Family documents lead to architectural exploration

The book research sends me on so many interesting paths. I had one very fascinating discovery yesterday. I was wandering through some old family documents, and found the building specifications for the house my great grandparents built outside of Meridian in 1875. I was looking it over as background material for the book, as illustrative of the economic boom in the area after the Civil War, when the north was feeding the south.

The specs were pretty fancy. The house cost $2,500, a lot of money for a farmouse in those days, and they had an architect draw up custom plans. I've seen the document many times before, but this time the architect's name jumped out at me: "A. Russell." I knew the name from a couple of books I'd read ("Architecture Worth Saving in Onondaga County," and "Archimedes Russell, Upstate Architect") and he was a pretty amazing guy. They had Archimedes Russell, the celebrated upstate architect, design their house! Great Grandpa Applegate must have been doing VERY well.

Mr. Russell built some great buildings, in a number of styles from classic Victorian whimsy to "moderne, " including banks, courthouses, hotels, churches, schools, warehouses, private homes, and buildings on the Cornell and Syracuse campuses The house in question (long gone) wasn't fancy, just an Italianate bracketed-roof frame house typical of the period, but Russell built whatever his customers wanted.

My great-grandparents' house resembled these photos that I found on the Internet:

Here are some of his fancier buildings.

    

    

  

Here is a collection of photos of Crouse College at Syracuse, the home of the first degree-granting Fine Arts program in the US.  It now houses the music school and the School of Visual and Performing Arts.  It's my favorite Russell building.

Billboards and the Flushing Remonstrance

The recent brouhaha in Cincinnati concerning the billboard on Reading Road has inspired me to go back to some family history, hoping to remind Cincinnatians (and others) about what the American tradition really is.

The controversy began when a local chapter of the United Coalition of Reason spent $3,875 to erect one billboard in Cincinnati:

The owner of the building upon which the billboard hung received multiple threats, and the billboard company relocated the message to another part of town.

Discussion boards on the local TV and newspaper websites were filled with messages from Christians who were outraged that someone who didn't believe in a god had the nerve to spread their beliefs. Many of the messages were openly hostile to non-believers, spouting messages similar to “this country was founded on Christianity,” etc., etc., as though that “fact” entitled them to spout hate speech against those who weren't Christians. Of course, many of these same people weren't rising up against local billboards posted by other local religious organizations, such as the Catholic Church (asking for money to support elderly nuns or promoting parochial schools) or Mormons (promoting their faith).  Only the non-believers were worthy of their wrath.  One must wonder what they are afraid of.

Yes, many of the earliest settlers on this continent were Christians. They weren't often very tolerant of other Christians, however. John Winthrop's Massachusetts Bay Colony, his “city on a hill,” permitted, by force of law, no worship other than that of his Puritan followers. Those who didn't follow every single detail of the faith as interpreted by the local church were persecuted, punished, or exiled. If you were a “papist,” a Jew, Quaker, Lutheran, or anything else, you were in violation of law.

I don't think that such connection of religion with law is a good “principle” to associate with the US Constitution. You could say that our country was founded by people who did their best to escape religious persecution in their own country and who then came here and established a new religious persecution of their own.

One group of people attempted to break this pattern in 1657, and their efforts led to a nation that permits (or should permit) people to make their own decisions of faith. That nation, if its constitution is to be followed, must keep religion entirely separate from government. Mottoes such as “In God We Trust,” the posting of the Ten Commandments on government property, the use of “under god” as part of the Pledge of Allegiance – these have no place in a secular government. A secular government is necessary in order that we all can practice our beliefs, whether they are Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Humanist, Buddhist, Hindu, or non-beliefs.  Once one set of practices becomes endorsed by a government, then the rest are threatened.

Let me tell you the story.

In the 1650's, a group of English settlers were living in Flushing, in Long Island. Although English, these people were subject to the rule of the governor of New Netherland, Pieter Stuyvesant. The local laws decreed that the only permitted public worship was that conducted in the Dutch Reformed Church. The laws also espoused the principle of “freedom of conscience,” but such freedom was to be practiced only privately.

Since the English settlers were primarily puritans who had emigrated from New England, they shared the beliefs of the Dutch Reformed Church and they were happy to accede to the local religious practices.

Stuyvesant was quick to punish anyone who strayed from the straight and narrow path. For example, in 1656, a Baptist minister who had arrived from Rhode Island, William Wickenden, was arrested, jailed, fined and kicked out of New Netherland because he had baptized Christians in Flushing. Others with non-standard thoughts or those who committed non-standard acts were treated similarly.

In 1657, a group of Quakers arrived in the colony. The practice of this new faith, which had been declared illegal in England and its colonies, caused an uproar.  A Lutheran minister managed to settle and remained hidden for two years before he was discovered in his attempt to establish a Lutheran congregation. He was thrown out of New Netherland, as had been the Baptist. Jews had arrived in 1654, but constant harassment caused most of them to leave.

The Dutch wouldn't have minded if the Quakers had kept to themselves, but some of the English appear to have been interested in what the Quakers had to say, inviting them into their homes. This was just too much for Stuyvesant, and his persecution spread from the newcomers to their hosts, people who were already citizens of New Netherland.

A group of the English settlers, including several of my ancestors, (I'm proud to say), were incensed by this repression, and they drafted a document that gave the Dutch governor what for.

This document, known as “The Flushing Remonstrance.” was the first document in North America that demanded freedom of religion, and is looked at as the foundation for the United States Constitution's provision of freedom of religion.

In the Remonstrance, the English indicated that civil authorities were not the ultimate judge of right or wrong in matters of faith, and that “love, peace and liberty” should preclude “hatred, war and bondage.” They indicated that this “love, peace and liberty” should extend to non-Christians, as well (“Jews, Turks and Egyptians”). They stated that “Wee [sic]desire therefore in this case not to judge least we be judged, neither to condemn least we be condemned.”

The English very clearly set out the principle of the separation of church and state in their document: “Magistrate hath his sword in his hand and the Minister hath the sword in his hand, as witnesse [sic] those two great examples [Moses and Jesus], which all Magistrates and Ministers are to follow.” They continue on, saying that God will judge who is right and who is wrong:

...our desire is not to offend one of his little ones, in whatsoever form, name or title hee [sic] appears in, whether Presbyterian, Independent, Baptist or Quaker, but shall be glad to see anything of God in any of them, desiring to doe unto all men as we desire all men should doe [sic] unto us, which is the true law both of Church and State; for our Saviour sayeth this is the law and the prophets.

While the document is couched in Christian terms, the document certainly indicates that freedom of conscience is what matters, and that civil authorities cannot be the judge of which beliefs are correct.

I think that, in this document, the English signers acted in way that is dictated by the principle of the Golden Rule – treat others the way you want to be treated. Live and let live. It is not your place to judge others. They are saying that personal views in the matter of faith are yours and yours alone, and that no one should tell you what to believe.

Several of the signers of the Remonstrance were arrested and religious persecution continued. One of my ancestors, John Bowne, allowed Quakers to meet in his house. He was arrested and exiled to Holland. Since was an Englishman who spoke no Dutch, this was real punishment. He pleaded with the Dutch West India Company, who supported him and sent him home to Flushing. Their letter to Stuyvesant, which Bowne brought back with him in 1663, ended religious tolerance in the colony of New Netherland.

Below is the complete text of the Flushing Remonstrance.

Right Honorable

You have been pleased to send unto us a certain prohibition or command that we should not receive or entertain any of those people called Quakers because they are supposed to be, by some, seducers of the people. For our part we cannot condemn them in this case, neither can we stretch out our hands against them, for out of Christ God is a consuming fire, and it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.


Wee desire therefore in this case not to judge least we be judged, neither to condemn least we be condemned, but rather let every man stand or fall to his own Master. Wee are bounde by the law to do good unto all men, especially to those of the household of faith. And though for the present we seem to be unsensible for the law and the Law giver, yet when death and the Law assault us, if wee have our advocate to seeke, who shall plead for us in this case of conscience betwixt God and our own souls; the powers of this world can neither attach us, neither excuse us, for if God justifye who can condemn and if God condemn there is none can justifye.


And for those jealousies and suspicions which some have of them, that they are destructive unto Magistracy and Ministerye, that cannot bee, for the Magistrate hath his sword in his hand and the Minister hath the sword in his hand, as witnesse those two great examples, which all Magistrates and Ministers are to follow, Moses and Christ, whom God raised up maintained and defended against all enemies both of flesh and spirit; and therefore that of God will stand, and that which is of man will come to nothing. And as the Lord hath taught Moses or the civil power to give an outward liberty in the state, by the law written in his heart designed for the good of all, and can truly judge who is good, who is evil, who is true and who is false, and can pass definitive sentence of life or death against that man which arises up against the fundamental law of the States General; soe he hath made his ministers a savor of life unto life and a savor of death unto death.


The law of love, peace and liberty in the states extending to Jews, Turks and Egyptians, as they are considered sons of Adam, which is the glory of the outward state of Holland, soe love, peace and liberty, extending to all in Christ Jesus, condemns hatred, war and bondage. And because our Saviour sayeth it is impossible but that offences will come, but woe unto him by whom they cometh, our desire is not to offend one of his little ones, in whatsoever form, name or title hee appears in, whether Presbyterian, Independent, Baptist or Quaker, but shall be glad to see anything of God in any of them, desiring to doe unto all men as we desire all men should doe unto us, which is the true law both of Church and State; for our Saviour sayeth this is the law and the prophets.


Therefore if any of these said persons come in love unto us, we cannot in conscience lay violent hands upon them, but give them free egresse and regresse unto our Town, and houses, as God shall persuade our consciences, for we are bounde by the law of God and man to doe good unto all men and evil to noe man. And this is according to the patent and charter of our Towne, given unto us in the name of the States General, which we are not willing to infringe, and violate, but shall houlde to our patent and shall remaine, your humble subjects, the inhabitants of Vlishing.

Written this 27th of December in the year 1657, by mee.


Edward Hart, Clericus

Additional Signers


Tobias Feake
Nathaniell Tue
The marke of William Noble
Nicholas Blackford
William Thorne, Seignior
The marke of Micah Tue
The marke of William Thorne, Jr.
The marke of Philip Ud
Edward Tarne
Robert Field, senior
John Store
Robert Field, junior
Nathaniel Hefferd
NichColas Parsell
Benjamin Hubbard
Michael Milner
The marke of William Pidgion
Henry Townsend
The marke of George Clere
George Wright
Elias Doughtie
John Foard
Antonie Feild
Henry Semtell
Richard Stocton
Edward Hart
Edward Griffine
John Mastine
John Townesend
Edward Farrington

Chapter 3 – Europeans Arrive: The Dutch and the French

Europeans first arrived in New York State as early as 1524, when Verrazano sailed into New York Harbor, and on that occasion the Native Americans of that area saw European ships for the first time. There appears to have been no actual contact then, however. Later, in 1609, Henry Hudson’s expedition sailed up the river that would later bear his name, and residents of the Hudson Valley met and interacted with the crew.

In 1614, the Dutch government granted a trading patent to the New Netherland Company giving them exclusive rights to trade between the 40th and 45th parallels. Meridian’s location, just north of the 43rd parallel, was within that area of the trading patent. A settlement, Fort Nassau, was established on an island in the Hudson, near present-day Albany, as a trading outpost.

The trade in which the Dutch were interested was the fur trade, and the Iroquois of Central New York became active participants in that trade, trapping animals (especially beaver), preparing fur pelts and delivering them to trading posts along the Mohawk and Hudson rivers.

By 1624, New Netherland became a province of the Dutch Republic, but the northern border of Dutch territory moved south to the 42nd parallel (the east-west line that today defines the border of upstate New York and Pennsylvania). Meridian’s location therefore technically became British territory, and would remain so for the next 159 years.

It is doubtful that many Europeans, if any at all, actually visited this area, however, until the 1650’s. In 1653, the Iroquois sent representatives to the French at Montreal, asking for peace to end hostilities with the French allies, the Hurons. The French sent missionaries to the Iroquois in response. Father Simon LeMoyne arrived in Iroquois territory in 1654, spending nine weeks among the Onondagas. There he was visited by delegates from the other nations of the Iroquois Confederacy.

In 1655, Jesuit priests, Father Joseph Chaumonot and Father Claude Dablon also paid a visit to the Onondagas, and were met by a delegation of Cayugas soon after their arrival. The natives were eager to learn about Christianity, and that set the stage for the missions that were to follow.

A large expedition left Quebec in 1656, heading for the Onondagas. The party consisted of 4 priests, 2 brothers, 10 soldiers and a number of French colonists, along with a company of Hurons, Senecas and Onondagas. They had a hard journey, running out of food by the time they reached present-day Port Ontario (called by them “Famine Bay”), but they persevered, eventually reaching Onondaga Lake via the Oswego River. The purpose of this expedition, according to their journals, was not to trade, but rather to convert the natives to Christianity.

After their arrival, an elderly delegate from the Cayugas asked that a priest come to their territory to teach them about the faith of the French. Accordingly, Father René Menard, Father Joseph Chaumonot and two other Frenchmen traveled westward to become the guests of Chief Saonchiogwa at the Cayugas’ principal village, Gol-O-Gouen, located about three miles south of present-day Union Springs.

This, the Mission of St. Joseph, was the first of three Jesuit missions to the Cayugas. Eventually the Mission of St. Stephen, at Tichero (at the North end of Cayuga Lake) and the mission of St. Rene, at Onnontaré (at Fox Ridge, near Port Byron) were established. The missions to the Cayugas lasted four years, ending in 1660 as war between the French and the Iroquois began. The war was to last for eight years.

At war’s end, the Iroquois asked that the missions be re-established, and the Jesuits returned to their labors among the Cayugas. During their tenure, they converted and baptized many members of the Cayuga nation. These French missions continued despite the fact that the Colony of New York had been officially established as a British Colony in 1664. In 1683, however, New York Governor Thomas Dongan began efforts to expel French missionaries from his Colony, and the missions closed in 1684, although the French clergy continued to travel among the Iroquois.

Chapter 2 - The foundation is laid

As the glaciers retreated, the landscape around Meridian was similar to the Alaskan tundra landscape of today. The only trees were small willows and birches, and the predominant plant life consisted of grasses. As the climate warmed, conifer forestation began and these trees were dominant for about 2,000 years.

Slowly, deciduous trees began to proliferate, and by about 9,000 years ago the area resembled the woodlands we see today, with forests of such trees as maples, pines and oaks covering the hillsides.

As this change in plant life was taking place, the animal life of the region was changing as well. Previously, extremely large mammals had lived in Central New York. By 10,000 to 11,000 years ago, they were all extinct, both in New York State and in the rest of North America. This group of large mammals included a ground sloth that weighed nearly a ton, two varieties of mammoths, a species of mastodon, some zebra-like horses, and giant beavers that could weigh anywhere from 200 to 500 pounds. The descendants of those beavers are all that remain, and they would later play a significant role in the later history of what is now New York State.

So, as the ice age ended, the flora and fauna of Central New York were beginning to be more like what we see today. The stage was set for the first arrival of human beings to our area.

The time of arrival of the first people in North America has been calculated at anywhere between 15,000 and 50,000 years ago, depending on who you ask. There may have been multiple migrations. Some may have come over a land bridge over what is now the Bering Strait between Alaska and Siberia, or other immigrants were seafarers from the Pacific who migrated to South America. Regardless of which theory represents the truth, there were people living in North America for thousands of years before anyone came to what is now Central New York.

It appears that people wandered in and out of New York State as early as 9,000 years ago, but it was another 3,000 to 4,000 years before there were groups of people who stayed in the area.

These earliest human inhabitants of upstate New York, nomadic hunter-gatherers, have been called the Lamoka people. They appear in the archaeological record about 4,500 to 5,000 years ago. They built few dwellings, since they were constantly on the move, and did no farming. They left behind primitive tools, including fish hooks, mortars and pestles, projectile points (although they didn’t have bows and arrows), and sinkers for fishing nets. They buried their dead. These Lamoka people may have been the forbears of the people who lived in Central New York by the 15th century. However, some historians believe that the local native Americans were later immigrants from the Mississippi Valley, and still others believe that they came from the St. Lawrence valley.

Wherever they came from, the people later called the Iroquois were the people who lived in Central New York when Europeans first arrived.

These people were divided into five groups. Today they are known as the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida and Mohawk tribes, or nations. The name “Iroquois” was given them by the Mohicans and the French. The “ois” ending is French and has a mellifluous sound. The first part, “Iroqu” was less kind. The Mohicans regarded the Iroquois as “rattlesnakes.”

The Iroquois call themselves the Haudenosaunee, “people of the longhouse.” The names of the individual tribes were, from west to east, Seneca – Onondowahgah, “people of the great hill” or “people of the western door;” Cayuga – Guyohkohnyoh, “people of the great swamp;” Onondaga -- Onöñda'gega', “people of the hills;” Oneida – Onayotekaono, “people of the standing stone;” and Mohawk -- Kanien'kehá:ka, “people of the great flint.”

Agriculture had began in the area 1,000 years ago. The Iroquois planted corn around their villages, and as the corn sprouted, they planted pumpkins, beans and squash in between the corn plants. They also hunted for game and gathered wild plants, including berries, nuts and fruit, to supplement their diet. Three times a year, they celebrated thanksgiving festivals: a maple festival in the spring, a strawberry festival in the summer, and a green corn festival later in the year.

The previous inhabitants of the Meridian area lived in small villages with a central longhouse (used for councils and ceremonial gatherings) surrounded by individual huts for each family. Corn was planted at the edge of the villages, which were surrounded by forests. Often villages were surrounded by log palisades. The buildings and land in each village were owned communally.

As members of a matrilineal society, Iroquois children took their mother’s name at birth and could inherit property only from their mother. Women nominated the tribal rulers (except for warrior chiefs, who were elected by the warriors who served under them), and women and their wisdom were respected and followed. Women planted and harvested the crops, made most of the decisions, and raised the children. Men hunted and went to war. The value of the life of a woman was twice that of a man in this society.

It’s interesting that it took the Europeans who settled in the same region much longer to establish the rights of women. It seems somehow fitting that the women’s rights movement had its beginning in Central New York in nearby Seneca Falls, on the very land where women had once had such an important role in their society.

Clans were made up of multiple families, and a number of clans made up each of the tribes, or nations. Marriage was always outside of the clan, and women remained with their own clan after marriage, where they were joined by their husbands.

Sometime between 1450 and 1570, it is told that an Onondaga from near Pompey called Ayonhwatha (also known as “Hiawatha”) worked to organize the five tribes of the Haudenosaunee into what is often known as the Iroquois Confederacy, or the Five Nations. There are echoes today of the structure of this confederacy in the United States government. Each tribe managed its own affairs, but each tribe worked together for the good of all the tribes, with each having a proportional number of votes. Each promised not to war against the others, and they joined together in defense of one another when wars arose. Later on, in the early 1700s, the Tuscaroras, from the Carolinas, joined the confederacy as a non-voting member tribe.

The area of Meridian is on the eastern edge of the lands settled by the Cayugas, but not all that far from the Onondagas. The New York State Historical society placed a marker on the edge of the Short Cut Road overlooking Otter Lake that reads:

CEREMONIAL FIRE

SITE OF PERMANENT VILLAGE

AND PERPETUAL COUNCIL FIRE

OF CAYUGA BRANCH OF THE

IROQUOIS. LAMOKAS, SENECAS

TRAIL TO ONONDAGA FOR SALT

Since it appears that many of the early roads in New York State follow the paths long ago established by its original inhabitants, it is probably a reasonable assumption that Route 370 through Meridian, with its easternmost point at Onondaga Lake, was a well-traveled path for the Cayugas and Senecas to the salt deposits there.