Cortland Semi-Weekly Standard, Tuesday, April 21, 1903.
A FAMOUS CARRIAGE
Formerly Owned and Used by General Roswell Randall.
NOW OWNED BY H. D. FREER.
A Remarkable Story Concerning it that Started as a Huge Joke—Its Real History Eliminates Some Famous Characters in Connection With it but Brings in Some Other Parties.
The Ithaca News of Tuesday publishes the cut of a famous old carriage that was once owned in Cortland, which we reproduce herewith through the courtesy of The News, and has the following to say concerning it:
Few Ithacans have ever known that one of the oldest, if not the oldest, coach in this state is owned near Ithaca. It is now in the dinningroom of the Taughannock Falls hotel, and may soon be sold under the auctioneer’s hammer.
This relic of the old days, when our powdered headed great grandfathers rode out in state behind their proud negro coachman, has been in the possession of Landlord H. D. Freer for nearly fifteen years.
The coach was built in Paris, France, about 1770. It was brought to America by a French general who accompanied Lafayette to this country during the Revolutionary war. Its ups and downs from that time were many.
After the war the coach was presented to Alexander Hamilton and through him was brought to New York state. Upon the death of Mr. Hamilton the coach passed into the possession of the father of James Fennimore Cooper, who brought it to what was then a wilderness, but is now Cooperstown. The Cooper family used the coach for several years, and it was pointed to as the handsomest carriage in the state.
Mr. Cooper willed it to a veteran patriot, General Roswell Randall of Cortland, in whose family it remained for years, finally coming into the possession of James Schermerhorn. It was purchased from him by Mr. Freer in 1888. Since that time the old carriage has occupied a proud place in the old diningroom at the Falls hotel amid a collection of rare old china and bric-a-brac in an environment in keeping with its age.
The old coach is in good condition and has often been used by the guests of the hotel upon festive occasions. It has been a plan of Mr. Freer’s to have each summer the guests dress in old fashioned clothes and drive to Trumansburg in the old vehicle. The rich trimmings which once decorated the coach have now faded to a more somber hue, but the running gear and frame are still in good condition.
Explanation and Apology.
Immediately upon seeing the above a Standard man called up The News by telephone and said that the article in question would have considerable interest in Cortland since the carriage is still remembered here. He added that the Standard building stands upon what was formerly the lawn of General Randall’s place and as he sat speaking at the telephone he was within a hundred feet of the general’s old home. He expressed his intention of reprinting the story and asked the loan of the picture, which the manager of The News very kindly promised to send him.
Then thinking that perhaps some additional particulars could be obtained here in Cortland in regard to the history of the carriage, he made some inquiries from those in position to know and found that the real history was quite different in some respects from that published in The News. He learned that the names of some of the historical characters introduced were connected with the carriage simply as a great joke which evidently in the lapse of years had become accepted as fact. It appears that while in truth the carriage must lose its French general of Revolutionary fame, must lose Alexander Hamilton and the father of Cooper the novelist, it does gain ex-Senator David B. Hill and possibly others.
This explanation is offered as an apology, for it seems decidedly discourteous to accept the kindness of the loan of The News’ picture and then explode its story, but The News can now bank upon the truth of The Standard’s version of the matter.
The Real History.
The carriage was bought in New York by General Roswell Randall over seventy-five years ago and was paid for by him and was brought to Cortland for its first use. A member of the Randall family well remembers its beauty in those early days. It was painted a dark green and its upholstery in the same color was remarkably handsome. That it was the most stylish carriage in the vicinity goes without saying. General Randall sold the carriage to his son, William P. Randall, who used it for his wedding journey in 1834 and with his bride made the trip in it from Cortland to New Jersey and back.
William P. Randall was a famous dealer in fine horses, owned several stage lines and conducted a livery stable in Cortland. This carriage was finally put into the stable for public use. In this capacity it carried many notable people who visited the place. As the years passed it got out of date and finally was pushed into a corner of the stable and there remained.
Early in the eighties A. M. Schermerhorn of Cortland, a son of the James Schermerhorn referred to in The News item, opened a carriage repository on Port Watson-st., next the Randall livery stable. He often saw the old carriage and thought as an antique it would be an acquisition to his salesroom. He bought it and had it all refinished so that it looked more as in earlier days. It was often out upon the streets then and Mr. Schermerhorn recalls a drive in it to Glen Haven with Dr. J. M. Milne as a companion. The long thorough braces gave the carriage a peculiar roll on a rough road which made Dr. Milne absolutely seasick.
The indignation of W. P. Randall is recalled as one day he saw Mr. Schermerhorn driving through the streets with this carriage with a streamer on either side advertising his carriage repository and salesrooms. Mr. Randall said he supposed Mr. Schermerhorn had bought this vehicle as a family carriage and not as an advertising medium.
The History Manufactured.
Then came a day when the State fair was held in Elmira and a fine old carriage was sought in which to convey Governor David B. Hill, the guest of honor, out to the fire grounds. This carriage was asked for and was sent to Elmira and used for that purpose, being drawn by four white horses.
There are a few jokers in Cortland. Some of them may now be found each day swapping stories at the Tioughnioga clubrooms. If this carriage was to go to Elmira it ought to have a history, and one was prepared for it. Here the French general was first introduced. His name was never known. Perhaps it was too hard to spell or pronounce, but it was enough that he was a friend of Lafayette. Here too, Alexander Hamilton gained his first and only connection with the carriage and likewise the father of Cooper, the fiction writer. It was no effort to prepare history (?) in regard to such a carriage. As some one said of it yesterday, the story started then and it has been growing ever since. The Elmira papers were informed of the wonderful past of this carriage and they exploited it, and at intervals ever since it has been referred to. A New York paper not long ago detailed the story invented by a few jokers and now the Ithaca News is led to tell the same tale. All have no doubt done it honestly since the Elmira trip and Governor Hill’s ride in the carriage.
In 1888 Mr. Schermerhorn sold the carriage to Henry D. Freer, formerly of Cortland, then proprietor of the Ithaca hotel and later of the Taughannock Falls House, and Mr. Freer has used it as The News says.
It is a fine old carriage. It does go back in history over seventy-five years. It has carried in its day many notable people in Cortland and elsewhere, but it had no connection with a French general, nor with Hamilton, nor with Cooper.
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