The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1880-01-08
NEW YoRKFIFFY YEARS AGO.
a General Talk ON Old New York by VIM.
E. Dodge.


When I was boy, said Mr.. Dodge in
conversational toue to the audience,
there were only $1,000 Inhabitants in
New York. / remember going to the
old stone bridge, which was entirely cut
off from the city. I remember well the
first murder ever heard talked of. A
William street tailor killed his wife.
He was hanged on hill at Broadway
and White street. The Battery then
was promenade and the Castle Garden
was fort. The Bowery Green was
beautiful spot near the city. recall
the fact of minister who had church
in Wall street, hiring a house in White
street as his residence. Robert Lennox,
the father of the pre- sent Mr. Lennox,
expostulated with him for his impTu-
dence in living so far up town and hav
ing a church in the city. The old
watchers were a curious institution.
These men used to shou. through their
horns the hour and that all was we'll,
and they could be heard by ne early the
whole of New York.
We used to take great deal of pains
to drum up custom. In 1926 | went
into business on my own account. l had
for my partner an old family friend who
had been graduated from Yale College.
He came down to the city with the idea
that he knew great deal about every
thing. l had sold a large amount of
goods to eastern and western peddlers
Peddlers in those days used to stop at
the villages and show their goods. Soon
after we started in business, three of
these peddlers came in with leather
straps over their shoulders. They saw
something they liked in the window,
and came in to make bargain. They
had large tin boz xes with them. I said
to them while they were in the store: 81
see that you have started in business
just like myself would like you to
put your tin boxes there" pointing to q
place in the store, "and have your goods
sent here. eyen if you don't buy any
thing from me. wsnt to make show
of business and people will think am
doing large trade" They selected
places and were well pleased. My part
ner from Yale came to me and said {:
"Are these what you call customers? ~
said, :'Yes, large oaks from little
acorns grow" He didn't quite agree
with me. These three peddlers grew to
be noble men, One is in Ohio. and
another is in Danbury, and has accumu-
| lated large fortune.
In those days, when the minute SER
vice began in the churches, two chains
| were stretched across the street, and no
| one was allowed to pass the church.
Brooklyn was very small village then,
with not more then 10000 inhabitants.
| There was no ferry, and hundreds of
| little boats of all sorts and col0rs were
at the river front, as thick as the hack
men are now at the Grand Central De-
pot. They charged ten cents. After
ward there were the horse boats to carry
people across In 1924 the first steam
ferryboa. went over to Brooklyn. Not
as many people passed over the ferry in
a week as now go over in day. De
| Witt Clinton pushed forward the great
plan of uniting the Hudson River with
the lakes and of forming a canal. 1t
was decided that the State should build
the canal. In 1925 it was completed.
A canal boat came from Buffalo to AL.
bany and was towed down the Hudson
River. the steamboat Chancellor Liv-
ingston, loaded with the leading men oi
Western New York, was on the river to
celebrate the event. De Witt ClintoE
was there and also DR.. Mitchell, who
had brought bottles of water from the
| Western lakes. He made an address
He poured the bottles of water from
Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Erie
and the other lakes into the river, and
said that the commerce of the West wal
now to be mingled with the commerce
of the world as these waters were
mingled with the waters of the world