Wells College - Cardinal Yearbook (Aurora, NY)

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wo of Major Ledyard s daughters were Mary, or 'fPolly, and Margaret, Peggy They were dear old fashroned grrls If you want to know just what they looked lrke, you must go to the Deans parlor, Where you Wrll ind therr portrarts upon the wall Polly, the elder marrred Glenn Cuyler a lawyer of New Y ork her srster marrred Lornelrus, the brother of Glenn X pretty story rs told of Polly's mar rrage One day Polly sat sew rng on her trousseau rn the house on the hrll, makrng, we can rmagrne a prcture very nearly as pretty as that of the Purrtan Prrscrlla of nearlv two centurles ago, even rf there were rn thrs case no sprnnrng wheel to add charm to the scene Now and then the rndustrrous marden filled her needle from the lon0 skern ot thread hangrng about her neck for 1n those days spools of thread were unknownj Suddenly there came a knock at the door and there before her stood her lover Glenn '4Polly,' sard he Uwe must be mauled at once for there 1S a mrnrster rn town now and we cannot tell when one w1ll be here agarn These wer e, we must remember, early proneer days and lt was a rare event when the mrnrster made a vrsrt to the lrttle settlements Very well Glenn ' Polly answered quletly, and whrle the fashroned grrl stood up qurte srmply rn her modest, home spun gown, and was marrred then and there to her lover Devoted and obedrent to the w1ll of her husband as she mrofht be, the woman of those days was not lackrng rn the proper spurt of rndependence One day General Ledyard rode up to the lonof white house that stands opposrte the Presbyterran ohur ch to speak to Dr Delano, the physrcran of the vrllave The doctoras wrfe answered hrs knock 4 Mrstress Delano, sard he 4 where rs your lord and masteri' f'In Heaven su, she returned, devoutly and promptly It was rn that same house on the h1ll that Glenn and Polly made therr home some tlme after therr marrrage Our clrref rn terest rn thrs couple hes rn the fact that they were grandparents of Dr Theodore Cuyler of Brooklyn, whose delrghtful talks at Wells College and whose father ly rnterest rn the vrrls have made hrs vrsrts here a source of the greatest pleasure to us Perhaps the next oldest burldrng rn Aurora rs the large, sub stantral whrte frame house standrnv on the west srde of the street, not far from the narrow ravrne at whose entrance Captam Frank lrn made hrs landrno' It was burlt rn 1810 by Mr Henry Morgan, 27 T ' , . , 7 , . . . . 77 . an . - ' ' . 9 . . ' ' . ' Y ' . Z X. . , . , , . . . . I . .. D J - 7 1 1 I . . ' S i ,C . , I . ., 1 i l 1 9 ' U ..' ' a a I . , , 1 7 ' an . , . ' . , ' n l 7 7 famlly assembled, the mrnrster was summoned. Then the old- . . ' Q . ' I I 1 n . n c D . . h . 1 ' G ' 1 ' 77 ' C . ' . 1 7 ' ,, . J . . . . 1 1 n . u n n u 1 D , t , , A b u . D' ' ' O

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assistance. During his absence the settlerslived chiefly upon milk and ground nuts, it is said. Fortunately it was summer, so that the limited diet and a life in the smallest and rudest of shanties did not result disastrously. Better dwellings were put up in the fall. The log house, sixteen feet square, raised by Captain Franklin, was the first built by any white man west of Rome. In walking past the smooth lawn of Mr. Henry A. Morgan it is difficult to realize that in 1790 this land was forest primeval, and that somewhere upon it Qon the spot, I believe, which is now occupied by the gardenj, the log cabin of Captain Franklin was built. A few stones of the old foundation are still left. To the south of the Military Academy, and somewhat back from it, stands a small house with a high peaked roof, and with the tiniest of ells at one side. It reminds one of those pictures in our grammar school histories, of the modest birth-places of some of the United States presidents. The history of this house carries one back to the year 1793. It was then that Major, or General Ledyard, as he was ordinarily called, great grandfather of the present Dean of Wells College, came from his home in New Jersey to settle in Aurora. He was of a Ledyard family of Revolutionary fame, and had served at VVhite Plains and Mon- mouth. In 1793 the Government allotted the military bounty lands along Cayuga Lake, and Major Ledyard received the ap- pointment of clerk of Onondaga county. His journey to his new home was a long and slow one, for the means of traveling were very primitive in those days. Ascending the Hudson in two barges, one of which was occupied by himself, his wife and seven children, the other by his slaves, till he reached the head of Cay- uga, then coming down the lake he passed through a succession of narrow water ways, landed at the present site of Aurora, and built a log house on the shore. Aaron Burr, his warm friend, bought land in the vicinity of Aurora and visited Major Ledyard occasionally. Major Ledyard is said to have chosen the name f'Aurora for the village, and his own name was given to the town of Ledyard. Early in the next century he removed to the hill on which the Military Academy now stands, and there built the house we pass in our daily walks. In those times it was considered a fine resi- dence, indeed presented quite an imposing appearance with the long lines of outbuildings which surrounded it-stables and quar- ters for the slaves. 26

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the stat1on, we1e both buxlt befo1e 1820 The H1St Whe1e the College DllGCtO1 ot Musle ln es, was e1eeted by Mr Avery, the father of Mrs R1eha1d Morgan The second was bullt by Judge Shepa1d, but was late1 oeeup1ed by an eeeent11e,11ase1ble man P6t81 FO1l3, who now 1ests 1n a tomb a sho1t dlstance beh1nd the house Thls old man used so people say, to s1t 1n an uppe1 1oom of the house, and 1ead aloud W1th g1eat emphas1s f1on1 the open Blble lylng befole hun These peuods of rel1g1ous fe1vor WSIB mterrupted now and agam by its of bad tempe1 and p10 famty, 1esult1ng f1om PClJ617S too fond compamonshlp with the 1ed, red W1ne Soon, hovvevel, Mr Folt would return to h1s B1b1e, readlnfr as enerfretleally as before Pete1 Fort b1ought w1th h1m to the v1lla0fe one of Aurora s famous eha1aete1s Mr Sehney, who 11ved w1th the old gentle man fO1 seve1'1l yea1s as a eomblned valet and butle1 Then W1Slll1Dg' a more mdependent oareel, Mr Sellney opened a llttle eabmet shop 1n the bulldmof now oeeupled by M1 H1tehcoek's store He was noted throughout the v1llage for h1s gentlemanly 1nanne1 and kmd, open hea1t The old Wells gnls cannot say enough of h1s gene1os1ty, fol he contmually showe1ed upon them offermgs of grapes and apples drawn from the supply of frult he always kept on hand 1D hls sto1e It was not untll after hls ma111age that M1 Sellney masteled the a1ts of readmo' and w11t1nff The httle home Where he llved wlth h1s Wlfe had been the ii1st ff Morgan s sto1e 7' befo1e 1Bf61 1ed to On the eleetlon of a new sto1e the torme1 bu1ld1ng had been moved f1om beslde the 1av1ne and set up across the street at a sho1t dlstance to the south After 1ts ooeupat1on by the k1ndly furn1tu1e deale1 1t was always known as the 4'Sel1ney house ' It IS standmg to day, an oblong, yellow structule, 18 marlxable 1n W1nte1 f01 la1ge sto1m dOO1S of verdant hue, whlch enclose nea1 ly the Whole po1eh, and have somethmg the effect of Wmdow bllnds ln speakmv of Mr belmey and M1 H1tohcock,we a1e blought naturally to Mr I-11tohc,oek's sto1e Every Wells gul 1emembe1s he1 61 st v1s1t to th1s remarkable eur1os1ty shop, 1n the mad lush fo1 furn1tu1e upon he1 a111val as a Freshman How Sl11p1lSC-Bd she was, on reaehmof the la1ge, oddly shaped, wooden blllldlllg, p1esent1n0 to the s1de walk a facade omamented Wlth plllars and ea1v1ngs, to be told that th1s was a store' The peeul1a1 a1eh1tee ture 1S due to the fact of the bu1ld1ng havmg been erected as a Masome Lodge In 1819 DeW1ttCl1nton lald ILS comer stone 29 . - , , . . , ' 9 .1 I . .1 'I , . ' ' . i. .1 . 7 . . . V I 1 ' ' . . . i 0 9 g 'U . D I i . . T . 1. . . ' . . 1 l ' - I 1 4 I I u 1 I , . u . i i . . . P: C ' . . - 7 . . O . . . . . , 1 1 Q ' V f u , . . . . . . . . . . . ' . C ' . . I . u .1 , . . . . . . . . ' I . . . . N. D . ' ' - . .. . . . - . u . o ze' . 7 . -, - .- za . . . . . . . . . 1 . 1 . 7 , . 7 . ' - . .- 'V ' . 1 I I I i - 1 I ' . ., . . 1 . - I o ' l Q 'I h I 1 1, . . . h . 1. . I . . . . . . .. . . . in - ' I , io . 1 . , ' ' ' D u 1' I I ' .1 1 - . - f . . . . ' .