Part 3 (2/2)

2d, That there be four constables elected for said town.

3d, That there be four pound-masters chosen for said town.

4th, That an amount, equal to the sum which may be distributed to said town from the common school fund, be raised by tax for the support of common schools in said town.

5th, That the sum of one dollar per day be allowed to the fence viewers of said town.

6th, That five per cent. be allowed as the compensation to the collector, as his fees for collecting the taxes for said town.

7th, That all circular and part.i.tion fences, in said town, shall be at least four feet and six inches high.

8th, That widows, who have no land, shall be ent.i.tled to let their cattle run at large in the public highways, from the first of April to the first of December.

9th, That the annual town meeting shall be held on the first Thursday of March. The following officers were then elected for the town:

_Supervisor_, William Richardson.

_Town Clerk_, Adam Brown.

{ John Dillingham, _Justices of the peace_ { Jonah Northrup, { John S. Yager.

{ John Van Woert, _a.s.sessors_ { John Fritts, { John T. Quackenboss.

{ Isaac Shepherd, _Commissioners of Highways_ { Asel Marvin, { William Angel.

_Overseers of the poor_ { George W. Smith, { Samuel Carpenter.

_Collector_, Hiram Shepherd.

{ Hiram Shepherd, _Constables_ { David Sullivan, { Emanuel Northrup, { Robert S. Cook.

{ Obadiah Gifford, _Commissioners of schools_ { Peter Dietz, { Joseph Walling.

{ Samuel H. Case, _Inspectors of schools_ { Was.h.i.+ngton Throop, { Amos Cook.

_Sealer of weights and measures_, Eliakim R. Ford.

{ Beers Peet, _Pound-masters_ { Joseph Walling, { William Dietz, { Elisha Shepherd.”

In 1835, five years after the organization of the town, the whole tax-paying population of Oneonta was 261. The grand total tax-levy of the town was $781.48. The amount of public school money raised by the town was $100.45. William Angel was supervisor and David Sullivan collector for that year.[A]

[Footnote A: No historical sketch of Oneonta would be regarded complete that failed to mention another name which no one can recall without a feeling of good-will. Dr. David T. Evans was born in Was.h.i.+ngton county, in 1789 and settled here in 1829. He first began business as a tailor, but afterwards became a well-known and successful farrier. He was a famous story-teller and everybody gave a respectful hearing to the Doctor's tales regarding the strange characters he had known or heard of. At least two generations of boys have grown up and gone out from the village who have listened to his stories. Wherever those boys are now--scattered far and wide--they recall no scenes or events of their springtime without a remembrance of Dr. Evans and his tales, none of which were wanting in pith or amus.e.m.e.nt.]

In 1840, a newspaper was established here which was thereafter conducted by Wm. J. Knapp for about two years when, owing to poor health, Mr. Knapp was compelled to discontinue its publication. It was the ”Oneonta Weekly Journal.”

The growth of the village of Oneonta from 1840 to 1850 must have been very slow. The building of a house in those days was an act of no little importance. For ten years there were but few dwellings erected, and those few were of a cheap and inferior cla.s.s. The population hardly kept pace with the building. The young went west, and the number of families that moved out was about equal to the number that moved in.

From 1850 to 1860 there was but little building and but a small increase in population. There are no accessible figures showing the population of the village at the different decades, but the census returns for the town may be taken as safe guides in forming an estimate of the village population at different periods. In 1830, when the town was organized, it contained a population of eleven hundred and forty-nine. In 1840 it had increased to nineteen hundred and thirty-six. In 1850 it had slightly decreased, then being nineteen hundred and two. In 1855 it was twenty-one hundred and sixty-seven.

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