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1638685

REYNOLDS HISTORICAL
GENEALOGY COLLECTION

ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY

1833 01087 2395

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Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2018

https://archive.org/details/reminiscencesofeOOecob

ABIJAH GILBERT - * 1747-1311
JOSEPH T. GILBERT - 1783-1867

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Compiled by

HELEN GILBERT ECOB
1927

ife38685

h*£ COHTEJiTS >*-

CHAPTER PAGE

I. From Warwickshire to the Western

Wilderness . 5

II. The Tragic History of a Familiar Region 9

III. The Morris Patent and the Settlement

of Abijah Gilbert . 16

IV. The Development of the Settlement. . 28

V. The Second Generation . 38

VI. Joseph Thomas Gilbert . 45

Appendix A . 62

Appendix B . 63

Appendix C . 64

•*

Reminiscences of Early Days

CHAPTER i

From Warwickshire to the Western Wilderness

THE generation familiar with the early history’ of
the Gilbert family is rapidly passing. The an¬
cestors whom we, the fourth generation from
Abijah Gilbert, the pioneer, hold in reverent memory,
are to our children only vague names. In a few years
those who can give correct information about our
grandsires and the pioneer days will have vanished.
For this reason, it is well to preserve the record of
all that is known of the family history. Such a com¬
pilation would be impossible were it not for the care¬
ful research of Robert Washburn Gilbert, at the time
of the Gilbert centennial in 1887. Many of the third
generation were then living, from whose lips the story
came first-hand.

Robert Gilbert was a lawyer, and, with the accuracy
characteristic of that profession, he verified the statis¬
tics of birth in the parish churches of Middleton and
Nuneaton, England. The documentary history of
Abijah Gilbert’s purchase and sale of lands in Mont¬
gomery (now Otsego) County he obtained' from the
office of the Secretary’ of State in Albany. His account
of these transactions was published in great detail in
the Otsego Journal , August 17, 1887.

This history of our branch of the family begins with
John Gilbert, who, about 1745, married Mary Hill, a
cousin of the gifted non-conformist preacher, Roland
Hill. Mr. and Mrs. John Gilbert lived in Tamworth,
Warwickshire, England. We know nothing about these

5

Reminiscences of Early Days

early ancestors except that they were in comfortable
circumstances and well educated for that day, writing
good hands and spelling according to the usage of that
period.

The family of John and Mary Hill Gilbert con¬
sisted of five children, of whom Abijah, the eldest, born
December 2nd, 1747, O. S., was destined to find in the
wilderness of the new world a home for his family and
to be the first settler and founder of the village which
bears his name.

Nothing is known of the youth of Abijah Gilbert
except that his father died of smallpox in the year
1761, from which disease at that time one-tenth of all
the people on the earth perished. Abijah was thus left,
at the age of fourteen, the male head of the family.
In 1768 his mother married again, her second husband
being William Markham of Middleton. The children
were attached to their step-father, who treated them
with affectionate consideration. The record of his
kindliness has been preserved a century and a half. A
memorandum among the files of Joseph T. Gilbert at
Quarry Hill says that Mrs. Markham left her personal
property to her second husband.

After the death of Abijah’s father a period of fifteen
years follows of which we have no record. During
this period he left the childhood home in Tamworth to
live near Attleborough Fields in the parish of Nunea¬
ton. Abijah was doubtless attracted to Attleborough
by the fact that he had relatives in that vicinity bear¬
ing the name of Gilbert.

While we have no record of the youth of Abijah, we
know by inference that he was a prosperous man. In
young manhood he married Mary Yates and was com¬
fortably established at Nuneaton where he owned lands

6

Parish Church of Nuneaton

limit in 1611. Abijah Gilbert was a vestryman in this church and his children were baptized

there.

,r' '

;

1

From Warwickshire to the Western Wilderness

and occupied a position of public confidence, being cus¬
todian and disburser of the moneys devoted to the
relief of the poor. As vestryman of the church at
| Nuneaton, Abijah’s name appears often in the warden’s
: book, in his own handwriting.

In Nuneaton were born five of his children, each of
whom is associated with the pioneer life of the new
world.

Abijah was thirteen years of age when George Third
became King of England; he therefore shared the great
national revival which followed the impassioned preach¬
ing of Whitefield and the two Wesleys. The revolt
of the American colonies, too, was everywhere a sub¬
ject of discussion, and their independence aroused great
interest in the western world. The settlement of the
new country was a popular venture among Englishmen.

Of the influences which led Abijah Gilbert to leave
the home in Nuneaton, where he lived in comfort and
honor, to go to an unknown country and take up the
hardships of pioneer life, we know nothing. The fact
that he was thirty-nine years of age when he came to
America makes his decision the more remarkable. Mary,
the oldest child, was eleven years of age; Elizabeth,
the youngest, less than twelve months. Before he left
Warwickshire he provided an annuity for the benefit of
his wife, establishing it with an English banker. It was
upon this annuity that our great-grandmother lived after
the death of her husband in 1 8 1 1 .

Leaving his family in Nuneaton, Abijah Gilbert sailed
for America in the autumn of 1786. He landed in
Philadelphia and spent the winter in New Jersey wfith
the Hills, who were maternal relatives. The great new
world was before him — he had ready money to invest,

7

Reminiscences of Early Days

he was courageous and ambitious, he was in the prime
of life. A chance circumstance determined the location
of the settlement. This was his meeting with the
Messrs. Lewis and Richard Morris.

8

CHAPTER II

The Tragic History of a Familiar Region

E can form no picture of the life upon which
Abijah Gilbert entered without a brief refer¬
ence to the history of the Empire State. This
| region w7as known as the Western Wilderness. For
centuries before Europeans penetrated the wilderness, the
Iroquois Indians held undisputed possession. Their
trails, from twelve to eighteen inches wide, interlaced the
State. In yielding soils they were frequently worn to
the depth of a foot.* Silver, Lake, near New Berlin,
t plentifully supplied with fish, was a favorite camping
aground. Indian relics of various kinds have been
[ found on the shores of the lake. By similar tokens
their way has been traced through Dimmock Hollow
to the Butternut Valley, where game w~as then abun¬
dant — Bear, elk, deer, wolf, fox and beaver. Tioga
Point, at the junction of the Chemung and Susquehanna
Rivers, near Binghamton, was a meeting place for coun¬
cil. From there a well beaten Indian trail ran through
; Cherry Valley to the Mohawk River and thence to the
Western lakes. The Iroquois Confederacy, before the
coming of the white man, was a powerful organization.
It included five nations, the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onon¬
daga s, Cayugas and Senecas. The Tuscaroras were
admitted later. Historians tell us of the great influence
and high purpose of the League, “one of the most far¬
sighted and, in its aims, the most beneficent, that ever
statesmen designed for mankind.” A stated aim of
the confederacy was the abolition of wTar.

• Lewis H. Morgan, The League of the Iroquois.

9

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■ 7 '•

r

Reminiscences of Early Days

Under English Colonial Government, Tryon County
was set off from Albany in 1722 and named in honor
of Sir William Tryon, the Provincial Governor. The
present Otsego County is a part of the old Tryon County.

The first settlements, little more than trading-posts,
were at the mouths of the great rivers, the Hudson,
Mohaw'k, Delaware, and last of all the Susquehanna.
The granting of patents by the British Government be¬
gan as early as 1738. One of the earliest was granted
to John Lindsay at the head of Cherry Valley. His
settlement wras the oldest and most important on the
Susquehanna. Before the Revolution it was a thriving
community, numbering from forty to fifty families of
Scotch-Irish descent, whose ancestors had come from
Ulster County in “the Great Migration.” Follow*ers
of John Calvin and devoted to religious and political
freedom, they sought liberty in the new wTorld. By in¬
heritance the settlers of Cherry Valley held the same
religious and political convictions. Rev. Samuel Dunlop,
the first minister in this region, preached in a log house
erected for a meeting-house. He also established a
grammar-school, the first in the State w’est of Albany.
This energetic group of liberty-loving men had an im¬
mense influence on the destiny of the State, attracting
to the Susquehanna valley other families of the same
descent w’ho wrere later distinguished for their patriot¬
ism in the Border Wars.

In 1769, the British Government granted to Colonel
Staats Long Morris a large patent on the Butternut
Creek. Colonel Morris, an officer in the British Army,
was a brother of Lewis and Richard Morris, and a half-
brother of Gouverneur Morris. His first wife was the
Dow'ager Duchess of Gordon and he brought her to
visit the patent in 1769, the year it was granted him.

10

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r

The Tragic History of a Familiar Region

They came from the Catskills over an Indian path on
horseback to the Susquehanna with a large train of at¬
tendants, an incongruous sight in the primitive surround¬
ings. Joachim Van Valkenberg, who lived on the river,

rf elated that they spent three nights at his house.

Colonel Morris, in 1770, induced a number of settlers
to take up land on his patent. Among these were Andre
Renouard at Elm Grove, and Louis and Pascal Franchot,
in Louisville, which they named in honor of the French
Ling, Louis XV. They were followed in 1777 by Ben¬
jamin Lull and Jonathan Moore. Ebenezer Knapp and
Increase Thurston settled on the Butternut Creek. This
was known as the Old English District.

During the Revolution, Colonel Staats Long Morris
remained a royalist in sympathy, but never opposed the
I cause of the colonies. He became a major-general in
the British army, and was also for many years Governor
of Quebec.

The familiar name, Mount Upton, dates from 1770,
when a patent on the Unadilla River was issued to Clot¬
worthy LTpton, son of the Earl of Templeton, for dis¬
tinguished service in the royal navy. The patent was
settled in 1787 by Captain Francis Upton, who married
M iss Johnson of Hyde Park, New York. Frances Up¬
ton, youngest daughter of Captain and Mrs. Upton,
married Richard Morris. Captain Upton built the house
at Upton Park, now owned by Otis Lyon, and gave it
to his daughter for a wedding gift. The house, popu¬
larly known as “The Castle,” is said to be modeled after
the house of Mrs. Morris’ grandfather in Hyde Park,
and was for many years a great social centre.

A pioneer of unenviable memory was John Butler
(afterwards Colonel Butler), wTho in 1769 acquired a
large tract on the north side of the Butternut Creek and

11

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Reminiscences of Early Days

extending westward to the Unadilla. Colonel Butler
made no settlement on his tract, but held an important
position in Trvon County as Deputy Superintendent of
Indian Affairs. At the outbreak of the Revolution, Tory
influence was very strong and sentiment among the
settlers was divided. Colonel Butler sided with the Eng¬
lish and was an active agent in the struggle. The tribes
of the Indian Confederacy, influenced by the promise of
great reward and also in revenge for encroachments of
the white settlers, became the allies of the British Crown,
except the Oneidas and Tuscaroras who, through the
influence of missionaries, remained neutral. It was Brit¬
ish policy to attack and destroy the settlements on the
New York frontier in order to harass General Washing¬
ton and divert his forces from the Hudson Valley for
which they were contending. Thus our own remote val¬
ley played an important part in the contest. All around
us is historic ground, like Lexington and Bunker Hill.
Colonel Butler organized a force of Indians and Tories
called “Butler’s Rangers,” and, from first to last, took
a conspicuous part in the campaign both as a recruiting
officer and commander. To Colonel John Butler, Cap¬
tain Walter Butler, Sir John Johnson and the Indian
Chief, Joseph Brant, all the destruction in Trvon County
is traced. Enmity between patriots and loyalists became
so bitter that the Tories were compelled to flee to
western New York and Canada. The Tory leaders
established headquarters at Fort Niagara and from this
isolated stronghold made ferocious raids on the fron¬
tier. It was from Tioga Point that the vigilant Colonel
John Butler descended on the populous and defenseless
settlement of Wyoming and perpetrated one of the most
brutal massacres of history.

His son, Captain Walter Butler, a few months later,

12

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. . i ;> •

The Tragic History of a Familiar Region

organized and led the massacre at Cherry Valley. Cap¬
tain Butler had been court-martialed as a spy and con¬
demned to death, but escaped from prison. The motiva¬
tion for the massacre was his desire for revenge. His
company, consisting of six hundred Indians, one hundred
and fifty lories, fifty British troops and four British
officers, was assembled at Tioga Point. The Senecas
led in the attack, but it is said the Tories were not less
brutal.

In 1779, the Continental Congress decided to make
a national campaign to end effectually Indian depreda¬
tions on the New York frontier. General Sullivan was
sent to the Susquehanna with a strong force which met
that of General Clinton at Tioga Point. Indians and
Tories massed at Newtown (now Elmira), where they
threw up entrenchments more than a mile long, the pits
concealed by newly-cut trees. Joseph Brant was in com¬
mand of the Indians. The Tories, well disciplined men,
were under the command of Colonel Butler.

To meet the waiting enemy, the combined American
forces, about 5,000 men, proceeded from Tioga Point
to the Indian village of Chemung, following the course
of the Chemung River. General Sullivan’s artillery
then made its way through the dense forest to New¬
town, and in August, 1779, appeared before the entrench¬
ment. The Indians, terrified by artillery warfare, were
soon forced from the fortification and made a hasty
retreat led by Joseph Brant and the two Butlers. The
American loss was small but the enemy was routed with
terrible slaughter.

Then followed a campaign which has been compared
to Sherman’s march to the sea. The Indians were
“hunted like wild beasts” and fled northward and west¬
ward. More than forty Indian villages were razed to

13

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* -i-' * ‘ * ■'•>-' J :■ fi ' ' - |

w - ■•

Reminiscences of Early Days

the ground; homes were reduced to ashes; peach, apple
and pear orchards were cut down. Cornfields, ready to
harvest, and gardens of growing vegetables, were laid
waste. Famine and pestilence overtook the destitute
Cayugas and Senecas, many of whom perished in the
bitter winter which followed.

The expedition of General Sullivan added fuel to the
flames of Indian resentment. Retaliation was inevitable.
The Indians, in cooperation with the British, among
whom the two Butlers were principals, at once began
warfare in the Mohawk and Schoharie Valleys. The
settlements of the white man were destroyed as ruth¬
lessly as had been those of the red man. The Oneidas,
regarded as traitors to the Indian Confederacy, were
utterly wiped out by Joseph Brant. It was truly a Reign
of Terror.

Colonel John Butler possessed a charmed life, for
during five years of constant danger and fighting, he
escaped without a wound. He finally fled to Canada,
receiving from the British Government five hundred
acres of land and an annual pension of three thousand
five hundred dollars. Captain Walter Butler, pursued
by Colonel Willett, was tomahawked by an Oneida In¬
dian just as he reached the Canadian boundary.

This merciless frontier war waged by Tories and In¬
dians was carried on against settlements left almost
defenseless by the Colonial government which needed
most of the able-bodied men for duty at strategic points.
Too much cannot be said for the courage and patriotism
of the pro-American settlers. At the outbreak of the
Revolution, the Scotch-Irish on the Susquehanna joined
with the Mohawk settlers and formed the Tryon County
Militia. They also sent strong forces to the Continental
Army. It was this group of loyal Americans who saved

14

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The Tragic History of a Familiar Region

the New York frontier from British domination. The
Cherry Valley massacre was the crowning tragedy of the
border warfare. Cherry Valley should forever be the
shrine of Otsego County because of the commanding
influence of the early settlers and of their patriotic serv¬
ice in the terrible crisis.

During the five years of border warfare, every fron¬
tier settlement was deserted, homes were burned, food
and cattle destroyed, men and women and children mas¬
sacred. The settlers who escaped with their lives counted
themselves fortunate. Tryon County was left a silent
waste. It was many years before the survivors returned
to their ruined homes. The red man was driven out,
never to return.

Settlements were resumed after the Revolution, the
first patent being that granted to Messrs. Lewis and
Richard Morris, August 14th, 1786. The name of
Tryon County was changed to Montgomery County in
1784 in honor of General Richard Montgomery.

IS

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CHAPTER III

The Morris Patent and the Settlement -
of Abijah Gilbert

THE Morris family, originally Morys, of Welsh
descent, was one of the most influential in the
early history of the State. Colonel Richard Mor¬
ris, the first to come to America, was an officer in Crom¬
well’s army, and on the restoration of Charles II he
emigrated to the West Indies and from there came to
New Netherlands, now New York. In 1650 he pur¬
chased from the Indians for himself and his brother,
Lewis, a tract of five hundred acres on the Harlem, the
nucleus for a vast estate which was afterward invested
with manorial privileges by the original grant of the
governor. At the time of the Revolution, three genera¬
tions had lived in the family manor house at Morrisania.

The three brothers, Lewis, Staats Long, Richard, and
the half-brother, Gouverneur, were men of marked abil¬
ity. With the exception of Staats Long, they entered
into the service of the colonies with patriotic disregard
of personal interest.

At the distance of a century and a half, and under a
government recognized as a world power, it seems an
insignificant act to have signed the Declaration of Inde¬
pendence. The secretary of the Constitutional Conven¬
tion in Independence Hall, when the Declaration was
signed, went to the front of the hall, saying he wanted
to watch the faces of those who were signing their death
warrants.

When Lewis Morris signed the Declaration of Inde¬
pendence, he knew that a large British force had landed
near his estate, and that armed ships were lying within

16

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• - -■

Morris Patent and Settlement of Abijah Gilbert

firing distance of his house. In consequence of his sign¬
ing, the beautiful home at Morrisania was sacked and
burned, and the family impoverished. The English
patent to Staats Long Morris had been revoked by the
new American government and an appeal was made to
the State of New York to give the grant to other mem¬
bers of the family. A patent of thirty-five thousand
acres was granted to Lewis Morris, the “signer,” and
his brother, Richard, as an indemnity for the loss of
property at Morrisania.

Abijah Gilbert met Lewis and Richard Morris, one
or both, in New Jersey, and purchased “sight unseen,”
a tract of one thousand acres in Montgomery County,
now Otsego County, for five hundred and seventy-one
pounds, eight shillings, eight pence, about two thousand
five hundred dollars. The original purchase, which was
paid for before either seller or purchaser had seen the
property, may be described as including the whole of the
valley and surrounding hills in which Gilbertsville is sit¬
uated. The county records show that Abijah Gilbert
very’ shortly doubled his holdings by further purchases
in the Morris and Upton patents.

The price which Abijah paid for the land seems to us
very’ small. It was, however, greater than the prices
charged by the commissioners of the Land Office of the
State of New York.

At the time the patent was granted to Messrs. Lewis
and Richard Morris, the region had been explored and
surveyed sufficiently to establish the boundaries of the
Wells, Wharton, Morris, Otego and Upton patents.

“The Morris patent was not fully surveyed until 1791,
and no formal deeds were executed until that year. No
deeds were recorded in Montgomery County, from which
Otsego County was set off in 1791. Abijah Gilbert was

17

Reminiscences of Early Days

then in England; his deeds were not executed until 1792.
He was, however, the first to purchase in the Morris
patent. This fact is substantiated by the records of the
Secretary of State. It there appears that in the month
of December, 1789, Messrs. Lewis and Richard Morris,
having divided their patent into 142 lots, made partition
thereof by lot. Each acquitted and released to the other
the lots not drawn by himself. The only claim or title
to the lots reserved from this partition are cited to be:
‘Lots 8, 10, 15, 16 and 17, which the said Lewis and
Richard Morris have conveyed or agreed to convey to
Abijah Gilbert.’

Further evidence that Mr. Gilbert was the first pur¬
chaser in the patent is found in the fact that his lands
are the only ones of which the deeds are direct from
both Lewis and Richard Morris.” *

There were no roads in those early days, and the towns
and villages now so familiar were not then in existence.
Locations were indicated by the Indian names of lakes
and rivers, or by the surnames of the few men who had
made clearing, as “Garret’s.” “Hartwick’s,” “Tunni-
clifl’s.” The Unadilla was known by the Indian name
“Tianderah” (a place of meeting), and this name was
also sometimes applied to the Butternut Creek. In the
early descriptions it was noted that three Butternut trees,
growing from one stump, stood at the corner of the
Otego, Morris and Wharton patents. The creek, and
afterward the town, was named from this landmark.

Neither Lewis nor Richard Morris ever visited their
possessions in the Western Wilderness. General Jacob
Morris, son of Lewis Morris, the “signer,” wrho during
the Revolution was on the staff of Gen. Charles Lee,
acted as agent for the family property. Gen. Morris

•Robert Washburn Gilbert, Otsego Journal, 1887.

18

-

Morris Patent and Settlement of Abijah Gilbert

made his first expedition to the grant in June, 1787, and
chose his home site on the Morris patent near the present
house of Mrs. Ernest Hartman.

Abijah Gilbert came the same year, 1787, for the
purpose of examining his property and locating his lands,
and he then began the clearing. This is the date given
by Abijah’s son, Joseph T. Gilbert, and is identical with
that handed down through various branches of the fam¬
ily, the Cottons, Bryants, Gilberts and eider Morrises.

In going to his new home, Abijah Gilbert undoubtedly
took the route of Gen. Morris and other settlers. From
New Jersey the first objective point was New York, then
a city of 50,000. Thence he went by sloop to Albany.
The boat anchored each night, and the journey occupied
eight days. The sloop contained convenient cabins, and
the passengers ate from regular tables supplied with
plates, knives and forks. The route from Albany to the
settlement was via Otsego Lake. This course, though
roundabout, was infinitely preferable to others because
a wagon road had been built over a portion of the
journey. Our ancestors knew' w'ell the difficulties of
travel in the wilderness. It meant pack horses and
guide, wading through streams, becoming bewildered
and perhaps lost in the forest, days and nights without
shelter.

At Albany wagons were hired to carry the stores for
camp life to Schenectady. Between these twro places
there were no dwelling houses. At Schenectady the
pioneer must hire boats to go up the Mohawk River to
Canajoharie, where wagons w'ere again taken for the
head of Otsego Lake. On the shore of the lake, an
indentation had been made in the forest and a primitive
freight office had been established know'n as ‘‘the carry¬
ing place.” At the foot of the lake wras a dismal fron-

19

'

Reminiscences of Early Days

tier settlement, in the Cooper patent, numbering at that
time five families. The last point of human contact after
leaving the lake was “Cullig's” on the Susquehanna, and
here Abijah Gilbert doubtless spent the night. From
Cullig’s, it was thirty-five miles down the Susquehanna
to the mouth of the Unadilla, where he took the Butter¬
nut Creek to the new “lots.” Like the Indians, the pio¬
neers traveled whenever possible by canoe. Their canoes
were shaped and made like the birch bark canoes of the
present-day Canadian Indians. The creek was then a
much larger stream than now, and then, as now, was
often obstructed by fallen trees. Gen. Morris declared
it the handsomest navigable stream he had ever seen.

It is impossible for this generation, accustomed to
state roads, automobiles, and instantaneous communica¬
tion, to form any conception of the conditions which
. confronted the pioneer. He was going to the unknown,
the undisputed home of the wolf, the bear and the pan¬
ther. No human hand would offer food and shelter, no
human voice would give him welcome. Only the wood
thrush and the red-winged blackbird would break the
silence, and at night only the weird call of the screech
owl. He must take with him all the means of living,
household goods and supplies for many months — axes,
saws, guns, flint and tinder-box, tents, salt, molasses,
flour. He could not, however, carry large supplies, and
depended chiefly upon the forest and streams for food.
His bed was of hemlock boughs. The frontier saying
was that a “hard day’s work makes a soft bed.” Pine
knots from the pitch pine served for illumination. The
settlement of the Butternut Valley was typical of all the
settlements in central New York.

The boat of Abijah Gilbert landed him in a pathless
forest. It was impossible even to set up a tent until a

20

.§nrj<i! o ts&sni n i Be m:ri v/ tzvm oH Avo

• ■ ■

Morris Patent and Settlement of Abijah Gilbert

spot had been cleared. The man with the ax preceded
the man with the hoe. It was “a warfare against tower¬
ing trees which covered hills and bottom lands with
primeval growth.”

Our grandsire was doubtless accompanied by Indian
guides and choppers. These “hands” were always wait¬
ing at Otsego Lake for work of this kind. The little
clearing, for a long time known as “Gilbert’s,” was the
beginning of the beautiful village we now know.

How the first winter of 1 7 S 7 was spent it is impos¬
sible to conjecture. Perhaps a temporary hut or shack
was put up. It is more probable that our grandfather
returned to civilization for the severe winter months, as
was quite customary among the early settlers. As Abijah
Gilbert soon afterward acquired considerable property
in Schenectady, it is reasonable to think that he went to
that place.

Contemporaneous with the coming of Gen. Morris
and Abijah Gilbert was that of William Cooper of Bur¬
lington, N. J., to Otsego Lake. Mr. Cooper, with a
party of surveyors, visited his purchase of one hundred
thousand acres in the fall of 1 7 S 5 and in the following
year took possession of the tract, afterward known as
the Cooper Patent. In 1788 Mr. Cooper laid out and
plotted the first streets of Cooperstown.

The second settler in the valley was Joseph Cox, from
Warwickshire, England. The History of Otsego County*
gives the story of Mr. Cox as preserved in his family.
He came to America in the same vessel with Abijah Gil¬
bert, went also to New Jersey, and after remaining there
one year joined him in the new settlement. These tw'o
cleared a small piece of land and built a log house. Con¬
cerning this house, we know that it wras built as early

• History of Otsego County, Hurd.

21

.

. .

,;nvqoi<.' i Jen i?:noa fjmiupSc Ltsth-jU mo ivxfliO

.

■

Reminiscences of Early Days

as 1788, for the interesting account book of Gen. Mor¬
ris, 1788-1789, which is fortunately preserved, gives
data which confirm the oral tradition.

Immediately on his arrival, Gen. Morris began the
erection of a sawmill on Great Mill Creek. He em¬
ployed a large force of men in chopping, building, mak¬
ing ovens, flails, shingles, etc. Gen. Morris also kept
a small stock of goods suitable for the simple needs of
his patrons. Abijah Gilbert was the only cash customer.

The account book contains the following entries under
the name of Abijah Gilbert:

“June 26th, 1788. To two days’ service of
Mr. Houk, at your log house, 5s. per day 10.

1 do. for Stephen at 3s. 3.

June 27th, 17 boards xx at is. 17.3”

On November 25th, there is a charge for “8 panes glass
and 8 sash lights, at is. 6d.,” the need of which to
exclude the storms and cold the lateness of the season
must have made manifest. Mr. Houk was Tobias Houk,
a carpenter, employed by Gen. Morris, with his wife,
at wages for both of 36 pounds a year. “Ste¬
phen” was a colored slave. General Morris was an
obliging neighbor. His pen was drawn through the
foregoing charges for Mr. Houk and Stephen, and the
amounts set down were not footed up in the totals. In the
November following, Abijah Gilbert returned the com¬
pliment with a gift of “one bag of Indian corn, contain¬
ing two bushels,” and at a later date “one hind quarter
of veal.” This gift of Indian corn indicates that Abijah
must have made a clearing the previous year as the corn
was probably raised on his place.

In 1789 the account book of General Morris contains

22

..

Morris Patent and Settlement of Abijah Gilbert

a charge for lath, window-panes and boards, indicating
that Abijah Gilbert improved the log cabin and also
built a barn.

The log house, which was built in 17SS, stood until
1817. It was situated on the rising ground back of and
below Hamilton Harris’ house at the edge of the present
golf links. A road formerly ran through the Harris lot
just above this site, and the log house stood at the east of
the road and to the east of a small spring stream which
still flows through the lot. A good spring of water, not
a picturesque view, determined the location of a home
in those days.

We must not form a roseate picture of the old log
house. Pioneers could not waste time in elaborate struc¬
tures. Walls were of logs, roof of bark and floor of
earth. The best log house built at this period consisted
of two bedrooms and a kitchen and was lighted by very
small windows. Kitchen equipment consisted of a table,
a pewter pot, a frying pan and skillet. The sleeping
room contained a bed, blankets and chest. The days
were short, for the little clearings were bordered by tall
trees which cut off the sunlight till late in the morning.
Twilight began early in the afternoon.

In the fall of 1788, Abijah planted near his log house
his first field of wheat, the seed for which, four bushels,
was bought through General Morris on September 26th
for two pounds, two shillings and four pence. The
amount of seed indicates that about four acres of land
were sown. The seed cost more than the land on which
it grew*. The growing grain wras w*atched with great
interest by the settlers as they were dependent on it for
seed for the coming year.

In time to be of much assistance in preparing for
this w’heat crop came John Marsh, an earnest, energetic

23

V;: . : y:' .ml sard* fii ^

Reminiscences of Early Days

young farmer from Hardwick, Massachusetts, finding
his way by the blazed trees. He brought a yoke of oxen,
of great service in hauling logs after the choppers had
finished their work. Mr. Marsh was the fourth citizen
of “Gilbert’s.” Three years later he purchased from
General Morris a large tract of land which included the
present Meeker and Bishop farms. Here Mr. Marsh
set out an apple orchard. He is said to have brought
the apple seeds in his pockets. This orchard was
with one exception the oldest in this region, antedated
only by “Tunniclifi’s” at Canajoharie. On this tract
Mr. Marsh opened the pioneer tavern, which was long
a favorite resort.

Not a year passed before the settlement saw its first
romance. Cupid found his way through the impene¬
trable forest. Before Mr. Cox left Warwickshire, he
and Miss Betsy Nichols had plighted their troth. The
story shows that even before the days of suffragettes
women had minds of their own. Miss Nichols had some
misgiving about going to live in a wilderness, and she
declined to marry until she had seen the new home. Un¬
married she could return to England, but married she
must remain. So she came from England on a tour of
inspection. She wras the third resident of “Gilbert’s,”
presiding over the domestic arrangements of the log
house. The valley must have made a favorable impres¬
sion, for in the spring of 1789 occurred the first wed¬
ding in the settlement, that of Joseph Cox and Betsy
Nichols.

Mrs. Cox was not only the first bride but the first
mother in the settlement, for Joseph Cox, Jr., born in
1790, was the settlement baby. Joseph Cox, eight years

24

iMothVA

Morris Patent and Settlement of Abijah Gilbert

later, purchased one hundred acres of land above and
beyond the present Episcopal Church. It was he who
introduced the making of English cheese, for many years
an important industry.

Through a series of tragic events, covering many cen¬
turies, the Butternut Valley was made ready for the
white settlers. To the early explorer, the new world
presented a life of thrilling adventure and high purpose;
to the fur trader it gave an opportunity to plunder the
Indian and outrage his family; to the early French mis¬
sionary it was a field for heroic suffering to educate and
convert the red man; to the great nations of Europe it
was a coveted territory for whose possession terrible
wars were fought. Last of all came the pioneer. His
struggle was against the forces of nature, the gigantic
trees of an untouched wilderness. It was a life of
frightful toil and privation cheered by the hope of civil¬
ized life, of coming wheat fields, and comfortable homes.

In these days of forest conservation, it is difficult to
visualize a time when civilization depended on forest
destruction. Hills and valleys were covered by a prim¬
eval growth of elm, beech, maple, pine and hemlock,
and beneath all a thick tangle of underbrush which must
be cleared before the trees could be felled. After the
trees were felled, the tree tops were burned with the
underbrush. The tree trunks were then drawn together
and they too were burned — the vast accumulation of
timber could be removed only by this method. The
immense bonfires which illuminated hills and valleys for
miles around are matters of history. Trees which to¬
day would bring a fortune, were regarded as giant weeds,
which must be removed before crops could be grown.

Throughout the forest roamed wolves, bears and cata¬
mounts, against whose depredations the early settlers

25

■

Reminiscences of Early Days

were ever on the watch. Rattlesnakes were frequently
encountered. The power of the Indians had been broken
by the energy of General Sullivan, but small bands re¬
turned for many years, camping in the region, and the
knowledge of their former atrocities wTas not a pleasant
heritage.

Yet the wilderness was not without luxuries. The
Butternut Creek abounded in fish, and trout sometimes
twenty-two inches long w'ere taken. Deer, w'ild turkey,
woodcock, partridge, pheasant and quail wrere plentiful.
There were plover, snipe and curlew' in the marsh woods,
while wild hare and squirrel lived unafraid in the forest.
Huckleberries, strawberries, blackberries and grapes
grew' wild, and in the hollow' tree-trunks w'ild honey
could be gathered. A substitute for tea was made from
roots that grew' in w'et ground, called evin-root.

Clearings began on the hillsides w'here the timber
could be more easily cut, and the land, when cultivated,
would grow' good crops. The opinion w'as general in
New* England, as in this State, that the creek lands were
so low' as to be unproductive. The isolation was com¬
plete.

There w*as as yet no town organization and hence
there could have been no post-office. To mail a letter,
to buy supplies, our pioneer ancestors probably wrent to
Otsego Lake, thirty miles distant. Otsego County w'as
set off from Montgomery and organized as a separate
county in 1791. The tow’n of Butternuts, w’hich included
the present towrn of Morris, w'as set off from Unadilla in
1796, and it w’as after that date that the post-office w'as
established at Louisville, now' Morris.

On June 2 1 st in 1791, Abijah Gilbert sat on the first
grand jury in the county, and he w'as early appointed a
magistrate.

26

'

n

.

Morris Patent and Settlement of Abijah Gilbert

Abijah Gilbert employed a great number of men and
cleared a considerable tract of land. He had crops of
wheat, corn and potatoes, oats and barley. Among the
men in his employ, only one name has come down to
us, that of Andrew Cahoon, a chopper, who afterward
settled on the brook which bears his name. Those who
came first to the settlement were men of trades, called
thither by the growing needs of the little community.
They are recorded in the old account books as “souling
shoes,” making ovens, flails, shingles, etc. Robert Bur¬
gess, the physician of the neighborhood, lived near
Cope’s Corners.

The settlement of the valley proceeded slowly at first.
The men who took up land were not like the foreign
immigrants of the present day. They were the best type
of English and New England farmers — thrifty, cour¬
ageous, intelligent men who made the best kind of citi¬
zens.

27

)

, . ■ n - -

J

CHAPTER IV

The Development of the Settlement

HAVING prepared his home in the new country,
Abijah Gilbert returned to England in the au¬
tumn of 1789, and in the following spring
brought his family to America. They landed in Phila¬
delphia. The coming of a ship from the old country
was in those days a matter of great public interest, as
each one brought friends and relatives to many in the
new republic. On this occasion it chanced that among
those who came to witness the landing was the President
of the United States, General Washington himself, who
being attracted by the bright face of Joseph T. Gilbert,
then nine years old, placed his hand on the lad’s head
and said: “A fine, rosy-cheeked English boy, who will
make a good American citizen.” In later years, when
the rosy-cheeked English boy had become an old man,
he took great pleasure in relating this incident, and
thought that the prediction of the President was justi¬
fied in the fact that he had nine sons, each of whom voted
the Whig, afterward the Republican, ticket.

After their landing in Philadelphia, Abijah Gilbert
brought his family directly to the wilderness home. So
much had traveling facilities improved that they were
able to take the overland journey from Schenectady,
coming by way of Springfield in a large open wagon,
probably similar to the “prairie schooner” which in later
years was used in crossing the plains to the far West.
The roads in Montgomery County were only enlarged
paths. There were no bridges across the streams, no
wayside inns to give food and shelter. The party stopped
for the night by a spring, near the present village of

28

.

• \ v r f /

' I

The Development of the Settlement

Morris. The men stood guard, keeping at bay the wolves
which gave them a vigorous concert throughout the
long night.

Can we, today, imagine the emotions of our great
grandmother when the long journey was over and the
family arrived at their new home? The contrast be¬
tween the comfort and amenity of her English life and
the rigorous isolation of the wilderness must have been
appalling, especially as she enjoyed all that belonged to
society. We are told that she was a handsome woman,
that she was accustomed to go to Bath, the fashionable
resort of the i S th century, for the gay season, and that
she was much courted and admired. Our grandsire had
indeed enlarged and improved the log cabin but, even
so, it must have been sadly different from the old home.

Two widely divergent stories have come down about
Mary Gilbert’s life in the wilderness. One is that she
held services in the barn for Indians, reading to them
from the Prayer Book. The other relates that a band
of Indians, camping on the flat, were a continual annoy¬
ance to the inmates of the cabin. Her children have
recalled that on several occasions Mrs. Gilbert, a woman
of powerful physique, proved her ability to protect her
home and children in the absence of the men by herself
throwing the intruders out.

Soon after the arrival of his family, Abijah Gilbert
built a sawmill and grist-mill. The latter was on the
site of the present grist-mill, and Joseph Shaw was the
miller. More important still, he built a frame house
on the site where his great granddaughter, Mrs. Fred¬
erick Harris, now lives. However comfortable the
frame house, the outlook must have been somber; the
family lived in a forest prison. The clearings were only
a few acres, and on every side tall, magnificent trees

29

■

**■ ^

Reminiscences of Early Days

formed a barricade cutting off the sunlight a large part
of the day. From Mrs. Harris' home today we look out
on a charming landscape — meadows and pastures, hills
crowned with hemlock and pine, glimpses of the creek
winding through the meadow, a State road busy with
commercial and pleasure cars. Our great grandmother
looked out on a vast expanse of forest, the horizon an
unbroken line of tree-tops. The solemn stillness was
relieved only by the sound of ax-blows and falling trees,
and echoes of these primitive sounds returned from the
surrounding hills. No post-office, no market, no shop,
no school, no neighbor, no voices except those of hus¬
band and children. Small wonder if our grandmother
had no love for frontier life.

For the younger children that life must have been a
continual holiday full of wonder and interest. It was
truly a day of small things, yet it necessitated many of
the activities which are accepted as important factors in
modern theories of education. There was no need of
manual training and domestic science in the early
curriculum. Before the era of the factory, each home
was an industrial center and every member had a share
in the on-going. Spinning, weaving, candle-dipping, soap
making, everything was done at home. “Team work?”
Each child had a responsibility in the daily routine. This
environment gave them respect for manual work and
trained them for muscular coordination. Best of all
was the close and intimate acquaintance with Mother
Nature where, through direct observation, they learned
the secrets of field geography and plant and animal
life.

The children were doubtless taught at home, as they
had been in England, to read, write and “cypher” or
“cast accounts.” But the parents realized the lack of

30

The Development of the Settlement

educational opportunities and the barrenness of social life
and moved, after a few years, to Schenectady, where Abi-
jah Gilbert had business interests and where the children
could have academic training. It is said that Eliphalet
Nott, later the first president of Union College, was a
tutor in the family. The records show that in Schenec¬
tady Mr. Gilbert owned premises in Albany Street, near
“the Church pasture,” which he sold in 1795, also a
large place (94 by 577) on State Street and Maiden
Lane. On the latter property probably was situated
his tavern, a favorite resort of pioneers, conducted in
connection with the stage line to Albany, which was also
his. The tavern in early days was more than a stopping
place for travelers. Before the era of newspapers, it
was an important institution where men of all kinds met
to exchange news on subjects of public interest, social
and political. It is said that there was hardly an event
of importance but had its inception in the tavern. It
was an open forum where men gained knowledge of
public affairs.

Although his family w^as in Schenectady for some
years, Abijah Gilbert spent the greater part of his time
at his settlement, and from the acknowledgments to the
deeds executed by both himself and his wife, and from
other facts, it is certain that she was also frequently
there. In Schenectady, on February 19th, 1797, their
youngest child, Harriet Catherine, wras born.

Among the pioneers of 1790 were Levi and Thomas
Halbert, Timothy and Calvin Donaldson, Richard and
William Musson. In 1792 came John Thorp, w’ho set¬
tled on the farm still owned by his descendants. Tames
Blackman settled in Dimmock Hollowr. The Heslops,

31

.

Reminiscences of Early Days

Hollises, Wallinses, Roots, James Myrick, William and
David Shaw, Jared Lillie, and Russel Millard were
among the early settlers.

Abijah Gilbert had been in his settlement about ten
years before selling any land. The sales he made are
shown by recorded deeds, but to enumerate them all and
give complete descriptions would be of no interest. The
property then sold was on the hills and outskirts of the
present village.

In 1799 Abijah was joined in the settlement by his
two sons, John Tates and Joseph Thomas, who had been
in Schenectady, and by Samuel Cotton, a distant relative
from Birmingham, England. In 1800 he sold to William
H. Musson, the first merchant in the settlement, what
is now the farm of Mr. John I'rone.

In March, 1804, were made the first sales of land
which include any part of the present village. Among
them Abijah conveyed to his son, John Yates Gilbert,
the site of the old homestead, now occupied by The
Major’s Inn. This lot was not long after sold by John
to his brother Joseph. The latter built there in 1821
the old stone house which was for several generations
the homestead of the large family.

In 1806 a large tract of land was sold. This prop¬
erty was, for the most part, under cultivation. The
whole village site, with the exception of a few small lots,
was afterward repurchased by the sons and sons-in-law
and sold as needed for settlement.

In England, Abijah Gilbert was a member of and
officer in the Established Church. All his children were
baptized in that communion. In the life of the pioneer,
however, there could be little formal religious service.
Meetings were often held in Abijah’s barn, Ephraim
Marsh being the pioneer exhorter and lay preacher.

32

'w'

■

•-

I he Old Stone House

This house, on the site of the Major's Inn, teas for many years the homestead of the Gilbert family.

It was destroyed by fire in 1895.

The Development of the Settlement

Abijah was active in promoting the organization of the
Congregational Church in the settlement. The first
meeting for considering the feasibility of organizing the
society was held May 2nd, 1797, and on September
5th, 1797, the society was formed, consisting of nine
male and twelve female members: Nathaniel Coye and
Bridget, his wife; Samuel Shaw and Mary, his wife;
Timothy Danielson and Abigail, his wife; Amos George
and Betsey, his wife; Azar Nash and Rhoda, his wife;
William Shaw and Hannah, his wife; William Shaw, Jr.,
and Lydia, his wife; Edmund Patengill and Sarah, his
wife; Stephen Wood and Chloe, his wife; Lydia Haynes,
Catherine Danielson and Elizabeth Shaw. The founders
of the society were all from New England and this fact
determined the denomination. Abijah Gilbert's family
were at this time living in Schenectady and were not
charter members of this little society.

The church did not have a settled pastor but was sup¬
plied at intervals by various ministers and missionaries
preaching in neighboring churches. A meeting-house
was not erected until 1805. This building was on the
farm owned by Timothy Danielson, beyond the grist¬
mill, now the property of Ansel Sargent. The business
part of the settlement centered there, and it was thought
that the village would grow in that direction. The wor¬
shippers rode thither on horseback and held an all-day
service, with an hour’s intermission at noon. As there
was no means of warming the meeting-house in winter,
the women brought foot-stoves which were filled with
live coals from a neighboring house.

Between the lines of this little sketch we may read
that our great grandfather’s life was not an easy one.
What with his sawmill, his grist-mill, his real estate
sales, his large farming interests, his frequent trips on

33

u

V ■ .

-

Reminiscences of Early Days

horseback to Schenectady and his business there he must
have led a strenuous life and one of constant anxiety.

j

For the last few years of his life, Abijah was not
actively engaged in business, preferring to leave to his
children the development of the region which he had
begun. Our great grandparents spent most of their time
at the home of their son-in-law, Samuel Cotton, who
lived at Locust Hill. Here Abijah Gilbert died, July
17th, 1 8 1 1 , at the age of 64. Very few in the genera¬
tion of the pioneer lived the allotted three-score years
and ten. Could we have more striking commentary on
the hardships and privations of those early days?

In personal appearance, Abijah Gilbert was of medium
height, rather slight frame and light complexion. He
was firm, perhaps arbitrary, in disposition, fair in all
business transactions, prompt in meeting his obligations,
perhaps too ready to trust men where his own interest
was involved. He was always recorded in the old deeds
as “gentleman, ” and was entitled to that distinction.
He was courteous in manner, considerate in family life,
and much respected among the settlers, among whom he
was known as “Squire Gilbert.”

Abijah Gilbert’s wife, Mary Yates Gilbert, survived
her husband fifteen years. After his death, she and her
daughter, Harriet Catherine, lived in a house on the
site of the Moore and Barnes store, built for her by
Cotton and Gilbert. Upon the marriage of her daugh¬
ter, she lived wdth her son-in-law, John Bryant, who built
the large stone house, destroyed by fire in 1876, on the
site now occupied by the Presbyterian Church. It w'as
here that our great-grandmother, Mary Yates Gilbert,
died January 14th, 1826. She was a large and handsome
woman of strong personality and was greatly admired
and honored by her children. She loved everything which

54

t

Jl.

'

A l]

lfc38G85

The Development of the Settlement

belonged to the bright, gay, refined life, yet she relin¬
quished the comforts and pleasures to which she had been
accustomed in England and adapted herself to the con¬
ditions of pioneer life with courage and spirit.

Abijah Gilbert and Mary Yates Gilbert were interred
in the old burying ground opposite the Episcopal Church.
The bodies were afterward transferred to Brookside
Cemetery. Two simple slabs on the Gilbert lot mark
their resting place.

At the time of Abijah’s death the farms surrounding
the settlement had been taken up by substantial families.
There were, however, in the settlement, very few build¬
ings.

To get the picture of the village as it was when our
great-grandfather died, we must recall the old academy
road, which went straight up the academy hill, at right
angles to Marion Avenue. John Eddy, a blacksmith,
lived near the home of Mrs. Oliver Bentley; William
Hollis, a tanner, lived on the opposite side of the road;
the store of Cotton and Gilbert occupied the corner lot
above the present post-office. The school house, eighteen
feet square, was diagonally opposite. Joseph T. Gil¬
bert’s house was on the site of the Major’s Inn. John
Basset lived in the frame house built by Abijah Gilbert
on the site of Mrs. Frederick Harris’ residence. A log
house stood on the corner where the Fresbvterian Church

j

now stands. The distillery owned by Cotton and Gilbert
was located near the garden of Mrs. William Kinne.
As a gentle apology for this primitive industry we should
remember that distilling was an honorable business in
those days. Transportation charges were so great that
grain had to be reduced to the least possible bulk or it
could not be sold at a profit. One Lafferty, who worked
in the tannery, lived on the site of the present telephone

35

, ■:* l

■

Reminiscences of Early Days

exchange. Samuel Cotton was living in the Henry L.
Gilbert home. Thomas Strongitharm, an Englishman,
who bred a very fine strain of cattle, lived in the house
now owned by Everett Barnes.

The clearing and cultivation of the land and the build¬
ing of a village had been accomplished in a quarter of
a century.

In looking back it is natural to ask whether Abijah
Gilbert made a wise choice in coming to America. Ap¬
parently, he was himself satisfied and was so enthusiastic
about his work and home that he commended the pioneer
life to his relatives, many of whom eventually followed
him to the wilderness and are associated with the settle¬
ment of the valley. By migration he expressed his de¬
sire for progress.

Abijah Gilbert satisfied the business ambition of his
generation, which was not for the possession of gold
but of land. He did not ask whether the hills contained
iron or precious metal, or whether his settlement was
geographically situated so that it might grow into a big
town or city. He acquired property which then, before
the industrial era, was desirable — land to clear and sell
to new-comers; hemlock trees to make into tan-bark;
water-power to run sawmills and grist-mills. It was
work which called for ambition, courage, self-denial and
perseverance, and it developed the finest qualities of
character.

Though neither great wealth nor great power has come
to his descendants through the venture, it is probable
that each generation has developed a larger life than
would have been possible had he remained in England.

36

— -

The Development of the Settlement

He belonged to that group of whom it was said, “God
sifted a whole nation that he might send choice grain
into the wilderness.”

37

.

CHAPTER V

The Second Generation

IN recalling the early days we must not forget that
the wives of the pioneers showed as much courage
as did their husbands. It could not have been easy
for women accustomed to the comforts and even luxuries
of life to follow their husbands into the wilderness and
to make homes there, without conveniences, without med¬
ical care, isolated from relatives and friends and social
intercourse.

Abijah’s daughters all married pioneers and lived hap¬
pily in the settlement. The first marriage in the fam¬
ily was that of the second daughter, Lucy Gilbert , and
Samuel Cotton, in 1802. Mr. Cotton was a conspicuous
figure in the settlement and his interesting history is
worthy of preservation. He was of good family and
had acquired in England an excellent education. He
was an expert accountant and a beautiful penman. He
was born in Birmingham, his father dying before his
birth. At the age of twenty-four, he heard the call of
the West and joined Abijah Gilbert in the settlement.

In early life Mr. Cotton was very careful in his attire,
and was quite the best dressed man in the settlement.
“He was of retiring disposition, disinclined to take re¬
sponsibility. As the senior member of the firm of Cot¬
ton and Gilbert, he preferred to take the less active part
of attending to the accounts, and was accustomed to
refer all important matters to the junior partner. He
was greatly interested in the distillery, principally because
it was run by steam power, which was his hobby. Long

n

■

The Second Generation

before railroads were built, Mr. Cotton predicted that
the time would come when we should breakfast in Gil-
bertsville and take supper in New York.” *

At the time of his marriage in 1S02, Mr. Cotton built
a fine house at Locust Hill. The southern rooms of the
residence of Henry L. Gilbert are part of the original
house. The spacious drawing-room shows what good
carpentry work was done in the old days, and the big
store-room is as well fitted out with shelves and cup¬
boards as a modern pantry.

Mr. and Mrs. Cotton had a family of eight children,
most of whom were named after members of their
mother’s family — Elizabeth Ann, Mary Isabella, Joseph
Thomas, Henry Gilbert, James Lakin, Samuel Hill,
John Yates, Lucy Sarah.

The higher education of women was not a live topic
in those days, but the movement had been foreshadowed
by the establishment of the Emma Willard Female Acad¬
emy at Troy, New York. It seems wonderful that in
this isolated community parents took such infinite care
for the education of their children. Elizabeth Ann Cot¬
ton was one of the first pupils of the Willard School.
She became the wife of Enos Halbert, one of the hon¬
ored men of that generation. Mrs. Charles Blackman
is a descendant of Lucy Gilbert Cotton in the fourth
generation.

Mr. Cotton wras the first postmaster, appointed March
23rd, 1822. Up to the time of his appointment the
only post-office was that of Butternuts, which included
the present township of Morris. Benajah Davis, the
postmaster, was accustomed to send the mail from Louis¬
ville, in the upper part of the town, to the store of
Cotton and Gilbert, who were responsible, and with

• R. W. G.

39

: ' r: f •• 72 ;)(]

: .

Reminiscences of Early Days

whom he kept a regular account for the postage. Letter
writing was not general and a rather small sugar box
sufficed for keeping the mail.

Lucy Gilbert Cotton died in 1823. Mr. Cotton after¬
ward married her sister, Mary Gilbert, Abijah's oldest
daughter, then nearly fifty years of age. Mary lived
only a few years after her marriage, dying in 1833.

Samuel Cotton had not forgotten the old home in
Birmingham. Among the playmates of his youth was
his cousin, Mary Isabelle Lakin, whose parents lived op¬
posite his mother's home. How deep an impression this
cousin had made on his heart is shown by the fact that
his second daughter was named in her honor, and a son
bore the name of Lakin. After the death of his second
wife, the bereaved husband sought in marriage the com¬
panion of his youth, whom he had not seen for over
thirty years.

M iss Lakin had been carefully reared and belonged
to a family of social importance. She apparently had no
misgivings about marrying the long-unseen cousin; she
sold and gave away all her property, understanding that
her prospective husband had amassed a fortune in Amer¬
ica. She brought with her, however, mahogany and
silver, including a “coffee biggin" and spoons now in
the possession of Mrs. Charles Blackman. A wily shop¬
keeper of whom Miss Lakin made some purchases, as¬
sured his customer that on the frontier sewing needles
could not be obtained. Miss Lakin, an accomplished
needle-woman, purchased an enormous quantity in pretty
wooden boxes. These needles, rusty with disuse, many
years later, were distributed among her kinswomen as
souvenirs. And so the refined, gentle, stately Miss Lakin
embarked on the Atlantic and on the sea of matrimony.
She was met in Philadelphia by Mr. Cotton’s son, the

40

b -

The Second Generation

bridegroom joining her soon after. Their meeting must
be left to the imagination. Stock raising and experi¬
mental farming had wrought sad changes in the well-
groomed young man Miss Lakin remembered. Mr. Cot¬
ton had grown as careless in personal appearance as he
had formerly been punctilious. It is said that Miss Lakin
hesitated, but she had burned all her bridges behind her
and retreat was difficult. They were married in Cum¬
berland, Pa., at the residence of a cousin of the bride’s.
Mr. Cotton died in 1839, not long after his third mar¬
riage. His wife did not return to England but lived
many years in the Gilbert settlement, making her home
with Samuel Cotton Gilbert, her husband's nephew and
namesake, who lived in the house now owned by Everett
Barnes. She was greatly loved by all her husband's
family, and was always spoken of as “Auntie Cotton.”

Elizabeth Gilbert , Abijah’s third daughter, married
Lewis Lee Morris, July, 1805, the bride being twenty
years of age. Reverend Daniel Nash, afterward well-
known as “Father Nash,” performed the ceremony. Mr.
Morris was the eldest son of General Jacob Morris and
M ary Cox, “born only two years after his grandfather,
Lewis Morris, of Morrisania, had pledged his life, his
fortune and his sacred honor to the cause of liberty.
• . . He could remember his mother watching for news
after the battles of the Revolution, and the joyous excite¬
ment after the surrender of Yorktown and the desolate
appearance of his ancestral home after it had been burned
by the British and trampled over for years by both
armies.” * Just before Elizabeth’s marriage, Abijah
Gilbert's sister, Mrs. Winter, came to the settlement with
her five orphan children. Hannah, the eldest daughter,
brought from the old country a pretty white frock and

• History of Otsego County, Hurd.

41

Reminiscences of Early Days

loaned it to Elizabeth for a wedding gown. Elizabeth
lived only six years after her marriage; during this time
four children were born: Elizabeth (Mrs. John Collier),
Mary (Mrs. Benjamin Morris), Sarah (Mrs. John Da¬
vis), and Lewis, who married Julia Collier. Her de¬
scendants are: John and Mary Wright and Sarah Burtis
Sabline (deceased), and Nanine Kimball (Mrs. Hamil¬
ton Elarris).

Elizabeth Gilbert Morris died February 23rd, 1811,
five months before the death of her father. Her grave
is in the cemetery of the Morris Chapel. Mr. Morris
remained five years a widower, and September 11th,
1815, married Hannah Winter, the cousin of his first
wife. It was Hannah Winter who had so generously
loaned her white dress when Elizabeth Gilbert became
the bride of the same groom. Hannah Winter Morris
bore seven sons: Jacob, William. John, Robert, Richard
Valentine, James Rutherfurd and Charles. Mrs. Ernest
Hartman, Mrs. Carter Pomeroy and Dr. Lewis Morris
are the children of James Rutherfurd Morris and grand¬
children of Hannah Winter Morris, the niece of Abijah
Gilbert.

Harriet Catherine Gilbert , Abijah’s youngest daughter,
married Captain John Bryant, of Chesterfield, Mass.,
who came to Gilbertsville in 1817. He was first a school¬
master and taught in the little school-house, 18x18 feet,
opposite the Major’s Inn. It must have been love at
first sight with Harriet and John, for they were married
soon after the schoolmaster came to Gilbertsville. Mr.
Bryant built a stone house, destroyed by fire in 1874,
on the site of the Presbyterian Church. He was the
second postmaster, and the modest distributing box in
which the mail was kept was long preserved in the Bry¬
ant family. It is still in good condition.

42

, ; ■ s

The Second Generation

The first newspaper taken in town came to the address
of Mr. Bryant, for postage was free to postmasters in
those days. Postage was an expensive luxury, and the
settlers were economical. They gathered at Mr. Bry¬
ant’s house each week when the paper came, and sat
around and discussed while the news was read.

“Training day/’ when all able-bodied and patriotic
men gathered and trained for the possible emergency’ of
war, was at this period a great social function. Mr.
Bryant's house, being near the middle of the village,
was a center of hospitality7. Harriet Catherine, a pupil
of the Emma Willard Academy, must have been a famous
housekeeper. She always baked in huge quantities for
“training day,” and all their friends were invited to din¬
ner, which was called “just a pick-up.” Mrs. Walter
Hervey has preserved a letter from her great-grand¬
mother which contains a list of the things she would pre¬
pare for training day:

“i peck of beans to bake.

Ten loaves of training day gingerbread.

2 small roast pigs.

Chicken pies, as meny as I can.

Apple sass, a lot.

Doughnuts a-plentie.

30 loaves of bread.

Pickles.

Apples.

Tea, coffee, root beer and whiskey.”

Harriet Catherine had a large family — John Augustus,
Samuel, Harriet Catherine, Lucy, Henry, Lewis,
Charles, George, Mary Antoinette, William. Mr.
Charles Bryant, of Sioux City; Mrs. Walter L. Hervey
of New York, and Elizabeth E. Bryant of Brooklyn,
are the descendants in the fourth generation.

43

.

'

Reminiscences of Early Days

John Bryant was a reserved, mild and peace-loving
man, and he was also very industrious. He was very
proud of his garden, and thought that his cabbages must
be hoed before breakfast in order to be good for any¬
thing. He served the town as supervisor and town
clerk, and was a useful and highly-respected citizen.

John Yates Gilbert t the oldest son of the pioneer, was
a man of singularly gentle character and disposition.
One who knew him well described him as ‘'possessed of
good, substantial common sense. A man that every one
respected and had confidence in, kind and conciliating,
and without an enemy in the world." He was not am¬
bitious, preferring his own home life to any active busi¬
ness. He married Lydia Smith, daughter of Enos Smith,
of Providence, Rhode Island, and afterward of New
Lisbon. John Y. Gilbert opened the first inn in the vil¬
lage, but the occupation being distasteful, soon gave it
up. In 1821, he moved his family to Solon, now Union
Valley, Cortland County.

44

•»

Joseph Thomas Gilbert

Reproduced from an old daguerreotype

CHAPTER VI

Joseph Thomas Gilbert

JOSEPH THOMAS GILBERT was born near At¬
tleborough Fields, in the parish of Nuneaton, War¬
wickshire, England, May ist, 1783, and died in
Gilbertsville, New York, July 13th, 1867.

W hile the pioneer work of clearing and bringing set¬
tlers to the wilderness was done by Abijah Gilbert, his
son, Joseph T. Gilbert, is associated with the develop¬
ment of the village and with its early business enter¬
prises.

He was the fourth child of Abijah Gilbert and Mary
Yates Gilbert, and was nine years of age when he came
to America. The wilderness life for him and the younger
children must have been a wonderful adventure. Freed
from the usual restraints of society and irksome school
regulations, they could hunt, fish and explore — and what
modern pastime can compare with the excitement of “log
burning?’’ The out-of-door training which modern boys
seek in a few weeks of camping was for these children
a daily experience. From the men employed by his
father, Joseph received the practical knowledge of forest
life which fitted him for the development of the new
country. The older sisters, we may be sure, gave to the
younger children some instruction in elementary sub¬
jects.

The change of residence from the settlement to Sche¬
nectady came at a crucial period in the education of the
young people. Union College, incorporated in 1795,
was the second college incorporated in the United States.
Schenectady was not only an educational but a business

45

-

-

Reminiscences of Early Days

center — the starting point of river traffic west by canoe
and batteau. In Schenectady, Joseph and the other chil¬
dren were given the best educational advantages. Quite
as important as formal education was personal contact
with pioneer enterprises. In the inn or tavern owned by
his father, Joseph met all kinds of men from adjacent
districts; he learned the needs of the new country and
became acquainted with public questions.

In 1799, Joseph T. Gilbert, then sixteen years of age,
and his brother, John Y. Gilbert, joined their father in
the settlement. I heir mother and sisters remained sev¬
eral years longer in Schenectady.

From the first, Joseph T. Gilbert became a command¬
ing figure in the little community. His physical and men¬
tal vigor, his industry and energy and his great moral
force made an impression on that generation and on his
children s children. “He was the moving spirit in all
the early enterprises; a man of unbounded energy and
irresistible will. No obstacles, difficulties or disappoint¬
ments ever swerved him from his purpose. He was
formed by nature to take the leading part among the
rough men and in the rough times of his early life, when
physical force was most respected, and to hold it, in later
years, by the strength of his character and personality.

It was not long after his coming that he was admittedly
the strongest man in a community which, from the fight¬
ing qualities of its men. gained among neighboring towns
the sobriquet of ‘Bulldog.’ In such a community his
strength was the bulwark of law and order and he did
not hesitate to use it to those ends. He was a magistrate
whose decisions were never reversed. In 18 11 he was
lieutenant of a troop and in 1814 its captain. His
troop was composed of nearly all the able-bodied men
in the region; it belonged to the 11th regiment of cav-

46

.

*

' ■ .

'

Joseph Thomas Gilbert

airy, of which Volkert Peter Van Rensselaer, Esq., of
Louisville, was Lieutenant Col. Commander. It had
numerous trainings and the voice of its captain could be
readily heard a mile. It was said that, standing on his
office steps, he was accustomed to call his men to dinner
from farms across the valley.” *

The first merchant in the settlement was William Mus-
son, to whom Abijah Gilbert sold what is now the farm
of John Krone. Mr. Musson’s store, until 1806, was
near the Krone homestead. In that year, he formed a
partnership with Samuel Cotton and Joseph T. Gilbert.
The firm opened a store near the present grist-mill.
After the death of Mr. Musson, the business was con¬
tinued and enlarged by Cotton and Gilbert. The store
was removed in 1811 to the village on the corner above
the present post-office. As already stated, here was also
the primitive post-office.

“The history of the village for the first quarter of
the last century may be justly said to be made up of the
business enterprises of Cotton and Gilbert. They em¬
barked in all manner of business suited to the times and
necessary to the development of the new country. They
had sawmills and grist-mills, a hat factory and tannery,
a store, a mill for making linseed oil, blacksmith shops,
etc. They owned farms and were extensive traders,
sending their teams and teamsters to Albany, Liberty,
Cannonsville, and other places in New York and to
Honesdale and Carbondale in Pennsylvania. They made
Gilbcrtsville the principal center of trade for a large
region, including many towns; and this it continued to
be for more than fifty years.” *

The name of Elder Knapp, an itinerant evangelist, has
come down to this generation. He held revival meet-

• R. W. G.

47

Reminiscences of Early Days

ings in the settlement while Joseph T. Gilbert was in
early manhood. Joseph was soundly converted and
showed his faith by his works, for on experiencing re¬
ligion he gave up his distillery and poured the liquor
into the street. Me also abandoned the use of tobacco
because he thought smoking unbecoming in a Christian.

In 1803, Joseph T. Gilbert married Hannah Thorp,
daughter of the pioneer, John Thorp and Abigail Pen-
oyer Thorp, who had come from Greenwich, Conn. The
bridegroom was only twenty years of age, the bride still
younger. Hannah Thorp Gilbert was the mother of
fifteen children, two of whom died in infancy and two

in youth. They were

•

•

Born

Died

Married

Abijah Hill Gilbert

1804

1804

Abijah Gilbert

1806

1881

Ann W. Gilbert

Samuel Cotton Gilbert

1807

1900

Elizabeth A. Davis

Catherine Winter Gilbert

1809

1884

Jabez S. Fitch. 1st mar¬

riage; Elisha W. Ches¬

ter, 2nd marriage.

Charles Thorn Gilbert

1S11

1878

Charlotte Piso*wav

Joseph Thnma* Gilbert

tsn

1890

Lucy Allis

George Yaten Gilbert

IRIS

1888

Mary Fitch

Tohn Henrv Gilbert

1817

1901

Ann Elizabeth I.athrop

Elizabeth Ann Gilbert

1818

1 87*5

Nelson C. Chapman

Hannah Gilbert

1820

1829

James Lakin Gilbert

1822

1904

Jane Blackman

Edward Gilbert

1824

1902

An infant

1826

1826

Robert Cawlev Gilbert

1828

1845

Hannah Matilda Gilbert

1830

1885

James W. Cox

In that generation

parents had

not learned to spare

the rod, and family discipline was severe. Moral sua¬
sion was not practical. In families of from twelve to
twenty, parents could not argue every point with every
child. The only memory of our grandmother 'Thorp,

48

■

t

Joseph Thomas Gilbert

Joseph Thomas Gilbert

which has been preserved, relates to the discipline of the
children. She tried to mitigate punishment; “Remember,
Joseph, your hand is heavy.”

This strict discipline did not interfere with the develop¬
ment of personality. The boys were trained in habits
of industry and were given responsibilities which en¬
couraged initiative and self-confidence. One incident
gives the key to their upbringing. George, when only
a boy, had been sent with a teamster to Albany, and
Henry, two years younger, was sent with them as far as
V an Amie Hill to bring back a third horse needed in the
climb. On the way the teamster became too ill for the
two days’ journey and returned home with the third
horse. Nothing daunted, George continued the journey
to Albany, acompanied by the barefoot Henry. The two
lads transacted the business successfully, taking the epi¬
sode as a matter of course.

Hannah Thorp Gilbert did not rally after the birth
of her-youngest child. As her condition became increas¬
ingly serious, it was decided to send to Guilford for a
consulting physician, and George, then a lad of fifteen
years, was sent on the important mission. Passing
through the room where his mother lay, George was
deeply moved and terrified by the look of suffering on
her face, and the memory of that tragic scene he carried
with him through life. Arriving in Guilford he found
the physician so far from well that he declined to take
the hard journey over the hill roads, deep in spring mud.
We can imagine the forceful personality of the boy, for
so earnestly did lie plead for that dear mother that the
doctor ( who died the following week) consented to re¬
turn with him.

But the case was hopeless. Hannah Thorp Gilbert
died at the age of forty-two, twenty days after the birth

49

Reminiscences of Early Days

of her fifteenth child. It is pleasant to recall that the
Stone House was built in her time and that her last
years were spent in that comfortable home.

The only likeness of Hannah Thorp Gilbert which
has come down to us is a silhouette. The standing pro¬
file, in black and white, pictures a dainty and attractive
figure to which the dress of her time adds charm.

The silhouette of Joseph Thomas Gilbert made at the
same time, shows his athletic figure, fine features and
vigorous personality.

Edward Thorp, brother of Hannah Thorp Gilbert,
had a scientific turn of mind and was a lover of the best
books. He was deeply interested in the cause of educa¬
tion and was one of the founders of the old “Academy
and Collegiate Institute.” With true hospitality, he wel¬
comed to his home young men not in walking distance
of the school and too poor to pay for their board in
the village. Mr. Thorp set out the trees which screen
the school building now nearly a century old. The ave¬
nue of maple trees which border the Thorp property is
a beautiful memorial to this remarkable man. He set
out the saplings when he was over eighty years of age,
knowing well that he would not live to enjoy their shade.
When passers remarked on the futility of his work, he
replied, “They are for my children and grandchildren.”
I he place is now owned by his great-grandson, Benjamin
H. Thorp. Great-great-grandchildren, as well as every
passerby, enjoy those beautiful maple trees.

Joseph T. Gilbert’s second wife was Caroline Chap¬
man, daughter of William Chapman, of Saybrook, Conn.
The acquaintance was made in Norwich where several of
the Chapman family were living. Caroline Chapman did
not enter upon the duties of stepmother without earnest
thought and prayer. Before pledging herself in mar-

50

Hannah Thorp Gilbert

Joseph Thomas Gilbert

riage, she drove over from Norwich and had a long
conference with Catherine, the eldest daughter. She
must have been a woman of rare tact, for no word of
criticism was heard in that big family. During her long
life she was accorded the love and courtesy of an own
mother. Caroline Chapman Gilbert added three chil¬
dren to the family group, one of whom died in infancy.

Born

Died

Married

Sarah Chapman Gilbert

1832

1882

Benj.

E. Bates

Benjamin Chapman Gilbert

1834

1908

Anna

Taylor

William Fitch Gilbert

1836

1837

When the nieces of Caroline Chapman Gilbert were
left orphans, one of them, Marcia Manning, was wel¬
comed into the family as an own daughter, and her
sister, Matilda, was a frequent visitor. Marcia Man¬
ning became the wife of J. G. K. Truair, and Matilda
Manning married Don Alonzo Watson.

Caroline Chapman Gilbert was deeply religious.
Reared in a family of ministers, she, like Timothy of
old, “knew the Scriptures from her youth up.” It was
her boast that, given the first words of a Bible sentence,
she could complete the text from memory. She was an
intelligent and fluent conversationalist and was “gifted
in prayer,*’ a leader in the “female prayer meetings’’
held in the homes of the members. The female prayer
meeting was the precursor of the women’s missionary
and women’s temperance meetings. It was the woman's

club of that generation.

* * *

ITie romance of pioneer days had passed when the
third generation entered the scene. Compared with the
days of grandparents and parents, the life of Joseph T.
Gilbert’s children was luxurious. Compared with modern
standards, it was one of physical discomfort and priva¬
tion, at least for the older boys and girls. They lived

51

I

Reminiscences of Early Days

to enjoy the comforts of modern life and to bequeath
to their children the advantages they had won. Not one
of the third generation is now living and their memory
is cherished only by a receding group. It therefore seems
fitting to include here a brief sketch of Joseph Gilbert's
children, who have joined the silent company of the dead.

The sons were efficient, practical men of simple and
straightforward character.

To each was given the choice between a college course
or its money equivalent for starting in business.

The sons who did not go to college probably all started
in business with their father in the old stone store which
stood on the site later given to the Stag’s Head Inn and
where we now have the “Overlook.”

The business carried on by the father and sons was
of a different character from that of the village store
of the present day. It included farm produce which was
bought and shipped to Albany and other centers. After
a short apprenticeship here, the sons left the village,
engaging in business elsewhere.

Ab'ijah Gilbert , the eldest son, lived for many years
in Brooklyn, N. Y. After the Civil War he bought a
place in St. Augustine, Florida, where the family always
afterward resided. Many of the fourth generation re¬
call with pleasure the winters spent in that beautiful,
hospitable house. At that time it was thought that the
state of Florida could produce only oranges and sweet
potatoes. Grapefruit was not marketable and was con¬
sidered only “niggers' oranges.” Mrs. Abijah Gilbert,
“Aunt Ann,” recognized the possibilities of Florida fifty
years before the present boom. She was the first to raise
strawberries and small fruit. Her garden, the soil for
which was brought from the North in schooners, boasted
all the New York vegetables.

52

.

Sons of Joseph T. Gilbert

Left to Right — Sitting, Samuel Cotton, Joseph Thomas, George Yates;
Standing , Benjamin Chapman, John Henry, Edward Thorp, James Lakirt.

'

*

:

■ ■ ■ ■ . • L ■.

Joseph Thomas Gilbert

Abijah Gilbert represented the State of Florida in the
United States Senate from 1868 to 1874, during the
presidency of General Ulysses S. Grant.

Samuel Cotton Gilbert preferred a business life.
His home was always in his native village, where he be¬
came the trusted adviser of the community. His scrupu¬
lous integrity, sagacity and sense of justice were every¬
where respected. Although not a lawyer, he did a law¬
yer’s work for his fellow citizens, drawing deeds, making
wills and contracts for the many who sought his advice.
He was known as “Squire Gilbert.” His first home was
the house in which Mr. Everett Barnes now lives. The
farm then connected with it was long since cut up into
village lots. About 1854, he built “Cliff Holm” where
he lived to a ripe old age.

Charles Thorp Gilbert was sent to boarding school at
Hamilton, New York, and from there went to Union
College where he won the honor of membership in the
Phi Beta Kappa Society. After graduation, in accord¬
ance with his father's wishes, lie took the course at the
Yale Divinity School, but, being a man of liberal thought,
he refused to sign the “Thirty-nine Articles” and was
never ordained. He afterwards became a banker in Mar¬
shall, Michigan, and from there went to New York where
he lived until his death.

Joseph Thomas Gilbert was a successful business man.
He spent his early life in Brooklyn, New York. Upon
the formation of the Fau Claire Lumber Company, in
which business he was thereafter engaged, he went to
Wisconsin. Although much of his time was spent in
Eau Claire, his home was in Milwaukee.

George Yates Gilbert was first a student at Hamilton
College, and was afterward graduated at Yale. After
leaving college he practiced law in New York in part-

53

‘

9f' ni -il m ,tgdf!'?7 jyilfin aid ni ev ;w 1 s zsw Mnorf erH

Reminiscences of Early Days

• nership with Mr. John Sherwood. In later years he
left New York and returned to his native village where
he built The Hall, which was henceforth his home.
George lates Gilbert was everywhere a distinguished
figure, with attractive personality, agreeable manners
and fine character.

John Henry Gilbert prepared for college in the Acad¬
emy at Homer, New York. Ele entered Hamilton Col¬
lege but owing to ill health remained only two years.
After his marriage he bought “Locust H ill," the old
Samuel Cotton home, then owned by Dr. William Lath-
rop. 1 his was the birthplace of Dr. Lathrop's daughter,
Elizabeth Ann, who became Henry Gilbert’s wife. He
always remained in Gilbertsville though his business in¬
terests reached out into other areas. He was a man of
broad sympathy, independent judgment and intelligent
interest in the problems of his day. In an environment
strictly orthodox, his study of the early Unitarian writers
— Channing, Emerson, Parker and Bellows, brought him
to an assured acceptance of their liberal faith.

James I. akin Gilbert in his early years was a merchant
in the old stone store which stood on the bank of the
Dunderberg brook on the side opposite the present Pres¬
byterian Church. This store was destroyed by the fire
of 1895.

In the Civil War, he was inspector of the 19th Brigade
of the New York National Guard and served his coun¬
try by recruiting men for the service. Elis militia title
clung to him through life and he was locally known as
“The Major.” He was deeply interested in the pros¬
perity of his native village and in the life of all its people.
As a benefit to the community, he built the hotel which,
when completed after his death, was named “The Ma-

• » T

jor s Inn.

54

a ryjd^r iy:^ tsy 1i 3 ;t) Ml ygiQ*') *

’

.

Joseph Thomas Gilbert

Edward Thorp Gilbert , the youngest son of Hannah
Thorp Gilbert, had a studious mind but delicate health
prevented a college course. He was a partner of his
brother, James, in the mercantile business carried on in
the old stone store. He was a lover of music and at
Wednesday prayer meeting was relied upon to “pitch the
tune” of the hymns, which he did with unerring accuracy,
guided by the tuning fork then used for that purpose.
He always carried in his pocket a Latin Testament
from which he read daily. He also studied and read
from the Greek Testament.

He was a gentle, courteous and kindly man, contented
in a life of retirement.

Benjamin Chapman Gilbert, son of Caroline Chapman
Gilbert, after graduating from Hamilton College, went
to Germany, where he studied for three years. The lat¬
ter part of his life was spent in Albany, N. Y.

During the Civil War he served on the staff of Gov¬
ernor Morgan, with the rank of colonel. His energy
led to the building of the Stag's Head Inn which was
destroyed in the fire of 1895. He also contributed to the
enlarging and beautifying of the Major’s Inn.

It is worthy of note that all the brothers, except
Edward, a bachelor, married women of unusual intelli¬
gence, personal beauty and charm. The home life which
they established gave an environment of good taste and
culture.

Joseph Thomas Gilbert was anxious for the educa¬
tion of his daughters as well as his sons. The older
girls, Catherine Winter and Elizabeth Ann, shared the
advantages of their cousins, Elizabeth, Mary and Sarah

55

v ■ . • . . .

Reminiscences cf Early Days

Morris, who had a resident governess at Morris Manor.

Catherine Winter , the eldest daughter, after the death
of the mother, took a mother’s place for the children in
that big family. Her first marriage was to a widower,
Jabez Fitch — her second marriage to Elisha Chester, a
lawyer of New' York. After the death of her daughter,
Frances ('Mrs. Thomas Sherwood), and of her second
husband, Mrs. Chester returned with her two little
granddaughters to her girlhood home — the old “Stone
House, ” and remained there until her death.

Elizabeth Ann Gilbert was very attractive and of a
sunny and cheerful disposition. She married Nelson
Chapman, a nephew of her stepmother, and lived in
Oxford, New York, during the early years of her mar¬
ried life. Later they lived in St. Louis, Missouri, where
Mr. Chapman represented the business of the Eau Claire
Lumber Company. Mrs. Chapman centered her interest
in her family. She was a devoted wfife, mother and
sister.

Hannah Matilda Gilbert attended the academy
founded by her father and others, finishing her education
at the Emma Willard School in Troy, Newr York, where
she w’as a pupil for three years. She wfas especially fond
of music, playing the guitar and singing charmingly the
songs of her generation. She was the first organist of the
Presbyterian Church. The romance of her life began in
childhood when she attended the academy where James
W. Cox wTas at the same time a pupil. Their youthful
friendship culminated in an early engagement and a happy
marriage. They lived in Albany, New York, where Dr.
Cox w’as an honored physician, helped always in his de¬
manding profession by his loyal wife to whom care for
her husband’s comfort was a first consideration.

Sarah Chapman Gilbert married Benjamin C. Bates,

56

■

-

Daughters and Granddaughters of Joseph T. Gilbert

Left to Right — Sitting, Sarah Gilbert (Mrs. Benjamin E. Bates),
Elizabeth Gilbert (Mrs. James D. Colt) ;

Standing, Hannah Gilbert (Mrs. James IE. Cox), Frances Fitch

(Mrs. Thomas Shernxood) .

■

Joseph Thomas Gilbert

a well-known business man of Boston. Of her married
life she said, “The lines have fallen to me in pleasant
places/’ She was for many years the Treasurer of the
National Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society of the
Congregational Church, a position which required execu¬
tive and business ability. She had a brilliant mind and
good judgment. Her quick wit and ready repartee added
to kindliness and social gifts won many warm friend¬
ships. Her two daughters, who were very young at the
time of their mother’s death, have carried into adult life
the memory of a strong religious faith and of unfailing
good cheer during months of invalidism and suffering.

The strength of the home ties is shown by the fact
that of the nine sons, four lived all their lives in the
village in which they were born, and those who lived
elsewhere came, when possible, with their families to
spend summers in the home valley.

Children and children’s children have shared this affec¬
tion, and many descendants of Abijah Gilbert have sum¬
mer homes in the village founded by their pioneer an¬
cestor.

* * *

To return to our grandsire — Joseph T. Gilbert was
more than a business man, he was a public-spirited citi¬
zen. He was especially solicitous for the education of
the youth in the community. Today when the state
assumes the burden of educational problems, from erect¬
ing the school building to sending an officer for truant
pupils, and the citizen has only to pay the taxes, we
cannot realize the interest felt by a generation in which
the responsibility rested upon the parent. The town of
Butternuts from the time of its settlement was noted for

57

l- 1 , ■ m ij | I -fH

Reminiscences of Early Days

its interest in educational matters. The first academy,
built in 1790, burned and, rebuilt of stone, houses the
present Gilbertsville Free Library. In process of time
a larger building became necessary and money was raised
for building and endowing the Gilbertsville x\cademy and
Collegiate Institute. Among the fifty-three original con¬
tributors, having descendants still living here, were
Samuel Cotton, Edward Thorp, John Brewer and Joseph
T. Gilbert. One-fifth of the requisite money was given
by Joseph T. Gilbert as well as the ground upon which
the building stands and a house for the use of the prin¬
cipal. The records of the Academy show that he also
made up the deficit in the salary of the principal. The
Gilbertsville Academy and Collegiate Institute was
erected and opened for pupils in 1840, and J. G. K.
Truair was the first principal. T he academy was for
many years the only school of high grade in the vicinity
and attracted students from neighboring towns. It gave
ideals and impetus to many young men who became dis¬
tinguished citizens.

In 1808 Joseph T. Gilbert united with the Congrega¬
tional Church and in 18 11 was elected an elder. He
served in this capacity as long as he lived. During sixty
years he was absent from services only two Sundays.
Throughout his later years he was invariably spoken of
as “Deacon Gilbert.” He contributed very generously
to the maintenance of the society and to its necessary
work. The “meeting house” was so far from the village
that mid-week services were held in the school room,
now the village Library. The service began at “early
candle-lighting,” the worshippers bringing their own
candles. One who recalled these services related that
Deacon Gilbert always appeared bringing in each hand
a large brass candlestick. Every morning his family was

53

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.....

Joseph Thomas Gilbert

assembled for prayers and business was never so press¬
ing that this service was neglected. Sunday began on
Saturday evening and was observed with Puritan rigor.
Of course Deacon Gilbert was a Fundamentalist and
believed in predestination, election and eternal damna¬
tion. Modernists were not then known.

In the progress of time, the settlement having grown
in the direction it now occupies, the first meeting-house
of the Congregational Society was taken down and a
contract for building a new church in the center of the
village was taken by the Rockwell brothers. There were
seven of these brothers. The Christian name of each
began with the letter “A.” They were good carpenters
and all except two worked on the building. The Rock¬
well brothers were more than carpenters. They were
architects of a high order as is shown by their work.
The church they built, known as the Old Presbyterian
Church, and now used as the Town Hall, is a fine ex¬
ample of colonial architecture. It was completed in
1833. 1872 the Congregational Society was reor¬

ganized and adopted the Presbyterian form of govern¬
ment. The reason for the change was that as Congre-
gationalists the society was isolated while as Presbyte¬
rians there was a large fellowship in neighboring towns.

Two oil paintings which have come down to this gen¬
eration represent Joseph T. Gilbert in the vigor of middle
life. Keen gray eyes, fine features, ruddy complexion,
kindly expression — we recognize in the painting an Eng¬
lish gentleman. He retained his attractive personality
to an old age and was always a man of commanding
appearance.

The amenities of social life had for him a peculiar
charm and he was never happier than when surrounded
by his family and friends. His hospitality was unlimited.

59

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Reminiscences of Early Days

The stone house was said to be elastic; there was always
room for one more. Several of his grandchildren are
still living who recall Thanksgiving dinners in the old
homestead. The long tables in the dining room, sur¬
mounted by roast turkey, goose, duck and chicken pie;
the plum pudding, ablaze with brandy and made by
grandmother. This was her only culinary accomplish¬
ment. For many years “Phoebe,, was the efficient house¬
keeper and “Charley O’Neir’ was as well know'n as his
employer.

Joseph T. Gilbert retained his physical strength and
mental faculties to a good old age. Ede was still in
active life when at 84 years of age, the end came. His
death was hastened by an accident in driving to Norwich,
w'hen he was thrown from the carriage. The injury,
though not serious, sapped his vitality.

We should not think of these far-distant ancestors as
immigrants in the sense that the term is now used. They
were newcomers who had left the comforts of civiliza¬
tion to make homes and set up new* ideals of government
in a strange land.

Colonization had been slow* in the Province of New
York. Titles to property had been insecure; the French
claimed the border lines, and w’ithin the boundaries of
the Province was the great Indian Confederacy of the
Six Nations. Until after the Revolution life was in
constant peril. Settlements in the State of New' York
shortly after the Revolution compare in the difficulties
encountered wdth those of New England a century earlier.
Our ancestors belonged to the same Nordic group as the
New England pioneers, Protestant in faith, Anglo-Saxon
in race, kindred in cultural and spiritual concepts. They
W'ere disciplined by privation, trained in habits of indus¬
try, ennobled by struggle against primeval conditions.

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.

Joseph Thomas Gilbert

We cannot boast that they made conspicuous places in
life. They were somewhat above the average in their
generation and each in his sphere helped to make the
composite which we recognize as distinctively American.

Our ancestors bore their torch worthily and with
strong hearts. It is for us, their descendants, to meet
the problems of our generation with the same fidelity
and devotion.

“With failing hands we throw the torch.

Be yours to hold it high.”

APPENDIX A

Boundary of the Thousand-Acre Tract in the
Morris Patent Purchased by Abijah
Gilbert in 1787

The south line extended from the former Tobey farm,
now owned by Mrs. Fitch Gilbert, Jr., directly across the
valley to a point near that of John Birdsall. Thence
the western boundary ran northerly, crossing the road
in front of Clifford Wilbur's and extending back of all
the places on the west side of the road, until crossing
the old Academy road above the house of William
Blackman, it met the brook in front of Henry L. Gil¬
bert’s farm. From this point the north line ran easterly
including the farm of Charles Lillie, crossing the Morris
road near the house of Elmer Webster, thence across
the creek and the Ansel Sargent farm to the Heslop
farm, now owned by Herbert Nearing; thence southerly
to near the lower barns of Fitch Gilbert, Jr.’s, Village
Farms. Thence the line ran southwesterly to the
Meadow Brook meadows, thence southwesterly across
the farm of Fitch Gilbert, Sr., and across the Chapman
and George Y. Gilbert places now' owned by Albert
Ramsay and Charles Peabody, to the Gregory Hill road,
the starting point.

Abijah Gilbert very shortly more than doubled his
holdings by further purchase in the Morris and Upton
patents. These purchases adjoined his thousand-acre
tract.

62

.

Appendix

APPENDIX B

Among the papers of Joseph T. Gilbert III, found
after his death at Quarry Hill, is a Latin indenture of the
1 6th Century, probably left to him by Robert Washburn
Gilbert. The indenture written on parchment, relates
to the transfer of some land in the village of Uttoxater
(now the city of Lttoxeter), Staffordshire, and is dated:
“XXX die Aprilis, anno regni dominae nostrae Eliza-
bethae Dei gratia Angliae ITanciae et Hiberniae reginae
fidei defensoris, etc., XXXVII, “ i.e., the 37th year of
the reign of Queen Elizabeth, in 1594. One of the par¬
ties to the transaction is “Edwardus Gylbert Junior, hus¬
bandman de Uttoxater in Comitatu Stafford. ” The
wax seal affixed to his signature shows an acorn sur¬
rounded by two ears of grain. On the outside of the
parchment there is written in pencil the name of W. P.
Yates.

It seems likely that Abijah Gilbert brought this docu¬
ment with him from England, because he considered this
Edward Gilbert an ancestor. If this is correct, the Gil¬
bert family may have come originally from Stafford¬
shire, not Warwickshire.

63

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APPENDIX C

Geneological Sketch

John Gilbert

Born in 1719 at Tamworth, parish of Middleton,
Warwickshire, England; died in 1761. Married
Mary Hill. After the death of John Gilbert, his
wife Mary Hill Gilbert, married William Markham,
1768.

Children of John Gilbert and Mary Hill Gilbert

A bijah

Born December 2, 1747, in Tamworth, Warwick¬
shire, England; died July 17, 1811, in Gilbertsville,
- N. Y.

Mary

Born May 11, 1754, married William Cawley, Bun-
berg, Chester County, England, and died in Kinson,
September 10, 1804.

Catherine

Born June 24, 1756, married John Winter of Mid¬
dleton, England. In 1805, after the death of her
husband, she came with her five children to Gilberts¬
ville. where she lived on the hill northeast of the
village, the place now owned by Mr. Charles Lillie.
Mrs. Winter, who is remembered as a woman of ex¬
ceptional force of character, died in 1835. Mrs.
Winter's daughter, Hannah, was the second wife of
Lewis Lee Morris. Her descendants in the fourth
generation are Mrs. Ernest Hartman, Mrs. Carter
Pomeroy and Dr. Lewis R. Morris.

64

ri

:

Appendix

John

Born November 8, 1758, married Anne Cox. He
came to Gilbertsville in 1791, lived later in Sche¬
nectady and again in Gilbertsville on West Hill,
on the place now owned by Thomas Harding.
One of his sons, Abijah Gilbert, familiarly known
as ‘ Little Bijah,” served in the War of 1812.
None of the descendants of John Gilbert are now
known to us.

Martha

Born March 17, 1761, married John Lucas of
Stratford-on-Avon. One of her sons, John Gil¬
bert Lucas, came to Smithfield, Chenango County.
Mrs. William Woodlands and John Miller of Gil¬
bertsville are descendants of Martha Gilbert Lucas.

Children of Abijah Gilbert and Mary Yates Gilbert

M ar\

✓

Born in 1777 at Nuneaton; died in 1832 at Guil¬
ford, N. Y. Married Samuel Cotton, being his
second wife.

John Yates

Born December 1, 1779, at Nuneaton; died in i860
at Union Valley, N. Y. Married Lydia Smith of
Providence, R. I.

Lucy

Born in Nuneaton, 1781 ; died in Gilbertsville, N. Y.,
1823. Married Samuel Cotton.

Joseph Thomas

Born May 1, 1783, in Nuneaton; died July 13, 1867,
in Gilbertsville, N. Y. Married Hannah Thorp,

65

'

Reminiscences of Early Days

daughter of John Thorp and Abigail Penoyer Thorp
of Greenwich, Conn. His second wTife was Caro¬
line Chapman, daughter of William Chapman of
Saybrook, Conn.

Elizabeth Ann

Born in 1785 at Nuneaton; died in 18 11 in But¬
ternuts, N. Y. (now Morris, N. Y.). Married
Lewis Lee Morris, son of Jacob Morris and Mary
Cox Morris.

Harriet Catherine

Born in 1797 at Schenectady, N. Y.; died in 1844
in Gilbertsville, N. Y. Married John Bryant, son
of Col. Patrick Bryant and Ann Halbert Bryant, of
Chesterfield, Mass.

Children and Grandchildren of Joseph T. Gilbert

(Only the names of children wrho grew to
maturity are given)

Abijah Hill

Married Anne Gilbert of New York. Children —
Joshua, unmarried. Maria Louise, unmarried.

Samuel Cotton

Married Elizabeth Anne Davis of Morris, N. Y.
Children — Elizabeth, married James D. Colt. Cath¬
erine, married first, Francis Rotch; second, Thomas
Riggs. Martha, married Charles Butler.

Catherine Winter

Married first, Jabez Fitch; second, Joshua Chester.
Only child — Frances Anna, married Thomas Sher¬
wood.

66

Appendix

Charles Thorp

Married Charlotte Disosway of New York. City.
Children — Anita Disosway, married Lovell Hall
Jerome. Frances de Saussure married I racy Lyon.

Joseph Thomas

Married Lucy Allis of Oxford, N. Y. Children —
Joseph Thomas, unmarried. Samuel Cotton, un¬
married.

George Yates

Married Mary S. Fitch of New York. Children —
Marion, married first, James Armstrong Murray;
second, Thomas Swinyard; third, Charles Peabody.
Fitch, married Caroline L. Gilbert.

John Henry

Married Elizabeth Ann Lathrop of Gilbertsville,
N. Y. Children — Helen Lathrop, married James
H. Lcob. I rances Anna, married Arthur B. Denny.
Caroline Lathrop, married hitch Gilbert. Katharine
Winter, married Kuno Francke. Henry Lathrop,
married Laura Fullerton.

Elizabeth Ann

M arried Nelson Chapman of Oxford, N. Y. and
St. I ^ouis, Mo. Children — Florence, married Henry
Alcock, Stokes-on-Trent, England. Joseph Gilbert,
married Emma Bridge. Charles N., married Mary
Bridge.

James Lakin

Ma rried Jane Blackman of Gilbertsville, N. Y.
Child ren — James L., unmarried. Robert Wash¬
burn, unmarried.

Edward Thorp
Unmarried.

67

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i I i I

Reminiscences of Early Days
Hannah Matilda

Married James W. Cox of Albany. Children —
Caroline Gilbert, married Frederick Harris. James
W., married Margaret Riggs. Frederick J., mar¬
ried Elisabeth Butler. Edward Thorp, married
Mary Adams.

Sarah Chapman

Married Benjamin E. Bates, of Boston. Children
— Benjamin E., unmarried. Frances, married
Arthur Herschell. Lillian, unmarried.

Benjamin Chapman

Married Anna Taylor, of Albany, N. Y. No chil¬
dren.

Card catalogues of the children up to the 7th genera¬
tion inclusive, counting Abijah as the first generation,
complete to 1927 are in the possession of the New Eng¬
land Historical and Genealogical Society, Boston, as are
also incomplete records of the Bryant, Cotton and John
Gilbert branches.

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