Orville Hungerford

The youngest of seven children, Orville Hungerford was born in Farmington, Connecticut (now Bristol) on October 29, 1790.[2] His family claims descent from Thomas Hungerford of Hartford, who arrived in the New World some time prior to 1640.[3] In pursuit of greater economic opportunity, Orville's father, Timothy Hungerford, moved his family to Watertown, New York in the spring of 1804.[4] Watertown is located in upstate New York on the Black River, a short distance from Lake Ontario and the picturesque Thousand Islands region. After becoming the seat of Jefferson County in 1805, the city grew to be a renowned manufacturing center.

As a pioneer, needing help with his farm, Timothy Hungerford was only able to send his son to "winter schools",[5] effectively precluding him from going to college; years later Orville encouraged his son Richard E. to attend Hamilton College in Clinton, New York.[6] Not enamored with eking out a living from the land, at age fourteen Orville began working as a clerk in his brother-in-law Jabez Foster's general store in the village of Burrs Mills (also known as Burrville).[7] This business was a partnership between Foster and Thomas M. Converse. When Orville was eighteen, Foster moved the store to Watertown, a busier location. Orville's diligence paid off and he became Foster's partner in the firm known as Foster & Hungerford, which profited handsomely from selling supplies to U.S Army stationed at Sackets Harbor during the War of 1812.[8] In 1813, Foster became a judge in the Court of Common Pleas for Jefferson County,[9] while Hungerford decided to focus on expanding his commercial interests rather than reading law. He set up his own store, eventually partnering with Foster's son-in-law Adriel Ely,[10] only withdrawing his interest upon entering Congress.

As a merchant, Hungerford was always seeking to sell the most modern conveniences. For example, he became a dealer of the "Air-Tight Rotary Cook Stove", which used one third less wood, as advertised in local newspapers such as the Northern State Journal.[11]

On October 13, 1813, Orville Hungerford married Elizabeth Porter Stanley, known as Betsy, whose family was originally from Wethersfield, Connecticut".[12] She was the daughter of George and Hannah (Porter) Stanley.[13] She was 5 years older than her husband when they met in the midst of the War of 1812.

The couple had the following children: Mary Stanley (May 6, 1815-Mar. 13, 1893), Marcus (Aug. 30, 1817-Sep. 3, 1863), Martha B. (Nov. 30, 1819-Sep. 21, 1896), Richard Esselstyne (Mar. 28, 1824-Jan. 5, 1896), Frances Elizabeth (Feb. 8, 1827-Nov. 25, 1902), Grace, and Orville F. (Feb. 25, 1830-Nov. 26, 1902.)

Betsy stayed home and raised the children while supporting Orville on his quest to create financial stability for his family as well as attain his political goals.

Three-dollar Jefferson County Bank note issued in 1824 and signed by cashier O. Hungerford

Because Watertown, New York was expanding in the early nineteenth century, businessmen there needed greater access to local capital. In 1816, Jabez Foster and others successfully petitioned the legislature to establish the Jefferson County Bank.[14] Foster was chosen to help apportion stock and choose the building location, which was a contentious matter because each community in the area wanted the bank to be located there. The bank ended up being built in Adams, New York and was initially capitalized with $50,000.00, of which half the amount was paid in. However, the bank did not fare financially well in Adams. Pursuant to an act passed on November 19, 1824, the bank relocated to Watertown and the capital fund was increased to $80,000.00. Foster served as the second bank president (1817–1819). Orville, who often followed the lead of his brother-in-law, served as the bank cashier (1820–1833) and later as president (1834–1845). Throughout the entire nineteenth century, the bank, nationally chartered in 1865, never defaulted on its obligations and from 1824 paid its shareholders regular dividends. To put its growth in perspective: in 1821 it had resources of $91,000.00; by January 1, 1916, it had resources of $3,000,000.00. In 1916, Orville's grandson, Orville E. Hungerford, was vice-president of the bank.

Orville Hungerford played an important role in the industrialization of the Watertown, New York area. For example, Hungerford helped establish the Sterling Iron Company,[15] Black River Woolen Company,[16] and the Jefferson County Mutual Insurance Company.[17] The Northern State Journal reported that the State Agricultural Society appointed Hungerford as one of the judges for "domestic manufactures" at the New York State Fair, which would take place in Saratoga Springs, New York on September 14-16, 1847.[18]

Orville Hungerford's home on 336 Washington Street.

One of Orville Hungerford's goals was to earn enough money from his ventures to build a grand home. In 1823, he began to construct the largest house in Watertown on a piece of property that he purchased in 1816 for $500.00 from Olney and Eliza Pearce.[19] On November 11, 1825, he opened the six-paneled door with a brass eagle-knocker at 336 Washington Street and moved into his mansion, made out of native limestone with 10 fireplaces and a carriage house. The English ivy-covered residence eventually passed to Orville's daughter, Frances E., a spinster, whose estate conveyed it to her niece Helen Hungerford (Mrs. Leland G. Woolworth). After Helen died, ownership of the house transferred to her sister Harriet Hungerford, another spinster. Harriet had been living next door in her father Marcus Hungerford's house at 330 Washington Street. She moved into the Orville Hungerford mansion in 1946 and lived there until her death on October 26, 1956. By this time most of the family had moved out of the Watertown area and no one wanted to return. The Watertown National Bank bought the property from Harriet's estate and sold it to Joseph Capone, a developer. In turn, John R. Burns, purchased the structure and reassembled the house minus the left-wing several blocks away on Flower Avenue West, where it still stands.[20] The house is in remarkably good shape today due to the loving care and modernization efforts of its recent owners. At present, the old Hungerford homestead on Washington Avenue is the site of a Best Western Carriage House Inn, attached out back to the original carriage house.

Orville Hungerford homestead in its present location in Watertown, New York

What is known about Orville Hungerford's military career is minimal. In 1821 he succeeded Captain Jason Fairbanks and was also on the staff of Major General Clark Allen[21] Another source lists Orville as the Quartermaster of the Twelfth Division of infantry in 1822.[22]

Orville Hungerford became enamored with Freemasonry because many of his mentors and friends were involved in the fraternal organization and perhaps because it gave him a sense of belonging to a collegial group that he lacked by not going to college. In 1826, Hungerford along with his business partner, Adriel Ely, and others applied for a dispensation to establish a local Encampment of Knights Templar.[23] On February 22, 1826, the Deputy Grand Commander of the Grand Encampment, Oliver W. Lownds, granted the dispensation. Hungerford presided as Grand Commander from March 24, 1826, until April 17, 1829, during which time twenty-nine men had the Order of the Temple conferred upon them. However, the 1826 disappearance of William Morgan, who threatened to publicize the secrets of Freemasonry, caused the public to lash out at the secretive organization. In 1829, a Boston Masonic newspaper, citing the Watertown Freeman publication, reported that a mere 69 people marched through the city to protest the abduction of Morgan when hundreds were expected.[24] Due to public condemnation of freemasonry, however, Sir Orville's encampment would go dark in 1831. In February 1850, after the furor abated, Hungerford and others successfully petitioned the Grand Encampment of New York to reissue their former warrant, thereby establishing Watertown Commandery No. 11.

On January 16, 1826, Hungerford bought from Hart Masey a three-story brick building on Washington Street in Watertown, which housed the Eastern Light Lodge No. 289.[25] The deed to the building had a covenant to secure the use of a 40 by 42.5 room on the third floor for the Masons. During the height of the Morgan affair uproar, the Lodge operated in secret, communicating to members by placing a lighted candle in certain windows. In 1834-35 the Lodge failed to hold annual elections; the concomitant failure to collect dues resulted in forfeiture of the charter, which was reinstated in 1835 upon a successful petition to the Grand Lodge. The Washington Street building was destroyed in a fire on January 27, 1851, and the Lodge moved temporarily to an Odd Fellows Hall and then to several other locations.

Hungerford continued his involvement with freemasonry while serving in Congress. Diarist Benjamin B. French stated: "As a Freemason, [Hungerford] was a constant visitor to our Chapters and Lodges in the District, and never declined any duty that he was asked [to] perform."[26]

In 1851, Hungerford was the 15th Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter State of New York, Royal Arch Masons.[27]

Orville was actively involved in his community, making a point to give back and help those less fortunate. One of the big problems then and now was poverty. As a result, Jefferson County established a poor house system paid for by appropriations from each town. In 1826, Hungerford was appointed as one of the first superintendents of the poor house located on the 150-acre Dudley Farm in Le Ray, New York. People sent to the poor house would have a place to live and would be provided with food and rudimentary medical care in exchange for some work, usually tied in with farming, e.g., picking oakum.[28]

On August 1, 1828, a man by the name of Barney Griffin, who had travelled from Syracuse to the Village of Sackets Harbor several days earlier, ended up dying in the Jefferson County Poor House. Orville went over to investigate. Upon searching Griffin's clothes, he found the cash sum of two hundred and twenty-two dollars and fifteen cents - more than enough money for Griffin to pay for a hotel. Hungerford put an advertisement in the a paper to see if a relative would claim the money. No one did. He then turned the money over to the County Treasurer for use of the Poor House, deducting a dollar for the advertisement money that came out of his own pocket. Understanding the nature of greed, he asked the County Board of Supervisors to indemnify him for his actions, which it agreed to do.[29]

Orville also played a key role in incorporating the Watertown Water Company to supply fresh water "by means of aqueducts" to the village of Watertown. [30]

In 1833, Hungerford's brother-in-law and former business partner, Jabez Foster, sold the County some land near Watertown for $1,500.00 on which to build a new poor house. Hungerford and two others were tasked with setting up the new establishment.[31]

Orville also contributed towards the education of the young women of the Jefferson County, New York area by working with Dr. John Safford to promote the Watertown Female Academy in 1823. Dr. Safford and Orville's own daughters were the beneficiaries of this effort as both Susan M. Safford and Martha P. Hungerford were early students of the school taught by Gen. "Fighting Joe" Hooker's sister Sarah R. Hooker.[32]

Orville's friendship with local politician, fellow mason, and judge, Perley Keyes, piqued his interest in politics. Keyes was a stalwart of the Democratic party and led its political machine in Jefferson County, New York. Orville looked upon Keyes as his mentor and would take over the reigns of power.[33] One of Keyes primary lessons was that a successful candidate needed to be supported by a newspaper. In 1824 until his death in 1833, Keyes supplied the financial backing to publish the Watertown Freeman.[34] That newspaper evolved into the Eagle and Standard, whose editor Alvin Hunt, enthusiastically endorsed the political ambitions of Orville Hungerford and his Democratic ticket throughout northern New York.[35]

Orville Hungerford started his political career at the local level and worked his way up the governmental ladder. In the first Village of Watertown, New York election in May of 1816, Hungerford, 26 years old, was elected as one of three assessors.[36] By 1823, Hungerford was elected President of the Village of Watertown Trustees.[37] He continued to be elected President of the Village of Watertown Trustees in 1824, 1833, 1834, and 1835 as well as serve as one of the five Village of Watertown Trustees in 1840 and 1841.[38]

Furthermore, Orville Hungerford served on the Board of Supervisors for the Town of Watertown, New York (later becoming the City of Watertown by legislative act on May 8, 1869) for the following terms: 1835-37, 1841-42, and 1851 until his death.[39]

In 1836, Hungerford served as a presidential elector.[40]

In 1842, as a Democrat, Hungerford was elected to the 28th and two years later to the 29th U.S. Congress.[41] In his second term he served on the powerful Committee on Ways and Means. He supported a tariff on imported goods, which earned him the enmity of Southern Democrats, who were in favor of free trade.[42] His fellow party members offered to nominate him as Vice President of the United States if he would switch his vote on protectionism.[43] However, Hungerford could not be swayed because he wanted to shelter the emerging manufacturing sector from the cheaper wares of Great Britain and other more industrialized European countries.

When Congress was in session, Hungerford boarded at Mrs. Hamilton's house on Pennsylvania Avenue between 4½ and 6th Streets in Washington D.C.[44]

Hungerford was unafraid of voicing his opinion even if unpopular with his fellow politicians from the same party. Throughout his life, Orville believed in finishing the task at hand before taking a break. When the U.S. House of Representatives conducted business Orville sat in his assigned seat towards the back of the chamber. Representative William Lowndes Yancey, the Southern secessionist and duelist, sat several seats over to the rear. Yancy was not to be trifled with.[45]

The Congressional Globe, which covered proceedings of the 29th Congress, noted on page 413 of Volume 15 the following relevant entry for February 21, 1846:

Mr. YANCEY asked leave to offer the following resolution:

Resolved, That when this House adjourns, it stands adjourned until Tuesday next, in honor of the memory and in respect to the anniversary of the birth-day of George Washington, the father of his country.

Objection was made.

The SPEAKER. Objection is made.

Mr. YANCEY. Objection made, sir! By whom? I would like the gentleman to show his face.

Mr. HUNGERFORD. I show my face, and I object. Are you satisfied?

The resolution was not received.[46]

Hungerford's showdown with Congressman Yancey received national newspaper coverage. For example, the Richmond Enquirer, a Virginia newspaper, published a summary of the incident on the front page, center column, of its February 27, 1846 morning issue.[47]

In 1846, Hungerford lost his Congressional seat to a Whig party candidate.

Before the 29th Congress ended on March 3, 1847, Hungerford was able to manifest his disdain for slavery, which was dividing the nation. Crossing party lines Hungerford voted with the Whigs on February 16, 1847 and on March 3, 1847 to endorse the Wilmot Proviso, which added to the "$3,000,000 bill" a provision excluding slavery from territories newly acquired by treaty.[48]

Yet Hungerford still yearned for political power. In 1846, the amended New York Constitution allowed the New York State Comptroller, who was responsible for auditing the state books, to be elected by the citizenry as opposed to being appointed by the legislature. Hungerford saw this office as a stepping stone to either the governorship or the U.S. Senate before seeking even higher office. In October 1847, the bitterly divided delegates known as Barnburners and Hunkers gathered at the Democratic State Convention in Syracuse and nominated Orville as the "Hunker" candidate for the state office of comptroller.[49] His defeated barnburner opponent was Azariah C. Flagg, the current New York State Comptroller.[50] The split in the Democratic party resulted in such bitterness that the barnburners resorted to calling the victor "Awful Hunkerford."[51] Such factionalism tremendously weakened the Democrats.

At the next general election in 1847, future U.S. President Millard Fillmore received 174,756 votes for Comptroller while Hungerford only received 136,027 votes.[52] It is ironic that Millard Fillmore twice interacted with the Hungerford family and in both cases the outcome was less than satisfactory for the Hungerford family.[53] Hungerford grew tired of the partisanship in Washington, D.C. and the stress from being away from his family and business interests. He decided to return to Watertown, New York to complete his railroad project.

Hungerford, drawn to the challenge of expanding economic opportunity, likely would have re-entered politics after he completed the railroad that brought prosperity to Jefferson County. But his unexpected death at age 61 precluded this outcome. A late 19th century historian stated the following:

The writer has often reflected what would have been the course of Mr. Hungerford had he lived to enter upon the great Civil War. His natural patriotism, the insight he had obtained into the workings of Southern politicians, and the promptings of his own independent character, all teach us that he would have been prominent in support of the Union cause, and would have given it, not a lukewarm support, as many Democrats did, but unhesitating and substantial sympathy and service.[54]

After his shot at higher political office ended, Orville Hungerford began to refocus his energies on establishing the Watertown & Rome Railroad. The Erie Canal was opened in 1825 and many in the North County thought it unnecessary to develop a new mode of transportation to move goods and people. In the early 1830s, Clarke Rice thought otherwise and built a miniature model train, which he and William Smith displayed in the upper floor of a house on Factory Street in Watertown, New York.[55] Clarke believed that steam power on rail would supersede steam power dependent on a waterway. Clarke convinced his fellow masonic brother and the area's premier business person, Orville Hungerford, that Watertown was doomed as a backwater without a more modern connection to the commercial hub of the country, New York City. After all, the roads out of Watertown were slow and even slower in the rain and snow.

On April 17, 1832, the New York legislature incorporated the Watertown & Rome Railroad, naming Hungerford as one of its commissioners charged with promoting the line. Although, the initial act called for track to be laid within three years and the line to be completed within five years, a shortage of capital forced the promoters to seek extensions of the charter in 1837, 1845, and 1847 at which point Orville was elected its first president. He played a key role in raising the necessary capital. Unfortunately, he never got to see a train complete a journey because he died shortly before the inaugural run on May 29, 1851, covering the 53-mile stretch between Rome to the hamlet of Pierrepont Manor (originally called Bear Creak). The Hon. William C. Pierrepont, who owned the property where the railroad initially ended, followed Orville as president. At 11:00 p.m. on September 5, 1851, the first train steamed into the temporary passenger station on Stone Street in Watertown. The railroad named its fifth engine, the Orville Hungerford, in his honor.[56] Delivered to the railroad, on September 19, 1851, this engine, built by William Fairbanks in Taunton, Massachusetts, was twenty-one and a half tons in weight.

The "Orville Hungerford" Engine

By December of 1856 the railroad stretched 97 miles, "terminating at Rome upon the Erie Canal and N.Y. Central R.R., and at Cape Vincent upon the St. Lawrence River, in good order, with ample accommodations at each end, in the way of storage ground, docks, warehouses, elevator, and with sufficient equipment for a large and profitable traffic."[57] For the year ending 1856 the Railroad earned $440,290.63 and dispersed $219,218.34.[58]

Hungerford's primary interests consisted of making money so that he could support his political aspirations as well as fund his many philanthropic endeavors. Along with his Watertown, N.Y. business partners Adriel Ely and Orville V. Brainard, Hungerford was a member of the American Art Union, which established an admission-free art gallery at 497 Broadway in New York.[59] Among other benefits, the annual dues of $5 entitled subscribers to receive a copy of an engraving of an American painting.[60] Hungerford's nephew and business understudy, Solon Dexter Hungerford, was an honorary secretary of the organization.[61]

After a 12-day illness starting out as bilious cholic, Orville Hungerford died on April 6, 1851.[62] The Otsego Democrat newspaper in Cooperstown, N.Y. stated that the cause of his death was "apoplexy", i.e., the archaic term for stroke.[63]

The entire community, especially the business interests, mourned the passing of Hungerford. The Board of Directors of the Watertown and Rome Railroad Company held a special meeting on April 8, 1851 to discuss the untimely death of Hungerford, resolving "[t]hat the members of this Board attend the funeral in a body, and wear crape on the left arm thirty days, as further testimony of respect for the memory of their deceased President."[64] Similarly, on the morning of April 9, 1851, the Merchants of the Village of Watertown gathered at Paddock Arcade, the second oldest indoor shopping mall in the country, resolving to "close our stores from 10 to 2 o'clock, and attend the funeral of our deceased brother and friend, in a body."[65]

Hungerford's funeral service was held in the First Presbyterian Church, which he helped fund and rebuild, across the street from his house on Washington Avenue in what is now the City of Watertown, New York.[66] He was then buried several miles away in a humble grave near his parents and siblings in the "Old Grounds" on the former Sawyer Farm in what is now the Town of Watertown, New York. In 1854, his son Richard E. Hungerford spent $256 to purchase a lot in the contiguous Brookside Cemetery, so that the family could erect a mausoleum.[67] Orville's body would be reinterred there on the south side of the gothic crypt in 1860. In the coming years, numerous family members would be buried in this beautiful cemetery, which was being increasingly graced with ever more elaborate monuments.[68]

His wife, Betsy, the matriarch of the family, died on September 17, 1861 and was interred alongside her husband in the Hungerford mausoleum in Brookside Cemetery.[69] A Watertown Village newspaper stated the following in her obituary: "In her death the church has lost one of its brightest ornaments, one whose piety was never doubted, whose zeal knew no abatement, whose contributions in all the departments of Christian benevolence were as constant an unremitting as they were noble and generous.".[70]

In many respects, Orville Hungerford, known for his honesty and industriousness, epitomized the self-made man of the nineteenth century. The New York Herald, a newspaper with one of the largest readerships in the country, published Orville's obituary, concluding that "[h]is public reputation, doubtless, rests mainly on his talents as a financier."[71] Decades after his death, a journalist recalled that "[Orville] had rare financial talents, and was a first-class business man." [72] Alas, as time has gone by, Hungerford's achievements have faded along with the pages of old history books.

Most of Hungerford's descendants moved away from Watertown in the twentieth century when industrial malaise struck the region. His memory, however, is still kept alive by some of his scattered family members. Through his granddaughter's progeny - Helen Mary Hungerford Mann - he is honored by having his name bestowed on four generations of males.

In July 1908, Jeannette Huntington Riley noted in a letter written for a history of the Adriel Ely family that "Orville Hungerford was a dignified and some might have said a cold, stern man; but to me, only a young girl, he was always exceedingly kind. I am always proud to say I had an uncle who went to Congress when it meant something!" She also noted that his wife, her "aunt Betsy, [was] the sweetest--no other word would express her character."[73]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Orville Hungerford.

• United States Congress. "Orville Hungerford (id: H000968)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Orville Hungerford at Find a Grave