Dingman Point, located about three and a half miles down the St. Lawrence river from Alexandria Bay, and just now coming into popularity as a summer resort, was names from the pioneer, Jerred Dingman, who located there when it was a wilderness and who made the first clearing on the Point, building the first log house.

Jerred Dingman had seven children of whom only one is living. Jason Dingman, now in his 82nd year. From him we obtained this story of the family. He says:

“Our people were from Holland and my father was a youthful carpenter down at Lee Center, near Rome, when he decided to pick a location where there was cheaper land and greater opportunities for a carpenter in building up a new community. He was born about 1819, I think, and married about the year 1841. The oldest child, John, was born Nov. 4, 1843. In 1845 my father came north and bought 50 acres of wilderness land on that point in the river just above Goose Bay. I know it was all wilderness there because I have heard my father tell that he had to cut the rod through the woods for over a mile to get to where he wanted to locate his house at the spot overlooking the river. He bought only 50 acres at that time as he expected to do carpenter work for his main living. And father did get a lot of work to do, as some of the building booms at the Bay came in his day. He helped to build the Thousand Island House and was employed by many of the island owners to build their homes, including Mr. Boldt in the work on Hart island.

“I want to mention my oldest brother, John, born Nov. 4, 1843, because he became captain of the first steam yacht ever to sail the waters of the Thousand Islands. He was captain of the Reindeer for a term of years. And I want to speak of another incident that I well remember. John was twelve years older than I and when I was about 13, John had charge of certain large wood contracts which Azariah Walton, the man who owned with Mr. Cornwell, most of the islands at one time, had with the steamboats. That is, Mr. Walton would have wood cut in the winter and piled up on the important docks for the big steamboats, and John had charge of seeing this wood was measured out and loaded on the boats. I have helped load up those big boats, such as the Ontario, the Cataract and the old Bay State. I remember we used to get on the boat and maybe have our supper, if the run was at that time, as we came down the river to a wood dock on our point. The boat would tie up and the men start loading on the wood for the ship to burn. I have seen them put on as high as 30 cords of wood to burn, hardly ever less than 25 cords. Those big boats had long runs from Ogdensburg, some as far as Chicago on the west.

“I married Jan. 13, 1880 Ida J. Sheldon when I was 25. I had been a helper on my father’s farm. My work was to take a rowboat in the summer season and row four miles night and morning delivering milk to the cottagers. That eight miles rowing night and morning was extra to my day’s work. And I don’t recall that I ever missed a single trip because of storm. But I have gone when my boat seemed to be lost as we went down in the trough of the waves. I don’t recall that I was ever afraid if I had a good boat.

“Besides John, the oldest, there were in father’s family, William, carpenter at the Bay; George, who died when he was 22, Catherine, always the home girl and never married; Eloise, who has married to Royal Barnes and died this last April, aged 84; I came next and younger was Helen, who married William Root and has been dead some years.

“In the spring of 1884 I decided to farm it for myself and bought this place just south of Redwood. There was 100 acres of land and I was selling milk for 60 cents a hundred at the cheese factory. But we had whey for the raising of hogs, and I used to raise a couple of colts each year to sell when older, -- a good market then -- and I actually had more money clear than now. I bought the second farm and paid for it. I was the first to take a daily paper when I came here -- the Watertown Times, -- and I have always had it ever since. I intended to say that after father went to the Point, David Taylor soon came, as did Asa Thompkins and John McCue. Today there is not a Dingman on Dingman Point.

“My children are: George, born Aug. 15, 1881; Arthur, born Oct. 16, 1833; Vinson, born July 11, 1886; Clarence, born Oct. 9, 1888. My first wife died Sept. 20, 1928, aged 67. I married in July, 1930 Lucena H. Ebert of Williams, who is with me today. My oldest boy, George, helps to look after the farm.”