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The Daubeny/ Waddell proprietors are cloaked in the cloud of mystery that only the very wealthy can maintain. According to The Recollections of Old New York by Mary C. Hopkins, the Daubeny family were direct descendants of Lord Daubeny of the times of Henry the VIII and the Waddell's were cousins of the Earl of Coventry.

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The widow, Mary Daubeny, ran one of New York City's most fashionable rooming houses on Wall St. William Cooper, the Van Rensselaer's and many other prominent individuals all vied for lodging there. The Daubeny children considered William Cooper a "father". Early on in the 1790' s, Mary Daubeny began investing her children's money in Cooper's various land speculations. When Cooper brought his proposal for De Kalb to New York City in February 1803 the Daubeny's invested along with their brother in law Henry Waddell.

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By 1814, the Daubeny/Waddell land had passed on to another generation. The family maintained control of their lands in De Kalb through out the nineteenth century. They soon passed management of their land from John Fine to Gideon Townsley. They sold land under liberal terms. Susan Daubeny had a reputation among the settlers as a benevolent landlord. She donated generously to the building of the Union Church in De Kalb Village in 1852.

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William Coventry H. Waddell was President Andrew Jackson's personal secretary and Jackson later appointed him United States Marshall of the Northern District of New York State. He was 24 at the time. This appointment was made largely because of his familiarity with the northern regions of the state (because of his De Kalb lands?). Martin Van Buren subsequently appointed him Register of Bankruptcies for the region, an office he held from 1841 until his death in 1877.

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W C H Waddell was born in the family home on the corner of Broadway and Mill St. where his father, Henry Waddell, and grandfather had been born before him. He studied law and was admitted to the bar at an early age. He speculated in real estate around New York City. When the Murray Hill property (see Murray family portion this article) was auctioned in 1822 he purchased it. It became known as the "Fifth Avenue Castle" and was famous for its lavish artwork and European sculptures. His wife was New York City's premier entertainer of the time. He met with hard times during the Panic of 1837 and was forced to sell his magnificent castle. He managed to regain his fortunes shortly there after and his family remains prominent to this day.

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The Daubeny/Waddell families were among a very few of the original proprietors of De Kalb who prospered from their investments.

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William Holt Averell

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William H. Averell was born in Cooperstown, NY in 1794, the son of James Averell Jr. and MarciaHolt. He began his education by working in his father's tannery and saddle shop. He attended Fairfield Academy and Union College. He graduated from the latter in 1816. William apprenticed at the law in Cooperstown, then with Judge Tapping Reeve in Litchfield, Connecticut.

He practiced law for a few years in Cooperstown before helping organize the Otsego Bank in 1830. He was a director of this bank and its successor, The First National Bank until his death in 1873.

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The Averell family first became involved in St Lawrence county in 1809. In that year James Averell Jr. with Gideon Townsley purchased the tan yard in the village of Williamstown in the Town of De Kalb. James Jr. also purchased a large tract of land in the township known as Kellogg's tract (now in the town of DePeyster).

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In 1822, the Brigden decree forced the sheriff s sale of the Cooper family lands in De Kalb. William H. Averell, with his brother James Averell 3rd, and their attorney John Fine purchased 25,155 acres of land in De Kalb for $1,634, an average of only six cents per acre.

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Averell managed his lands in a calculated businesslike manner. Any settlers who were living on lots he purchased were given four years to payoff their entire original mortgages. Settlers who could not produce written documentation of mortgage agreements or payments had to begin over with a new mortgage even if they produced several credible witnesses. Recognizing the hopeless tangle of the shared title of Cooper's Mills (Cooper's Falls), he sold his 62% interest in 1825.

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In 1829, Averell found that settlers had been stealing oak trees from his property in De Kalb. He hired a crew of woodcutters to strip all the oaks from his De Kalb properties. The woodcutters traveled through out the town cutting oak trees on his settlers' lots and on lands owned by other proprietors.

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William H. Averell was twice asked to donate land to build churches in De Kalb Village. In 1852 the Union church was built on his land. He never donated land to any churches and actually sold the land the Union church stood on in the 1860's! (This shouldn't have come as a surprise. He had earlier done the same thing to a Broome county church whose title he obtained with other Cooper properties. ) Averell acquired title to the town square and cemetery that William Cooper had laid out in his plan for the village of Williamstown (De Kalb). He sold the town square as a house lot and refused to provide a deed for the cemetery forcing its abandonment. He retained title to the mineral rights on all the properties that he sold to settlers in the township.

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Following the death of his brother James 3rd, William Averell turned on John Fine, his agent and attorney for lands in De Kalb for over 30 years! He fired Fine, claiming mismanagement, and refused to pay Fine's final fees. In the 1860's he sold the majority of his remaining properties in the township. A few land contracts passed from him to his heirs who deeded over the last parcel in 1906 some 97 years after the Averell family first invested in the town.

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James Averell 3rd

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James Averell 3rd was born in Cooperstown, NY in 1790. He was the oldest son of James Averell Jr. and Marcia Holt. He was educated in the common schools of Cooperstown and went to work in his father's tannery at an early age.

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In 1809, James Averell Jr. shrewdly purchased over 1100 acres of land on the State Road in a portion of De Kalb known as Bristol's settlement, from Judge Cooper. "The land is very handsomely situated considered the choicest in the township."(Goff and Spencer's survey 1814) James Averell Jr. immediately sent his newly married 19 year old son James 3rd to open a store on the property. (This property today is within the bounds of DePeyster)

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James and his young bride were not happy in the wilds of De Kalb. He soon hired Silas Kellogg to manage the store and lands and moved to Ogdensburg, where he became a prominent merchant and trader. He helped to organize the Ogdensburg bank and was president of the institution for many years. James Averell 3rd helped to organize the first railroad in Ogdensburg, the Ogdensburg Free Academy, the Morris.Mining Co., and the Rossie Lead Mining Co.. In 1840, he was elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas.

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He was an astute businessman and handled his father's investments well. In 1822, with his brother, William H. Averell, he purchased the Cooper's lands in De Kalb at bankruptcy auction. (See W.H. Averell commentary for details). It is most likely his recommendation that brought John Fine on as the third partner and attorney in their De Kalb enterprise ( Known as "Messrs. Averell and Fine"). James Averell always deferred decisions about De Kalb lands to his brother William. James Averell died in 1861.

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