The following letter was written by Dunham
Cortright, a resident of Tioga County in 1847. It was addressed to Sidney
Humphrey Hayden of Towanda, Pennsylvania. Dunham was one of many pilots of
the Susquehanna River who took arks laden with various commodities to ports
downriver.
Owego [New York]
August 2, 1847
Mr.
[Sidney]
Hayden,
Sir. I came over to the village early this morning to run
your ark according to our talk last week & found Eben
Allen already to start it. Consequently, I am disappointed in the running of this
one. I expect to have the running of the rest when they are ready. I had made
calculation to run them all & will be ready at a moment’s notice to start
at any time hereafter. With regard to my ability to run on low water, if you are
not already satisfied with that, I can give as good recommend as any man in this
town. I do not think
Mr.
Allen
has done the fair thing with me although he has done as he has heretofore not
only by me but by many other pilots here. If you say I shall have the rest to
run, I will deliver them as soon as any man can after they are ready and as
cheap. I don’t care who the next man may be.
Yours &c.
--
Dunham
Cortright
Dunham Cortright
is believed to be the same gentleman who appears in the 1860 US Census with a
residence in Wharton Township, Potter County, Pennsylvania. This Dunham
Cortright was born about 1816 in New York, and married someone named Louisa,
also a native of New York. This couple's first three children were born in New
York, and at least three more were born in Pennsylvania after 1850. Daniel's
occupation in 1860 was that of a lumberman. This same Dunham Cortright appears
to have served in Company H, 46th Pennsylvania Infantry during the Civil War and
may have died during the war. His wife, Louisa Cortright, filed as widow for
veteran's benefits in June 1868.
Sidney
Humphrey Hayden was born 1 March 1813 in Colebrook, Winsted County,
Connecticut. His parents were Luke Hayden and Ruth Humphrey. Sidney married
Florella E. Miller of Torrington, Connecticut on 23 March 1836 and came to
Athens, Bradford County, Pennsylvania in 1840 after a brief residency in Candor,
Tioga County, New York. The following is an excerpt from a history of Bradford
County: "...Sidney Hayden was to discover the brick-making properties
of the clay beds in the old glacial pits on the plains (now known as the Sayre
Ponds), build the fine red brick mansion still standing near them in its grove
of pines, and inaugurate the Age of Brick in the valley."
The identity of Eben
Allen is unconfirmed. There was an Eben Allen living in Tioga County, New
York in 1860 but he was born about 1793 and his occupation at that time was
shoemaker. Another Eben Allen resided in nearby Bradford County, Pennsylvania in
1850. He was born about 1808 and his occupation is given as farmer.
