| Back to SOMERS, NY SOMERS, NEW YORK History Page HISTORY - TIMELINE 1609-1779 ~ 1781-1807 ~ 1808-1827 ~ 1828-1840 ~ 1841-1850 ~ 1851-1865 ~ 1865-1866 BACK TO SOMERS MUSEUM |
1808 1809-1817 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1816 1817-1825 1817 1818 1819 1820 1823 1825-1829 1825 1826 1827 |
| 1808 - 1827 Stephentown name changed to Somers by State Legislature in honor of Commander Richard Somers, Tripoli War hero; 32 other town names also changed. First recorded ownership of elephant by Hachaliah Bailey is for Old Bet. Old Bet is made part of a rental agreement between Bailey and Brunn and Lent. Title of the Church meeting in the Union Meeting House becomes The Congregational Church of Somers; The Rev. Silas Constant is the first pastor. [Link here to Circus History] James Madison - President of United States Somers Museum newspaper established. Bailey-Lent elephant-tiger exchange gives Bailey half ownership of Lent's tiger. [Abraham Lincoln born; Washington Irving writes the history of New York] Population of Somers now 1,772. [West Florida annexed] First Somers Post Office established in the hamlet. Somers Museum editor Cushing dies. Cholera epidemic begins. [Work begins on National Road linking East and Midwest; Pittsburgh's first rolling mill opens] Cholera epidemic causes many Somers deaths. Katonah's Squire wood builds another bridge at Woods Bridge site. Miller Brother's mill on Mill Brooks (south of Route 35) supplies cloth to the army. [War of 1812 begins (to 1814); Use of Uncle Sam to personify the federal government attributed to Samul Wilson, Troy, NY inspector of army supplies. His nickname is Uncle Sam] $80 raised to repair Deans Bridge. [British defeated at Battle of Lake Erie] Road from present-day Whitehall Corners to Croton River laid out (Rte.35) [British burn Capitol and White House; National anthem - Star Spangled Banner written; Treaty of Ghent ends War of 1812] Old Bet deliberately shot in Alfred, Maine on July 24. [Regular transatlantic service in sailing ships begins between Liverpool and New York. James Monroe - President of United States Old Bet's skeleton shown in New York. Little Bett and Columbus arrive from Calcutta India for Hachliah Bailey. (1) [Erie Canal started] Somers' Gerard Crane travels country with lion-lioness exhibit. [Number of stripes in U.S. flag limited to 13] Union Society purchases one acre of land for parsonage site now next to Somers Hamlet firehouse. [Adam-Onis Treaty (1) (2) cedes Florida to U.S. from Spain; Savannah crosses Atlantic, mostly under steam] Elephant Hotel construction is started by Hachaliah Bailey at the crossroads on Somerstown Plain. [Missouri Compromise - slavery illegal north of Lat. 36 in Lousiana Purchase] Dr. Elias Cornelius dies. [Monroe Doctrine issued] John Quincy Adams - President of United States Elephant Hotel opened by Hachaliah Bailey. Gerard and Thaddeus Crane obtain one-third interest in Little Bett. Granite Springs' Christian Society organized. The Rev. Silas Constant dies. [354-mile Erie Canal - longest at time - opens Oct. 26; enhances New York State's commercial success as Empire State] Little Bett is shot in Chepachet, Rhode Island. [Thomas Jefferson, John Adams die July 4, 50th anniversary of Declaration of Independence]. Justices of Peace to be elected locally; with the Supervisor they comprise the Town Board. Elephant Statue commemorating Old Bet is erected in front of Elephant Hotel. [New Orleans celebrates first Mardi Gras] |