admin CHAPTER XXVII.
WYOMING CO. CONGREGATIONAL CONFERENCE – S. S. TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION & BIBLE SOCIETY – TEMPERANCE REFORM.
IN compliance with a call which had been issued by a committee of the Congregational church in Gainesville, a meeting was held at their church “to consider, and, if deemed expedient, to devise some means of promoting the fellowship and spiritual edification of our churches.” At this meeting there were present from the Congregational church at China, Rev. Lewis P. Frost, R. W. Lyman; Castile – Rev. Charles Machim, Gideon Schofield, William Kellogg; Gainesville – Rev. John Cunningham, Benjamin F. Bristol, Phineas Danforth; Orangeville- Rev. E. H. Stratton, Marshal B. Crosset; Java – Rev. L. Parker, George W. Wainright, Demetrius Smith; Strykersville – Rev. James R. Bourne, Adin Woodruff; Warsaw- Rev. E. E. Williams, Newberry Bronson, Hanover Bradley.
For the accomplishment of the objects set forth in the call it was deemed expedient to form an association, and a constitution was adopted. It was called the Wyoming County Conference of Congregational Ministers and Churches, the churches being present at meetings by delegates. The officers chosen annually were a moderator and a scribe, to whom was afterward added a statistical secretary, who was also treasurer.
Biennial sessions of the conference were prescribed in the constitution, and one of the articles distinctly stated that no ecclesiastical power should be delegated to or exercised by the body. It was afterward provided that if any minister or church should be guilty of unchristian conduct, or of maintaining any fundamental error, or of denying any fundamental doctrine of Christianity, the conference should withdraw fellowship from such minister or church.
One article read: “The sessions of the conference shall be devoted to such religious exercises as shall seem best fitted to subserve the end for which it is established; particularly to addresses on the responsibilities of the churches, on family religion, the maintenance of Christian discipline, the interests of Sabbath-schools, the claims of benevolent objects, and whatever bears directly and obviously on the spiritual progress and welfare of the churches.”
In the new constitution, which was adopted in 1865, it was provided that “any person applying for approval as a candidate [for the ministry] shall be required to exhibit satisfactory evidence of his good standing in some evangelical church, and to sustain an examination in regard to his literary and scientific attainments, his knowledge of mental and moral philosophy, natural and revealed theology, the evidences of Christianity, ecclesiastical history, church polity, homiletics and the principles of biblical interpretation. He shall also read a sermon, and give an account of his religious experience, and of his motives in entering the ministry. No part shall be omitted, except by special vote. The examination shall be conducted by committees, chosen annually for this purpose.”
In its practical working this conference has enabled the churches to keep up an interest in each other – has been a source of encouragement and a means of mutual usefulness, as well as a bond of friendship. Its meetings have always been public. The present officers are: Rev. E. F. Atwood, moderator, and Jeremiah Lamberson, scribe, statistical secretary and treasurer.
WYOMING COUNTY SUNDAY-SCHOOL ASSOCIATION.
At the State convention of Sabbath-school teachers in 1857 at Rochester a resolution was passed recommending such action in each county as should lead to the formation of county associations auxiliary to the State association.
For the purpose of carrying out this object a meeting of the pastors of churches and delegates from their Sunday schools was called at the court-house in Warsaw on the 17th of November, 1857. At this meeting delegates were present from churches and schools in the towns of Attica, China, Gainesville, Middlebury, Orangeville, Perry and Warsaw. Articles of association were adopted, the first two of which read as follows:
“This association shall be called the Wyoming County Sunday-school Association, and shall consist of such teachers and officers as are hereinafter provided.
“The objects of this association are to obtain statistical information relative to the Sunday-schools of the county; to inquire into and search out the destitutions of this county; to visit and co-operate with every town and neighborhood in the building up and enlarging of schools now existing, and the establishing of new schools where needed, to the end that all children and youth may be gathered into Sunday school.”
The other articles prescribed the usual officers and their duties, and the manner of carrying out the objects of the association. The permanent officers chosen at that meeting were: President, Rev. S. Luckey, D. D., of Gainesville; recording secretary, I. Swift, of Warsaw; corresponding secretary, L. E. Walker, Warsaw. The town secretaries chosen and appointed were: Attica, James Baker; Bennington, Dr. E. C. Holt; Castile, S. Sedgwick; China, R. W. Lyman; Covington, Arnold Green; Eagle, Rev. William Plumb; Gainesville, William Glover; Genesee Falls Homer Smith; Java, W. S. Brown; Middlebury, H. J. Reddish; Orangeville, George H. Dunham; Perry, Nathan Bills, Pike, Rev. Z. Hurd; Sheldon, Arden Woodbury; Warsaw, N. Jackson Morris; Wethersfield, Daniel Stedman.
The articles provided for stated meetings of the association for the election of officers, the transaction of business, etc. These meetings were held successively at different places in the county.
“The results attained from this association in Wyoming county have been an intelligent cooperative interest in Bible study, and a healthy public opinion on theological subjects without sectarian prejudice. Bible subjects have been found too inexhaustible for mere dogmatic interpretation, and a more intelligent liberal spirit has seemed to manifest itself through the annual and semi-annual comparison of views, methods and results of this special Christian working, in which Wyoming county has ever been at the front.
“The mission work growing out of this association has resulted in elevating the love and standard of morality in outlying districts, repressing evil tendencies and establishing the fact of such association work being a conservation of public morals and good citizenship.”
TEMPERANCE.
Octogenarians distinctly remember that in the days of their youth the use of spirituous liquors as a beverage was almost universal. Many of the early settlers of this county and of this entire region were accustomed to take their daily drams, and a failure to treat a visitor was regarded as a breach of hospitality. At logging “bees,” raising, etc., the whiskey jug was considered a positive necessity, and the failure of bees by reason of its absence is still remembered by some old people. It was regularly taken into the harvest Meld, and by many liquor was regularly placed on the breakfast table, where it was used as an appetizer. It was made bitter with tansy, wormwood, or some other herb or drug, and used as a domestic remedy for many real or imaginary ailments.
Distilleries early sprang up in many of the towns, and liquor was easily procured at a cheap rate. Nearly all country merchants kept it for sale, and were in the habit of treating their patrons from decanters kept for that purpose on their counters, as a compliment when they made liberal purchases, or to put them in a tradable mood.
It was used to keep out the cold and to protect against the heat. Its use was not limited to the vulgar alone, but was sanctioned and adopted by all classes. The physician sought to protect himself against the contagion to which he was often exposed, and to solace himself during his weary nocturnal rides by its use; the jurist sharpened his perceptions, and prepared himself for powerful forensic efforts in the same way; and often the clergyman drank from the glass a portion of the inspiration that enabled him to present divine truth in its clearest light. The words of a modern poet –
“The power enslaved in yonder cask
Shall many burdens bear;
Shall nere the toiler at his task.
The soul at prayer-“
seem quite apropos concerning alcohol as used in those days.
It is difficult now to learn who commenced the temperance reform or where it originated. It is remembered, however, that temperance societies began to come into existence about the year 1828, 1829 or 1830. Like all important reforms it took shape gradually. The first pledges proscribed only ardent spirits, and left people quite at liberty to use fermented liquors ad libitum. It was found that this did not reach the root of the evil; that persons who had acquired an appetite for stimulants only changed the kind of drink, and indulged these appetites as before; and that intemperate habits were quite as readily acquired by the use of the milder beverages. It was readily seen, therefore, that in order to accomplish the desired good a pledge of abstinence from all that could intoxicate was necessary, and societies generally readily adopted this pledge. The Genesee County Temperance Society, at a meeting held in Warsaw in 1836, adopted this pledge, after having discussed the question during two days, with only two negative votes; and these were given by conservatives, who feared the alienation of the friends of temperance by a too rapid advance.
At the present day it seems hardly credible that the temperance reform could ever have encountered serious opposition from men of intelligence and character; but when the fact is considered that the custom of using stimulants had been handed down through many generations, and that the utility and even the necessity of their moderate use had hardly been questioned; and when the additional fact is considered that men are always slow to adopt new customs or to relinquish old ones, even after the utility of those or the pernicious character of these is demonstrated, it will be less a matter of wonder. It did encounter such opposition, and in 1836 its conservative friends feared the effect of what they deemed too rapid advance.
Among the early and earnest workers in the cause of temperance may be named Dr. Rumsey, Deacon John Munger, Frank Miller, Dr. Augustus Frank, Hon. William Patterson, Hon. Andrew W. Young, James and John Crocker, and soon afterward Joshua H. Darling, Isaac Preston, Deacon William Buxton, George W. Morris, F. C. D. McKay, Charles J. Judd, Alanson Holly, Hon. Seth M. Gates, E. B. Miller and Rev. Richard Kay at the county seat. Hon. John
B. Skinner, of Wyoming; Benedict Brooks, of Covington; Alden. S. Stevens, Hon. Barney Putnam and James G. Hoyt, of Attica; John B. Halstead and A. B. Rose, of Castile: C. O. Shepard and Mr. Lymans, of Arcade; Willard C. Chapin, Jonah Andrews and the Messrs. Phenix and Thicol M. Ward, of Perry; Nelson Wolcott, of Java; Lyman H. Babbitt, of Orangeville; Arden Woodruff, of Sheldon; and many others whose names cannot now be recalled, were equally earnest and efficient in all parts of the county. The philanthropic labors of these men continued, and much good was accomplished, not only in the reclamation of unfortunate victims of their appetite, but it prevented the acquisition of such appetite in many young men.
Later many others, among them Hugh T. Brooks, of Covington; Dr. Mason G. Smith, of Perry, and his brother, Judge W. Riley Smith, of Attica; Hon. James H. Loomis, of Attica; Hon. Augustus Frank, Timothy H. Buxton, C. W. Bailey, William H. Merrill, Rev. Dr. J. E. Nassau, H. A. Dudley and L. A. Hay ward, of Warsaw; Rev. Joseph R. Page and M. L. Higgins, of Perry; Colonel G. G. Prey, of Eagle; F. W. Capwell, of Middlebury; and for a quarter of a century past many other earnest, active temperance workers in every section of the county, have labored faithfully for the cause of temperance, until Wyoming stands prominent among the temperance counties of the State. The clergymen of all denominations have been very active workers at all times.
So efficient has been the work of temperance men of an early day, together with those since the organization of the county of Wyoming, that whenever opportunity has been given to vote upon the question of license or no license the majorities have always been large for no license. In 1846, when the first local option law allowed a vote to be taken, but one of sixteen towns in the county voted for license. Large county meetings have been held at the county seat, and town meetings in the towns, to advance the interest of temperance during the existence of the county.
What is true of almost every movement that has become popular is true of the temperance reform: it has had its revivals or seasons of increased interest. These have almost always been caused or accompanied not by the development of any new truths, but by new methods of advocating and promulgating old ones; and such is man’s love of novelty that whenever any such new method has been introduced a wave of excitement has swept over the country, which has kindled in many sanguine friends of temperance the hope that the hour of final triumph was at hand. These periods of excitement have naturally been succeeded by others of depression, during which the less hopeful have been able to see nothing but disaster and impending ruin.
On the whole there is no reason to doubt that much good has been accomplished, especially by the influence which has from time to time been thrown around the young to prevent them from the formation of those habits that would lead them to inevitable ruin. It is, however thought by many that had the efforts of the advocates of temperance never been misdirected a much larger amount of good might have been accomplished.
The first of these great temperance waves swept over the country about the year 1840. It had its beginning in the city of Baltimore, where a few confirmed drunkards had suddenly resolved to reform and at once carried their resolution into effect. They were encouraged in this, and others soon joined them. They at first took the name of reformed drunkards, and a few men of ability among them assembled some of their old associates, and lectured to them effectively. Thus commenced the mission work which spread over the entire country. Drunkards took the pledge, abandoned their habits of inebriety, and the more able among them became lecturers. They won took the distinguishing title of Washingtonians, and the societies which they established were called Washingtonian societies.
For a time hardly any other lecturers than these reformed men were in the field, and their success was great. Thousands of drunkards were temporarily reclaimed; many were permanently reformed; many moderate drinkers were arrested in their downward course, and many young people who had been surrounded by influences that would have led them to destruction were saved from ruin, and came to be worthy members of society.
Every undue excitement is certain to be succeeded by a corresponding reaction. In this case the remarkable success of the movement induced many unfit persons to engage in it, and soon or late they brought discredit on it. They were regarded with great popular favor, and their extravagancies were for a time accepted. In the language of an excellent writer, “often was the pulpit surrendered on the Sabbath to men whose vulgar, laughter-provoking stories were wholly unbecoming the place and the occasion.” Such exhibitions soon disgusted the more intelligent, and after a time ceased to attract the populace.
In many of the towns in Wyoming county – and notably in the town of Warsaw – the reaction from this excitement was not as disastrous as in many places. Such was the prevalent moral sentiment that there were elected during some years supervisors and magistrates (who then constituted the boards of excise) that refused to grant licenses for the sale of liquor by the dram; and, although to some extent it was sold in violation of the law, drunkenness was greatly diminished, and many who had become occasional tipplers abandoned the habit, and became sober, exemplary men.
It is thought by many that, had the friends of temperance continued to put forth their efforts as at first, the result might have been better than it is. They were not satisfied with the good results which they had wrought, and they sought the accomplishment of the desired end mainly by the aid of restrictive and prohibitory statutes. Their mistake is thought to have consisted not so much in seeking such aid as in relaxing their efforts to educate the public sentiment to the point of sustaining such laws, and thus allowing the good work which they had accomplished to be in part undone.
The first restrictive law went into effect in 1846. It was termed the “License or No License law,” and sometimes, from one of its provisions, “the Five-Gallon law.” It was a sort of local option law. It was for many reasons not successful in its operation throughout the State, but seemed to be eminently so in Wyoming county.
Eight years later, or in 1855, what was known as the Maine prohibitory law was enacted in this State, and strong hopes were entertained of good results from its operation. It was by the Court of Appeals decided to be unconstitutional. It was followed by a law providing for commissioners of excise for the counties, to be appointed by the county judge. Commissioners were appointed in Wyoming county, who gave licenses in nearly all the towns, and in several, including Warsaw, that had been without any sales of liquor as a beverage for many years.
The temperance workers labored on, hoping to create such a public sentiment that when opportunity again occurred to make their votes effective in opposition to the license of the sale of intoxicating drinks they would be prepared to act. The present local option law gave the opportunity, allowing, as it does, each town to elect excise commissioners, in whose hands rests the whole question of license or no license. Under the operation of this law for several years past many of the towns have been entirely free from the legalized sale of liquor. At the election of excise commissioners in the spring of 1879, but five of the sixteen towns chose commissioners favorable to the granting of licenses. The people of the towns that have been the longest time without license seem to think well of the workings of the law. They claim that it greatly diminishes the sale and use of liquor; that it reduces their taxes, causes their young men to grow up temperate and industrious, and in every way proves beneficial to their interests. Various temperance organizations exist in the county, and it is thought they are efficient in the work they seek to accomplish.
WYOMING COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY.
Of the early history of the Wyoming County Medical Society very little is known. The records have been lost or destroyed, and for many years no attempt was made to keep the organization in running order. In August, 1870, a call was issued and an invitation was extended to all medical men in the county to meet at Warsaw, for the purpose of reorganizing the society. The following physicians were present: Drs. T. D. Powell, Milan Baker, J. T. McArthur, S. Chester Smith, G. B. Gilbert, Julius A. Post, C. W. Howe, F. E. Bliss, O. B. Adams, George M. Palmer, W. D. Hunt, Jacob K. Smith, H. P. Merville.
The meeting was a very pleasant one, but for some reason the society continued to languish up to 1874, when new life seemed to be infused into it. It is now prospering finely.
The officers of the society for 1879 were as follows: Z. J. Lusk, president; William N. Martin, vice-president; Julius A. Post, secretary; S. Chester Smith, treasurer; Julius A. Post, William N. Martin, E. G. Harding, S. Chester Smith and Milan Baker, censors; Dr. George M. Palmer, delegate to State Medical Society; Dr. Milan Baker, delegate to American Medical Association; Robert Rae, Julius A. Post, George M. Palmer, O. B. Adams, Milan Baker, William N. Martin, delegates to Medical Association of Central New York.
TONAWANDA HARMONIC ASSOCIATION.
About the year 1860 a musical association was formed at Varysburg, composed of singers from Attica, Bennington, Orangeville, Java and Sheldon. This organization has maintained its existence until the present time. Its object is improvement in church music. Hon. W. J. Humphrey was its first president, succeeded by David Lewis, F. D. Powell, M. D., A Lyford, J. W. Ives and W. Cheney, who is now acting as president.
David Wilder, the pioneer singing teacher of western New York, was conductor for several years, and is now honorary conductor; Matthew Eastman is conductor, and W. W. Blakely assistant. Three regular meetings of two days each have been held in each year in the different churches with which the members are connected, more frequently in Attica, Varysburg, Johnsonburg, Strykersville, North Java and Java.
Sessions of four days each have been held at different times, conducted by such men as George F. Root, Perkins, Loom is and others.
SOURCE: History of Wyoming County, N.Y., with Illustrations, Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Some Pioneers and Prominent Residents; F. W. Beers & Co.; 1860