The Day After....the Revolution our Settlements Began!

Jim Monahan and his reenactors!

There are so many Revolutionary War veterans including Col. Joshua Leland who served under George Washington and purchased a large land tract that became Eaton, to the man he purchased it from…  Col. William Smith, and his wife Abigail Adams Smith (daughter of President Adams).  Smith himself having been the adjutant to George Washington, and who settled the area still called Smith’s Valley today.

The Morse Boys and their father Captain Joseph Morse and his men made up of White, Black and Praying Indian who were at Lexington and Concord and Bunker (Breeds( Hill. Men who came here to start a new life in Freedom without rule of crazy King George.

Other notables include Major Sinclair who purchased the land owned by Col Leland, now with a historical marker for the Dunbar Farm.  Sinclair kept a tavern and stable on that property for travelers.

Jonathan Bates who came to Eaton and purchase land just below the Old Town of Eaton Museum, his grave on the side of the road is marked today with a large bronze plaque on a boulder.  Bates had served with the well known Patriot Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys.

Benjamin Morse brother of Joseph Morse, Major Elisha Haden, Nicholas Byer who had been a member of Burgoyne’s Hessians, Simeon Chubbuck, grandfather of Emily Chubbuck and Myles Standish! yes Myles Standish.

Mr. Standish was a direct lineal descendant of his illustrious namesake, Captain Miles Standish of the Mayflower, one of the most distinguished of the colonists who landed upon Plymouth Rock in 1620. 

Captain Standish had been hired as the military protection for the early colony, and in true military fashion Miles Jr. was a soldier as well.

Corporal Myles Standish was born in 1748 at Duxbury, Plymouth County Massachusetts, moving to Eaton where he died on July 22, 1818 at the age of 70.

Myles Standish, Naomi Standish, and Daniel Standish were members of the Second Baptist Church of Eaton, and appear in the US Census of Eaton, Madison County.

Myles, was always called Myles by all who knew him, and took up the farm once owned by Adin Brown near Pierceville, living there for many years. Standish was an energetic businessman who invested in the Skaneateles Turnpike, and he built and kept the first old turnpike gate, which stood in the early years opposite the famous Alderbrook gristmill.  It is so interesting to see both national and local history meld seamlessly together this way.

Even more amazing is that today people will be marching on our modern No Kings Day!  Our fore bearers  fought for freedom from military rule....yes read about the era before the Revolution... a good book on the day the fist shots were fired at the "Bridge" on April 19, in 1775 is "The Day The American Revolution Began" by William Hallahan...then realize Eaton's forefathers who lived here in some cases, were at the bridge.

I wonder what they think laying in their graves overlooking the Town they founded to get away from the military craziness of King George and his Taxes "Tariffs on Coffee and Tea and spices!"

Happy Fourth Everyone!

 Eaton 4th of July Field Days in a Bustling Town

The best remembered and photographed times in Eaton were the “field days” held yearly to celebrate the Fourth of July.  This community, born out of Revolutionary blood felt it a duty to put on big yearly celebration. 

The big day usually started with cannon volley, which in later years is remembered as Patty Miles “firing” his anvil.  This was done by filling the hole in the bottom of the anvil with black powder and setting it off.  Any late sleepers would be awakened if their children had not already forced them out of bed in their excitement to get downtown.

Horse racing was part of the day and baseball games were played in different fields around town, big rivals for Eaton’s team was the Bouckville Bucks.  Food was available everywhere from the churches where the ladies aid put on a dinner, to the food stands on Main Street (front street) and the hotels, some brought their own lunches, but everybody ate.

The "Town" filled with music with people listening, especially when the Eaton Military Band played. In the evening there was always a dance that was well attended at the opera house in town, and the Rebekah Lodge usually served coffee to the attendees, with the dance continuing until midnight.

By the 1920’s, the world was at war; the steam engine plant was closing, water power had given away to electricity, woolen mills were closed, the Chenango Canal had ceased to be a transportation route and was only used to fill the Erie Canal, the “Great Depression” was on and the march to the city for work began.
 

No more does the anvil fire, and only once every three years is there a parade in Eaton and “History Day” is now on Memorial Day,  (instead of Field Day on the Fourth of July). In Eaton, however the memories live on in this rural community, remembered most of all for its once glorious past replete with famous Eatonites, famous inventions and stories of the wars. Eaton like so many of its rural counterparts has gone to Sleep!

Memorial Day Special..More to Come!

Maybe we will have a new collectable book!

Thank You..to all that attend our yard sale last weekend.  A Thank You to the sales crew... Michele Kelly, Carolyn Tine and Don, Barbara Keough, Judy Wilson, and Pam Wexler.  Thank you to Jim Monahan for the use of the building and to our tent people..Jen Caloia, Michele Kelly, and any other volunteers. Unfortunately we had to take it down because of the wind, but we just closed early to escape the rain...and we did.

The Museum was open and we had some great visitors even though it was horrible out.  Thank You to Doug and Diane Chilson, who helped us by bringing Dougs personal belongings for our display and answered questions! Barb Keough and I toughed it out...so for those who didn't dare visit in the bad weather, Barb and I will hold it open Sunday, June 2 and will be there from 1-3 pm.

Memorial Day next year will be special for Eaton as it is the 30th anniversary of our Bicentennial Day! I am hoping we can get the Parade in Eaton for the Event and we can get some Revolutionary War re-enactors to help us remember what that time was like.

                                                         Jim Monahan and his gun crew

 I am hoping to do some Blogs about our revolutionary War soldiers from Eaton, as well as the history of our involvement as the first settlement area of Madison County. We can recount information on the bark hut, Col. William Smith and much more!  I am also trying to put together a blog for the museum called "Back Street Mary's Place.

Revolutionary War Soldiers, Eaton's Roots, and Col. Leland's Sword.

This old sword is not some glamorous shiny thing… it is a real...used sword!   Col. Leland was in the Revolutionary War as and Ensign under the Commission of George Washington, and the sword has been handed down to the eldest son from the Colonel’s death to today!  How cool is that.  The current owner is Richard Leland of Malta, New York, who is a friend and supporter of the museum.  Many of the Revolutionary Soldiers who settled this area served under George Washington including Leland and Col. William Smith.

The Leland story actually starts with Col. William S. Smith who served under Washington and married Abigail “Nabby” Adams (President John Adams daughter) and lived in “Smith’s Valley.  Joshua purchased the property, which became Eaton from him, and the original document is framed at the Madison County Clerk’s Office.  The document on sheepskin has been preserved and has a back-story of its own.  This deed is dated July 2, 1795, and was recorded by Albert F. Devitt, Madison County clerk, July 2, 1926, just 131 years after it was dated!

Step to Col. Smith's Farm house in Smith's Valley

But back to the “sword”.  The Col. it is said used to also help drill troops that were the early Militia here.  Most people don’t realize the local Militia’s were active at the time since the War of 1812 was pending and people were still required to form to protect and serve..the Col. died in 1816.  Of interest to me was that our wonderful Madison County Records Manager - Kevin Orr has found some information for the museum that confirms my belief that Smith family members lived in the Eaton side…John Adams Smith and his wife Ann are listed in deeds for Eaton, among others.

These 1812 Militia members drilled in the flats between Eaton and Hamilton and cannon balls have actually been found on the hills between.