Ebenezer Walden

1838-39

HISTORY

                 Ebenezer Walden was born in the year 1777 in Massachusetts. In 1799 he graduated from Williams College, then made his way to Oneida County, New York where he studied law. In 1806 he was admitted to the New York State bar. That same year he made his way to Buffalo .

                In September, after hiking 35 miles from Batavia to Buffalo, he arrived. He was carrying a letter of introduction, much as Ebenezer Johnson had, from D. B. Brown to Judge Erastus Granger . He found Granger, then postmaster, at the post office, and presented his letter.

                He rented an office on Willink Avenue (Main Street), and nailed a sign to the door, "Ebenezer Walden ; attorney and counsellor-at-law." For nearly two years Ebenezer was the only lawyer west of Batavia. Unfortunately, when he arrived, the village was so small, there wasn't enough people to support his occupation. Therefore, he took on odd jobs of clerking in stores, trading, or anything else for money.

                In 1808 a total of eight lawyers constituted the Niagara County bar, and Walden was one.  In 1810 he purchased land at the east corner of Main and Eagle Streets that would be used for his residence. He invested heavily in real estate in this area, owning what became known as Walden Farm at what is now Fillmore and Walden Avenue. "By his judicious purchases and investments in lands, [he] became one of the wealthiest citizens in Buffalo ."

                In 1812 he was an elected member of the State Assembly covering Niagara (which included Erie at the time), Cattaraugus, and Chautauqua.

                "Walden seems to have possessed all the characteristics most admired in our American pioneers. Besides being eager to do his utmost to build up Buffalo and Western New York, he was kind and brave." During the War of 1812 Walden kept busy. Land owned by Walden is leased to the government and the Buffalo Barracks are erected. The front portion of the barracks later became what is the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site.

                When the village was burned by the British in December, he was one of the few who stayed behind trying to save as many lives as possible. He was eventually captured along with a small group of citizens, including Cyrenius Chapin . When Walden was left alone for a moment he disappeared behind a house and ran to safety. His own house was spared the first day, but the following day the British made sure to burn it.

                In October 1813, when the village welcomed Commodore Perry and General Harrison, Walden was appointed to the same committee that Josiah Trowbridge was vice president of.

                After the war, he erected the first brick dwelling in Buffalo . This was to replace his home, at Main and Eagle Streets, which was destroyed in December, 1813. For a time this home was used by General Winfield Scott as his headquarters.

                After the burning of the village, Walden took up the practice of law in Williamsville, with his later partner, Herman B. Potter .

                When the war ended, a committee was chosen to appraise the losses occurred during the war. Walden, Ebenezer Johnson, Charles Townsend , and several other prominent citizens were chosen to this committee.

                Walden was a director for a brick making company that was organized after the war, for the "chief purpose of furnishing the necessary capital and energy to supply the people with a better building material than wood."

                When the village of Buffalo was originally organized in 1816, Ebenezer Walden was there. He was one of the four original trustees, and was again in 1817. Also in 1816, he was a trustee of the newly chartered Bank of Niagara.

                The Buffalo Harbor Company was formed in April 1819, with Walden becoming a member.

                In 1819 or 1820 when the Niagara County Agricultural Society was formed in Buffalo, Walden was one of the first vice-presidents.

                Walden became the first judge of Erie County Court in 1823. He held the position for five years. He was a "thorough lawyer and commanded the confidence and respect of the bar who practiced in his court."

                He voted for John Quincy Adams, as a presidential elector in 1828.

                In 1832, when Buffalo was incorporated into a city, Walden became the first Alderman for the fifth ward.

LIFE AS A MAYOR

                  On March 13, 1838, the Common Council met and made Walden its choice for mayor. At two o'clock Walden sent his acceptance to the council. Immediately upon taking oath, he proceeded to appoint city officers.

                When he was chosen to serve as mayor of Buffalo in 1838, he was a member of the Whig party. In 1812 while he had been a member of the State Assembly, he was a Federalist.

                When the new Council was elected on March 8, 1838, the Daily Star Democratic had this to say: "The result of the election is by some claimed as a party affair. In the first ward, where there is an undoubted democratic majority, the candidates elected, without any party opposition, are one of each party. In no ward did the Democratic party ask for more than one candidate and in the fourth, where there is a strong Democratic majority, both candidates were Whigs, and elected without opposition."

                Later in March, a committee of Vigilance was formed to guard the polls at election time, similar to election inspectors of today.

                The first trial of Benjamin Rathbun , accused of forgery, was to be held on March 27, 1838, but postponed until April 5, in Batavia.   

                After the financial crash of 1837, many of the private schools in Buffalo closed, leaving the neglected public school system as the only alternative. In August 1838, a "resolution that committees of four from each ward be appointed to enquire into the condition of schools." This committee was to plan improvements in both public and private schools. Eventually a law was passed and the entire school system was reorganized. A superintendent, Oliver G. Steele , was appointed, and much of the responsibility of putting the new system into operation was left to him.

                The main features of the new school system were: "large schools...and substantially free instruction to all children residing in the city."

                After the mild winter of 1837 - 1838, Buffalo experienced a very cold summer, with frost in July and on September 2. 

PERSONAL LIFE

                  Ebenezer Walden met and married Suzanna Marvin, who was 17 years younger than he, in 1812. They had four children.

                    Walden owned much land in the downtown area. About 1830 Lewis F. Allen bought five acres from Walden at the southwest corner of Delaware and North Street and east of Bowery Street (now Irving Place). This was apparently purchased for use as a cemetery. An association was formed consisting of  George B. Allen, Russell Heywood Webster, Herman B. Potter, and Hiram Pratt, as trustees. The land was surveyed into lots by Joseph Clary. A number of lots were sold but the bodies interred were removed to Forest Lawn and the Cemetery abandoned about 1888-1891.

                  After his term as mayor, Walden retired to his farm in Lake View, New York, where his only son resided. Walden had named the area Lake View.  In 1880 he built the Lake View Hotel to serve the many traveling salesmen who arrived on the daily trains on the New York Central Railroad to sell their wares in the surrounding countryside. The original structure still stands at 1957 Lake View Rd.

                He died in Lake View on November 10, 1857. His body is in the Myer-Walden mausoleum in Forest Lawn Cemetery .

                Ebenezer Walden left a "reputation for integrity, benevolence and elevated patriotism which will always be associated with his memory."