In these unpretentious graves at Grandview Cemetery in Whitesboro lie Colonel Lansing and his wife, Mary. The plaques were installed by the Oriskany chapter of the D.A.R.
Beneath these twin oak trees, which once bordered the drive leading to Col. Lansing's home, the
Marquis de Lafayette was received by Col. Lansing, his compansion in arms at Yorktown, on June 10, 1825.
The trees, which have been gone for many years, are marked by a commemmorative placque installed by the
Oriskany Chapter of the D.A.R. in 1923.
Here at the entrance of the grounds
of Col. Gerrit G. Lansing
stood the two oaks underneath which
the Marquis de Lafayette,
Col. Lansing's Companion in Arms
at Yorktown
was received on the morning
of June 10, 1825
by the residents of Oriskany
|
[HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY]
Oriskany Manufacturing Company
Village's First Industry
Was Headed by Col. Lansing
"In the year 1811, the aspect of affairs with Great Britain having become serious, a number of promient gentlemen, urged by patriotic motives, were induced to start the enteerprise of manufacturing woolen goods, and thereby render their country independent of Engladn for a supply of clothing. Among them were Seth Capron, Jonas Platt, Thomas Gold, Newton Mann, Theodore Sill, Nathan Williams, William Tracy, De Witt Clinton, Ambrose Spencer, John Taylor and Stephen Van Rensselear.
The Oriskany Manufacturing Company was incorporated in 1811. The buildings were erected at the village of Oriskany, near the subsequent location of the Erie Canal. Gerrit C. Lansing was named president of the company.
The satinets made by this company sold readily at $4 per yard, and their broadcloths from $10 to $12 per yard but, to counterbalance these prices, for the first four years after they commenced operations they paid an average of $1.12 per pound for their wool.
The machinery used consisted of eight sets of cards, with a proportionate number of spindles and looms. Over 100 hands were employed, and the manufacturers amounted to more than 100,000 yards annually.
After various reverses and successes, the company finally closed business about 1856-7, after which the buildings were purchased by A. B. Buell of Utica, and transformed into a furnace.
[1790 NEW YORK CENSUS]
Name of head of family: Lansing, Gerrit
Free white males of 16 years and upward, including heads of families: 1
Free white males under 16 years: 4
Free white females, including heads of families: 4
All other free persons: 3
[The Pioneers of Utica The Second Charter p.332]
Fresh from his legal studies at Whitesboro, there came in 18xx the first of two brothers Lansing, who long were prominent in the society and business of Utica. They were sons of Colonel Gerrit G. Lansing of Oriskany, a brother of Chancellor Lansing of Albany, and a heroic participant in the scenes of the Revolution.
Born at Albany, Dec 11, 1760, Colonel Lansing entered the army at the beginning of the war, and served until its close, was present at several important battles, and at Yorktown, under Colonel Hamilton, he led the forlorn hope as lieutenant.
In 1802, this gallant soldier and true gentleman of the old school settled at Oriskany, and lived there on his pension and his patrimony until his death, on the 27th of May 1831.
Both in the army and after his removal to Oneida county, Colonel Lansing was distinguished for his high integrity and his patriotism, as well as for his ability and his enterprise.
His wife was a daughter of Colonel Edward Antill, an Englishman by birth, but an officer of the Revolutionary army, high in the confidence of General Washington. After her husband's death, she lived in Utica until her own death, on the 24th of August, 18xx. She possessed in an eminent degree the qualities that make true womanhood.
[Ontario County]
Colonel Gerrit G. Lansing, an officer in the War of the Revolution, and who served gallantly in the "forlorn hope" at the battle of Yorktown, Va.,attached to Colonel Alexander Hamilton's command. Colonel Lansing married a daughter of Edward
Antill, who was a granddaughter of Lewis Morris, esq., the first governor of New Jersey, at the city of Albany, N. Y., in the year 1786. Edward Anti11 was also an officer in the War of the Revolution, being the lieutenant colonel of a regiment, the origin and condition of which was different from any *other in the service, it being unattached to the quota of any State, was raised and recruited in Canada, and made up entirely of Canadians, and was known and called "Congress's Own."
Colonel Lansing had by his wife, Mary Antill, three sons, Richard R.,
Barent B., and Edward Antill.
[Utica and Its Savings Bank 1839-1939, p.16]
When Lafayette visited America in 1824-25, he was greatly interested in the [Erie] canal. He got a glimpse of the
eastern terminal at Albany in 1824, and the next year, toward the end of his tour, he came into the Mohawk Valley from
the west, arriving at Rome on June 9. There he was waited upon by a delegation from Utica, among whom was Colonel
Lansing who had fought by his side at Yorktown.
He passed the night in Colonel Lansing's home at Oriskany. In the morning, after a reception at Whitesboro, a procession
was formed and Lafayette was escorted to Utica.
[Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army, p.340]
Lansing, Garrett G. (N. Y.). Ensign 3d New York, 6th February, 1779; transferred to 1st New York, 1st January,
1781, and served to 3d June, 1783. (Died 27th May, 1831.)
[Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots, Vol. 3]
LANSING Gerrit I 25 mi N of Albany, Lansingville NY 56
[ONEIDA RESERVATION LAND MAPS, NY STATE ARCHIVES]
Map #54
Map of the Oriskany or Oriskary Patent, Oneida county; by G. Lansing, surveyor, June, 1785.