having- died in 1892.
Mr. and Mrs. Graves will long be remembered by the present genera-
tion of Drj'den village as faithful and efficient teachers.

Since the establishment of the Union Free School the standard of
educational advantages in the village has not been allowed to fall, and
many excellent teachers have served the disti'ict, including Charles
A. Fowler, afterwards principal of the Biughamton city schools, Fran-
cis J. Cheney, Ph. D.,
now principal of the
Normal School at
Cortland, and Herbert
M. Lovell, since prin-
cipal of the Elmira
Academy and now an
attorney and counsel-
or of that cit3^ Dr.
Wm. Fitch, George E.
Goodrich and George
E. Monroe have suc-
cessively served as
presidents of the
Board of Education.

The First Presbyte-
rian societ}- of Dryden
was organized Febru-
ary 17th, 1808, with
the following charter
members : John Ter-
penning, Juliana Ter-
j , „ penning, James Wood,

"^ * " ■' '" '"" '"^'^ Sarah Wood, Stephen

Tin; ri:F.snvTKi;iAN chuech. Myrch, Rebecca

Myrcli, Benjamin Simons, Isabel Simons, Derick Sutfin, Elizabeth
Topping, Abram Griswold, Asenath Griswold and Jerusha Taylor.
The first services were held at the home of Mr. Serren H. Jagger, a
shoemaker in Dryden village, and in the barns of Thomas Southworth
and Elias W. Cady at Willow Glen. The church edifice was com-
menced in 1819 and completed in 1824 under great difficulties.

It was extensively repaired in 1847 and again in 1861, and with some
recent improvements now appears as represented in the accompanying

110

HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

Tiew. In the year 1851 a town clock was purchased by subscription
and placed in the tower of this building and we are, fortunately, able
to give from the old suscription paper the names of the subscribers
and amounts contributed for that purpose, wdiich are as follows :

Thomas Lewis, U 00
John C. Lacy, 3 00

Enos Wheeler, 5 00
Eowen Sweetland, 2 00
Daken & Stebbins, 2 00
Thomas Jameson, 3 50
Eriggs & Goodyear, 1 00
Collin Robinson, 2 00
John South worth,10 00

Jacob Stickles,
S. Cleveland,
Ralph Barnum,
Wm. Holmes,
H. H. Ferguson,
Milo Goodrich,
S. Goddard,
Leonard Griswold,

100
100
100
2 00
100
100
100
50

Bradford Kennedy, 1 00
Joel Bishop, 3 00

Abraham Tanner, 1 00
B. W. Squires, 2 00
Wyatt Allen, 2 00

John R. Lacy, 3 00

Hiram Bouton, $2 00 Timothy Cross, $ 50

D. J. Baker. 3 00

W. S. Moffat, 1 50
Joseph McGraw, 1 00
Michael Butts, 2 00
Geo. Truesdell, 1 00
Orrin Wheeler, 1 00
D. P. Goodhue, 50
G. D. Pratt, 4 00

Otis Murdock, 1 00
Wm. Hazlett, 1 00
L. J. L. Bates, 1 00
Amos Lewis, 2 00
A. H. Phillips, 1 00
W^illet Ellis, 2 00

J. W. Dwight, 2 00
I. P. Ferguson, 1 00
John Ercanbrack 1 00
Gordon Johnson, 1 00
Stickle Hamblin, 50
Stephen Emory, 1 00
D. Bartholomew, 1 00
H. C. Beach, 1 00

Lewis Barton
Wm. Ercanbrack,
Darius Givens,
Wm. H. Miller,
T. Burr,
Isaac Ferguson,

4 00

150

2 00
100
100

J. W. Montgomery3 00
Pardon Tabor, " 5 00
Abram Emory, 1 00
P. M. Blodgett, 5 00
A. Foster, 10 00

L. B. Corbin, 4 00
J. H. Hurd, 3 00

E. A. Givens, 1 00
A. L. Bushnell, 5 00
Wm. F. Tanner, 1 00
S. S. Bunnel, 2 00

S. & C. Bradshaw,2 00
Gardner West, 50

S. T. Wilson, 2 00
Jesse Givens, 2 00
Jacob Prame, 1 00

We are thus able to give the names of the public spirited citizens
who resided in and about Dryden village about fifty years ago, re-
calling to the memory of old residents many familiar faces, only a
very few of which can be seen among us to-day.

The list of the ministers who have succeeded each other at this
church is also here given and is as follows :

Nathan B. DarroAv,
William Williston,
Joshua Lane,
Timothy Tuttle,
William Miller,
Samuel Parker,
Elnathan Walker,
Reuben Hurd,
Isaac Patterson,
Samuel Robertson,

Luther Clark,
George W. Pruden,
H. P. Crozier,
R. S. Eggleston,
F. Hendricks,
Charles Kidder,
A. V. H. Powell,
W. G. Hubbard,
A. McDougall,
J V. C. Nellis,

Geo. R. Smith,
Anson G. Chaster,
Charles Ray,
E. W. Root,
G. H. Dunning,
C. O. Hanmer,
G. V. Reichel,
Fred L. Hiller,
Oliver T. Mather.

DRY DEN VILLAGE.

Ill

A Methodist Episcopal class was first organized at Dryden Corners
about tlie year 1816, Avitli ISelden Marvin, Edward Hunting, and Abra-
ham Tanner among the original members. They had no church build-
ing until about 1832 when a church society was organized with the
following; charter members :

Parley Whitmore,
J. W. Montgomery,
Daniel Godfrey,
Pliilo Godfrey,
Daniel Coleman,

Selden Marvin,
Robert Dier,
M. C. Brown,
Elias Ferguson,
Andrew Guile,

Asa Phillips,
George Carr,
Erastus Bement,
Abraham Tanner.
Pardon Tabor.

Their church edifice erected in 1832 Avas destroyed by fire in 1873,
while being repaired and enlarged, and the present building, a view of
which is given on page 10-, was erected in the following year at an ex-
pense of about eleven thousand dollars.

The clergymen who have supplied this chui'ch are as follows :

J. T. Peck,
Wm. Bailey,
M. Westcott,
P. R. Kinne,
M. Adams,
M. W. Rundell,

C. W. Harris,
W. H. Pearne,
H. E. Luther,

D. Lamkins,
George Parsons,
W. W. Rundell,
A. Gross,

Hagar,

Wm. C. Cobb,
C. W. Harris,

O. M. McDowell,
S. B. Porter,
O. Hesler,
E. Owen,
L. D. Tryon,
S. Minier,
M. M. Tooke,
E. G. Curtis,
T. D. Wire,
J. H. Barnard,
E. Owen,
B. Shove,
L. Hartsough,
A. L. Lusk,
Selah Stocking,
H. Meeker,

David Keppel,

I. Harris,

James Gutsell,

W. H. Goodwin, L. L. D.

M. S. Wells,

David Keppel,

Robert Townsend,

S. S. Barter,

James R. Drake,

R. N. Leake,

J. H. Ross,

A. C. Willev,

W^orth M. Tippy,

J. W. Terry,

George Britten,

C. W. Walker.

The first death in Dryden village was probably of some member of
the family of Amos Sweet, all of whom are said to be buried in the
grounds opposite to the Dryden Springs Sanitarium. Tradition in-
forms us that a grave-yard was early started near the corner of Main
and Mill streets and some evidence of this fact was recently found
when the village water pipes were being laid in that locality. The
early habit of using private family burying grounds has already been
referred to and the first public ground of which we have any record in
the village was located on the gravel knoll west of the fair-grounds.
How early this site was in use we are unable to determine, but a deed

112 HISTORY OF DRYDEI^J.

from Abram Griswold to the Trustees of the First Preshyterian Soci-
ety of Drvden of an acre of land in this locality bears date February
10, 1830, and contains this commendable statement from the grantor :
" The true intent and meaning of this indenture of said piece of laud
is that all sects and denominations have the privilege of burying their
dead and using the same as a burying ground." Probably the use
of this site as a burial ground for the inhabitants of the village ante-
dated this public dedication of it for that purpose. More laud was af-
terwards added but no incorporation was perfected, and the locality is
now neglected and abandoned as a cemetery, and has grown up to a
second wilderness; some graves marked by dilapidated stones re-
main, while numerous pit-holes here and there show where the re-
mains of others have been taken up to be removed to more oodern
cemeteries. A visit to this locality, where many of the pioneers of
Dryden still lie buried, will afford striking suggestions of the brevity
of human life and of the rapidity with which after death our mortal
remains will be absorbed by mother earth, and the places which once
knew us will know us no more. The gravel from the parts of this-
knoll which have not been used for burial purposes is now being rap-
idly removed for tilling and grading purposes and the existence of a
burial place there is likely to be entirely forgotten.

In the year 1863 the people of the village united to organize a ceme-
tery association and to purchase a new site for a ]3ermanent cemetery.
The Green Hills cemetery is the result, located in tbe southwest sec-
tion of the village and comprising nearly fifty acres of land only a
small part of which has yet been used for burial purposes. The site
is upon the highest ground in the corporate limits of the village, so
that the home of the dead commands a beautiful view of the homes
and business places of the living. The association has been some-
what crippled in its operations by a considerable indebtedness in-
curred in the purchase of its extensive grounds, but this debt is now
bein- paid off and great improvements have been made m opening
and-rading its main avenue, to the site, which is remarkably adapted
by nature for this purpose and which will in time be so improved as
to be one of the most commodious and beautiful cemeteries to be
found in a country village.

THE SOUTHWOllTH LIBRARY. 113

CHAPTER XXIX.

THE SOUTHWOETH LIBRARY.

If any cue could have claim-
ed to unite in her veins the
tlow of the blue blood of Dry-
deu pioneer aristocracy, that
person was Jennie McGraAV-
Fiske. Her great-grandfather
was Judge Ellis, " King of
Dryden " in its early years.
Her grandfather was John
Sonthworth, Dr3'den's million-
aire farmer, while her father
was John McGraw, Dryden's
barefooted farmer boy in 1827,
who soon after commenced his
business career as a clerk in a
Dryden store at eight dollars
per month, becoming later a
Dryden merchant, and after a
life of great business activity
and success died possessed of
an estate worth two millions.
She was born in the house on North street in Dryden village now
owned and occupied by Mrs. E. H. Lord, nearly opposite to the South-
worth homestead, in September, 1840. Her mother died and her
father moved from Dryden before she was ten years of age. She
was educated at Canandaigua and at a school in Westchester county.
Her health being always delicate, she was encouraged to gratify her
taste for foreign tiavel, which she did, first visiting Europe when
about twenty years of age, and several times afterwards.

Of her marriage to Prof. Willard Fiske in 1880 and her death in
the following year, which was subsequently followed b}^ the cele-
brated litigation as the result of which the bequest of the bulk of her
estate to Coriiell University was defeated, we need not speak here at
length.

In the distribution of the estate of her grandfather, John South-
worth, she received a share as representing her deceased mother, and
it seems to have been her desire to return to Dryden village a sub-

: ^^L

'^s^m^

[ - :

JENNIE MC GRAW-FISKE.

114 HISTOEY OF DRYDEN.

stantial memorial to her orandfather out of this portion of lier estate,
for in her will she makes the following provision :

" I give and bequeath unto Jeremiah W. Dwight, John E. McEl-
lien}- and Dr. J. J. Montgomery, all of Drjden, N. Y., the sum of thir-
ty thousand dollars, in trust, for the following uses and purposes, to
wit : I desire that they, with such associates as they may select,
shall procure, under the laws of the State of New York, a corporation
or association to be organized at Dryden aforesaid under the name of
The Southworth Library Association, the object and purpose whereof
shall be the building, support and maintenance of a pulilic library in
the said village of Dryden ; that said trustees shall transfer said trust
funds to said association upon the trust and condition that not more
than iifteen thousand dollars of said sum shall be expended in real
estate, buildings and furniture, and that the remainder shall consti-
tute a fund to be invested and the interest or income thereof to be ap-
plied to the purchase of books and other necessary expenses of said
association, excluding, however, salaries of officers and pay of servants
thereof.

" If this purpose be not accomplished within three years after my
death the trust shall cease and the fund shall be paid to and distribut-
ed with my residuary estate. "

In pursuance of this bequest the Southworth Library Association
was incorporated April 22, 1883, with Jeremiah W. Dwight, John E.
McElheu}', John J. Montgomery, Henry B. Napier and Erastus S.
Rockwell as incorporators. In the following 3'ear the Baucus proper-
ty on the corner of South and Union streets was purchased and re-
modeled so as to afford temporary accommodations for the Library,
and here it was first opened to the public September 25, 1884.

For about ten years the Library was accommodated in a portion of
this building, the rent of the remainder, which was leased for a dwell-
ing, being used to pay the expense of emplojnng a librarian.

In the meantime a permanent site was purchased on the new corner
on Main street formed by opening Library street, and a fine, substan-
tial building here erected of which we are able to give the accompa-
nying pictorial illustration.

It is constructed of Ohio sandstone in a very thorough and sub-
stantial manner at an expense of about fifteen thousand dollars. The
building is fire-proof and includes commodious and elegant reading
rooms. Here the trustees intend, among other things, to provide for
a collection of historical relics, which will be securely preserved for
future generations. The structure was completed in the year 1894,

THE SOUTHWORTH LIBRARY,

115

•since which time there has been presented to the association and
phiced in the tower of the buikling, a Seth Thomas clock, the gift of
Mrs. D. F. Van Vleet, of Ithaca, as a memorial of her parents, Mr. and
Mrs. John C Lac}-, who were for a long time residents of Dryden.

Some unhappy differences of opinion among the citizens of the vil-
lage as to the intention of Mrs. Fiske in excluding from the purposes
for which the funds of her gift could he used " the salaries of officers
and servants thereof " has caused the building to be closed for some

THE SOUTHWOllTH LIBRARY.

portion of the time, for the lack of a provision, as the trustees claim,
for the employment and pay of a janitor and librarian, and these ques-
tions are not yet settled to the satisfaction of all ; but it is believed
that these matters will soon be determined by the courts or otherwise.
According to the last report of the librarian, in the month of April,
1897, the number of volumes in the Library was 6994. These vol-
umes comprise a careful selection of the best works in the whole field
of literature, including the latest editions of all standard authorities.
The invested interest-bearing funds of the association now amount to

116 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

about seventeen thousand dollars, the income from which is to be de-
voted principally to the purchase of books and will continue to sup-
ply the reading matter best adapted to the wants of the people in
ever-increasing accumulations of the best works of the best authors.
Prof. Willard Fiske, although sojourning in Italy for the past few
years, has been made a trustee of the association and has shown his
interest m the institution by presenting to the Library a valuable and
unique set of the complete works of the bard, John Dryden. The fol-
lowing is a list of the present ofhcers and trustees of the association i

TRUSTEES.

John E. McElheny, President, D. R. Montgomery,

Dr. J. J. Montgomery, Vice-President, John W. Dwight,

Dr. F. S. Jennings, Secretary, D. E. Bower,
Willard Fiske.

Treasurer, - - - - - H. B. Lord

CHAPTER XXX.

WILLOW GLEN.

A stranger now passing through the quiet locality of our town which
formerly was known as " Stickles's Corners, " but latterly called by the
more romantic name of " Willow Glen, " upon looking about him
would naturally inquire, " Where are the willows and where is the
glen?" for both are at present a little obscure. It is said, however,
that over fifty years ago, when this name was first applied to the local-
ity by one of its inhabitants. Miss Huldah Phillips, the banks of the
little stream which flows down through the " Corners " from the hill-
side were lined with large willow trees, forming with them a glen
which made the name very appropriate.

As we have already seen, the settlement of Willow Glen dates back
as early as 1798, when three of the very earliest pioneer families of
the town located there, and during all of the Pioneer Period it was a
formidable rival of Dryden village. During that time it contained a
tanner^' upon what was afterwards the Phillips corner, a grist mill
(one of the earliest in town), and two saw-mills (one of which was the
earliest in town, being completed in 1802), upon Virgil Creek, two
stores, two distilleries, one hotel, a blacksmith shop, an ashery and a
large wagon shoj^, all constituting a good business equipment for a

WILLOW GLEN. 117

new country settlement. One by one these elements of business have
disappeared, and all which now remains in that line is the old black-
smith shop, converted in these latter days into the factory and store-
house of Mosso's Tempering Compound, and the wagon shop across
the way conducted by Andrew Simons. W^illow Glen has always had
and still maintains a good school, and with it is connected an incident
which is still remembered by some of the oldest inhabitants, who were
children when the events took place. It is the " Story of the Bison "
and reads as follows :

On a certain autumnal Saturday afternoon about seventy-five or
more years ago two men entered Willow Glen by the highway from
the west, leading between them a wild, shagg3' animal, a buffalo re-
cently captured on the prairies, being tlie first one seen in this part
of the country. They stopped at the hotel, then kept by William
Wigton, in whose barn they exhibited the buftalo to those who would
pay ten cents for the opportunity of seeing him. During the after-
noon the school was let out — Saturday was a school da}^ in those
times — and some of the scholars had ten cents with which to purchase
the privilege of seeing the exhibition, but many others did not, and as
an inducement to the owners of the animal the older school boys pro-
posed that those who could should pay, but that all of the school
children should see the buffalo ; but the proposition was not accept-
ed and none of the scholars were admitted to the barn. As night ap-
proached, Mr. Wigton, who had overheard some plans among the boys,
who were displeased with the rejection of their proposition, informed
the proprietors that he would lock up the barn at night but he would
not be responsible for what might happen to the buffalo. They re-
2olied that there was no danger that any one would molest the animal
for it was all that they could do to manage him and no one else would
venture to undertake it.

Matters were left in this way, but in the morning the l)arn doors
were open and the buffalo was gone, no one knew where. There was
a long watering trough which extended into the barn and some one
during the night had drawn the plug, letting the water out so that
he could enter the barn through the empty trough and unfasten the
doors from within. The proprietors in vain spent the morning look-
ing after the source of their income, but no track or trace of him could
be found.

Early that morning Darius J. Clement, the old gentleman who died
a few years ago in Dryden village, but who was then a boy living with
his parents \kdiere John Card now resides, went out before it was fair-

118 HISTOKY OF DKYDEN.

ly daylight to the barn to do the milking. He returned soon after
saying to his parents that he believed the Evil One himself had taken
possession of the barn during the night, for such pawing and bellow-
ing, by a large animal with short horns, a large shaggy head, fierce,
glaring eyes and a long tail, he had never seen or heard of before.
Mr. Clement, who was a ver^^ religious man, decided that the Sab-
bath was no time to investigate the matter and directed that nothing
should be done with the animal until the next day. But the news
began to be circulated that the buffalo was m the barn of Mr. Clement
and the people from all about began to congregate so that by noon
all the men and boys from the neighborhood were assembled, and Mr.
Clement was very willing that the cause of the disturbance should be
removed. Some of the boys, presumably the same who had brought
him there in the night, readily undertook the task of removing him
and in so doing they led him through a clearing in which a vicious
bull was being pastured. No sooner did the bull see the intruder of
something like his own species approaching than he came rushing
toward them ready for a contest for supremacy. Those who then bad
charge of the buffalo were ver}- willing to let go their hold, which
they did, thereby having the fun of witnessing a Sunday bull figlit.
The result proved that the buffalo, with his short horns and wild, vig-
orous habits, was too much for his domesticated cousin, who was com-
pelled to recognize the superiority^ of the intruder. The fun being
over the boys returned the buffalo to his owners, who went on their
way sadder if not wiser men.

Willow Glen, as well as the northwest corner of the township,,
claims a share in the invention of the power threshing machine, an
inventive genius by the name of Miller having there developed one of
the first threshing machines ever seen, which, with subsequent im-
provements, has revolutionized that part of the farmer's labor.

We have as yet failed to secure very satisfactory notes of the pion-
eer families of Willow Glen. Of the first three families to locate there
in 1798, so far as we are able to learn, the Clausons have no descend-
ants now residing in town, while Ezekiel Sanford and David Foote are
the ancestors of quite a number of the present inhabitants. John
Southworth, whose father, Thomas Southworth, came to Willow Glen
in 1806, will be the subject of a separate chapter. Joshua Phillips,
who owned and perhaps built the tannery on the now vacant corner
of Willow Glen, was early a prominent citizen, being a Member of
Assembly from this county in 1820 and a supervisor of the town in
1839. He came to Dryden from Nassau, Rensselaer county, about

WILLOW GLEN. 119

1806, or, as some sa}^ in 1811, and was a major in the State Militia.
His wife, whom he married in Rensselaer county, was Huldah Bram-
liall, a very estimable wife and mother. They had no daughters, l^ut
twelve sons, one of whom, Archibald, now resides on the former home-
stead of his father-in-law, Peter Mulks, near Slaterville, and another,
Albert, who married into the Twogood family, is still living at Merton,
Waukesha county, Wis., 91 years of age, with another brother, Henry,
whose age is 80. Among the others was George W. Phillips, who
was once prominent in business in Dryden village. Joseph Bram-
hall, a brother of Mrs. Phillips, was a carpenter and an early resident
of Willow Glen, leaving children who still perpetuate from him the
name of Bramhall. He was an assessor of the town at the time of his
death, which resulted from consumption. His widow afterwards mar-
ried Israel Hart and became the mother of Chas. I. Hart, of Dryden.
We have already mentioned Elias W. Cady as a prominent citizen in
public affairs, Member of Assembly, supervisor and first president of
the Dryden Agricultural Societ}^ who died in 1883 at the age of nine-
ty-one years. He came here from Columbia county in 1816, and also
married into the Bramhall family. His oldest son, Oliver, recently
died, but his youngest son, Charles Cad}', of Auburn, N. Y., and daugh-
ters, Rebecca A. (Dwight), Harriet S. (Ferguson), and Mary Cady, all
of Dryden village, are still living. His daughter Sarah (Wilson) died,
leaving numerous descendants now residing in the town. Aaron Fos-
ter was not a pioneer of Dryden, but settled in the year 1829 upon the
farm which he sold to Joseph McGraw, where, for a number of years,
he operated the lumber and grist mills of Willow Glen, there still be-
ing no grist mill in Dryden village, and later he removed to the village.
His daughter was the wife of Geo. D. Pratt and his son, A. H. Foster,
of Superior, Wis., was one of our guests at the Centennial Celebration.

Aaron Lacy, from New Jersey, settled on the Stickles corner in
1799. His only surviving child, John R, Lacy, afterwards lived and
died on the corner still held by his family one mile north of Dryden
village.

Willow Glen has had no churches, but the barn of Elias W. Cady
afforded the Presbyterian society accommodations for preaching and
communion service before their building was completed in Dryden
village.

The inhabitants have suffered somewhat from religious fanatics, the
first visitation being from a band of some fifty "Pilgrims," as they
called themselves, Avho came from Vermont in 1818, and are thus de-
scribed by the '" Old Man in the Clouds :" "When they moved in they

120 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

had several wagons, some of •svliicli were drawn l)y four horses. One
team carried the large tent beneath which the entire family was
housed in all kinds of weather. The name of their Prophet was Thad-
deus Cummins, a very stout, healthy and well proportioned man, with
sandy hair, and about thirty-tive years of age. The name of the
woman whom he brought as his wdfe was Luc}'. A priest also ac-
companied the Prophet, whose name was Joseph Ball. There were
some two or three brothers by the name of Slack ; the rest of the
company was made up of the off-scoiirings of wretched humanity.
When the Prophet and his followers arrived near the residence of
David Foote they pitched their tent and rested over night, but moved
the next day into the woods then on the Stickles farm, where they re-
mained a week, when the}^ again moved upon the north bank of Fall
Creek near the former residence of Jacob Updike. Here this singu-
lar people remained for fully six weeks, practicing all kinds of deviltry
upon themselves and the people in the neighborhood. They had no
beds, but slept in nests of straw, each sex in common with the other,
they having no belief in or respect for the marriage ceremony. They
did not believe in beds, chairs, or tables. They stood up to eat and
sucked food through a goose quill, and could not be persuaded to eat
in any other way. They wore large white cloths upon their backs,
which, as they said, w^ere marks for the Devil to shoot at. Their an-
tipathy against the Devil was very great and every morning early they
might be heard howling and yelling like a parcel of wolves for two
miles around, driving the Devil out of their camp."

When they left town they went to an island in the INJississippi river>
unfortunately inducing some Dryden and moiie Lansing people to fol-
low them, where they finally disbanded. They sihould not be con-
founded with the " Taylorites," who flourished here later and some
of whom afterwards joined the Shakers.

There is perhaps no better index of the degree of thrift and reline-
ment which exists in a community than the condition of its grave-
3fards. The principal burial place now used by the people of Dryden
at large is the Willow Glen Cemetery, located very near the center of
the town, the Green Hill Cemetery in Dryden village being patronized
more especially by the residents of that village. Both are laid out
and maintained in a manner indicative of the prosperity and intellect-
ual culture of the people of the township. The former, which we now
consider, has been especially fortunate in its financial management
and the devotion wdiich its officers and friends have shown in its de-
velopment. It already has a surplus fund of over three thousand dol-

WEST DKYDEN. 121

lars, invested at interest, and this surplus has been for the past few
years rapidly increasing from the sale of lots. The interest from this
money, with such contributions as are added to it, enables the officers
to keep its beautiful grounds, consisting of about thirteen acres, in ex-
cellent condition, and for a countr}' burying ground it has few rivals
either in the natural beauty and extent of its grounds or in the good
taste exhibited in its adornment.

The older section was used as a burial place early in the century,
some inscriptions recording deaths as early as 1816, and in this sec-
tion the remains of Judge Ellis and Esquire McElheny, whose deaths
occurred in 1846 and 1836, and Aaron Lacy, the original owner, who
died and was buried there in 1826, were deposited before the present
extension of its territory was contemplated. But in 1864 the friends
of the enterprise perfected an organization, and subscribed, as a fund
for purchasing additional ground, about one thousand dollars, which
was contributed by the following inhabitants :

Wm. Hanford,

- $100

Samuel Rowland, -

- 100

■Geo. A. Ellis, -

100

Thos. Jameson, Sr.,

100

Mrs. Olive Lewis, -

- 50

Jonathan Rowland,

- 50

Huldah Stickles,

Geo. Hanford, -

Anson Stickles,

- 50

Zephaniah Lupton, -

- 50

Ered Hanford, -

Artemas Smiley,

Amos Lewis,

John R. Lacy,

- 50

Darius J. Clement,

All these sums have since been repaid by the sale of lots or in other
ways so that the society is now entirely out of debt with the surplus
above indicated and considerable territory still available for the sale
of lots. The principal officers at present are, Moses Rowland, presi-
dent ; Theron Johnson, treasurer ; Geo. E. Hanford, secretary.

CHAPTER XXXL

WEST DRYDEN.

Some statements contained in " The Landmarks of Tompkins Coun-
ty " would seem to indicate that the earliest settler located at West
Dry den before the year 1800. The proximity of this part of the town
to Lansing, which, from its location on the lake, was reached by the pi-
oneers some years before Dryden was accessible, gave plausibility to
these statements, but a patient and careful investigation of the subject

122 HLSTOEY OF DRYDEN.

establishes the fact that the pioneer first to locate at " Fox's Corners,"
as it was known in early times, was Evert Mount, who came in the year
1801 or 1802. He was folloAved by Jacob Primrose and Samuel Fox.
Mr. Mount, who was a blacksmith, built his cabin and shop on the
southwest corner, while Primrose first occupied the southeast and Fox
located on the northwest corner a few rods from where the church
now stands. Some rivalry is said to have existed among this trio of
pioneers as to which should give the new settlement its name, Mr.
Mount suggesting "Mount Pleasant," and Primrose, "Primrose Hill,"
but Fox carried off the honors and "Fox's Corners" it was called until
a postoffice was established under the name of West Dryden, Decem-
ber 23, 1825. Many, however, still know it best by its original name,
which still clings to it, and letters yet occasionally find their Avay to
the postoffice addressed "Fox's Corners, N. Y."

It is remembered that before the postoffice was established here the
mail was delivered from house to house, being brought from Ithaca
once a week by a man named Hagin, who made his trips on horse-
back, and who finally while performing this duty was throAvn from his
horse and killed.

From 1816 to 1840 West Dryden was a business place of some note^
supporting good stores, shops, hotels and the like. It is supposed
that Daniel C. Carr kept the first store, carrying on in connection with
it an " ashery " at which " pearlash," a crude form of saleratus, was
manufactured. Lumber, shingles, ashes and barter of all kinds were
taken in exchange for " store goods," and the space surrounding a
country store in those days had much the appearance of latter day
lumber yards. Carr was succeeded by Israel Hoy, who became the
first postnaster in 1825, and built and kept the first hotel, dealing
largely in lum]3er. As store-keeper he was followed by Reed S: San-
ders, after whom came Robert T. Shaw and Parley Guinnip and later
Lykin & Hance, Lykin & George and H. H. George.

Charles W. Sanders, author of Sanders's series of school books, re-
sided at West Dryden several years, during which time he completed
his " First Speller." John Barber did a large carriage making business
at an early day and James Youngs manufactured large quantities of
broad and narrow axes, adzes, chisels, augers, etc., besides furnishing
the usual products of a smith's shop.

The first phj^sician was Dr. Harvey Harris, registered at Ithaca in
1828, who Avas followed by Doctors Baldwin, White, Barker, Howell
and Pelton, all of whom were here prior to 1840.

The first school house was a log building located one-half mile west

WEST DRYDEN.

123:

of the " Corners" directly across the road from Avhere A. W. George
now lives. This was built in 1806 or 1807. No roads had as yet been
opened to many of the settlers' cabins, and children had often to lind
their way to ischool a long distance through a dense forest by means of
blazed trees. In a few years, the school was removed to the corners
and a large frame building erected which was used for school purpos-
es on week days and for church service on Sunday. This was soon
followed by a building on the northeast corner and later by one on the

present site. The pres-
ent school building is
the tiftli which has been
used for school purpos-
es since the settlement
of the place.

The first Methodist
society in tlie town of
Dryden was organized
a t We s t D r y den i n
1811 by Rev. "Geo. W.
Densmore. The mem-
bers of the first class
were Samuel Fox and
wife, David Case and
wife, Selden Andrus
and wife, and one other
whose name is not
known. Densmore was
succeeded by Revs.
James Kelsey, Isaac
WEST DEYDEN M. E. CHURCH. Puffer, John Kimber-

lin and other old time circuit riders. Meetings were held at the
houses of members of the class and other yjlaces until about 1815,
when a large building was erected on the corner where the blacksmith
shop now stands. This was used for both church and school purposes
for a few years and was the onh' church here until the present edifice,
constituting with its white dome one of the most prominent and famil-
iar landmarks of the township, was built in 1882 by Peter Conover at
a cost of twenty-two hundred dollars. It has sittings for three hun-
dred people.

The first trustees were Lemuel Sperry, Thomas George and William
George. The pastors of the society since 1815, include Revs. W. N.

124 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

Pearne, D. LamkiD, D. Cobb, A. Cross, W. N. Cobl), S. Minier, E. Hox-
sie, J. M. Searles, F. Reed, R. C. Fox, J. B. Hyde, F. M. Warner, J. V.
Benliam, A. M. Lake, L. R. Pendle, W. E. York, E. D. Thurston, L. T.
Hawkins, J. E. Rhodes, Philo Cowles, W. M. Sharp, A. S. Darling-,
■George Britten, G. D. Walker, J. A. Roberts, T. C. Roskelly, F. E.
Spence.

Among the pioneer families of West Drydeu, which, for the purpose
of this cha]iter, is considered as including the four town lots which
corner here, are :

Case, DAyiD, who w-as a native of Hartford county. Conn., and came
to Truxton, N. Y., about 1798 and to Dryden in 1808 or 1809. He pur-
chased fifty acres of land on Lot 12, wliere he lived until he died. He
was in the War of 1812 and ^\as buried on the farm of A. W. George.
No stone marks the place where he and other pioneers there lie.
Soon after coming to Dryden his wife died and he afterwards married
the widow of Burnett Cook, wdio was also an early ]^ioneer. Susan
(Cook) Case was a daughter of John Morris, whose wall was the first
one recorded and proven after the formation of Tompkins county.
One son of the second wife, Eleazer Case, is now living in Ithaca aged
80 years. David Case and wife were members of the first Methodist
class formed at West Dryden in 1811.

Fox, George, was also a native of Hartford county, Conn., coming as
far west as Truxton in 1798 and to West Dryden in 1808 or 1809, when
he purchased fifty acres of land on Lot 12, where he remained until he
died. He was also in the War of 1812 in the company of Capt. Bassett
of Col. Bloom's regiment. He was buried on the farm now owned by
A. W. George with no stone to mark his final resting place. His only
son was Palmer B. Fox, Avell known throughout the county, and who
left descendants, including Aretas Fox, still a resident of West Dryden-

Fox, Samuel, became a resident of West Dryden in 1804, coming
from Fabius, Onondaga county, to which place he had emigrated four-
teen years previously from East Hartford, Conn., wdiere he was born
in 1756. He had served seven years in the Revolutionary War, enlist-
ing in May, 1775. In July, 1780, he was sent to the command of La-
Fayette in Virginia, where he was in the battle at the mouth of the
James River, the siege of Yorktown, and at the surrender of Lord
Cornwallis. He was one of the first settlers of Fox's Corners and
from him the place derived this name by which it was first known-
He built Jiis first log house a few rods west of where the M. E. church
mow stands and was one of s; ven to form the first Methodist class in
the township.

WEST DRYDEN. 125

To Samuel Eox and his wife, Mabel (Webster), were born eleven chil-
dren, of whom three died unmarried. Edmund returned to Fabius, N.
Y., Julius removed to and died in Wisconsin, but the remainini>- six^
including Anna (who married Ephraim Bloom), Samuel, Jonathan, Eu-
nice (who married Harris Roe and afterward Francis White), Asa (who
married Eunice Dodge), and Chester (who married Julia Spatibrd), all
settled in and about West Dry den.

Samuel Fox died in West Dryden Oct. 10, 1844, 88 years of age.
His farm of about fift}' acres is still included in that of his grandson,,
James A. Fox, to whom we are indebted for some interesting incidents
of the hardships endured by the pioneers and their families. When
his father, Asa, was a bo}' trying to keep up with the men in hoeing
corn, his grandfather, Samuel, to encourage his son sent to Ludlowville
by a neighbor who happened to be going down, for a hat, the first the
boy had ever had. When it was brought back the father placed it up-
on his son's bare head, but after he had hoed once around with it on,
the boy took it off and laid it by under the fence, saying that he was
not used to it and it made his head ache. He had his first pair of
boots when he was eighteen years of age, children going barefooted
like colts until that age, and he secured a pair of shirts by splitting
■one thousand rails. When he bought his farm there was a mort-
gage on it held by a man in New Jersey, where he went twice on foot
to make his payments.

When the eldest son, Edmund, went by himself he had a pair of
oxen and a cow, constituting his stock and team. When his season's
work was half done one of his oxen died and his only recourse was to
yoke the cow in wdth the other ox to carry on the work of the farm,
the cow being thus required to furnish the family with milk and but-
ter and at the same time do half of the team work. W^e should hear
but little about the present bad times if people now realized the ex-
tremities to w^hich the pioneers were often reduced.

FuLKERSON, Benjamin, Josiah and Chapman, l)rothers, were originally
from New Jersey, coming to Lansing soon after 1790. They came to
Dryden in 1805, Benjamin purchasing in that year all of Lot 22 ex-
cept the survey fifty acres and paying for it two thousand dollars.
He bought fifty acres which is now included in the fann of J. H.
George. On this he built his cabin, but soon after died. His wife,
Avho was Sally Giles, survived him many years and was married to
Simeon Van Nortwick, also an early pioneer. Benjamin and Sally
Fulkerson had one son, Benjamin, Jr., and one daughter, Phoebe, who
married Henry White, son of Daniel White. Benjamin, Jr., married

126 - HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

Einil}' Douglas, who is now living with her clHUghter, Mrs. J. B.
George, at the age of 86.

Josiah Fnlkerson bought of his brother the south half of Lot 22,
building his house where his great-grandson, Lamont Fulkerson, now
lives. His wife was Polly Cook and his family consisted of five sons,
Burnett C, Silas, Benjamin, Lot and Calvin. The daughters were Sal-
h% who was married to John George ; Ann, to Sheldon Sharp ; Jane,
to Hiram Snyder ; and Maria, to James Snyder, the latter being the
only one now living.

Another brother. Chapman, who came to the town from Lansing-
soon after, also settled on Lot 22. He was born in New Jersey in
1785, and his wife, Hester Brown, two years later. They were mar-
ried and settled on a farm half a mile south of West Dryden in 1807.
The first winter they kept their stock on browse and a few ears of corn
each day, and wolves killed several sheep. Mrs. Fulkerson rode horse-
back and carried a child twelve miles to Teetertown, now Laus-
ingville, to church during the first few years of their mariled life.
Their first child was Betsey, who married Dayton Primrose and lived
at West Dryden ; she left children. Sarah married Philip Robertson
and settled in the western part of Pennsylvania ; she is still living and
has three children. Miranda did not marry ; Stephen B. lives on the
old homestead. Malvina married Albert Twogood ; they moved to
Marion, Iowa, and left six children. Daniel removed to the West.
Sophia married Abram Anthony ; they settled in Iowa and have a fam-
ily of six. Samuel C. married Lucinda Hill, has always lived in the
town of Dryden, and has five children. Louisa married Elliott Fort-
ner and left three children. John lives in Iowa. Chapman Fulker-
son died December 21, '49, aged 64 years. Hester Fulkerson died
January 21, '69, aged 81 years.

George, David, was born near Monmouth Court House (now Free-
hold), Monmouth county, N. J., in the year 1769. He was nearly ten
years old when the battle of Monmouth occurred near his home, June
28th, 1778. He carried water all day to the soldiers wounded in that
bloody battle of the Revolution ; and at night nearly fell with exhaus-
tion. In 1793 Mr. George married Alletta Sheppard, whose father
and grandfather both Avere officers of note in the Continental Army in
the Revolution ; both of them were taken prisoners in 1781 and car-
ried to New York by the British, undergoing much suflering at their
hands. Mr. George moved into the town of Dryden with his family in
the year 1804, and settled three fourths of a mile east of West Dry-
den upon a farm of one hundred acres, a portion of which is now

WEST DRY DEN.

127

owned aud occupied by a Mr. Lathrop. Some parts of the buildings
now on such portion were built by Mr. George during his lifetime.
The family passed through all the hardships of the pioneer settlers of
the town. The forest was almost unbroken, while the clearings al-
ready made were few and far apart. He was a weaver by trade, weav-
ing coverlets, blankets, cloth and linen, and there are persons in the

town now who have
n some of his work.

I In spite of their

hardshijis and sur-
roundings Mr. and
Mrs. George raised
a family of twelve
children, namely:
Thomas, who set-
tled in Syracuse
when it was a small
village, and always
lived there ; Allet-
ta, who always liv-
ed in the town, un-
til her death ; Ra-
chel, who married
George Conrad and
after living a few
years in Cattarau-
gus county, N. Y.,
moved west. One
of her sons, Hon.
W. F. Conrad, lives
at Des Moines, Io-
wa, and is a prom-
inent Judge of that
state. Elisha, too, settled in Syracuse and always lived there. Joel
with his famdy settled in Joliet, Illinois ; Peter and his family settled
in Steuben county, N. Y.; Sarah lived at Niagara Falls. Mary mar-
ried Peter Grover ; one of their sons, Andrew J. Grover, is still re-
membered by many in this section, and after him the G. A. R. Post
at Cortland is named. Hannah married Solomon Silver, and lived
for a number of years at Peruville, in this county ; Eliza late in life
married Dr. Isaac Carpenter and settled at Auburn, N. Y. She is

MRS. ALLETTA GEORGE.

128 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

at present living- at Jamestown, N. Y. Adaliue married AVilliam L..
Fessenden and is living at Candor, N. Y, Harvey married Susan Van
Horn, for a while was a merchant at West Dryden and later moved to
Kansas and died there about ten years ago.

Mr. George continued to live upon the farm where he settled, until
his death, which occurred October 3rd, 1848. His widow survived him
twenty-one years ; her death took place September 12th, 1869, she be-
ing ninety-one years of age. She could remember seeing the British
soldiers of the Revolutionary War pass her father's house on their way
through the Jerseys.

None of their descendants now reside in Tompkins county ; but a
grandson, Dilworth M. Silver, an attorney of Buffalo, N. Y., has de-
voted himself to tracing out the history of this branch of the George
family, and has materially aided us with the results of his researches,
being able to trace bis grandmother's ancestry back to the year 1654,.
which was the date when the first of her ancestors came to America.

George, Joel, an elder brother of David, was born in Monmouth
county, New Jersey, in the year 1767. He married Mary Toan, and
all of their older children were born in New Jersey, but about the
year 1798 they migrated " West " and after sojourning for about six
years at Scipio, N. Y., located in Dryden on land now owned by An-
drew Baker, about the year 1804. He bought three hundred acres,
which included the farm now owned by S. M. George. His sons were
Thomas, John and William T. The daughters were married — Sally
to William Van Nortwick ; Elizabeth to Thomas Hance, Jr., after-
wards to Judge Joshua North ; Clarissa to Peter Couover. Joel wa&
the first blacksmith in that part of the town, carrying on the business
many years. Among his grandchildren are S. M. George, James H.
and Almanzo W. George, all still residing in AVest Dryden and re]>re-
senting the three male branches of their common ancestor, Joel.

KiMBERLiN, Rev. John, who had traveled thousands of miles on
horseback through the wilds of New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio
as an early Methodist circuit rider, came to Dryden about the year
1815, and bought of Selden Andrus the place now known as the Bry-
ant farm, one-half mile west of " Fox's Corners, " where he lived until
his death, which occurred in 1853 at the age of seventy-two years. At
his request he was buried directly underneath the spot where the pul-
pit had stood in the old Asbury red meeting house, which had been
burned a few years before and where he had preached so man}' times.

Mount, Evert, Avho was born in New Jersey in ] 758, was a soldier
of the Revolution, participating in the battles of Trenton, Princeton

WEST DRYDEN. 129

and Monmouth, and coming to West Drydeu in 1801, accompanied by
his only son, Joseph. The latter was the father of William Dye
Mount, and grandfather of the Mounts now living in Groton. Evert
and his son built the first blacksmith shop at the corners, where they
worked for a few years. They returned to New Jersey with the in-
tention of bringing their families to their new homes, but while there
hostilities between England and the United States broke out and Jo-
seph Mount volunteered and was sent to the frontier. He was killed
in the battle of Lundy's Lane, July 25, 1814 Evert Mount returned
with his wife to West Dryden and resumed work at his trade, which
he continued until the weight of years compelled him to relinquish it.
He died at West Dryden in July, 1841, aged 88 years, and was buried
in the " George " cemetery. His wife, Effie Dye Mount, survived
him several years, living with her grand-daughter, Mrs. Wilson Hunt.
They afterwards removed to Cattaraugus county, where Mrs. Mount
died in 1849.

Primrose, Jacob, came from Sussex county. New Jersey, in 1803,
and settled on Lot 23, where he purchased one hundred and thirty
acres of land. He was a weaver of coverlets and worked at that trade
after he came here. His wife was Martha Dayton. They had three
sons : Henry, who served in the War of 1812, and Lewis and Dayton.
Of the four daughters, Ruth and Sarah married Silas and Benjamin
Fulkerson, respectively. Sarah is still living at Clinton, Wisconsin,
at the age of 88 years.

The farm has always remained in the family and is now owned by
George Primrose, a son of Dayton.

SuTLiFF, David, was an early West Dryden pioneer, coming from
Hartford, Conn., to Genoa in 1804 and to Dryden in 1806, buying land
on Lot 23 now owned by Geo. Fulkerson, and which remained in pos-
session of the family nearly seventy-five years. He was the father of
fourteen children, most of whom were born in Connecticut. The best
known in Dryden were Uriah, Henry P., and Parintha, wife of Burnett
C. Fulkerson, who was the last surviving member of that branch of
the family. She died in 1892 in her 91st year.

Wire, Jared, also came from Hartford county, Connecticut, and pur-
chased a farm of fifty acres on Lot No. 12 ; but he removed to Penn-
sylvania, where he died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Watson
Sutliff, many years ago, leaving no descendants in this town.

130

HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

Key to the Map of Varna.

9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.

Geo. E. Underwood.
Ezra Ostrander,
Ezra Ostrander.
Mrs. Cooper.
Wm. J. Manning.
Wilson Baker.
Frank Powers.
Philip S. Snyder.
Mrs. Olive Crutts.
Grist Mill.
Wagon Shop.
Marenus Crutts.
Marenus Crutts.
Geo. Underwood.
Robert Smiley, Postoffice.
Ernest Snyder.
Milo Williams.
H. Brink, Store.
J. Whipple.
Blacksmith Shop.

21. Wagon Shop.

22. School House, No. 18.

23. Marenus Crutts.

24. W. C. Ellis.

25. J. Pierce.

26. Mrs. S. Grover.

27. O. T. Ellis.

28. Seaman & Snyder'

29. M. E. Church.

30. M. E. Parsonage.

31. Wm. J. Manning.

32. Geo. Brown.

33. Mrs. Isaac Creamer.

34. Mrs. Sherwood.

35. Frank Ellis.

36. J. T. Morris.

37. Will Ross.

38. Frank Hazen.

39. Depot.

VARNA AND FALL CREEK. 131

CHAPTER XXXIL

VARNA AND FALL CREEK.

The annals of the early settlement of Varna seem to be hopelessly
lost. We cannot even obtain a hint as to the origin of the applica-
tion of its name to this locality, the only other Varna of which we
have any knowledf^e being a Bulgarian city of that name on the shore
of the Black Sea. It, however, had an early history, and among its
first settlers were men by the name of Dyer, Jarvis and Blue, followed
by Ebenezer Brown, Erasmus T. Brown, Jonathan Knowles, James
Bird, Gen. John Munson, Peter Talmadge, John Ewers, Dr. Call^
James McElheny, Wm. H. Miller, Walter Dowe, Dr. Ide, Dr. Pome-
roy, William Cobb, William Schutt and Isaac Creamer.

Both the first saw-mill and the first grist-mill are said to have been
built by Gabriel Cain, in 1803, the former near the site of the Hart
mill, where Amos Ogden, in later years, first instituted the custom of
putting up flour in cotton sacks, for which paper has been substituted.
The first tavern seems to have been built by a man by the name of Ab-
ner Chapin, near the site of the present hotel, in 1806, but the present
hotel building was built by James McElheny in 1832, the first school
house having been erected two years before on the opposite side of
the street. On the site of the Crutts grist-mill there was constructed
a saw-mill in 1818 by Gen. John Munson, and a sash factory was built
in 1837 by Erasmus Brown, which was later occupied by Israel Brown
as a distillery. Gen. Munson had a store in 1831 on the site now oc-
cupied by the Whipple blacksmith shop, the first blacksmith shop of
which we have any record having been built by William Van Sickle in
1830. A tannery was built and operated by Z. Hartsough in 1840, fol-
lowed by the building of the M. E. church in 1842 and the Presbyte-
rian church in 1843.

The proximity of Varna to Ithaca has always interfered with its
prosperity as a business center, but there was a time, near the middle
of our Century Period, when it had quite a business of its own. In
those days it was a great horse market, and many a drove of horses
Avas started from there to New York in the old-fashioned way, some
twenty-five horses more or less being attached with yokes to a long
rope at the head of which was a leader on horseback, and a man with
a cart or wagon attached to the other end of the line brought up the
rear, while horses in pairs were attached to the rope all the way be-
tween. Such a troop of horses starting for the New York market in

:MS.

VARNA AND FALL CREEK. 133

this way would be a novel siglit in these days of rapid transportation.
Lart,'e droves of sheep and cattle driven along the highways of our
town enroute for New York were a frequent sight fifty years ago, on
all of our principal thoroughfares.

Not only was Varna in early times a great place for sending horses
off to the cities, but it was noted as a home horse market where horses
were sold and exchanged in great numbers, and where the running of
horses as a test of speed was a common practice before the present
custom of trotting horses came in vogue. At one time there were
some parties there by the name of Sloan Bros, who for years made
it their headquarters for peddling clocks of Eastern manufacture
throughout the surrounding country.

The first M. E. church of Varna was organized at the school-house
January 5, 1842, with the following as trustees : Hoffman Steenburg,
William Cobb, Robert C. Hunt, Benjamin Davenport, George Em-
mons, John Munson and Isaac Seaman. Their church edifice was
completed the next year at an original expense of fifteen hundred dol-
lars, extensive repairs having since been made. The pastors of this
church have been W. H. Miller, A. H. Hamilton, D. Lamkin, L. G.
Weaver, J. W. Steele, Elias Hoxsie, David Davis, G. W. Smith, A. En-
sign, Sylvester Minier, L. R. Grant, E. House, D. W. Sherman, L. T.
Hawkins, E. A. Peck, R. L. Stilwell, N. M. Wheeler, F. M. Wheeler,
W. M. Fisher, P. W. Mynard, E. D. Thurston, G. W. Reynolds, J. L.
King, C. J. Pendleton, M. J. Owen, P. H. Reigal, J. E. Showers, F. H.
Dickerson.

The Presbyterian church of Varna was discontinued over thirty
years ago and their building was taken down and removed to Brook-
ton.

It is not a little remarkable that a town which forms a part of the
great watershed separating the St. Lawrence from the Chesapeake sys-
tems of water courses — the streams of Dryden being represented in
each — should possess such valuable water power privileges as are af-
forded by Fall Creek and its tributaries. Rising in the town of Sum-
merhill and flowing south through the eastern part of the town of
Groton, Fall Creek enters Dryden near McLean and flows diagonally
through our town in such a way as to afford an abundance of mill sites
for water power. It is the central drainage artery of the township,
receiving as tributaries Beaver, Mud and Virgil creeks on the south,
and the West Dryden stream from the north, as well as other smaller
additions. Although Fall Creek suffers considerable diminution in
times of drouth, especially since the country through which it flows

134

HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

has been mostly deprived of the shade of the forests, it still has
good lasting qualities even in the dry seasons of summer and autumn.
The largest and most constant of these water powers are, of course,
situated on the lower part of the stream, the last one in the town of
Dryden running the present Crutts mill, which still does considerable
business in flour and feed grinding. Peter Talmadge also had a mill
near b}' but on the north side. Next above is the Hart mill, already
spoken of, and next above in the order being the Wm. Allen sitei
the Wm. Bishop or Sherwood Mills, the George Robertson site, later
sold to Jonathan Card and Ward Mallorv, who there manufactured

MAIN STUKET, YAIIXA.

chairs which are still in use, the Salmon Sharp site, the Rhodes site-
and the Wadsworth site, which brings us up to the Bartholomew mills
in the vicinit}' of Etna.

All of these water powers were first employed in sawing the pine
lumber, which was very abundant in and about Varna, the pine trees-
along the northerly side of Fall Creek being the largest to be found in
this region, often five feet in diameter and each cutting twenty-five
thousand clear shingles or five thousand feet of first class white pine
lumber. If anv one of our readers is inclined to doubt this statement

VARNA AND FALL CREEK. 135

or consider it exaggerated, we can call attention to the fact as corrobo-
rating our accuracy that an occasional pine stump in the fence of
this neighborhood is still shown which, split in two in the middle,
makes four rods in length of stump fence.

Of the pioneer families of Varna we can only speak of James Mc-
Elheny, whose father, Thomas McElheny, came fi'om New Jersey early
in the century, first locating near Malloryville, where James married
Betsey, a daughter of Judge Ellis. He was a justice of the peace of
the town in 1830 at Ellis Hollow, afterwards a hotel keeper at Varna,
and died in 1836 at the early age of thirty-five years. His father and
the rest of the family had already removed to Allegany county, the
children of James who remained here including John E. McElheny, of
Dryden, and Thomas J. McElheny, of Ithaca.

Isaac Creamer, although not strictly speaking a pioneer, came to
Varna with the clock peddlers whom he assisted, about 1835, and for a
long time he remained a prominent character in that section of the
town. Although a pronounced Democrat he served as justice of the
peace and justice of sessions in 1864, and was a leader among the
Democratic politicians of the county.

Esquire Wm. H. Miller, who was a justice of the peace of the town
in 1833, came to Varna from Rensselaer county about seventy-five
years ago, followed later by his father, Moses Miller ; his sister, Mrs.
Nancy Grant, now over ninety years of age and residing Avith her
daughter, Mrs. C. D. Bouton, of Ithaca ; and other sisters, Mrs. Sam-
uel Rowland, afterwards residing at Willow Glen, where she died ;
Mrs. Angeline Brown, widow of Capt. Brown, now of Cortland ; and
Mrs. Charles LaBarr, now of Dryden village.

Peter Talmadge seems to have been a prominent figure in the early
times of Varna, his stentorian voice being emplo^^ed to advantage in
driving his oxen and being heard throughout the whole settlement.
Although illiterate and unpolished in his speech and manners, Father
Talmadge, as he was called, possessed rugged virtues, and when others
of his less independent Varna neighbors bashfully admitted to the out-
of-town merchants with whom they traded, that they lived "just in the
edge of Dryden, " it is said that he patriotically affirmed in unmistak-
able terms that he was not ashamed to own that he resided " in the
very bowels of Dryden. "

136

HISTOKY OF DEYDEN.

Etisa

j-«

Key to the 3Ia/t of Etno.

1. Mrs. C. Turner.
± J. T. Primrose.

3. E. F. Weaver.

4. James Rawley.

5. Geo. Cowdrey.

6. L. Dusenberry.

7. Arthur Burr.

8. Mrs. H. Ralph.

9. Mrs. D. Weaver.

10. L. Freeman.

11. Wm. Smith.

12. School House, No. 11.

13. Shoe Shop.

14. David Broth^rton.

15. Dr. G. L. Rood.

16. Baptist Church.

17. M. E. Church.

18. Wm. W. Sherwood.

19. Mrs. J. S. Weidman.

20. Dr. J. Beach.

21. Edward Gaston.

22. E. Snvder.

ETNA.

137

23.

C. Bartholomew.

49.

Arthur Coggswell.

24.

Mrs. Davenport.

30.

Meat Market.

25.

E. Freeman.

51.

H. A. Root, Hotel.

26.

L. Hemmingway, shop.

52.

Geo. H. Houtz.

27.

L. Hemmingway.

53.

Mrs. C. Houtz.

28.

D. B. Conklin. ^

54.

Geo. H. Houtz.

29.

Mrs. John Reed.

55.

W. Marsh.

30.

Barbara Rulison.

56.

Etna Hotel, C. Westervelt.

31.

Arthur Burr.

57.

Depot, L. V. R. R.

32.

P. Brady.

58.

Mrs. Mary H. Bartholomew.

33.

Smith Stevens.

59.

T. Rhodes.

34.

D. Brotherton.

60.

Freeman Bros.

35.

Cabinet Shop.

61.

J. Bartholomew.

36.

Wagon Shop.

62.

S. Ralph Estate.

37.

Blacksmith Shop.

63.

Milo Snyder.

38.

Blacksmith Shop.

64.

Emma Snyder.

39.

Houtz's Etna Roller Mills.

65.

Mrs. Hurley.

40.

Store.

Etna Creamery.

41.

Ai Van Horn.

67.

Blacksmith Shop.

42.

Ann Merchant.

68.

Machine Shop.

43.

Geo. L. Snyder.

69.

Hannah Lee Estate.

44.

Mrs. William Haskins.

70.

Wm. H. Sherwood.

45.

Ladrew Sherwood.

71.

Geo. H. Houtz, Store.

46.

Eli Conklin.

72.

Mary H. Bartholomew.

47.

Wm. Tichenor.

73.

Mrs! G. B. Davis.

48.

Store.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

We are not able to give the year when Rev. Wm. Miller and his
brother Arthur, who was a blacksmith, commenced building in the
wilderness of what is now known as the village of Etna, but was first
called, after them. Miller's Settlement.

The first grist-mill there was on the same spot and in the same
building . lately occupied by Jesse Bartholomew as a planing mill.
The date of the erection of this mill cannot now be accurately given,
and it has been claimed that it ante-dated White's mill at Freeville,
but so far as we can learn, without authority, and, as it seems to us,
without reason, for Capt. Robertson would not have gone to mill at
Ludlowville with his crops of 1799 and 1800 if there had been a mill
so near to him as Etna.

The first date of Etna which we can give with any accuracy or cer-
tainty is that of the organization of the first religious society in the
township, the first and we believe to this day, the only regular Bap-

138 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

tist church of Dry den, which was organized February 29, 1804, at the
home of William Miller. The meeting was opened with singing and
prayer by Mr. Miller, Samuel Hemmingway being elected deacon, and
John Wickham, clerk of the society. Among the original members
are said to have been Francis Miller, Elijah Dimmick, Silas Brown,
Ebenezer Brown, Nathaniel Luther, Job Carr, Ziba Eandall, Timothy
Owens, Jonathan Dunham, Joshua Jay, Abraham Woodcock, Nathan
Dunham, Joel Whipple, Samuel Skillinger, Morris Baile}^ Orpha Lu-
ther, Asher Wickham, Mehitable Carr, Betsey Brown, Abigail Dim-
mick, Mary Owens, Lucy Dunham and Katie Woodcock.

A saw-mill was built at about the same time as the grist-mill, upon
the site lately occupied by the Houtz saw-mill, and afterwards a full-
ing mill owned by Joseph Newell and Stephen Bradley, on the ground
now occupied by the blacksmith shop of Bert Conklin. Daniel Carr
and John McArthur carried on the first store in the house formerly
occupied by Wm. Miller and now owned by the Houtz family. The
first blacksmith shop stood where is now the center of the road be-
tween Houtz's store and grist-mill. The first church building was of
logs on the lands of Nathaniel Luther, but was replaced by a frame
building on the same ground, which is where the Etna Creamery Co.'s
building now stands, and the building is the same one which Caleb
Bartholomew used as a pattern shop. At that time there was a bridge
across Fall Creek at that point. The first school house stood on the
site now occupied b}' the Houtz store and was the building afterwards
used as the old cooper shop, which was finally taken away b}' high
water a number of years ago.

About the year 1815 the place took quite a change. Wm. Miller
sold out his property to the Houtz family and the new settlement from
that time bore the name of Columbia until about the year 1820, when
the postofiice was established under the name of Etna. In the mean-
time Bradley & Newell sold their fulling-mill to Rice Weed. Stephen
Bradley owned and occupied the place now owned by Hiram Root,
which afterwards became the property of Joseph Hemmingwa3^ Here
he built the hotel, and the original " Bradley House " of former years
is a part of the present hotel.

The first shoemaker was Jacob Lumbard, whose descendants are
well known in the town of Dryden. About the year 1818 a store was
built on the ground where Ed Carbury now lives, just east of Root's
Hotel. At the same time there was another store kept by H. B.
Weaver in the building now known as Houtz's white shop. Henry
Beach built a saw-mill which was burned on the island about where

140 HISTORY OF DRY DEN.

is now the center of the Houtz dam. Beach sold his interest in this
property to J. H. Houtz, who rebuilt the mill, but later took it down
to make room for a distillery. On that particular spot one saw-mill
and two distilleries were burned and the last distillery was taken off
by high water a few years ago, being remembered by the present gen-
eration as the old sash ia.ctoYy.

Another distillery stood on the island just back of Conklin's shop
and was owned by John Dodge, who came from Maine.

Columbia had two bridges at that time, one of which has been men-
tioned, and the other extended across the creek nearly in front of
■where Dr. Rood now lives.

"When Henry L. Beach sold his property to J. H. Houtz he moved
to what was known as Lower Etna, where Truman Rhodes now lives
in a house which was then built by Mr. Beach as a hotel, from which
there was a road running south to the corner of the pine woods. At
that time Lower Etna possessed a hotel, paper mill, blacksmith shop,
store, wagon shop and several other buildings. The first tailor was
John Weaver, who had a little family of children from which only
nine attended shool at one time.

The First M. E. church of Etna was organized April 13, 1835, and
their meetings were held in the village school house until 1837, when
the present church edifice was erected at a cost of about two thousand
dollars, seating two hundred persons. The first trustees were James
Freeman, Alvah Carr, Michael Vanderhoef, Richard Bryant, Thomas
J. Watkins, Oliver Baker and John H, Porter.

Fifty years ago Etna had a hard name, being then noted [for its
horse running and liquor distilling proclivities, there being no less
than ten or twelve stills within two miles square of this section of the
town. While the general business of the place has not increased in
recent years the character of its inhabitants and industries has very
much improved, and a stranger who now visits Etna finds it very
pleasantl}^ located upon the opposite banks of Fall Creek, which are
here connected by a very substantial iron bridge, one of the largest
and best in the township, and the dwellings and public buildings, in-
cluding churches and schools, show abundant evidence of the thrift,
good taste and enterprise of its inhabitants. The butter factory, re-
cently incorporated, is one of the recent manufacturing enterprises
which flourish, and for the past twenty-five years Etna has not been
behind her neighboring villages in mercantile enterprise or in the
•educational advantages furnished by her excellent school.

The following pioneers of Etna have been brought to our notice :

ETNA PIONEEKS. 141

Bartholomew, Jesse, Sr., was born in Branford, Conn., in 1763, and
about 1783, in Lee, Mass., married Mamra Bradley, who died in Dry-
den in July, 1823, after which he married Betsey Locke LTpdike in
Dryden in 1831. He came in 1798 to Herkimer county, from which
place, after living in Locke, Cayuga count}^ he moved to the town of
Dryden in 1812 or 1813, and purchased and settled on the land now
known as the Hauford farm, one-half mile east of Etna, from which he
was subsequently driven o& by a man who claimed a better title.
While he yet lived on the corner where the Etna road joins the Bridle
Road, and in the traditional cold season of 1816, he raised a field of
corn, said to have been the only crop of that kind matured in the
town of Dryden that year. He died in 1846 aged 83 years. He was-
a devoted Baptist and is said by his children to have been so even-
tempered as never to have been seen in a passion. He was the father
of fifteen children and the grandfather of over seventy. Among the
former were Jesse Bradley, who carried on a distillery in Dryden vil-
lage in the Pioneer Period and moved to Michigan, where he died
leaving a large family ; Lemi, who served in the War of 1812, having
enlisted as the record says at Dryden, Cayuga county, N. Y., in Au-
gust, 1814, in CoL Fleming's regiment, which rendezvoused at Cayuga
Bridge, and was one of the volunteers who took part in the celebrated
" sortie of Fort Erie. " He died in Westfield, N. Y., in 1872. Daniel,
Sr., was born in Locke in 1798, and in 1819 married Jerusha Griswold,
whose children, Mary (Wheeler) and Daniel, Jr., are still well-known
residents of Dryden. Caleb and Jesse, Jr., have for many years been
prominent business men of Etna, where they both still reside, Caleb
having been largely engaged in the manufacture and sale of scales and
iron bridges, while Jesse has manufactured specialties, one of which
was the first machine used in Etna which would do planing and
matching of lumber at the same time.

Carr, John, is said to have come to Etna from Pennsylvania as early
as 1800, settling in the western part with his three sons. Job, Peleg
and Caleb. His wife it is said used to call her sons in the morning,
saying : " Come, boys, the birds are saying Job, Peleg and Caleb. "

Dunham, Jonathan, with his three sons, Henry, Louis and Nathan,,
coming from Pennsylvania, settled near Etna about the year 1800.

McArthur, Rev. Daniel, from Scotland, arrived in New York Ma}'
29, 1811. He was originally a Presbyterian, but changed his religious
views and went to Edinburgh, where he was baptised and united with
the Baptist creed. Soon after he took passage for America in the
hope that the change of climate would prove beneficial to his wife,.

142 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

who was in poor health but died upon the voyage and was buried
on Staten Island. After spending some time with friends in America
from his native land he met Mr. Quigg, of Ithaca, on the Hudson riv-
er and was influenced by him to come to Dryden, as he did, and died
here in 1847, leaving many descendants.

HouTZ, Rev. Anthony, with his father, Philip Peter, migrated from
Germany in 1768, when the former was only ten years of age, locating
at Lancaster, Pa., where the son learned the trade of a tailor, and
using this occupation as a means of support he studied theology and
was licensed to preach by the German Reformed Church. The origin-
al family name was " Hauz " ; but as they soon began to speak
English they changed the spelling and pronunciation to Hautz and
later to Houtz, which with the English spelling is the exact German
pronunciation of " Hauz. " During his pastorate in Pennsylvania, his
first wife died and in 1803 he married Katrina Keller, who became the
step-mother of his four children and in the year following the mother
of his fifth child, John Heinrich Hauz, who was the old merchant and
miller, John H. Houtz, so well known to the older residents of Etna,
where now lives and toils at his roller mills his son. Col. George H.
Houtz, the great-grandson of Philip Peter Hauz. In the years 1804
and 1805 Rev. Anthony Houtz preached at Canoga and Lansingville
and as early as 1806 located at Etna, where he served the people not
only as their preacher but also as a tailor, jeweler, or " time keeper, "
as they were called in those days, and as druggist and physician. His
books, still preserved, show that the most universal diseases of the
section at that time were the usual new country plagues, the ague and
the itch. He was a very useful and much respected man in the new
settlement, where he died in 1813 and was buried in the Etna cemetery.

The Rhodes Family of the town of Dryden are of English descent,
their ancestors having originally settled in Pennsylvania before the
Revolutionary War and their great-great-grandfather was a cooper by
trade who worked for Washington's Army and was killed by Indians
in the massacre of Wyoming.

One of his sons, George Rhodes, came to Lansing from Northumber-
land county, Pa., in 1792, coming by the way of the Susquehanna river
to Owego, from there to Ithaca through a forest road, and from there to
Lansing, where they settled. They cut their way through the original
forest, going east from Ithaca to a spot just east of Forest Home,
where they crossed the creek and from there went north to the farm
now occupied by John Conklin.

Of a numerous family, one son, Jacob Rhodes, left home in 1804,

144 HISTORY OF DRYDEN. '

when he was twenty-one years old, to go for himself. Taking his rille,.
ammunition and hatchet, he came to the present town of Dryden,
sleeping the first night on the banks of a small stream a short dis-
tance southwest of the present site of the village of Etna. From there
he went east to where Freeville, McLean and Dryden now are, camp-
ing the second night near the forks of the creek near Freeville. After
prospecting for a number of days he came back to where he camped
the first night and located, buying a claim owned by a Revolutionary
soldier named Savage, from Rutland, Vt. His early life was the usual
one of the early settlers. For years he kept house by himself and de-
pended upon the forest and streams for provision. He was noted for
his woodcraft and marksmanship. In fact, he was barred from taking
part in shooting matches, for, with him, to shoot was to win, and at the
present time spots can be pointed out where he killed deer, bear, etc.

He married Margaret, daughter of Christopher Snyder, and of a
family of eight, four sons grew to an old age, the four daughters having
died in childhood or youth. The sons were Wm. S., Geo. W., and
Miles and Truman Rhodes. The old home of Jacob Rhodes was
until recently owned by Miles Rhodes, and is now occupied by W. J.
Davis.

Jacob Rhodes, by combining farming with a distillery, accumulated
a large property, which is now owned by his grand-children, consist-
ing of about one thousand acres of land, lying in nearly a solid body
south and west of Etna.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

ISAIAH GILES AND GILESVILLE.

Early in the history of the country there came to New England from
the mountains of Wales three sturdy brothers with their families,
bearing the name of Giles or Gyles. They bore the characteristics
that marked the sturdy and determined followers of Owen Glendower.
Courageous, thrifty and resourceful, they regarded nothing better in
man than honor and self-reliance. One of these families or their de-
scendants came early into Eastern New York, and it is from this
branch that sprang the family that forms the subject of the following
sketch. Owing to a serious misfortune that befell the family early in
the present century, mention of which will hereafter be made, many
records of the history of the family were totally lost, so that much
pertaining to such history, prior to that event, has been perpetuated

ISAIAH GILES. 145

more by tradition than otherwise. But in tlie preparation of this pa-
per all the care that the time would permit has been taken to re-
ject ever3^thing that did not seem to be well authenticated.

In the summer of 1801 Isaiah Giles came from Orani^e county to
begin a home for himself and family in the town of Dryden upon lands
that he had recently purchased on Lot 15. He began his little clear-
ing about, and built his log cabin near, the spring that in later years
lias been known as the Cheese Factory spring, just northwest of Free-
ville. After building his cabin he extended his clearing sufficiently to
put in a piece of corn the next spring. He then returned east and
early the next year, in the month of March, he came back, bringing
his wife and children. He did not have time when jnitting up his
house to put on the roof, so that one of the first things to be done,
when moving in, was to shovel out the snow, and then cut and put on
basswood bark for a roof. Then with a blanket hung up at the door-
way the home and castle of the Giles family in Dryden was complete,
for the time. From that time until the opening of spring, he was en-
gaged in splitting and smoothing up puncheons for a door and fioor-
ing, and in building bunks for sleeping. In all the toil and care inci-
dent to such a beginning he had an earnest and efficient helper in the
person of his good wife, Sarah Lanterman, whom he had married some
nine years before. Their family then consisted of seven children, in-
cluding two pairs of twins. There were subsequently born to them
two sous and a daughter. To these children we shall have occasion to
refer farther on.

Isaiah Giles and his wife were earnest, thrifty, pushing people, and
about them soon began to cluster the evidences of their industry and
economy. In the fall of 1802 they harvested their first corn and pota-
toes. The winter brought many privations and discomforts, but they
passed through it without serious sickness or mishap. In the summer
of 1803 they harvested their first crop of wheat, and threshed it in the
little log barn that they had built the 3'ear before. They winnoAved
away the chaff, and carried the first grist to the mill of Elder Daniel
White, at Freeville, to be ground, and then had their first wheat bread
in the town of Dryden. The clearings and improvements were ex-
tended each year by dint of hard labor and good management. But
in spite of the energy and thrift of Mr. and Mrs. Giles a great mis-
fortune was in store for them.

About 1806 there came a man by the name of Thompson who laid
claim to the land which Isaiah had bought. Investigation shoAved
that Thompson's title was good and that Giles had been defrauded in

146 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

his purchase. Instances of this kind were not uncommon in the early
history of Drydeu. But the same spirit that had begun the first home
in Dryden was ready to begin again. Gathering together his efiects
he went down upon Fall Creek at the point afterwards for years known
as " Gilesville, " and bought another tract of land and began anew. It
was here that he, with his sons, built a saw-mill and a carding and
fulling mill, and subsequently his sons built an extensive tannery.

Isaiah Giles was a man of considerable prominence in the affairs
of the town, at one time serving as magistrate. In this connection a
funny circumstance occurred. The writer repeats it as it was told
him by Samuel Giles in 1870. Squire Giles, as he was then known,
was an ardent Methodist withal, and one dark night a man by the
name of Pipher, from the town of Grotou, came with his wife to the
Giles house and aroused the family, saying that they wanted to be
baptised, and that the Lord's business was ver}^ urgent. They seemed
to have the impression that the civil magistrate was the proper one to
administer baptism. Esquire Giles explained the matter to them and
directed them to Elder Daniel White, at Freeville, whom they aroused,
and who administered the ordinance of baptism' and sent them on
their way rejoicing.

Although a strong Methodist and feeling the interests of the church
of paramount importance, it is said Mr. Giles presented a resolution or
motion at town meeting, " that the income from the gospel and school
fund should thereafter be used wholly for school purposes. " The
resolution was carried through his influence, and that of some others.

Mr. Giles died when comparatively a young man, in 1822. His
sickness was short and his death unexpected, but he died as he had
lived, " diligent in business, fervent in s])irit," and a firm believer in
the tenets of the church of his choice. His wife survived him forty
years, dying in 1862, a woman of great force of character, combined
with very good judgment. These qualities were manifested in the
manner in which she managed her household after the death of her
husband.

Of the ten children of the family six lived to manhood and woman-
hood. Polly, the oldest of these, married John Van Nortwick, and
died in 1823 at the age of twenty-six years. The other surviving
daughter married Samuel Mead, and afterwards in 1857 moved to
Iowa, where she died at the age of eighty years. It is of the sons that
what follows will pertain more particularly.

Samuel and John Giles were twins born in Orange county in 1798.
James Giles was born in the same county in 1800. These came with

ISAIAH GILES. 147

their parents to Drydeii in 1802, and may be justly classed arnon» the
pioneers of the town. Samuel Giles learned the trade of cabinet
making, and John served his time as a tanner and currier with Bur-
nett Cook, late of Ulysses. It was here that he first saw her who was
destined in after 3^ears to become his wife. She was then but a child
in the cradle, and he a lad in his teens. Samuel and John, having'
finished their apprenticeships, worked as journeymen for some years.
James in the meantime had staid at home with his mother and car-
ried on the saw-mill and fulling mill, assisted by an adopted brother,
George Van Horn, whose family was in after years well known in the
town of Dryden.

About 1823 Samuel and James went west to seek their fortunes, go-
ing as far as Indianapolis, Ind. After prospecting for a time and
working at intervals, they concluded that while the soil was wonder-
fully fertile and the countr}^ presented many inducements to young-
men, the " shakes, " as they termed it, more than oifset the advant-
ages. So at the beginning of winter they started for Dryden on foot.
It was on this journey that their knowledge of mechanics stood them
in good stead. They had the opportunity of putting into operation
for different parties several carding machines, and when they reached
home each had more money than when they started.

It was just after this that Samuel and John decided to build the
tannery at Gilesville. This business ihey carried on with considerable
success until 1832, when they built the Tompkins House, a historic
hotel in the city of Ithaca. John in the meantime had waited until
the child whose cradle he had rocked when an apprentice boy had
grown to young womanhood, and in 1828 he was married to her (then
Miss Mary A. Cook.) The union was a happy one. Samuel was mar-
ried in 1832 to Miss Susan Depew.

In 1843, tired of hotel-keeking, they bought the Eddy property on
East Hill, at Ithaca, on which they afterward built them a home,
which they occupied until their deaths. These twin brothers during
all their lives after beginning the tannery business at Gilesville occu-
pied the same house and did business in partnership. John died in
August, 1862, and Samuel in July, 1871, and his wife in February,
1872. The widow of John is still living at Trumansburg, N. Y.

James Giles was married to Barbara Raymer and shortly after
bought one hundred acres of land on Lot 34, of Dryden. By subse-
quent additions thereto he owned three hundred and twenty acres.
He was a man of unusual force of character, and possessed rare me-
chanical ability. He was a thorough farmer and early turned his at-

148 HISTOEY OF DRYDEN.

tention to dairyinp;, and was among the first in the town to realize-
what was then known as fancy prices for butter. He early saw that
machinery must play a prominent part in farming, and he began fit-
ting his meadows for the mower, and it was upon his farm one of the
first, if not the first, mowers was used in town. For many years he-
w^as actively engaged in selling mowers and reapers, and in buying and
selling butter, of which article he was long known as being a compe-
tent judge. In his good wife he ever found an efficient helpmate and a
wise counselor. They were the parents of eight children, one son and
seven daughters. In 1867, feeling the weight of years bearing upon
them, they arranged to give up the hard work of life, and passed the
management of affairs to the son, Capt. J. J. Giles, of Freeville. Mrs..
Giles died in November, 1887, and Mr. Giles in October, 1890, at the
age of 90 years and 28 days. He had lived as long if not longer in
the town of Dryden than any other person. Of the family of James
Giles there are still living one son and four daughters.

Sarah Lanterman Giles, the wife of Isaiah Giles died in 1862 at the-
age of 91 years and 13 days.

In speaking of the misfortunes that befell the family of Isaiah Giles
it may be mentioned that soon after moving to Fall Creek an event
occurred that ever afterward cast a shadow over the life of James. It
occurred during the time in the year when the latter was engaged in
running the saw-mill. The little brother We3'burn, some four or five
years old, had been down to the mill, and, as his brother supposed,
had gone to the house, as he saw him go doAvn the 23ath and across
the foot bridge spanning the race leading from the mill. But it seems
that something in the race had attracted the child and he had either
climbed down or fallen into the race, just as James hoisted the
gate. The rush of the waters and the noise of the mill drowned his
cries, but the brother caught a glimpse of his clothing as he was
straggling in the Avater. To shut the gate was but the work of a mo-
ment and he rushed to his rescue, but it was too late ; as he carried
the dripping form to the house he found that life was extinct.

It was when the creek farm -was nearly paid for, and at a time when
Isaiah Giles had gone to Dryden to make the last payment, the fam-
ily home was burned. Little or nothing was saved from the house.
Then it was that the family records afore-mentioned were lost.

Ai W. Giles, born in 1810, was the youngest child. When he came
to man's estate he worked for and with Samuel and John Giles until
they left the Tompkins House. He then took charge of it and for
some time conducted the business alone. He at one time had charue

MALLORYYILLE AND McLEAN. • 149

'of the tannery at Giles ville for a short period. He was engaged in
the shoe business for a short time at Ithaca, and at one time owned
and occupied tlie property known as the Half Wa}' House, on the Bri-
dle Road. He was afterward connected with the milliug business at
Free Hollow, as it was then known, and kept a flour and feed store in
Ithaca. He was married in 181:6 to Miss Nanc}^ Leach, of Chenango
county, N. Y. He died childless in Ithaca in November, 1889. His
w ife survived him some three or four years.

In matters of politics the Giles brothers were Democrats until 1856,
when they became Republicans and remained such until the end.
They never took any active part in political matters and none of them
ever held any public office save Samiiel, who in 1835 was trustee of
the village of Ithaca, and in 1845 was supervisor of the town of Ithaca.
In 1854 Samuel Giles was named by the Legislature, with iStephen B.
Ousiiiug and Horace Mack, as a building committee in the act author-
izing the building of the Court House at Ithaca. S. & J. Giles Avas a
firm name known and honored among business men of Central New
Y'ork. Unlike in temperament, yet they lived and worked together
"without friction. John died childless and Samuel lived to bury his
last child, Miss Sarah Giles, in 1866.

The records of Tompkins county show that the first will proven in
the county, September 6, 1817, was witnessed by Isaiah and Sarah
Giles, being the will of John Morris, of Lansing, and presumably
drawn by Isaiah Giles. The family name has now but one representa-
tive, and when Capt. J. J. Giles shall have been gathered to his
fathers, a name for nearly one hundred years so well and favorabl}"
known in the town will be known only as a matter of history.

CHAPTER XXXY.

MALLORYVILLE AND MC'LEAN.

The larger part of McLean being outside of our territory in the ad-
joining town of Groton, we include in this chapter what we can claim
of it as a part of Dryden. In the year 1820 Samuel Mallory, then 22
3'ears of age, walked from his native place in Sharon, Conn., to Ho-
mer, N. Y., and five or six years later he purchased the mill site and
water power at the point on Fall Creek, about one mile from McLean,
which, from him, Avas named Malloryville. Here he built a saw-mill
anil added carding and cloth dressing machinery as well as a dye-
house, and finally established a chair fact(n-v, so that in these, their

150

HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

*»^

best days, the mills of Mr. MalloiT gave employment to twenty-five or
thirty men and one-third as many women in the different kinds of
work. Some of the prodncts of the chair factory are still in use to-
day, indicating
that the furniture
of that time was
m u c h more sub-
stantial than most
of that which we
buy in these days.
But in 1830 a great
fire wiped out the
flourishing indus-
tries of Mr. Mal-
lory and he was
so discouraged
that he sold out
and removed to
a location in Wis-
consin. Some
years later, about
1845, barrels were
manufactured at
Malloryville by
Wm. Trapp, who
invented the first
successful ma-
chinery for that
kind of work.
Still later the man-
ufacture of tubs,
and firkins began to develop here under the firm of Howe & Watson,
who later, in 1867, sold out to Rev. E. R. Wade, who conducted the
business down to within a short time. Another fire in 1855 and still
another in 1875 destroyed the manufacturing plant at Malloryville,
but as often as it has been burned down it has been rebuilt, and in
spite of the changes in the times the manufacturing industries at Mal-
loryville still survive and have a promising future. The mercantile
interests of Malloryville center at McLean, beyond our jurisdiction ;.
but one hotel, the " Dryden House, " of the management of which our
town has not always had reason to be proud, the railroad depot,.

SAMUEL MALLORY.

MALLORYVILLE AND McLEAN. 151

as well as the creamery of McLean, and one church, of the Roman
Catholic denomination, come within our territory. The latter was
erected in 1851 at a cost of one thousand dollars, the site and that of
the Catholic cemetery near by having been donated by Michael
O'Byrne. The society was formed in 1811 and among the first mem-
bers were John Keenan, Patrick Corcoran, Matthew O'Byrne, James
Walpole, Patrick Donnelly, Thomas and Patrick Kane.

Of the pioneers and leading men of Malloryville we will mention :

Howe, Solomon L., who was born in Groton in the year 1824 and
was educated at the old Groton Academy. Having relatives in Cattar-
augus county he went there as a school teacher when he became of
age and there married Miss Rispa Smith, of Yorkshire, in 1848. I-'e-
turning to Tompkins count}' he settled at Malloryville in 1853, where
he was employed by Howe & Watson, the senior member of the firm,
Lemi Howe, being his cousin, in the manufacture of their wares on
the contract system, making some practical improvements in the pro-
cess of their manufacture. He was of a mechanical turn of mind and
for many years, in addition to other duties, was the principal survey-
or and civil engineer of the township. Among his other work in this
line was the survey for the Drj'den village water works and the lay-
ing out of the E., C. & N. R. R. through the town. He was at least
twice elected commissioner of highways of the town and served two
terms as school commissioner of the second district of Tompkins coun-
ty. His death occurred July 25, 1895. His three sons are civil engi-
neers in the West, his only daughter being the wife of F. J. Per Lee,
of Groton. Wherever his duties called him Mr. Howe was always a
faithful, upright man and an efiicient officer.

Mallory, Samuel, whose portrait is given at the beginning of this
chapter and after whom Malloryville was named, was born in Sharon,
Conn., April 18, 1798. He first married Nancy Hooper, of Homer, N.
Y., who died in 1827. His second wife was Jane, daughter of Deacon
Amos Hart, who, with four daughters, survives him. After leaving
Malloryville he lived in McLean for a feAv years, but in 1844 moved
to Elkhorn, Wis., where he engaged in hotel keeping in the early days
of that country, serving two terms as treasurer of his county. He
died in April, 1897, lacking only a few days of being 99 years of age.
He was an exemplary man who in his long life made man}- friends,
only a few of whom survive him.

Wade, Rev. Edwin R., was one of the Century Committee of Dryden's
Centennial, and died since the writing of this History was commenced.
He was a clergyman of the Christian denomination and, in addition

152 HISTORY OF DRY DEN.

to his clerical duties, in the year 1867 he eu^iiget^ i" the manufactur-
ing l)usiness at Malloryville, which he continued there until near his
death. His shop had at one time a capacit3' of turning out sixty thou-
sand tubs and firkins annually, a large amount of the raw material re-
quired being, in later years, imported from other states. The changes
in the demand for l>uttei packages within the past few years have
almost wiped out this industry, which Avas so flourishing at one time
at Malloryville.

Elder Wade, as he was commonly called, came to Dryden from Cay-
uga county, where he had served as supervisor of the town of Niles,
and in 1874 he was elected to the same office in our town. He was a
man who united civil and religious virtues with a practical, honest,
useful life. The writer has known him, at a funeral, to conduct the
whole service alone, preaching, reading, praying, and finally singing
the hymn without assistance or notes. He was everywhere recognized
as a sincere Christian and an excellent citizen.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

THE VILLAGE OF FREEVILLE.

Although it is the
youngest, and hence
the last to be consid-
ered among the vil-
lages and hamlets of
the township, Free-
ville now stands fore-
most among them in
jr ^\. ^ the matter of railroad

^ -™ I ,'J facilities, and only

ond in the number
its present inbab-
tants. As we have
already seen, the grist-
mill of Elder Daniel
'^^ White on Fall Creek,
the site of which was
FREEVILLE GiiisT-MiLL. ^^^-^j^^^^^ ^j^^ present

village limits, was the first mill for grinding in the township, and we
may now add that the present Freeville grist-mill, which replaced it
on a site a short distance up-stream, was originall}' erected by John

FEEEVILLE.

153

White, a sou of Daniel, in 1833, and is an old landmark of which
we are able to give the accompanyinj^ view from a photocrraph taken
some time ago.

Aside from these early grist-mills and some cloth dressing works
which included a carding machine, and one or two accompanying saw-
mills in the same locality, Freeville had no existence as a village or
business center, not even containing a postoffice or church during the
first half of our Century Period. The old Shaver Hotel, although im-
proved to keep up with the times, is another old landmark, the oldest
section of which was built about the year 1840 and was early kept by
Erasmus Ballard. When the tannery building was removed from
Gilesville a few years later the frame was brought here and used for
an addition to the hotel, which is now kept by George I. Shaver, and
appears as shown in the following view.

* ' ^ ^%f>€

S:®

ii^ln n

SHAVEi; S HOTEL

There was early built a nice log school house wholly of pine logs on
the Shaver homestead, where Wm. J. Shaver now resides, then known
as the Lafayette District, in which Henry H. Houpt, Esq., still living
m Dryden, was the teacher in the winter of 1835-6. He taught four
months of twenty-four school days in a month, for which he received
forty dollars, Avliich enabled him to still further continue his educa-
tion. In speaking of his experience as a teacher there when he was
twenty-one years of age, Mr. Houpt recalls the fact that one of the
principal duties of the teacher in those days was to keep the pupils'

154 HISTORY OF DEYDEN.

pens in order, by preparing and sharpening them from goose quills^
which were the only pens in use in those times.

The country in and about Freeville is remarkably level for this lo-
cality, Fall Creek, above the grist-mill, being now navigable for a mile
and a half, as the stream crooks and winds, by a small pleasure steam-
boat kept for the use of pleasure parties in connection with Riverside
Park. No such level stretch of water is found elsewhere on Fall
Creek, which is noted for its frequent water-mill sites, which cannot
exist upon level water.

Tlie M. E. church of Freeville was erected in 1848, and it, together
with the mills and hotel already referred to, formed what is now
known as " Old Freeville, " constituting the only signs of a village
which existed here prior to the establishment of a railroad junction at
a point about half a mile east, in the year 1872. Since that time the
space between " Old Freeville " and the junction has been built up so
as to form the main avenue of the present village; the church has been
moved up nearer the center ; L3^ceum Hall, capable of comfortably
seating five hundred people, has been constructed upon Liberal street ;
a new hotel known as the Junction House has been built near the
railroad depot and several times enlarged into a structure of imposing
proportions, as shown in the accompanying view of the railroad sta-
tion ; and Freeville has altogether taken upon herself the appearance
and all of the essentials of an enterprising, modern village, somewhat
resembling Western towns in her rapid development.

The following is a list of the ministers of the M. E. church who have
served the Freeville charge since 1877, the pulpit having been supplied
previous to that time by the ministers located at Dryden or Etna :
Wm. M. Benger, A. F. Wheeler, AVm. F. Batman, R. L. Stilwell, S. W.
Andrews, N. M. Wheeler, C. A. Wilson, James A. Roberts, T. C. Ros-
kelly, Frederick E. Spence, J. Brownell Rogers.

About thirty years ago " Old Freeville " possessed a little old red-
colored building called a school-house, the subject of repairing or re-
building which then became the occasion of a school district quarrel
and litigation, which continued for a number of years and involved
the district and some of its inhabitants in expenses and judgments
amounting in all to several thousand dollars. Since then a new and
very respectable school-house has been built and an excellent school
maintained.

Like many Western towns Freeville had a " boom, " which arrived
about the year 1880, Avlien a great number of city lots were laid out
and many of them sold and a manufacturing enterprise of great prom-

156

HI8T0KY OF DRYDEN.

ise was launched forth, first as a stove factory, and hxter as g-hiss
works Since that time the community has been recovering from the
stimuhxting effects of the unnatural excitement and the subsequent re-
action, until it has now settled down upon a substantial basis of grad-
ual growth and merited prosperity.

The village was incorporated July 2, 1887, to include in its limits a
square mile of territory, being Lot No. 2(5 of the town, antl now con-
tains, according to the recent enumeration, three hundred and seven-
ty-four inhabitants.

The following have been the principal olfieei's : . ' -

W. H. Richardson,
Fred E. Darling,
•George DePuy,
AY. J. Shaver,
N. H. Thompson,

G. M. Watson,
E. F. George,
J. M. Carr,
Chas. W. Parker,

PRESIDENTS.

87-8

Orson Luther,

1889

W. J. Shaver, -

1890

E. Blaekman,

1891

^ . H. Richardson,

1892

Dr. Homer Genuug,

CLERKS.

1887

J. M. Carr, -

1888

Chas. W. Parker, -

1889

W. J. Shaver, -

1890

A. C. Stone,

1893

1894

1895-6

1897
1898

1891-2

- 1893
1894-5-6

- 1897

No map of Freeville has heretofore been published, but it is be-
lieved that the one which accompanies this Avork will be found to be
an accurate and complete topographical representation of the village
as it now exists.

For so level a location Freeville is very fortunate in its water sup-
ply, many flowing wells having been developed in the village which
furnish the purest of water in abundant quantities from a depth which
prevents danger of contamination from surface drainage.

Riverside Park, on the bank of Fall Creek, although still a private
enterprise belonging to Harris Roe, affords a commodious and attract-
ive picnic and audience ground which is generously patronized in the
summer and autumn months. During the past summer the Central
New York Spiritual Association purchased ten acres of land in Free-
ville for a permanent camp ground, the location of which is also shown
•on the map.

KEY TO THE M

mil street.

2 Brewer & Son, grist-mill,

3 Chas. Shultz,

4 Sarah Lisdell,

5 Mrs. Marv Mineah,

6 M. D. Shaver,

7 Bvron Brewer,
9 Mrs. A. Ellis,

II George Seager.

Qroton Avenue.

3 Seneca Smith,

5 David Robinson,

7 Frank Brotherton,
eg Burdette Heffron,
II Edwin Smith.

Brooklyn Street.

2 J. L. Larkin,

4 John Sample,

6 John Brigden,

8 Brigden blacksmith shop,
lo W. R. Tripp.

Main Street.

1 Lewis Cole,

2 George Brewer,

3 Mrs. Rhoda Case,

4 Henrv Brown,

5 F. Ray Willey,

6 Wm. bolsou,

7 X. B. Carl, store,

8 Chas. Monroe, carriages,

9 George Dolson,

10 Chas. Monroe,

11 H Peltibone,

12 Geo. I. Shaver, hotel,

13 J. Pierce,

14 H. A. Strong.

15 Albert Tripp,

16 William Monroe,

17 Luther Greenfield,

18 School-house,

19 M. E. Church,

20 D. M. Peck,

21 M. E. Parsonage,

22 J. M. Carr,

23 "Wm. Fisher,

24 Sarah Bowers,

25 Will Cady,

26 Freeville Leader,

27 Wm. Skillman,

28 Mrs. C. Chapman,

29 N. J. Ogden,

30 Blacksmith shop,

3 1 Mrs. Kate Hanshaw,

^2 Weaver blacksmith shop,
^3 Wm. Dixon,

156 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

ise was launched forth, first as a stove factory, and hiter as giass
works Since that time the community has been recovering- from the
stimuhiting effects of the unnatural excitement and the subsequent re-
action, until it has now settled down upon a substantial basis of grad-
ual growth and merited prosperity.

The village was incorporated July 2, 1887, to include in its limits a
square mile of territory, being Lot No. 26 of the town, and now con-
tains, according to the recent enumeration, three hundred and seven-
ty-four inhabitants.

The following have been the principal ofticeis : . ' ^

PEESIDENTS.

W. H. Richardson,

1887-8

Orson Luther,

- 1893

Fred E. Darling, -

- 1889

W. J. Shaver, -

1894

George DePuy,

1890

E. Blackman,

- 1895-6

AY. J. Shaver,"^

- 1891

^ . H. Richardson,

' 1897

N. H. Thompson,

1892

Dr. Homer Genuug,

- 1898

CLERKS.

G. M. Watson,

1887

J. M. Carr, -

1891-2

E. F. George,

- 1888

Chas. W. Parker, -

- 1893

J. M. Carr, -

1889

W. J. Shaver, -

- 1894-5-6

Chas. W. Parker, -

- 1890

A. C. Stone,

- 1897

No map of Freeville has heretofore been published, but it is be-
lieved that the one which accompanies this work will be found to be
an accurate and complete topographical representation of the village
as it now exists.

Riverside Park, on the bank of Fall Creek, although still a private
enterprise belonging to Harris Roe, affords a commodious and attract-
ive picnic and audience ground which is generously patronized in the
summer and autumn mouths. During the past summer the Central
New York Spiritual Association purchased ten acres of land in Free-
ville for a permanent camp ground, the location of which is also shown
on tlie map.

FKEEVILLE

KEY TO THE MAP OF FREEVILLE VILLAGE.

3 Chas. Shultz,

4 Sarah Lisdell,

5 Mrs. Mary Mineah,

Qroton Avenue.

3 Seneca Smith,
5 David Robinson,
7 Frank Brotherton,

09 Eurdelte HeCFron,

II Edwin Smith.

6 John Brigden,
S Brigden blacksmith shop,
lo W. R. Tripp.

Main Street.

1 Lewis Cole,

2 George Brewer,

3 Mrs. Rhoda Case,

4 Henrv Brown,

5 F. Ray Willey,

6 Wm. Dolson,

7 X. B. Carl, store,

8 Chas. Monroe, carriages,

9 George Dolson,

10 Chas. Monroe,

11 H Pettibone,

12 Geo. I. Shaver, hotel,

13 J. Pierce,

14 H. A. Strong.

15 Albert Tripp,

16 William Monroe,

17 Luther Greenfield,
iS School-house,

19 M. E. Church,

20 D. M. Peck,

21 M. E. Parsonage,

22 J. M. Carr,

24 Sarah Bowers,

25 Will Cady,

26 Freeville Leader,

27 Wm. Skillman,

2S Mrs. C. Chapman,

29N.J. Ogden,

30 Blacksmith shop.

I W. E. Sutfin, store, K, of I

Hall, Postoffice,
i H. W. Roe store,
> Chauncey Hanshaw,
' Dr. H. Genung,
i George Cady, market,
) J. M. Carr, drugs,
) Dr. H. Genung,
: J. Kells,

! F. E. Darling, hardware,
; Jerome Heffron,
^ F. Ray Willey, store,
; George Watson,
I H. D. W. DePuy, grocery,
' O. Luther,
I Ernest Blackman,
I John Edsall, barber,
F. Reeves, h

blacksmith shop.

56 Brotherton

57 J. M. Shav

58 W. J. Shaver,
60 R. Duryea.

Dryden Road.

2 E. M. Seager,

3 C. L. Johnson,

4 D. H. Snyder.
6 Frank Burton.

Yates Avenue.

2 John T. Cole,

3 J. L. Larkin,
S John Yates,

7 Morris Stack.

Union Street.

2 E. A. Sovocool. marl

3 Lois Cooper,

7 Harriet A. Hubbard,

8 W. E. Sutfin,

9 E. C. Smith,

10 Lyceum Hall,

11 Henry Sevy.

Street.

Wood Street.

: Chas. Parker,
1 Mrs. G. Francis,

Rlchardion Street.

2 W. H. Richardson,
and warehouse.
Railroad Street.

2 Mfs. C. Darling,

3 Mrs. A. L. Smiley,

4 J- B. George,

5 Gtorge DePuy,

6 Mrs. Mary Puderbaugh,

7 F. T. Reeves,

8 D. G. Howell, mittens,

9 Townley shoe shop,
10 Mrs. D. G. Howell,
Ti Btrt Carr, bakery,

14 L. V. Depot,

16 Baggage room,

17 Smith & Blackman, offic

18 Eliza Grinnell,

19 Smith & Blackman, war.

20 John J. Giles,
22 John E. Cady.

linu Hall,
ienihly Hall,

niscellaneous.

76 Milk Station.

THE GEORGE JUNIOR REPUBLIC.

157

The George Junior Republic is a project which, for the })ust few
years, has excited o;reat interest throui^hout the whole extent of our
country, and its influence as an educational force is rapidly beconnng
world-wide. In 1887 W. R. George, born near West Dryden, the son
of John F. George and Eleanor Baker (George), went to New York
city to engage in business. Being at heart a philanthropist, he spent
many spare moments in forming friendships with the urchins on the
streets of the East Side, and in striving to benefit them.

Their wretched surroundings so impressed him that, in the summer
of 1890, aided by the Tribune Fresh Air Fund, he brought twenty-
two children with him to spend his vacation of two weeks. These
children Avere fed by kind neighbors and frieuds in the vicinity of

THE GEOlUiK JUNIOR REPUBLIC.

Freeville. For the next four years Mr. George brought out nearly
two hundred and fifty children each summer for a stay of two weeks.
During these years the plan of the Republic was slowly evolving. Mr.
George saw that, while the two weeks of vacation gave the cliildren
a breath of fresh air and were helpful to them in many ways, the bene-
fits could not be very permanent ; the problems of pauperism and
crime were still far from being solved. Brought up in homes of deg-
radation and vice, having received most of their education from the
slums, many of these children were accustomed to living " from hand
to mouth. " Many had been trained by their parents to depend on
charitable societies for their subsistence, and their self-reliance was
almost entirely lost. Others had come to consider it a glorious thing
to be a " tough " and to be brought before police courts.

Mr. George tried experiments in making them work for their food
and clothes and in having juries, composed of their peers, to judge

158 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

them for their misdemeanors. These attempts showed him that the
children were more self-reliant and more careful of their possessions
when they paid their way ; that, in trials by jur}-, these miniature men
a,nd women were more just in their decisions than were adults, because
they could much better appreciate the situation ; and that to be ar-
rested, tried, convicted and imprisoned b}' citizens of their own size
was a real punishment for the offenders. From these premises he
argued that they might be trusted to make and enforce their own laws,
to be entirely self-governing. Accordingly, in the summer of 1895,
the Republic was formed.

It will, of course, be impossible to enter into details concerning the
courts, the police department, the industrial classes, the school, the
legislature, and all the varied activities of this little state. Much has
been written concerning this enterprise in the best papers and maga-
zines of the country.

The George Junior Republic is duly incorporated under the laws of
the state and owns and occupies a farm of forty-eight acres, formerly a
part of the Cady place, situated nearly one mile southeast of the Free-
ville postoffice, but within the corporate limits of the village. Other
land, adjoining this farm, is rented and in the near future the Associa-
tion will develop more fully the property which it owns. A view of
their grounds is here given, and the location of their buildings as they
now exist is shown on the map of Freeville.

The Republic has, at present, accommodations for about two hun-
dred summer citizens and about fifty that stay throughout the entire
year. It is achieving success and will undoubtedly attain to large
proportions as the years pass b3^ But, better than all the material
success which has been gained, are the mighty steps forward in the
solution of that vast problem, the dealing with the poor in large cities.

The postoifice was established at Freeville during the War of the
Rebellion, the Rev. I. Harris becoming the first postmaster. Mr.
Harris was connected with the Sanitary Commission, which required
a visit to Washington, upon which he presented a petition to the post-
office department and secured the location of the Freeville office witli
himself in charge of it.

After one or two unsuccessful efforts to maintain a newspaper
at Freeville, The Leader, in charge of E. C. Smith, is now a lively
weekly sheet which seems to be permanently established.

It should be remembered that as a business place Freeville is only
about a quarter of a century old. Thirty years ago the locality of the
railroad station was a lonely farm, then owned by George W. Tripp.

THE OCTAGONAL SCHOOL HOUSE. 159

A stump fence even then lined a large part of what is now the main
street of that village. After the establishment of the railroad junction
in 1872 it was through the earnest and well-directed efforts of such
men as Otis E. Wood, Albert C. Stone and John W. Webster that the
destinies of Freeville as a village were cared for and properly shaped.

Freeville is too young to claim much connection with the pioneers
of the township. Elder Daniel White, the first settler in this localitv,
has already been mentioned in connection with the building of the
grist-mill and the settlement of the town itself, and we may also speak
of the Shaver family, whose ancestor, John C. Shaver, originally from
New Jersey, early in the century came to Ithaca, where he was active-
ly engaged in building boats and boating on the waters of Cavuga
Lake and through the Montezuma Marshes, Wood Creek, Mohawk
and Hudson rivers to Albany, N. Y., which was the chief navigation
from Ithaca to Albany and New York at that time. After leaving
Ithaca he located with his family. May 6, 1823, on the farm where Wm.
J. Shaver now resides.

Of his children, Ira C, the eldest, born in the year 1817, still resides
at Freeville with his son Willard, one of the Centennial Committee ;
Julius M. and Wm. J. also reside in Freeville on the old homestead ;
Elizur W. lives in Portland, Oregon ; Marcus D. also lives in Free-
ville ; Ermana married Samuel Hanshaw, who is one of the most
prominent farmers of the town of Ithaca; Mariah A. married Jacob
Kline, also a wealthy and prominent farmer of the town of Ithaca.
Mr. and Mrs. Kline are the parents of J. B. Kline, of Syracuse, N. Y.,
a foremost lawyer of that place and at present district attorney of
Onondaga county.

CHAPTEK XXX VIL

THE OCTAGONAL SCHOOL HOUSE.

Doubtless every old school house in the township has a record and
a history, which, if properly reduced to writing, would be interesting
and instructive reading. There is something especially fascinat-
ing connected with the education of children, and the story of the
experiences of both the teacher and the pupil in their combined
efforts to impart and develop, as well as to receive and apply, in-
struction is always interesting; but we cannot undertake here to
write up the history of every school-house in Dryden, and what we
shall say of this one, which has some especially interesting features

160

TII8T0EY OF DRYDEN.

about it and wliicli is, in a general way, typical of the rest, must suf-
fice for all.

If the plain and dingy walls of the brick building, a likeness of
which is here given, commonly but inaccurately called the "Eight
Square School House " could but tell their own storj' in such a way as
to be fully understood, they would furnish an eloquent history which
the writer of this chapter can but imperfectly imitate. They could
truthfully say that within their iuclosure were taught at least four
school children who became supervisors of the town of Dryden, viz :
Jeremiah Suvder, Smith Ilobertson, Hiram Snyder and Lemi Grover ;

THE OCTAGONAL S('H0ol>-HOL'SE.

two, sherifls of Tompkins county, viz: Thomas liobertson and Smith
Robertson ; two, school commissioners, viz : Smith Robertson and Al-
viras Snyder ; one, a presiding elder, Wm. Newell Cobb ; two, county
superintendents of the poor, Jeremiah Snyder and AVm. W. Snyder ;
one, a millionaire, Orrin S. Wood; numerous others who became bank,
telegraph and insurance managers as well as railroad superintendents,
and last, but not least, one pupil of the gentler sex, Mary Ann Wood
(Cornell), who in after years was destined to become the wife- of a mil-
lionaire philanthropist and the mother of a distinguished governor of
our Empire State.

THE OCTAGONAL SCHOOL HOUSE. 161

The age of this venerable but well preserved school-bouse is about
seventy-five years. We think that some one had given us the exact
date of its construction and the name of its chief builder, but if so the
memorandum of it has unfortunately been mislaid. However, the })re-
cise date is not essential. From the year 1815 forward until it was
built, a period of about ten years, upwards of one hundred pupils of
school age were annually registered upon the records of the school
district, (No. 5,) which, although occupying then, as now, a thinly set-
tled agricultural section of the country, was remarkable in many re-
spects, and doubtless afi'orded during the first half of our Century Peri-
od the best educational advantages to the largest number of appreciat-
ive school children to be found together in the township. At one
time there were eight families residing in the district — coinciding in
number with the eight sides of this unique form of a school building —
which numbered among their members eighty-seven children, lacking
only one in the aggregate of giving an average of eleven to each, and
two single families at one time supplied the school with twenty-one pu-
pils. Prior to about 1825 a small frame structure occupied the present
site. Even then the greatest efforts were made to secure the very best
of teachers for this school, some of them being obtained from Cortland
and further east. During this time William Waterman taught the
school six years, Almon Brown, one year, and David Reed, three years,
Elmira (Bristol), the oldest daughter of Benjamin Wood, serving as
assistant.

It was during Eeed's administration as principal that it was decided
that a new school-house must be built, the old building being so
crowded with the swarms of pupils that some had to be sent out to
play in order to give others a chance to recite. Accordingly the frame
school-house was removed to a point about eighty rods north, where
it served temporarily while the new brick building was being con-
structed, and afterwards it was sold and became a part of the Elijah
Vanderhoef residence near the extreme northeast corner of the dis-
trict.

We may well believe that the parents of these school children who
were to be so successful in after life were not of the niggardly, narrow-
minded class of citizens and did not begrudge the great efibrt under
the circumstances required to construct a building Avliich should be,
as it was for half a century, the best of its kind in the township. The
prime mo.vers in the enterprise are said to have been Col. William
Cobb, at the southeast, and Benjamin Wood, at the northeast corner
of the district, and they were the first to have children who, after

162 HISTORY OF DRYDEI^.

graduating from this school, sought higher institutions of learning ;
but the trustees who had charge of the work and who together con-
ceived of and carried out the particular design were Capt. Geo. Rob-
ertson, Isaac Bishop and Henry Snyder, the nearest neighbors on
either side, who employed as chief builder one Balcom from near Mc-
Lean or Cortland. The brick was then made near by at the Grover-
Hammond-Metzgar brickyard corners and the Jeremiah Snyder brick-
yard corners, last operated by Russel Sykes. Many of the less able
residents contributed the other material and work, while the poorest
families had their shares contributed by their more fortunate neigh-
bors. Thus with the greatest harmony, as it is said, and entirely free
from the jangles and controversies which too often in modern times
distract and disgrace communities in such undertakings, the eight-
sided brick school-house became an accomplished reality.

Reed as school-master was followed by Grinnell, Pelton and others
in early days and later by such excellent local teachers as Ebenezer
McArthur, Smith Robertson, Merritt L. Wood, Levi Snyder, Joseph
Snyder, Alviras Snyder, Orrin S. Wood, William W. Snyder and Ar-
temas L. Tyler.

While the Octagonal School House is still serviceable as an institu-
tion of learning we leave the reader to supply its present success and
surroundings from other sources, our object being in this as in all
other matters to emphasize and preserve that which is old and in
danger of being lost to local history.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

FURTHER HISTORY OF THE NORTH-WEST SECTION.

The pioneer families of this section of whom we have been able to
gather sufficient data with which to make suitable mention are as
follows :

Brown, Reuben, came from New Jersey to the town of Lansing
about the year 1795.

In 1804 he removed to Dryden, locating on Lot 24. The uuost of
the original purchase has remained in the family and is included in
the farm of his grandson, S. N. Brown. In 1797, while living in Lan-
sing, Reuben Brown was appointed leader of the first Methodist class
at Asbury, being one of the very first in the county. He continued to
lead this class for several years after his removal to Dryden, himself
and wife often going on foot and carrying a child a distance of six

THE NOETH-WEST SECTION. 163

miles through the then almost unbroken forest to attend church and
lead his class. This continued until 1811, when a class was formed
at West Dryden. The oldest and last survivino; son, Freeman Brown,
was born in Lansing in 1800 and died in 1889. Reuben Brown died
in 1862, aged 86 years.

Bush, Captain Calvin, was born in Vermont in 1781, and at the age
of twenty-one years came to Lansing and was employed by Samuel
Baker, who owned a large tract of land near Teetertown. Soon after,
he married Sarah Moore and removed to Dryden, locating first on Lot
34, on land now owned by W. H. Moore. His son Loren took this
land and he purchased one hundred acres on Lot 3, now owned by
Larkin Smith and Alvah Snyder. This was then a dense forest of
heavy timber, which he cleared off, and here he lived until old age
disqualified him from longer caring for the farm. Here the old peo-
ple were cared for by their son-in-law. Freeman, and by their grand-
son, S. N. Brown, where Captain Bush died in 1864, aged 83 years.
Before coming to Dryden he was at the head of a company of militia,
and during the War of 1812 he led his company to the frontier.

Grover, Andrew, came in 1806 from New Jersey and first settled on
the property since known as Woodlawn, which he afterwards lost
from defective title. He then, about 1812, settled where his grandson,
John S. Grover, now lives, and died in the year 1871. Of his chil-
dren, Peter was the father of Major Grover, of the 76th Regiment, af-
ter whom Grover Post G. A. R., at Cortland, is named ; Jacob is still
living in Michigan, 90 years of age ; Andrew P. was a justice of the
peace of Dryden in 1849 and 1852, afterwards removing to Michigan.
Others moved to Michigan and Steuben county, and a daughter, Par-
nelia Johnson, is still living in Dryden.

Hance, Thomas, Sr., and sons, Thomas, Jr., and William, also two
sons-in-law, Cornelius Conover and Benjamin Cook, came from New
Jersey in 1800 and located one and one-half miles west of " Fox's Cor-
ners. " Cook afterwards lived on Lot 5. Thomas, Sr., died in 1838,
at the age of 97, and is buried at Asbury Church. The families were
Quakers, among the first in town of that sect. Wm. moved to Ithaca
in 1826, where he and his sons became prominent in business circles.
William was known in his latter years as " Major Hance, " from his
prominence in the militia.

Knapp, Samuel, was born in Belvidere, N. J., in December, 1759,
and lived to the age of 91 years. He was a soldier in the Revolution-
ary War and was engaged in the battles of Trenton, Princeton, Stony
Point and many others, and many were the stories told by him to his

164 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

grandchildren of his trials and suffering. His wife, Charity West-
fall, was born September 26, 1764, near Trenton, N. J.

About 1800 the}^ started their journey into the interior, having all
their possessions in a wagon drawn by a pair of horses. Thus they
journeyed on, living in their wagon and by the aid of the gun and
fishing rod, their only means of support, until they reached a place
near where Varna is now located, from whence they cut their way
through the woods to their destination and settled on Lot 14, where
James Lumbard now lives, living in their wagon until a log house
could be erected. Eight children were born to them, six girls and two-
boys, Mary, Catharine, Sarah, Betsey, Amy, Cable, Samuel, and Ann,
who married Wm. Skillings.

McCuTCHEON, George, was about two years old when his parents,.
Andrew McCutcheon and wife, Jean Adair, came from Scotland in
their own merchant sloop to this country. Finding acquaintances iu
the family of Robert Robertson iu Saratoga township, N. Y., they
were induced to remain there. When George was about sixteen
years old he Avas pressed into the ranks of the Revolutionary Army
and was in the first battle at Bemis Heights. He subsequent!}- en-
listed, in August, 1777, in Capt. Ball's company. Col. Shepard's Mass-
achusetts Regiment, and served six years, being honorably discharged
June 8, 1783, from Capt. Fuller's company. Col. Jackson's regiment.
He was conspicuously brave in battle, in one of which he led his
company in the capture of several Hessian regiments. He served in
the battles of Monmouth, Valley Forge, at Saratoga during the sur-
render of Burgoyne, and many others. He returned home and after
several years married Nancy Robertson, sister of Capt. Robertson, and
they named their eldest son, born September 4, 1790, Robert, after her
father, Robert Robertson. At the time Capt. Robertson moved to
Dryden this son Robert desired to go with him and when about six-
teen years old helped his uncle drive some cattle to his new farm.

Being greatly pleased with the new country he induced his father,.
George McCutcheon to move to Dryden. They left Saratoga on Feb.
26, 1807, performing, the journey by land in ten days, camping by the
way where night overtook them, sleeping on blankets on the ground,,
and arrived in Dryden, at Capt. Robertson's, on March 7, 1807.

They purchased a farm of Philip Robertson, now known as the
Weaver farm, near Etna, bringing up their eleven children and living-
there until the mother's death and the father became too. old and
feeble to care for the farm. George McCutcheon died at the age of
85. Robert McCutcheon married Mary, daughter of Peter Snyder,.

THE NOETH-WEST SECTION. 165

Ma}- 4th, 1812, after having volunteered on April 22, 1812, marching-
M'ith his company in June to Buffalo, where he was in the command of
Oen. Peterson at Buffalo, along Lake Erie, at Black Bock, and Niaga-
ra Falls, where they guarded the line. Most of the time he did scout-
ing duty rarely being with his command, and with his company was
honorably discharged May 22, 1813, and marched home, arriving in
July of that ^^ear.

Peter Snyder had given to each of his sous one hundred acres and
to each daughter as a dower fifty acres of land about one mile west of
Etna and along Fall Creek. On the south side of this farm Robert
built a log cabin of two rooms in July of the same year and in No-
vember the young couple went to housekeeping. The land was a
heavy wilderness and Bobert cut down the first trees and made the
Urst clearing ever made on this land, putting in a crop of wheat about
the cabin. In after years he added to this land 146 acres, put up
good buildings on the north side of the same land, which is still in
the family, being occupied and owned by his sons, Newton and Wm.
McCutcheon.

Robert was active in educational aflairs, helping to promote the
building of the eight-square brick school-house and to form the libra-
ry association for which it was noted, and especially active in naming
the books to be purchased for the school library, which were so excel-
lent in choice that he derived the benefit of almost a college educa-
tion from them.

He and his wife were known as Uncle Robert and Aunt Polly to the
whole neighborhood and his judgment was much sought after by the
younger generation in all the affairs of life. They raised a family of
fourteen children : Anna, Rensselaer, Parmeno, Betsey, Delilah ( Em-
mons,) Jane (Fulkerson,) Marietta (Raub,) Miles, Arvilla (Emmons,)
William, Catharine (Freeman,) Newton, Norman, Paulina (Peters,)
of whom only five survive. Robert, after a long and useful life, seven-
ty-three years of which was spent on the home farm, died in the nine-
ty-fourth year of his age on February 2nd, 1884.

Skillings, John, was born in Ireland in 1756. In 1772, at the age of
sixteen, he came to this country. He was a soldier in the Revolution-
ary War, having been captured by the Indians but afterwards making
his escape. At the close of the war he married Miss Betsey Camel
near Philadelphia, Pa., and about 1800 they came to Dry den and set-
tled on the farm now owned by N. H. Mineah. They reared a family
•of 'six children, four girls and two boys, Jolm, Jr., Margaret, Eleanor,
•Sally, Betsey, and William Skillings.

166 HTSTOEY OF DRYDEN.

William Skilliugs married Miss Ann Knapp in the year 1827 and
commenced keeping house on the farm now owned by N. H. Mineah.
In 1836 he bought the farm now owned by James G. Sutlin, where he
lived a few years and then moved on the farm now owned by S. M.
Skillings, where they lived and died. Five children were born to
them : John, who died in infancy ; Eastman, who died at the age of
26 ; Betsey, who married Enos P. Moseley and now lives near the old
homestead ; Charity, who married Wm. J. Sutfin and lives across the
way from the old homestead ; Helen, who married James G. Sutfin,.
and now lives on the old Ward farm near by, and Samuel, who now
owns and occupies the old homestead.

This briefly is the history of the Skillings family in Dryden. Chil-
dren and grandchildren there have been, but among them all there is
now but one left to hand the name of Skillings down, and that is Fay,
the only son of Samuel Skillings.

Smith. In the early years of the century five brothers, Benjamin,
Isaac, Jacob, John and Henry Smith, with their widowed mother, left
Stroudsburg, Pa., and came into tlie wilds of New York State. They
selected land on Lot 11 in Dryden and began clearing off the timber.
At the breaking out of the War of 1812 the four brothers first named
volunteered and served throughout the war. Soon after returning
Benjamin died. Isaac removed to Danbv and later to Ohio. Jacobv
John and Henry remained on the original purchase until their deaths'
Their mother lived to the age of 104 years. The land is still held in
the family, Ex-Sherifi' William J. Smith and the heirs of James Smith,
who were descendants of John Smith, being the present owners.

Van Nortwick, Simeon, Avith his family, came from New Jersey early
in the j-ear 1804, settling on the extreme northeast corner of Lot No.
15, for which he traded property in Monmouth county, N. J., the
transfer having been made in the year 1802. Among the witnesses to
the deed as now appears upon the old document itself was Jacob Van-
derbilt, the father of Cornelius Vanderbilt, who afterwards accumii-
lated such a vast fortune, and whose descendants now wield such a
powerful influence in the financial world. Upon their arrival in their
new home it was found necessary to go four miles, nearly one mila
west of West Dryden, to obtain a live coal to start their first fire.
William Van Nortwick was six years old at this time, afterwards was
a well known and prominent farmer until his death in 1866 at the age
of 68 years. Sarah A^an Nortwick still lives on the same farm where
her grandfather settled ninety-eight years ago.

THE SOUTH-WEST SECTION. 167

CHAPTEE XXXIX.

FURTHER HISTORY OF THE SOUTH-WEST SECTION.

This division includes all of the south-west quarter of the town ex-
cept the Varna neijijhborhood, which has been treated separately, and
also includes Lots 94 and 95 which are now a part of Caroline, but
for historical purposes are still claimed as a part of Dr^^den.

The Free Will Baptist church on Snyder Hill, in this section, was
organized April 8, 1824, with Elder Edward E. Dodge as pastor, and

CHURCH AT SNYDER HILL.

W^essels S. Middaugh and Daniel Heeves as deacons. The additional
charter members were Salmon Hutchinson, Samuel Sn3'der, Benjamin
Quick, Belden Meade and Chauncey Lee. The church building now
in use was erected in 1856, but has lately been repaired and fitted up
in modern style. The land upon which the church and school-house
now stand was donated by Joseph M. Snyder, son of Jacob Snyder,
the first permanent settler upon Snyder Hill.

The following are the names of the pastors of this church : Edward
Dodge, Amos Daniels, Stephen Krum, H. H. Strickland, O. C. Hills,
J. W. Hills, Oramel Bingham, J. M. Crandall, A. J. Wood, Evans,
AVilliam Russell, L. D. Howe, S. W. Schoonover, Brown, D. D. Brown,

IGS

HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

Woodruff, Cooley, F. D. Ellsworth, Charles Pease, Estiis Tan Marter,
A. C. Babeock.

For a few years past a postoffice has been maintained at Ellis Hol-
low under the name of " Ellis," and in 1896 a new M. E. church was

erected there, of which
we are able to give the
accompanying view.
Until the erection of
this building the class
connected with it met
in the school-house, the
pastors being in 1896
Rev. J. E. Showers and
since then Rev. Francis
H. Dickerson.

Among the early in-
habitants of this sec-
tion of whom we are
not able to give any
family history are Is-
rael Brown, Obadiah
Brown, Z e p h a n i a h
Brown, John Cornelius,
Tobias Cornelius and
Joseph Middaugh, a
reference to Reuben
preceding chapter. But we shall bring
under the heads of its pio-

ELLIS HOLLOW CIlLliCH

Brown having been made in a

in the history of this section ])rincipally

iieer families, of whom we have records of the following:

Brown, Zephaniah. (See Chapter VI.)

Bull, Aaron, and Krum, Matthew, who were brothers-in-law, Mr.
Bull having married Krnm's sister, settled on one hundred acres in
the southeast corner of Lot No. 95. They came from Marbletown,
Ulster county, N. Y., now in Olive, of the same county. Mr. Krum's
father, Henry W., was the owner, and the young men came to settle
jind clear it up in the year 1806, Krum in June and Bull in September.
Bull had the south half and lived only a short distance from the south
line of the Military Tract, then the soiTtli line of Cayuga count}'. He
was a very bright, active, hard working man but of very little educa-
tion, and it is said that he could not read or write until his wife taught
him. He was originally from Bull's Bridge, on the Housatonic River,

THE SOUTH-WEST SECTION. 169

ill Connecticut, aud came tlieuce to Ulster county, N. Y., where he
njarried into the Krum family. Mr. Bull lived on the Dry den lot
twelve years, when he bought the Cass Tavern, on the Turnpike (now
the Henry S. Krum place), where he afterwards lived and died. He-
purchased of Nicholas Fish (father of Hamilton Fish) a large part of
Lot 85 aud adjacent lands in Dryden and engaged in lumbering, own-
ing and managing, with his sons, a couple of canal boats. His fam-
ily have always held an influential position.

Matthew Krum was of Holland Dutch descent and the ancestor
of the most of the Krums of this county. He lived aud died on the
place now known as the Aaron B. Schutt farm. John Schutt, the
father-in-law of RulofF, also married a sister of Krum.

Cobb, Lyman, the author of Cobb's readers, spelling books, and oth-
er school books extensively used in early times in Central aud West-
ern New York and Pennsylvania, formerly lived in the white house
near Snv'der's Station, on the E., C. & N. railroad, a little east of Var-
na. He had his books published at Ithaca and the covers were made
of thin boards covered with blue paper. He was born in Canaan,
Connecticut (or, as some say, in Lenox, Massachusetts,) in the 3'ear
1800, and in his youth came with his father's family to Berkshire,
Tioga county, N. Y., locating about a mile east ofSpeedsville. He
afterwards taught school at Slaterville about three years and it was
here that he compiled the first edition of his spelling book published
by Mack & Andrus about the year 1819. He was afterwards a teach-
er in Ithaca. His wife was a daughter of Ephraim Chambers, who
at one time resided on the Dan Eice farm in Ellis Hollow, and his
sister was Mrs. Thomas Davis, who resided in Dryden from 1840 until
her decease in 1860.

Genung, Benjamin, was a Eevolutionary soldier, born May 10, 1758,
■and enlisted at Hanover, Morris county, N. J., in February, 1776, in
Capt. Lyon's company of Col. (afterwards General) McDougall's regi-
ment of th6 New York line for one year. He was in the battle of
White Plains and in the retreat from New York after the battle of
Long Island. In January of the year 1800 he bought of Bev. Asa
Hilyer, of Morris county, N. J., a part of Lot No. 93 of Dryden, and
in that spring he came to his new home with a yoke of oxen and wag-
on carrying all of his household goods and farming utensils, as well
as his family, consisting of his wife and six children. Thev^ came by
way of the celebrated " Beech Woods " in Pennsylvania to Owego
<nud from there to Dryden, stopping with a man by the name of Iruna
Peat ou Lot 9'A until he could locate his purchase, a part of Lot 93,

170 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

where he settled on the hind now owned by one of his grandsons, Ben-
jamin Genung, Jr. Two of his sons, Barnabas and Aaron, were in.
the War of 1812, the latter, born December 25, 1787, being in the
company of Major Ellis. His daughter Rachel married Wm. Pew,
who came to Ithaca in 1803, and many of their descendants are now
living in Ithaca and Dryden. His remaining children were Timothy,
Pearon and Philo.

Joseph A. Genung, a son of Aaron, born in Dryden January 17,
1835, is an active member of the Centennial Executive Committee, his
postoffice being Ithaca although residing in the town of Dryden.

In addition to Joseph A. Genung, Aaron had two other sons and
three daughters. One son, Luther, married Phoebe Banfield and set-
tled and died in the town of Danby, leaving a son, Amasa T., now re-
siding in Ithaca. Another son, Jacob, married Angeline Pew and re-
sides in the vicinity of Ellis Hollow. One daughter, Mary, married
Jesse English and they resided on Snyder Hill. Another daughter,
Rebecca, married John English and resided on Snyder Hill. Another
daughter, Lockey, married James Hagadorn and they resided at Spen-
cer, N. Y.

Joseph A. Genung married in 1859 Mary E. Cornelius and they had
three daughters. Of these, Estella E. died in 1878, aged 17 years ;
Nellie M., born 1864, graduated at the Ithaca High School, married
William Gillmer, a farmer ; Mary Josephine, born 1876, prepared at
the Ithaca High School, graduated at Cornell University 1897, mar-
ried Leon Nelson Nichols, graduated at Cornell University 1892, a
librarian.

Dr. Homer Genung, of Freeville, and Dr. Benjamin Genung, of Wy-
alusing, Pa., are sons of Benjamin Genung, son of Philo.

Dr. John A. Genung, of Ithaca, is a son of John, son of Philo.

The Genungs were nearly all of them prominent and respected
farmers.

Hammond, Thomas and Alice (Stone). Shortly after the year 1800,
presumably in 1803, there removed from Scituate, Providence county,
Rhode Island, Thomas Hammond, in time of peace a seaman in the
coast towns trade of New Bedford, Providence and New London, and
attached to the vessels of war during the Revolution. He was born
at or near that locality about 1730 and married Alice Stone, the daugh-
ter of Peter and Patience Stone, of that place. From them are de-
scended one wing of the Benjamin Wood family, of Western Dryden,^
and of the Ezra Cornell family of Ithaca.

Thomas, giown too old to longer go before the mast and endure the

THE SOUTH-WEST SECTION. 171

rigor of the sea, still courted adventure in the haunts of the deer, bear,
wolf and Indian, his earlier skirmishes with all of the last named hav-
ing found more in him, in accord with his tastes, than even the sea
fisheries or the comi:)arative quiet of the war vessel. He therefore re-
moved to the far frontier of Chenango Valley, N. Y., about 1803, tak-
ing with him his numerous family and several other friends (he being
a man of push and leadership), together with all his earthly belong-
ings.

This was not only a tedious but perilous journey, as it was per-
formed with the proverbial ox team of that da}', but on foot for all
who could walk. The only entrance to his destination lay via Albany
and the Hudson River crossing and the Mohawk and Chenango val-
leys to Oxford, N. Y. At this point the state was concentrating some
interest by its highway cutting into the more westerly wilds, Avhere
the deer, bear, wolf and Indian had to be successfully routed, fur-
nishing the excitement craved by Thomas, and an inducement for
work to his grown and industrious children, and other kin of the party.

Of this party were his wife, Alice ; his daughter. Amy, and
her husband, Nathan Wood ; his grandson, Benjamin Wood ; his
grandson-in-law, Orrin Squire ; his son, Daniel Hammond, and his-
family, all of whom figure conspicuously as pioneers of Western Dry-
den, and who were clever artisans in brick making, cooperage and
weaver's reed making, all essentials in opening new colonies.

Their first settlement was made at Oxford, next at Sherburne, next
at Quaker Basin near DeRuyter ; thence they came to Willow Glen a
little later than 1815, and finally reached, about 1820, the south-west
quarter of great lot No. 32, better known as Supervisor Lemi Grover's
corner, and Woodlawn, next east. Here, after having buried the hus-
band, Thomas, in Chenango Valley, the wife, Alice, lived and died,
and is buried beside her daughter Amy (Wood) in the Captain George
Robertson cemetery, a few of six generations following hers still
clinging near there to-day.

William Wigton, the old hotel-keeper at Willow Glen, where now
stands the Moses Rowland residence, became a conspicuous land own-
er in Western Dryden, with headquarters at this Hammond-Grover
corner ; and he was succeeded in the ownership of the Willow Glen
hotel by Daniel Hammond, and also as landlord thereof.

A little later on Daniel also succeeded Major Wigton as owner cf
the Grover southeast corner of Lot 32 and Woodlawn. Upon this
corner Daniel Hammond and his sons, assisted by Orrin Squire and
Benjamin Wood, opened the first brickyard of Western Dj-yden ; and

172 HISTOKY OF DRYDEN.

from the material furnisbed, the " eight-square " brick school-house
was largely built.

From the pioneer Alice, through her son Thomas, is descended
the numerous Hammond family of Y^irgil ; and through George and
William and his wife, Polly Tanner, come the now well known law
iirm of Hammond & Hammond, of Seneca Falls, N. Y.

From pioneer Alice, through her daughter Amy and her husband,
x^athan, and their son Benjamin Wood, and his wife, Mary Bonesteel,
are descended the conspicuous Wood family, of Western Dryden ; and
through their daughter Mary Ann, whose husband was Hon. Ezra Cor-
nell, of Cornell University fame, comes Ex-Governor Cornell, Chief
Financier Frank C. Cornell, and Chief Civil Engineer O. H. Perry
■Cornell, nine children in all, only five of whom came to mature age
and still survive ; and they own the two-hundred-acre farm known as
Woodlawn.

Haened, William, and Hanna Crilisteen were married in New Jer-
sey in the year 1794, and within a few years removed to Dr3'den. He
built his first log-house on the north bank of Cascadilla Creek, a little
east of the present bridge near the residence of Edwin Snj'der. He
was one of the highway commissioners elected at the first town meet-
ing of Dryden held in 1803. Of a family of seven, one daughter,
Mary, married Thomas George, Eliza married Dr. Harve^^ Harris, and
Clarissa married Peter I. Rose, an early settler of the town. All are
now deceased and S. M. George, of West Dryden, is believed to by
the only descendant of Wm. Harned now residing in the towai.

Harris, Dr. Harvey, an early physician of the town, registered at
Ithaca in 1828, first practiced at West Dryden, afterwards at Etna for
many years and finally moved to Illinois, where he died after 1860.

MiDDAUGH, Joseph, and his son Wessels S. came to Dryden in 1807,
from near the borders of Orange county, N. Y., where it joins the state
of New^ Jersey. They were of Dutch descent and first settled in Dry-
den on one hundred acres of land near Ellis Hollow, to which the}^ ad-
ded by subsequent purchases and upon which they are both buried-
For several years they kept a tavern.

Wessels S. was a supervisor of the towm and raised a large family of
sons, among whom were Ovrin, the father of Fred and William Henry ;
Wessels, Jr., who now owns the Judge Ellis homestead at Ellis Hollow ;
and Harrison, who married a grand-daughter of both Judge and Major
Ellis. One of his daughters mairied Edward Mulks, avIio succeeded to
the Middaugh homestead and whose daughter, Mrs. C. L. Lull, now
■owns it.

THE SOUTH-WEST SECTION. ITS'

Palmerton, Ichabod, whs the father of Marcus and Sylvauiis Palmer-
ton, and was one of several who followed Peleg Ellis from lioyal
Grant, in Herkimer county, to Ellis Hollow. He came in 1801, the
year after Ellis arrived. From the same place soon after Asa Hurd
came and settled on the present Gray farm, Van Allen on the Dan Rice
farm, Joseph Smith on the Willey farm and Nathan Gosper on the
E. J. Thomas farm.

Robertson, Philip Schuyler, was born in Saratoga county, N. Y.,.
May 4, L774. His name was given him by Gen. Philip Schuyler, of
Revolutionary fame, who gave with the name a life lease of fifty acres
of land in Saratoga county.

His father, Robert, who was also the father of Capt. George Robert-
son, served during the Revolutionary war and died soon after its close,
when Philip was but seven years of age. He lived with his uncle,
George McCutcheon, for several years, and then commenced working'
with his brother, George, at the carpenter and mill-wright trade, mak-
ing that his business for several years in Saratoga. In 1798 the two
brothers, Philip and George, each driving a yoke of oxen and accom-
panied by two young men, said to have been Jared Benjamin and
Walter Yeomans, (but others say one of them was Moses Snyder),^
started from Schuylerville, Saratoga county, for the West, coming l)y
the way of the Mohawk Valley, Ithaca and Auburn, to the lot (No. 53)
where M. J. Robertson now lives, arriving March 12, 1798. Philip
lived with his brother George, until his marriage, July 25, 1802, to El-
sie Sweezy from New Jersey. From that source there came seven
children, George, Robert P., Mary, Peter, Allen, Anna ( Snyder ) and
Oakley, of whom only the last two named survive.

Philip bought of his brother George the east part of the lot and lo-
cating upon that part now known as the Weaver farm, then all a per-
fect wilderness, he cleared thirty acres. As they had neither hay nor
straw for their oxen they fed them upon browse from the trees as they
cut them. During the work of clearing, Philip unfortunately had a
tree fall upon him, breaking his thigh and crushing his left hand as-
it rested on his axe helve, besides injuring him internally and making
him a cripple for the rest of his life.

That spring he planted among the logs four acres of corn, doing the
work on crutches, and in the fall harvesting the crop of two hundred
bushels of ears. Cutting and piling the logs that fall, they then sowed
the land to wheat. On his way from his farm to the home of his
brother George, where he boarded, the first season, he shot and killed
seven deer without hunting an hour. He also shot a wildcat and

174 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

<3oon ; the latter, very fat, weighed sixty pounds and supplied grease for
a barrel of soap.

For several years he lived upon and improved this place and then
sold it to George McCutcheon and bought a place on the Bridle Road
above Etna. Clearing about j&fteen acres of this place he sold it and
bought a farm above Varna on the same road, building a house and
clearing a part of the land. This place he sold and moved to Brutus,
Cayuga county, where he remained two years and then returned to
Dryden, where he bought a quarter section of Lot No. 3, on the State
Road, which was all wild land. He cleared this last place, where he
died August 4, 1842, and the farm still remains in the family,

Snyder, Jacob. In the spring of 1801 a family of emigrants set out
from Essex county, N. J., traveling through the " Beech Woods " to
Owego and thence to the present town of Ithaca. That family con-
sisted of Jacob Snyder, his wife, three sons and one daughter, the
youngest child being a year old and the oldest twelve. The father
was a skilled workman in three trades, tailoring, carpentering and
blacksmithing, as people now living can testify. Upon their arrival
tbe family took up temporary quarters and waited for a time in order
tha ttitles to the land might be investigated before purchasing, and
thus avoid the spurious titles then so frequently met with. Mr. Sny-
der finally bought of James Glenny, of Virgil, (a grantee of a Revolu-
tionary soldier. Lieutenant Wm. Glenny, to whom the lot had been
awarded,) one hundred acres of land on Lot 82, for the consideration of
$330. The deed, executed Sept. 14, ] 802, was a relic on exhibition at
the Centennial. He later purchased a part of Lot 92, which passed
into the possession of his sons Daniel and Peter. Of the original
purchase on Lot 82, a part afterwards belonged to his sou Joseph M.
Snyder and is now occupied by his sons Jacob and Harry. The
daughter, Rebecca, who married Aaron, the son of Benjamin Genung,
came into possession of the old homestead of the original purchase of
1802, which is now owned and occupied by their son, Joseph A. Ge-
nung. Upon this old homested there is still standing the same barn
that was built by Jacob Snyder in 1806. He built his permanent
dwelling in 1808, a substantial structure of hewn pine logs, which was
occupied until 1872 and is still in a condition for use for many more
years as a place of storage of farming utensils.

From this early settlement by Jacob Snyder the entire region grew
to have the name of Snvder Hill, which it still bears.

THE NOKTH-EAST SECTION. 175

CHAPTER XL.

FURTHEU HISTORY OF THE NORTH-EAST SECTION.

Upon Lot No. 21 of Virgil, John Gee, a Revolutionary soldier wlio
liaJ drawn that lot, came and settled, according to Bouton's History,
June 17, 1796, and some of his descendants still reside upon it. His
nearest neighbor was four miles off at that time ; but a few years later,
probably in 1802, Joseph Schofield and his son Ananias settled on the
adjoiniog Lot 20, of Dryden, and Joseph became one of the town of-
ficers when the first town meeting was held in 1803. In this extreme
northeast corner of the township several mechanics, including the Ma-
son, Hutchings and Bates families, early located ; and on a branch of
Beaver Creek, which still flows, but with diminished volume since the
country has been cleared up, through the gully at the foot of Gulf Hill
on the road to Cortland, and a short distance up-stream from this road,
was established in the year 1809, according to Bouton's History, the
Hutchings grist-mill, which accommodated the Virgil as well as the
Dryden people in that section. This was more than twenty years be-
fore any grist-mill existed in Dryden village, but seven years after
the White mill had been established at Freeville. It was here, near
this pioneer grist-mill, in the town of Dryden, that the Hutchings ap-
ple had its origin. Not only was the grist-mill operated by them for
a number of years, but a rake factory and other industries flourished,
and it is claimed that the first successful power threshing machines
were manufactured here. But these mechanics, or that portion of
them who did not become farmers, afterwards drifted oft' to McLean
and Malloryville, where tlie water power was more lasting and abund-
ant and it is now a matter of surprise that a small branch of Beaver
Creek near its source could ever have been considered capable of fur-
nishing the water power necessary to run a grist-mill.

A thrifty and intelligent class of farmers have, however, always
flourished in this section of the township, of a few only of wliom
are we able to give details, as follows :

AiXEN, Wyatt, came to Dryden in 1805 from Aurora, Cayuga county,
settling on the farm now occupied by John Mullen. In the year 1840
he removed to Dryden village, settling on South street where he died.
Among his descendants is George W. Bradley of Dryden. Two of his
brothers came later, married into the Foote and Clausou pioneer fam-
ilies of Willow Glen and moved with their families to the far West.

Carmer, Isaac, and brother Jacob, came from near Essex Court

176 HISTORY OF DKYDEN.

House, in New Jersey, about the year 1801, aud settled on Lot No. 20
on one of the farms since owned by G. M. Lupton, where he died in
January, 1853, within a few days of one hundred and two years of age.
His children have long since died, but his grandchildren include
Chester and Cleveland, children of his son John. The brother Jacob
settled on the hill immediately south of Dryden village and his de-
scendants are now believed to be non-residents.

GiVENS, Samuel, was an early settler in this part of the township,,
concerning whom we can give but few particulars. His descendants^
now residing or having died here are numerous, including Amos K.,,
the father of our Darius Givens, of Dryden village ; Col. Chas. Giv-
ens, an early town ofiicer and the father of Edward and the late Wm.
R. and Thomas ; Lettie G., the mother of G. M. and Z. Lupton ; Sar-
ah, the wife of Abram Griswold ; William, the father of Cortland Giv-
ens ; and Jane, the wife of Zebulun Miller.

Hill, Joseph, and Sarah Bancroft were married at Flemington, N. J.,
November 30, 1809, and started for Dryden the same season. Two
teams brought their goods. They drove two cows and made butter
on the way by putting the milk in churns, the motion of the wagon
bringing the butter. Mr. Hill had the choice of a section (six hun-
dred and forty acres) of land in Seneca county or one in Dryden. He
chose the latter on account of the pine timber. The land lay in Lot
No. 6, upon which was already a small log cabin, but during their first
night a heavy wind blew off the roof.

Mrs. Hill had been anxious to leave New Jersey, as it was the cus-
tom for farmers to keep slaves, and although her husband was home-
sick and wanted to move back she would not consent to go, as she
did not like to live where they kept slaves. She wove woolen and
linen cloth and in this wa}' helped pay for clearing the land.

Joseph Hill died September 12, 1853, 71 years old. Sarah Bancroft
Hill died April 8, 1874, 86 years old.

They had a family of eleven children : Mary, the oldest, married
Hiram Graves, settled in Moravia and left a large family. Ambrose
married Sarah Hart and finally settled on the old homestead. He left
a family of four children. Isaac taught school in Dryden at one time
in a school-house at or near the home of Chas. Perrigo. He married
and moved to Dundee and again moved to Bay City, Mich., where he
left a family of five children. Martha married James Van Etten and
settled in Albany, N. Y., where Mr. Van Etten died. She afterward
married Mr. Buck, of Chemung, and left three children. Elias B. did
not marry and died young. Harris married and lived in Peruville, N.

THE NOKTH-EAST SECTION. 177

Y., several years and afterward moved to Warren, Pa., where he left
three children. Lucinda married S. C. Fulkerson and always lived in
the town of Dryden. She left five children. Stacy B. married and
moved to Canada. He left three children. Sarah married Ezra
Beach, of Peruville. She left one child. Lorena married Edwin J.
Hart, of McLean, who died April 16, 1895. In 1870 she married A.
H. Vough, of McLean, and they live at present one-half mile west of
McLean. Mrs. Vough is the only living child of Joseph and Sarah
Hill. Thomas, the yonngest son, did not marr}'.

Edwin Hill, a son of Ambrose, still lives on the original homestead.

LuPTON, Nathan H. W., came to Dryden as a school teacher in 1815
or 1816, from Orange county. He was at one time a hotel keeper and
in later years a thrifty and industrious farmer, among whose descend-
ants now residing in the township are his sons, G. M. and Z. Luptou,
and their children.

McKee, James and Robert, brothers, from Stewartstown, County
Tyrone, Ireland, came to this country soon after the year 1800, James
arriving first. Eobert came in 1806, being six weeks and three days
out of sight of land on the voyage. Coming up the Hudson river as
far as Albany he there hired a teamster with a yoke of oxen and a lum-
ber wagon to bring them through the forests to Dryden, where James
was already located on what is now the Wm. B. Hubl)ard place, two
miles north from Dryden village. Robert bought the adjoining Sick-
mon farm and built a log house near the line between the two farms.
This habitation consisted of one room with a ground floor and bark
roof, greased paper for windows and a blanket for a door, blocks of
wood serving as chairs, and a pile of brush for a bed. They had
brought with them two large chests well filled with clothing and bed-
ding, and some provisions and tools with which to work.

The nearest postoffice Avas Milton (Lansing) and Mrs. McKee at one
time went on horseback through the woods to Ludlowville, being
guided by the marked trees, and paid out her last fifty cents in money
to get a letter from her parents in Ireland.

The McKees were, however, thrifty and prosperous people and soon
gained a foothold in their new home. Robert, in addition to farming,
carried on a distiller}^ and was at the same time a leading member of
the Presbyterian church at Dryden village. By his first wife there
were three children, viz : James R., Mrs. Leonard Hile and Mrs. Jane
West. By his second wife there were twelve children, two boys and
ten girls. Mrs. Mary McKee, who was the second wife of Robert,
was a sistei- of Thomas Lormor, Sr., the old gentleman who was the

178 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

ancestor of the greater part of the Lormor family in Dryden and died
here about twenty-five years ago. In the earlier times Mrs. McKee
spun and wove the clothing for the family, but in later years when her
girls were grown up she bought calico for their dresses. At one time
she went to Quigg's store, in Ithaca, and, after purchasing several dress
patterns, the young clerk who was waiting upon her, desiring to be
sociable, remarked that she must have quite a family of girls to re-
quire so much dress goods. " Yes, " said she, " I have at home ten
girls of my own and each of them has two brothers and a half. " The
clerk, who prided himself on his figures, computed in his head that it
would make her the mother of thirty-five children, which, he said, was
impossible, and offered to bet her a new dress that she was overstating
it ; but she insisted that her statement was true and accepting the wa-
ger agreed to leave it to the proprietor, who knew the facts and de-
cided that she was entitled to the dress from the clerk. The two
brothers were her own two sons, Robert and Thomas, and the half
brother was James R., the son by the first wife. The ten daughters
included Charlotte (Sickmon), the youngest and only one now living ;
Catharine (Out), the mother of Mrs. Geo. H. Hart, of Dryden village ;
Ellen, the wife of John Morgan ; Sally, the first wife of Peter Mineah,
and Mary, the wife of Thomas Mineah.

Robert McKee died in 1845 at the age of 77 years, while his wife
survived until 1873, when she died at the age of 90. James McKee
also left a large family of children, of whom one was John, the father
of Samuel, William, and others, and another was Mrs. Alvin, the moth-
er of the late James H. Cole.

Mineah, John, the ancestor of the family in Dryden having that
name, not often met with elsewhere, came very early in the century
from New Jerse}^ with the McElhenys, the two families having been
already connected by marriage. He located in the section of the town-
ship north and east from Freeville, where numbers of his descendants
still reside. Of his daughters. Mar}- Ann was the first wife of Abel
"White, and Betsey married Charles Niver, who lived near Peruville.
Of his sons, William was the father of George, John, James, and
others ; James was the father of John H., Nicholas, George, and oth-
ers ; Thomas was the father of Robert, while John, Jr., was the father
of Edwin D., of Eagle Grove, Iowa. Two daughters of John, Jr., Al-
bina and Anna, were formerly school teachers in different districts of
the township and are now proprietors of a ladies' select school in Chi-
cago. The daughters also included Mrs. Luther Griswold, of Dry-
den, and Mrs. D. C. Avery, of Baltimore, Md.

THE NOETH-EAST SECTION. 179

Seager or Sager, ( spelled both ways.) This family consisted of a
number of brothers and a sister who came from Orange county to
Dryden early in the century. Jacob came first in 1808, John in the
fall of 1809, Philip, who was born in 1799, and his sister Katie, a little
later. Jacob and Katie afterwards moved to Bath, Steuben county,
but John first settled on Lot 39 near where Elliott Fortner now resides,
afterwards removed to Lot 40, where he lived until his death at the age
of 94. He came in a covered emigrant wagon by way of Owego, and
from there up the Turnpike to Ithaca and then to Lot 39 in Dryden,
where he and his family arrived in January, 1810. It was very cold
and the snow was deep. They were obliged to live for three days in
the wagon until they built a log house, which for a long time had nei-
ther door, window nor fireplace. They used a blanket for a door,
and built the fire on the ground. There they lived in this way all win-
ter with five small children, viz : Abram, Henry, Betsey, Joanna and
John. That winter John, Sr., cut and prepared for bui'ning eight acres
of heavy timber, in place of which he planted corn the next summer.
Three children were born to them in Dryden, viz : Kobert, Samuel
and Katie Ann. John Seager and his children altogether cut and
cleared about one hundred fifty acres of land in Dryden.

John and Abigail, his wife, were exemplary citizens, loved and re-
spected by all who knew them. Kobert, one of the younger children,
who lived and died upon the old homestead, was throughout his
long and useful life one of the first to find out and relieve distress, and
his works for good in and out of the M. E. church, of which he was an
active member, will long be remembered.

Philip came to the town of Dryden in early manhoood, first stopping
with people who lived on Lot No. 20 and in 1827 he married Anna,
daughter of Capt. John Gardner, a wagon master of the Continental
army, who assisted Washington in crossing the Delaware. Gardner
came from New Jersey, locating on the farm still owned by his son,
Kobert B. Gardner. In the year 1830, Philip Seager purchased the
farm on Fall Creek now owned by his son George. There was on
it, even at that time, a small frame house, which is still standing in a
fair state of preservation as a relic of the old dwelling, but the log
barn, which was also there when Philip Seager purchased the farm,
disappeared a few years ago.

After many years of toil and privations, such as were known only to
the early settlers, and after accumulating a comfortable fortune, Mr.
Seager passed away at the advanced age of 85 years. In his declining
years he enjoyed relating how he and his good wife managed to get

180 HISTORY OF DRY DEN.

along, raising a large famil}' and many times not having fift}' cents
ahead. He drew all of his grain in these early days to Cayuga Lake
with an ox team, himself going barefoot. His wife spun and dyed
wool for the clothing of the family in winter and flax for summer use.
Philip Seager was a man of excellent judgment, determined stability
and good common sense.

ScHOFiELD, Joseph, alread}^ referred to in the beginning of this chap-
ter, came from Stamford, Conn., and settled on Lot No. 20 in the year
1802, being the earliest pioneer in that part of the township. Anani-
as, the oldest son, accompanied him, as well as David, who was then
an infant, and afterward the father of our Henry Schoheld. Solo-
man, a son of the pioneer Joseph, was a clergyman and wrote a book
describing the scenes and incidents of the pioneer journey of his par-
ents to Drj'den. Theodosia (Bacon), a daughter of Joseph, was the
mother of Mrs. Harriet Carpenter, now an old lady of Dryden village,
who is therefore a grand-daughter of pioneer Joseph.

Sherwood, Andrew, a soldier of the Revolution, accompanied by his
son Thomas, came from Poughkeepsie, of this state, in 1802, and locat-
ed on Lot No. 9. He died at the age of ninety-nine years. Thomas,
the son, took part in the War of 1812, was a miller b}' trade and a
worthy citizen. His eleven children, all of whom are now deceased,
are the ancestors of many present residents of Dryden.

SuTFiN, the pioneer of the Sutfin family in Dryden, who is supposed
to be the Derick Sutfin who is recorded as a justice of the peace of
the town in 1803 and a town clerk and one of the charter members of
the Presbyterian church society in Dryden village in 1808, came from
New Jersey in 1801 and settled on Fall Creek on what is now the
Duryea farm. In 1808 tradition says that he built a frame barn, one
of the first, if not the first, in the township, and to do the raising of
the frame he was required to call upon his neighbors from three towns,
the inhabitants were then so few and far between.

CHAPTER XLI.

FURTHER HISTORY OF THE SOUTH-EAST SECTION.

This corner of the township includes Dryden Lake, of which a view
has already been given at page 3 of this volume. It is located in a
good farming locality near the summit which divides the streams
which flow southerly into the Susquehanna from those which flow
northerly into the St. Lawrence system of watercourses.

THE SOUTH-EAST SECTION. 181

James Lacy, the youngest one of the five brothers who came to Drv-
deu from New Jersey Id 1801, was the first to settle near its shores,
and he soon built a dam at the outlet, thereby enlarging its natural
capacity and furnishing power for a saw-mill which he soon construct-
ed for the purpose of manufacturing lumber from the abundance of
pine which was there found. At one time five saw-mills were operat-
ed upon the outlet flowing from the Lake before Dryden village was
reached and at least one saw-mill existed at the head of the Lake
upon its inlet.

Some species of fish were found naturally existing in the waters of
the Lake when first discovered, but others, including pickerel and
perch, were afterward introduced and have multiplied, furnishing ex-
cellent fishing for an inland town, which is appreciated by the inhabi-
tants for many miles around. A number of flat-bottom boats are kept
and rented b}^ the proprietors of the Lake for fishing purposes and are
in great demand annually from the fifteenth of May, when the fishing
season begins. For some years past the saw-mill at the outlet has
been allowed to run down for the want of raw material and the only
use made of the Lake except for fishing and pleasure parties has been
the ice harvesting industry, which has developed within a few years
into an extensive business in its season. A large storage ice-house
has been erected on the bank near the railroad by the Philadelphia
Milk Supply Company, and at the proper season large quantities of
ice are harvested and stored or shipped at this point, which combines
the advantages of a high altitude, pure lake water, principally derived
from springs in the neighborhood, and convenient transportation.

In this connection we are obliged to chronicle an event which hap-
pened in this locality December 18, 1887, the murder of Paul Layton.
He was a farmer who had formerly lived on Long Island, near New
York, and had lived in Dryden quite a number of years, owning and
occupying a large farm to the northeast of the Lake. Of a somewhat
miserly disposition, employing only cheap help with whom he lived,
and having no family of his own, Mr. Layton had acquired consider-
able property and was frequently known to carr}^ a good deal of mon-
ey about his person. At the time of his death in the winter time he
had no one living with him and he was chiefly employed in caring for
his stock, which required his attention about the barn, situated in a
secluded location some little distance from the highway. Here, on
the morning of December 18, 1887, he was found wiih his skull broken,
evidently from the efl'ect of blows upon the head, but with no evidence
as to who had committed the crime. His pocketbook, in which he

182 HISTOEY OF DRYDEN.

carried his money, was gone and it was concluded that money was the
incentive which influenced the villain to commit the deed, but al-
though great efforts were made to investigate the matter, no satisfac-
tory proof as to who committed the act was ever obtained, and it
seems likely ever to remain an unsolved mystery.

Of the pioneer families of this section we can only mention :

Bailey, Jesse, who, with his son Morris, bought thirty acres of land
on Lot 56, upon which they were living as early as 1804, being a part
of the farm now owned and occupied by Cyrus Tyler. Morris Bailey
is named among the original members of the Baptist church of Etna
in 1804 and he was the father of the Bailey brothers for so long a
time residents of Dryden village but only two of whom, Wm. and
Amasa, now survive.

Carpenter, Abner, whose deed of about three hundred acres of land
on Lot No. 70, near the head of Dryden Lake, bears date March 17,
1804, was among the very earliest settlers in that part of the town,
where some of his descendants still reside. There seems to have
been a controversy between him and Jacob Hiles at the foot of the
Lake as to some rights connected therewith and among his papers we
find the bond of Jacob Hiles, executed December 3, 1814, according to
which they agree to submit to John Ellis, Jesse Stout and Joseph
Hart all of the matters in controversy.

Of the children of Abner Carpenter, Laura married Wm. Tillotson ;
John moved to Cortland ; Harry moved to Illinois ; Barney remained
in Dryden, where he died in 1892 ; Daniel moved to Groton ; Polly
married Henry Saltsman and went West, and Candace married Jarvis..
Sweetland.

Deuel, Reuben, was a Quaker and an early settler on Lot No. 76, in
what is now known as the Dusenberry neighborhood. He was a shoe-
maker and came to Dryden from Orange county, N. Y., about 1806.
We have already referred to him as one of the traveling shoemakers
who in those days went about from house to house among the farm-
ers making up their home-made leather into boots and shoes.

He was the ancestor of the Deuel families of Dryden and Caroline,
which have intermarried with many other families, and T. S. Deuel, of
Dryden village, is his grandson. His children included Morgan, Ly-
man and David Deuel, and Mrs. Thos. Freeman, of Etna.

Hemmingway, Deacon Samuel, about the year 1810, bought and
cleared up the farm now owned by Cyrus Knapp on Lot 65. He has-
already been mentioned in connection with Etna as one of the found-
ers of the Baptist church there in 1804.

THE SOUTH-EAST SECTION. 183

HoLLiSTER, KiNNER, a few years later, about 1813 or 1814, settled on
Lot No. 85, clearing up the farm now in possession of his grandson,
Frank Hollister.

HiLES, Jacob, with his sons John and George, came from New Jer-
sey early in the century, purchasing the Lake mill property of James
-Lacy before 1814. John succeeded to this property, upon which he
resided for many years and finally died, leaving a large family and
considerable property. The widow of Jacob became the second wife of
Judge Ellis. George Hiles married Percy West and was the father
of Harrison and John W.

Powers, Elijah, settled on Lot 86, where Chauncey L. Scott lived
years ago. He was there as early as 1807 and in 1808 he built a saw-
mill called the Bottom Mill, which passed into the possession of the
Yan Pelts many years later. This was the first saw-mill built on Up-
per Six Mile Creek and antedated others at Slaterville.

Rummer, Gabriel, came to Dryden and located in this section in the
year of the total eclipse (1806) and left children which included Anne
(Stevens), Levi, Polly (Purvis), Eli, Lydia (Ballard), and Phoebe F.
(Joyner). Peter Rummer, who owned the farm now known as the
Rummer farm in Dryden village, and his son Cyrus were of another
family.

Simons, Benjamin, was born January 29, 1766, and came to Dryden
from Orange county, settling upon South Hill in 1808 with five chil-
dren and his wife, Isabelle McWilliams, who was a native of Scotland.

Of the children, John and James went later to Allegany county ;
Andrew to Pennsylvania ; Jane married the Rev. Reuben Hurd, an
early minister of the Presbyterian church in Dryden village, and they
afterwards moved west ; Sarah married Edwin Cole. Benjamin, Jr.,
the old gentleman who recently died here, had remained in Orange
county until after his marriage, and Adam was born after his parents
came to Dryden, the former being the father of our Andrew Simons
and liis sisters and the latter of Nancy, Luther, Henry and William.
Benjamin, Sr., was a devoted pioneer in the Presbyterian church of
Dryden and went on foot to Orange county about 1820 to secure aid
for the completion of its building.

Smith, Wm. R., came to Caroline in 1816 and cut a road from Nor-
wood's Corner to the Pumpelly lot. No. 100. He cleared sixty-five
acres, upon which he built a log house in 1820. His father had served
in the War of 1812 from Massachusetts, and he was the oldest of a
family of seven children, all of whom came to this section of country.
He had married in 1818 Polly Vickery, and to them were born thir-

184 HISTORY OF DEYDEN.

teen childreD, which include Cynthia O'Cain, who lives in Iowa ; Bet-
sey Amy and Hannah Eastman, who have died ; Mary Ann Schutt ;
Adelia Whitman ; Clara Quick ; Sarah Hulslander ; Frances Oak ;
and Ellen Cinderella. Two boys, William R. Smith, Jr., who recently
died, and Gilbert, who is living-, have children who reside upon and
near the old homestead in the extreme south-east corner of the town-
ship. The old gentleman died September 30, 1881, 83 years of age.

CHAPTER XLII.

THE DRYDEN AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.

This institution, of which the whole town of Dryden is justly proud,
was organized in the month of July, 1856, under the Act of 1855 for
the formation of Agricultural Societies. The project was first agitated
by H. D. Rumsey in his publication called " Rumse3-'s Companion, "
being the first newspaper published in the town, the first number of
which was issued in the spring of that year. The society's first ex-
hibition was held on the small grounds which the society leased of
Col. Lewis Barton, opposite to the present permanent location, and
the principal attractions were all shown under a large tent procured
from Ithaca, for the use of which a rental of seventy dollars was paid.
The date was October 8 and 9, 1856, the total receipts being $525.63,
$140 of which was borrowed money and should be deducted to ascer-
tain the actual proceeds of the first fair, and the expenditures were
$475.33, as shown b}^ the report of the treasurer. It was considered a
great success at the start, although, as seen from the foregoing figures,
the first exhibition did not pay expenses and the receipts were not
one tenth part of the receipts of the last exhibition of the societ}'.
The temporary grounds contained about four acres, not one-fifth of
the present grounds, Avhich are found none too large to accommodate
the recent fairs.

The first officers of the S(~)ciety were Elias W. Cady, president ; Jere-
my Snyder, vice-president ; Otis E. Wood, secretary, and David P.
Goodhue, treasurer. The directors were Charles Givens, Luther Gris-
wold, Zina B. Sperry, Freeman Stebbins, Caleb Bartholomew and
James H. George. Encouraged bj- the success of their first exhibi-
tion, which then seemed great, the citizens of the town united their ef-
forts to make the societ}' jDermanent. At the first annual 'meeting,
held at Blodgett's hotel in January, 1857, Smith Robertson was elect-
ed president and John Mineah, vice-president, the other officers being

186 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

substantially re-elected. It was bj this board of officers, under the
intelligent and wise guidance of their leader, that the foundations of
the future success of the society were laid. Permanent grounds and
buildings were decided to be essential and in order to secure them a
considerable amount of money was required. In order that the own-
ership of the property might rest with the people of the Avhole town,
scrip was issued in shares of ten dollars each and taken by leading
citizens in all parts of the township, so that the title and" interest in
the success of the enterprise might be distributed as widely as possi-
ble. This scrip, which is carefully worded to favor the society as to
the terms of payment, and is still held by the people of the town, who
have never received any payment of principal and but a ver}' few
years, interest on these contributions to the capital stock of the socie-
ty, reads as follows :

" Dryden, N. Y., October 15, 1857.

" The Dryden Agricultural Society, in consideration of a loan, agrees

to pay to ._ _ , or bearer. Ten Dollars, payable as

soon as the funds of the society will admit, with interest annually
from date. For which payments the property of the society is here-
by pledged to the holder. ,

', " S. Robertson, President."

" Alviras Snyder, Secretary. "

Of this scrip 223 shares were taken, furnishing, with $781 which
was borrowed on a note of John Southworth, about three thousand
dollars, with which the permanent grounds were to be provided. The
original purchase of eight acres was made of John Southworth at
$125 per acre, and the main Fair house, a duodecagon in form, was
built by Daniel Bartholomew as contractor, upon a plan somewhat orig-
inal, at a cost of about one thousand dollars. This building is a mod-
el in its way, for the purpose for which it was designed, having been
fmitated by numerous agricultural societies in the West, and no
one ever claims to have seen a building so completely adapted to the
requirements of a country fair. A track was then constructed under
the supervision of Amos Lewis, as large as the grounds would admit,
one hundred and twelve rods in length, surrounding in its circuit all
of the principal buildings. The construction of the tight board fence
and other smaller buildings exhausted the funds and with these ac-
commodations the succeeding exhibitions of the society continued to
be annually held. In the last year of the war (1864) the receipts of
one day of the exhibition were given for the benefit of the Ladies'

DRYDEN AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 187

Sanitary and Christian Commission under the local management of
Mrs. A. McDougall, and about fifteen hundred dollars was thus real-
ized in aid of the comfort and care of the disabled soldiers at the seat
of war. Upon this date Hon. Daniel S. Dickinson, of Binghamton,
then a man of national celebrity, addressed the multitude in a manner
which is still rememberd by many who listened to him upon that oc-
casion. Since then Governor David B. Hill, Hon. Frank Hiscock and
Hon. Warner Miller have delivered addresses at these annual exhi-
bitions, which have been uniformly well attended. The finances of
the society have not always been successfully managed, and in two or
three instances unfavorable weather has materially diminished the re-
ceipts. At one time a law-suit, brought against the society for dam-
ages growing out of a collision on the track, threatened serious trouble
and imposed considerable unusual expenses from which the society
sufiered some embarrassment, but as a general rule the weather has
been favorable and the results very creditable to the managers.

About eighteen years ago the grounds were enlarged by renting for
a term of years of the Southworth estate about ten acres in the rear, up-
on which a half-mile track Avas extended wholly north of the main build-
ing, which adds much to the safety and convenience of the ground ; and,
within the past year, an additional purchase of three acres, was made
widening the grounds in front. During the past ten years under the
energetic and able assistance given to the management of the aff'airs of
the society by its eflicient secretary, J. B. Wilson, as well us others,
the exhibitions have become exceedingly successful and popular, and
many improvements have been inaugurated and new features added
by means of increased receipts and state aid, which has been received
for two years past, without increasing the small indebtedness which
has usually existed. Within the last few years a large grand standi
capable of seating one thousand people, has been constructed facing
the track, and very commodious sheds and covered pens have been
constructed, for the accommodation of horses and stock. The front
fence of a fair ground inclosure is usually a weather beaten, rick-
ety affair, covered with rough boards, liberally plastered over with
unsightly advertisements in a helter-skelter fashion, making it any-
thing but attractive in appearance. As an example of what our of-
ficers have originated and done for the society within a recent date, the
old fence in front was torn down and a new one built of the best ma-
terial, finished in panels of planed pine boards painted white, which
were sold as space for advertising purposes, in which the purchasers
were required to have painted attractive and tasty advertisements^

188 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

some of which are really artistic iu their novelty and design ; and in
this way the present fence more than paid for itself and has become a
source of revenue instead of expense to the society. This feature, due
to the practical enterprise and forethought of our Dryden officers, has
since been followed iu other places.

All the buildings inside of the grounds have recently been painted
white, and, with the tents scattered about, give one the impression
of a white city when entering the grounds. A marked improvement
has also been made in the management of the exhibitions, eflfectually
excluding from the grounds all gambling devices and the sale of in-
toxicating beverages, as well as preserving good 6rder in spite of the
large attendance. It may be safely said that the affairs of the so-
ciet}^ were never in as prosperous condition as they are now,
the present management, with good reason, predicts that, with as
good a fair as it had last season, exceeding in its receipts all pre-
vious exhibitions, it will be able to turn over to its successors
the society entirely out of debt, with all of the present substantial im-
provements fully paid for. At some periods of its history the horse-
racing element has seemed to predominate and to run the societ}' into
unnecessary expenditures ; but within the past few years this feature
of the exhibitions has been made to subserve rather than dominate
the management of its affairs, and increasing prosperity and popular-
ity of the Dryden Fair has been the result. Still, due regard has been
had to the 'claims of the horsemen, and upwards of a thousand dollars
has been expended upon the construction and improvement of the
present track, which has a record of 2:20|, is ditched and fenced
throughout, and is so well constructed and graded as to be adapted
to all kinds of weather.

Among the features developed in later years, is the public dancing,
none too well accommodated in a building originally built for an eat-
ing hall, where the 3'oung men and maidens from all the country round
meet and publicly dance to good music in a manner fi-eed from many
of the objectionable features which attend all-night public dances at
j)Oor country hotels.

At the last fair the exhibition included over four hundred head of
stock ; the awarded premiums, which have always been paid in full, ex-
ceeded two thousand dollars ; and the total receipts, as shown by the
report of the treasurer, were more than foiir thousand six hundred
dollars, the attendance probably exceeding ten thousand people, at
least more than double the number of the whole population of the
township.

»-.. .!

190

HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

As illustrating the popularity of the Dryden Fair in our neighbor-
ing towns and villages, a traveling agent came into town on the train
from Cortland in the afternoon of the last day of the last year's ex-
hibition with a discomforted look on his countenance. When asked
what the matter was, he said he had started out that morning in
Cortland to sell some goods to the merchants. In the first store at
which he called he was told that the proprietor was attending the fair
at Dryden and Avould not return until evening. Having a similar ex-
perience at the second and third stores he visited in the usual course
of his business, he concluded it was a poor day in which to find
Cortland merchants, and he started for the livery barn, intending to
drive to some of the neighboring villages, such as Truxton, Solon, etc.,
which were included in his route ; but when he reached the livery
ofl&ce he was informed that the proprietor had let every conveyance
which he could rig up to go to the Dryden Fair and had gone himself
to take the last load. Completely discouraged, he returned to his ho-
tel inquiring when there was a train for Dryden, declaring that he too
was going to the Dryden Fair where all of his customers had gone be-
fore him.

The principal officers of the society from its organization to the
present time are as follows :

PRESIDENTS.

Elias W. Cady,
Smith Robertson,
John P. Hart, -
Alviras Snyder,
Peter V. Snyder,
Charles Givens,
Jacob Albright,
Nathan Bouton,
C. Bartholomew,
Luther Griswold,
Robert Purvis,
A. B. Lamont,
Chas. Cady,

1856
1857

1858-9
1860
1861

1862-3
1864

1865-6
1867
1868
1869
1870
1871

Lemi Grover,
R. W. Barnum,
O. W. Wheeler, -
G. M. Lupton,
Martin E. Tripp, -
G. M. Lupton,
G. M. Rockwell, -
John H. Kennedy,
Theron Johnson, -
Benjamin Sheldon,
Chester D. Burch,
Seward G. Lupton,

- 1872-3

1874

- 1875
1876-82

- 1883
1884

- 1885
1886

- 1887
1888-9

- 1890-4
1895-8

SECRETARIES.

Otis E. Wood, - 1826-7

Alviras Snyder, - - 1858-9

Luther Griswold, - 1860

M. Van Yalkenburgh, - 1861

Alpheus F. Houpt,
Simeon Snyder,
W. S. Mofiat, -
Henry H. Houpt, -

1862-3
1864
1865
1866

THE ELLIS FAMILY.

191

C. D. Boutou, -

1867

W. E. Osmun,

- 1874-6

Alviras Snyder,

- 1868-9

Wm. H. Goodwin,

1877-82

John H. Kennedy,

1870

Geo. E. Monroe, -

- 1883-4

Geo. E. Monroe, -

- 1871-2

A. M. Clark, -

1885

Alviras Snyder,

1873

Jesse B. Wilson, -

1886-98

TREASUEEES.

D. P. Goodhue,

1856-7

Isaac P. Ferguson,

1873-6

Thomas J. McElheny,

1858-60

Wm. I. Baucus,

1877-82

Eli A. Spear, -

1861-3

J. B. Fulkerson,

1883-4

D. P. Goodhue, -

- 1864

David E. Bower, -

- 1885-7

Eli A. Spear, -

1865-71

DeWitt T. Wheeler, -

■ 1888-98

Walker Marsh, -

- 1872

CHAPTER XLIII.

THE ELLIS FAMILY IN DEYDEN.

From the prominence of the Ellis pioneers in the early history of
Dryden, and the fact that many of the present inhabitants trace their
ancestry back to that family, a special chapter is here devoted to its
early history.

From an old family record we find that Gideon Ellis and Elizabeth
(Manchester,) his third wife, lived, before and during the War of the
Revolution, at West Greenwich, Rhode Island, where they became the
parents of seven children, of Avhom three were destined afterwards to
become the ancestors of many Dryden people. One of these was
Oliver, born July 2, 1769 ; another, John, born May 22, 1771 ; and the
youngest, Peleg, born May 9, 1775. An older half-brother, Gideon,
Jr., Avas a pioneer of Cayuga county, and some of his descendants are
now living at Aurora and Ithaca. The three brothers mentioned emi-
grated to Fairfield, Herkimer county, N. Y., before the year 1800,
where Oliver met an accidental death, never having come to Dryden,
but his w^idow, Hannah (Reynolds,) afterwards settled with some of
her children near Malloryville in Dryden, and two of her daughters
became successively the wives of Andrew K. Fortner, the son of an
early pioneer of Dryden, and another, Susan, the wife of Charles
Grinnell, both soldiers and afterwards pensioners of the War of 1812 ;
and another, Lovina, was the old lady, Mrs. Grant, who recently
died in Dryden village. There are many descendants of Oliver now
living in other places and some descendants of the children named
still reside in Dryden.

192

HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

John Ellis before leaving Ehocle Island had married Rhoda Rath-
burn. There had recently died at Royal Grant, Herkimer county, Dr.
Samuel Cook, a Revolutionary surgeon of the 5th N. Y. Regiment, to
whom had been assigned four lots of the Military Tract, a surgeon's-
bounty. In March, 1768, John purchased of the Cook estate Lot 23
of Virgil, upon which he settled in the same year. After remaining
there about three years he sold that lot to Moses and Isaac Olmstead
and came to Dr5^den, first settling near Malloryville in 1801, whence he

removed to Ellis Hollow a
few years later. His first
wife having died, he after-
A\'ards married the widow
of Jacob Hiles, the ances-
tor of the Hiles family in
Dry den, and took up his
residence on the farm now
owned by Wesley Hiles,
where he died in 1844.
His prominence in the po-
litical history of the town
!^is unrivalled, he having
held the position of school
superintendent, co m m is-
sioner of highways, and
other offices, in addition to
having been supervisor
twenty-seven years, four-
teen of which were con-
secutive, member of as-
sembly twice, and judge
MAJOR PELEG ELLIS. ^f ^1^^ Q^^^^t of Common

From an old picture ill the possession of the family. PleaS of botll CaVUffa and

Tompkins counties. In our times a politician who holds the office of
supervisor of his town for a few years subjects himself to sufficient
criticism and envy to blast his future political ambition, if he has any ;
but it was not so with Judge Ellis, whose record as an office-holder of
the town of Dryden will doubtless always remain unequalled. He was
a large land-owner and acted as the agent of a few non-resident hold-
ers of Dryden real estate, notably the McKay and Howland estates.
At one time he was connected in land speculations with Daniel J.
Shaw, who was then a Dryden village merchant.

THE ELLIS FA:\riLY. 193

Of his children, Charlotte married Charles Hart ; Betsey, James Mc-
Elheny ; Amelia, Mahar Wigtoii ; Nancy, John Southworth ; and Ly-
dia, her cousin, Warren D. Ellis, of Varna. His sons were James,
Ira, Willett, John, and Peleg second. To those who are familiar with
the present inhabitants of Dryden these names will suggest many of
the descendants of Judge Ellis, "King of Dryden."

Peleg Ellis, the pioneer of Ellis Hollow, as we have seen, exchanged
his real estate in Herkimer county with the same Cook estate for Lot
84 of Dryden, to which he came, as has already been described in a
former chapter, in 1799. Here, on the headwaters of Cascadilla Creek,
he built his log house, to which the next year, on July 12, 1800, he
brought his wife, Ruth (Dawley,) and two daughters, Mary, aged about
four, who afterwards married Silas Hutchinson and died about five
years ago aged 96 years, and a second daughter about two years of
age, who died in childhood. Ten children were born to them at the
Ellis Hollow home, viz : Delilah, bom Jan. 30, 1801, who married
David Mulks, of Slaterville ; Olive, who married James Malks, of
Ithaca ; Lydia, who married Benjamin Ames ; Mahala, who married
Peter Worden, of Dryden; Warren D.; Ruth, who married John H.
Kimball, of Berkshire; Huldah, who married her cousin, John C. Ellis,
of Rhode Island ; Sally, who married Mareuus Ellis, late of Freeville ;
John J. Ellis, and Ann H., the widow of John M. Smith, late of Ellis
Hollow. Of these, four daughters are still living, viz : Ruth, Huldah,
Sally, and Ann H.

Peleg died May 9, 1859, aged 84 years upon that day. His wife
survived him until 1870, when she died in her ninety-third year.

Major Ellis was not, like his brother John, a politician, but in early
life turned his attention to military affairs. When the War of 1812
broke out, being captain of the early state militia in Dryden, he vol-
unteered with his whole company, instead of waiting as others did to
be drafted ; and instead of refusing to cross the Niagara River when
the battle of Queenston was about to be fought, as did so many of the
New York militia at that time, he followed across the frontier under
the leadership of Winfield Scott, with his whole company, under Col.
Bloom, of Lansing, and at the conclusion of the battle, together with
about forty of the Dryden men, was among the prisoners of war •
but they were immediately paroled and sent home. Like some oth-
ers, Major Ellis acquired in his army experience the habit of the
intemperate use of intoxicating drink and in after years when he in-
dulged too freely his martial spirit manifested itself and he would go
through the manual of arms, in imagination commanding his company

194 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

as of 3'ore, with all the preeiseness and dignity of actual military
service. As his years grew upon him, however, he came to realize
that his intemperate habits, first acquired in the army, were a detri-
ment to him, and with a resolution stronger than many men of our
times can muster, he suddenly broke himself of the growing habit, and
his last few years were characterized by his strict sobriety and a
religious life.

John and Peleg Ellis were men deservedl}^ popular and influential
with their associates, both being selected as leaders of their fellow
citizens, one in political and the other in military affairs. Both per-
formed their duties faithfully and well, and both were so constituted
as to become ornaments of the generation in which they lived and
worthy of the honor and gratitude of their posterity and of the subse-
quent generations of the township which they served as leaders in
their respective capacities.

For a portrait of Judge Ellis see frontispiece of this volume.

CHAPTER XLIV.

THE SNYDER FAMILY IN DEYDEN.

We here treat of that branch of the Snyder family which descended
from the pioneers Peter and Christopher Snyder, now constituting a
multitude, and who have cherished and preserved their family history
since leaving their old home at Oxford, N. J. The details of their
pioneer journey and earh^ settlement in Dryden are so carefully and
minutely given, affording some new facts regarding pioneer life and
manners, that we are pleased to insert in full the annals of the family
as prepared and revised under their family organization, which has an
annual meeting in our town called the " Snj^der Picnic. " Another
branch of the family, descending from the pioneer Jacob Snyder, who
came to Dryden from near the same locality and at about the same
time, probably more or less nearly related to a common origin, set-
tled near and gave its name to " Snyder Hill, " and is treated of briefly
among the pioneer families of the South-west Section.

The following is the history of the Snyder family of the town of
Dryden which was read by Alviras Snyder at the first annual picnic of
that family, Friday, September 18, 1874, and lately revised by him :

In the latter part of the winter of 1746-7, a colony of about one hun-
dred Germans emigrated from near Tinnen and near the Ems River,
n the extreme western part of Germany, and near the Holland line,

THE SNYDEE FAMILY. 195

and settled in the northwestern part of New Jerse}-. Among this
Dumber was Cristoffer Schneider (meaning a tailor) and his wife, Ka-
trina, who settled in what was then Sussex but now Warren county,
near Oxford and Oxford Furnace on what was known as Scotch Moun-
tain. It is about five miles from the village of Belvidere, in a south-
westerly direction, and two to three miles from the Delaware River.
Trenton was their nearest market, being about sixty -five miles distant,
and Greenwich, since changed to Montana, was their postoffice.

There were born to them five sons and one daughter. The sons'
names were Christopher, George, Peter, "William, and Henry, and their
only daughter was Anna, who married John Shults. The youngest
son, Henry, remained on the old homestead, and the son William and
the daughter settled near by. The son George settled in Genoa, Ca}'-
uga county, N. Y. The four older sons were in that part of the Con-
tinental Army of the Revolutionary War which was stationed in New
Jersey. The musket that Peter carried in the service and brought
home with him was very short, having a flint lock, and was sold after
his death, at his vendue, to some person residing in the eastern part
of the town of Dryden.

Peter Snyder was born in Oxford township December 26, 1752, and
died July 23, 1832. He was both a wagon-maker and a blacksmith by
trade and at the marriage of each of his children presented them with
a wagon, chains, and other utensils necessary for farming. He kept
the teams shod until he became infirm. His shop was located just
north of the four corners near Bradford Snyder's, and where the creek
now runs. In 1776 he married Mary Shaver, also a German, Avho was
born in the township of Oxford, June 25th, 1753, and died October 20,
1839.

There were born to them eleven children, viz: Elizabeth | (Nail),
born October 25, 1777, and died September 22, 1802 ; George, born
May 11, 1779, died May 9, 1843 ; Henry, born May 2, 1781, died Au-
gust 29, 1870 ; Catharine (Grover), born June 28, 1783, died January
18, 1860; Peter, born April 15, 1782, died June 25, 1875; William,
born April 9, 1787, died December 4, 1878 ; John, born February 12,
1789, died February 26, 1861; Anna (Whipple), born February 1,
1791, died February 26, 1811; Abraham, born November 23, 1792,
died October 4, 1857 ; Mary (McCutcheon), born July 17, 1796, died
March 7, 1865, and Jeremiah, born October 25, 1799, died May 7th,
1857.

Early in April, 1801, Peter Snyder and his brother Christopher
came to the township of Dryden, then Cayuga county, and selected

196 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

Lot No. 43, Avliich tbej intended to purchase. Tlie}^ though tlessl}' and
incautiously revealed their choice to one William Goodwin, who im-
mediately proceeded to Albany and purchased the lot, consisting of
six hundred and forty acres, from the state. Shortly thereafter the two
brothers, on arriving at Albany, learned of the purchase by Goodwin,
but they subsequently bought the entire six liundred and fort}' acres
of him for three dollars per acre. Immediately on their return to
New Jersey the two brothers and Henry, son of Peter, and George
Dart, son-in-law of ChristoiDher, came to Dryden and chopped the
trees from six acres of land on their newly acquired farm on the west
side of what is now Bradford and Delilah Snyder's farm, and on the
northwest bank of Fall Creek, after which they returned ho.i:.e. In
August following the two brothers and George Snyder and George
Dart returned, logged and burned over the six acres that had been
chopped the previous spring. They purchased wheat of one John
Ozmun, in the town of Lansing, for three shillings per bushel, sowed
their fallow and returned home.

On the first day of June, 1802, Peter Snyder and his entire family,
together with his son-in-la'sv, Henry Nail, and wife and child, consisting
of sixteen persons, together with all their worldly goods packed in three
lumber wagons covered with Avhite canvas, started for their future
home in the Far West. One of these wagons was drawn by two span
of horses, one by two yoke of oxen, and the other by a span of horses.
The three sons, William, John, and Abraham, barefooted, drove eight
cows the entire distance through the woods.

They were accompanied by Christopher Snyder and family, Jacob
Crutts, son-in-law of Christopher, and family, and George Dart and
family. There were in all thirty-two persons, ten teams, and six
wagons. They crossed the Delaware river at Belvidere, came through
what was known as the Beech Woods in Pennsylvania to Great Bend,
and thence to Owego. From Owego there was a track cut through the
woods as far as Pewtown, one mile east of Ithaca, along which they
came. They were obliged to cut their own road from Pewtown to
Judd's Falls, whence they came up the Bridle Eoad and arrived at the
inn of George Robertson on the evening of the eighteenth day of June,^
having been eighteen days on their journey and having traveled a dis-
tance of one hundred and sixty-five miles. Their slow progress, only
nine miles a day, is accounted for in part by the bad condition of the
roads, but mostly by the fact that the horses and cattle had to be fed
in the morning before starting, which was done by browsing ; that is,
by cutting down basswood, maple, and beech trees, and letting the an-

THE SNYDER FAMILY. 197

imals eat the tender leaves and small twigs or branches, and the same
was repeated at night, but in time so that all the animals could be prop-
erly tethered after their supper, otherwise they would wander astray.

Before starting they cooked a large quantity of provision for the
journey and made tea night and morning in a kettle which they car-
ried for that purpose, either building a lire where they encamped or
getting permission to " boil the tea kettle " over the old fashioned
fireplace. Their principal subsistence was mush and milk and samp
and milk and journey-cake, now johnny-cake, and these constituted
their main subsistence until after the harvest of their wheat. At
night they slept in inns when it was convenient, the remainder of the
time in their covered wagons. They obtained fire by striking a flint
stone with a piece of steel made for that purpose and so held that a
spark therefrom would come in contact with a piece of punk wood,
which was easdy ignited. On arriving at Charle}^ Hill, the upper half
of the east hill at Varna was found to be impassible, so that they were
compelled to cut a new road around and to the south further than
where it now is, and then back again.

On arriving here, the two brothers threw up a chip, " Wet or dry."
By chance Peter won the choice and chose the western half, each re-
taining a half interest in the wheat that was on this half. The wheat
was harvested, not with a binder, but was cut with sickles adminis-
tered by eight sturdy hands, and threshed, not with a Groton thresher
and cleaner, but with flails, upon the ground, which had been smoothed
off for that purpose. It was cleaned in true Egyptian style, by pour-
ing it from an eminence, while the wind was blowing, and the wheat
was thus separated from the chaft". This wheat was carried to Lud-
lowville on horseback, where it was ground.

The next day after their arrival, June 19th, all the working force
commenced work on Peter Snyder's log house, Avhich was located
opposite the present residence of B. Snyder. It was 20 x 24 feet,
and was completed in a few da3'S, with green hewn basswood floors*
and the roof was covered with basswood bark. They had just moved
into this house when the children came down with the measles, which
they had contracted at the Water tavern in Pennsylvania. Gerchen
Nail, the only child of Henry and Elizabeth Nail, died on July 2nd
from this disease, which was the first death in the town, and she was
followed on Sept. 22nd by her mother from consumption, which was
the first adult death in the town. Peter Snyder chiseled these names
and deaths on a brown quarry stone which still stands at their graves
in the Robertson cemetery. Up to the time of the completion of this

198 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

house, tlie families staid at George Robertson's, which was about a
mile distant, and the men while at work found their way back and
forth throuo'h the woods by means of marked trees.

Immediately on the completion of this first house, one was built by
Christopher, where Catharine Rhodes now lives.

After having been here about two weeks, the horses, allowed to run
at large, took "French leave" one night and started for their former
home. They took a straight course for Owego, instead of the circui-
tous one they had taken when they came, but were recognized by the
settlers and Avere subsequently recovered at Owego.

These houses were further improved in the summer by building a
stone fireplace about seven feet high, the upper portion of the chimney
being composed of sticks and clay. The crevices between the logs-
were filled with clay, an opening about two feet square was left in the
west end for a window and a split and hewn basswood floor was com-
pleted for the chamber, which was reached by a ladder, and the roof
was covered with shaved shingles. Up to the time the chimney was-
completed the cooking was done out of doors by means of a pole
placed upon crotched sticks, from which the cooking utensils were sus-
pended, and this department was now transferred to the fireplace. It.
was now done by means of a green pole placed across the chimney
some sis feet high, called a " lug pole," from which trammels and tram-
mel-hook^ were suspended so that the cooking utensils could be raised
or lowered at pleasure. At this time it was not an uncommon occur-
rence for this pole to get on fire and break, and down would come the
dinner. It was then a common expression to say of a person of a
weak mind, or rather below mediocrity, that he had been " hit on the
head by the lug pole." The doors were hung on wooden hinges, rudely
constructed, with a wooden latch, and a " latch string " extending
through a small hole in the door above the latch and running to the
outside. The fireplace was afterwards improved by means of iron
cranes and still later b}^ andirons.

There being no friction matches at this time, the settlers were often
compelled "to borrow fire" of one of the neighbors in the morning,,
when their own had gone out.

After the families became settled, George Snyder returned to New
Jersey, where he remained with his family until February, 1805.

Peter Snyder subsequently purchased all of Lot No. 42 of a Mr.
Constable for $2.75 per acre, but shortly thereafter sold one hundred
and twenty acres of this to a Mr. Skillinger, so that he was enabled to
give each of his sons one hundred and six acres of land and each of his

THE McGRAW FAMILY. 199

danghters fifty-three acres in one contiguous body. Thus it is seen
that our ancestors followed, to a certain extent, the old English rule
of giving the sons more than the daughters. He afterwards purchased
fifty-eight acres of land on Lot No. 90, Ulysses, now Ithaca, which
came into possession of his daughter Anna (Whipple.)

The descendants of Peter Snyder, commencing at the time of their
marriage in 1776, and including all who intermarried therein, were, on
Sept. 15th, 1874, 668 ; deaths in that time, 128 ; males in the family,
325 ; deaths therefrom, 66 ; females, 343 ; deaths, 62 ; then living, 540 ;
males, 259 ; females, 281. As far as a census at the present time
could be taken there have been in the family 1068 persons ; males,
517 ; deaths, 138 ; females, 551 ; deaths, 143 ; now living, 887.

This family instituted an annual picnic in 1874 and the family has
had an annual reunion every year since.

Christopher Snyder died the next year after his settlement in Dry-
den, in 1803, leaving eight children, viz : Katrina (Crutts,) William,

Mary (Brown,) (Dart,) Christo'pher, Sarah (Sovocool,) David,

and Margaret (Rhodes.) The Rhodes and Crutts families of Dryden
are descended from this branch.

CHAPTER XLV.

THE MC'GRAW family IN DRYDEN. ^ *

Some time about the year 1827, two sturdy" lads, tall and well pro-
portioned but clad in homespun clothing and barefooted, came to
" Dryden Corners " from the South Hill neighborhood, driving an ox
team and bringing to market a wagon load of pine shingles which they
had shaved by hand. They drove up to the store kept by Phillips &
Brown near the spot where the M. E. church now stands, and, after ex-
changing their cargo of shingles for such store goods as they needed
and could afford to bu}', returned to their home in the Irish Settle-
ment. These young men were Joseph, Jr., and John McGraw, who
afterwards became men of prominence and influence in the business
and social affairs of their native town of Dryden, afterwards becoming
residents of Ithaca, whei'e both resided when they died.

Their father, Joseph McGraw, Sr., had emigrated in the year 1806
from Armagh, in the north of Ireland, a locality inhabited by a race of
Scotch people Avho came there from Scotland at or before the time of
Cromwell. The maiden name of their mother was Nelson, and the
McGraws, Nelsons, and Teers brothers, as well as Hugh Thom]:)son

^200

HISTOEY OF DRYDEN.

and others of this Scotch-Irish descent, temporarily settled in Orange
county, N. Y., where Thomas, the oldest son of the McGraws, was born
in the year 1808. After another sojourn of two years in Delaware
county, they moved to Dryden, where they founded the " Irish Settle-
ment " in 1811.

It seems, at first thought, surprising that the earl}" settlers should
many of them have sought their homes in the most inaccessible and
least productive portions of the township, but we must remember

that the qualities of the
soil in the different local-
I ities Avere not known then
' as they are now, and the
' higher hilly lands were
I then considered more
j healthful than the low
lands of the valleys, which,
in early times, while the
swamps were lieing
drained and subdued by
their first cultivation, were
' subject to epidemic fevers,
which in those days pre-
vailed with malignant se-
verity and caused the pre-
mature death of many of
the inhabitants.

As pioneers, Isaac Teers
made his home on what
is now the Cole place, and
John upon what is now
known as the Miller farm,

JOHN MC GRAW,

while the McGraw family lived on the Hammond place, in the old log
house then standing about four rods north-east from where the frame
house on that farm is now located. In this log house Joseph, Jr., was
born in the year 1812 and John in 1815, their only sister, Nancy (Clem-
ent), being older than either. There was still* another son, Henry, a
bright, promising boy, who died under twenty years of age.

As already stated, the father was a weaver by trade, a man of fair
education for those times, a great reader and a good talker, being able
to quote from a good memory much of what he had read. The moth-
er was a woman of intelligence, possessed of a quiet and amiable dis-

THE McGRAW FAMILY. 201

position, and very much loved and respected by her friends and neigh-
bors. Both lived to old age, residing in the fifties a half-mile north of
" Dr^'den Corners, " and later at Willow Glen, where they both died.
Their oldest son, Thomas, who, as we have seen, was l)orn in 1808,
died before he was thirty years of age. He is spoken of by those who
knew him in terms of the highest admiration and is described as a
compact, well bnilt, handsome fellow, with good features and a face
beaming with intelligence, naturally easy, graceful and attractive in
his manners, and large-hearted and generous in his disposition. His
earh' business enterprises as a merchant at " Dryden Corners " were
successful and, had he lived to full maturity, his prospects seemed
equal to if not greater than those of his younger brother, John, who
became a millionaire. His early death was greatly lamented at the
time. He left a young wife, Sarah Ann (South worth), who afterwards
married Henry Beach and after his death Dr. D. C. White, all of whom
she survived and is still living in New York city.

Joseph McGraw, Jr., also became a Dryden merchant and, in 1840,
built the brick store now kown as the Hardware block on the south-
east of the Dryden four corners. He afterwards went into mercantile
business with George W. I*hillips in the brick store on the opposite
corner, thus forming a partnership which resulted in a long and ex-
pensive as well as an unprofitable litigation for both parties. Joseph
afterwards turned his attention to farming, bringing into the country
improved breeds of farm stock, and finall}^ retiring to Ithaca, where he
resided when he died, in the year 1892. His first wife was Sarah
Clement, by whom he had two children, Sarah Jane (Simpson) and
John, both of whom were survived by their father, but both of whom
left surviving issue. By his second wife, Sa.rah A. Sears, he had five
children, all of whom are now living, viz : Thomas H., at Poughkeep-
sie, N. Y. ; Lettie (Gauutlett), in Ithaca, N. Y. ; Georgie (Curtiss), and
Joseph W., at Portsmouth, Mich. ; and Frank S., at Buftalo, N. Y.

With the exception of a son of Nancy Clement, the children and
grandchildren of Joseph McGraw, Jr., are the only descendants of the
oiiginal McGraw famih' of Dr3-den which now survive.

John McGraw, the youngest and most noted of the children who
reached maturity, was in some respects different from the other mem-
bers of the family. The others, like their father, were sociable and
locjuacious, while John was reserved and sedate, but all were ^jos-
sessed of a gentle dignity which was characteristic of all of these
brothers. The florid complexion, with light or sandy hair, which pre-
vailed in the family, found an exception in John, whose hair was black.

202 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

We are told that liis father obtained for him a position as a clerk with
Daniel J. Shaw, who was then a Dryden merchant, at a salar}^ of eight
dollars per month, one-half of which was given to his mother. In
after years he said that one of the happiest moments of his life was
when, after working for his employer for the first few weeks, he vent-
ured to ask him one evening after the store was closed if he was satis-
fied with his services, and received the reply, "More than satisfied."
Upon the death of his older brother, Thomas, John succeeded to his
business, in partnership with their common father-in-law, John South-
worth. Soon after this, in September, 1840, his only child, Jennie
McGraw-Fiske, was born in the house since owned by Erastus Lord,
nearly opposite to the Southworth homestead, and in 1847 his wife,
Rhoda (Southworth,) died of consumption.

While a Dryden merchant. Mr. McGraw became interested in lum-
ber speculations in a small way, which prepared him for his future
success upon a large scale in that line of business, first in Allegany
county, and afterwards in Michigan, where he operated near Bay City
one of the largest lumber mills in the country. He at one time resid-
ed in New Jersey and again in Westchester county, N. Y., after taking
for his second wife, Nancy Amelia Southworth, who died in 1857. He
afterwards retired to Ithaca, where he married Jane P. (Turner,) wid-
ow oi Samuel B. Bates, who survived him, he having died in the year
1877, possessed of a fortune of over two millions.

Of John McGraw, the late Henry W. Sage, at one time his partner
in business, said : " He was upright, prompt, true, and sensitive to the
nicest shade of honor. His active, practical life was a living exponent
of that within, which abounded with faith, hope, courage, and fidelity
— the qualities which make up and stamp the noble man." He was the
donor of the McGraw building to Cornell University and in his latter
years was president of the First National Bank of Ithaca.

Of his only child, Jennie McGraw-Fiske, who survived him, we have
spoken more fully in the chapter devoted to the Southworth Library,
of which she was the founder.

CHAPTER XLVL

THE BEN.JAMIN WOOD FAMILY.

Benjamin Wood was born in 1789, at Scituate, Providence county,
R. I., and died at his well-known home in Dryden, on Lot 32, Wood-
lawn. He was directlv descended from the Rhode Island off-shoot of

THE BENJAMIN WOOD FAMILY. 203

the Judge Elijah Wood family, of aristocratic English or Welsh ex-
traction, which settled Gorham, Mass., in the seventeenth century, and
in that day flourished its coat-of-arms. Of this Ehode Island branch,
oame Benjamin Wood, Sr., of Revolutionary fame, born about 1740,
who was everywhere and widely known as "Captain" Benjamin Wood,
having been a captain of "Minute Men" of Providence county, R. I.,
who did good service in the Revolutionary War. He kept the " Way-
Farers' Inn " at Nitmug Hill, near a famous quarry of that celebrated,
stone in Scituate. The entertainer of that day of no books and no
newspapers, or almost none, was the general and local news head-
quarters of a locality. Captain Benjamin was a man of great influ-
ence, often the arbiter of local disputes, and one who shaped public
opinion upon the general or local questions of interest, so that his
fine physique and affable manners at his popular hostelry quickly in-
dicated him as a leader against Indian or British encroachments. His
militar}' title was easily won in that way. He is said to have worn it
well. He died at great age at the above place. Of his numerous but
unfortunate family of twelve children, two came to their deaths by ac-
cident and only one lived to mature age, Nathan, born at the place
above-named, about 1764, who died at Albion, Mich., in 1846. At
the breaking out of the Revolutionaiy War, he became, at twelve years
of age, the body servant of his father in his campaigning tent life.
GroAving up in the easy haliits of camp life, Nathan became a man of
no force of character and never better than a second man on his job.
As such he married Amy, the daughter, of pioneers Thomas and Alice
Stone Hammond, who have already been referred to in Chapter 39,
and with them removed to the wilderness of Chenango Valley in 1803.
He worked as a brick-maker in tlie different brick works of his broth-
er-in-law, Daniel Hammond, through his pioneer pilgrimages in Che-
nango Valley, Willow Glen, and lastly on Lot 32 of Dryden, the Lemi
Grover brickworks corner.

From Nathan Wood and Am}' (Hammond) were born Lydia, Benja-
min, Nathan Jr., Polly, and Martin B. Wood. Lydia married Orrin
Squire, who also assisted in the above-mentioned brick works, and
later established those on West Hill, Ithaca. They built the log
house in the first clearing at Woodlawn about 1820. This was located
forty rods west of Woodlawn cemetery, where the clearing had been
made before Maher Wigton's time, by Andrew Grover, Sr., but his title
had proven false, and he had to abandon it. From them is descend-
ed, with a few others, Mary Squire, wife of David B. Howard, auditor
of the Wabash Railway Svstem, St. Louis, Mo.

204 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

Polly Wood became the wife of John Robertson, the first miller at
the first grist-mill in West Drydeu, built by Capt. George Robertson
on the north side of Fall Creek, between his house and the house of
the late Casper Miller. They have left a very few descendants near
Albion, Mich.

Martin B. married Phebe, sister of Hon. Ezra Cornell, and became
a banker of considerable means, but died suddenly, leaving a very few
descendants at Albion, Mich.

Some peculiarities of the life of Benjamin Wood may well be scanned
to see if they do not furnish the " cause and cure for hard times," of
which our later nineteenth century citizen delights to complain. He
was, in all respects, the opposite of his father, Nathan, taking the
make-up of Captain Benjamin, for whom he was named. Born to the
hard crusts of rocky Rhode Island, his push made him, at an early
age, a good mechanic in cooperage, brick making, and the use of edge
tools ; and he was a model farmer, always alternately plying the voca-
tion which promised the best returns. Two rules of his life grew out
of this condition : " Never risk your eggs all in one basket " and
" Every trade is worth one hundred dollars to its owner, to fall back
upon. " Coming to Chenango Valley, N. Y., in 1803, with his grand-
parents' party (Thomas and our pioneer, Alice Stone Hammond, and
their son Dauiel's family) and w^orking in every trade through Oxford,
Sherburne, and farther up that valley, he met, wooed, and won in
1807, a beautiful, strong, healthy girl. Miss Mary Bonesteel, of Ger-
man parentage, who, with ancestral thrift, was working her way from
her birthplace, Warren's Bush, near the line of Montgomery and Her-
kimer counties, down through this valley, doing work at the best price
for every one who could raise mone}^ enough to pay for it ; which, in
those days, even outwitted the gold basis of to-day, to fiud. He was
eighteen years and she seventeen years old and their entire capital on
both sides was good health and the Yankee grit for work ; he had a
corn meal sieve, and she a good feather bed ; each had a few cents
onh^ in money, and clothes for simple decency, both homespun and
homemade, and that was all, she being a beautiful girl and he a brave,
ambitious young man. We have heard of but one Dryden man
who started married life with less capital than this, and made a nice
success of it — Nathan Dunham, of Etna, whose wife, Millie, owned
three ducks, and he had to borrow a dollar to pay the parson's fee.

From the marriage of Benjamin and Mary Wood, sprang eleven
children : Elmira (Bristol), Mary Ann (Cornell), Lydia, Orrin S., Mer-
ritt L., Emily (Dunham), Harriet (Dunham), Caroline, Norman B.,

THE BENJAMIN WOOD FAMILY. 205

Otis E., and Cordelia M. (Chase), all of whom, excepting Ljdia and
Caroline, who died single, lived to full age, married, and reared chil-
dren.

After the birth of their second child, Mary Ann, in 1811, they found
that the constantly growing scarcity of money made it impossible to
sell for money a day's labor, or one article of produce, in the newly
developed territory of Chenango Yalley or westward. Just then the
incipient factory system of Southeastern New England, struggling for
its very existence, had received a stimulus, not so much from National
betterment as from the coldness of foreign relations, placing a check
upon imports, and presenting a prospect of a speedy second war with
England, and only the factories were paying ready money for Avages.
The next three years, to 1814, by reason of the war, were prosperous
ones, and having gone there in 1812 to enjoy them, they had saved
some ready money, but the reactionary collapse came, the factories were
all crushed, and all work and money pay stopped. During their stay
there Benjamin's skill with edge tools as a worker of wood had intro-
duced himself into the repair and improvement of reeds used by
the factories for weaving. His pretty good natural foresight satisfied
him that for the next few years, at least, clothes, which must be had,
must be raised upon the frontier farms and made of wool and flax, at
home, w^tli such exchanges of these products for cotton cloths as might
be made with such factories as might run. Chenango Valley, N. Y.,
which, many years later, became quite famous in cotton industries,
had just taken a taste of them when their collapse came, but Benja-
min believed that the rapidly settling sections of Western New Y'"ork
might foster this factory work, and it proved so.

When the Rhode Island stoppage came he immediatel}' took his
family, then consisting of himself, wife, three children, his parents,
and youngest brother, Martin B., all of whom were dependent upon
him, and putting upon one ox-team, all, except such as could walk,
started Avith all their earthly goods, upon an early winter trip for Che-
nango Yalley and farther Western New York. Reaching Albany, after
considerable suffering, they found the ice too thick for the ferry and
too thin to cross with teams and goods. After a day or two of delay, the
ice thickening, they, with the stretch of all the chain, rope, and other
possible ties, between the oxen and the vehicle, and scattering out the
party to the utmost, crossed in safety, wended their way this time to
Sherburne, in Chenango Yalley, and a little later, soon after 1818, to
their few years' home in fertile Quaker Basin, just east of DeRuyter,
Here grew the acquaintance of Ezra Cornell, a lad of nine, from Crumb

206 HISTOEY OF DRYDEN.

Hill, and Mary Ann Wood, the child of five years, which in 1831 rip-
ened into matrimony.

Benjamin had, through these years, kept up a small trade in weav-
er's reeds and reed repairs, and in their exchange for cotton cloths
sold by him to frontier farmers and small dealers ; but he also real-
ized that he had not reached out far enough in Western New York for
the location of his weaver's reed manufacturing industry, because the
chief customers must be the occupants of frontier farms who needed
to use his reeds in the manufacture of their w^ool and flax product for
clothes. Accordingly, in 1819, he located near Willow Glen, Dryden^
N. Y., led there by his uncle, Daniel Hammond, and lived for two
years in the house first east from the Chas. Cady residence of later
years, still continuing large gardening operations, of which he was
very proud and from which he always derived a living. In 1821 he fol-
lowed this Uncle Hammond to the Supervisor Grover corner of Lot
32, Western Dr^'den, taking the first fifty acres east of said corner,
now Woodlawn, and at this location first established a regularly locat-
ed weaver's reed manufactory, in connection with labor in the uncle's
brickyard, and with felling the huge pine forests to bring forward his
new fertile farm, which he thus increased to two hundred acres.

The success of Benjamin and Mary Wood lay in the management of
family and business. The first duty of every one of their eleven
children, and of other motherless ones left to their care, numbering
fifteen in all, was to be every moment in school. Out of school-hours
every child was made to scrupulously pursue, both boys and girls,
such home labors as were allotted, according to age and strength, so
that every one became a source of profit at ten years of age, and near-
ly all of them at seven years. No playing was done by old or young,
in the place where work belonged. The weaver's reed shop fur-
nished work for all, at leisure farm seasons, for nearly thirty years, and
was then sold out and abandoned. The farm-house w^ork was always
systematically divided, so that the family, usually consisting of twenty
members, were all profitably employed. To Mary Ann, until her mar-
riage to Ezra Cornell in 1831, fell the duty of spinning and weaving
every yard of cloth, both flax and wool, worn by the entire twenty
persons. Nothing was bought which could be raised from the farm,
whether of food or clothing. Whole grain was rarely fed or sold, but
the coarse parts were used as food for animals, and hay, straw, or other
fodder was never sold, being required for animal food or bedding, and
to absorb the liquid fertilizers to make the farm lands better. Smok-
ing, drinking, and profanity were strictly forbidden, and not a member

THE BENJAMIN WOOD FAMILY. 207

left the family with these habits. A most exemphiry farmer, his fences
and buildings were neatly kept ; and his lands, well tilled, constantly
gained in fertility, so that he became, along with Colonel Brewer, Will-
iam Carman, and such men, one of the first presidents of Tompkins
County Agricultural Society. The same rigid money habits were rec-
ognized on the farm, and on public days a son was allowed twenty-five
cents pocket money for himself, for dinner, and, to meritorious mem-
bers', if allowed a horse, twenty-five cents more for its dinner. In
these times on all public days most young men of all grades, sons or
hired help, will present a five-dollar bill to be changed for their rail-
way fares.

Sylvester Snyder, whose unequaled habits of thrift were formed on
this farm, in fifteen years of labor upon it, mostly at twelve dollars
per month, $144 dollars per year, put away regularly nineteen dollars
for boots, clothes, hats and expense moneys for an entire year, and
$125 dollars was "salted down" and was used to pay for sixty acres of
the best land in Lansing when he began to farm for himself. There
is a pattern for boys who earn farms.

Benjamin Wood had an executive ability which was his fotrune. He
was a true American " boss ;" he took the charge of his work, in per-
sonal brain work ; he did his regular day's hard hand labor with every
hired person, asking no one to do more than he. At the same time he
always shrank from public ofiice honors ; never would accept any office
but overseer of highways ; always wanted and always had that honor,
and his Highway was so well kept that in his later life it was the" only
one in town which became infested with horse racing, and hence
was a source of chagrin to him. Although Woodlawn was naturally a
cold, wet farm, it became a model one, and the water was so well kept
going from it, and from the highway, that the neighbors below de-
clared it to be a genuine misfortune to live below so wet a farm as his.

Benjamin Wood and his friend Col. William Cobb, of the opposite
end of his school district, were the first clamorers for the Eight-
Square Brick School-house, and were the first persons to furnish
graduating scholars from it, to higher schools, from that school dis-
trict. Under his advice, Mr. Smith Robertson, one of his most efii-
cient employees, accepted two and one-half years of school there, as
teacher, at thirteen dollars per month, the same price he had there re-
ceived as farm hand, and which led to his preparation just after at
Homer Academy, and his graduation from Union College in 1843.

Of the eleven children of Benjamin and Mary, Elmira became a
teacher, married John S. Bristol, and died in 1847. Her husband.

208 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

and their two sous, M. Channino- and Charles H., became successively
Superintendents of Construction of the Western Union Telegraph Co.,
. a most responsible and lucrative place ; in charge at Chicago of all
their vast work west of the Alleghanies, through the Middle, Western^
and Northwestern states and territories to the Pacific coast, and all
along that coast. Mary Ann became the wife of Ezra Cornell, of Uni-
versity fame, and from them were descended Ex-Governor Alonzo B.
Cornell, Franklin C. Cornell, chief financial officer of Ithaca Savings
Bank and Ithaca Trust Co., and other children, mostly of Ithaca. Ly-
dia, born in Rhode Island, died single. Orrin S. and Otis E. Wood
will be mentioned in Chapter LII of this volume. Merritt L. married
successively, Caroline B. Sage, and Adelia M. Irish ; no children. His
business has been successively superintendent of telegraphs and su-
perintendent of railways, and he is now an orange grower in Florida.
He w^as instrumental in bonding Ithaca for the original one hundred
thousand dollars for the building of the railway now known as the El-
mira & Cortland Branch of the Lehigh Valley System. Emily married
Jonathan Dunham, whose family of three children, married, live in the
North-west. Harriet married Jonathan Dunham, and died soon after,
without children. Caroline died unmarried. Norman B. married H.
Anna Spencer, and is simply missing in the North-west. Cordelia M.
married Alonzo Chase and has three daughters, all living at Redfield,
South Dakota.

CHAPTER XLVII. ,

JOHN SOUTHWORTH.

The subject of this chapter impressed those who personalh' knew
him as a man of no ordinary ability. His long life, extending through-
out a large portion of our Century Period, during which he accumulat-
ed a princely fortune, had a marked influence in the towai of Dryden.
He was born at Salisbury, Herkimer county, N. Y., September 26,
1796, and died in Dryden, December 2, 1877. His ancestors were
from Massachusetts, and his father, Thomas, in August, 1806, came to
Dryden with his family, which included John, then a lad ten years of
age.

Thomas, who was a tanner and currier by trade, and a man of
moderate means but of exemplary character and habits, first located
in Dryden upon a farm of eighty acres which he purchased at Willow
Glen. Afterwards he lived with his son at Dr^^den village, where he
died in July, 1863, 91 years of age.

JOHN SOUTHWOBTH.

209

Soon after coming to Willow Glen, young John was sent oft' some
distance with his father's team, which he took the liberty of trading
for another. The exchange, like most of his dealings in after life,
proved a fortunate one, but his father was greatly displeased that his
son should have taken such unauthorized liberties with his property,
and reproved him severely, ])redicting certain disaster as the result of
such precocious tendencies. When John was twenty years of age, he
married Nancy, a daughter of Judge Ellis, ;ind purchased fifty acres

of land adjoining the farm
of his father. He was
then obliged to borrow
the money in order to pay
for a pair of steers with
which to do the team
work on his farm. After
a few years he sold out
his first purchase of land
and bought the farm in
Dry den village which af-
ter w a r d s 1) e c a m e his
homestead. In these ear-
ly years he developed a
remarkably quick and ac-
curate judgment as to the
value of projDerty, which
followed him through life
and enabled him to ac-
quire a fortune, while
others, with the same sur-
roundings and with more

JOHN SOUTHWOliTH. A.--t i,„ ^i i t •

toil, barely made a living,
a dozen years from the time of his startjn business for himself,
he was worth as many thousands of dollars.

His first wife died March 16, 1830, while he was living in the house
where Will Mespell now resides, on East Main street in Drydeji vil-
lage. By her he had five children, viz : Rhoda Charlotte, who died
December 14, 1847, having become the first wife of John McGraw and
the mother of Jennie McGraw-Fiske ; Sarah Ann, who became suc-
cessively the widow of Thomas McGraAv ; Henry Beach, and Dr. D. C.
White, and who is still living at an advanced age in New York city ;
John Ellis, who became a successful man in business, but who died in

210 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

early manhood in New Y'ork city without issue ; Nanc}' Amelia, the
second wife of John McGraw ; and Thomas G., who married Malvina
Freelaud and still lives at Rochelle, IlL John Willis and his children
are the only descendants of Thomas G., and the only living descend-
ants of John Southworth by his first wife.

In 1831 he married Betsey Jagger, by whom he had five children,
viz : Betsey Fidelia, who died in youth ; Rowena, who became the
wife of Hiram W. Sears, and the mother of John G. Sears, formerly
district attorney of Tioga count}", N. Y., now a lawyer of Denver, Col-
orado, and died October 9, 1866 ; Charles G., who died unmarried in
1872 ; William H. Harrison, who married Ella Ward and died in 1885,
leaving a family of three children ; and Albert, who married Diantha
Bissell, and died in 1886, leaving a family of three children.

In Novemlier, 1833, Mr. Southworth engaged in the mercantile bus-
iness with Thomas McGraw, afterwards his son-in-law. In 1836 he
built the oiiginal brick store on the corner of South and West Main
streets and in the same year his brick house on North street. He early
experienced some business misfortunes, but his dealings were on the
whole very successful. The purchase of a large tract of pine lands in
Allegany county in partnership with his son Ellis and his son-in-law,
John McGraw, was one of his most successful investments. The bulk
of his wealth, however, was not made in large transactions, but in the
careful, constant, shrewd management of small affairs, out of which his
genius derived profits when others would have failed.

To the writer, who had some personal intercourse with him in his
declining years, John Southworth was a very interesting character.
Having no business education except that acquired from common ex-
perience and observation, and no schooling except of the most rudi-
mentary kind, he would express himself clearly in unpolished but forci-
ble and terse language, and would write out with his own hand a
contract which, for precision and completeness, few lawyers could equal.
Of a genial and social nature, he could tell a good story as well as
make a good bargain. He was kind hearted as well as penurious and
one of the anecdotes of his career so fully and correctly illustrates the
combination of these somewhat conflicting qualities that we feel im-
pelled to insert it here, as follows : In his dealings with a shiftless, un-
fortunate man who lived in the South Hill neighborhood, he took a
mortgage on the poor man's only cow to secure the payment of what
was due him, which was about equal to the value of the animal. Re-
ceiving no payments, he came to the conclusion that the only way in
which he could collect what was justl}^ due him was to take the cow on

JOHN SOUTH WOETH. 211

the mortgage. Convinced of this, he started out one morning with a
boy to assist in bringing home his property. Arriving where the man
lived and finding the cow in the door-yard, he directed the boy to let
her out into the road while he went into the house and made known
his business. The man did not appear, but his wife came to the door
with her little children following and clinging around her. She said
to Mr. Southworth that her husband was away and that the cow was
all that she had left wdth which to feed her little ones. Bursting into
tears she continued, saying that if the cow was to be taken from her
she should die in despair. Mr. Southworth stood at the door listen-
ing to her statement, while the children cried in sympathy with their
mother, until he, too, commenced to weep. The boy, who was driving
out the cow as directed, seeing the situation, hesitated, suspecting that
feelings of sympathy would overcome Mr. Southworth's first inten-
tions ; but he was mistaken, for, observing the delay in carrying out
his instructions, Mr. Southworth dashed the tears from his eyes and,
calling to the boy in a severe tone, he said : " Why in h — 1 don't you
drive along that cow?" The firm determination to have what belonged
to him overcame his sympathetic impulses, which were also strong.
The cow was legally and equitably his property and, as he considered
it, he paid in large taxes his full share towards the support of the poor.

While Mr. Southworth never held any public office, his time being
fully taken up in his many business interests, to all of which he gave
Ms own personal attention, he was not insensible to his public duties
as a private citizen. When volunteers were being called for during
the dark hours of the War of the Rebellion, he contributed at one of
the war meetings five hundred dollars for the aid of the families of
those who should go to the front. When the question of building a
railroad, which resulted in securing to Dryden the Southern Central
branch of the Lehigh Valley, was being agitated, and other more nar-
row-minded property holders refused their aid, he was a liberal con-
tributor to its stock, which was then of very doubtful value and after-
wards of none at all.

While he was not known as a religious man, and, in his forcible
use of language, was often quite profane, the church people of the vil-
lage did not always apply in vain for his assistance in their financial
affairs. He was at one time pursuaded to attend one of the meetings
of the M. E. church society, the object of which was to raise funds
with which to enlarge and repair their church edifice. Bishop Peck,
who, in his youth, was one of the first M. E. clergymen located at Dry-
den, and with whom Mr. Southworth had thus formed an old friend-

212 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

ship, was present at this special meeting to raise funds for the church.
After Mr. Southworth had consented to subscribe one hundred dol-
lars, the bishop, minister, and church members endeavored to obtain
smaller contributions from those of less ability. In this effort Mr.
Southworth readily joined, finally offering to contribute fifty dollars
more if John Perrigo and another man would sign for twenty-five dol-
lars each, which would thus add another one hundred dollars to the
fund. When the others hesitated, Mr. Southworth, in his earnestness
to carry out the scheme and unmindful of the company he was in,
said: "Why, d — mn it to h — 1, Perrigo, you can do that much." It
is needless to say that the bishop and church members w^ho sur-
rounded him did not severely rebuke him for his strong language up-
on that occasion.

While Mr. Southworth was a man of a strong will, which would bear
no contradiction, he was not altogether heartless or unreasonable, and
he always manifested a disposition to help those who were inclined to
strive to help themselves. Unmerciful to those who were unfaithful
to their agreements with him, there was no limit to the confidence wliich
lie placed in those by whom he thought confidence was merited.
While extremely simple and economical in his personal habits, his
hospitality was unbounded. His faults were for the most part on the
surface, and of his better qualities he made no display. Notwith-
standing the rapid decline in the value of his real estate shortly be-
fore his death, his accumulated property inventoried nearly a million.

CHAPTER XLVIII.

MILD GOODEICH.

The subject of this chapter was born at East Homer, N. Y., January
3, 1814. His parents, who had recently emigrated from the East, were
natives of Sharon, Conn., and were in humble but respectable circum-
stances, his mother, Almira (Swift,) being a woman of great industry
and ambition, while his father. Philander, was a mason by trade, serv-
ing at one time as a captain of the state militia, and noted as a
man of high character and genial disposition. When Milo was about
two years of age, his parents moved and located upon a small farm
near the Marl Ponds in Cortlandville, where the childhood of our sub-
ject was spent. He early manifested a great fondness for books, and
when he was sixteen years of age he commenced teaching the same
district school at South Cortland where, up to that time, he had re-

MILO GOODRICH. 213

ceived his education. Thereafter he pursued his studies by meaus of
the mone}' Avhich he could save in teaching, being a student of the old
Cortland Academy at Homer, and afterwards at Oberlin Institute, in
Ohio, which had then recently been established to aid students who
were obliged to pay their own way. In the meantime he taught dis-
trict schools in Groton, Peruville, and Berkshire, N. Y., as well as in
Mahoning, Pa., and Brooklyn and Weymouth, Ohio. In the year 1838
he commenced the study of law in the office of Judge Barton, at
Worcester, Mass., where he Avas admitted to practice in 1810. He
then went West, to the territory, as it was then, of Wisconsin, where
he practiced law in the new country at Beloit. After two years of this
experience he returned to NeAV York, and in 1844 he married Eunice
A. Eastman, of the town of Groton, and soon afterwards removed to
the adjoining town of Dryden, which was his home for the next thirty
years.

Here he commenced his practice of law in a very humble way, rent-
ing only rooms in which to commence housekeeping, possessing no
means, and not yet being admitted to practice in the higher courts of
this state. There was, however, in those days, much litigation in
justice's court, which served as a school in which his great natural
ability rapidly developed, and he was thus enabled to rise from the
lowest to the highest grade of his profession. In 1849 he was ap-
pointed postmaster at Dryden village and at about the same time he
served as superintendent of schools for the township.

In 1848 his parents moved to Dryden, building with him the home
on South street where they lived together until their death.

In 1867 Mr. Goodrich was elected a delegate to the state consti-
tutional convention of that year, and subsequently was a member of
Congress from his district. In the former capacity, as a member of
the judiciary committee and among men of the highest rank in the
state, he alone submitted a minority report in favor of an elective
judiciary with a term of fourteen years for its judges, instead of chang-
ing back to a judiciary appointed for life ; and his report, substan-
tially as submitted by him and subsequently adopted by the conven-
tion and finally by the people of the state, embraces the system which
has ever since prevailed.

In the year 1875 his increasing practice in the U. S. courts and the
higher courts of his own state influenced him to remove to x4.uburn,
where he continued to be engaged in a business of great activit}' and
success until about two weeks before his death, which occurred April
15, 1881. His remains were brought to Dryden, where they rest Avith

214 HISTOEY OF DEYDEN.

those of his parents and of several of his children, who had died be-
fore him. During the past year, his wife, Eunice A. Goodrich, who
was a woman of domestic habits but possessed of a strong character,
and was a devoted wife and a noble mother of his children, was buried
beside him.

Of their eight children three only survive, viz : George E., who oc-
cupies the homestead and continues the practice of law in Dryden ;
Frank, who is now a member of tlie faculty of Williams College ; and
Fanny G. Schweinfurth, of San Francisco, Cal.

It will be impossible to convey to the reader who did not know him
an adequate conception of the magnetic power of Milo Goodrich as a
speaker, especially when engaged in the trial of cases before a jury-
When he Avas attending court in Ithaca and Cortland there were but
few important trials in which he was not engaged. He devoted him-
self almost exclusively to his chosen profession, which he pursued for
the success which awaited his eflbrts in it, rather than for the pecun-
iary compensation. Many of the expressions in his arguments were so
impressive that the}' are still remembered and cherished by those who
listened to them. He was endowed by nature with a strong physical
constitution, which rendered him capable of incessant work, and he
possessed great mental power, which, when fully developed, impressed
all who came in contact with him. Not alone distinguished as a law-
yer, he developed rare literary taste and culture, and some of his
poetry upon local subjects exhibited his abilities in that direction.
Upon public occasions he frequently delivered addresses, and in all
political campaigns of his time he was one of the foremost local
speakers.

He was a Eepublican in politics until the Greeley campaign, which
caused him to separate himself from the party to which he had, up to
that time, given his earnest and conscientious support. Of a generous
and public-spirited disposition, he liberally supported all public enter-
prises, and, when the Southern Central railroad was contemplated, he
united his efforts with others in securing its accomplishment, without
seeking its emoluments. His magnetic influence as a speaker and his
high character as a man will always be remembered by those who per-
sonally knew him, but he cannot be fully appreciated and understood
from any description which can be given.

JEREMIAH WILBUR DWIGHT. 215

CHAPTER XLIX.

JEREMIAH WILBUR DWIGHT.

Jeremiah Wilbur Dwight was l)orn at Cincinnatus, Cortland county,
New York, April 17th, 1819. He was the oldest son of Elijah and
Olive Standish Dwight, and a direct descendant of John Dwight, who
came from England in 1635 and settled in Massachusetts.

John Dwight founded a famiW which has produced, perhaps, as
great a number of talented men who have distinguished themselves on
progressive lines, as any family in this country.

Through his mother, Mr. Jeremiah Wilbur Dwight was a lineal de-
scendant of Captain Miles Standish, who came over in the Mayflower
in 1620. In 1830 Mr. Dwight's patents moved from Cincinnatus into
Caroline, Tompkins county, and six years later, into that part of the
town of Dry den known as South Hill. His parents were poor and un-
able to give him an education except that afforded by the common
schools. His necessities aroused his ambition. In 1838 he came to
Dryden village and, for forty-nine years, was identified with her in-
terests and history. He entered the store of A. Benjamin, to learn
the mercantile business, and an incident connected with this real
starting point in his life shows the strong characteristics which ever
marked his subsequent career. He was a stranger, but, feeling the
responsibility of aiding his father's famil}-, he determined to secure
a foothold. Six dollars, his savings from farm work, constituted his
entire capital. The coveted clerkship was already filled, but the clerk
who served was willing to sell his position to 3'oung Dwight for his six
dollars. Dwight risked his all, confident that he could make himself
so useful that he would become a necessity to his employers. He suc-
ceeded, as he remained constantly with the firm until the business
was sold to A. L. Bushnell. Meantime, he had taken advantage of in-
struction at odd times at the Burhans school, and, when the new mer-
cantile firm was formed, he went with it and a few years later was
taken into partnership.

Their store was located at the south-east corner of Maih and South
streets. After remaining there a few years, a new firm was organized
by J. W. Dwight and I. P. Ferguson and they occupied a small store
on the north side of Main street. In 1852 Mr. Dwight was able to
build the stone store building, in which he continued the mercantile
business under the firm name of J. W. Dwight & Company. Probably
no store in this section of the country at that time transacted a larger

216 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

or more prosperous busiuess. As a merchant, Mr. Dwioht was a suc-
cess. By early and late application to business, strictest economy,
truthfulness, honesty, and exemplary habits, Mr. Dwight made hosts
of fri^-nds and won the confidence and respect of the people.

As he became more prosperous, he invested in real estate. His
first venture was the purchase of the Goddard farm. In this new en-
terprise he showed his innate busiuess sagacity, did well for himself,
and, at the same time, helped to develop Dryden village. He laid out
" The Square, " by cutting Pleasant and James streets through the
farm, platted the farm into building lots, and reserved for himself that
portion which is now known as the Dwight homestead. From the re-
mainder develo^Ded Union street, nearly all of the east side of South
street, and more, as the farm ran south to Virgil Creek and east to
the Tucker farm, including what is now the school lot. Later, in
partnership with Dr. Montgomery, he purchased part of the Tucker
farm, which ran further east, and also partially laid that out into
streets and building lots.

Since his investments proved successful, he invested again with
others in the Dryden Woolen Mill, the Stone Flour Mill, and the Dry-
den Lake property. In the management of all these enterprises he
demonstrated his able judgment, his correct estimates of values, and
his comprehensive grasp of financial problems. At this time, as his
acquaintance broadened and opportunities presented themselves, he
made investments elsewhere. First, in New Jersey, later on. in pine
lands in Wisconsin. Later, in 1880, he organized the Dwight Farm
and Land Company, of North Dakota, which ]:)nrchased there sixty
thousand acres of laud. The present town of Dwight, located in
North Dakota in a part of the holdings, bears his name. His business
transactions, so successful that any man might lie proud of them, were
the legitimate outgrowth of investments made in real estate and de-
veloped by courage and the strictest application.

As a citizen he early took an interest in all public improvements;
and was always in the front ranks, bearing his full share in the work
of village incorporation, school improvements, church repairs, and or-
ganization of the Agricultural Society and of a Cemetery Association
Avorthy of the town and the times. He was a prime mover in the or-
ganization and building of the Southern Central railway, feeling that
the time had come when Dryden should be connected with the out-
side world by other means than that of the stage coach. Into this
project he threw his characteristic zeal to make the undertaking a suc-
cess. He was for a long time director and vice-president and gave

JEREMIAH WILBUR DWIGHT. 217

generously both his time and money to the work. Though absorbed
in his own business affairs, he was frequently called upon to adminis-
ter estates for others, and was selected by Jennie McGraw-Fiske as
one of the trustees of the Southworth Librar}' bequest. All trusts he
fulfilled conscientiously, and according to the dictates of his liest judg-
ment. He was always the friend of the unfortunate and those strug-
gling against adverse circumstances.

Believing that the policy of the Republican party would best insure
the safety and development of his country, which he loved, he was an
ardent Republican. For many years Dryden was known as the ban-
ner Republican town of the count}' and the credit was due as much to
Mr. Dwight's devoted efforts as to any other cause. He never failed
to attend every caucus and election or to brave severe storms in order
to go to surrounding school-houses to speak when duty called. In
1857 and 1858 he was elected supervisor of the town of Dryden and
during both terms was chairman of the county board.

In 1859 he was elected Member of Assembly and was re-elected in
1860. In the early years of the war he was appointed by Governor
Morgan as a member of the war committee for his own senatorial dis-
trict and he served until the committee disbanded. In 1868 he was
sent as delegate to the National Republican Convention at Chicago,
where he supported General Grant for President. He was a member
of Congress for six years, representing the twenty-eighth New York
Congressional District, at that time composed of Tompkins, Broome,
Schuyler and Tioga counties. He was first elected, in 1876, to the
forty -fifth Congress and then re-elected to the forty-sixth and forty-
seventh Congresses. In 1884 he was a delegate to the Republican
National Convention, at Chicago, where he supported James G. Blaine
for President. In politics he was noted for his fertility of resources,
fidelity to party, loyalty to friends, and, though he was in the political
maelstrom, his high moral character protected his name from the taint
of corruption.

In 1815 he married Rebecca Ann Cady, daughter of Hon. Elias W.
Cady. Their descendants are : Mary M. Dwight, who married Sanders
E. Rockwell and has one son, James Dwight Rockwell ; Olive Adelia
Dwight ; Julia R. Dwight ; Annie A. Dwight, who married Richard S.
Tyler ; and John W. Dwight, who married Emma S. Cliilds.

Mr. Dwight died November 26th, 1885, at the age of sixty-six. He
rests in Green Hills cemetery.

218 HISTOKY OF DKYDEN.

CHAPTER L.

JOHN C. LACY.

The Lacy (or Lacey) family is of ancient English origin, being
known as DeLacey when they came with William the Conqueror
from Normandy to England. Richard, the grandfather of John C.
Lacy, was born in England. Benjamin, his father, was born in Mans-
field, Morris county, New Jersey, October 1, 1768, and died in Dry-
den October 1, 1820. He came to this township, as a pioneer, in the
fall of 1801, with his wife, who was a daughter of Captain Cornelius
Carhart, of English and German descent, who commanded a company
of sixty men in the battle of Monmouth, June 18, 1778. She was a
woman of sound mental qualities, as well as of industrious, frugal
habits. She survived her husband thirteen years, keeping her fam-
ily of six children together on their farm in what is now Dryden
village, until her decease.

Benjamin was a farmer, a man of sturdy character and one of the
most enterprising and public-spirited pioneers of Dryden. He did
much for the cause of education, which was then in its infancy in
the new community, Daniel Lacey, the son of his brother Rich-
ard, as we have seen, having been the first school teacher in Dryden
in 1804. In 1819 he erected the first clothing works in Dryden, al-
most on the present site of the Dryden Woolen Mill, and, in the next
year, which was the last of his life, he and two of his brothers de-
veloped the Dryden Mineral Springs, where the Sanitarium is now
located. They had discovered the value of these springs while pros-
pecting for salt. If, in their search for salt, they had possessed the
modern means for boring deeper, their search would doubtless have
been successful, since extensive beds of this mineral are now found in
the adjoining towns of Ithaca and Lansing and in other places in the
county where great depths have been reached.

John C. Lacy was born on his father's farm in Dryden near the lo-
cation of the present stone grist-mill, October 21, 1808, and was, con-
sequently, only twelve years of age at the time of his father's death.
His means of education were very limited and two years later he com-
menced, with his older brother Garret as his partner, to carry on the
farm and to pay ofl" the incumbrance which existed upon it. Their
efforts were successful and enabled them to eventually buy out the in-
terest of the other children. The partnership of the two brothers con-
tinued until 1857, when Garret decided to remove further west, selling

^^.

JOHN C. LACY. 219

out his interest here to the subject of this chapter, who was thus the
only representative of the Lacy pioneers of 1801 to remain in Dryden.
About that time, or soon after, he married Maria A., daughter of the
late Asa M. White, of Candor, N. Y., whose ancestry is also worthy of
special notice. She was in the direct line of descent from Peregrine
White, who was the first child born in New England of English parent-
age, being born on board the Mayflower in the harbor of Cape Cod
about December 10, 1520.

Mr. Lacy died October 4, 1893, and his wife, July 18, 1895. Their
only child, Ada Belle, is the wife of D. F. Van Vleet, of Ithaca, one of
the leaders of the Tompkins County bar. Their son, De Forest Lacey
Van Vleet, is the only grand-child of Mr. and Mrs. John C. Lacy.

While Mr. Lacy was a man of conservative judgment and thought-
ful, prudent disposition, he was always one of the substantial and re-
liable men of the community in which he resided. The reminiscences
which he wrote on his eightieth birthday, from which we quote on
page 74 of this volume, illustrate the thoughtfulness of the man, and
preserve for our benefit the knowledge of events which would other-
wise be lost. His literary taste, for one brought up as he was with-
out educational advantages, was also very commendable, and the writer
remembers from childhood with what skill and enthusiasm Mr. Lacy
used to take part in the debates at the old school-house, forty years
ago, with J. W. Dwight, T. J. McElheny, Dr. Montgomery, and others.
In 1862 he served as president of Dryden village, and was chosen at
other times as assessor and as highway commissioner of the town.
He belonged to the first temperance organization in Dryden and, in
1861, he joined the First M. E. church of this village, of which he was
always, from that time, a stable and constant member, contributing
largely of his time and means to its management and support. While
others were more headstrong and impetuous in the pursuit of their
undertakings, Mr. Lacy was always deliberate and judicious. He Avas
a man who would have commanded success in any sphere of business
to which he might have been called, a thorough and persistent reader
and thinker, and possessed an accurate estimate of men and things.
His natural kindness of heart and his benevolence endeared him to
the community in which he lived, and his pure integrity and honesty
of purpose in whatever he did has never been questioned.

Mrs. Van Vleet has recently given a beautiful tribute to the memory
of her father and mother by jjlacing in the tower of the SoutliAvorth
Library building a clock, which has already been mentioned. The
accuracy and precision of Mr. Lacy, in all of his course of life in the

220 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

past, is well symbolized by this time-piece, which is so located as to
guide and regvdate in Dryden village the affairs of men in the future.
Mrs. Van Vleet is also devoting some of her thoughts and leisure time
to the improvement of the little farm in Dryden village, upon which
her father was born ninety years ago, planting it with nut-bep.ring
trees and orchards, and grading and laying out avenues and walks
in such a manner as to stimulate and develop the taste for the beau-
tiful, which she is thus disposed to cultivate in connection with the
memory of her parents.

CHAPTER LI.

ANDREW ALBRIGHT.

The biography of the subject of this chapter affords a typical instance
of the young man, born and reared in the countr}^, who is destined, in
the eternal fitness of things, to become a prominent factor in the busi-
ness life and interests of the great cities of our country. As in all
ages the masses of people, congregated together to form the great cen-
ters of commerce and manufacture, draw their sustenance from the
sparsely settled rural districts, so the great aggregations of people
which form our metropolitan cities are continually drawing their most
enterprising leaders in commerce, manufacture, and government, from
the sons of the humble but industrious farmers of the country towns.

The parents of Andrew, Elisha and Elizabeth B. (Smith) Albright,
were natives of New Jersey, and were married there about the year
1818. Elisha had, a year or two before, been to Dryden, where he
worked as a lad for his older brother-in-law, John Hiles, in the saw-
mill which the latter then operated at the foot of Dryden Lake. Their
oldest son, Jacob, was born at Belvidere, N. J., September 4, 1819,
and, when he was four months old, they came to seek their fortunes in
the new country of Western New York. They brought themselves
and all their possessions — which then consisted of a few house-keeping
articles and sixt}^ dollars in specie — not upon the traditional ox-sled
of other pioneers, but in a one-horse wagon, in which they drove all
the way from Belvidere to Dryden. They first took up their abode in
a log house then located upon the now vacant knoll nearly opposite the
Dryden Woolen Mill, on Main street in Dryden village, and afterwards
lived in a plank house which Elisha built on a farm now owned by S.
C. Fulkerson, in the north part of the town, where Aaron was born
January 7, 1823. Again moving, they settled at one time on Fall

AARON ALBEIGHT. 221

Creek near the Oliver Cady farm, and at another, near the residence
of Elliott E. Fortner, where Andrew was born, June 23, 1831 ; nntil
finally in 1832, having accumulated some property iu spite of his fre-
quent changes of location, he purchased of Selden Marvin his home-
stead farm three fourths of a mile north from " Dryden Four Corners. "
Here he reared his family of eleven children and developed from what
was almost a wilderness one of the best farms in Tompkins county.
The writer recalls the fact of seeing, in his childhood, about the year
1850, Elislia, then a tall, muscular man, surrounded b}' his sturdy
sous, going out to the fields like a small army of giants to do the hay-
ing with scythes and hand rakes in the old-fashioned way. The time
of his prosperity had then come and his productions were not confined
to the bare necessities of life. His farm was noted for the fruit as
well as the grain and butter which it produced. A strain of the Win-
ter Steele apple grown to perfection in his orchards in great abun-
dance had a local reputation. Although " stronghanded," in his latter
years by the aid of his sous, labor saving devices were not disregarded
and a home-developed water power was ingeniously made use of on the
farm to do the threshing.

Being among the younger children, Andrew had the advantage of a
fair common school education and remained upon the farm until he
was of age. He then began to develop tendencies looking beyond the
drudgery of a farmer's life. His inventive turn of mind was first di-
rected to a patent wagon brake, which came to naught. One day,
while driving, the thought of the use of hard rubber for harness trim-
mings, for which only leather had been used up to that time, occurred
to him and he resolved to apply himself to the development of that
subject. He was told by experts in the use of rubber that his idea
was impracticable and that it was impossible to make use of rubber in
that way, but, like all true inventors, he was not to be easily discour-
aged, and, concentrating all the energies of his resolute nature upon
that subject, he finally demonstrated his success in achieving the de-
sired result.

It is a well known fact that most true inventors lack the ability to
reap the rewards of their own inventions, but here is where Albright
differed from the generality of his class. As soon as his invention was
made known, such experts as had ridiculed his designs as visionary
were now ready to contest his title to the discovery. Suits had to be
commenced and maintained in the U. S. courts, to sustain and protect
his patent, or it would have availed him nothing. Mr. Albright was
without pecuniar}^ means at his disposal, while his rivals Avere con-

222 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

iiected with wealthy corporations. But here was the opportunity of
his life. As Shakesj^eare puts it, —

" There is a tide in the afiairs of men
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. "

In this emergency Mr. Albright called upon his father for help to
sustain him. The old gentleman, who had acquired what little he
possessed in the most laborious manner, and who had some doubt as
to the final success of his son's enterprise, at first hesitated, but the
necessity of this aid was so imperatively presented by the son, whose
whole future depended upon it, that the father and older brothers at
length lent their aid. The suits were decided in Albright's favor and
the crisis of his life was successfully passed. Let not visionary young
men be encouraged by this to embark their means in hazardous ad-
ventures. As the result has proved, Mr. Albright, when he applied
for the aid of his family, was not about to try an experiment, but he
was demonstrating a practical certainty. His success, from that time
on, from a business point of view, has been without material interrup-
tion and he is now numbered among the most wealthy and successful
manufacturers of the cities which cluster around the " Greater New
York. "

The merits of his invention, which was not a mere accident, but the
result of thorough study combined with native genius of high order,
are fully attested by one of the Goodyear brothers, who first discov-
ered the process of vulcanizing rubber, and who wrote of Mr. Albright
that he deserved " more credit than any licensee that has ever taken
up any branch of the hard rubber business. "

After his business success had become an accomplished fact, Mr.
Albright was allured into politics and not only was he nominated for
Congress, when, against great odds, he failed by only a small majority,
but he was, several times afterwards, prominently brought forward as
a candidate for governor of his state, and, had he consented to use
the means commonly adopted in New Jersey, as well as in too many
other places, to secure the election, his nomination, as well as election,
would have been assured.

But the same resolute characteristics which carried him to success
in his business career, firmly opposed all inducements to secure the
nomination by any but honorable means, and the prize therefore fell
to those who were less scrupulous in this regard. Like Henry Clay,
who would " rather be right than be president, " he preferred to for-
sake political ambition rather than be governor with the loss of his

AARON ALBRIGHT. 223

integrity as a man. Since that time be has occupied a position in pol-
itics above party lines, taking broad views of his own which have con-
trolled his actions.

Unlike many men of fortune, since his days of prosperity have come
to him, Mr. Albright has made liberal use of his means for his own
comfort and for the public good. When the people of Dryden village
were about determining to put in a system of water-works, he donated
to them a beautiful fountain to adorn the common in his native town
as a memorial for his father and mother. When the new log cabin
was recently suggested as a feature of the Dryden Centennial Celebra-
tion, he sent in without solicitation, his check for thirteen dollars, to
represent the thirteen members of his father's family in that enter-
prise.

Some of the marked traits of character of Mr. Albright are those
which distinguish most self-made men of note. A strong and rugged
constitution, developed by work on the farm, and life-long habits of
temperance and regularity have enabled him to give untiring, personal
attention to his business. His contact with men in all walks of life,
and his custom of finding out all about every point involved, have giv-
en him an unusual knowledge of human nature, which has been of
great value in the numerous negotiations and contracts in which he
has been engaged, and has kept him from making many bad bargains-
Although not trained as a mechanic, he has fine mechanical instinct,
and quickly appreciates and understands machinery ; and he has sug-
gested a large number of improvements in the machines and processes
of his factories.

His extensive litigation in the United States Circuit and Supreme
courts, both as complainant and defendant, has given him a much bet-
ter knowledge of the leading principles of the patent laws, evidence,
and equity than one usually finds among laymen ; and his less exper-
ienced friends among manufacturers often consult him on questions
relating to the construction and extent of patent claims. His own ex-
perience of an inventor's troubles in perfecting an invention, getting
his patent, and then sustaining it against infringers, has made him a
close sympathizer with other inventors ; and he has many times fur-
nished lawyers' services and other substantial aid in developing their
inventions and protecting their rights. Nothing in his life aflbrds him
more pleasure than the recollection that he has given such help to
many deserving inventors.

While always ready to stand up for his rights, he is willing to give
consideration to the wisdom and expediency of compromise where

224 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

there appear to be coiiHictiuo- rights. Gifted Avith persuasive speech,
he has exceptional facilit}^ in conducting a negotiation. Swift in judg-
ment and action, he does not waste time in over-consideration or need-
less delay. To many his manner, at times, is bluff, and, like all strong
men, he is apt to appear too down-right and positive. But his em-
ployees, many of whom have been with him over twenty years, know
that his heart is in the right place, and have a warm regard for him.
He has never had a " strike," and he has never closed his factory,
even when the recent hard times entailed loss by keeping it open. He
preferred to suffer loss rather than to distress his faithful Avorking
men by shutting down.

These are some of the traits of character which have enabled the
farmer boy of Dryden to become one of the truly useful leading men
of his day, giving employment for many years to hundreds of men, and
have made him one of the foremost citizens and wddest known manu-
facturers of Newark, the Birmingham of America, In the eyes of prac-
tical men, one such citizen is worth more to the country than a hun-
dred brilliant politicians. The inventor and manufacturer, he who
produces in field or factory, is the citizen who chiefly adds to the
w^ealth, prosperity, and happiness of the community in w^hicli he lives.

In October, 1878, Mr. Albright married, at Dryden village, Mrs. Al-
mira D. Strong, widow of P. B. Strong, a soldier in the War of the
Rebellion who died in the service. Two children, a son and a daugh-
ter, both now married, are the result of this union and both reside
near their parents at Newark, N. J. A fine picture of the beautiful
home of Andrew Albright has recently been presented to and now
hangs in the Southworth Library at Dryden.

CHAPTER LII.

OTHER DRYDEN MEN OF NOTE.

In this chapter, which was not contemplated in the original concep-
tion of this work, we seek to give short biographical sketches of a
dozen men whose lives are to some extent connected with the town of
Dryden, which has at some time claimed all of them as her citizens,
Init who in the main have made their fortunes elsewhere. All have, in
one wa}^ or another, become worthy of notice here, and our regret is
that we have not the time to extend the list to one hundred instead of
a dozen, for the larger number mentioned could easily be selected
from those citizens who have aone out from Drvden and made them-

SMITH EOBERTSON.

225

selves somewhat distiDwuislied for their achievements. We consider
ourselves iortunate in being able to head the list with the likeuess of

one of the sons

of Capt. George
llobertsoD, the
so-called "Fa-
t her of the
Town. "

Smith Robekt-
soN was born at
the old liome-
s t e a d o n the
Bridle Road
May 1st, 1814,
and is therefore
DOW upwards of
e i g h t y - f o u r
years of age.
He was a pupil
and afterwa r d s
a teacher in the
Octagonal
School- house
District, besides
being a student
at Ithaca, where
he lived with
his older broth-
e r , T h o m a s ,
when the latter
was sheriff of
the county, in
1828-':-31,' and
In 1843 he graduated from Un-
ion College, and in the fall of that year he became superintendent
of schools of this county, in the performance of the duties of which
offi'.'e he traveled from district to district, almost always on foot,
throughout his territory. Having afterwards settled down to farm life
with his brother, Mott J., on the old farm, he was made the first mar-
shall and the second president of the Dryden Agricultural Society,
organized in 1856, and under his management and direction the foun-

SMITH ROBEUTSOX.

afterwards at Cortland Academv.

226 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

■dations of the future prosperity of the society were laid. Through his
instigation the first temporary grounds were given up, the present site
was purchased and the main buikling, somewhat typical in form of the
■Octagonal School-house of his home district, was constructed. In
1858 he was elected sheriff of Tompkins county, and in 1860 it was he
who conveyed his prisoner, the notorious Euloff, to Auburn, to evade
the threats of an angry mob of citizens, who were determined to lynch
him. This act, which was very severely criticised at the time, com-
mends itself to the sober second-thoughts of all, and doubtless saved
the county from a disgraceful exhibition of lawlessness and barbarity.
In 1864, under the appointment of an old school-mate, Orrin S. Wood,
he superintended the construction and reconstruction of the North-
-western Telegraph lines in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the upper pen-
insula of Michigan, after which he was appointed land agent of Cor-
nell University, at Eau Claire, Wis., a position which he still holds.

Mr. Robertson is justified in making a hobby of physical culture,
and is fully able to illustrate in his own life the reality and value of
the theories to which he holds upon this subject. Although an octo-
genarian, he prides himself upon being as active and spry as a boy,
and, with his straight figure and erect form, his appearance is that of a
man not over sixty years of age. He attributes his health and ap-
parent youth to temperate habits, regular and abundant exercise and
a buoyant disposition, which often avail much in successfully combat-
ting the effects of the infirmities of age. He was one of the leading
personalities at our Centennial celebration, an account of which follows
this chapter.

William Marvin was born at Fairfield, Herkimer county, N. Y.,
April 14, 1808. In the first year of his infancy his parents re-
moved to Dryden, as already mentioned in Chapter XXIII. He and
his older brother, Richard, were therefore brought up as Dryden boys,
on the farm afterwards and still owned by the Albright family, north
of the village. Both worked on the farm and attended the Dryden
village district school, and William, who now lives at Skaneateles,
ninety years of age, is one of the oldest, if not the very oldest, of Dry-
den boys now living. As we have seen, his father moved to Chautau-
qua county in 183l{, where he and his second wife and an older son
died in the same year, leaving a number of small children. It de-
volved upon William to look after these smaller children, which he
did with paternal care and mature judgment. He had already com-
menced the study of law by himself, and in 1833 was admitted to prac-
tice and immediately opened an oflice at Phelps, Ontario county, where

WILLIAM MARVIN.

227

liis abilities were soon mauifested. In 1835 professional business
called him to the territory of Florida. Here he made the acquaint-
ance of some persons, upon whose recommendation he was appointed,
by President Andrew Jackson, U. S. district attorney for the southern

district of
Florida. Very
f e w, if an y,
other men are
living to-day
who were ap-
]»ointed to of-
( ice b y A n-
drew Jackson,
over sixty
years ago.
He then r e-
moved to Key
West. He was
a member of
the first con-
stitutional
convention of
Florida in 18-
39 and in the
same year he
was appointed
by President
V a n B u !• e n
judge of the
S u }:) e r i o !■
Court of the
district. In
1817 he be-
came U. S.
district judge,
an office which

he held until 1863, when his health, impaired by the long residence in
a hot climate, iniiuenced his return to the North. He had, although
a staunch Democrat, strenuously opposed the secession movement and
continued to hold his court at Key West in the trying times of the
War of the Rebellion, when the duties of his office were verv arduous.

WILLIAM MAKVIN.

228 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

At the dose of the war he was appointed, by President Andrew John-
son, Provisional Governor of the state of Florida, and, as such, took
part in the reconstruction of the state p;overnment. He was elected
to the United States Senate by the new State Leoislature, but, beinc^
a Democrat in principle as well as in name, he, as well as his state,
could not at once accept negro suffrage, and his credentials as United
States Senator were, therefore, never accepted. Unlike the notorious
carpet-baggers of those times, who were willing to do anything to se-
cure and retain office, his political career, but not his stable consist-
ence as a man, came to an end.

Governor Marvin has been twice married, ffrst to Harriet Newell
Foote, at Cooperstown, N. Y., by whom he has an only child, a daugh-
ter, wife of Marshall J. Luddington, Quartermaster General, United
States Army. His second wife was Mrs. Elizabeth Jewett, of Skan-
eateles, N. Y., whom he married in 1867, since which time he has
made Skaneateles his home.

He has always been a great reader and has published several books,
one being a law book treating of the law of wreck and salvage, a subject
which came before him frequently when district judge, and which he
treated in such a way that his publication has become a work of stand-
ard authority upon that subject. He has also, in later years, written
a work upon the authenticity of the Four Gospels, in answer to an in-
fidel work attacking the evidence of their commonly accepted origin,
which seems to be so fairly and logically written as to be unanswer-
able.

Mr. Marvin still takes great interest in public affairs and in the lo-
cal concerns of his present home village, having been president of the
library association of Skaneateles for upwards of fifteen years, and, a
few years ago, president of the village. In politics he has been a life-
long Democrat ; in religion an Episcopalian. The valuable aid which
he has given the writer in the compilation of this work is acknowl-
edged in the Preface.

Richard Pratt Marvin was born at Fairfield, Herkimer county, N.
Y., Dec. 23, 1803. He was therefore about six years of age when his
parents removed with him to Dryden, where he was brought up and
lived on the Albright farm until he was nineteen years of age. By
teaching district schools, he enabled himself to study law and Avas
admitted to practice in 1829, when he settled in Jamestown, Chau-
tauqua county, which was afterwards his home. Mr. Marvin's
ability as a lawyer soon developed and, in 1836, he was elected a mem-
ber of Congress from his district and was re-elected, holding that

PtICHAED PRATT MARTIN.

229

,-1^ J#^..

office for four years. In 1847 he was made judge of tlie Supreme
Court, a position which he held for twenty-five years consecutively,
adniinisterino- its duties with marked ability. At one time in sentenc-
ing a man convicted of murder he urged him to prepare for death, us-
ing the following; language : " I greatly fear, sir, that you have not al-
ways prayed. Although I have never made any profession of peculiar

piety, I have
~| ever believed —
I since I have
grown to man's
estate and re-
flected upon the
' nature of mind
and reason — in
the great effica-
cy of prayer. If
a mother teach-
es her child to
repeat the beau-
tiful prayers of
infancy, and if
the child con-
tinues this habit
of appealing to
God for guid-
ance in this vale
of tears, it will
have a sacred
influence, and if
he should pass
on to riper years
it will make him
a wiser anil bet-
ter man. " When we consider that these words were spoken by a
son of Selden Marvin, whose prayers in the pioneer Methodist meet-
ings in the school-house could be heard throughout half the extent of
the village, as we have seen in Chapter XXXIII, we must concede
that, in this instance at least, the religious habits of the father were
not lost in their effects upon his children.

In 1834 Richard Marvin married Isabella Newland, of Albany, b}'
whom he had eight children. She died in 1872 and he, after crowning

ItlCHARD PEATT MARVIN.

230

HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

his career of active life with a season of travel in Europe, died at
Jamestown, in 1892, at the ripe age of eighty-nine years.

His children who still survive him include General Selden E. Mar-
vin, of Albany, N. Y.; Robert N. Marvin, of Jamestown, N. Y.; Richard
P. Marvin, of Akron, Ohio ; Sarah Jane Hall, of Jamestown, N. Y.^
and Mary M. Goodrich, of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Thomas J. McElheny, of Ithaca, is one of our former townsmen,
whose accompanying likeness, it is needless to say, will be quickly rec-
ognize d by our
readers. He was
bora in Drj'deu,
June 5, 1824, be-
ing the second of
the seven chil-
dren of J a m e s
McElheny, one of
the pioneers of
D r y den, fro m
New Jersey, who
was an earh* jus-
tice of the peace
and an inn-keep-
er of the town.
From his exem-
plary habits and
high moral and
religious charac-
ter as a man, one
would hardly sus-
pect that, at one
time, T h o m a s
served as bar-
tender at t h e
Varna Hotel.
He also taught
school and served as school superintendent, after which he was en-
gaged in mercantile business in Dryden village prior to 1861. He
then, as a member of the war committee of the town, gave his time
and energies almost exclusively to the work of supplying soldiers
from the town of Dryden, and of caring for them and their families
during the dark hours of the Rebellion. We have said something

THOMAS J. MC EI,HENY.

OKRIN S. WOOD. 231

in the preceding pages of his performance of these arduous duties, and
much more might truthfully and properly be said upon this subject.
In the year 1865 he was elected from Dryden to the office of county
clerk and, in 1868, was re-elected to the same position from Ithaca,
being the first to be elected to that office for a second term. His
natural taste for neatness and order in all matters committed to^ his
charge made him especially qualified to manage and improve the de-
tails of the county clerk's office, where liis services are still appreciat-
ed in his capacity as deputy to our present popular county clerk, L.
H. Van Kirk.

Although a pronounced partisan in politics, Mr. McElheny is every-
where recognized as an exemplar}-, consistent, public-spirited man,
whose sympathies and judgment are always found upon the side of
justice and humanity. His happy faculty of relating anecdotes makes
his company always enjoyable, and it has always seemed to the writer
that Mr. McElheny should, before his decease, write an account of the
experiences of his lifetime, which, if written with the ability which he
displays in narrating them, would always be interesting.

Mr. McElheny has been twice married, first at Dryden, in 1853, to
Ada Taber, who died in 1871. By her he had three children, two of
whom, Mrs. Mary Young, of Wellsboro, Pa., and Mrs. Edna Good-
win, of Trumansburg, now survive. In L875 he married, for his pres-
ent wife, Mrs. Drake, a daughter of the Rev. V. M. Coryell, of Waver-
ly, N. Y.

Opjun S. Wood, born December 11, 1817. at Sherburne, N. Y., now
a resident of Rosebank, Staten Island, though eighty j^ears of age, is
still hale and hearty. The fourth of the eleven children of Benjamin
and Mary (Bonesteel) Wood, he was the oldest brother of the late
Mrs. Ezra Cornell. Being a few years his senior, she, a girl of much
personal charm and force of character, was almost his self-appointed
guardian through all his early years. Retiring, peace-loving, and
thoughtful, he early became the victim of the cruel jokes of his brother
next younger, who was exactly his opposite. This circumstance, as
much as any other, fitted him to battle with the difficulties which he
had to meet on his road to worldly success. He is believed to have
accumulated, perhaps, the greatest wealth of au}^ person raised in Dry-
den. After living with his parents a short time at Sherburne and
elsewhere, he came with them, early in 1819, to become a resident of
Dryden, at the small, old house, recently demolished, east of the Cady
homestead, on the Bridle Road ; and, two years later, in the then
wilderness, now known as Woodlawn, two miles west from Etna.

232

HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

He and Smith Robertson ])ursuetl their education together, at the
"Eio'ht-Square Brick School-House," and at the Ithaca and Homer
Academies, and thus formed a lifelonp; friendship. Quitting school
early on account of the call bv the State for his practical knowledge of
advanced mathematics, Mr. Wood began work in the ne^v Caual Sys-
tem, and as a civil engineer aided many years in its construction.
When that work ceased, in the early forties, he engaged with Hon.
Ezra Cornell in the opening of the hrst line of telegraph, between

Washington and
Baltimore, built by
the congressional
appropriation for the
Morse system.

He is the lucky
owner of the certifi-
cate from Prof. S. F.
B. Morse, to the ef-
fect that he was the
tirst operator tanglit
by Morse to operate
his telegraph, and
opened his first tele-
graph office at Wash-
ington ; thus he was
the first telegraph
o p e r a tor in the
w o r 1 d . Pushing
northward and west-
ward, with the open-
ing of that system,
oiiRix s. WOOD. lie was appointed to

complete and open the New York, Albany and Buftalo Division.
When the two terminal offices were opened, he acted as superin-
tendent for a short time and then resigned in favor of Hon. Ezra
Cornell. Livingston & Wells were then the sole owners of what
later became, and ]iow is, the American Express Company. They
had appointed Mr. Wood to build, develop, and superintend the
great Canadian telegraph system, at such a liberal salary that, with
his thrift, he was enabled to save three-quarters of it ; this became
the foundation of his present great fortune. The longest and best
portions of his life were spent in this service. Cautious invest-

OTIS E. WOOD. 233

iiients iu the profitable holdings of this system made possible his
great wealth.

Persistently loyal to his belief in the right, he found himself, at the
breaking out ^f the War of the Rebellion, a contributor of five hun-
dred dollars, as the foundation of the war bounty fund of his home
town of Dryden, and the few brave fellows that are left of the first
company sent out by the town of Dryden will remember his money as
the first to be devoted to that purpose. Mr. Wood married Miss Julia
A. Forbes, who became the mother of his two children now surviving.
She was the sister of the wife of Minister of Finance Holton. Dis-
gusted with the hostile Canadian sentiment towards our country dur-
ing the war, he sold out all his Canadian property at advantageous
])rices and returned to the States for a residence.

Just at this time, he, with a friend or two, was enabled to invest his
already large wealth in the purchase of the entire Morse Telegraph
System of Wisconsin and Minnesota, which, though widespread, was
at that time weak. His friend Smith Robertson was placed in charge
of the system, which, a very few years later, rebuilt, greatly extended,
and improved, was sold to the Western Union Telegraph company at
many times its cost, thereby greatly increasing his wealth. Shortly
afterwards the development of the Staten Island ferries and the Rapid
Transit Railway made an opening for most of his large fortune ; and
this was just before that enterprise was required as a New York ter-
minal of the Baltimore and Ohio Railway, from which he realized a
greatly increased fortune.

Having removed to New York city when he made great investments
there, he located at Rosebank, adjacent to Fort Wadsworth, on Staten
Island, on the sh(n-e of the lower bay, in the beautiful home which he
still occupies. Kind and indulgent to the needy, he numbers among
his benefactions an endowment of fifty thousand dollars to Smith In-
firmary, situated near his home. He is now president of the board of
managers of the institution.

Though still entirely competent to transact a regular business, he
has passed it over to his only son, H. Holton Wood, of Brookline,
Massachusetts, who was recently a member of the Connecticut Legis-
lature, and to his only daughter, Mrs. Mary AVood Sutherland, who is
the wife of a prominent young physician of Montreal. Mr. Wood is
thus spending the evening twilight of a useful, successful life in quiet
retirement.

Otis E. Wood, a Dryden lad reared on a farm, was born at Wood-
lawn, near Etna, N. Y^., the son of Benjamin and Mary (Bonesteel)

234

HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

Wood, who were also the parents of Orrin S. Wood and Mrs. Ezra
Cornell. After a good school training, mainly at the " Eight-Sqnare
Brick School-House," under the immediate direction of Smith Robert-
son, the first college graduate and first school superintendent of Dry-
den birth, he, then fourteen years old, went out with Mr. Ezra Cornell^
in 1846, to assist in building the new Morse telegraph system. At the
very opening of the first line from New York he was attached to the
Buffalo office. Shortly afterwards, he was promoted to New York, and
not long after that was placed in charge at the Buffalo office — at that

time, though only
fifty years ago, far-
ther west than any
other telegraph of-
fice in the country.
The most n o t a V) 1 e
feature of his con-
nection with that
wonderful service
consists in his hav-
ing been identified
with perhaps the
greatest change in
its working since its
inception and popu-
lar adoption ; name-
ly, the discovery of
a way of reading by
sound. Late in 1846
OTIS ¥.. WOOD. George B. Prescott,

Esq., the first Western Union Electrician, in the first book devoted
to the history and science of telegraphy, speaks of his accomplish-
ment in these words : " The first time we saw any one read in this
manner, was in the winter of 1846-7, in New York, by Mr. Otis E.
Wood, at Harlem Bridge. No trick of legerdemain has ever been able
to excite so much interest in our mind as tliis. " Being obliged to
give up this position on account of illness, he, after partially recover-
ing, resumed the early purpose of his life, the completion of a college
course. He studied in the academies at Ithaca and Aurora, and at the
latter he taught for two years the low^er Latin and Greek classics.
Driven from this purpose by ill health, he resumed work under the tel-
egraph S5'stem and was appointed superintendent of the New York, Al-

OTIS E. WOOD. 235

bauy and Buffalo line, so much before he became of age that, accord-
ing to The Telegraph Age, he still holds the world's record of hav-
ing been the youngest superintendent ever appointed to the service.
His charge included over five hundred miles of the most important
line then in operation.

The year after the opening of the direct railway from Syracuse to
Rochester, he, while building its first telegraph line, was again com-
pelled to flee to country life by his great enemy, ill health. During
this interval he married Miss Olive A., the oldest sister of Col. George
H. Houtz, of Etna, with whose family he carried on, for a long time,
the business of merchandise and milling at that place.

We cannot in the brief space afforded us undertake to detail Mr.
Wood's connection with the construction of the old Ithaca & Cortland
Railroad, accomplished through his assistance, under great diffi-
culties, and resulting in the present efficient Elmira & Cortland Branch
of the Lehigh Yalley, affording to the town of Dryden excellent rail-
way facilities. The village of Freeville is also specially indebted to
the devoted and efficient efforts of Mr. Wood in laying the foundation
for its present prosperity. He is now the secretary and practical
originator as well as business manager of the Cooperative Fire Insur-
ance Co., whose principal office is at Ithaca, but whose business ex-
tends into ten counties and comprehends in its risks and basis of its
revenue ten millions of property.

He is identified with every attempt at local improvement. He was
the earliest investigator of electric power and light for Ithaca, and
was the organizer and first president of the Ithaca Street Railway
Company. He was also the first secretary of the Dryden Agricultural
Society. He also built the line of telegraph between Dryden and
Etna, in order to accept the management of the north and south line
through Dryden township ; and it was under his superintendency that
all of the scattered highway lines through Dryden and Groton town-
ships w^ere rebuilt along the railways of Dryden township, and are
now a part of the telegraph system of the Lehigh Valley Railway.

Abhorrent of office holding, Mr. Wood is retiring, even socially, al-
ways busy with progressive problems of business. While not an in-
ventor, he is an organizer. Lacking in selfishness, he has never yet
made his fortune; but his busy life will "round up" with such rela-
tions to business enterprises, of many of which he has been the pio-
neer, as will make him richer in spirit than most men who amass great
fortunes.

^236

HISTORY OF DEYDEN.

'1*^

#■'

John Miller is another Drvden man Avhom we shall mention, whose
parents, Archibald Miller and his wife, Isabel (McKellar), emigrat-
ed, in the year 1836, from Tighnabruich, Argylshire, Scotland, locat-
ing in what is known as the South Hill neighborhood of the town of
Dryden. The passage was then an experience of six weeks on the
ocrnii instead of boing made, as it is now, in as many days. They

were of the Scotch

Presbyterian or-
thodox stock, not-
ed for their indus-
try and integrity,
and died in Diy-
den in the years
1890 and 1877 re-
spectively. Their
children include
Miss Jeanuette
Miller, Mrs. Da-
vid Chattield, and
Mrs. Geo. Cole, of
Dryden; Archi-
bald Miller, Jr., of
Eagle Grove, la. ;
and John Millei',
e x - g o V e r n o r of

is / w— -T-^^^l North Dakota,

1 » \^^^^M iiow of Duluth,

m \ m jaHHHH Minn., Avho de-

WL %W ifl9^^^^^H| serves from us

W' ^ f . , .^^El^l^^^H special mention
Bb ^^m ^BtKB^B^^^^M ^^^^^ chapter, and

whose portrait is
JOHN MILLER. YiexQ given. He

was born in Diyden, October 29, 1843, and received a common school
and academic education, completed at the old Dryden Seminary.

In 1861 he commenced business as a clerk for J. W. Dwight & Co.,
w^ith whom he became a co-partner in 1864. A few years afterwards,
with David E. Bower, he purchased the entire interest of J. W. Dwight
& Co., forming the firm of Bower & Miller, which continued business
at Dryden until 1891. He was one of the originators and first stock-
holders of the Dwight Farm k Land Co., which was organized in 1879,

SAMUEL i). HALLIDAY. 237

and he went to Dakota soon after to assist in the construction of the
first buildings upon the lands of the company.

In the year 1882, he was made the general superintendent of the
companv, a position which he held until his resignation in 1896, when
he organized The John Miller Co., at Duluth, Minn., for the ])urj)ose of
engaging in the grain-commission business at that point, of which lat-
ter company he is now the president and general manager.

In 1888 he was elected, as a Republican, to the Territorial Council
of the territory of Dakota, and, upon the admission of the state of
North Dakota, he was nominated and elected as its first Governor, for
the term ending July 1, 1891, declining to be a candidate for re-elec-
tion.

Much important legislation of necessity was passed upon by the
governor during this beginning of the state government. A scheme of
transplanting the Louisiana Lottery system to North Dakota, which
had then found some favor, was eftectually opposed and shut out by
Gov. Miller, whose ancestry and training w^ere not of the character
suited to tolerate gambling in any of its forms. The state prohibition
law of Dakota was also enacted during his term. An ofter by his
friends to support him for United States Senator was declined, during
this time, the acceptance of which would have created a vacancy in the
office of governor, and this he did not feel at liberty to do.

In 1882 he married Miss Addie Tucker, of Dryden, and their pres-
ent residence is at Duluth, Minnesota.

Samuel D. Halliday Avas born in the town of Dryden, near the Ith-
aca line, January 7, 1847, and although, since maturity, his home has
usually been in Ithaca, where he now has an elegant residence half
way up the East Hill, he has resided upon the old homestead in
this town some portion of the time during the past few years. He
was educated in the district schools until the age of fourteen, when he
entered the Ithaca Academy, where he prepared for college. In the
fall of 1866 he entered the Sophomore Class of Hamilton College.
The succeeding year he taught in the Ithaca Academy and, upon the
opening of Cornell L^niversity in 1868, he entered the Junior Class,
graduating in 1870. Then followed tw^o years of preparation for the
bar, to w^hich he was admitted in 1872. Alhough in politics a firm
Democrat and hence in this county at a great disadvantage in the dis-
tribution of political honors, in the year 1873 he w^as elected and
served as district attorney and, in 1876 and 1878, he represented
Tompkins county in the Assembly at Albany, since w^hicli time, excejot
that he was the candidate of his party for State Senator, he has taken

238

HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

no part in politics as a candidate for office, but has frequently- been a
delegate to state and national conventions.

In June, 1874, Mr. Halliday was chosen trustee of Cornell Univer-
sity by the alumni, a position which he held for ten years. He is
now a trustee elected by the trustees themselves and, in more recent

years, he has
taken a promi-
nent part in the
management of
the affairs of
that great insti-
tution. Since
the death of H.
W. Sage he has
been the chair-
man of the Man-
aging Board, a
position of great
responsibility
and trust, i n-
volving the lead-
ership in the
conduct of the
business affairs
of the Universi-
t}'. For nearly
twenty-five years
Mr. Halliday has
been acknowl-
edged as the
leading 1 a w 3' e r
of the Tompkins
County Bar, not

in any particular branch of the profession alone, but as an " all
around " lawyer. His connection with the Cornell University lit-
igation, which, of itself, has been very prominent during the past
few years, has formed onlj^ a small part of his extensive practice.

George B. Davis was born in the town of Dryden in 1840. He at-
tended the common schools and, from the village of McLean, went to
the Homer Academy, and later to the New York Central College at
McGrawville. He graduated from the Columbian College Law School,

SAMUEL D. HALLIDAY.

GEORGE B. DAVIS.

239

Washington, D. C, taking the deoree of L. L. B., in 18G9. Like most
of the self-made men in this part of the country, he taught school
at intervals during his college da3'S, and by this means, was able to
pay his own expenses. He was engaged in teaching in the cit}^ of
Syracuse, during the war, and, in the last year of the great conflict,
served in the United States Militar}' Telegraph Department under

General Eckert.
At the close of the
war, he was ap-
pointed to a clerk-
ship in the De-
partment of the
Interior at Wash-
ington. It was
during this time
that he pursued
his legal studies,
and his location
at Washington
gave h i m an op-
portunity of b e -
coming familiar
witli public af-
fairs, as Avell as
legal proceedings
in the higher
courts.

He commenced
practice in Itha-
ca, in 1876, and,
for four years,
was associated
with Mr. S. D.
Halliday. He has built up for himself a large and lucrative practice,
and now stands as one of the prominent members of the Ithaca Bar.
Perhaps the most important victory, and the one which has ex-
tended his reputation as a lawyer of ability beyond the confines of this
state, was in the celebrated Barber case. Great ability was shown by
Mr. Davis in^the conduct of this noted case, involving an immense
amount of research and studj', in which he was successful in estab-
lishing the theory upon which the defense was conducted.

GEORGE B. DAVIS.

240

HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

Mr. Davis has never held office, although his i)arty has honored him
at difierent times, by naming him for county judge, supervisor, etc.
He was offered by Gov. Hill the appointment of county clerk, upou
the death of Phillip Partenheimer, which office Mr. Davis declined,
since he felt that he could not sacrifice his large practice for the posi-
tion. Mr. Davis is a graceful and fluent speaker, and has been in
great demand in political campaigns and on other occasions.

He is a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity and for sev-
eral years was a member of the Grand Lodge of the state, wherein he
performed good service toward paying oft' the Masonic debt and estab-
lishing the Masonic Home at Utica. He is also a very active member
of the Unitarian church of Ithaca, and has delivered several lectures
in the popular course w'hich that church has established.

Since 1872, Mr. Davis has affiliated with the Democratic party, and
has given considerable time and attention to its success. He has been
prominent in the county and state conventions, and very active in the
anti-Hill campaign in 1892, and is a non-resident member of the Re-
form Club and of the Sound Money Club of New York City.

Mr. Davis has a wife and two grown-up daughters, and lives in a
pleasant home on East State Street in Ithaca. Socially, he is friendly
and agreeable and, though a member of
several social clubs, he takes the great-
est pleasure in the delights of his home
circle.

John D. Benton w^as born in our neigh-
boring tow-n of Yirgil, Aj^ril 2, 1842, and
w^as, at one time, in partnership with Pet-
er Mineah, proprietor of the old hotel
in Dryden village. He lived on the farm
m Yirgil, receiving a common school ed-
ucation, until the death of his father in
1856, after which he attended the Cort-
landville school for one year and then en-
gaged in the hotel-keeping business at
Yirgil, Dryden, and Cortland, until 1868.
Like many boys who are early left without
a father's care and guidance, he, in early life, neglected his opportun-
ities, but, unlike the most of them, he had sense enough to see his
mistake before it was too late and strength of character enough to
profit by his experience. When twenty-six years of age he com-
menced the study of law with Duell & Foster, at Cortland, and, from

JOHN D. BENTON.

DK. FRANCIS J. CHENEY. 241

1871 to 1874, he held the office of sheriff of Cortland county, his man-
ly figure, and gentlemanly bearing, as well as his good common sense,
well adapting him to perform the duties of that office.

He afterwards attended the Albany Law School, graduating in 1876
and, going west, commenced the practice of law at Fargo, Dakota Ter-
ritory, in 1878. He was sheriff of Cass county, Dakota, in 1887 and
1888 ; state treasurer under Gov. Church ; nominee for Congress in
1890; and, in 1892, he lacked but one vote of being elected to the
United States Senate, from North Dakota. Since going to Dakota,
Mr, Benton has been actively engaged in the practice of law, together
with large farming and banking interests in that section.

In politics he is a Democrat and has alwaj-s represented the best el-
ement of his party, everywhere opposing dishonestv' and corruption in
political, as well as in business affairs.

We have already taken the liberty, in a previous chapter, to refer to
his ability to remember and to relate the humorous anecdotes of Dry-
den village, in which capacity he has no superior.

Dr. Francis J. Cheney, now principal of the Cortland Normal
School, resided in Dryden village for seven years, daring which time
he was princii3al of the Dryden Union School, and, at the same time,
studied law and Avas admitted as an attorney and counselor of the Su-
preme Court of this state. He was born in Warren, Pa., June 5, 1848.
At six years of age, he removed with his parents to Cattaraugus coun-
ty, N. Y. His father was a farmer, and the son lived on the farm
until twenty-one years of age, working at farm work during the sum-
mer and going to school in winter. By dint of perseverance he thus
prepared for college, teaching several terms in the district school, in
the meantime.

In 1868 he entered Genesee college and graduated at the head of his
class, taking the degree of A. B. in 1872, with the first class sent out
after the above-named institution was merged into Sj^racuse Universi-
ty. In the spring of 1872, before graduation, he was elected to the
chair of mathematics in the Northern New York Conference Seminaiy,
at Antwerp. He remained in this position for two terms, when he was
called to the principalship of Dryden Union School, where he re-
mained for seven years.

Just as he was making arrangements to go west to engage in the
practice of law he received a letter from the Kingston Board of Educa-
tion, in which he was invited to become the principal of the Kingston
Free Academy. The inducements held out by the Kingston board
were such that he abandoned the project of going west and accepted

242

HISTOEY OF DRYDEN.

the invitation. He remained in this position until he had completed
a term of service ten years in length for the Kinoston people.

In 1885 he reaped the benefit, in culture, of an extended tour of Eu-
rope, visiting England, Scotland, Germany and Switzerland. In 1889
he took the degree of A. M. and Ph. D., upon examination in the
School of History at Syracuse University. He has twice been elected

to the presidency
of the Associated
Academic Princi-
pals of the state.
After serving the
Board of Regents
as State Inspect-
or of Academies,
Dr. Cheney was
appointed princi-
])al of the State
Normal and
Training School
at Cortland, N.
Y., Aug. 5th, 18-
91, which posi-
tion he still
holds. During
his administra-
tion of this school
the old building
has been com-
pletely renovated
and a large and
substantial addi-
tion made, doub-
DK. FRANCIS J. CHENEY. li^g the capacity

of the building; the attendance of the Normal department has in-
creased from 384 to more than 600 ; and it is now the second largest
Normal school in the state, ranking among the first in thoroughness
and efliciency. Its graduates are in constant demand because of the
careful and thorough training wdiich they get in preparation for their
work.

In March, 1896, Dr. Cheney suffered the most terrible bereavement
that can befall a man, in the death of his estimable Avife, Lydia H.

WAREEN W. TYLER.

243

'Cheney, whom a large circle of friends in Dryden had learned to high-
ly regard.

Warren W. Tyler was born about three miles east of Dryden vil-
lage, on a farm which is now owned by Eugene Northrup, and lived
there until about eighteen years old, having worked on the farm the
greater part of the time up to this date, when, with his father's famil}^

he moved into
the village of
Dryden. His fa-
ther, Moses Ty-
ler, was born in
Virgil in 1809, on
the farm now
owned by Ernest
Lewis, which is
bounded on one
side by the east
line of the town
of Dryden. His
grandfather, Oli-
ver, was an early
pioneer of Virgil
and a brother of
another Moses
Tyler, who was a
pioneer in the
north-east section
of Dryden. His
mother was Mary
Vandenburgh, his
grandmother be-
ing the second
wife of Selden

Marvin, whom the latter married in Truxtou, Cortland county, and
who formerly came from Saratoga county, in this state.

The first day's work he ever did away from home was for a neigh-
bor, gathering turnips and beets to be used in feeding stock during
the winter. Although only a lad about ten years old, he worked from
daylight till dark, for which he received twelve and one-half cents per
day, and in payment, the good lady of the house where he worked
made his first suit of clothes from new cloth. Before this he had been

WARREN W. TYLER.

244 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

wearing the cast-off clotliiug of his older brothers, and he was very
prcud of this, his first new suit.

After moving to Dryden village, his time was occupied for two or
three years in various occupations, including in summer farming and
cattle-driving, attendance at school for a short time when possible,
and teaching school in the winter. In 1864 he entered the employ-
ment of Sears & Spear, in the general merchandise business, and re-
mained with them for three years, receiving as a salary for the first
year four dollars per week, boarding himself. In 1867 he entered the
emplojanent of Dodge & Hebard, of Williamsport, Pa., in the lumber
business, and remained in the employment of the Dodge interest for
eleven years. In 1878 he started in the wholesale lumber business in
Buffalo, and, fi'om that time to 1891, was engaged in the lumber and
shipping business. At that time he sold out his lumber business to
his brothers, and retired from active business for six years, living in
California during that period. Returning to Buffalo in 1897, he joined
his brothers again, conducting business on a large scale, and they are
now handling about forty million feet of lumber per year.

In his father's family were nine children, six boys and three girls ;
six of these are now living, three boys and three girls. One brother,
James V. Tyler, died in the service of his country, after having been
through the terrible battles of Spottsylvania and the Wilderness,
through to Cold Harbor, where he contracted a disease from which he
died in a hospital in New York soon after.

CHAPTER LIII.

THE DRYDEN CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION, HELD JULY 10, 1897.

In connection with the plan of the preparation of a local histor}^ of
the first century of the town's inhabitation by civilized people, the
prospect of a celebration during the one hundredth year of such in-
habitation was undertaken. The preliminary steps for both projects
were instituted at a public meeting, held on February 22, 1897, at Ly-
ceum Hall, in Freeville, at which the Executive and Century Commit-
tees were named with authority to complete and carry out the plans
thus far evolved. At a subsequent meeting in Dryden village, the
subject of the construction of a new log-cabin, modelled substantially
after the first known human habitation erected in the township in the
summer of 1797, was considered, and a special committee was appoint-
ed to carry out that feature of the preparations by building such a

THE CENTENNL^L COMMITTEES.

245

cabin of the best available material upon the grounds of the Agricul-
tural Society, where the celebration was to be held, and within eighty
rods of the site of the original cabin of one hundred years ago. The
farmers contributed the logs ; Harrison Tyler, a former resident,
now engaged in the lumber business in Tonawanda, provided the
shingles for the permanent roof, which was temporarily covered
with bark in imitation of the manner of the olden time ; Andrew
Albright, of Newark, N. J., sent his check for thirteen dollars to pro-
vide a log for each of the former members of his father's family in
Dryden ; and thus, with other contributions of labor, money and
material, the new log-cabin was so substantially constructed that it is
lioped it may, with some care, survive until Dryden's second centen-
nial. For the cut of this cabin see page 12.

In perfecting the arrangements for the celebration, others were
called upon by the Executive Committee and gave their aid in the car-
rying out of the enterprise, the full list of which committees and indi-
viduals officially connected with it is here given, as follows :

CENTENNIAL COMMITTEES.

EXECUTIVE.

Geo. E. Goodrich,
Almanzo "W. George,
Chester D. Burch,

Mott J. Eobertson,
Willard Shaver,
Philip Snyder,
Jesse Bartholomew,

Daniel M. White,
Artemas L. Tyler,
Joseph A. Genunc

Musical Director,

Leader of Morning Meeting,

Dr. F. S. Howe-
Geo. E. Monroe, Esq-

LOG-CABIN CONSTRUCTION.

Daniel Bartholomew,
Theron Johnson,

Martin E. Tripp,
Archibald Chatfield,
Jesse B. Wilson.

Jackson Jameson,
Chester D. Burch,

LOG-CABIN INTERIOR.

Mrs. Wm. Hungerford, Mrs. John Lormor, Mrs. Abram Hutchings.

ladies' AUXILIARY COMMITTEE.

Jennie S. Wheeler,
Kose Hubbard,

Eva Goodrich,
Anna Johnson,

Jennie Kennedy,
Lilian Purvis,

246

HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

Mrs. J. D. Ross,
Mrs. Edd Mosso,

Millie McKee,
Anna L. Steele,

Laura Jennings,
Lilian Mirick.

Albright, Aaron,
Allen, Dr. E. D.,
Brown, Henry C,
Bartholomew, Caleb,
Banfield, H. P.,
Baker, Wm. H.,
Beach, Dr. J.,
Bartholomew, D.,
Burch, Thos. J.,
Brown, Frank E.,
Cook, Bradford,-'"
Chatlield, Arch,
Collins, Arthur,
Dnryea, Richard,
DeCoudres, Wm. F.,
Deuel, Thaddeus S.,
Darling, Edward,
Davidson, Robert,
Ewers, Alvah,
English, Jesse U.,
Fox, James,
Ford, J. Giles,
Fisher, William R.,
Fulkerson, S. C,
Fitts, Leonard,
Griswold, Benjamin,
Griswold, Charles D.
George, Joel B.,
Genung, Dr. H.,
Grover, John S.,
Givens, Edward,
George, James H.,
Howe, Dr. F. S.,
Hollister, Frank,

*Since deceased.

CENTURY COMMITTEE.

Hile, Sylvester,
HiUer, Rev. F. L.,
Houtz, Geo. H.,
Houpt, Henry H.,
Hiles, John W,
Hiles, Harrison,
Hanford, Geo. E.,
Jameson, Jackson,
Johnson, Theron,
Knapp, Cyrus,
Lamont, John D.,
Lormor, Henry A.,
Luther, Orson,
Lawrence, Azel,
Lumbard, James,
Lupton, Seward G.,
Miller, Stanley,
McArthur, John,
McArthur, Benjamin,
Messenger, Levi,
Mosso, C. A.,
Mineah, John H.,
Mineah, N. H.,
McKee, Samuel,
Montgomery, Dr. J. J.,
Montgomery, Dan'l R.
McElheny, J. E.,
Pratt, John H.,
Primrose, George,
Rowland, Moses,
Rhodes, Truman,
Rockwell, G. M.,
Reed, Truman B.,
Rhodes, Omar K.,

Richardson, W. H.,
Schutt, Robert,
Seager, Russel L.,
Snyder, Harry A.,
Smith, Wm. J.,
Sutfin, James,
Sutfin, W. J.,-
Skillings, Samuel,
Shaver, J. W.,
Shaver, Ira C,
Shaver, W. J.,
Spence, Rev. Fred,"
Smith, E. C,
Sweet, G. C,
Sperry, Charles J.,
Snyder, Bradford,
Snyder, Alviras,
Seager, E. M.,
Stone, A. C,
Simons, Andrew,
Stickle, Theodore,
Sheldon, Benj.,"
Smiley, Artemas,
Tripp', Martin E.,
Terry, Rev. J. W.,*
Tripp, Geo. W.,
Wheeler, Enos D.,
Watson, George E.,
Wilson, J. B.,'
Wheeler, D. T.,
Wheeler, Fred R.,
Wade, Rev. E. R."

A printed program of the exercises was prepared and distributed,
containing the songs to be sung during the public exercises, including,,
in addition to some such familiar and popular pieces as "America""
and "Auld Lang Syne," three original compositions written expressly
for the occasion, which were as follows :

CENTENNIAL MUSIC.

247

^tail ^\ci'oic .t'atUcrsi l

"Words by Xeli :N'ETTnic.

Welsh Melofh

:^=^=q

1. Lift our

2. Look ye

3. Dry - den

voic - es in the cho - rus ; Kaise the praise of

on the land ye found - ed ; .See the pahn of
name of learn - ing, Po - e - sy anci

Fa - thers

Moth- ers !

Give hon - or's meeil to
plant -ed! Praise the har - vest grant - ed ! No nig - gard stint of

Let - ters ! Break-ing ty - rant fet - ters — Her plum - y flight — a

-L^ ^ ■ ■ — = r-^»— -=-> z:z --^--i-s a »

,^fcfzzz^=pT=;=

no - ble deed, And Mr - tue's
love's pure mint We give, from
glow with light, Bringsdawning

full
o'er

all oth - ers ! \Vi
hearts chant-ed I May no has- er
the wa - ters. Hail we glad - ly

P*T^

:r^r^

" m g

—^r-

— 1 \-^

=1=

— ,

=-=

— * —

-# — t—

— .—

-i3

way ye wrought us;
mood dis - traught us ;
sound John Dry - den !

Gra
>Lay

May

ClOUS IS

we heed
his fam

the

the
ed

land

les -
cy -

ye bought us;
son taught us —
cles wid - en I

248 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

Fair the lier - it - age thrift bro't us— Our be - lov - ed Town
Thrift and Faith and Hope tlie Mot - toes ( )f our lov - ed T(.>\vn
May its on - ward way be guid - en By our lov - ed To

wn :

THE OLD LOG-CABIN.

Tune — Marcluiuj Through Georgia.

1. Build the old lop;-cabin, boys, we'll honor it in song ;
Build it with the spirit of a hundred years agone ;

Build it as our fathers built, with noble hearts and strong ;
For we are celebrating Drvden.

Chorus— Hurrah ! Hurrah ! we'll join the jubilee,!
Hurrah ! Hurrah ! then joyful let us be !
Let us all unite in song and rule the hour with glee,
While we are celebrating Dryden.

2. How our mothers trained us there in lessons true and sound,
How the children loved it, too, Avho played its doors around ;
Now their children's children in the ranks of men are found.

And they are celebrating Dryden. — Cho.

3. As we see it standing here the thoughts come crowding fast.
And our hearts are filled again with mem'ries of the past ;
Scenes we see of long ago each fairer than the last,

While we are celebrating Dryden. — Cho.

4. So to-day we'll honor it with songs and smiles and tears.
As it shows itself to us from out the mist of years ;

And we'll bless its builders with three hearty, rousing cheers,
As we are celebrating Dryden. — Cho.

THE DAY WE CELEBRATE.

Tune — Glonj, Glort/, Halleltijah,

1. We celebrate our hundredth anniversar}- to-day,

To greet old friends and neighbors from near and far away.
To commemorate with honor the past and present day,
As we go marching on.

Chorus — Glory, glory, hallelujah ! Glory, glory, hallelujah !
Glory, glory, hallelujah ! As we go marching on.

THE CENTENNIAL CELEBEATION. 249

% Our new log-cabin as it is shall represent the old,
The first one built in Drj'den, as in history we're told,
The latch-string now is hanging out to welcome young and old,
As we go marching on. — Cho.

3. Then let our voices glorify the century that's gone,

Giving praise to our ancestors with our music and our song,
And may the mem'ries of this day our happiness prolong,
As we go marching on. — Cho.

We here copy from the columns of The Dryden Herald an account
of the celebration, as follows :

Dryden's great Centeiniial Anniversary has come and gone and the
inhabitants of this village have resumed their usual occupations. The
celebration began at midnight and from that time until sunrise the re-
verberation of cannon disturbed the slumbers of the villagers, who
slept only to dream of mighty confiicts and the wars of by-gone years.

The day of the Centennial dawned cloudless and the sun was evi-
dently on a triumphal march, shedding his beams on all with a glow-
ing impartiality. A stray cloud or two might have been welcome,
but every one was glad it did not rain and even accepted the intense
heat with joyful resignation.

The streets of the village were indeed a pretty sight and Main street
especially had never before been so profusely decorated as on the
morning of Dryden's hundredth anniversary. The store fronts were
one mass of red, white and blue, and the flags and bunting lent their
folds to what little breeze there was. On other streets the decorations
were also generous, as they should have been on such a day.

B}' ten o'clock in the morning the fair ground was a busy scene.
The committee of ladies was diligently emploj'ed in arranging the an-
cient articles that were being brought in, and Mr. Goodrich was pa-
tiently trying to answer calls from all directions and be in several
places at once. On entering Floral Hall one involuntarily expected to
see masses of flowers m their usual place, but instead of that the Dry-
den Band occupied the " pos}' stand " and there breathed their sweet-
est notes. In compliment to the rural ancestors who wore the sturdy
pioneers in Dryden a hundred years ago, the Band attired themselves
in farmer costumes, most fearfully and wonderfully made, but which
could not disguise the military precision of the wearers or take away
the classical expression of our true and tried musicians.

Shortly before eleven o'clock, the Band leading the way, the crowd
proceeded to the grand-stand and to the platform erected over the op-
posite side of the track. On account of some delay the morning ex-
ercises were necessarily brief. The large chorus, led b}' Dr. Howe,
sang " America " and " Glory Hallelujah " and then Mr. Monroe gave
a few humorous sentences of welcome, finishing by saying that he pre-
ferred that the old men present, who knew so much of Dryden's his-

250 HISTORY OF DRY DEN.

tory, should occupy the greater part of the time. He then read some
letters of regret from those who would have liked to have been in
Dryden but found it impossible. Among these were Hon. Andrew
Albright, of Newark, N. J., who has shown his interest in Dryden by
his beautiful gift of the fountain ; Herbert Lovell, of Elmira, a former
principal of our school ; and Hon. Wm. Marvin, an old-time resident
and honored citizen of this village. Mr. Monroe then introduced Mr.
Smith Robertson, of Eau Claire, Wis., paj'ing him an earnest tribute
of respect by referring to his clear record as an official of Tompkins
county, and his moral courage in saving the county from disgrace by
putting down lynch law.

Mr. Robertson then came forward, saying that if he should tr}' to
make a regular speech he might feel like L. H. Culver, of Ithaca, who,
called upon to make a patriotic oration, began thus : " The American
Eagle soars aloft — ahem — the American Eagle soars aloft — By thun-
der, I've got her up, you'll have to get her down again." So Mr. Rob-
ertson, not wishing to be in Mr. Culver's predicament, declined speech-
making but said that he would talk a little of old times in Dryden, and
this he proceeded to do in a ver}' pleasast and modest manner. Ho
said that his paternal ancestor, in company with two young relatives,
found his way from the East through tangled forests, after weeks of
traveling, to Lot 53, upon which his son, Mott J. Robertson, now lives,
March 2nd, 1798. Here they camped for the night, and in the morn-
ing their l)eds were covered with two inches of snow. They made a
clearing, built a log-house and kept bachelor's hall for awhile until
the place was fit for womankind. He referred to the sturdy pioneers
who founded Dryden, as a remarkable ch^ss, faithful and enduring, and
also gifted with rare courage to surmount the difficulties that they did.
He referred to the early history of the Agricultural Society, of whicii
he was the second president, and spoke of his interest in its progress.
He was i3resident of the society forty years ago, at the time when the
permanent site was bought and the large building was erected. He
had not been in Dryden or about Tompkins county in thirty -four
years and he was delighted at the evidence of growth and thrift whicli
he had seen. He spoke of the grandeur of the scenery in different
parts of the county and of the impressions it made on strangers.

Mr. Robertson's remarks were somewhat interrupted by the enthu-
siasm of the ball-players and on-lookers not far away and by the pass-
ing of the fusileer bicyclers, but all this he took good-naturedly, real-
izing that young America was trying to help along the celebration.

The fusileer bicyclers in strange array having passed the stand and
the laughter died away, Mr. Monroe then introduced Mr. Hugo Dolge,
the owner of the Dryden AVoolen Mills, as a representative business
man interested in the welfare of the village. Mr. Dolge spoke of the cir-
cumstances under which he came to Dryden and of his pleasant first
impressions. He considered this a pearl among the villages of Cen-
tral New York, offering better advantages, in most respects, than the
average place of its size, and especially he commended our excellent
school, churches, etc. Mr. Dolge said he had found good friends here

THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.

251

whom he never coukl forget and his heartfelt wish was for the pros-
perity and jjrogress of Dryden. He called for three cheers for Dry-
den, which were given with vim.

Mr. Daniel Bartholomew followed Mr. Dolge in a few wide-awake
remarks with regard to the work accomplished by Mr. Robertson in
the early days of the Agricultural Society. He considered him too
modest in his estimate of his connection with the society, for he had
been the projector of so much that had made for its welfare and, had it
not been for his pioneer efforts, the society could not have made the
progress it did. Just forty years ago that day Mr. Bartholomew and
Mr. Givens were working on the Fair Building and could testify to the
efforts Mr. Robertson made. He then ]n-oposed three cheers for Mr.

Robertson, which
were given heartily.
The exercises of
the morning were
brought to a close
b}- a selection by
the Band, and the
people dispersed to
find a supply for
the wants of the in-
ner man before list-
ening to another
" feast of reason and
flow of soul " in the
afternoon.

All during the
day there were
crowds about the
log-c a b i n , w h i c h
was presided over
b y Mrs. A b r a m
Hu tellings, Mrs.

INSIDE THE LOG-CABIN. y'^^}'''''^\ ^ ^^ ^ ? V' ~

I'ltotohyMr^. (I.E. Monro,.. ford aud Mrs. John

Lormor. The ancient furnishings made it into a complete model of
the old-fashioned log-house. Mrs. Lormor si)un Hax and little bits
of this wound on cards were sold as souvenirs, the proceeds going as
a fund for the laying of a floor in the cabin.

By noon it was fully apparent that Dryden was to keep its reputa-
tion for getting together crowds, for there were people coming to the
fair grounds from every direction, and by the time the afternoon exer-
cises were begun it was estimated that about five thousand were on
the grounds. The noon hour made the celebration seem like one
grand picnic. Many brought their lunches or procured them ah the
eating house and there was a general visiting time. The interesting
relics were looked over and commented upon, and reminiscences of
other days told by the older people. At times there Avas such a crowd

252 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

in front of the door and window of the log-cabin that it was impos-
sible to get a chance to look in before standing iu line for some time.
Evidentl}' the young people who looked curionsl}' at the ancient fur-
nishings preferred to go to housekeeping with modern utensils. Just
outside the window of the cabin was placed a piece of the boulder
from which the first mill-stone was cut in 1800 by Daniel White and
used for thirty years in the grist-mill at Freeville, the first in the town.

Among the portraits of the former Dryden people to be seen in the
Fair Building were those of Judge Ellis, who in his day was known as
" King John of Dryden " and in a certain sense merited the title from
the fact that he served as supervisor of the town twenty-seven years
and was elected member of Assembly for the county in 1832 and 1833,
during which time the portrait in question was painted at Albany, be-
sides serving as judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Auburn while
Dryden was still a part of Cayuga county, and after the formation
of Tompkins county in 1817 serving in the same capacity in Ithaca ;
an enlarged photograph of Major Peleg Ellis, who commanded the
Dryden company of militia at the battle of Queenston in 1812, and was
the pioneer of Ellis Hollow ; Dr. J. W. Montgomery and Elias W.
Cady, both of whom served as early members of the Assembl}^ from
Tompkins county ; David J. Baker, Thomas Jameson, Sr., Abram
Griswold, John Hiles, Ebenezer McArthur, Wm. Hanford, Geo. Han-
ford, Col. Chas. Givens, Wm. Nelson, Asa Fox, Leonard and Luther
Griswold, and many others.

Among the relics were many different kinds of spinning wheels,
swifts and reels ; an ancient clock eight feet high and over a century
old still keeping good time ; a rocker over two hundred years old,
originally from England, but which was brought here earl}^ in the cen-
tury by an aunt of Jane McCrea, who was murdered by the Indians in
the Revolution, and to whose family the chair belonged ; an ancient
desk brought by the Ellis family from their former home in Rhode
Island as early as 1800 ; a griddle, hammered out by hand, the prop-
erty of Joseph A. Genung ; an old perforated tin lantern such as was
used seventy-five years ago, this one having been presented by John
McGraw to John R. Lacy about that time ; a copy of Rumsey's Com-
panion, published in Dryden in 1857 ; a printed call for Dryden volun-
teers of the War of the Rebellion in 1864 ; an almanac of the year
1797 ; several old Bibles of from one hundred to two hundred years of
age, as well as numerous other old publications ; swords and fiint-lock
guns dating back to the Revolution, as well as home-made linen, flax
and thread, and hetchels and cards with which tliey were prepared ;
an old Dryden deed of 1790 ; and a letter directed to Lewis Fortner,
of Dryden, in 1808, in care of the postmaster at Milton, then the near-
est postoffice ; as well as old canes, dishes, candlesticks, bottles and
implements too numerous to mention here.

At one o'clock occurred the annual parade of the fire department
with its four hose carriages, accompanied by the Band and a company
of small boys with the small hand engine of years ago, as well as the
larger hand engine, now superseded by the water-works.

THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 253

At two o'clock the fire company, headed by the Band, marched to
the fair orounds and past the grand stand. This was the signal which
brought the people together for the exercises of the afternoon. All
the seats were soon filled and, though the thermometer registered nine-
tj^-six degrees in the shade, people managed to keep good natured and
attentive. There was a liberal use of fans and once in a while mem-
bers of the audience would turn their eyes longingly toward the cool-
looking grove near the grounds.

The program began with the announcements by Mr. Goodrich, fol-
lowed by two inspiring selections b}' the band and orchestra and a
grand chorus led by Dr. Howe. Rev. F. L. Hiller made the opening-
prayer and then Mr. Goodrich introduced I*rof. George Williams, who
read in an able manner and with resonant voice " Alexander's Feast, "
a selection from one of John Dryden's poems. This was followed by
the singing of Auld Lang Syne to orchestra accompaniment. Miss
Victoria C. Mooie then recited in a charming manner "The First Set-
tler's Story " by Will Carleton. Miss Moore's voice was excellent for
the trying occasion, and stood the test that was made upon it grandly.
We venture to say there are few ladies that could have recited to a
vast crowd m the open air on an intensely hot day and kept the at-
tention of her audience as did Miss Moore. Slie was heartih' ap-
plauded for her successful effort.

The music throughout the exercises was splendid and the people
sang as though they heartily enjoyed it. Some of the songs had been
written for the occasion and these were given with a peculiar zest.
Dr. Howe well deserved the praise he received for the work he had
done in preparation for the afternoon. He gratefully expressed his
appreciation to all the musicians for their cooperation.

Mr. Goodrich pleasantly introduced Hon. J. E. Eggleston, of Cort-
land, the speaker of the day, who gave a ver}^ fine address, the true
and noble sentiment of which will long remain in the minds of those
who heard him and could not fail to inspire them with the wish to
lead higher and better lives, and to make the best use of the many
God-given opportunities of these remarkable modern days. After the
benediction and three rousing cheers for Judge Eggleston, Mr. Good-
rich, and Dr. Howe, the audience dispersed.

The selection from the works of John Dryden, read by Prof. Will-
iams, was one of the most celebrated of that writer's shorter poems.
It was included in the program of the day's celebration as a proper
mode of showing respect for the great English Poet Laureate, after
whom our township was named, and is inserted here for the same rea-
son and as an interesting specimen of the learned and studied style
of diction which flourished in Dryden's time, two hundred years ago.
The title is "Alexander's Feast," and it was written in honor of St.
Cecilia's Day, she being the patron saint of music in England, where
her anniversary is annually celebrated with songs and music. The

254 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

poem represents Alexander the Great seated with his conquering fol-
lowers at a feast while his musician, Timotheus, with his performance
on his lyre, exhibits the " Power of Music" upon his master. The
story is related in the poem as follows :

ALEXANDER'S FEAST.

'Twas at the royal feast for Persia won
By Philip's warlike son :
Aloft in aAvful state.
The godlike hero sate

On his imperial! throne ;
His valiant peers were placed around,
Their browns with roses and with myrtles bound
{So should desert in arms be crowned) ;
The lovely Thais by his side
Sate, like a blooming eastern bride.
In flower of youth and beauty's pride.
Happy, happy, liapp}^ pair !
None but the brave,
None but the brave,
None but the brave deserves the fair.
Timotheus, placed on high
Amid the tuneful quire,
With flying fingers touched the lyre ;
The trembling notes ascend the sky.

And heavenly joys inspire.
The song began from Jove,
Who left his blissful seats above
(Such is the power of mighty Love).
A dragon's fiery form belied the god ;
Sublime on radiant spires he rode.
When he to fair Olympia pressed,
And while he sought her snowy breast.
Then round her slender waist he curled.
And stamped an image of himself, a sovereign of the world.
The listening crowd admire the lofty sound —
A present deity ! the^' shout around ;
A present deity ! the vaulted roofs rebound.
With ravished ears
The monarch hears.
Assumes the god.
And seems to shake the spheres.

The praise of Bacchus, then, the sweet musician sung —
Of Bacchus, ever fair and ever 3'oung ;
The joll}^ god in triumph comes ;
Sound the trumpets ; beat the drums !

ALEXANDER'S FEAST. 255

Flushed with a purple ^race,
He shows his honest face ;
Now (ri\e the hautboys breath — he comes, he comes !
Bacchus, ever fair and young,

Drinking joys did first ordain ;
Bacchus' blessings are a treasure :
Drinking is the soldier's pleasure :
Eicli the treasure.
Sweet the pleasure ;
Sweet is pleasure after pain.

Soothed with the sound, the king grew vain ;
1*^' Fought all his battles o'er again ;

And thrice he routed all his foes, and thrice he slew the slain.
The master saw the madness rise —
His glowing cheeks, his ardent eyes ;
And, while he Heaven and Earth defied.
Changed his hand, and checked his pride.
He chose a mournful Muse,
Soft pity to infuse ;
He sung Darius great and good,

By too severe a fate
Fallen, fallen, fallen, fallen —
Fallen from his high estate.

And weltering in his blood ;
Deserted, at his utmost need.
By those his ftn-mer bounty fed ;
On the bare earth exposed he lies.
With not a friend to close his eyes.
With downcast looks the joyless victor sate,
Revolving in his altered soul

The various turns of chance below ;
And, now and then, a sigh he stole ;
And tears began to flow.

The mighty master smiled, to see
That Love was in the next degree ;
'Twas but a kindred sound to move,
For pit}^ melts the mind to love.

Softly sweet, in Lydian measures,

Soon he soothed his soul to pleasures.
War, he sung, is toil and trouble ;
Honor but an empt}' bubble —

Never ending, still beginning —
Fighting still, and still destroying ;

If the world be worth thy winning.
Think, O think it worth enjojdng !

Lovely Thais sits beside thee —

Take the goods the gods provide thee.

256 HISTORY OF DEYDEN.

The many rend the sky with loud applause ;
So Love was crowned, but Music won the cause.
The prince, unable to conceal his pain.
Gazed on the fair
AVho caused his care,
And sighed and looked, sighed and looked.
Sighed and looked, and sighed again.
At length, with love and wine at once oppressed,
The vanquished victor sunk u]3on her breast.

Now strike the golden lyre again —
A louder yet, and yet a louder strain !
Break his bands of sleep asunder.
And rouse him, like a rattling peal of thunder.
Hark, hark ! the horrid sound
Has raised up his head !
As awaked from the dead.
And amazed, he stares around.
Revenge ! revenge ! Timotheus cries ;
See the Furies arise !
See the snakes that they rear,
How they hiss in their hair.
And the sparkles that flash from their eyes !
Behold a ghastly band.
Each a torch in his hand !
Those are Grecian ghosts, that in battle were slain,
And unburied remain,
Inglorious, on the plain !
Give the vengeance due
To the valiant crew.
Behold how they toss their torches on high.
How they point to the Persian abodes.
And glittering temples of their hostile gods !
The princes applaud with a furious joy,
And the king seized a flambeau with zeal to destroy ;
Thais led the way
To light him to his prey,
And, like another Helen, fired another Troy.

Thus, long ago —
Ere heaving bellows learned to blow.

While organs yet were mute —
Timotheus, to his breathing flute.
And sounding lyre.
Could swell the soul to rage, or kindle soft desire.
At last divine Cecilia came,
Inventress of the vocal frame ;
The sweet enthusiast, from her sacred store,
Enlarged the former narrow bounds.

THE FIRST SETTLER'S STORY. 257

And added length to solemn sounds,
With nature's in other- wit, and arts unknown before.
Let old Timotheus yield the prize,

Or both divide the crown ;
He raised a mortal to the skies —

She drew an angel down.

The verses from Will Carleton's poem, "The First Settler's Story,''
beautifully recited by Miss Moore, were the following :

THE FIRST SETTLER'S STORY.

Well, when I first infested this retreat,
Things to my view looked frightful incomplete ;
But I had come with heart-thrift in my song,
And brought my Avife and plunder right along ;
I hadn't a round-trip ticket to go back,
And if I had, there wasn't no railroad track ;
And drivin' east was what I couldn't endure :
I hadn't started on a circular tour.

My girl-wife was as brave as she was good,

And helped me every blessed way she could ;

She seemed to take to every rough old tree.

As sing'lar as when first she took to me.

She kep' our little log-house neat as wax,

And once I caught her fooling with ni}' axe.

She hadn't the muscle (though she had the heart)

In out-door work to take an active part ;

She nris delicious, both to hear and see —

That pretty girl-wife that kep' house for me.

One night when I came home unusual late,
Too hungry and too tired to feel first-rate,
Hqr supper struck me wrong, (though I'll allow
She hadn't much to strike with, anyhow) ;
And when I went to milk the cows, and found
They'd wandered from their usual feeding ground
And maybe'd left a few long miles behind 'em,
Which I must copy, if I meant to find 'em.
Flash-quick the stay-chains of my temper broke,
And in a trice these hot words I had spoke :
" You ought to've kept the animals in view.
And drove 'em in ; you'd nothing else to do.
The heft of all our life on me must fall ;
You just lie 'round, and let me do it all. "

That speech — it hadn't been gone half a minute
Before I saw the cold, l)lack poison in it ;

258 HISTOKY OF DRY DEN.

And I'd have given all I had, and more,

To've only safely got it back in-door.

I'm now what most folks " well-to-do " would call :

I feel to-day as if I'd give it all.

Provided I through fifty years might reach

And kill and bury that half-minute speech.

She handed back no words, as I could hear ;

She didn't frown ; she didn't shed a tear ;

Half-proud, half-crushed, she stood and looked me o'er.

Like some one she had never seen before !

But such a sudden, anguish-lit surprise

I never viewed before in human eyes.

(I've seen it oft enough since in a dream ;

It sometimes wakes me like a midnight scream.)

Next morning, when, stone-faced, but heavy-hearted,

With dinner-pail and sharpened axe I started

Away for my day's work — she watched the door,

And followed me half way to it or more ;

And I was just a-turning 'round at this,

And asking for my usual good-by kiss ;

But on her lip I saw a proudish curve.

And in her eye a shadow of reserve ;

And she had shown — perhaps half unawares —

Some little independent breakfast airs —

And so the usual parting didn't occur,

Although her eyes invited me to her ;

Or rather half invited me, for she

Didn't advertise to furnish kisses free ;

You always had — that is, I had — to pay

Full market-price, and go more'n half the way.

So, with a short " Good-bj^e, " I shut the door.

And left her as I never had before.

But, when at noon my lunch I came to eat.

Put up by her so delicately neat —

Choicer, somewhat, than yesterday's had been.

And some fresh, sweet-eyed pansies she'd put in —

" Tender and pleasant thoughts, " I knew they meant —

It seemed as if her kiss with me she'd sent ;

Then I became once more her humble lover,

And said, " To-night I'll ask forgiveness of her. "

I went home over-early on that eve,
Having contrived to make myself believe,
By various signs I kind o' knew and guessed,
A thunder-storm was coming from the west.
('Tis strange, when one sly reason fills the heart.

THE FIEST SETTLER'S STORY. 259

How man}^ honest ones will take its part :
A dozen first-class reasons said 'twas right
That I should strike home early on that niglit. )

Half out of breath, the cabin door I swung,

With tender heart-words trembling on my tongue ;

Rut all within looked desolate and bare :

Mj house had lost its soul — she was not there !

A penciled note was on the table spread,

And these are somethiug like the words it said :

" The cows have strayed away again, I fear ;

I watched them pretty close ; don't scold me, dear.

And where they are, I think I nearly know :

I heard the bell not very long ago. . . .

I've hunted for them all the afternoon ;

I'll try once more — I think I'll find them soon.

Dear, if a burden I have been to 3^ou,

And haven't helped you as I ought to do,

Let old-time memories my forgiveness plead ;

I've tried to do my best — I have, indeed.

Darling, piece out with love the strength I lack,

And have kind words for me when I get back. "

Scarce did I give this letter sight and tongue —

Some swift-blown rain-drops to the window clung.

And from the clouds a rough, deep growl proceeded :

My thunder-storm had come, now 'twasn't needed.

I rushed out-door. The air was stained with black :

Night had come early, on the storm-cloud's back :

And everything kept dimming to the sight,

Save when the clouds threw their electric light ;

When, for a flash, so clean-cut was the view,

I'd think I saw her — knowing 'twas not true.

Through my small clearing dashed wide sheets of spray,

As if the ocean waves had lost their way ;

Scarcely a pause the thunder-battle made.

In the iDold clamor of its cannonade.

And she, while I was sheltered, dry, and warm.

Was somewhere in the clutches of this storm !

She who, when storm-frights found her at her best.

Had always hid her white face on my breast !

My dog, who'd skirmished round me all the day,

Now crouched and whimpering, in a corner lay ;

I dragged him by the collar to the wall,

I pressed his quivering muzzle to a shawl —

" Track her, old boy ! " I shouted ; and he whined,

Matched eyes with me, as if to read my mind,

260 HISTORY OF DRY DEN.

Theu witli a yell went tearing tlirouprh the wood.

I followed him, as faithful as I could.

No pleasure-trip was that, through flood and Hame ;

We raced with death ; we hunted nol)le game.

All night we dragged the woods Avithout avail ;

The ground got drenched — we could not keep the trail.

Three times again my cabin home I found,

Half hoping she might be there, safe and sound ;

But each time 'twas an unavailing care :

Aly house had lost its soul ; she was not there !

When, climbing the wet trees, next morning-sun

Laughed at the ruin that the night had done,

Bleeding and drenched, by toil and sorrow lient,

Back to what used to be my home I went.

But as I neared our little clearing-ground —

Listen ! — I heard the cow-bell's tinkling sound.

The cabin door was just a bit ajar ;

It gleamed upon my glad eyes like a star.

" Brave heart, " I said, " for such a fragile form I

She made them guide her homeward through the storm ! '

Such pangs of joy I never felt before.

" You've come ! " I shouted, and rushed through the door.

Yes, she had come — and gone again. She lay

With all her young life crushed and wrenched away —

Lay, the heart-ruins of oar home among,

Not far fi-om where I killed her with my tongue.

The rain-drops glittered 'mid her hair's long strands,

The forest thorns had torn her feet and hands,

And 'midst the tears — brave tears — that one could trace

Upon the pale but sweetly resolute face,

I once again the mournful words could read,

" I've tried to do my best — I have, indeed. "

And now I'm mostly done ; my story's o'er ;
Part of it never breathed the air before.
'Tisn't over-usual, it must be allowed,
To volunteer heart-history to a crowd,
And scatter 'mongst them confidential tears,
But you'll protect an old man with his years ;
And wheresoe'er this story's voice can reach,
This is the sermon I would have it preach :

Boys Hying kites haul in their white-winged birds :
You can't do that way when you're flying words.
" Careful with lire, " is good advice, we know :
" Careful with words, " is ten times doubly so.

THE FIRST SETTLER'S STORY.

261

Thouolits unexpressed ma}^ soraetimts fall back dead,
But God liimself can't kill them when they're said !

JOSEPH E. EGCtLESTON.

You have raj life-ffvief : do uot think a uiinute
'Twas told to take up time. There's business in it.
It sheds advice : whoe'er will take and live it,
Is welcome to the pain it costs to give it.

262 HISTOEY OF DRYDEN.

The final public exercise of the Celebration was the address of Hon.
Joseph E. Eggleston, county judge of Cortland county, with which we
conclude this chapter and our " History. " As Judge Eggleston com-
menced to speak, an incident occurred which would have disconcerted
most men, but, by his happy treatment of the matter, it was made to
contribute to, rather than to detract from, the interest manifested in his
address. The day was intensely hot ; the crowd was large and some-
what weary ; the boys were having a game of baseball on the grounds ;
and the gun- club was having some target practice in the neighboring
grove, all of which contributed to the confusion and noise. To cap
the climax, just as the Judge commenced to speak, an anxious mother,
Avho was deaf and did not appreciate the situation, but who wanted to
hear the speaking, as well as to escape the sun's fierce rays by getting
under the shade of the awning which covered the speaker's stand,
mounted the platform with her crying baby, of an unusually dark com-
plexion, just in front of the speaker, where she commenced promenad-
ing in her efibrts to quiet her child. Instead of being put out by the
akward situation, the Judge, in opening, remarked in his usual com-
manding but good-humored manner : " Everything goes here to-day ;,
the older people have been talking and now it is time to give the
babies a chance. " Happily at that moment a kodak was pointed at
the platform and, with a " snap-shot, " preserved the interesting scene,
which we are able here to reproduce.

The address was then delivereci to an attentive and enthusiastic au-
dience, as follows :

2Ir. President, Ladies and Gentlemen :

I deem it a privilege indeed to be present with you upon this happy
occasion, and I hardly know why the distinguished honor of being
3'our speaker was given to me, except, perhaps, that it is due to the
fact that I was born and reared to manhood where I could daily look
upon the dear old hills of Dry den.

It may be said that we are at the present time living in an age of
centennial celebrations, for throughout our land, counties, towns and
villages are seeking to do homage to the hundredth year birthmark by
joining in festivities such as we are engaged in to-day.

A long time ago the poet sang :

" Breathes there a man with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said

This is my own, my native land ;
Whose heart has ne'er Avithin him burned
As home his footsteps he hath turned

From wandering on a foreign strand?"

CENTENNIAL ADDRESS.

263

aucl tliat same spirit of love for your native land fills the breast and
quickens the blood in the veins of many of you here to-day.

One hundred years ago this mornino;, the sun, as it gilded yonder
hillside and lighted up this valley, smilingly looked down upon a scene
far different from what we now behold.

The primeval forest had scarcely been disturbed in its solitude, the
little stream wound its way along the valley secure in all its fastness-
es, nature was undisturbed in her repose, as a solitary adventurer,

"EVERYTHING GOES —AT DRYDEN CENTENNIAL.

Plioto h\i J. <;. Ford.

seeking to find a home in some new country, caught the beauty of the
location and commenced in a primitive way to break the spell that had
so long existed and bring the forces of nature in subjection to his will.

Little did he know how well he builded.

The ring of the axe disturbed only the birds of the air and the beasts
of the forest ; the log-cabin, so rudely constructed, produced only as-
tonishment to animal life as it then existed. There were no herds of
cattle upon the hillside, no sound of voices to break the silence, no
one to dispute the rights of this adventurer, for he was monarch of all
he surveyed, and this was the picture presented a century ago, as the
calm, soft rays of svimmer then rested upon the laud.

The entering wedge to future civilization had been driven, a step

264 HISTORY OF DEYDEN.

was taken in the advancement of future progress, looking to further
development of the resources of the country. The soil that had
known no master but the red man was waiting only to be tilled by the
hand of tlie white man in order that it might bring forth a bountiful
harvest in its season, aud the work of this first settler, followed by
that of others, was the foundation work for the town of Dryden as it
exists to-day.

W!iat an interesting study is the settlement of any new country !
What hardships were endured ! What self-denial practiced ! What
labor and energy put forth to furnish sustenance for life ! What joy
and sadness alternates in quick succession in the lives of those early
])ioneers. To them it was largelv an experiment, but they entered
upon their work with a determination to succeed, and in that way the
victory was half won. It is related of Father Taylor, that, when a
young man, preaching in Boston, becoming entangled in a long sen-
tence, he aptly relieved himself as follows : "Brethren, I don't exactly
know where I went in at the beginning of this sentence and I don't
know where I am coming out, but one thing I do know, I am bound
for the kingdom of Heaven." So did these men with an object in view
bend every energv to accomplish the desired result.

Reading your Cent*^nnial History I have been impressed with the
strong individuality of these men, and their plain, common sense, mat-
ter-of-fact way of doing business. In their seclusion they had time
and room to think, and another one of their peculiar characteristics
is their originality. Reflection and solitude are prime factors in form-
ing a good business education. The average man of to-day is too arti-
ficial, is too much a creature of society and custom, (when a man gets
to be a society leader you may generally look for him at the tail end
of every other procession,) his education has been so conventional
that it has fettered his originality, by training the irregular growth
of his genius into set forms, like a vine to its trellis.

It is the legitimate result, doubtless, of this education in the past that
a higher degree of alertness has been born of our "brisk social com-
merce, " that man's sympathetic nature has been cpiickened, that the
surface virtues in human character have attained to more of polish
and perfection. The average man of to-day possesses less of the in-
dividuality, the profundity of thought, the strength of character and
moral principle that distinguished the generation of our fathers.

We need the training of seclusion if we would be original. Reflec-
tion develops the inner man according to the tendencies of his beiug,
and from such developments tlie radical forces in society are always
recruited for the conflict with conservatism ; the originality thus grown
by reflection is the material from which civilization gathers the suc-
cessive increments of its progress. This discipline of reflection you
will also find a necessity to the formation of a well-rounded character.
The solitary maple of the open field attains a symmetry of develop-
ment, a strength in resistance, that it could never possess if grown in
the crowded, inter-dependent life of the forest. This self-education
begets individuality, and success is born of reflection.

CENTENNIAL ADDRESS. 265

This explains how a lonely shepherd boy in England became her
great inventor, how a thinking rail splitter in Illinois became Ameri-
ca's most successful statesman, and a secluded tanner at Galena her
greatest general ; it may explain to us also why the plow handle has
come to be the schoolmaster of our statesmen, why the lonely brook-
side is the cradle of our poets.

Your town has been honored in being named after one of the world's
greatest poets, a name beautiful indeed, and one that is dear to you all.
There is much in a name and in the giving of names to towns in this
section of our state, and in near proximity to us, one can but admire
the classical, poetical and historical genius of those persons who so
furtunately acted as sponsors in those early days.

Dryden, honored and loved the world over, has a monument thus
erected to his memory. Within hailing distance poetry finds herself
remembered in the names of Virgil, Homer and Scott. Classic litera-
ture finds itself distinguished by such names as Cicero, Marathon,
Pompey, Tully, Brutus, Aurelius, Scipio and Genoa. The legal lore
of other days receives recognition at the hands of Cincinnatus, while
the Prince of Ithaca aud the brave Trojan Ulysses, the one the father,
the other the son, names renowned in Grecian story, are next door
neighbors, and designate a city far famed for her halls of learning, and
a town in rural simplicity filled with prosperous and happy homes.

What a galaxy of names to conjure with ; what a list of honored
names of the world's greatest men and most distinguished places,
famed in ancient history, and here at this time we would invoke all of
the genius of modern times, music, poetry, eloquence and art, to^^speak
in their praise.

Another thought Avhich occurs to me now is the enjoyment we find
in meeting here upon this occasion. To-day the past rises up before
us and we seem to live over again the scenes of other days. What
pleasant memories are recalled, what hallowed associations revived,
how familiar the trees and rocks and streams look to us. Some of
you who are older can say :

"With what a pride I used to walk these hills,
Look up to Heavsn and bless God
That it was so.
It was free,

From end to end, from clift' to lake, 'twas free ;
Free as our torrents are, that leap our rocks
And plow our valleys, without asking leave ;
How happy was I in it then !
I loved its very storms. "

Time makes rapid changes, we look forward a hundred years and it
seems a long time, but when we look backward over a hundred years
how short it seems. Amos Sweet, when he constructed his log cabin,
which was his castle, and was the sole resident of the town, could not
in any fiiglit of his imagination, foreshadow the rapid progress civiliza-

266 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

tion would make here. Your happy homes, your cultivated fields,
your schools and public library, your churches with their spires point-
ing toward heaven, all tell of the spirit with which they have been
erected and preserved. In that time you have kept pace with the
progress of the country, and have helped to write that history of which
ever}^ American citizen has the right to be proud.

In that time, as a nation, we have aged a hundred years and the
work Ave have accomplished has been the wonder of the whole world.
Who that is capable of patriotic emotions can read and sti^dy that
history during the past century without feeling a just pride in the
past, with gratitude for the present and with confidence in the future !
O, land of Washington, of Jefierson, of Lincoln and Grant, land of
statesmen wise and warriors brave, and above all, land of liberty where
our fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, on this glad day our
hearts go out in glad praise and thanksgiving to the God of nations
for that history so resplendent with good deeds.

In what part of that glorious record which you have helped to
make, and which you have all been factors in making, is there a
page that will provoke a blush or a line that will inspire apprehension
of the future. As the citizen of to-day looks across the extent of the
country which he rules, and contrasts its condition with the condition
of the colonies which had just won their independence a little more
than a century ago, he sees a change so marvelous, a development so
great, a progress so wonderful that he is almost inclined to doubt his-
tory itself. He beholds a country which numbered, when it formed
its government, a population of three millions, now maintaining in all
their rights over seventy millions of independent citizens. That tree
of liberty planted by our forefathers has taken deep root in the soil ;
its branches have become wide-spreading ; its fruit abundant for the
sustenance of this and other nations, and all of the people ma}' repose
beneath its shade. In territory it extends from the confines of mon-
archy on the north to the warm summer clime of the Gulf of Mexico
on the south : on the east it is washed by the silvery waves of the At-
lantic, and reaches across hill and valley and plain and mountain until
it reaches where the waves of the Pacific roll and beat upon the gold-
en sands of California's shore.

By rivers whose sources were almost unknown, one now sees count-
less cities where the footsteps of millions beat upon magnificent high-
ways ; the waters which were undisturbed save where the dwellers of
the forest slaked their thirst in them, to-day bear upon their bosoms
the freighted steamers of a mighty inland commerce which surpasses
in its extent the wildest anticipations of the founders of this republic.
In solitudes where the footstep of the hunter had never penetrated,
where the silence was unbroken except by the roar of the wdd beast,
is heard the shrill whistle of the locomotive as it bears to the sea-
board the product of the farm, the shop and factory as the results of
American industry.

The flag of our country, the emblem of the free, purchased by the
best blood of the land ; its red as bright as the blood in which it has

CENTENNIAL ADDRESS. 267

been bathed, its white as pure as the driven snow, its blue as clear as
the expanse of heaven, has added to the original thirteen stars, states
in their sovereion power until at the present day we find it contains a
grand constellation of forty-five stars. That flag which we carry in
all its glory to-da}^ is a symbol of power and national strength
throughout the world. As has been said, " Beneath its folds the
weakest may find protection and the strongest must obey. " It floats
alike over the log-cabin in the forest, and the loftiest mansion of the
millionaire ; over the little red school-house by the roadside, and the
massive walls of the university, built by wealth and maintained in
luxurious splendor, " and like the bow of heaven is the child of sun
and storm. "

" Is this the land our fathers loved,

The freedom which they toiled to win.
Is this the soil on which they moved,
Are these the graves they slumber in? "

Yes, this is the land our fathers loved and we are to-day enjoying the
blessings vouchsafed to us by them, blessings and privileges bestowed
upon us by reason of their energy, perseverence and economy. But
we have a lesson to learn to-day. If you shall go from this place
without entering into the spirit of the occasion, or without feeling a
just pride in the past and a determination to improve in the future,
then have you kept the day in vain.

In reading the history of the pioneer settlement of this country, and
it is true of your own town, one can but be impressed of the fact that
these people had implicit faith that they would succeed. In any busi-
ness, in any undertaking, faith is a necessary ingredient to success and
a lack of it will in nearly all cases lead to a disastrous failure. I don't
want any man around me who does not have faith in his work. In
our work, individual or national, we need the faith of our fathers.
The learned Bishop Duane says the men to make a state are made
by faith, and if that be so, the men to protect, to guard, to improve, to
make substantial progress in national affairs are men stimulated to
action by faith in their work and the justness of the same. Why,
faith is a heritage of our people, it was one of the first lessons learned
and one that should never, no never, be forgotten. A little baud of
pilgrims, taking their lives in their hands, brave the dangers of the
ocean wave and seek a home in an unknown land, in order that they
may be free and independent and enjoy their religion after the dic-
tates of their own conscience. From the tears and trials of Delft Ha-
ven, from the deck of the Mayflower to Plymouth Rock, what a step
in the advancement of American liberty.

How, on the Avings of the morning, that first prayer ascends to
Heaven and how beautiful its language: "Father in Heaven, we thank
thee that thou hath permitted us to place our feet upon these shores.
In thy hand we leave our destiny, trusting that He Avho hath brought
us hither will glorify our work to his own good. " What a cross to

268 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

bear, what a beautiful example of faith in the divine providence.
What a corner stone upon which to rear this, our temple of liberty —
there upon the eternal rock, beneath the soil and shifting sand, upon
the basis of equal and exact justice to all men, to lay the foundation of
the government, broad and deep. Oh, I sometimes think that in our
worldly ambitions we are drifting away from Plymouth Rock and that
we lose sight of that implicit faith as shown by those early settlers.
As I have stood upon that consecrated spot I have thanked God for
Plymouth Rock. There it stands, washed by the silvery waves of the
ocean, surrounded now by all of the evidence of wealth and prosperity.
What a contrast — then it was a cross to bear, now it is a crown to
wear.

My dear friends, we want to live more the simplicity of life of our
fathers. As a nation we are living too fast. Whenever our expendi-
tures exceed our earnings we certainly will find our names in the debt-
or column. Practice a little of the economy and self-denial of those
early days and we will be the better for it. In our national advance-
ment let us occasionally go back to Plymouth Rock. We need that
strength, we need more of that simplicity of life and character, we
need to pray to God that all of our work ma}^ be acceptable in his
sight, for I have learned to believe that that nation whose God is the
Lord will live long and prosper upon this earth.

The republic was born by the fireside of the American home. It
was maintained by those heroic women, who, as they spun the flax,
taught their children to fear Goii and to live within their income. I
believe that the mother who reared a family of children to manhood
and womanhood in the log-cabin, such as has been constructed upon
your grounds for this occasion, and sent them out into the world well
equipped to engage in life's battles, taught them the lesson of honesty,
sobriet}' and economy, and above all taught them in youth at her knee
to say, " Our Father which art in Heaven, " is deserving of being
classed with those persons who successfully rule a kingdom. While
we are to-day thinking of our fathers let us not forget our mothers.
The grand corner stone upon which the wonderful fabric of our form
of government is builded is the kingdom ruled by woman, the home.
Some one has said that we could not have put down the Rebellion
without the aid of the loyal women of the land. In time of war while
the men were at the front fighting, the women were at home praying,
and I am not sure but they did as effective work as the men.

You can find enjoyment in the celebration here to-day for the rea-
son that you all contributed something toward making the town of
Dryden the prosperous, beautiful town that it now is. I don't mean
that you have simply paid money to be used upon this occasion or
that you have builded houses and blocks or accumulated wealth. No,
I mean that ^'ou have given something far more precious and long
to be remembered than that. Go with me to your two beautiful cem-
eteries, where the roses now bloom, and where the green grass covers
the graves of your silent dead. There I find cut in granite and mar-
ble names that I read in vour history, illustrious and honored names,

CENTENNIAL ADDRESS. 269

the numbers are legion, names that are dear to you, and the same that
many of you bear to-day. The same blood that once coursed in their
veins, and gave them strength and activity to do their work, now
courses in your veins, that 3^ou may have continued strength and activ-
ity to pursue and perpetuate, to perfection as near as it may be at-
tained, the work laid out and planned by them. Year after year you
have borne to that final resting place the father, mother, husband, wife,
brother, sister, and child, giving back to earth the body, and the spirit
to God, who gave it, retaining only sweet and blessed memories of
those dear ones. This is the precious gift that you have made and
how it must touch your hearts at this time.

There is an old story that always had a charm for me : In some
strange land and time they were about to cast a bell for a mighty
tower, a hollow, starless heaven of iron. It should toll for dead mon-
archs, the king is dead, and make glad clamor for the new prince, long-
live the king, it should proclaim so great a passion or so grand a
pride that either should be worship, or wanting these, forever hold
its peace. Now this bell was not to be digged out of the cold moun-
tain, it was to be made with something that had been warmed by
human touch, or loved with a human love, and so the people came,
like pilgrims to a shrine, and cast their offerings into the furnace and
went away. There were links of chains that bondsmen had worn
bright, and fragments of swords that had broken in heroes' hands,
they even brought things that were licked up in an instant by the red
tongue of flame, good words they had written and flowers they had
cherished, perishable things that could never be heard in the rich
t(me and volume of the bell. And the fires panted like a strong man
when he runs a race, and the mingled gifts flowed down together
and were lost in the sand. And the dome of iron was drawn out
like Leviathan. And by and by the bell was alone in its chamber and
its four windows looked forth to the four quarters of heaven. For
many a day the bell hung silent in the tower and the wind came and
went and only set it sighing. At last there came a time when men
grew grand for right and truth and stood shoulder to shoulder o'er all
the land, and went down like reapers to the harvest death, looked into
the graves of them that slept and believed that there was something-
grander than living, something more bitter than dying, and so, stand-
ing between the quick and dead, they quitted themselves like men.
Then the old bell awoke in the tower and the great waves of its music
rolled gloriously out, and broke along the blue walls of the world
like an anthem, and every tone in it was familiar as a household word
to somebody, because they had placed their treasure in it.

So, ni}' dear friends, it seems to me that at this time, as we join in
these exercises and lift our voices in song and praise, as the music
shall float upon the air, every tone in it will be familiar to you all, for
you have brought your treasure here.

One thought more in conclusion. What of the future of our coun-
try ? Thus far we have been thinking of the past. That is, however,
an utter waste of time, unless it stimulates us to new activitv in our

270 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

work and inspires us with new hope for the future. " To-day the man
who tells us what we have done, must stand aside for the man who
will tell us what we ought to do. " The opportunity for future ad-
vancement is as great to-day as it was a hundred years ago, the les-
sons to be learned as important now as then. There are great ques-
tions yet to be determined which invite your most earnest considera-
tion.

Where are the men who will solve the problem of how to reconcile
the conflict between capital and labor, and cause them to go hand in
hand, to the mutual benefit of employer and employed. To what
school shall we go, and at the knee of what teachers shall we kneel
that we may learn the economic lesson of living within our income, of
paying our debts as we go along? Who will be the statesmen, mas-
ters in the science of government, who, knowing what is right, will
dare to stand up and with massive intellect and giant arm break into
fragments every monopoly which seeks to fetter, oppress or rob the
people ?

Again, the voice of your government is such that it welcomes within
its jurisdiction people from all climes and countries, guaranteeing to
all who shall come protection to life and property. The flow of immi-
gration to this country at this time is wonderful, and how are you to
receive the thousands who are seeking refuge within your borders ?
You must furnish them homes, you must educate them, you must
surround them with the influence of the Christian religion ; aye, you
must make them citizens, as they have the right to demand it.

Freedom at the ballot l30x, purity of elections, the election of honest
men to places of trust, these are important matters and must ever be
guarded with zealous care.

You will doubtless remember the letter of Lord Macauley to the
Hon. Henry S. Randall, of Cortland, in which letter Macauley prophe-
sied that the time would come when the people of this nation would
fail to intelligentl}' perform their duties and when they would ignor-
antly allow bad men to be elected to places of trust and thus bring our
government into anarchy and confusion. But Macauley spoke as
one having knowledge of a monarchial form of government and where
the people are kept in ignorance. He knew not of the little school-
houses which dot our landscape, of the institutions of learning which
are found in nearly every square mile of our territory and which are
the jewels that shine brightest in the crown of American liberty. In
making that prophesy Macauley had in mind English society and not
American. In England the society is like the crusts of the earth, one
above the other, strata upon strata, the royalty, the nobility, the aris-
tocracy, and down strata by strata until on the bottom are found the
peasantry and common people. People in one strata never rise to the
next, unless by some volcano-like eruption in society or b}^ the over-
throw of the government, the lower stratas break through the overly-
ing crusts and come up. Such are the people of England and for such
reasons were certain rights not given to the lower classes. Were the
powers of the government submitted to them, anarchy and confusion

CENTENNIAL ADDRESS. 271

would at first follow. But the sociey of America may be likened to the
ocean, where the drop of water which to-day lies down in darkness on
the rocky bottom, to-morrow may be glittering in the sunlight, riding
on the crest of the topmost wave. The strength of our government is
found in the fact that the power is vested in the common people.
Were our country in danger to-day you would witness the same sub-
lime response of the people to the rescue as you did in '76, when they
said "Give us liberty or give us death ;" when they said "The Union
shall remain one and inseparable forever;" when they said there
should be no Hag but the old flag, the red, white and blue, and bathed
it in the best blood of the land.

I have no fear for the future of my country and the picture of to-day
encourages me to indulge in the brightest visions. We never sing the
old song " America, " without its making us better ; there is more mu-
sic in it to the square inch, than any opera that was ever written.

Then this sea of happy faces coming from so many pleasant homes,
the click of the mowing machine heard in the meadow, the fields of
waving golden grain almost ready for the reaper, God forbid that any-
thing should ever occur to mar the beauty of such a scene.

I call upon you, old men whose brows have become furrowed by
time, whose step is somewhat feeble, whose hair has become silvered
by the snows of many winters, whose memories go back far beyond
mine, to see to it that the fires kindled upon the hearths of our fathers
be kept alive. I call upon you, young men, as you shall grow up in
the strength of your manhood, heirs of a rich inheritance, to remember
whose sons you are. Oh, let me appeal to you all, that in the great
conflict of life, where right is at war against wrong, where truth and
falsehood walk side by side through our streets and vice and virtue
meet and pass every hour of the day, you enlist in the great army
with those who, disheartened by no obstacle, discouraged by no de-
feat, appalled by no danger, neither paused nor swerved from their
clear line of duty until the battlefields of the past have been strewn
with the wrecks of what was false, and truth and justice and right have
triumphed in the glory of victory. " Whatsoever things are true,
whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever
things are lovely, " think on these things, let your voice be raised in
their behalf, let your work be earnest, and when others shall speak to
your praise and tell the story of your deeds, they will rise up and call
you blessed.

" Who'll press for gold this crowded street

A hundred years to come ?
Who'll tread yon church with willing feet

A hundred years to come ?
Pale, trembling age, and fiery youth,
And childhood with its brow of truth,
The rich, the poor, on land and sea.
Where will the mighty millions be

A hundred years to come ?

272 HISTORY OF DRYDEN.

" We all within our graves shall slee])
A hundred years to come.
No living soul for us shall weep

A hundred years to come.
But other men our land will till,
And others then our streets will fill,
And other birds will sing as gay.
And bright the sunshine as to-day
A hundred vears to come."

Rouse's Bookhouse

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272 HISTORY OF DEYDEN.

" We all within our graves shall sleep
A hundred years to come.
No living soul for us shall weep

A hundred years to come.
But other men our land will till,
And others then our streets will fill,
And other birds will sing as gay.
And bright the sunshine as to-day
A hundred vears to come."

Rouse's Bookhouse

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