Middletown transcript., 1883-11-02
Odessa in The Long Ago.

Odessa in The Long Ago.
The pleasant and growing town oi
odessa was formerly known as Cantwell's
Bridge, and under that name was -four
isbing village when Middletown was but
little more than cross roads where trav-
elers stopped for glass Of grog. An old
resident of the. vicinity of Middletown,
who went to Cantwell's Bridge in the
year 1925 to clerk in a store, has given the
TRANSCRIPT some interesting reminis-
cences Of the village in its younger days.
In the year named the principal store in
the village was kept by Charles Tatman,
who still resides in Odessa, and who, last
spring, celebrated the ninety-first ami
versary of his birth. Mr.. Tatman is pres
ident of the New Castle County National
Bank Of Odessa. He and Miss Ann
Janvier, then young girl, are the only
persons now living in Odessa who were
there when the gentleman of whom we
have drawn our information went there
to serve a time in village store. And in
those days a clerkship in a village store
was not as much of avelvet-lined vocation
as it is now. The store kept by Mr.. Tat
man was at the lower end Of the town,
where Jesse Hyatt now keeps a confec-
tionery shop. About the year 1927 Man
love Hayes had large store where Mr..
Hobbs now keeps. The Odessa hotel,
now occupied by Mr.. Hyatt, was kept by
Ford Mansfield. David Wilson and Will
liam Polk, grandfather Of ex-Levy Court
man William Polk, were heavy grain
buyers. All the grain then raised in this
section was hauled to Odessa, whence it
was carried to market by vessels owned
by the grain buyers. The storekeepers
dealt largely in grain, too. The village
was one of the chief grain marts of the
State. Six large granaries were often so
full that the farmers had to stop hauling
till the vessels could empty them. There
was a stage line between Wilmington and
Dover, the stages making two trips
week each way. The arrival of a stage
was, of course, great event in the village
and the stage driver person who felt his
importance and endeavored to impress
those around him with it on all occasions.
Postage rates to New York were 1SA
cents; to Philadelphia, 10 cents, and to
Wilmington cents. All the banking
business of the village and community
was done at Smyrna or New Castle. John
Janvier was the village undertaken, and
the late Bishop Levy Scott was his appren-
tice. Mr.. Janvier's hearse was a funny
rr-I,aolc Tho oOffi1l
was balanced on the axle and secured in
its position by means of wooden screws.
The driver sat astride the box containing
the coffin. This was considered in those
days fine funeral outfit. The hearse had |
a habit of making a peculiar screeching |
noise which could be readily heard by |
persons in their homes when it was being |
driven past. One may imagine this |
screeching to have been peculiarly disa-
greeable to the ear when it came in the |
still hours of the night. Young Levi |
Scott was accustomed TO drive this old |
hearse. In those days an undertaken was
plain undertaken" and not " funeral
director" and there were no patent ice
boxes or processes of keeping a corpse by
squirting its system full Of drugs. Coffins
were made rather plain and the pillow
was stuffed with walnut shavings. You
see, in those days dead folks didn't enjoy
the same amount of luxury they enjoy
now, but they were probably just as
happy. But this is not cheerful subject.
The first Methodist services in Cantwell's
Bridge were held about 1881 in the public
school house by the Rev. Richard Green
bank, of Smyrna circuit. The Presby
terians worshipped in old Drawyer's
Church, near the village, and few fam
Meeting House that may still be seen
a little back from the principal
street of the town. The old school-house,
the cradle Of Methodism in Odessa, is now
in the rear of Zoar NJ. E, Church.
Among the earliest converts at these
was Joseph G. Griffith. who
gave the ground on which the present
Methodist Church stands. From reminis-
cences of the founding of this church,
related at the semi-centennial celebration
of Methodism at Odessa, January 18th,
1885, and printed in pamphlet form, we
take the following in relation to the
building of the first Methodist church
g. A few brethren from Middletown and
Union had met at the house of Vessel
Aldrich taxed the matter over, concluded
to go ahead, and appointed as a committee
on materials, Philip D. Riley, Benjamin
Fields and J. V. Moore; and to raise
funds, Jesse Lake, P. D. Riley, J. G.
Griffith, Nathaniel Beauchamp and J. Y.
Moore. The committee on materials
bought for ahundred dollars an old brick
house standing on the farm of Abram
Stats, near Fieldsboro, which had been
destroyed by fire, all but the walls, and |
gave notice for the people to meet and
pull it down, clean the bricks and haul |
them to the church lot. To their joyful |
surprise a crowd of teams and people |
assembled and the work was quickly and
pleasantly done. AS that house did not |
furnish bricks enough another burned-out |
brick house was kindly donated by Mr..
Rodgers, and Charles Tatman gave the |
shingles. The structure was
thirty by forty feet, one story high, and
was whitewashed. Before it was finished,
plank seats were arranged and the Rev.
Mr.. Greenbank preached standing on the
carpenters bench" The church was ded-
icated free of debt.
Roll of Honor.
MIDDLETowN PUBLIC SCHOOLS.