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A Short Biographical History Of Nearly 70 Years Of The Life Of N. B. Beers, Written By Himself, January 1st, 1886

A Short Biographical History Of Nearly 70 Years Of The Life Of N. B. Beers, Written By Himself, January 1st, 1886 image
Parent Issue
Day
21
Month
April
Year
1886
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

For severul years past I have been solicited to write something relative to my public and private life, but liaving lost my record, I thought it wou ld be quite diffieul'. to write an article of this kind extending so far back in the pust. Af ter duo consideration I liare coucluded to waive the difflculty of loss of dates and trusting to memory shall endeavor to be as accurate as posaible. This brief liistory may to some appear digjointed as it will be interspersed with accounts of wlmt I saw in going from place to place, and how it appeared to me in luy youthful days. In succeeding years, I was amoitious to do what I could for tbe benefit of pecple and the country at large, and will here name some of the most important acts of my life, whicu will be referred to in detail in the proper place. The revising, correcting and extending the coast and harbor survey, the mechunie's lien law in the state of New York for the protection of the laboring class and artisan, and the invention of the T rail so extensively used at this time wherever you find a railroad. I was boni September 17, 1807, in tüe town of New Milford, Litchlield county, Connecticut. I remember nothing worthy of note until [ became ten years of age. The year 1817 seemed the beginning of a new era in my life. In that year a terrible epidemie broke out in the City of New York, more alarmïng than anytliing of the kind that had ever occurred there. The population at that time was estimated at 150,000. The eople were so panic stricken it was thought half of them fled from tbe city, aceking refuge in the country with relatives and friends as best they could. There were few wealthy pcople in the surrounding country at that time, they had not yet recovered from the efl'ects of the war of 1812. People were unwilling to risk their owu lives to nurse the Eick and the city councll passed au ordinance to press them into tlie service, the penalty of refusing heilig linu and imprisouuieiit. From 200 to 300 dled daily. The only ment that was allowed to be Drought into the market and sold was uiutton, so the dealers in stock had to confine themselves to buying sheep. A gentleman, by the name of Glover, iving hu my father 60 miles frora New York, got a contract to deliver 500 sheep in the city weekly. Mr. Glover kept dome of the iheep on his own farm and a large number on my father's farm, which was made his headquarters. It would be no great task at the present time to get sheep together for a large drove, but going back to the year 1817, six or eight men had to travel a radius of 50 or 100 miles through the country in diSerent directions to keep up the supply at headquarters. Slieep could travel 15 miles or less a day. There were no rallroads then. Boy-like, I had a great desire to go to New York and see the city for the rirst time. We named the matter to Mr. Oiover and soou flnding it necessary to have two boys to assist him in di iving the sheep to market it was worked up in a satisfactory marnier that a neighbor's boy and myself should go with him. It was a dangerous time to vislt the city, but in charge of Mr. Glover, with the understandiug that we were to submit to his orders at all times, we started on our long journey and after several days arrived in the city late in the afteruoon, stopped at Bullshead hotel and secured our sheep in the pen or stockyard for the night. Then we had an opportunity to listen to conversation pertaining to the city ordi nances, that owing to the fearful fatalitytof the epidemie no funerala were allowed, all the dead must be buried in the Potter's field, must be taken there at night between the hours of 10 p. m. and 3 a. in. Mr. Glover flnding we wlshed to takc u walk, gave us some good advice, Baying: "Boys, you must not go down near the Intected district. You must go north onlyjust so far as you would be quite likely to get lost." There were then no lamps and no night watchea as they were then called. As nothing was said about Potter's field, we tooit it for granted that we were not restrained from going there, so we did not gut lost. We had heard enough to rnalilu us to liml the place. It was a irly and there was no one there but the guard. We had to wait sometiin', but iiually were allowed to go near enough tb see the preparations for placing the dead in one common grave. In long trenches 1% ll'et wide and 8 feet deep the bodies were deposited in this manner: The lid of the coflln being removed a stout man at each end of it would turn it over and the body would drop into the treuchcrossways, a man standing on each side to place them in straight layers and a little earth was thrown in just sufficlent to cover the remains and then it VU already to repeat the same procesa the next uight, tbe cofBna being taken back each time to be used over again. Washington Square, the place where Gen. Washington in the days of the revolutionary war, used to drill and aspect hU little army, was then used as the Potter's field. No more were intened there after the epidemie of 1817, and after some time the place was converted into a pleasure ground with fine buildings on every side. The year 1817 was a remarkable one, not to be forgotten by persons living at that time. The coldestand driest tammer ever experienced in the New Kuglund States. There was a scareity of hay.grain and fruit owing to the heavy frosts, and so little ruin. Cattle as wcll as people sutïered for want of water. There were heavy frosts almost every week through the sunimer, and people would be seen stacking their hay with overcoats on. The sun liad three large dark spota on lts disk, the atmosphere so smoky, they ouM b vwry distluctly mb.

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Subjects
Ann Arbor Courier
Old News