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BETWEEN THE OCEAN AND THE LAKES
the effect of whose political patronage would be
likely to be neutralized by the patronage of the railroad,
the latter not being under State control, thus
making it impossible to manage the politics of the
State, so well as they are managed now; and, surely,
as the gentleman says, that is of far more importance
than the railroad to a State already amply provided
with means of commercial transportation by
its own canal."
was State Senator John P. Jones, a power in Southern
New York in those days.
To aid in paying the expenses of the survey, the
United States Government furnishing the engineer
corps, which was in charge of Colonel Clinton, the
first subscriptions to Erie stock were made, October
18, 1832, as follows: Eleazar Lord, merchant, New
York, 201 shares; Rufus L. Lord, merchant, New
York, 420 shares; Michael Burnham, printer, New
(William C. Redfield, who, as we have seen, first York, 101 shares; Richard M. Lawrence, merchant,
brought the subject of such a railroad forward, and
who had its interests greatly at heart, voiced the
bitter disappointment that this act of the President
brought to all friends of the infant project in the
letter to the Hon. Samuel Preston on page 17.)
New York, three shares; Jeremiah H. Pierson, manufacturer,
Ramapo, N. Y., 151 shares; Josiah G. Pierson,
manufacturer, Ramapo, N. Y., one share; Cornelius
Goetchings, one share; Solomon Humphrey,
one share; Daniel C. Heuring, one share; Thomas
This unexpected darkening of the prospects of the Ward, clerk, New York, one share. With the exception
New York and Erie Railroad at the very start was
of the Goetchings, Humphrey, Heuring,
discouraging to the advocates of the enterprise. and Ward subscriptions, on which 5 per cent.
The New York and Erie Railroad Company could was paid, the subscribers paid in 10 per cent, on
not defray the expenses for the survey for the proposed
route for the very excellent reason that there
was as yet no New York and Erie Railroad Company,
nor could there be one until $10,000,000 had
been subscribed as its capital and $500,000 of it paid
in.
That event was, under the circumstances, a
great distance in the future.
railroad did not lose heart.
But the friends of the
The counties to be
benefited by the work were appealed to and asked
to make up the necessary fund for the expenses of
the survey through their respective territory by public
subscription.
The only counties that responded
to the call were Rockland, Sullivan, and Orange.
The following letter will throw some light on the
subject of this now long-forgotten Erie survey:
Moxticello, N. Y.. September 28, 1832.
D. K. Minor, 35 Wall St., New York.
Sir: It may be gratifying to the friends of the New York
and Erie Railroad to learn that the survey of the route near
this place was commenced last week under the direction of
Col. DeWitt Clinton, and thatit is proposed to continue the
survey to the Hudson this fall. Thefirst ten miles of the
route proves very feasible. The surface is comparatively even,
and a gradual descent towards the Delaware and Hudson
Canal of from twenty to twenty-five feet per mile.
Respectfully yours,
J. P. Jones.
D. K. Minor was editor of the New York American
and the American Railroad Journal,
j. P. Jones
their subscriptions, the total cash received being
$9,880.
The survey through Rockland, Orange, and Sullivan
counties was completed in the fall of 1832, and
a report of it made to the Government and the company,
which was the last ever heard of it, that being,
however, a matter of no particular consequence, as
it was of no use whatever to the furthering of the
advancement of work on the New York and Erie
Railroad.
The experiences of the Subscription Committee
thus far in its efforts to get the great work in some
tangible shape left no doubt in its mind that unless
the Legislature could be induced to modify the charter
in important particulars, and to grant other concessions,
there would be no possible use of spending
further time or labor in efforts toward forwarding
the undertaking, even so far as the organizing of a
company.
To these ends, such modifications and
concessions were asked for at the session of the New
York Legislature for 1833. In the face of much
opposition from the canal counties the charter was at
last so changed that a subscription of only $1,000,000
to the capital stock, instead of the entire $10,000,000,
was made obligatory before the company could organize,
of which 10 per cent, must be paid in. The
quorum of the Subscription Committee was also re-