Write a commentOn Tuesday evening, the Scriba Historical Society hosted Constantia Town Historian Christene Kieffer for an informative presentation on George Scriba.
Scriba Historical Society President Mary Himes introduced the speaker to a full house in the Scriba Municipal Building's Community Room. Himes also announced to cheers that the historical society has officially reached 501(c)3 status after several years of trying—meaning that donations to the Scriba Historical Society are now tax-deductible.
Kieffer commanded the room and her material with ease as she told the story of George Ludwig Christian Scriba. The namesake for the town of Scriba was born in Germany in 1752. After learning the merchant trade in Amsterdam, he and his younger brother Frederick began supplying the rebellious American colonists with ammunition. "George saw war as an opportunity to make money," Kieffer said.
After the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, Scriba settled in Philadelphia and then New York City, becoming one of the most successful businessmen in the new nation of the United States. Scriba’s personal life was not as bright and happy. He buried two wives and several children by the conclusion of the 1700s.
It was during a time of particular upheaval in his family life that George Scriba decided to pivot from trade to land development. He and numerous other investors purchased a large tract of land from John and Nicholas Roosevelt in the hope of creating a trade route to Canada via the Great Lakes. That tract of land included much of Oswego County and parts of Oneida County–an area currently covering 24 towns, 16 of which are in Oswego County.
The packed meeting room listened intently as Kieffer illuminated Scriba’s role in the history of the region. He paid for the first road to be built between Constantia (then known as Rotterdam) and Mexico point, then known as Vera Cruz. Maps from the time show that the road followed Scriba Creek and the southern branch of the Little Salmon Creek. Today, that same pathway includes County Route 23, County Route 69, and County Route 3.
Scriba envisioned a water trade route that avoided Oswego because, for over a dozen years after the end of the Revolutionary War, the British continued to occupy Fort Ontario. Once Oswego was safe to settle, much of Scriba’s plans fell to the wayside and the tracts he had high hopes for remained unsold and a drag on his fortune. After a long life of both great fortune and great poverty, George Scriba passed away at 84 in a mansion he had to deed to his son to avoid losing. The family was unable to afford to bury him in New York City along with his wife, so he was laid to rest in Constantia, where his grave can still be found today. His obituary noted him as a kind neighbor and warm-hearted friend, and other sources note his integrity and honor as well.
Kieffer informed the audience that, despite searching as hard as she could, she could find no evidence that Scriba ever stepped foot in the town bearing his name. "I really tried!" she said to laughter from the audience. That said, several of his family’s descendants currently live in the area.
As always, Historian Christene Kieffer had an incredibly thorough presentation with great primary sources and she efficiently waded through myth to get straight to the facts… quite the feat after nearly 250 years had passed!
For more information about events from the Scriba Historical Society, you can follow them on Facebook or visit their website, scribahistoricalsociety.org.
