Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2011, All Rights Reserved U.S. Data Repository Please read U.S. Data Repository Copyright Statement on this page: Transcribed and submitted by Linda Talbott for the US Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ ========================================================================= U.S. Data Repository NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization. Non-commercial organizations desiring to use this material must obtain the consent of the transcriber prior to use. Individuals desiring to use this material in their own research may do so. ========================================================================= Formatted by U.S. Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== NEWSPAPER: Fulton County Republican Thursday, September 1, 1904 =========================================================================== HIRAM CRONK, LAST OF ARMY OF 1812 __________________ Sole Survivor Now Gets Pension From State __________________ NOW ALMOST 105 YEARS OF AGE __________________ Not Likely to Enjoy Pension Very Long As All His Faculties Are About Gone -- He Passes Much of His Time in Sleep _________________ With most of his faculties gone and a constant sufferer from the infirmities incident to extreme old age, Hiram Cronk, the sole survivor of the war of 1812, lies on a bed in the little shack which he calls home in the village of Dunn Brook, near Rome, patiently looking for- ward to April 29 next, when, if he is still living, he will have rounded out his one hundred and fifth year. But it is doubtful if his aspirations in this respect will be realized, for he is failing rapidly, and it is hardly pos- sible that he will survive until winter. He is totally blind, almost entirely deaf, and the few words he utters are scarcely intelligble, save to his daugh- ter or his son-in-law, with whom he is passing his few remaining days. For the purpose of ascertaining the present state of his health and dis- covering whether the veteran's cond- ition had been *mellorated by the montly pension of $72 bestowed upon him by the state at the last session of the legislature, a correspondent jour- neyed to Dunn Brook. He found Cronk at the home of Mrs. Sarah A. Rowley, his daughter. The old man lay in a half-reclining position on the bed, propped up by pil- lows. He moved his sightless eyes when the reporter entered the room, seeming to understand that a visitor had arrived, though he is stone deaf, and it is necessary to use an ear trum- pet when speaking to him. His daughter employed this method to apprise him of the reporter's call. A few moments later the veteran turned his face away and soon his laborious breathing indicated that he had drop- ped off into a doze. By way of explanation Mrs. Rowley said that her father spends most of his time sleeping and converses very little, often going several days without ut- tering a syllable. When he talks he asks about present-day happenings, seldom, if ever, recurring to the events of years ago, when he had a part in repelling the British from Sackett's Harbor on Lake Ontario. He keeps no track of the seasons, nor of the days of the week and finds it impossible to remember events from day to day. He suffers constantly dur- ing his waking hours. It is impossible for him to move without assistance. The monthly pension of $72 voted Cronk by the legislature has been a godsend to him. Before it was grant- ed he had received $25 a month from the federal government, but this amount was insufficient to provide him with more than the bare necessaries of life. At the present time he has an attendant and in many other ways he has been made more comfortable. Despite Hiram Cronk's rapid decline during the past ten months, it is inter- esting to note that he began to cut sev- eral new teeth about seven months ago, and a spot on his head which a few years ago was completely bald now shows a healthy growth of hair, as soft and fine as a baby's. Cronk was born at Frankfort, Herki- mer county, N.Y., April 29, 1800, and has spent practically his entire life within the borders of this state. When about 14 he enlisted in the United States army. The war of 1812 was then nearing its close and he took small part in the actual fighting, but that was not his fault. He enlisted to fight, but luck was against him. Things were pretty warm along the northern frontier of New York after the war had lasted about two years and in the summer of 1814 a draft of militia was ordered. Cronk was spoil- ing to fight the British, and he enlist- ed as a private in Captain Edmund Fuller's company, of the battallion commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Erastus Cleveland. He marched a little and lived in camp a good deal for five weeks and then was discharged with another youth of his acquaintance. The first night after his discharge from the army, while he was in Watertown, N.Y., a few miles from Sackett's Harbor, he was aroused by the sound of cannonading. The next morning he learned that a British gunboat had bombarded Sackett's Harbor, but had retired before inflicting serious dam- age. Hiram went home, but enlisted again on October 8, 1814. He served 40 days as a private and assisted in building log barracks along the shore at Sackett's Harbor. He was honor- ably discharged November 16 following. His father, James Cronk, and his brother, John and Casper, served with him at Sackett's Harbor. In 1825, when Mr. Cronk was 23, he married Mary Thornton, of the town of Western, Oneida county, and they lived together for sixty years. Seven children were born to them, of whom five are living. One son lost his life in the Civil war and another died a few years ago. The living children are William and John Cronk, of Rochester; Philander Cronk and Mrs. Rowley, of Dunn Brook, and George E. Cronk of Okla. There are fourteen grandchildren and ten great- grandchildren. Mr. Cronk followed the trade of an itinerat shoemaker most of his life. He is an honorary member of Fort Stanwix chapter, Sons of the Ameri- can Revolution, and also of the state and national chapters. Long years are the rule in his fa- ther's family, for his sister, Mrs. Betsy Fuller, lived to be 98; his brother, Casper, 97; his brother, John, 75, and two brothers, Eben of Oram, Wis., and Rev. Jarvis Cronk, of Houseville, N.Y., 98 and 94 respectively. ===========================================================================