THE CARRS OF CARR'S COVE
An Historical Research Paper
by
Claudia A. Chappell
April 11, 1962
English 102
Section 8
Mrs. Wuetig
Pages
I. Hartman
Carr 3rd Today ................................1,2
II. Forebears
A.
Great-grandfather, James Carr.............2 7
B. Grandfather,
Hartman Carr, Sr.......6 -7
C. Father, Henry
Clay Carr ..................7- 11
III. Hartman Carr 3rd
..............................................11-16
IV. Bibliography
....................................................17-18
V. Acknowledgements.............................................18
Page (1)
A few months ago there appeared a
feature article in a local newspaper, "The Citizen-Advertiser", of
Auburn, N. Y. about the Carr family of Carr's Cove. This brought to my mind
that I had studied about a James Carr in Social Studies when I was in the
seventh grade. My curiosity being aroused, I thought it would be interesting to
learn more of this old family. I knew that there were Cars still living on the
shores of Cayuga Lake at Carr's Cove, so I decided to investigate.
Carr's Cove is located on Cayuga Lake
about fourteen miles south and west of Auburn, New York, and one and one half
miles south of Union Springs, New York. It is within the Town of Springport and
is entirely contained within the Cayuga Indian Residence Reservation. The
"Cove", as it is referred to by the natives, is a calm, peaceful body
of water opening into Cayuga Lake and is unique for the lovely Lotus lillies
that bloom annually at its southern end. Nature made here a natural protection
for water fowl and its waters abound with many types of game fish. At this
beautiful location stands the “homestead” of the Carr family,
surrounded by lovely old trees. It is now the home of Hartman Care and his wife
Leona, who, also before her marriage was a Carr She was, in fact, her husband’s
fourth cousin. Hartman, or "Hart" as he is affectionately known, is
the great-grandson of the James Care I had originally heard of
(2)
in school.
Upon entering the home I was
immediately impressed with the beautiful blue eyes of the elderly gentleman who
rose to greet me. I noticed that he had been sitting in a charming antique
Boston Rocking chair which had been finished in the natural wood. On a cherry
drop-leaf table next to his chair, were some items of interest he had gathered
to show me. Hart is an extremely cordial gentleman. He walks with a slight limp
which is a result of a wound received in World War I. His manner is gracious,
his attitude keen and his lively interest in all things about him belie his
eighty five years. Most of this gentleman’s life has been spent right
here, in Carr's Cove near the very spot where his great-grandfather James Carr
built his first log home.
Great-grandfather James, was the founder of this fine
family. He had been a soldier in the Continental Army and a Captain in the
French and Indian Wars.1 He first saw
this area when he was with Lieutenant Col. Butler, whose men laid waste the
Indian villages on the east shore of Cayuga Lake. Camp was pitched September
21, 1779 at Gewauga, the present site of
1. Frederic Cook, General John
SullivanÕs Indian Expedition of 1779, Auburn, New York, 1887, p.318
(3)
of Union Springs, New York. This occurred during the
Sullivan Indian Expedition of 1779. On October 10, 1780, James Carr was captured at Fort Anne,
New York and was conveyed to Montreal, Canada where he was kept prisoner until
November 1782. At that time he was exchanged.
Following the war, James married Miss
Margaret Morrell of Cambridge, New York. They resided at Johnstown, New York
for a number of years where their first six children were born.4
During the Sullivan Campaign, James Carr was very much
impressed by the large yield of Indian Corn and the abundant crops on the peach
trees which were cultivated by the Indians. Although their military orders had
been to destroy these crops, the fertility of the soil in this area was indeed
apparent. For this reason, many young men returned as permanent settlers.
Since the financial situation of the
national government at this time could not afford monetary payment for military
services, the soldiers were given land grants in lieu of cash.
James Carr received approximately 1,600
acres as his payment. In addition to this land grant, he purchased from the
Indians, the small area surrounding Care's Cove.5 In 1797 he
2. Galpin, Central New York, an Inland Empire, 1941, Vol. II, p.15.
3.
Clinton S. Care, Record of the Carr Family in America, n.p., p.1.
4. Ibid. p.1.
5. Ibid. p.7.
(4)
returned alone, cleared some of the land and built a
log cabin near the shore of the Cove. He worked the land each spring, summer
and fall and then returned to his home in Johnstown,
New York for the winter. He walked each way every
spring and fall for three consecutive years; until in 1800 he returned with his
wife and six children. 6 On this final trip, they came through the wilderness
by ox team with their household goods, seeds and plant cuttings. The trip took
seventeen days. When we stop to consider the stamina of this early pioneer and
all that he and his family had to accomplish to carve a home in the wilderness,
we can better appreciate the pride and patriotism which exists in the Carr
family today.
James Carr was a great friend of the
Indians and he and the Red Men lived together in peace. When the Cayuga Indians
transferred to their reservation in Canada, because of the over population of
the white man, Canistoga, who was the chief of all of the Cayugas, was then a
very old man, lie asked James if he could be permitted to live out his days
beside the lake so dear to him, where he had spent so much of his life. His
tribe, including his squaw and his children, all left him there. He
6. Elliot G. Storke
& James H. Smith, History of Cayuga County. New York 1789-1879, Syracuse, New York, 1879. p. 364
Page (5)
lived for about three years afterwards and was cared
for during his last illness by James Carr and three of James' sons, Jonathan,
Jacob and Hartman.7
When Canistoga died, the Carrs buried
him according to known Indian rites. He was wrapped in his Chief’s
blanket, and laid in the grave beside him were his favorite musket, extra
leggings and moccasins (for his long Journey to the far land), food for several
days, a fur cap and some pottery vessels.8 His grave was dug where his Wigwam had
stood for so many years. This was on the west ridge of The Great Gully, next to
Mr. Utt's barn.9
It is located on what is known today as “The MacIntosh
Farm”.
Another famous Indian who lived south of
Carr’s Cove near what is now known as Farley’s Point was
Kanistagia, Chief of the Tuscaroras. He was called ‘Steel Trap’ and
was the King of the Tusoaroras. His wife, Esther was queen.10 Steel Trap was a great friend of Tames
Carr and his family and lived with them for several years. Indeed, the little
log cabin provided shelter to many of the Indians on frequent occasions. They
were
7. Carr. p.2.
8. Storke & Smith. p. 31
9. Carr. p. 2
10. Storke & Smith. p. 389
(6)
always welcome. Some years later, about 1810, Steel
Trap was poisoned by a white man and died.11
He was buried by James Carr, his son Hartman and grandson Henry. Soon
after Steel Trap’s death, his wife Esther and the small band of remaining
Tuscaroras moved west to what is now Buffalo, New York.12 Legend has it that the Carr family was asked to keep secret
the final resting place of this, the last of the Tuscarors Chiefs. The secret
has been handed down from father to son to this very day. No other white man
knows the location of Steel Trap’s grave.
After James had settled his family in their log home,
the family was increased by the birth of four more children, making ten in all.
13
In September of 1832, James Carr applied for a war pension which he received. After his death his widow was also entitled to be pensioned. He died May 3rd, 1839 at Springport, New York at the age of 78. He is buried in the old Quaker Cemetery in the Village of Union Springs. His wife died April 7th, 1843 and is buried next to her husband. 14
Hartman Carr, son of James and grandfather of Hart, the subject of this paper, was born in 1797 at Johnstown, New York.
11. Storke & Smith. p. 369
12. Temple R. Hollcroft, A Brief History of
Union Springs, p. 3
14. Ibid. p. 2
Page (7)
He came with his father to the Cove and lived all of
his life near the old homestead.15 In 1821 he married Ann Brook and they had fourteen
children.16 Hartman Carr was a Brick Maker and
carried on this business until his death. l7 During their married
life, Hartman and his wife Ann were to see the region transformed from a forest
to a populous community.
In 1850 records show that Hartman Sr.
owned 4 1/2 acres of ‘second class land’ in the Town of Springport,
valued at $483.00. Included with this land, was a house and small barn. His
taxes at this time were forty three cents, a meager amount campared to present
day rates · 18
Four of Hartman's sons were in the Civil War. Ashbel and
Henry C. (father of Hartman III) were in the 3rd New York Artillery.
Jonathan was a captain in the First Ohio Cavalry and Hartman Jr. was in the
Union Navy, Pacific Squadron, Flagship "Lancaster". 19
According to his grandson, Hartman Sr. was a fifer in the 19th New York
Regimental Band and Hartman Jr. participated in the battle between the Monitor
and the Merrimac.
Henry Clay Carr was the fifth son and
ninth child born to Hartman and Ann Carr. He was born December 24th, 1844. 20
He
15. Carr. p.4
16. Ibid. p. 4
17. Ibid p.7
18. Town of Springport, Assay Book for
1850-51.
19. Carr P. 9
& 10
20. Ibid p.4
Page (8)
went
into business with his father in the brick yard and during the Civil War
enlisted with his brothers and several cousins in the army. Before the Civil
War, a cornet band had been organized in the village of Union Springs Most of
the members of this band were
descendants of James Carr. One of JAmes Carr's grandchildren was the
leader of the band and another was its musical
21
The band provided entertainment for many local director.
occasions
and was indeed very popular. Many people of the day
considered
it one of the best bands in the State.
At
the outbreak of the Civil War, the cornet band enlisted as a group in the Army.22
They became the Regimental Band of the 19th New York Volunteers.23 Two of its members, Lafayette and
George W. Carr, cousins of Henry, were unfortunately captured at
Beachgrove, So. Carolina. They were imprisoned
and
died at Andersonville, Georgia.24 Lafayette, it seems, was a victim of a Captain Wirz. It is
not known whether he had tried
to
escape prison, or if it was a premeditated murder.
Soon
after the close of the Civil War, on November 27, 1867, to be exact, Henry Clay
Qarr married Georgia Simons.25
21. Storke & Smith. p. 385
22. Ibid. p. 385
23. Newspaper Clipping from the Scrapbook
of Georgia Carr.
24. Army
Registration Book, Union Springs, N. Y.
184. p.5
25. Carr. p.4
Page
(9)
It
was for this young couple that the pleasant brick home I visited, was built. In
this house their children were born. They were: Clinton and Lewis, now
deceased; Hartman III, the present occupant of the brick house; Sidney, who
live. in Ithaca and William, who lives in Michigan.
In
1876, upon the death of Hatman Carr Sr., Henry inherited the Brick Yard at the
Cove. By 1878, six men were employed
and 400,000 bricks were manufactured eaoh year. 26 It is from these bricks that
his home was built. Dishes and pottery objects were also made in the
“yard” and some of the dishes used in the home today were made on
the premises.
During
this time Henry and some members of his family used to cut ice in the Cove in
the winter time to be sold the following summer. In 1887 we note that 300 loads
of ice were supplied to residents in the village of Aurora from Carr's Cove.27 His son Hartman III told me that they
had great fun as young people, discovering apples among the ice cakes. The
apples had been stored there the previous winter when the ice was packed in the
huge ice house. These buried apples came out in remarkable condition and this
actually was early type of
26.
Storke & Smith. p. 374
27.
Scrapbook of Georgia
Carr
Page
(10)
cold
storage.
Henry
Carr was greatly interested in sports. He was a personal friend of Charles
Courtney, the famous single scull (a type of light rowboat) champion. Courtney
instigated Crew Racing at Cornell University and became their first Rowing
coach. Henry Carr was on Courtney’s own team for the first four—man
race against Cornell. Henry later became Game Protector for Cayuga County and
served in this capacity for nearly twenty years. He and his wife also conducted
a Dancing School. After his retirement as game protector, he ran a boat livery
and operated a ferry across Cayuga Lake.
A
newspaper clipping concerning the celebration of the 50th wedding anniversary
of this couple notes that in addition to the above, Henry Carr had been an
attache at the State Capitol in Albany during the Cleveland and Hill
administration of 1865. 28
It
is apparent that Henry and his wife must have both shared en interest in sprots
and the great out doors. Another newspaper clipping, taken from her own scrap
book tells how Mrs. Henry C. Carr, (Georgia Simons) actually walked all the way
from her home at Carr’s Cove, to the city of Auburn to
28.
Carr Scrap Book
Page
(11)
visit
her son, William. This she did on Thursday, September 25, 1917 in her 72nd
year. The distance she covered in the four hour interval was 13 1/2 miles.29 Quite an accomplishment for an old lady.
Henry
Carr died August 14, 1922 at the age of 83. His wife lived on see 92 years. Her
motto for a good long life was: “Be happy and have a good time".30
This cheerful bit of philosophy has been inherited by her many descendants.
Hartman
Carr 3rd, the third son of Henry and Georgia Carr was born December 30, 1876.31
Hartman married his distant cousin Leona Carr, January 1st, 1899, and they
started housekeeping in Union Springs. They have three children: Henry
Clay (Hank), Harlan (Gotch) and Marjorie Carr Smith. The boys were born in the
village and their daughter in Auburn.
Throughout
his life, Hart has been extremely interested in sports. Hunting, fishing,
swimming, baseball, football and track and field games have brought him many
honors.
When
he was a boy, Hart learned the Indian sign language and the finger language of
the deaf and dumb. An Indian called Walt Fox Lyon came from Canada to the Carr
home. During his stay he taught Hart and his father the indian language. Hart
was
29. Carr Scrap Book.
30. Ibid.
31. Ibid.