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COFVRIGHT DEPOSIT
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
Uj/a^JL*-*. J /k^Cc^-
A Sketch
of Old Utica
Blandina Dudley Miller
EDITED BY
Helen Lincklaen Miller
MDCCCCXIII
Copyright 1913, by Helen L. Miller
v Second Edition v
FIERSTINE PRINTING HOUSE
UTICA, N. Y.
©CI.A330868 /^
2!n ifemortam
She hath gone forth where Silence needs no speech,
Into the music of the chanting spheres,
Safe harbored now beyond all sorrows' reach,
Beyond the mists of pain and human tears.
Yet here is left a Song that still shall sing
Above life's strident ways, and softly bless:
She hath gone forth into that final Spring,
Leaving the echo of her loveliness.
— Thomas S. Jones Jr.
Miss Blandina Dudley Miller
A woman of considerable accomplishment, superior char-
acter and representative of the best intellectual endowment
of this region died Saturday evening in the home she and her
devoted sister have made for several years past in the Olbiston.
She was Blandina Dudley Miller, known to the old readers of
The Observer for a long time as a regular contributor to
its Saturday issues.
She was from historic families, as is shown in other col-
umns of the paper. Her father was the Hon. Rutger B. Mil-
ler and her mother was one of the beautiful and noble sisters
of Governor Horatio Seymour. She was not only a niece of
the Governor by blood but of the Hon. Roscoe Conkhng
through his marriage to one of her aunts.
She came early to a love and reverence for local history
which was characteristic of her family on both sides. There-
by she was inspired to be a writer and her utterances were of
note Her writings, we may admit, helped to inspire that
spirit which has lifted to its present state the Oneida Histor-
ical Society of which the Governor was for years the Presi-
dent and whose fine building is one of the ornaments of this
city.
She has not lived in vain. Her Christian character was
exemplary. Refinement was native in her breast and was in
all the breathings of her spirit. To what sweet sleep she goes .
— E. Prentiss Bailey
INTRODUCTION
"In these mansions used to be
Free hearted hospitality.
Here great fires up the chimney roared
And guests oft gathered at the board."
The old houses of Utica are so rapidly disap-
pearing from our streets before the march of mod-
ern improvement, that is has been deemed of suffi-
cient interest to jot down these fragmentary de-
tails of the life of some of the early settlers and de-
scriptions of their dwellings, for the pleasure of
those now living, and perhaps for the amusement
of those who are to come after us; who may scarcely
refrain from a smile at the quaintness and sim-
plicity of the life in Utica in its early days.
The little village has grown into a beautiful city,
far surpassing the dreams or hopes of its original
founders in the luxury and beauty of its houses;
yet there was an air of substantial comfort and
stately dignity about these old homes that will not
be effaced from the memories of those who as chil-
dren had the happiness to sit around the ancient
fireplaces, or to gather fruits and flowers in fields
and orchards now built over by solid blocks of
stores and houses.
Blandina Dudley Miller.
Utica, N. Y., Oct. 15, 1895.
Utica's Old Homes
Some Historic Houses of the City's
Early Days
IN writing of the old homes in Utica, the very
name brings before one large substantial look-
ing buildings of wood, brick or stone, and of
but two designs, the double house or a single house
with wings, the front door surmounted with a fan-
light, and the side lights divided into squares and
diamonds by light wreaths of metal. The door
knobs and knockers will be of shining brass, and
the iron railing up the steps will usually be fin-
ished with two brass balls which reflect the sun-
light far and hear. A hall running the entire
length of the house will usually have fluted pil-
lars and a fanlight dividing it in two, and the hand-
some staircase with an easy ascent will either be
at the end of the hall, or may be placed at right
angles. In either case the mahogany balustrade
and carved post make it a conspicuous feature.
13
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
In the house built by Samuel Stocking, on Broad
street, the hall is of unusual size and beauty. The
wails are decorated with paintings executed by an
English artist by the name of Gordon. They rep-
resent Trenton Falls, a town in France, and a
scene in Oswego, where one of his daughters was
then living. This house, since occupied by Judge
Denio and now by his daughter, Mrs. Louis A.
Tourtellot, has often been quoted as one of the
best and handsomest models in this part of the
state.
In the house built by Mr. Bagg in 1824 for his
family and afterwards occupied by his daughter,
Mrs. Charles A. Mann, are beautiful rooms and
high mantlepieces with elaborate carvings, and a
hall large enough to make a modern "apartment,"
while a fine garden extended to Main street, and
was always full of flowers.
On Whitesboro street is still standing, and but
little changed in external appearance, the house
built by Judge Nathan Williams, and in which
five generations of the family have lived. Here
also we shall find beautiful specimens of carved
woodwork on mantlepieces and doors, while the
handsomely proportioned parlor, papered with
the quaintest of designs, great branching trees and
vines of a Chinese pattern, always attracted much
14
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
attention and admiration. The large garden and
orchard ran down to Water street, and were most
attractive.
Next to Judge Williams' was the pleasant double
brick house built by David Childs in about 1810 or
1812. It was afterwards purchased by Henry
Seymour in 1820 and is still owned by his grand-
children, although not occupied by any of them.
Here, as in many other houses of the time, we shall
find the delightful fireplaces and Dutch ovens, and
a large, cheerful, basement kitchen whose windows
open on the attractive garden. The comfort and
cheerfulness of this large house was much increased
by the beautiful gardens which joined that of Judge
Williams with only a hedge between. All the fam-
ily were strongly attached to this house, and car-
ried its ruling ideas into their own widely scattered
homes as much as possible.
Governor Seymour spent many of his happiest
days here and his attachment, which seemed only
to increase with his years, sometimes resulted in a
rather unfortunate fondness for all the old things
and an aversion to many needed improvements.
When he ensconsed himself in his easy chair by the
side of the fire always kept blazing in the sunny
east room, and drew out a pile of newspapers, he
was a picture of enjoyment not often seen. Al-
ls
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
though the last years of his life were spent in Deer-
field on his farm, he seldom let a day pass without
spending many hours in the old home.
On moving to Deerfield and making a farmer of
himself he remodeled and added to a farm house on
the place, and made a house picturesque and at-
tractive to look at without being very comfortable
to live in. It was a rambling house that ran all
over and lost itself, and the crooked stairs were a
problem to many to mount or descend in safety.
His delight was to collect in his library and parlors
all historic mementoes of the past, and in looking
at them and recalling the events these inanimate
objects had had a share in, he seemed to live the
past over again, and his informal conversations up-
on them were delightful to listen to. "Now sit on
Daniel Webster's chair a little while" he would
say, "then try Bishop White's to brace up your
churchmanship; then mount this high backed chair
of Charles II. 's day and you will be glad to settle
down in your great Aunt Dudley's chair, the most
comfortable of them all. General Schuyler's clock
is telling you it is time to go to bed and General
Forman will tell you when to get up in the morning.
These old trees talk only Dutch and Indian so they
can tell no tales to you. I manage to understand
them, because they belong to Mrs. Seymour who
is Dutch herself."
16
\ U I w
The Stocking, Denio or Tourtellot House
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
The view from his front piazza was inspiring in-
deed, and here he loved to sit under the shadow of
his favorite black cherry tree of great size and re-
trace the route of the different nations that had
traversed this broad valley of the Mohawk.
"Why do you always say the broad valley of the
Mohawk, Governor?" asked Senator Kernan, who
always kept up a running fire of jest and quips with
his old friend. " Because neither you nor any
one else would ever think how broad this valley is
if I did not keep telling you it was so. Mohawk
Valley sounds very commonplace and tells you
nothing. When I say the 'broad' valley it makes
you look to see how wide it is."
His library was well filled with interesting books
on history, ornithology, botany, etc., and he took
the keenest delight in watching the habits of the
birds on the farm, and never would allow one to be
disturbed. Wild flowers he was especially fond
of, and took unwearied pains to have great clumps
of all his favorites growing on the edge of the beau-
tiful woods back of his house. "I do not like the
trailing arbutus at all," he once said. "It will not
grow for me. I have transplanted it from many
localities, and brought a wagon load of its native
soil to make it feel at home, but to no purpose. I
believe it knows my indifference to my Puritan
17
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
ancestors, and so this little New England May
flower will have nothing to do with me. All the
Dutch 'bloemen' bloom delightfully here. Your
arbutus is an obstinate little minx. I will have no
more of it."
THE INMAN HOUSES
On the beautiful drive from Utica out to Whites-
boro stand the two Inman houses, very different
in style and appearance, and both very interest-
ing. William Inman came to this country from
England in 1792, and had charge of large estates
owned by a gentleman in London. He lived first
in the picturesque English cottage on the north
side of the road, and, being a man of ample for-
tune, led the life of a country gentleman, driving
about in a heavy English carriage and wearing
powdered hair, with knee breeches and buckles.
The old road must have run much closer to the
house than at present, and our Englishman pres-
ently becoming choked with the Yankee dust, built
the large substantial looking house on the south side
of the road, standing far back from the trees, and
which impresses the passer-by as a mansion of ye
olden time. Mr. Inman was one of the founders of
the old Trinity church, and an original pew holder.
His sons distinguished themselves in different
18
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
walks of life. John Inman was editor of the lead-
ing New York papers of the day, such as the Col-
umbian Gazette, Spirit of the Times, etc. Henry
Inman became an artist of note on both sides of
the Atlantic. He at first painted miniatures under
Jarvis in New York, but gained greater reputation
as a painter of portraits and genre pictures.
Among his best pictures are those of Chief Justice
Marshall, Bishop White, Rip Van Winkle awaken-
ing from his dream, Boyhood of Washington, etc.
In addition to his talent as an artist, his social and
conversational gifts were of the highest order. He
became vice president of the National Academy of
Design.
THE YORK HOUSE
On the north side of Whitesboro street, corner of
Hotel street, stands the large yellow brick hotel,
formerly known as the York house, and whose
history is closely associated with many interesting
events in the early days of Utica. It was built in
1797 by Samuel Hooker for the Holland Land
Company to accommodate the many settlers who
were beginning to pour into the western part of the
state to settle on the company's land. Though
apparently far too large a hotel for the size of the
village, it was often taxed to its utmost capacity
19
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
by these settlers coming up the valley and
requiring accommodation for man and beast.
In the annals of Albany, it is stated that in 1795,
twelve hundred sleighs loaded with men, women
and children, and all household belongings, passed
through Albany, en route for the west, in three
days.
The York House was an excellent hotel, and its
register, if it had been preserved, could show the
names of many people of distinction. The wide
sweep of the street in front was made to allow the
stages and carriages, with their four and six horses,
to turn around. In the second story was a large
ball room with an excellent spring floor, where
were held all the fashionable balls or assemblies of
the day. At one end of the ball room was a wooden
screen painted and cut out to represent trees and
groves in a sort of Forest of Arden effect. At the
sound of the music the dancers emerged from be-
hind these trees, and when the graceful gavottes
or scarf dances were finished they disappeared into
these leafy shades, which was thought to have a
very beautiful effect. The room was lighted by
candelabra, and sconces filled with wax candles,
and woe to the unlucky beau who forgot himself
and stood lingering beneath them. His garments
were apt to be covered with a waxen coating diffi-
cult to remove.
20
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
These balls and parties began at seven o'clock
in the evening, (think of this, ye fin-de-siecle belles
and beaux!) until some ultra fashionables from
New York made a sensation by coming at the un-
heard of hour of half past seven. And from that
time on the village belles found it difficult to com-
plete their toilettes before that hour — while their
parents mourned over the evils of fashionable life
and customs.
The word hotel was cut as well as painted on the
front walls of the building, and no subsequent
painting could ever efface it, even when used as a
private residence. It still stands as a memorial
of the Holland Land Company in the early days
of Utica, and was the largest hotel this side of
New York City for many years.
21
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
THE MILLER HOUSE
In 1820 Judge Morris S. Miller began to lay out
the grounds and to plant the trees and shrubs on
that part of the Bleecker property since known as
Rutger place, at the head of John street. In the
family the place never had a name of any pretense,
it was and is today called "The Hill," or "Up on
the Hill." "Miller's Folly" was a name given by
many at the time — so remote was it from all
neighbors and friends. A carriage seen crossing
John street bridge was surely coming to The Hill,
for there was no other place to go to through the
muddy lane called John street. The seat origin-
ally extended from Howard avenue to Dudley
avenue, and from Rutger to South street.
2 2
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
A stone wall was built all along the northern
line of the place, and a pretty winding walk led
through the shrubbery nearly around the entire
place. This shrubbery of purple and white lilacs,
snowballs, syringa, etc., formed a dense wall of
green overhanging the stone wall, and a large wil-
low at the gate sheltered the rather narrow en-
trance from all outsiders. Mountain ash trees
and honey locusts grew luxuriantly in the rich soil,
and combined with the other trees, formed grove-
like clumps all over the grounds. Fruit trees were
in great profusion, and the Bleecker and orange
plum were planted everywhere, and were famous.
Judge Miller died before the house was built, ex-
cept its foundations, but his original plan was car-
ried out and the house completed in about 1830.
The square stone house was flanked by two
small Grecian buildings, i. e., a low pediment
and pillars; the one on the west was the
office, and that on the east served for the gard-
ner's and coachman's house, and ran back to
the wood house and stable. These houses were
connected with the main house by the upper piazza,
which extended across the carriage drives to the
roof, and gave something the effect of a huge bird.
Notable men and women have gathered within
its walls from the first Sunday when Mrs. Miller
23
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
occupied it. The dining room and hall were
the only rooms in order. Judge Conkling was in
town holding court, and Rutger B. Miller was his
clerk. The judge was invited to Sunday dinner,
and was the first guest in the house that was des-
tined to be the home of his son, Senator Conk-
ling, for so many years. Old Jimmy, the house-
hold factotum, was in despair for the honor of his
family — such a stately, elegant man as Judge
Conkling coming to dinner and no parlor to show
him into! My grandmother was perfectly com-
posed. "You have a good dinner?" "Yes,
ma'am." "Very well, serve it well and no one
will feel the lack of another room. Friends come
before furnishings."
Hospitality was the cornerstone of the house, and
a long array of pleasant guests were to follow.
Bishop Hobart, Bishop DeLancey, General Scott,
Colonel Worth, General Stephen Van Rensselaer,
General Bloomfield, Mrs. Schuyler and her beau-
tiful daughter, now Mrs. John Taylor Cooper, of
Albany; Mrs. Davidson and her talented young
daughters, Margaret and Lucretia; Gerrit Smith,
the noted abolitionist, and his southern wife, Anne
Carroll Fitzhugh; Mrs. Alexander Hamilton, Mr.
and Mrs. Charles E. Dudley, from Albany, Mrs.
24
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
Miller's beautiful nieces, Mrs. Tibbits and Mrs.
Neilson, made a circle not often excelled.
How clearly comes before me among the few
recollections I have of the place, the morning early
in the spring of 1850, when a party of men with
spades, picks and wheelbarrows arrived and began
breaking the ground to the west of the house for
the house of J. Wyman Jones! We children
thought it most interesting, and could not at all
understand the white, sad faces of the older mem-
bers of the household, to whom it was the begin-
ning of the end, the breaking up of the old home-
stead into city lots and places.
OTHER RESIDENTS
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas R. Walker lived here for
several years, and pleasantly entertained many of
the favorite artists, poets and sculptors of the day,
while Senator Conkling, during his residence of
more than twenty-five years, gathered here all the
noted men of his time. "This is a marvelous
house," said Mrs. Conkling, after entertaining a
large party of friends for several days. "There is
ample room for the pleasure and comfort of many
people, and I can live here by myself without feel-
ing it is too large for the cozy comfort of a quiet
life."
25
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
Perhaps the most brilliant array of distinguished
people met him at the re-union of the Army of the
Cumberland in 1875, when General Grant, Gen-
eral Sherman, General Hooker were all guests of
Senator Conkling, who kept open house during the
days of their visit. A military parade was fol-
lowed by a brilliant meeting in the Opera House,
where soldier after soldier was called upon for a
speech, and greeted with rounds of applause.
When the heroes entered the house and took their
seats on the stage, the whole audience rose, and a
deafening cheer upon cheer arose that shook the
very walls. Everyone cheered — ladies and all —
without half knowing what they were doing.
11 Why have I lost my voice so suddenly," said one
lady to another after the turmoil had subsided.
11 Because you were cheering with the others."
"I never knew I had opened my lips," was the re-
ply, "but I felt it."
Nicholas E. Kernan purchased the place in 1894,
and in the possession of his family there need be no
fear that the hospitable traditions of the past will
ever die out. On the contrary, the fire on the
hearth will still burn brightly, and the friends of
three and four generations will still feel that Miller's
Seat or Rutger Place is theirs to enjoy, and to re-
ceive the cordial welcome as in days of old.
26
SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
THE BIG FIREPLACE
If I were asked to give the ruling motif of Utica's
old houses, I should say it was the fireplace, and the
dominant chord would be the cord of wood. The
woodshed took up an important share of the yard,
and with its pile upon pile of beautiful maple and
birch and beech wood in all stages of dryness, and
the odor of pine from the kindling-wood corners,
it was a delightful spot. These large houses were
rarely warm except immediately in front of the
fireplaces. Large folding screens were drawn about
them to cut off the drafts, and as the weather grew
colder the circle grew closer and smaller. Of wel-
come and hospitality there was no lack, and wood
was piled up high to greet the newly arrived guest.
The furniture for these large rooms was corres-
pondingly large and massive. The mahogany
sofas and side-boards are the despair of those who
try to move them into more modern houses. The
high mantlepieces were adorned with silver candle-
sticks and candelabra, and those fortunate enough
to have friends connected with the India trade
could have Indian vases, but these were rare.
Girandoles graced the walls. The handsomest had
eagles holding arrows, and balls or chains In the
large book cases we shall find many tomes of the
27
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
sermons our forefathers so delighted to collect, and
to read, too, as we find many of them marked and
interlined. Baxter, Jeremy Taylor, Blair, Paley,
Bunyan make a goodly show, and for poetry did
they not commit whole volumes of Scott, Moore,
Burns, Cowper, Byron, etc., to memory in a man-
ner to fill us with envy at their aptness in quota-
tion? Dickens and Thackery were not, but Wav-
erly^was upsetting both Europe and America, and
people could scarcely wait for the next novel to ap-
pear. Magazines were scarcely known, and the
PAID
newspapers were few and far between. Letters
from absent friends came only seldom as the form-
idable postage of 18 cents to 30 cents precluded
very active correspondence. Pianos were highly
prized, and Utica could boast of two or three pro-
28
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
ficient players on the harp, Mrs. James Madison
Weed, and Miss Sarah Miller and Miss Evarts
among others. The Battle of Prague, a descrip-
tive piece of music for the piano, was a test of skill
and proficiency. Songs were of a rather distress-
ingly sentimental type, more descriptive of lovers'
woes and sighs than of joy or happiness, and the
love lorn swain or damsel found far more favor with
the musical world than the commonplace, happy
lover. In fact, to die for love seemed to be the
acme of happiness in these ballads.
LIFE OF THE TIME
The description above given applies to all these
old homes. Such were the houses of the Varicks,
the Devereux, Manns, Williams, Seymours, Doo-
littles, Camps, Ostroms, Harts, Hubbards, Denios,
Bacons, Kirklands, Kips, Lothrops, Johnsons,
Beardsleys, Hunts, Greens, and many others, all
surrounded with beautiful gardens for pleasure and
use . M ar kets there were none , and every one raised
his own fresh vegetables and fruits. Entertain-
ments were frequent, and while handsome mahog-
any, silver and china, and fine napery made the ta-
bles elegant, the simplicity of the dinners would, I
fear, scarcely satisfy the club man of the year 1895,
but for excellence of the viands they hold their own
29
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
bravely. A dinner consisted of a rich soup; a
calf's head was a great favorite, then two joints of
meat, a "roast and a boil," with vegetables served
at the same time, or a saddle of mutton and haunch
of venison on a lordly dish, the size of a small table.
A ham soaked in champagne was a dish to set be-
fore a king, and a spiced round of beef, with a dash
of sherry, was a most popular dish. The desserts
were simple but how good and tempting! Calves'
foot jelly, served in glasses, mounted on a high
epergne, was the favorite centre piece. Whipped
cream, custard, baked in India blue cups with the
covers on, floating island, alternated with the
richer mince pies and plum puddings. A second
course was a great anxiety to provide with so lim-
ited a market; but when that was accomplished the
housekeeper's cares were over. The word " menu,"
and its ten to fourteen courses made up of airy
nothings, were both happily unknown. For wine,
ample provision was made in the bins of the attic
and the vaults of the cellar. Port, sherry and ma-
deria, that had taken a voyage around the Cape to
ripen, were the favorite brands, and not to offer a
friend a glass of wine and a bit of sponge cake was
an incivility. Egg-nogg parties were very popular,
when the entire company adjourned to the dining-
room, beat the eggs and mixed the ingredients to
30
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
taste. When finished, the nogg was poured foam-
ing into pitchers or served from a punch bowl with
a ladle. Oysters were a rarity, and when a barrel
of them was brought up, every one gave a supper
party to celebrate the event. For evening parties,
ices, cake, coffee and chicken salad were the usual
viands, which were very often handed about on
trays.
PETER FREEMAN
Many of us will recall the tall figure of Peter
Freeman, a colored waiter, who had known Utica
society for many years, darting in and out between
the dancers with skill and quickness, for to have
run up against any one or to have dropped a spoon,
would have dealt a blow to his professional pride.
Peter, like most of his race, was aristocratic, and
took deeply to heart the passing away or the step-
ping down and out of his old families and the up-
rising of others not so worthy in his estimation.
"Sassiety ain't what it used to be" was his fre-
quent complaint, and he lost his interest in many
of the parties, and, probably, from the nature of
his remarks his valuable services were not as much
in demand as formerly. At his last appearance at
a party at Mr. Edmund A. Wetmore's the heart of
Peter revived. Many of his old patrons were
31
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
present, and he sailed into the parlor with his tray
of glasses, greeting all with a cordial welcome, and
saluting one lady, for whom he had a great regard,
with "Come in, come in, Mrs. . This is a
real select, genteel party, and none of our sudden
rich ain't here — not one of 'em."
THE GARDENS OF UTICA
The old gardens of Utica were a very marked
feature of the place. The shrubs and trees and
plants had each a distinct value and individuality
as the gifts and remembrances between friends
and neighbors. There were no florists in those
days to send out their finely illustrated catalogs — •
and plants were given in exchange between neigh-
bors and thus were spread far and near. The Erie
canal was turned from the course originally plan-
ned, to avoid the destruction of the beautiful gar-
den and grounds belonging to Mr. James Kip on
Broadway — probably the finest place then exist-
ing in Utica. Great was the anxiety of Mrs. Morris
Miller that Mr. Henry Seymour, then Canal Com-
missioner, should not by the digging of his "big
ditch" injure her favorite roses and fraxinellas
which she had brought up from her father, Rutger
Bleecker's old garden, on Market street, Albany.
The Kip-Miller place on Main street was surround-
32
Judge Nathan Williams, The Wager or
Goodwin House
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
ed by a large garden which ran as far as Cathar-
ine street and was of course ruined by the canal.
The old time garden walks were bordered with
the fragrant purple and white fraxinellas, spireas,
velvet roses, cabbage roses, sweet briar, spicy shrub,
white snow balls, lemon lilies, Canterbury bells,
Judas Tree, peonies in great glory, four o'clocks,
pinks, purple and white lilacs, laburnam, bar-
berrys, lilacs, mignonette, sweet lavendar, Jeru-
salem oak, etc., while the flowering bulbs made the
garden gay from early spring to late in autumn.
"Whenever I found a specially fine garden in
Clinton," said Mrs. George Wood, "I found the
plants had originally come from Mrs. Henry Sey-
mour's garden in Utica." Any one who would take
a root or cutting and make it grow, was sure to find
favor in her eyes. The plants thus exchanged be-
tween friends assumed an almost personal individ-
uality and were valued accordingly, while the gar-
dens so carefully cultivated made a pleasant and
attractive environment of the quaint old houses.
JOSEPH KIRKLAND HOUSE
Probably one of the oldest houses in the city is
the one on Genesee street, built by Watts Sherman,
who came here to live in 1802, and as he was pros-
perous in his affairs it is probable he built this most
33
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
attractive house, with its beautiful garden, not
many years afterwards. It consisted originally
of the main building and south wing.
When General Joseph Kirkland purchased it and
removed here with his family from New Hartford,
he added the handsome well-proportioned room on
the north side, and added the third story. Mr.
Kirkland was the first mayor of the city of Utica,
and distinguished himself in that capacity as well
as in all other walks of life. During the terrible
cholera year, when sixty years of age, he maintained
his post, remained in the city which was deserted
by so many, and was untiring in brave efforts to
stem the tide of this dreaded plague, and to give
courage to the terrified inhabitants. Within these
walls was reared a family of twelve children, ten of
whom lived to manhood and womanhood. Of the
sons, Charles P. Kirkland was a noted lawyer in
New York, and a leading member of the Oneida
County Bar, William Kirkland, a professor of Latin
in Hamilton College, while among his sons-in-law
were Judge William J. Bacon of Utica, John G.
Floyd, Charles Tracy of New York, John G. Holly
of Lyons.
The house was afterwards purchased by Judge
Philo Gridley, and remained in the possession of
his family until 1882, when Dr. Willis E. Ford pur-
34
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
chased the house and part of the lot. Stephen
Sicard, the judge's son-in-law, reserving part of the
lot and building a handsome house on the north-
ern side. Its large, well proportioned hall and
generous sized parlors have always made it one of
Utica's most attractive houses.
Judge Apollos Cooper was one of the enterpris-
ing pioneers of central New York, and settled in
what is now Oneida county in 1793, as we hear of
him as leaving his birthplace in Southampton, L.
I., and "poling" up the Mohawk and Fish creek in
that year, but in 1794 he came to Fort Schuyler.
He was judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and
held many offices of public trust. In an address
delivered before the Historical Society in Utica a
short time ago, by one of the most eminent law-
yers of New York city, and a former resident of
Utica, this sentiment was expressed: "Of the men
who one hundred years ago, in 1794, came from
the east and drove their stakes at old Fort Schuyler,
there was one among them — Apollos Cooper —
whose influence through himself and his posterity
has been sovereign all through your history, and
even to the present day is benignly felt. To Judge
Apollos Cooper we owe the life and fame of one of
the brilliant lawyers for whom Utica has been re-
nowned." Mrs. E. A. Graham, the only daughter
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
of Judge Cooper, still survives, and is believed to be
the oldest native born resident of Utica. From
early youth she was one of the chief promoters of
that noble charity, the Utica Orphan Asylum, and
for nearly fifty years its first directress, resigning
that position but a few years since. Judge Ap-
pollos Cooper was the lineal descendant of John
Cooper, who sailed in the Hopewell for America
in 1635. He first went to Lynn, and was made a
"freeman" of Boston in 1636. He soon removed
to Southampton, L. I., and was one of the twenty
heads of families who formed the Association for
the Settlers of Southampton in 1637. South-
ampton was the first town settled by the English in
the state of New York. This ancestor was also
one of the founders of the New England states.
Judge Apollos Cooper purchased in 1794, 115 acres
of land from James S. Kip, being a part of Cosby's
Manor. A small house was on the land, but Mr.
Cooper added to it, and the house which is still
standing on Whitesboro street near its junction
with Liberty, presents as to the building the same
appearance as when Judge Cooper resided there,
which he continued to do until his death in 1839.
It was never as pretentious as many others, but
partook something of the stern simplicity of its
puritan founder. The old orchard which sur-
36
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
rounded the house until quite recently has now
disappeared, but for many years, in its time of
flower and fruitage, it was a thing of beauty as well
as a landmark. The Cooper farm extended from
the river on the north to Genesee street at its junc-
tion with Cornelia on the southeast, which street
Mr. Cooper named for his only daughter. The
Cooper farm covered most of the city now com-
prised in the third ward.
BROAD STREET OF LONG AGO
A gentlewoman of the olden school, a native of
Utica, and long a resident of the city, has written
the following reminiscences. Of the circle that
clustered around Broad street forty or fifty years
ago there is no better representative to be found
among the living than in the gracious personality
of the writer of these recollections, Mrs. E. T.
Throop Martin, of Willow Brook, Auburn, N. Y.:
In the early settlement of Utica, Broad street
was a desirable place of residence. Many of the
lots on which dwelling houses were erected be-
longed to the estate of Mr. Bleecker of Albany,
and were a part of the inheritance of his daughter,
Mrs. Maria Miller, from whom the purchasers de-
rived their title.
37
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
Broad street was not great in extent, but its
width was generously planned. The dwelling
houses erected both on the north and south side
were built to suit the convenience of their owners.
A few of them were stately and commodious, yet
modest in external decoration, while others were
suited to the requirements of families with mod-
erate means of living. These families included
many of the distinguished citizens of the State, and
any lack of adornment in the externals of their
homes was made up in the quality of the inmates.
Among these early and honored residents were
Judge Jonas Piatt, Abraham Varick, Richard Lan-
sing, Rev. Henry Anthon, Hon. Ezekiel Bacon,
Thomas H. Hubbard, John H. Ostrom, Zephania
Piatt, William Williams, John C. Devereux, Sam-
uel Stocking, James H. Hackett, Alfred Van Sant-
voord, Joab Stafford, James Dana, Ebenezer
Shearman and Orrin Clark; while at a later day
among the residents of Broad street were Hon.
Hiram Denio, Bleecker B. Lansing, Thomas R.
Walker, Thomas Skinner, Abram Shepard, Elizur
Goodrich, Henry White, Harvey Barnard, Theo-
dore P. Ballou, Joseph Porter, Charles A. Mann,
Truman K. Butler, George Dana, John Francis,
Ezra Barnum, A. G. Dauby, Samuel Lightbody and
John Williams.
38
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
As the century draws to its close, with loving
reverence for those who once walked our streets
and in their departure left to us the memory of
their good examples, we would recall their honored
names and clear away the moss from the memorial
stones which record their virtues. On each monu-
ment might be engraven the tribute paid to one of
them: " The noblest work of God — an honest man."
There were no defaulters among them. Not
one who proved faithless to any trust reposed in
him; not one who sought his own aggrandizement
at the expense of his neighbor, or who filled to
overflowing his own coffers regardless of the in-
terests of those around him. "Weighed in the
balance," those early dwellers in Broad street were
not "found wanting" in the qualities which con-
stitute the good citizens.
Among the most conspicuous of the descend-
dants of the residents of Broad street 70 years ago,
are the sons of Col. William Williams and James
Dana, whose names are honored throughout the
civilized world.
Wherever the Chinese language is spoken or
studied or the history of the "Flowery Kingdom"
is read, the name of Samuel Wells Williams is
known; while the mineral kingdom and its expon-
ents and the coral beds of the sea, which long hid
39
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
the secret of their history from the world, now bear
testimony to the power and skill of the great geolo-
gist to unfold the mystery of their construction.
Other sons of these families have cut their names
high on the tree which they have climbed to fame.
Many more of the occupants of the dwellings in
Broad street deserve honorable mention and we
regret that the limited space allotted to this brief
"looking backward" will not admit of the tribute
justly due to those who have given dignity and re-
nown to our city.
These sons did not grow into a noble manhood
without the training hand of the gifted and watch-
ful mother, and this may also be said of the daugh-
ters of that period, many of whom still adorn every
circle in which they move, distinguished by their
intelligence, refinement and high-breeding as well
as by their large benevolence and retiring modesty.
No doubt these characteristics were the result of
a combined effort on the part of the mothers, by
precept and example and careful training, to culti-
vate in their daughters all the virtues and graces
which constitute the highest type of womanhood.
It was their custom, on the first entrance of their
daughters into society, to give them careful in-
struction in all the amenities of social life, impress-
ing them with what is due from the younger ladies
40
The Henry Seymour House, Whitesboro Street
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
to their elders and reminding them before engag-
ing in the entertainments of the evening to pay due
respect to all the elderly ladies of the company.
The men and women, who, at an early day, com-
posed the society of Utica, set up a high standard
of morals and manners. Virtue was exalted and
vice frowned upon, and truth and sincerity and
uprightness in conduct were earnestly if not se-
verely inculcated. What wonder, then, that
twice the State of New York selected from this
community its first executive officer and that later,
the two senators representing the Empire State in
Congress at the same time, should chance to be
both residents of Utica?
THE MALCOLM HOUSE
On upper Genesee street stands a house, now oc-
cupied by Egbert Bagg, whose early occupants be-
longed to the Revolutionary families of Gen.
Schuyler and Gen. Malcolm. Samuel Bayard Mal-
colm was educated for the law, but his occupation
was solely in looking after his wife's estates in
Cosby's Manor. He had married Cornelia Van
Rensselaer Schuyler, the youngest daughter of
Philip Schuyler, of Albany, much against the
wishes of her father, and the youthful pair lived in
much state and extravagance on this place. The
daughter of one of our greatest generals, she was
41
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
closely allied by ties of blood to the families of
Van Rensselaer and Van Cortland, while her older
sister was the wife of Alexander Hamilton. Sad
and pathetic was her life; the rich heiress became in
a short time reduced to almost poverty and, in 1815,
after the death of her husband, this place or farm
of 120 acres was advertised for sale.
Mrs. Malcolm afterwards married James Coch-
ran and removed to Oswego, where many years
later, and when a widow for the second time, she
became postmistress in the same place where she
had gone as a young girl with her father in 1794,
and shared in the adventures of that difficult and
romantic expedition. She lived to the age of 76
and died in Oswego, its oldest, as she had been one
of its very earliest inhabitants, honored and beloved
by all, for her lovely traits of character, her pa-
tience and courage in adversity, and for her many
intellectual gifts.
"We never drove past this house" writes Doc-
tor Anson J. Upson, "that my mother did not de-
light in telling me all about her early friends, Rose
and Sarah Malcolm."
THE JOHNSON HOUSE
One of the few old houses that remain to us un-
touched by the hand of time is the somewhat oddly-
42
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
constructed wooden house on Genesee street, built
by John H. Lothrop in 1809, and occupied by him
until 1811. Mrs. Clinton, afterwards Mrs. Abram
Varick, lived in it for a few years when it passed
into the hands of Alexander B. Johnson, and is
still in the possession of the family. Surrounded
by its beautiful garden with its famous pink thorn
trees, rare roses and flowering shrubs of all descrip-
tions, the house is still one of the most striking of
our old residences. It stands well up from the
street on a terrace, its deep stone steps guarded by
two frowning lions, which were always objects of
terror to youthful minds. Mr. Johnson was known
all through the State as an able banker and a man
of rare intellectual gifts and attainments. His mar-
riage with the daughter of Charles Adams and the
granddaughter of President John Adams brought
a delightful circle of friends into his home life,
while his high standing as a banker and financier
brought him into close intercourse with the lead-
ing men of the times.
RECEPTION TO LA FAYETTE
On the morning of June 9, 1825, all the village
of Utica was a gay scene of festive activity to honor
the nation's guest, the Marquis and General La
Fayette. Arches were raised, houses were gaily
43
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
decorated with flowers and flags, processions were
formed, crowds of people from the surrounding
country and villages filled the streets. The road
leading to the west was changed from Rome street
to La Fayette. While a general reception and
grand review of the troops was held at Shephard's
or Bagg's Hotel, a more private reception was held
at the Johnson House. The Marquis hearing that
the granddaughter of his friend John Adams, whom
he had known so well in former days, was living in
Utica, requested leave to pay his respects in person,
and the ladies of the village were invited to come
and be presented to him.
In this little village of Utica La Fayette was to
find many army friends and their descendants,
although so remote from any of the scenes of war.
At Oriskany was Colonel Lansing, who had been at
Yorktown, and General Knox, both of whom rode
as his escort in the procession, while Mrs. Henry
Seymour represented her father, General Jonathan
Forman, who had served at Valley Forge and York-
town with La Fayette, and there were doubtless
many others. "I was a young school girl at the
time," said her daughter, Mrs. Rutger B. Miller,
"and when my mother wished to take me with her
to Mrs. Johnson's to be introduced to La Fayette,
I foolishly thought it would be far more interest-
44
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
ing to see the procession from the top of a building
in Genesee street with Mary Kip, afterwards Mrs.
Charles P. Kirkland, than to go to the reception,
and how often have I most deeply regretted my de-
cision. My mother was much overcome at seeing
the general and could scarcely command her voice
to ask him if he remembered her father, but he in-
stantly recalled him as having been one of his lieu-
tenants at Valley Forge."
Charles D. Miller, of Geneva, N. Y., writes in
reference to this visit: ''Brother Rutger took all of
his little brothers and introduced us to the general
at Bagg's hotel. We shook hands with him. He
was tall, distinguished, gentlemanly and hand-
some. Pictures of him were extensively sold and
adorned many houses. Later on in the day our
old waiter, Jimmy Lang, took me, I was about six
years old, to the canal bridge at Third street, un-
der which the boat carrying the General and his
staff was to pass. I sat on the railing, and at the
right minute I poured a basket of flowers from our
old Main street garden over his head. He picked
up some of them, stuck two or three in his button
hole, and looked up with a smile of thanks. Jimmy
and I were as proud as though we had been the mar-
quis himself. Captain William Clarke's horses
were the handsomest horses in Utica at that time,
45
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
so they were harnessed to Mrs. Henry Seymour's
barouche, which had been painted and varnished
for the occasion, and was placed at the service of
the General. The driver was a black man, your
grandfather Seymour's coachman, whose name I
do not recall, although he has been to see me, and
his daughter lives here in Geneva. This carriage
was the one General Forman had brought up from
New Jersey when they came to settle in Cazenovia,
and was the first thing of the kind to go over these
rough corduroy roads. We used it afterwards on
the "Hill." I used to drive your Grandmother
Miller down to the Dutch church. It was hung
very high, and the carpeted steps let down like a
step-ladder."
In a memoir of the late Mrs. Thomas R. Walker
is also an interesting account of the reception at the
Johnson house for La Fayette, where a collation
was served and a few distinguished people assem-
bled. The marquis exchanged pleasant greetings
with his friends, and afterwards went into the house
of Arthur Breeze, directly next to the Johnson
place. He also went to the house of Captain
Clarke, then president of the village, and whose
house stood on Genesee street where the Second
National bank has since been built. His son,
Thomas Allen Clarke, then a little boy, was lifted
46
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
up to be kissed by the general, and was a proud
and happy boy forever after. Probably never
again will Utica have the opportunity to give such
a greeting to a man so distinguished in Europe and
America, and whose history reads like a romance,
blended with the stern realities of two revolutions —
the most fearful struggles for life and liberty.
At the eastern end of Broad street stands a house
far surpassing any other in Utica, for its associa-
tion with the revolutionary hero, Colonel Benjamin
Walker. It was known for many years as the
Colonel Walker place, but is more familiar to those
of the present day as the Wager place and the Cul-
ver place. Colonel Benjamin Walker, an English-
man by birth, was educated in France, and from
his knowledge of the French language was ap-
pointed aide to Baron Von Steuben at Valley Forge
in 1777, and translated his orders to our American
soldiers. He was afterwards on Washington's
staff, and served with distinction all through the
war. He and Colonel North became part of Von
Steuben's family, and at the baron's death became
his heirs. In 1797 Colonel Walker was appointed
agent for the estate of Lady Bath, in the western
part of New York state, which led him to remove
from the city of New York to the village of Utica,
where he laid out the beautiful grounds and built
47
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
the ample house which still stands as a monument
to his good taste and cultivation. Here he lived
in much state and elegance, with his three slaves
for house servants, besides the men employed on
the place. His coach is said to have been the first
one ever used in Utica, and he always exercised a
most genial hospitality, while his interest in the
general welfare of the little village was unceasing.
He was one of the earliest founders and pew holders
of old Trinity church, securing for the corporation
a gift of land from Lady Bath and subscribing lib-
erally himself. He was always present in his pew
at church, which was generally full, for he was rare-
ly without guests, whose attendance at church in
the morning was as much a matter of course as the
Sunday dinner in the afternoon and the game of
whist in the evening.
The grounds surrounding his house were laid
out with much taste, and the two beautiful pepper-
idge trees in front of his house were marked features
of the lawn, and grew to a large size. They were
planted by the Colonel himself, as were also the
large pines at the rear of the house, and the haw-
thorne hedge which surrounded the entire place.
The cheerful white wooden house, with its hand-
some hall and spacious rooms, is familiar to many
of our citizens, and the hospitality that was built
48
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
into its walls originally, never failed to offer a wel-
come and cheer to all comers when occupied by its
successive owners, the Bours, the Sewards, the
Wagers and the Culvers.
The house was sold to his son-in-law, Peter
Bours, who built the house on Broad street, after-
ward occupied by the families of Mr. Varick, Mrs.
Breeze, Mrs. George S. Dana, G. Clarence Church-
ill and Truman K. Butler. After the latter's brief
occupancy the Walker house was used as a school
by Madame Despard, and was much frequented
by the incipient belles of the village. Among the
list of scholars we find the names of Frances Hunt,
(Mrs. George H. Throop), Frances Lothrop (Mrs.
Lathrop), Jane Lynch, Mary Kip (Mrs. Charles
P. Kirkland), Mary Seymour (Mrs. Rutger B.
Miller), Sophia Seymour (Mrs. Edward F. Shon-
nard), and many others.
The beaux of the village were not slow in finding
out that the walk out Broad street was one of the
pleasantest in town, and one of the wits of the day,
John H. Lothrop, is said to have asked if the old
Walker place was not a genteel institute for young
gentlemen as well as a ladies' seminary.
The last occupant of this famous house was
Abram E. Culver, who purchased it in 1856 and
resided there until his death in 1885. The house
49
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
and grounds remained practically unchanged with
the exception of throwing two rooms into one and
extending the piazzas.
At Colonel Walker's death in 1818 Abram Var-
ick, Nathan Williams and Judge Morris S. Miller
were named as executors of his will, and in the let-
ter book of the latter are many interesting letters
written to announce the death of his friend. To
the nephew of Mrs. Walker, Mr. William H. Rob-
inson, of New York, he writes: "In the death of
Colonel Walker, his immediate friends and connec-
tions have met a severe and irreparable loss. The
public calamity is sensibly felt here. For myself
I have lost one of my oldest and most steadfast
friends to whose experience and good counsels I
have been much indebted for many years past.
He was a man of the most enlarged and active be-
nevolence I ever saw."
Colonel Walker died in 1818. In June, 1875, his
remains, with those of Dr. John Cochran, were re-
moved from the old cemetery on Whitesboro street
to Forest Hill. The following account taken from
the Utica Herald gives the interesting details of
this impressive military and religious ceremony,
while the letter from Rutger B. Miller gives the per-
sonal recollections of one who as a boy had seen
and admired these heroes of bygone days.
50
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
MRS. DESPARDS
FOR TBE
EDUCATION OP YOUNG LADIES.
TERMS.
Board, with English Tvition, $37 50 per Quarter.
Washing, an additional charge.
...<s0©...
TUITION.
English in all its Branches, Writing, Arithmetic, ) ^q qq
and Plain Sewing )
French 8 00
Instruction and use of Globes, ....... 1 25
Finn Needle. Work, 4 00
Tambour 2 00
St tionary, including Pens, Ink, &c I 50
Fuel per Annum, 1 00
Entrance, $2.
PAYABLE QUARTERLY IN ADVANCE.
•••<$©©•••
Velvet Painting, taught in the most approved manner,
Proper Master for Music, Drawing, and Dancing, will be en-
gaged, vrtien a efficient number of pupils can be obtained.
Each Youne Lady to provide her own Bed, Bedding,
Towels, Table and Tea Spoons.
Utica, Nov. 26, 1822.
[From Utica Morning Herald June 14, 1875.]
HONORS TO THE DEAD
Our Revolutionary Heroes
Transfer of the Remains of Col. Walker and Medical
Director Cochran to Forest Hill Cemetery — An Im-
posing Pageant — Distinguished Participants — Inter-
esting Exercises — Address by Hon. Erastus Clark —
Reminiscences of the Departed — Left in Repose on
Summit View, June 14, 1875.
The centennial anniversary of the battle of Bun-
ker Hill, will be remembered by Uticans for a long
time on account of the peculiarly interesting cere-
monial that occurred upon that day, within our
city, which was directly connected with the revo-
lutionary war. In accordance with the arrange-
ments heretofore announced, the remains of Col.
Benjamin Walker and Medical Director John
Cochran, men who took an active part in the revo-
lution, with those of their wives, were transferred
from the old burying ground on Water street, to
Forest Hill Cemetery, under the auspices and direc-
tion of the Cemetery Association and the relatives
of the deceased.
52
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
The Preliminary Arrangements
were in charge of Hon. William J. Bacon, presi-
dent of the association, Dr. M. M. Bagg and John
F. Seymour, Esq., the committee appointed for
this purpose. In perfecting the details, these gen-
tlemen were ably assisted by Undertaker Douglass.
The admirable arrangement of the ceremonial, in
every respect, was creditable to that gentleman in
the highest degree. As announced yesterday, the
remains were disinterred on Wednesday, put into
neat caskets and placed in Mr. Douglass' parlors,
on Broad street. The apartments were appro-
priately draped with American flags and the cas-
kets were covered with the national colors. The
plates found with the remains of Colonel Walker
and wife have been described. Dr. Cochran's
casket was marked with a plate bearing the follow-
ing inscription, copied in part from the tablet over
his grave :
Dr. John Cochran,
Died April, 1807,
In the 77th year of his age.
Gertrude Cochran,
his wife,
Died March, 1813,
In the 89th year of her age.
53
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
At 1.30 p.m. General Dering and staff re-
ported at the place of assembling, and at 2 p.m.
there was quite a gathering of distinguished officials
and citizens, clergymen and members of the med-
ical profession. General John Cochran, grandson
of Dr. Cochran, his sister, Mrs. Ellen Walter, eldest
daughter of Walter L. Cochran, and her daughter,
Miss Gertrude Walter, arrived in this city yester-
day morning. They sat at the head of the re-
mains of their relatives, and were introduced to the
pall-bearers and other gentlemen present by Dr.
Bagg. Among the officials in attendance was Col.
Villanueva, comptroller of the Spanish Ordnance
Commission, in full uniform and wearing a num-
ber of decorations of honor. The military com-
panies arrived with commendable promptness, took
their line on Broad street, under the direction of
Major Peattie.
Military Honors
A little after 2 p.m. the Old Utica Band began
a dirge, and the caskets were borne from the un-
dertaking rooms by members of the staffs of the
Utica Citizens' Corps and the Adjutant Bacon
Cadets, along the line to the left and returned to the
hearses at the right. These vehicles were decorated
with plumes, and each was drawn by four handsome
54
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
gray horses. As the remains of the heroes passed
the line, citizens uncovered their heads, the colors
were dipped and the military presented arms. A
vast crowd was congregated about the spot, and
all seemed impressed with the solemnity of the
scene.
The Pall-Bearers
The gent emen selected to act as pall-bearers,
represented the most venerable and prominent
citizens of Utica, representatives of a chain in the
history of our city that is fast losing its links.
Following are their names:
A. G. Dauby, Ezra S. Barnum,
J. E. Warner, J. C. DeLong,
Harry Camp, Theo. S. Faxton,
James Sayre, Martin Hart,
George Hopper, Alrick Hubbell,
J. A. Shearman, John Stevens,
David Lewis, Owen O'Neil.
The Pageant
About 2.30 p.m. the procession moved up Gen-
esee street in the following order:
Police
General Dering and Staff
Colonel Young and Staff
Regimental Band
55
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
Major Peattie and Staff
Utica Veteran Zouaves
Utica Dering Guards
Utica Fire Zouaves
Old Utica Band
Colonel Davies and Staff
Hearse containing the remains of Colonel Walker
Utica Citizens' Corps as Guard of Honor
Hearse containing the remains of Surgeon Cochran
Adjutant Bacon Cadets as Guard of Honor
Officiating Clergymen and Speakers
Pall Bearers
General John Cochran and other relatives of the de-
ceased
President Bacon, Dr. M. M. Bagg and John F.
Seymour, Committee
Forest Hill Cemetery Association
Senators and Members of the Judicial Corps
Colonel Villanueva, of Spanish Ordnance Com-
mission
President Gray and members of the Medical As-
sociation
Common Council
Police and Fire Commissioners
Representatives of the Press
Citizens in Carriages
56
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
The military marched with reversed arms, the
bands playing dirges. The Corps and Cadets
formed hollow squares surrounding the remains,
the color bearers of each following the hearse.
The ranks of the companies were full, and the dis-
play in every respect was one of the most solemn
and imposing that has ever been seen in Utica.
Along the Line
All the flags of the city were placed at half-mast
after noon, and many business houses and resi-
dences were draped with the national colors. The
pageant attracted a large number of persons.
Three sections of police led the procession, freeing
the street of vehicles and other obstructions. At
Oneida Square the military took the cars and rode
to Prospect street, where the line was reformed and
marched to Forest Hill.
At the Cemetery
There was a goodly number of persons at the
cemetery in advance of the procession. The
grounds were in beautiful order and the coolness of
the day tempted many people to visit them. The
site of the new resting-place of the heroes' remains
is in the new addition, the highest point, at a spot
that might appropriately be called
57
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
Summit View
It commands a magnificent panoramic view of
the most delightful scenery upon all sides. No
more lovely spot can be imagined. The ground is
high and at the depth of two feet, the graves were
cut into a solid bed of slate. While the procession
was slowly winding its way up the main avenue to
the graves, our reporter had an opportunity of ex-
amining the original tablet and tomb-stones that
marked the first resting-places of the dead.
The Tablets
The tablet over the grave of Surgeon Cochran
and wife is a large flat slab of sandstone. It
rested upon a foundation of brick, and bore the
following inscription:
Here lie the Bodies
of
Dr. John Cochran,
Director General of the Military Hospitals of the
United States in the Revolutionary War,
And of
Gertrude
His Wife.
The former died in April, in the year 1807, in the
77th year of his age; and the latter in March, in
the year 1813, in the 89th year of her age.
58
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
This monument is erected by their sons, James and
Walter T. Cochran.
The headstones over Col. Walker and wife are of
white sandstone about six feet in height and each
two in width. They bear the following inscrip-
tions:
Sacred
To the Memory of
Col. Benjamin Walker,
who departed this life
Jan. 13, 1818,
Aged 65 years.
Sacred
To the Memory of
Mary Walker,
Wife of
Col. Benjamin Walker,
who departed this life
June 17, 1817,
Aged 62 years.
The Cochran tablet is considerably weather-
worn, but only the last line of the inscription was
indistinct. The tablets, head and footstones were
transferred to Forest Hill, and will still mark the
graves. The footstones bear only the names of
Colonel and Mrs. Walker.
59
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
It will be observed that Col. Walker's wife died
just fifty-eight years ago yesterday, a singular co-
incidence.
An Impressive Scene
General Dering formed the military into a hol-
low square completely encircling the plat about the
graves, he and his staff taking positions opposite
the platform and seats that had been conveniently
arranged by Col. Bagg, superintendent of the cem-
eteries. The spectators surrounded the militia.
After the square was formed, the remains were
taken from the hearses and placed over the graves,
Col. Walker on the north and Surgeon Cochran on
the south, both facing due west.
General Cochran stood by the graves, and the
ladies of his party remained in their carriage on
account of fatigue and illness. The venerable pall
bearers, with a larger number of aged residents of
Utica than has ever been called together by any
other occasion, sat in a semi-circle around the plat-
form. The majority of the number have passed
three score years and ten, and all of them are
closely connected with the growth, thrift and pros-
perity of Utica. The other distinguished guests
surrounded the semi-circle.
60
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
The Exercises
The ceremonies at the graves did not begin until
4.40 p.m. At that time the Old Band played an
appropriate dirge, and the caskets enclosed in
cases were lowered into the new graves.
Judge Bacon, president of the Forest Hill Ceme-
tery Association, presided over the exercises. Ad-
dressing the audience he said:
We are assembled here on this eventful day to
pay honors to the remains of men who played no
inconsiderable parts in the great struggles of the
revolution. There were few more fitting occasions
than on this, which it was proper to invoke the
presence and blessing of the Heavenly Father.
Rev. Dr. Fowler made a prayer appropriate to
the occasion.
President Bacon said he did not intend to antici-
pate the remarks to be made by others, but it might
be proper to say that the exercises of the day were
in accordance with propositions made by the asso-
ciation about two years ago. A committee was ap-
pointed to carry into effect the project. Among
the first originators of the idea was the late James
Watson Williams. The details of the project had
been mainly carried into operation by the labors
of Dr. Bagg, to whom great credit is due.
61
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Hon. Rutger B. Miller's Reminiscences
President Bacon said Hon. Rutger B. Miller had
prepared a few interesting reminiscences. That
gentleman was absent from the city, but his re-
sponse to the committee's invitation would be read
by his and everybody's friend, John F. Seymour.
Mr. Seymour said it was about a year ago since
steps were commenced towards arranging for the
transfer of the remains of the revolutionary heroes.
Permission was not obtained until too late for last
year. An unfortunate accident had prevented him
from taking a very active part in the work, and the
chief labor had devolved upon Dr. Bagg, to whom
great credit was due. Among the letters received
were the following, which he read:
Elmwood, Boonville, June 14, 1875.
J. F. Seymour, Dr. M. M. Bagg, Committee.
Gentlemen: I hasten to comply with your polite
attention, requesting me to furnish familiar details
within my recollection, relative to the social life of
Colonel Benjamin Walker and Dr. John Cochran,
whose remains are to be removed from the old
burying ground, in the city of Utica, to Forest Hill
Cemetery.
Colonel Walker built and resided in the old man-
sion now occupied by Mr. Abraham E. Culver, and
62
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
from my earliest boyhood I remember seeing the
Englishman of the olden time riding daily on his
old war horse, "Hector," from his residence to the
"village," as Utica was then called. He often
stopped at the door of our house to bid good day,
and a few hours after, Mrs. Walker passed in her
English carriage with green Venetian blinds, and
Simon on the box looking as important as King
Dahomey.
Colonel Walker was eminently social and jovial
in his temperament, and yet rigidly systematic and
punctual in matters of business — uniting the char-
acteristics of a military man with those of an En-
glishman, whether "on 'change," or at the dinner
table, or at church. He was one of the founders of
11 Old Trinity," and occupied a pew near my father's
which was usually full, for the colonel was rarely
without guests, whose attendance at church in the
morning was as much a religious observance as the
Sunday dinner in the afternoon and a game of
whist in the evening.
He adopted the son and two daughters of Mrs.
Robinson, who was the sister of Mrs. Walker for
whom he provided with paternal care and generos-
ity from an ample fortune left him by Baron Steu-
ben, whose aide-de-camp he was during the revo-
lutionary war. Madame Devillehaut, afterward
63
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
Madame Combe, was his only child, to whom he
left his estate by will. She was educated in France,
and lived there except during a few years after the
restoration of the Bourbons, when Colonel Combe
of the Old Guard ("qui meurt, mats ne se rend
pas"), fled to this country and resided in the brick
chateau (still standing on Broad street), which he
built. On the accession of Louis Phillipe, Colonel
Combe vanished at a moment's warning and his
wife soon followed. At the siege of Constantine,
Combe fell at the head of his regiment, and Ma-
dame Combe soon followed her hero to the grave,
her property escheating to the state for want of
heirs.
Colonel Walker was a man of medium size, well
proportioned, active, energetic; stern in exacting
from others the strict performance of duty, in
which he never failed himself, with a hand open as
day for melting charity, he was a strict accountant;
and rigidly economical in his expenditures while
living generously and freely contributing to the en-
joyments of social life and elegant hospitality, of
which his house was headquarters. The dinner
table was his natural element, surrounded by choice
spirits like James Cochran, Walter Cochran, Kirk-
patrick, Kip, Jeremiah and James Van Rensselaer,
Brodhead, etc., all "glorious o'er all the ills of life
64
mm,
The Kirkland or Gridley House
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
victorious." Although not a humorist, he enjoyed
a hearty laugh, and a good story and song, and was
long and loud in his plaudits and encores.
The Cochran Family
I have no recollection of ever seeing Dr. John
Cochran, the grandfather of James and John Coch-
ran and their sisters. But I well remember Major
James Cochran, formerly of Palatine; his brother,
Captain Walter Cochran ; his wife, the daughter of
Peter Smith, of Peterboro, and all their children.
I never shall forget the match between Walter L.
Cochran and Cornelia Smith, who came driving up
to our old house, at the foot of Main street, in a
gig and tandem, one fine day.
Walter Cochran was one of the most polished
gentlemen I ever saw in his social education. His
after-dinner songs were "music's own," and I have
seen a party at one time melted to tears, and at an-
other roaring with laughter, as he chose to im-
press them with grief or joy.
Mrs. Cochran was a lady of marked character;
distinguished as much for her conversational power
and impressive manners, as her brothers Peter and
Gerrit for their eloquence and oratory in public
speaking.
65
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
The ladies of Utica loved to hear her conver-
sation as much as the gentlemen loved to hear the
songs of her husband. Boy as I was at this period,
I loved to sit upon a bench in the parlor and listen
to her while passing an afternoon and evening with
my mother, whose fireside was cheered "many a
time and oft" by the unceremonious visits of this
magnificent lady, whose four daughters, Mrs.
Walter, Mrs. Barclay, Mrs. Kemys and Mrs. Bid-
die, still live to represent her. She had three sons,
John, James and Peter, the two former surviving.
The mention of their names, bringing the light
of other days around me, reminds me of an incident,
which illustrates the change which time has pro-
duced in men and manners generally during the past
sixty years. Walter Cochran, the father of the
boys, was a cousin of Stephen Van Rensselaer, pa-
troon of Albany, their mothers being sisters, of the
Livingston family. Stephen Van Rensselaer was
president of the Board of Canal Commissioners,
who were holding a meeting at Bagg's hotel, say
about the year 1820. After morning service, on
Sunday, my father took me with him to pay his
respects to the patroon and other commissioners.
While in the patroon's parlor, Walter Cochran,
with John, James and Peter, were announced and
admitted. Walter saluted the patroon in his usual
66
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
graceful manner, and introduced John, James and
Peter. Jesse, their negro boy, had washed their
faces and put on a clean collar for each of them but
he had not brushed their shoes, and preferred to
send them barefoot rather than with dirty shoes.
It was not unusual for boys to go barefoot in the
streets of Utica at that time; it was considered
rather effeminate and girlish to wear shoes in warm
weather, and the boys felt as easy without shoes as
they would have felt with them, and perhaps easier.
In regard to Major James Cochran, I remember
dining with him at his residence at Palatine, on the
Mohawk river, where he lived, a bachelor, in a
spacious house. He afterwards moved to Utica,
in very straitened circumstances. His friends here
obtained for him the office of justice of the peace
and notary public, from which he derived a scanty
support. His office was on Broad, near Genesee
street. He married his cousin, Mrs. Malcolm, a
daughter of General Schuyler.
Gerrit Smith induced them to go to Oswego, and
after Major Cochran's death, Mrs. Cochran was
appointed postmistress, and one of her sons is now
living there in good business. She was a remark-
able woman, and abounding in charity to the poor,
who attended her funeral in large numbers.
67
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
Major Cochran once represented Montgomery
county in Congress, and was a very interesting and
intelligent man in conversation, and his society
was sought for his general information in regard to
the early history of the country, and high social
culture.
You have asked for "familiar details," gentle-
men, and I have given such as occur to me, off-
hand and without time for reflection or research.
When I think of these good old times in Utica
"I feel like one who treads alone,
Some banquet hall deserted;
Whose lights are fled, whose garlands dead,
And all but he departed."
Respectfully,
Rutger B. Miller.
Dust to Dust Again
At the conclusion of the reading, Rev. Dr. Van
Deusen recited the beautiful and impressive serv-
ice of the Episcopal church, and pronounced the
benediction.
Finale
A detachment of the Utica Veteran Zouaves, un-
der the command of Lieutenant Thelwin Jones,
fired a volley over the graves, and the solemn cere-
monies were at an end.
68
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
The exercises were concluded at 6 p.m. The
military marched to Genesee street and the street
cars. The procession was reformed on Oneida
square, and a very handsome parade was made
down Genesee street. The line was reviewed by
General Dering and staff in front of the Butter-
field House, and the companies returned to their
armories. The officers and members of the var-
ious companies deserve the thanks and compli-
ments expressed in another column by the com-
mittee of the Cemetery Association. They never
appeared to better advantage.
AN OLD DOCUMENT
Colonel Walker at one time owned the ground
upon which the Herald office now stands. Alex-
ander Seward, Esq., has placed in our hands well
preserved articles of agreement between Colonel
Walker and Asahel Seward, made July 1, 1815, in
the village of Utica, and witnessed by Peter Bours.
The agreement was between the makers to set aside
two and a half feet from their lots which adjoined
to form the five feet passage, fifty feet in length, to
the rear of the lots of the present No. 58 and 60
Genesee street, that existed until the Herald build-
ings were remodeled. In consideration of the sum
of $100, Asahel Seward was permitted to extend
69
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
his building over the whole of this passage from
the first story upwards. The agreement states
that both parties to it intended to build upon their
respective lots at the time it was made. The prem-
ises, No. 58 Genesee street, still belong to the Sew-
ard family.
Hon. John Cochran, of New York, writes the
following interesting account of what may be
called the Legend of Miller's Bridge, only unlike
most legends, it is absolutely true:
"There had come about these days to Utica the
Rev. William Woodbridge, the father, I believe,
of the author of the Woodbridge geography, upon
which we used to whet our youthful beaks, and to
whom Dr. Bagg refers in his "Pioneers of Utica."
He was a round, bulbous little man, who opened a
school for boys and girls in Utica, and having been
the preceptor of my mother, he became an inmate
of our house. To us youngsters passing under his
rod he was known as Daddy Woodbridge. Now
Daddy Woodbridge, wishing to make a visit across
the river in Deerfield, a steady old farm horse was
procured for him and in the morning of a leisure
day he started upon his trip over Miller's bridge,
purposing to return the same way at night. In the
meantime, during the day the bridge was disman-
tled, leaving its string pieces bare from shore to
70
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
shore. Doctor Woodbridge returned as he had
intended during the night, and my father first
seeing him at breakfast in the morning asked him
in surprise which way he had returned: "Oh," said
he, "by the same way I went!" "Impossible,"
said my father; "the bridge was dismantled yes-
terday." Dr. Woodbridge was incredulous, and
still resisting the conviction of his error, it was pro-
posed to go down to the bridge. Accordingly my
father, my mother, Dr. Woodbridge and my
brother James (from whom I had this anecdote),
went to the bridge, when seeing that his horse must
in the dark night have borne him over the river in
safety, unconscious of his danger, on the naked
string pieces of the bridge, the Doctor fainted
away."
Where the Mohawk in the good old days inter-
sected the Cherry Valley Turnpike, stood the ruins
of a bridge that had been built by Rensselaer
Schuyler, a son of the Revolutionary General
Schuyler. Its acceptance depended on the con-
dition of the safe transit of a carriage as a test of its
completion. One day your grandfather, Judge
Miller, was abruptly greeted by Mr. Schuyler with
his characteristic brusque manner, "Come, Judge,
get into your carriage quickly and drive over the
bridge before it falls." The carriage passed over,
71
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
and the bridge having been accepted, was after-
wards known as "Miller's Bridge."
THE DUTCH CHURCH
The Holland or Dutch settlers of this country
brought with them the strongest attachment to
their national church, and we are not surprised to
find it very firmly established in New York, Albany
and Kingston, and in fact wherever their settle-
ments existed. The Patroons of New York were
required by the terms of their charter from the
West India Company to establish a church for
their people — who loved their liturgy, psalms and
hymn in their own language, and did not readily
assimilate with the English colonists. Their
church records were most carefully preserved,
of marriages, births and deaths, and to this day
form a valuable reference record of the early set-
tlers. The origin of the Reformed Dutch church
in Jtica must be traced over the Mohawk River to
Deerfield, where as early as in 1802 Dominie Spin-
ner, or, as he was appropriately called, "Father
Spinner," established a Sunday school. It was
taught by Dominie Marshall, a learned divine of
the Lutheran church, who had served as chaplain
to the king of Prussia for fifteen years in Berlin.
In 1806 Father Spinner took charge of it, while still
72
i
—
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
continuing his work in Herkimer. He had come
from Germany towards the end of the last century,
where he had been a monk, but afterwards re-
nounced the Roman Catholic Church and became
a Protestant clergyman. He was a man greatly
beloved by his people, of fine presence, courtly
manners, and most scholarly attainments. He was
the missionary for all this region, and held services
in private houses, as well as halls and wherever he
could get the people to come. When the church
was formally organized in 1825, under Mr. Labagh,
services were held in Washington Hall on the cor-
ner of John and Broad streets. Nicholas G.
Weaver and Adam Brouwer were its elders. In
1827 Rev. John Schermerhorn came as a mission-
ary, and with Abram Varick, Charles C. Brod-
head, Captain William Clarke, organized a build-
ing committee. A lot was donated at the head of
John street by Mrs. Morris S. Miller, but was af-
terwards exchanged for one on the south-east cor-
ner of John and Broad street, where the church
was built and dedicated in June, 1830. The ser-
mon was preached by the Rev. Dr. Ludlow, of
Albany, Rev. Dr. Yates, Rev. Drs. Schermerhorn,
Brouwer and Bethune assisting in the services. It
must be remembered that it was still a mission
church, without a clergyman in charge or money
73
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
to defray the current expenses, until in November
of this same year when Rev. George W. Bethune
was called and accepted the charge of this newly
organized parish, and the more clearly to estab-
lish the doctrine and precepts of the Reformed
Dutch Church, such clergymen as the Revs. John
De Witt, Westbrook, Milledollar, Gosman, and
Thomas DeWitt, were invited each to spend a Sun-
day here and to fill the pulpit. Dr. Bethune's
talents were of a high order; gifted with eloquence,
a lover of music and poetry, he was well fitted to
draw forth the deep and lasting attachment of his
people. An ardent disciple of Sir Isaac Walton, he
shared with him the love of field, forest and flood.
His mission church at the Thousand Islands tes-
tified to his love for the wandering sheep in the
Wilderness.
His only too brief pastorate ended in 1834, but
his memory endures as one of the lasting treasures
of the church. He died in Florence, Italy, in 1862,
and on the Sunday preceding his death he preached
in the American chapel a sermon on the Resurrec-
tion. His remains were brought home for burial,
and so far as possible the minute directions con-
cerning his funeral were carried out.
" Put on me my pulpit gown and bands, with my
pocket bible in my right hand. I have had pleas-
74
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
ant Christian fellowship with all denominations,
so let my pall bearers be taken from among them,
and let a scarf be sent to Dr. Vinton of Trinity, and
Dr. Smyth Pyne of St. John's, Washington, D. C*
Dr. Hutton and Mr. Willetts to speak, not in eu-
logy, but in such terms of affection as they may
choose, testifying to my love of preaching the sim-
ple gospel and that for my Master's honor, not
mine. Dr. Ferris to read the sentences from the
funeral service prepared by me in the Reformed
Dutch Church Liturgy. Braun's funeral chant
from 15 Corinthians. Also my own hymn to a
cheerful tune:
It is not death to die,
To leave this weary road,
And midst the brotherhood on high,
To be at home with God.
It is not death to close
The eyes long dimmed with tears,
And wake in glorious repose,
To spend eternal years.
It is not death to bear
The wrench that sets us free
From dungeon chain to breathe the air
Of boundless liberty.
It is not death to fling
Aside this sinful dust,
And rise on strong exulting wing,
To live among the just.
*A11 the pall bearers formerly wore white scarfs at the funeral and
often on the following Sunday, when they sat together to listen to the
funeral sermon.
75
SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
Jesus thou Prince of Life,
Thy chosen cannot die,
Like Thee they conquer in the strife,
To reign with Thee on high.
At the close, Homman's great doxology: Now
unto Him that loved us and brought again from
the dead our Lord Jesus Christ."
The choirs objected that the music chosen was
too joyful to be suitable to the mournfulness of the
occasion, but it was evident Dr. Bethune did not
wish his funeral to be over sad. He who had led
such a life of joyful thanksgiving, would have his
death brightened by the sunshine of the Ressurec-
tion. When he was laid to rest in Greenwood
Cemetery at the end of a beautiful September day,
the bright rays of a gorgeous autumnal sunset made
his grave seem glorious with almost heavenly light.
A tablet to his memory erected through the efforts
of Mrs. Dean, with a touching inscription by her
son, Rev. Dr. Upson, bears fitting tribute to his
memory in the church he had helped to build.
The last service held in this church was in Oc-
tober, 1866, when addresses were given commem-
orating the individuals who had been identified
with its early days. Among the names are those of
Abram Varick, whose unfailing generosity tided
the parish over many a dark day, Charles C. Brod-
head, Rufus North, Captain William Clarke, Jus-
76"
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
tus H. Rathbone, Joseph Kirkland, Joshua C.
Spencer, P. Sheldon Root, George M. Weaver,
Thomas E. Clarke, Charles A. Mann, Judges Grid-
ley, Savage and Bacon, Mrs. Morris S. Miller,
Mrs. Henry Seymour, Dr. Brigham, William Wal-
cott, Samuel Stocking, Kellogg Hurlburt, Silas D.
Childs, Edward S. Brayton, John F. Seymour,
George S. Dana, Thomas R. Walker.
I think the services were never held in the Dutch
language in this church, but in Albany for many
years one service, and often the principal one, the
sermon and psalm were all in Holland Dutch. I
have before me a Dutch hymn book printed in
Gravenhager, Holland, in 1825, for the "Neder-
duitsche Hervormde Gemeenten in ons Vader-
land," with the hymns all set to music, the air or
soprano only, being printed in the quaint diamond
shaped notes. Many of them had heavy silver
clasps and chains wherewith to hang them from
the belt or arm of the wearer.
It would have seemed strange and almost im-
possible to our Dutch forefathers that the time
should ever come when the preaching in the Dutch
language should entirely cease from its pulpits, the
national name be dropped from its corporate
name and title and the weather cock removed from
its steeple. In Albany, the stronghold of the Hol-
77
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
landers, the North Dutch, Middle Dutch, South
Dutch or Double Dutch, from its two not very
symmetrical steeples, were like household names,
and can not easily be given up by those whose as-
sociations reach back to the early days of the Re-
formed Dutch Church in America, whose existence
in this country is connected with so much of its
early history, and whose records hold some of our
most famous names inscribed on their pages.
OLD TRINITY
No sketch of the Old Homes of Utica can be
deemed complete that does not include the spirit-
ual home of so many of our fore-fathers — Old Trin-
ity so endeared to us by its associations with the
past. To the descendants of the church of Eng-
land, the sound of the familiar prayers and peti-
tions of her beautiful liturgy, came like a voice
from home in a strange land, and it is not strange
its services should have been established here at an
early day, even in the face of many difficulties and
drawbacks. To the Rev. Philander Chase be-
longs the credit of founding old Trinity in 1798,
while Colonel Benjamin Walker must be considered
its first lay patron. His own handsome house was
not yet finished, and he was living in a small ten-
ement near by when Mr. Chase was his guest.
78
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
The village at that time consisted of one long street,
the eastern part was Main and the western the
"Whitesboro road," while houses were scattered
about indiscriminately in various directions. Mr.
Chase established lay readings at this visit, but no
church building was attempted until 1803, when
a lot 100 feet deep on Broad street, and 127 feet
deep running through to Catharine street, was
given by the Bleecker estate as a bonus to the first
church that should be built in the village. On the
basis of subscriptions amounting to two thousand
dollars a church building was begun under the
architect, Philip Hooker, of Albany, who had de-
signed the old St. Peter's in that city, the State
Capitol and the Albany Free Academy.
The first warden was Judge Nathan Williams;
second, Abram Walton. Vestrymen — William In-
man, Charles Walton, John Smith, Colonel Ben-
jamin Walker, Samuel Hooker, Aylmer Johnson,
James Hopper, Charles Smith.
In 1802 the Rev. John Taylor, a Presbyterian mis-
sionary, made a tour through this part of the state,
and reported the following discouraging facts con-
cerning Utica: "This village appears to be a
mixed mass of discordant materials. Here may
be found people of ten or twelve different nations,
(unless he counted the Iroquois as six we are at a
79
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
loss to account for so many at that early day) of
all religions and sects, but the greater part are of
no religion at all. The world is the great object
with the body of the people. The Presbyterian
church of Utica and Whitesboro are one congrega-
tion, and there is no church building in Utica."
With all due respect to this excellent man, we must
wonder what very worldly pursuits could be in-
dulged in at that time besides the felling of trees
and building of homes for the early settlers. Of
the town of Floyd he writes: "The soil is good, far
too good for its inhabitants," and when he de-
scribes the Methodist revivals of the village of
Western, his spirits reach the lowest ebb of de-
pression. It was no wonder that the church of
England people felt it was a good time to collect
the stray sheep and form themselves into a con-
gregation.
This church building was not completed until
1810, when its cost had reached the large sum of
seven thousand dollars, a large amount for the few
church people to give. It was consecrated by
Bishop Benjamin Moore, then the only bishop of
the whole state of New York. Its first rector was
Rev. Jonathan Judd, who divided his time be-
tween Utica and Paris Hill.
80
Trinity Church
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
The first rector in charge was Rev. Amos G.
Baldwin, from 1806 to 1818. He built the first
organ with a manual or key board, with his own
hands. It did good service for many years in
Christ church, Sherburne, and afterwards in the
Presbyterian church, in New York Mills, much
enlarged and improved.
Rev. Henry Shaw was Rector in 1819 and re-
mained for two years. In 1821 came the Rev.
Henry Anthon, who during his eight years' pas-
torate so greatly endeared himself to the people.
His memory is still kept green by his former par-
ishioners— and he ranks as one of the prominent
clergymen of New York city where he went from
Utica. His sermons were marked by purity and
finish of style, and his conversation displayed a
high order of ability. During his rectorship the
parsonage in rear of the church was built, the
quaint one-story-and-a-half house with its door and
brass knocker at one end of the enclosed piazza.
On Dr. Anthon's leaving to accept the charge of
St. Stephen's in New York in 1829, Dr. Benjamin
Dorr was called and remained until 1831, when he
went to Christ Church, Philadelphia. In 1836,
Dr. Pierre Alexis Proal came from St. George's,
Schenectady; his fine voice and clear distinct read-
ing of the service were always sources of pleasure
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A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
and pride to his friends. He was a scholarly
man, and for many years Secretary of the General
Convention. He was a Trustee of Hamilton Col-
lege, and was frequently called upon to fill other
educational posts. At his death in 1857, Rev.
S. Hanson Coxe, who had been his assistant, was
called to succeed him and began his pastorate of
twenty-one years, the longest in the history of the
parish. Rev. Charles H. Gardner was called in
1878, and Rev. William H. Maxson in 1887. Rev.
John Ravenscroft Harding in 1894.
The subjoined shows the list of pew holders in
1835. It will be noticed there was no centre aisle,
the middle tier of pews ran across the centre of the
church and there were raised tiers of pews on
either side at right angles to the centre.
The Mural Tablet to Mrs. Montgomery Hunt
was originally in the rear of the family pew and
reads as follows:
In Remembrance of
Eliza Hunt,
Wife of
Montgomery Hunt,
Who died 14th April, 1824,
Aged 39.
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A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
Why are friends ravished from us. 'Tis to bind
By soft affections' ties on human hearts
The thoughts of death; which reason, too supine
Or misemployed, so rarely fastens there.
West Side
E. Kirby
Nicholas Devereux
E. H. Benjamin
Mrs. Winne
M. Codd
J. S. Kipp
Andrews & Tryon
Henry Seymour
Estate of J. Hopper
John McCall
B. B. Lansing
Col. John Hinman
Doctor Smith
Mr. Isaiah Tiffany
S. A. Sibley
J. Sabin
Mr. Perkins
H. W. Lyon
J. Osborne
East Side
R. Shearman
T. Colling
Samuel Beardsley
Richard Despard
Wm. Kyte
Montgomery Hunt
S. Stafford, Jr.
Thomas H. Hubbard
Lord & Merrill
A. G. Dauby
H. B. Clarke
C. Grannis
E. B. Shearman
Russ & Oley
Wm. Bostwick
Mr. Watkin
Mr. Culver
Mr. Huntington
Prentice & Bristol
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A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
Breeze
Rector
Colton & Fanning
J. Sanger
E. Welles
M.J. Devlin
Henry Green
Rudolph Snyder
Richard Lansing
Judge Nathan Williams
E. Hart
John Newell
Mrs. Miller
Ccl. Combe
Brodhead & Varick
Wm. Gainer
Charles Oester
Amos Gage
S. A. Sayre
Ammi Dows
Stephen Walton
M. Eagan
Z. H. Cooper
From the little church in the fields Trinity grew
by successive enlargements to a goodly size, and
from its handful of " feeble folk" arose a large and
flourishing congregation, and from this mother
church six strong parishes have arisen. If its
walls could speak they would tell us of Bishop
Moore, Bishop Hobart, Bishop Potter, Bishop
DeLancey, Bishop Coxe, Bishop Huntington, and
Bishop Doane, all of New York state, whose terri-
tory is now divided into five dioceses.
The church, as originally built, stood back in the
lot, and was entered through what was called
"Church Lane," now First street, by taking down
the bars of a fence that enclosed the whole lot.
Corn was at times planted in the yard, and the ap-
proach to the church door was through this leafy
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A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
lane of indian corn. In a map of the village, as it
existed in 1806, Trinity church is represented as
standing quite alone in the rear of some houses on
Main street. Broad street was not laid out as
far as Genesee street until 1808, and this little
chapel, for it was scarcely more than that, might
well have been called Trinity in the Fields.
The sweet toned bell which still calls the faith-
ful to prayer was placed in the belfry in 1818.
Music was always a marked feature in the service
at old Trinity. For many years Miss Mary Green,
of Oriskany, drove down regularly to play the or-
gan, while the deep, rich voice of Mr. Henry Green
was heard in the choir, with the soprano of Miss
Russ, now Mrs. J. J. Francis, who was a member
of the choir from the time she was twelve years of
age until her marriage. During the rectorship
of Dr. Coxe the music was said to be the best out-
side of New York, and equaled by few churches in
the metropolis. Few, if any, have called forth the
soul of music and made the organ spe k like the
genial, sunny, delightful Dr. Joseph Sieboth, whose
settings of hymn and chant, and carol entitled him
to a high rank among composers of sacred music.
The double quartette was composed of Miss Loyd,
Miss Germain, Miss Emily Paine, Miss Brown,
Mr. Spruce, Mr. Enos Brown, Mr. Delos Cole,
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A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
and Dr. Charles B. Foster, who for fifteen years
gave such zealous, efficient service in this church
of his adoption. With Dr. Coxe's full sonorous
voice reading the service and Bible lessons in his
matchless manner from the chancel, and these
voices breaking forth into fullest harmony from
the organ gallery, it was indeed harkening to the
sound of holy voices. Some of us will never for-
get when the sweet, clear voice of Miss Loyd sang
as a solo the alternate verses of the hymn, "In-
spirer and Hearer of Prayer," and the lines
" If Thou art my sun and my shield
The night is no darkness with me;
And swift as my moments roil on
They bring me but nearer to Thee."
seemed like a message from above, while the fav-
orite hymns, "How firm a foundation, ye saints of
the Lord," "Softly now the light of day," "Rock
of ages, cleft for me," with Dr. Foster's rich voice
grandly supporting all the others, seem still to lin-
ger in these aisles and arches.
86
An Appreciation
N the afternoon of December 10, 1910, I
found myself in Lowville, N. Y., in re-
sponse to an invitation from the Lowville
Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution,
to inaugurate a movement in behalf of the erection
of a Public Library building in that beautiful vil-
lage. The meeting was held in the historic old
Academy where I discovered on the original sub-
scription list for the erection of the first Academy
building at the head of State street, the name of one
of my ancestors — a pioneer of Lewis county — and
that of Morris S. Miller, who was appointed land
agent about 1802 by Nicholas Low, for the sale of
his immense tract of land in Northern New York.
Lowville was endeared to Blandina Dudley Mil-
ler as the birthplace of her father, Rutger Bleecker
Miller, and she warmly expressed the wish to me,
should the library project materialize, to donate
his portrait to hang upon its walls.
Although not a native, but an adopted Utican,
my innate love for local history led me to eagerly
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A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
imbibe everything which carne under my observa-
tion from the fascinating pen of Miss Blandina
Miller. I gladly pay loving tribute to the memory
of one who was not only my inspiration and guide
in searching out the byways of our city's noble
past, but in the study of its historical environ-
ment, all of which she has invested with unusual
interest and charm. Under the spell of her charm-
ing portrayals of the homes and haunts of the
eminent men and women whose presence once lent
distinction to this locality, I have found nothing
more alluring than going on pilgrimage to the var-
ious shrines which she has indicated.
With her graphic pen pictures in mind, persons
and scenes associated with the early days have
seemed actually to live again!
Thus it was to her vivid description of Olden
Barneveld, that I owe the delights of a never-to-
be-forgotten summer day among the early Dutch
settlers of Oneida county. The streets of Trenton
village fairly teemed with associations of Gerrit
Boon, the Mappas, and the Van der Kemps, that
refined and cultivated circle which once constituted
this "Brave Little Holland" in America. Their
beloved pastor, Rev. John Sherman, grandson of
Roger Sherman (the Signer), was not forgotten;
that enthusiastic devotee of Kuyahoora's charms
88
A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
who discovered to the world the wild and haunt-
ing beauty of the falls of Trenton.
I climbed Starr hill, where sleeps the great Steu-
ben! Enchanted with the view I recalled the
thrilling story of his life and none has written it
in language more illuminating and delightful than
Miss Miller. What charming glimpses she has
given us of Col. Benjamin Walker, his friend and
companion-in-arms! The same may be said of
another revolutionary patriot, Surgeon General of
th e Continental Armies, Dr. John Cochran, whose
old homestead still overlooks the broad Mohawk
Valley, close by the historic Palatine Church.
I lingered by the shores of lovely Lake Oneida,
familiar with its every tradition through the me-
dium of Miss Miller's pen. Cazenovia, the beau-
tiful, was no stranger to me, for the colonization
of certain portions of the State of New York by
the Holland Land Company was a theme she
often touched upon. Ancient Peterboro, the
home of Gerrit Smith of Abolition fame, and the
story of the pioneer days of the town of Paris,
recall some of her most notable articles. And did
she not point out with pride, as should every resi-
dent of Oneida County, that within its borders rests
General William Floyd, one of the Signers of the
Declaration of Independence?
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A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
In history and tradition our glorious hills and
valleys were an open book to this accomplished
writer — the world of nature too, and all the lovely
birds — and who that has come within the radius
of her pen is not greatly her debtor?
I call to mind her deep interest in the natives of
the soil — particularly the Oneidas — "the noblest
of the Six Nations." Her sketches of their faith-
ful and devoted minister, Rev. Samuel Kirkland —
the Scholar Missionary — and of the great Chief,
Skenandoa, "the white man's friend," are also
among the happy productions of Miss Blandina
Miller.
Whether her historical studies related to our
city, county or state, they always appeared in the
picturesque style of charming description so char-
acteristic of her writings.
Much of what I was enabled to impart to the
school-children upon the play-grounds of the down
town districts concerning their hisrorical environ-
ment, and the noble men and women — pioneers of
our city — whose homes once stood in their very
midst, I drew from Miss Miller's valuable records.
Familiarity with such a background I could not
help but feel would foster patriotism and create
civic pride — thereby planting the seeds of good
citizenship in youthful hearts and minds.
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A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
How many in this day realize that the very
names of many of our streets stand as monuments
to the founders of our fair city — notably the an-
cestors of the author of the unique and fascinat-
ing chronicle of Utica in the early days. Rutger
Bleecker, her great-grandfather, owned a large part
of the land now occupied by the city of Utica.
I doubt if any one has paid Miss Miller a more
graceful and appreciative tribute than the late
Dr. Anson Judd Upson, in 1895, upon the receipt
of a copy of "A Sketch of Old Utica." Although
not born in this city he loved it as a native —
"Here," I once heard him say, "where my kindred
are buried, I would ever be at home. I am no
deserter."
What delightful recollections of his boyhood
days in Utica, the perusal of Miss Miller's book
suggested to Dr. Upson. "How often" said he,
"when I visit Utica, I walk through Whitesboro
street, and a hundred sweetly solemn memories
moisten my eyes."
Did he not voice the sentiment of many hearts
concerning the older sections of our city and one
in accord with this stray rhyme of an old home-
stead?
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A SKETCH OF OLD UTICA
" Who sits under my roof-tree?
One whom I have not known:
He dug not the old foundations,
He laid not a single stone.
Where a thousand echoes greet me,
He hears no sound nor breath,
And the walls that to me are lettered
To him are as blank as death.
* # * *
Aye, though he pay the purchase,
I have the right divine;
His is the shell — the shadow —
The soul of the house is mine."
CHARLOTTE A. PITCHER,
Historian Oneida Chapter D. A. R.
December, Nineteen twelve.
92
JAN 27 1913
I