History of the town of Kirkland, New York (Volume 1) online

provoked an irrepressible laugh among the Indians, which in
a moment was checked by them as discourteous to their
brethren. Little Paul, as the whites called the boy, was
known to be the pet of the tribe, and this, with all but the
Oneidas, accounted for the selection. They were sure of
better reasons, and assuming an expressionless look, observed
the wonder and heard the laughter of the others with imper-
turbable gravity. Preparations were made promptly for the
race. Governor Clinton wrapped Si'oO in coin in a piece of
buckskin and hung it on the flag-staff at the starting-point, a
little below the fort, on the bank of the Mohawk. A similar
flag was set at the western terminus of the racecourse, over
a mile distant, near the point where now stands the United
States arsenal. The course was smooth and open, rising
gently from east to west. The runners were to turn the
western bound, and run to the place of starting. The course
was staked in quarters, and a horseman provided to accompany
the competitors. As the course was straight there was no
contention about the inside track. The runners wore mocca-
sins to protect their feet, and stripped for the struggle to bare
decency. They stood together in the order of their adjoining
territories, — the Mohawk and Oneida side by side ; and what
a contrast ! The boy's head scarcely reached the shoulder of
the majestic Mohawk, — a splendid specimen of his tribe.
Each bore a badge of distinction on his head. Little Paul
wore a feather, a single white plume,- stuck in his shining
locks, which were glossy and black as the wing of a raven.
All being ready, they start at the tap of the drum, and on
they rush, Indians and horseman, rapidly for so long a race.
Every eye is fixed on the competitors for the prize. All is



APPENDIX. 219

still, and not a word escapes the spectators. The Mohawk leads,
and the Oneida boy brings up the rear. Evidently the latter
is taking an easy course, and holding his best efforts in re-
serve. He passes over the ground as light and lithe as a fox,
and quite swiftly too ; but the others are running at the top
of their speed, and the boy is so far behind that some of the
Indians from abroad, the spectators, break out into a laugh,
and check it again. The Oneidas see and hear all, but give
no expression except in sly side-glances at each other, saying
as plain as words, " Let them laugh who win. Little Paul
against the field ! He will show all on his return that he is
our best choice. No fears for him, he will fly over the last
of the course." But the runners are approaching the further
goal, and will soon turn it for the home stretch, and then for
the trial of endurance ! The horseman has galloped his steed
nearly all the way to keep near the racers, who are running
very near even, although the Mohawk is still ahead, and the
Oneida boy some little behind. They turn the goal almost in
a body, and now begins the fiercest struggle on their home
run. Little Paul draws gently on his reserved force, and
before returning to the first quarter stake he passes all but
the Mohawk. The sympathy of the spectators is with the
little Oneida. They involuntarily cheer him, but he hears it
not. He presses on side by side with the Mohawk, — his
strongest and now only competitor, who struggles as for life,
but in vain. The boy passes him before he can reach the
half-way stake, and his whoop of triumph, shrill as the yell
of a panther, is heard by the spectators at the home goal, and
echoed back with a will. With his five competitors the
struggle is over, but the boy has just begun to bound and fly.
His ambition urges him beyond and above ordinary victory,
he must distance all competition, and he flies as on the wings
of the wind. All the spectators exhibit intense excitement,
and shout and cheer, and as the victor nears the goal the
Indians of the competing tribes rush forward, with the utmost
enthusiasm, to meet the boy and bear him home over the



220 'APPENDIX.

last twenty rods of the course. Never was a prize more
handsomely won, nor with higher praise and admiration, even
from the vanquished themselves. Greater assemblages, yea
clouds of witnesses, encompassed the Olympic and other
competing games of ancient times, and the victors were
crowned amid ceremonies more august ; but none of all these
were more fortunate than the young Oneida in the hearty and
unanimous greetings and rejoicings over his triumph. Gov-
ernor Clinton presented the prize, and congratulated the
youth and his tribe in eloquent words. That youth, Paul
Powlis, Jr., succeeded his father as chief.

This last great meeting of the Iroquois, at the renowned
fortress, was attended by the pioneer settlers on that Indian
frontier, — many of them afterward distinguished public men
in the history of New York. The Governor was accompanied
by his nephew, De Witt Clinton ; afterward one of the most
eminent statesmen of any age, then a young man who acted
as his uncle's private secretary ; also by the illustrious Baron
Steuben, whose town subsequently embraced within its limits
the settlement at Fort Stanwix. General William Floyd, the
first signer of the Declaration of Independence in the New
York delegation, also accompanied Governor Clinton on the
occasion of this payment of the Six Nations, — whose great
chieftains rejoiced to meet the noble Governor Clinton, who
had been continued at the head of State affairs from the
breaking out of the Revolution. Among the chieftains most
celebrated was Skenandoa, the venerable sachem of the
Oneidas, a friend of Washington, a wise counselor, and
one of nature's noblemen, who died in 1816, at the age of one
hundred and ten years. Other chiefs of the Six Nations were
present on the memorable occasion. All are now one, the
white and the red men ; their fame and Fort Stanwix, and
the Iroquois Confederacy, have been consigned to imperishable
history, and they have no earthly existence elsewhere.



APPENDIX. 221

C.

Dedication of the Kirkland Monument.

A Monument having recently been erected in the Cemetery
of Hamilton College, to the memory of the Rev. Samuel
Kirkland, it was thought expedient to celebrate its comple-
tion by appropriate public ceremonies: The time chosen for
this purpose was the afternoon of Wednesday, the 25th of
June, 1873, the day preceding the Annual Commencement.
A number of the descendants and relatives of Mr. Kirkland,
living in different parts of the country, were present. Four
venerable and highly respected gentlemen, students of Hamil-
ton Oneida Academy, some sixty-three years ago, were also in
attendance. These were Mr. George Bristol, Mr. John
Thompson, Mr. Gaius Butler, and Mr. John C. Hastings.
Twenty or more Indians, from the neighborhood of Oneida
Castle, were also present, by invitation, and took part in the
exercises. Among these were Daniel Skenandoa and
Thomas Skenandoa, 'the first a Grand Sachem of the
Oneidas, and the second a priest, and both of them great-
grandsons of the distinguished Chief of Mr. Kirkland's time.
Besides these there were present several other Oneida Indians,
male and female, and one Onondaga Indian, named Griffin
and who, while acting as interpreter, showed himself possessed
of no little oratory.

At half-past three o'clock, a procession was formed in front
of the College Chapel, in the following order : —

1. Marshal of the Day.

2. Gilmore's Band.

3. Undergraduates: 1, Class of 1876; 2, Class of 1875;
3, Class of 1874; 4, Class of 1873.

4. Trustees of Hamilton College.

5. Descendants and relatives of Samuel Kirkland.

6. Oneida Indians.

7. Alumni of Hamilton Oneida Academy.

8. Faculty of Hamilton College.



222 APPENDIX.

9. Alumni of Hamilton and other Colleges, in the order of
Classes.

10. Citizens.

The procession marched to an open space in the Cemetery,
near the new Monument and that of President Backus, and
where a platform had been prepared for the proposed services.
Hard by, also, was the humble memorial-stone erected many
years ago to Skenandoa, the famous Indian chief and the
friend of Mr. Kirkland. On the south side of this platform
was suspended the portrait of Mr. Kirkland from the
Memorial Hall, and the original list of subscribers for the
building of Hamilton Oneida Academy. The platform was
occupied by the Trustees and Faculty of the College, the
speakers of the day, the descendants of Mr. Kirkland, a por-
tion of the Indians from Oneida, and the surviving students of
Hamilton Oneida Academy. In the centre of the stage was
a large arm-chair, once owned by Mr. Kirkland, and on a
table was his Family Bible. The day was pleasant, and the
assembly convened was quite large.

THE MONUMENT.

The Kirkland Monument is of Rhode Island granite, from
the quarries near Westerly. It is nine feet high. The lower
base is four feet three and one half inches square. The base,
containing the family name in raised capitals, is three feet
eight inches square. The central column is two feet four
and one half inches square at the base, and is seven and one
half feet in height. On the four equal sides of this central
shaft are raised panels for the several inscriptions. The cap-
stone, which is three feet and two inches square at its greatest
width, forms a graceful completion of the structure.

The Monument as a whole, though not lofty, presents an
appearance of solidity and massiveness, combined with rare
proportion and symmetry, and both in its outlines and in the
details of the chiseling, is a superior specimen of that depart-
ment of art to which it belongs.



APPENDIX. 223

The design is a reproduction, almost in facsimile, of the
monuments to the Rev. Dr. Cleveland and Professor
Larned, in the Central Cemetery at New Haven, Conn. The
work was executed by Messrs. John C. Ritter & Co., of
New Haven, and cost about fourteen hundred dollars.

The following are the inscriptions on the Monument : —

(West Side.)

Samuel Kirkland,

Born

At Norwich, Conn., Dec. 1, 1741.

Graduated

From Princeton College, in 1765.

Missionary

To the Oneida Indians,

Prom 1776 to 1797.

Founder

of Hamilton Oneida Academy in 1793.

Died

At Clinton, N. Y., Feb. 28, 1808.

(South Side.)

Jerusha Bingham,

Wife of

Samuel Kirkland,

Born at Salisbury, Conn., 1743.

Died at Sfockbridge, Mass., Jan. 23, 1788.

Mary Donnally,

Second wife of

Samuel Kirkland,

Born at Newport, R. I., 1754.

Died at Clinton, N. Y., Aug. 1839.

(East Side.)

Eliza Kirkland,

Third daughter of

Samuel Kirkland,

and wife of

Prof. Edward Robinson,

Born at Stockbridge, Mass., in 1784.

Died at Clinton, N. Y., July 5, 1819.



224 APPENDIX.

(North Side.)

" It is my earnest wish that the institution may grow and nourish ; that
its advantages may be permanent and extensive ; and that under the
smiles of the God of Wisdom, it may prove an eminent means of diffusing
useful knowledge, enlarging the bounds of human happiness, and aiding
the reign of virtue and the kingdom of the blessed Redeemer."

Samuel Kirkland.

Addresses were delivered on this occasion by Rev. S. G.
Brown, D. D., President of Hamilton College, by Hon. 0. S.
Williams, LL.D., by Ex-Gov. Seymour, and by Chancellor
Woolworth, of Albany.

At the conclusion of Dr. Woolworth's remarks, President
Brown extended a welcome to the Oneida Indians present.
He introduced to the audience Thomas Skenandoa and
Daniel Skenandoa, both of whom spoke in their native lan-
guage, and were interpreted at short intervals, for the benefit
of the assembly, by an Indian interpreter. Rev. Daniel
Moose, missionary to the Oneidas, then read a paper embody-
ing the substance of the two Indian speeches. It was as fol-
lows : —

Brothers : We have come from our homes to join hands
with you to do honor to the memory of a friend of our fore-
fathers. We remember the good Kirkland as the faithful
friend of my great grandfather.

He was sent by the Good Spirit to teach the Indians to be
good and happy ; as the sun cometh in the early morning so
he came from the east in 1766, to gladden the hearts of my
people and to cover them with the light of the Great Spirit.
He came in and went out before them ; he walked hand in
hand with the great Skenandoa.

As Kirkland was their counselor, their physician, their
spiritual father and friend, so was Skenandoa, like the tall
hemlock, the glory of our people, the mighty sachem and
counselor of the Iroquois and the true friend of the white man.
His soul was a beam of fire, his heart was big with goodness,



APPENDIX. 225

his head was like a clear lamp, and his tongue was great in
council.

Kirkl&nd was to my nation like a great light in a dark
place. His soul was like the sun, without any dark spots upon
it, and we first learned through him to he good. Our father
then gave him much land, and he gave to your children
Hamilton Oneida Academy.

Where to-day are Kikkland and Skenandoa ? They are
gone ! The Great Spirit reached out of his window and took
them from us, and we see them no more. When sixty-nine
snows had fallen and melted away, then the good Kirkland
went to his long home.

And at the age of 110 years we laid beside him John
Skenandoa, the great sachem of the Iroquois. Arm in arm,
as brothers, they walked life's trail ; and, united in death,
nothing can separate them : but they will go up together in
the great resurrection.

When they went down to their long sleep the night was
dark ; when the morning came it did not remove the dark-
ness from our people. They wet their eyes with big drops, and
a heavy cloud was on them.

The council fires of the Iroquois died, and their hearts
grew flint ; then our people scattered like frightened deer, and
we Indians here to-day, standing by the mighty dead, are the
only few of the once powerful Iroquois. They are all gone,
but the deeds of Kirkland and Skenandoa will never die ;
their memory is dear to us and will not fail ; so long as the
sun lights the sky by day and the moon by night, we will rub
the mould and dust from their gravestones, and say, —
" Brothers, here sleep the good and the brave."

At the close of this address, a company of Indians, men and
women, stepped upon the platform, and sang an anthem in the
tongue wherein they were born, whose simple, plaintive tones
touched all hearts. The exercises were then concluded with
the benediction by Rev. Dr. Kendall, of New York.
15



226



APPENDIX.



D.

The following is a copy of the original subscriptions towards
the building of the Hamilton Oneida Academy, in 1793 : —



A ames of Subscribers.
Samuel Kirkland,



Cash.
£ s. d.
10 00



John Sergeant,


4








Moses Foot,


2








James Dean,


8








Zed h Sanger.








Sewall Hopkins,


2








Timothy Tuttle,


2








Dan. Bradley,


o








Eli Bristoll,


1








Ralph Kirkland,


1


16





Shene D. Sackett,





8





Seth Blair,


1


-


-


Deodorus Clark,


o


-


-


Erastus Clark,


2


-


-


Jonas Piatt,


3


-


-


Thos. Cassety,


3


-


-


Isaac Jones,


1


10


-


Elias Kane,


10


-


-


Henry Merrill,


1


-


-


John Young,


2


-


-


Jesse Munger,


1


-


-


Sam 1 Laird,


2


-


-


Elizur Mosely,


4


-


-


Lorin Webb





8





Joshua Vaughan,





4






Other Items.

and 15 days' work. Also, 300 acres
of land for the use and benefit of
the Academy, to be loaned, and
the product applied toward the
support of an able Instructor.

and 1000 ft. timber, 5000 ft. boards,

and 20 days' work,
and 2000 ft. hemlock boards.
100 ft. 7X9 glass, 100 acres of land,

of 45th lot in the 20th township

in the Unadilla purchase,
and ten days' labor.
500 ft. clapboards, 1000 shingles, and

1 days' work.

400 ft. timber, and 20 days' work,
and 6 days' work,
and 6 days' work,
and 6 days' work,
and 1000 ft. of boards.



- and three days' work.



and 4 days' work,
and 2000 ft. clapboards.
and 2000 ft. boards.
and 6 days' work,
and 1000 ft. boards.





APPENDIX. 227




£ s.


d.




Ephr m Blackmer,


6







Joseph Blackmer,


1





and 3 days' work.


Israel Green,


8





and 6 days' work.


Joel Bristoll,


1





and 300 ft. timber, and 20 days'
work.


Ezra Hart,


1





and 6 days' work.


Aaron Henman,


10





and 6 days' work.


Abner Ormsby,


- -




1000 nails.


Stephen Willard,


2 -


-


200 ft. timber, 20 p d9 nails, and 6
days' work.


Bronson Foot,


1 12


-


and 1000 ft. boards, and 6 days'
work.


Consider Law,


- -


-


4 days' work.


John Blunt,


- -


-


1000 ft. boards, and 3 days' work.


Solomon Thomson,


- 8


-


and 6 days' work.


John Townsend,


o _


-




Amos Parmely,


- 10


-




Nathan Townsend,


1 10


-




Silas Phelps,


o _


-


payable in blacksmith work.


Moses Dewitt,


3







Thomas Hooker,


1 10


-




Noah Taylor,


- 16


-


payable in grain.


Nath 1 Griffin,


4 -


-


payable in grain.


Hob* Darke,


4 -


-


" " "


Eliakim Elmore,


1 16


-


n a a


Ebenezer Seeley,


1 -


-


and 3 £ payable in timber.


Sami Wells,


1 -


-


and 3 days' labor.


Peleg Havens,


1 -


-


and 3 £ payable in grain.


Thomas Hart,


3 -


-




Ira Foot,


2 -


-


and 1000 ft. boards, and 20 days'
work.


Joseph Boynton,


- 10


-


and 2 days surveying land.


Ebenezer Butler,


2





200 ft. timber, 100 ft. boards, and
500 clapboards.


Timothy Pond Jr.,


1





and 1000 ft. boards.


Broome & Piatt,


- -


-


300 ft. of 7X9 glass.


Stephen Barrett,


- -


-


40 shillings, value in pine boards,
first rate.


Seth Roberts,


3 -


-




Amos Kellogg,


1 -


-


and six days' work.


Oliver Tuttle,


1 -


-




Elias Dewey,


1 -


-


and six days' work.



228 APPENDIX.

£ s. d.



Aaron Kellogg,


1


-


-


Tho s Whitcomb,


1


-


-


Ja s Smith, Jr.,


1


-


-


Barnabas Pond,








Elijah Blodgett,








Henry Holley,


1


-


-


Seeley Finch,


1








Josiah Bradner,


1








Joseph Stanton,




8




Pomroy Hull,





8





Rufus S an ton,




8




Amos Blair,


-


8


-


Oliver Phelps,


10


-


-


Sam 1 T uttle,








Peter Smith,


10


_


_


Tho» R. Gold,


5


-


-



and six days' work,
and six days' work.
1000 ft. boards.
1000 shingles,
and six days' work,
and six days' work.

and three days' work,
and three days' work,
and three days' work.



1000 ft. clapboards, to be delivered
at the mill.



£168 8



INDEX.



Academy, Hamilton Oneida, 120.

how built, 122.

Indian boys at, 123.
Agriculture of Kirklaud, 151.
Agricultural products, 152.
Agricultural Society, 152.
Animals of Kirkland, 6.
Authorities consulted in this history,
Preface, 10.

Backus, Dr. Azel, 126.
Banks in Kirkland, 180.
Baptist church, 113.
Baptist ministers, 114.
Bears in the cornfields, 57.
Bell, first in Kirkland, 96.
Birds of Kirkland, 5.
Birth, fir.-t in the town, 35-
Botany of the town, 202.
Brothertown Indians, 15, 54.
Brown, President, 128.
Burglary, the first, 59.
Burying-ground, 30.
Bush, Peter, 197.

Canal, Chenango, when built, 179.

Catholic church, 116.

Cattle, improved breeds introduced,

152.
Cemetery, Clinton, 157. â–º

Cemetery, college, 161.
Cheese factories, 176.
Chuckery, 58.
Church, Baptist, 113.

edifice built, 114.

its several ministers, 115.



Church, College, sketch of, 112.
Church, Congregational, 90.

first pastor installed, 93.

its several pastors, 98.
Church, Episcopal, its early history,
117.

its ministers, 118.

house of worship, 119.
Church, Manchester, 115.
Church, Methodist Episcopal, 107.

when organized, 107.

church edifice built, 108.

its successive ministers, 109.
Church, Presbyterian, 98.
Church, Roman Catholic, 116.
Church, Universa'ist, established, 109.

first edifice built, 110.

successive ministers. 111.

second church edifice, 112.
Clarks' Mills, 174.
Clinton, village named, 24.
Clinton Iron Works, 175.
College grounds, 158, 161.
Common schools, 147.
Couture, Jesuit missionary, 1.
Covenant, "Half-Way," 91.

Davis, President, 126.

Dayton, Fort, 2.

Deacons of a former day, 197.

Death, first in the town, 29.

Dedication of Kirkland Monument,

221.
Distillrye, 168.
Dutch settlers, 18, 19.
Dutch traders, 1.



230



INDEX.



Dwight, President Timothy, visits the

town, 52.
Dwight, President Sereno, 127.
Dwight, Rev. B. W., his High School,
145.
its system of instruction, 146.
teachers, 147.

Early explorers, 19, 20.
Edwards, Jonathan, 12.
Elders in Presbyterian church, 99.
Episcopal Church, 117.
Express Company, 180.

Factories, cheese, 176.
Faculty of Hamilton College, 129.
Farmers, early, 178.
Firesides, primitive, 196.
First settlers, 21-27.
houses of, 23.
Fisher, President, 128.
Flower-gardens of Kirkland, 60. 155.
Foot, Moses, 22.
Foot, Sam, 197.
Foot-race of Indians, 216.
Franklin Iron Works, 172.
Fruits raised in Kirkland, 153.
Fulling Mill, 163.
Furnace, iron, 169.

Gardens, useful and ornamental, 154-

156.
Geology of Kirkland, 4.
Ginseng, 33, 52.
Good Peter, 55.

Goupil, Rend, Jesuit missionary, 1.
Grammar School, building erected, 132.

its preceptors, 133, 134.

its discipline, 133.

ils steadfastness, 198.
Gridley, Rev. Wayne, 106.
Grist-mill, the first, 25.
Grounds, the College, 158.

Hamilton Oneida Academy, 120.
its precentors, 123.
subscriptions for building, 226.



Hamilton College, founded, 126.

its presidents, 126-128.

its processors, 128, 129.

its treasurers, 130.

its trustees, 130.

its benefactors, 130.

its buildings, 131.
High School, Dwight's, 145.
Home Cottage Seminary, established,
143.

its principals, 144.
Horses introduced, 31.
Horseback riding, 199.
Horticulture of Kirkland, 153.
Houghton Seminary, its origin, 144.

its preceptors, 145.
Houses, first frame built, 34.

Incorporation of Clinton, 180.
Indians, habits of, 36.

noted characters among them,
37, 40-45.

their humor and irony, 38.

boys at school, 123.

destiny of the race, 17.
Institute, Liberal, established, 136,137.

its principals, 138, 139.

its benefactors, 138, 140.
Iron ore: its discover}', and position of
the beds, 170.

its quality and uses, 171.
Iron, Clinton Works, 175.
Iron, Franklin Works, 172.

Jesuit missionaries, 1, 11.
Jogues, Isaac, 1.

Kellogg, Rev. Hiram H., his seminary,
141.

its peculiar features, 142.

its usefulness, 143.
Kirkland, town of, formed, 3.

its latitude and longitude, 3.

soil of, 3.
Kirkland, Rev. Samuel, his early life,
62.

among the Seneca Indians, 65.



INDEX.



231



Kirkland, Rev. Samuel, among the
Oneidas, 69.

his marriage, 70.

during the Revolutionary War,

72.
his plan of education, 80, 81.
founds an Academy, 82.
is visited by Timothy Dwight

and Jeremiah Day, 84.
his physical traits, 85.
his mental endowments, 87.
moral and religious character,

87.
results of his labors, 89.
monument to, 221.

Lawyers, early in Kirkland, 178.
Line of Property, 10.
Lucas, Mrs. Eli, 61.

Manchester, church of, 115.
Manufactures, early, 162.
Manufacture, Clinton woolen, 162,
163.
of nails, 163.
of hats, 164.
of hoes and scythes, 164,

167.
of clocks, 164.
of pottery, 165.
of bricks, 165.
of potash, 166.
of leather, 166.
of chairs, 167.
of axes and hammers, 167.
of hay-forks, 167.
of cotton batting, 167.
of spoons and counterfeit money,

168.
of cotton cloth, at Manchester,

169.
of cotton cloth, at Clarks' Mills,
174.
Marr, Mrs., her select school, 147.
Marshall, town of, formed from Kirk-
land, 3.



Meeting-house, the old white, 95.

â– when built, 55. !

its appearance, 96.

the music therein, 197.

in winter, 196.

stoves introduced into it, 196.

taken down, 97.
Merchants, of early days, 178.
Methodist Church, 107.
Mills, grist, 166, 168.

saw, 166, 168, 169.
Monument to Mr. Kirkland, 221.

Newspapers established, 181.
North, President, 127.
Norton, Professor Seth, 124.
Norton, Rev. Dr., his birth and educa-
tion, 100.

his personal appearance, 102.

his physical regimen, 103.

his mental endowments, 103.

his traits as a preacher, 104.

his death, 106.
Noyes, Dr. Josiah, 198. ;

Occum, Rev. Samson, Indian preacher,

53.
Old Kate, 197.
Oneida county formed, 3.
Oneida Indians, origin of, 6.

during the Revolution, 9.

efforts to Christianize them, 11.

removed west, 13.
Orchards of Kirkland, 153.
Oriskany, battle of, 2.
Oriskany Creek, 3.

Paris, town of, named, 33.