I have some more time so will write some more... Dianne In 1810 the census in Seneca County showed 4,535 citizens. There have been two public executions in Seneca County. In 1811 a man named John Andrews murdered another man. John Andrews was tried and found guilty of murder. Andrews was hung in Ovid by Sheriff Lewis Birdsall. The second public hanging was in Waterloo. On May 28, 1829 George Chapman murdered Daniel Wright. George Chapman was tried and found guilty of murder. The hanging took place on the "Island" off West River Street, in the Village of Waterloo. Approximately 2,000 people came from the surrounding counties to witness the hanging. Sheriff James Rorison directed the hanging. In 1817 the Judicial seat in Seneca County was split, with one County Seat to be in the Village of Ovid and the other one to be in the Village of Waterloo. In 1817 the jail in Ovid caught fire, but was saved. A gallows and whipping post, which had been erected in 1811, were destroyed by the fire. In 1817 the Court House in Waterloo, including the Jail, were built on the property of Elisha William and Reuten and Lucinda Swift, deed dated July 4, 1817, of the Book of Deeds, Page 14. In 1818, the construction of the Seneca County Court House and Jail was built and finished at a cost of $8,000. ($4,000 subscription of money, $500 given by the Supervisors, $400 another payment by Supervisors, $1,750 third payment by Supervisors, $2,080 final payment by Supervisors.) As recorded, the Public Square in the Village of Waterloo, across from the Seneca County Court House and Jail, had the following notation: "Shall forever and hereafter remain open for the public use, the buildings and fences thereon be removed, and the ground thus designated as Public Square, shall never be sold or built on." In 1822, the Hon. John Maynard and the Hon. James Dickson, "by Chapter 137 of the Laws of 1822, divided the County of Seneca into two Jury Districts, by the line south of Fayette. Courts to be alternately therein, and also providing for the use of the Jails, at Waterloo and Ovid." In June of 1822, Ozias Boutell escaped from the Ovid Jail. A reward of $50.00 was offered. He was captured in Lockport, charged with new felonies and "placed in irons" On December 24, 1822, James Boohall, a notorious cow thief and Uriah Wilson escaped from the Ovid Jail. Boohall was captured after stealing a horse in Chenango County and was sentenced to 6 years in a State Prison. Wilson was never captured. In 1841 money was asked for a new Jail in Ovid. In 1845, a new Court House and Jail were built in the Village of Ovid. It was comprised of two stories, an attic and a stone jail in the cellar. The first inmate to receive the honor of escaping from the Ovid Jail was inmate David Dutcher. This escape occurred on May 20, 1826. There were several other escapes from the Ovid Jail, the dates are as follows: Nov. 1848, March 1852, June 1857, and Aug 1859. A quote from Mr. John Becker's book states the following: "A substantial fence was placed around the Court House and Jail."