RALPH BIRDSALL
Rector of Christ Church
With Sixty-eight Illustrations from Photographs
NEW YORK,
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS,
1925
Copyright, 1917, by
Ralph Birdsall
First printing, July, 1917
Second printing, December, 1917
Third printing, August, 1920
Fourth printing, August, 1925
Printed in the United States of America
FOREWORD
The ensuing narrative is a faithful record of life in Cooperstown from the earliest times, except that the persons and events to be described have been selected for their story-interest, to the exclusion of much that a history is expected to contain. The dull thread of village history has been followed only in such directions as served for stringing upon it and holding to the light the more shining gems of incident and personality to which it led. Trivial happenings have been included for the sake of some quaint, picturesque, or romantic quality. Much of importance has been omitted that declined to yield to such treatment as the writer had in view. The effort has been made to exclude everything that seemed unlikely to be of interest to the general reader. Those who seek family records, or the mention of all names worthy to be recorded in the history of the village, will find the book wanting.
The local history has been already three times recorded, first in 1838 by Fenimore Cooper, whose work was brought down to date by S. T. Livermore in 1863, and by Samuel M. Shaw in 1886. While now out of print many copies of these books are still accessible.
CONTENTS
| CHAPTER | PAGE | |
| [I.] | The Indians | [1] |
| [II.] | The Coming of the White Men | [26] |
| [III.] | A Bypath of the Revolution | [51] |
| [IV.] | The Beginning of the Settlement | [74] |
| [V.] | A Village in the Making | [89] |
| [VI.] | Old-Time Love and Religion | [109] |
| [VII.] | Homes and Gossip of Other Days | [130] |
| [VIII.] | The Pioneer Court Room | [150] |
| [IX.] | Father Nash | [163] |
| [X.] | The Immortal Natty Bumppo | [174] |
| [XI.] | Strange Tales of the Gallows | [192] |
| [XII.] | Solid Survivals | [211] |
| [XIII.] | The Birthplace of Base Ball | [247] |
| [XIV.] | Fenimore Cooper in the Village | [258] |
| [XV.] | Mr. Justice Nelson | [299] |
| [XVI.] | Christ Churchyard | [326] |
| [XVII.] | From Apple Hill to Fernleigh | [339] |
| [XVIII.] | The Lake of Romance and Fishermen | [364] |
| [XIX.] | Twentieth Century Beginnings | [393] |
| [Village Map and Guide] | [432] |