Thomas Palmer Baldwin, son of Seth Cogswell Baldwin and Ruth White, was born on December 26, 1790 in the small community of Ballston (today known as Ballston Spa), Saratoga County, New York.[1] Ballston was named after Reverend Eliphalet Ball, a Congregational clergyman and early settler. The village of Ballston was (and still is) the county seat of Saratoga County.
At age ten, Thomas was listed in the 1800 US Federal Census as living in Ballston with his parents, six siblings, and a slave. The presence of a slave suggests wealth in the family or possible illness of Thomas’s mother. Whatever the reason, Thomas had someone in his household to do chores for him.
When Thomas was age thirteen, five hundred residents of Ballston boasted of having the largest hotel in the United States. Presidents, senators, governors, and wealthy citizens were attracted to the hotel because of its mineral spring which contained salt, magnesium, and calcium. These substances were used for healing purposes in sanatoriums.
By 1811, Thomas had moved from Ballston to Palmyra, where he became the first attorney in the village.[2] To be an attorney at that time did not mean he attended law school. He had a mentor who tutored him in the intricacies of the legal profession.
War of 1812
Thomas Baldwin’s legal practice did not thrive in Palmyra. When the US Congress declared war against Great Britain on June 18, 1812, Thomas closed his practice.[3] John Swift, founder of Palmyra, was appointed Brigadier General of a military unit composed of fifty-seven Palmyra residents age eighteen to forty-five called to colors in the emergency.[4] John Swift and his citizen-soldiers of Palmyra, including Thomas Baldwin, fought in battles at Niagara, Pultneyville, and Sackets Harbor.[5]
Before the war ended, Thomas was given a very prestigious assignment. The change of assignment had everything to do with Major Nathaniel Allen, who had been assigned to be paymaster for the volunteers along the northern frontier. As the war extended into years, the major’s duties became so tiresome that a second paymaster was needed. Thomas Baldwin was appointed the second paymaster and assigned to finish the financial payments to the volunteers. He was given security for an advance payment of $44,000 from the United States War Department. He was expected to pay soldiers for their clothing, service, and sustenance from the $44,000.[6] The Treaty of Ghent ended the War of 1812 by formal ratification on February 17, 1815.
Unlike other officers in the citizen-soldier militia of Palmyra, Thomas showed no interest in military matters after the war. He did not receive additional commissions like Thomas Rogers II, George Beckwith, Alexander McIntyre, or Durfee Chase when the war ended. When his assignment as paymaster was finished, Thomas severed all association with the US military. However, from this point on, he was known as “Major Thomas Baldwin” because of aid given to General Dudley Marvin of Canandaigua, New York during the war.[7]
A Man of High Standing in Palmyra
After the war, Thomas Baldwin returned to Palmyra and tried his hand at being a land entrepreneur. In 1817, he was granted a deed from Joseph Hayward and two deeds from Solomon Tice.[8] Thomas quickly found that his ability to leverage funds in buying and selling property was limited, and ended his entrepreneurial foray.
Through a stringent selection process, Thomas was invited to be an initiate in the Mount Moriah Masonic Lodge No. 112 in Palmyra. The lodge dated back to 1802, when ten Master Masons signed a petition to create a lodge. Their petition was accepted. They were granted a charter on July 9, 1804. Thomas never became an officer or advanced in degrees within the lodge, suggesting he was a member in name only.
On October 8, 1818 at age twenty-eight, Thomas Baldwin married Eleanor Sheckle Cuyler in Phelps, Ontario County, New York. This was not the first marriage of Eleanor Cuyler, a native of Maryland. Her first husband, William Howe Cuyler, like Thomas Baldwin, left his law practice to serve in the War of 1812. Unfortunately, William was killed at the Battle of Black Rock on October 9, 1812. His sword was returned to his widow and is now the property of the Historical Museum in Palmyra.[9]
Eleanor Cuyler brought two sons to her marriage to Thomas Baldwin—George Washington Cuyler (1809) age nine and William Howe Cuyler (1812) age six. Eleanor, Thomas, and their two sons lived in the home pictured below, the home was owned by George Washington Cuyler, an inheritance from his father William Howe Cuyler.
The two Cuyler sons later claimed a youthful relationship with Joseph Smith. William Cuyler claimed that he attended school with Joseph Smith, which seems odd as Joseph was seven years his senior. George Cuyler recalled having a youthful resentment against Joseph. In the 1820s, he viewed Joseph Smith as a liar and wanted to drown him.
Thomas Baldwin was a member of the Zion Episcopal Church, founded in 1807 when Reverend Phelps Davenport began holding regular worship services in Palmyra. On June 23, 1823, the Zion Episcopal Church was officially organized with Rufus Murray as reverend. Thomas held the positions of clerk and vestryman in the church.
In mid-January 1827, leaders of the Zion Episcopal Church resolved to gather subscriptions to build a gothic-style church 20,000 square feet. (The square footage was later increased to 22,000.) Deacon Reverend John A. Clark was in charge of the building project. The lot at 120 East Main Street, owned by fifteen year old George Cuyler, was purchased by Reverend Clark. Thomas Baldwin negotiated the purchase price. In the property deed and purchase price of $300, a stipulation was made to give Thomas Baldwin life rights to a pew in the new church.
On September 28, 1827, about a week after Joseph Smith received the gold plates from angel Moroni, the cornerstone of the First Zion Episcopal Church was laid. The Masonic fraternity, of which Thomas Baldwin was a member, took part in laying the cornerstone. A manuscript containing the names of important people in the Zion Church (no doubt the names of Thomas Baldwin and his step-son George W. Cuyler), presidents of the United States, and the Wayne Sentinel were placed inside the cornerstone. The building was completed on January 30, 1829.
There is only one extant statement of Thomas Baldwin regarding the significance of his religious life. On January 26, 1825, in “Extracts of Letters Addressed to the Publisher” in the Ontario Repository,Thomas said, “Of Dr. Scott’s Family Bible, I feel free to say, that in my estimation it deservedly ranks among our ablest and best commentaries.”[10]
The Case of Joseph Smith Sr. versus Jeremiah Hurlbut
From January 12 to February 6, 1819, Thomas Baldwin served on a jury in the case of Joseph Smith Sr. v. Jeremiah Hurlbut. (There is a relationship between Jeremiah Hurlbut and Doctor Phineas Hurlbut.)[11] Joseph Smith Sr. and his son Alvin initiated the lawsuit in January 1819 against Jeremiah Hurlbut, a neighbor on Main Street. The reason for the lawsuit was the sale of a pair of horses to the Smiths for $65. Jeremiah Hurlbut agreed that if the Smiths worked for him, they could pay down the $65 obligation the summer of 1818.
An issue arose when Jeremiah Hurlbut demanded the $65 after the Smiths had worked for him. The issue was resolved in a court of law. Twelve witnesses were called to testify in the trial, including Hyrum and Joseph Smith Jr. In 1819, at age thirteen Joseph Smith Jr. gave testimony about the work he had performed for Jeremiah Hurlbut. (Joseph’s age was admissible under New York law.) His testimony proved credible. The court record shows that every item he testified against was included in damages awarded the Smiths.[12] As a member of the jury in this case, Thomas voted in favor of the Smiths’ claim against Hurlbut. This is the only known connection between Thomas P. Baldwin and the Smiths before 1828.[13]
In the 1820s Thomas becomes a Civic Leader
Thomas was listed in the 1820 US Federal Census as having nine people in his household, which reveals he took in boarders and rented out rooms to make ends meet. It also suggests that his law practice was not thriving. However, his influence in the Palmyra village was on the rise. In 1821, he was appointed an overseer of highways, an inspector of meetings, and a commissioner of deeds.[14] Of these appointments, the most interesting is commissioner of deeds. This appointment gave him authority to sign affidavits, which placed him in a key position when Doctor Hurlbut came to Palmyra in 1833. Hurlbut collected affidavits against Joseph Smith that were “sworn before Th. P. Baldwin,” and later printed in Mormonism Unvailed.
On May 27, 1823, Thomas P. Baldwin was admitted to practice law in Wayne County at the first session of the Court of Common Pleas held in the Presbyterian Church at Lyons, New York.[15] This was the first official government recognition of his being an attorney. Four years later, county records reveal that Thomas had “Republican” aspirations. On December 31, 1827 in Albany, New York, Thomas put his name forward to be clerk of the Republican Caucus of the New York Legislature. Thomas was defeated handily—receiving only four votes to his opponent Francis Seger’s fifty-five votes.[16]
Lawyer and Judge
At the first village election held at the home of Lovell Hurd on February 4, 1828, Thomas was appointed village treasurer/clerk.[17] The appointment seemed a natural choice, for he had been a paymaster in the War of 1812 and was clerk of the Zion Episcopal Church. Thomas was later appointed one of twenty members of the Palmyra village fire brigade[18] and a member of the corresponding committee for the Ontario District.[19]
In 1829, Thomas Baldwin’s law practice was on the skids. Competition for clients was real as other attorneys had opened offices in town, like Alexander Tiffany. To keep his law practice moving forward, Thomas rented office space (one room) in the front portion of the second story of the Grandin Building (Thayer and Grandin’s Brick Row). To get to his law office, Thomas climbed up the central staircase on Main Street and through E. B. Grandin’s office. (Not exactly an ideal set-up). His office was next to the area where the Book of Mormon was being printed. The office atmosphere, even with a closed door, would have been noisy. In the same building there were merchants—a tailor, a sash maker, and a dry-goods salesman.[20]
Because of the location of his law office, Thomas would have been privy or a part of conversations going on in the building and aware of the shenanigans of Aber Cole. With his being a clerk, you would think that he kept a diary or made legal entries. If so, none has been found.
It is not known when Thomas Baldwin closed his law office, but it is assumed in February 1830. In that month, he was appointed a judge in Wayne County by Enos T. Throop, acting governor of the state of New York. Thomas served as a judge from February 1830 to February 1835. The diary entry of E. B. Grandin on March 12, 1831 suggests that Thomas was easily provoked: “In evening attended a charity meeting. Some unpleasant sparring between [Abner] Cole and Baldwin took place. B. was in his cuss—the chairman left his seat—a new man was appointed—and business went on again.”[21]
The timing of his judgeship and circumstances in the life of his step-son led to Thomas to move from Palmyra. On September 13, 1831, his step-son George Cuyler married Caroline Porter in the Zion Episcopal Church in Palmyra. In that year, George was practicing law with William M. Bayard in the Hendee Building across the street from the Wayne County Bank in Palmyra.[22] George also ran a hardware store with a sign that read, “George W. Cuyler’s Hardware Store. Oils. Paints.”[23] George disposed of the hardware business by giving it to his brother William Cuyler in 1833 and joined in partnership with T. R. Strong and Pomeroy Tucker to publish the Wayne Sentinel newspaper. The partnership ended in two years.[24]
In February 1832, Thomas became a delegate at a Republican county convention. E. B. Grandin wrote on February 24, 1832, “In evening attended public meeting for the purpose of appointing (in fact) a delegate to a county convention in place of T. P. Baldwin who received the appointment a few evenings since. Meeting adjourned without doing any business. Baldwin made a speech, and declined the appointment.” Grandin editorialized, “This brought about what was wanted.”[25]
By March 27, 1833, Thomas had taken up residency in Rochester, where he corresponded with Samuel Baldwin about contrary family matters. Samuel was residing in Rome, New York at the time.[26] By December 1833, Thomas had returned to his residence in Palmyra, only to discover the family conflict was not solved. George Cuyler was in the family house with his wife. Unlike Thomas, George was succeeding in all his endeavors. What Thomas had going for him was his judgeship.
“Testimony of 51 Neighbors”
When Doctor Philastus Hurlbut came to Palmyra seeking affidavits against the Prophet Joseph Smith, Thomas Baldwin signed the “Testimony of 51 Neighbors” on December 4, 1833, later printed in Mormonism Unvailed.[27]The signees of the testimony were acquainted with the Smith family for a number of years and “consider[ed] them destitute of that moral character, which ought to entitle them to the confidence of any community.” The testimony further stated that Joseph Smith Sr. and his son Joseph Jr. were “entirely destitute of moral character, and addicted to vicious habits.” The testimony ends with, “We know not of a single individual in this vicinity that puts the least confidence in their pretended revelations.”[28] Several affidavits against the Prophet Joseph Smith, Martin Harris, and the Latter-day Saint Church were signed in front of Thomas, a commissioner of deeds as well as a judge in Wayne County.[29]
By 1850 Thomas was an Invalid
It is not known when Thomas moved from Palmyra to Philadelphia. It is assumed that Thomas followed Reverend John Clark to the historic city. In 1835, John Clark was called to succeed Dr. Gregory T. Bedell as rector of St. Andrew’s Church in Philadelphia, one of the outstanding evangelical parishes of the day.
There is a fifteen year gap where nothing is known of the life of Thomas Baldwin. By 1850, it is known that he was an invalid residing at 101 Arch Street in Philadelphia. While in Philadelphia, Thomas attended speeches given by famous political leaders like Thurlow Weed and William H. Stewart. On April 11, 1856, Thomas wrote to Thurlow Weed—
Dear Sir – Though an invalid I have made use of a friendly voice to become partially acquainted with your recent speech and desire to thank you for this eloquent . . . though by no means a dry subject. I am accustomed to hear of you spoken of . . . as honest and sensible but not in my opinion altogether free from prejudice and bigotry.
Thomas signed his letter, “Truly your obliged country and fellow Republican, Thomas Baldwin.”[30] Thomas also wrote to the Honorable William H. Stewart: “Though the speech has unqualified approval (I may add for myself that though I detect fulsome flattery) it seems to me you have occupied the whole ground . . . . . . as I detest anonymous letters, beg leave to subscribe myself your political friend.”[31]
There is some question as to whether his wife Eleanor joined him in Philadelphia. On March 30, 1858, she died in Brooklyn, New York at the home of her daughter, Mary Ruth Baldwin Breck.
Death of Thomas Baldwin
According to his step-son George Cuyler, Thomas died about four months after his mother’s death on August 8, 1858 in Green Bay, Wisconsin, ninety-eight miles from the residence of Flanders Dyke. Librarians and historians in Green Bay claim there is no record of the death of Thomas Baldwin in Green Bay. I think George Cuyler ended his relationship with his step-father years before, and had no idea where he was living at the time of his death.
Public Discussion of the Issues between The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and The Church of Christ [Disciples] held in Kirtland, Ohio beginning on February 12 and ending on March 8, 1844
A discussion of whether Thomas P. Baldwin was a fictitious character was the subject of a debate between E. L. Kelley of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and Clark Braden of the Church of Christ over the ownership of the Temple Lot in Independence. According to E. L. Kelley, he had looked for the name of Thomas P. Baldwin as an officer in Wayne County and had failed to find his name mentioned anywhere. Kelley concluded that Baldwin was not a judge in Wayne County and therefore, could not have witnessed the affidavits in Mormonism Unvailed. Clark Braden countered by presenting information on the life of Thomas Baldwin, such as his being a lawyer, having step-children, and being a judge in Wayne County from 1830 to 1835. Braden concluded, “If my opponent possessed common sense, he would have given up. But with a stupidity that is miraculous he arose and denied there was such a man; such an office, and that there was such a judge of [the] Wayne County Court. I could pity my opponent if his lack of honesty in his acts were not so flagrant.”[32]
Thomas Baldwin’s Timeline
1790: Born on December 26 in Ballston, New York.
1800: Living in Ballston with family and a slave, indicating family wealth.
1811: Moves to Palmyra, becomes the village’s first attorney.
1812-1815: Closes his legal practice during the War of 1812, serves as a paymaster.
1817: Ends attempt at being a land entrepreneur.
1818: Marries Eleanor Sheckle Cuyler on October 8.
1820s: Becomes a local civic leader and holds various community roles.
1823: Admitted to practice law in Wayne County.
1827: Involved in laying the cornerstone of the First Zion Episcopal Church on September 28.
1828: Appointed village treasurer/clerk.
1830-1835: Serves as a judge in Wayne County.
1833: Signs the “Testimony of 51 Neighbors” against Joseph Smith.
1850: By this year, known to be an invalid in Philadelphia.
1858: Dies on August 8 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Children of Thomas Baldwin and Eleanor Baldwin
1. George Washington Cuyler (1809–1876) a street in Palmyra is named after him.
George pursued studies at West Point in 1826, but did not graduate. Instead, he studied law at the office of Herman Bogart in Geneva, New York. By 1831, George was practicing law with William M. Bayard in the Hendee Building across the street from the Wayne County Bank in Palmyra. From 1844 to 1845, George was a justice of the peace. In 1845, George opened Cuyler’s Bank in the old offices of the Wayne County Bank. He served as bank president. Pliny Sexton served as vice president and Stephen Seymour as cashier. By 1864, the bank was known as the First National Bank of Palmyra, with George still president.
2. William H. Cuyler (1812–1889). He was born in Palmyra. He married Eliza Ann Akin, who outlived all of her children. In the 1840s, William opened a hat and fur store in Palmyra. He retired in the 1860s. William died on April 25, 1889. There is a possibility that he became a Latter-day Saint, because he later moved to Kirtland, Ohio.
3. Mary Ruth Baldwin (1819–1895). He was born in Palmyra. She married Samuel Perry Breck, son of Joseph and Elizabeth Breck, on September 19, 1838 in Palmyra. Samuel Breck was a member of the New York Episcopal Diocese. Mary visited Kirtland, Ohio, to see her brother William Cuyler. Mary resided in Greenfield, Massachusetts.
[1] The Baldwin Genealogy from 1500–1881. FamilySearch.
[2]Roger Sherman Skinner, The New York State Register for the Year of our Lord, 1830 (NY: Clayton & Van Norden, 1830), p. 278.
[3] Richard N. Current, T. Harry Williams, and Frank Freidel, American History: A Survey (NY: Alfred A. Knoph, 1963), p. 200.
[4] Lewis H. Clark, Military History of Wayne County, New York (Sodus, NY: L. H. Clark, Hulett and Gaylord, 1883), pp. 245–246.
[5] Thomas L. Cook, Palmyra and Vicinity (Palmyra, NY: Palmyra Courier Journal, 1930), p. 15.
[6] Public Papers of Daniel D. Tompkins, Governor of New York, 1807–1817 (Albany, NY: J. B. Lyon Company, State Printers, 1902), pp. 292–293; “Being a Paymaster of the Militia,” The Evening Post [New York City], April 14, 1813.
[7] See George Washington Cuyler Family Bible.
[8] Ontario County, NY Grantee Deed Index, 1789–1845.
[9] “Century Old Home Changes Ownership,” February 24, 1955 (Newspaper Clipping), in Palmyra Community Library.
[10]Ontario Repository, January 26, 1825, p. 4. It wasn’t until 1872 that the present church building was constructed. The tower next to the building, measuring 18 feet squared and 125 feet in height was built in 1873. It was funded and donated by the George W. Cuyler estate. The present church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. See Stuart E. Hotchkiss, Zion Episcopal Church, Palmyra, New York: From Its’ Beginning to the End of the 20th Century, 2008; Loreen Jorgensen, The First Hundred Churches of Wayne County, New York, 2018.
[11] Docket Entry, between circa 12 January and circa 6 February 1819 (Joseph Smith Sr. v. Jeremiah Hurlbut). Joseph Smith Papers.
[12] Lucy Mack Smith, History of Joseph Smith by his Mother (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1956), p. 139; Kyle R. Walker, United by Faith: The Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith Family (American Fork, UT: Covenant Communications, Inc., 2005), p. 191; Jeffrey N. Walker, “Joseph Smith’s Introduction to the Law: The 1819 Hurlbut Case,” Mormon Historical Studies, pp. 129–130; “Palmyra Road Tax List, 1817–1822.” FamilySearch.
[13] Docket Entry, between circa 12 January and circa 6 February 1819 [Smith Sr. v. Hurlbut. Joseph Smith Papers.
[14] “1821 Minutes for Palmyra, New York.” Palmyra Town Records.
[15] E. L., Grip’s Historical Souvenir of Wolcott, N.Y. (1855), p. 24.
[16] New York Evening Post [New York City] January 3, 1828.
[17] George W. Cowles, Landmarks of Wayne County, New York (Syracuse, NY: D. Mason & Company, 1895), p. 183.
[18] Cowles, Landmarks of Wayne County, New York, p. 184.
[19] “Jackson Electoral and Congressional Nominations,” Geneva Gazette and General Advertiser, October 8, 1828.
[20] Susan Easton Black and Harvey B. Black, “Exhibit Guide: Book of Mormon Historic Publication Site: Grandin Press,” pp. 18, 44.
[21] E. B. Grandin Diary, 1831–1841.
[22] “Death of George W. Cuyler,” Durfee Scrapbook, no. 3, 1876–1883. Palmyra Community Library
[23] Cook, Palmyra and Vicinity, p. 87.
[24] “Death of George W. Cuyler,” Durfee Scrapbook, no. 3, 1876–1883.
[25] E. B. Grandin Diary, 1831–1841.
[26] Rare Book Collection, Cornell University. Ithaca, NY.
[27] Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, pp. 366–367.
[28] Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, pp. 366–367.
[29] Clark Braden, Public Discussion of the Issues between the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and The Church of Christ [Disciples], held in Kirtland, Ohio, beginning February 12th and closing March 8th 1884 (Clark Braden Publishers, 1884), pp. 115, 346, 364.
[30] Thurlow Weed Collection, in Special Collections, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY.
[31] Honorable William Steward Collection, in Special Collections, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY.
[32] Braden, Public Discussion of the Issues between the Reorganized Church . . .