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THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES
PIONEER HISTORY
OF
ORLE ANS COUNTY,
:N^ JE ^W YORK.
CONTAINING
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE CIVIL DIVISIONS
OF WESTERN NEW YORK,
WITH BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF EARLY SETTLERS, AND OF
THE HARDSHIPS AND PRIVATIONS THEY ENDURED, THE
ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWNS EN THE
COUNTY, TOGETHER AVITH
LISTS OF TOWN AND COUNTY OFFICEIIS,
SINCE THE COUNTY WAS ORGANIZED,
WITH ANECDOTES AND REMINISCENCES, ILLUSTRATING THE
CHARACTER AND CUSTOMS OF THE PEOPLE,
BY
ARAB THOMAS.
ALBION, N. Y.:
H. A. BRUNER, ORLEANS AMERICAN STEAM PRESS PRINT.
1871.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by
ARAD THOMAS,
In tlie Clerk's Office of tlie District Court of the United States, for the
Northern District of New York.
V
^fbicution.
TO THE
ORI,EANS COUNTY TIONEER ASSOCIATION,
BY KEQUEST OF MANY OF WHOSE MEMBERS THIS WORK
WAS UNDERTAKEN, BY WHOM THE AUTHOR HAS BEEN GREATLY AIDED
IN TREPARING IT, AND TO WHOM HE FEELS UNDER
OBLIGATIONS FOR MANY PERSONAL FAA'ORS,
THIS BOOK IS RESPECTFULLY
DEDICATED BY THE
AUTHOR.
1^
1101131
PREFACE.
The origin of this "book is briefly this : The Orleans
County Pioneer Association had collected a volume in
manuscript of local history of many of its members,
written by themselves, Vv^hich they desired to have
published.
Some difficulty existed in getting out the work by
the Association, and the author was requested Ty
many of his friends to get up a book on his own ac-
count, which should contain the substance of the his-
tories referred to, and such other matter connected
with the Pioneer History of Orleans County, as might
be of general interest to readers.
The author has used, the records of the Association,
taking some histories of Pioneers in full, as wTitten
by themselves ; and extracting and condensing from
others such parts as he thought of more general inter-
est, and as his space would allow.
Many of his facts he has collected from liis own
knowledge, and from the testimony of early settlers,
and others acquainted with the matter.
To those who have so kindly aided him by such in-
formation as they possessed, he returns his sincerest
thanks, particularly to Messrs. Asa Sanford, Matthew
Gregory and Hon. Robert Anderson, for their gener-
ous contributions of material for this book.
The character of tliis book being local, many names
of persons, and events of private history have been in-
troduced, of little interest perhaps out of the families
and neighborhood of the parties ; but with these the-
author has endeavored to collect and preserve the;
PREFACE. V
memory of such events of a more public character,
as marked the progress of settlement of this portion
of the Holland Purchase, and as may be worthy of
remembrance.
For this purpose O'Eeiley's Sketches of Eochester,
Turner's History of Phelps and Gorham's Purchase,
and of the Holland Purchase, and French' s Gazetteer
<j»f New York, have been consulted, and such extracts
and compilations made as could be found there.
It has been an object, kept in view, to collect as
much personal reminiscence as possible, for the grat-
ification of the older inhabitants of Orleans County,
for whom the book was more particularly designed.
Errors in dates, events, names and narratives, no
doubt may be found in the work. Such errors are
unavoidable in giving details of statements of aged
people, often contiicting in their character, and the in-
telligent reader may sometimes regret that he finds no
notice here of facts and incidents in the Pioneer His-
tory of this region of country, which he may deem of
more importance than much of the matter the book
contains.
Some such facts and incidents may not have come
to the notice of the author, and he has been compell-
ed to omit much matter of interest, lest his work
should be too large, beyond the plan proposed.
Much as apology may seem to be needed, the au-
thor has little to make, more than to say he is not a
professional book maker, and has no hope of found-
ing a literary reputation on this work. He has little
fear therefore of critics, and will be happy, if by this
labor he has pleased the old settlers of Orleans County
and done his part to save from oblivion, good matter
for history, fast passing away ; for in the beautiful
language of Whittier—
" still from the hurryinf? train of life, fly backward far anil fast,
The mile stones of the fathers,— the laudmarlts of the past."
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
The Indians of "Western ISTew-York — Their Traditionary History — An-
cient Fortifications in Shelb}' — Their Friendship for the "White Man
in the "War of 1812 — Fishing and Hunting.
CHAPTER II.
Phelps and Gorliani's Purchase — "When made — Territory Inchided in
— Consolidated Securities — Their Sale to Robert Morris — Divisions
of their Purchase — The Triangle.
CHAPTER III.
The 100,000 Acre Tract— Boundaries— Dr. Levi Ward— Levi A. Ward
— Joseph Fellows — Transit Line.
CHAPTER lY.
The Holland Purchase — Names of Company — Location of Tract — Sur-
veys — Ceded by Indians — Counties in New- York One Hundred Years
Ago — Genesee Country — Genesee County and its Subdivisions — Jo-
seph Ellicott and brother Benj., Surveyors — Agent of the Company
— Land Office — Where Located — Practice in Locating Land — Arti-
cles — Clemency of the Land Company — Deeding Lots for School
Houses — Land Given to Religious Societies — Anecdote of 3Ir. Busti
Rev. Andrew Rawson — Route ot Travel to Orleans County — Oak
Orchard Creek and Johnson's Creek â €” Why so Named — Kinds of
Forest Trees — Wild Animals — Salmon and other Fish — Rattlesnakes
— Raccoons and Hedgehogs — Beaver Dams — Fruits — Effect of Clear-
ing Land on Chmate — The Tonawanda Swamps.
CHAPTER V.
The Log House — Description — How Built— Windows and Door — Walls
Raised at a Bee — Chimneys — Ovens — Cellars — Double Log House —
Copied after Indian Wigwam — Fires — Great Back Log — Lights.
CHAPTER YI.
Log House Furniture — Beds and Bedding — Fire Place — Hooks and
Trammel — Bake Pan — Table — Chairs — Pewter Spoons — Blue Edged
Plates— Black Earthen Tea Pots.
CHAPTER YII.
Clearing Land and First Crops — Cutting down the Trees — Black Salts
— Slashing — Clearing — Fallow — Planting and Sowing — Harvesting
and Cleaning Up — How Done.
CONTENTS. Vll
CHAPTER VIII.
Hardships and Privations— Want of Breadstuff— Scarcity of Mills —
Difficulty of getting Grain Ground — Mill on a Stump — Fever and
Ague— Quinine and Blue Pill— No Post Office— Keeping Cattle-
Difficulty Keeping Fire — Instance ot Fire Out — Want of Good Water
— No Highways — Discouragement from Sickness — Social Amuse-
ments-Hospitality — Early Merchants — Their Stores and Goods —
Domestic ]yianufactures — Post Offices and Mails.
CHAPTER IX.
The Erie Canal— When Begun- Effect- Rise in Price of Every thing-
Progress of Improvement — Carriages on Springs.
CHAPTER X.
Public Highways— The Ridge Road— When Laid Out— Appropriation
— Oak Orchard Road— Opened by Holland Company — Road from
Shelby to Oak Orchard in Barrc— Salt Works Roads— State Road
along Canal— Judge Porter's Account of first Tracing the Ridge
Road.
CHAPTER XI.
Railroads — Medina and Darieu — Medina and Lake Ontario— Roches-
ter, Lockport and Niagara Falls.
CHAPTER XII.
State of Education — School Houses — Description — Gaines Academy —
Other Academics and Schools.
CHAPTER XIII.
State of Religion — Religious Feeling among the People — Ministers and
Missionaries — Meeting House in Gaines — First in County — Building.
CHAPTER XIV.
Burying Grounds — Mount Albion Cemetery — Boxwood Cemetery.
CHAPTER XV.
Town of Barre — Fii'fet settled along Oak Orchard Road — Laud Given
by the Holland Company to Congregational Society — Congregational
Church — Presbyterian Church in Albion — First Tavcrn-^Firsl Store
— First Lawyer — First Doctor — First Deed of Land to Settler— Deeds
of Land in Albion — First House in Albion — Death of Mrs. McCallis-
ter — First Warehouse — First Saw Mill — First Grist Mill — Trade in
Lumber— First Ball— First Town Meeting— Fourth of July, 1821—
First Wedding in Albion — Story — Biographies of Earl}' Settlers.
CHAPTER XVI.
Village of Albion — First Inhabitants — First Business jMen — Strife Avith
Gaines for Court House — Strateg}' used by Albion men to get Court
House — First Court House — Second Court House — County Jail —
First Hotel — First Warehouse — Stone Flouring Mill — Lawyers — Di's.
Nichoson and White — First Tanyard — First Blacksmiths— Name of
the Villa";e.
VIU CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XVII.
Town of Carltou — Name — Lumber Trade — First ScttlemcRt of White
Men in County — James Walsworth — Village of Manilla — Names of
Persons who took Articles of Land in Carlton in 1803, 1804 and 1805
— Matthew Dunham — Curious Mill to Pound Corn — Dunham's Saw
Mill and Grist Mill— First in County— First Frame Earn— The Union
Companj^ — Death of Elijah Brown — First Children Born in Town —
First Store — Biographies of Early Settlers.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Town of Clarendon — Difficulty in getting Titles from Pultney Estate —
Eldredge Farwell — Farwell's Mills — First School — First Merchants
— J. and D. Sturgess — First Postmaster — First Physician — Presbyte-
rian Church — First Town ^Meeting — Biographies ol Early Settlers.
CHAPTER XIX.
Town of Gaines — First Settlers — Case of Getting Fire — Noah Burgess
— Mrs. Burgess — Cutting Logs for a House — First Orchard — First
School House — Drake's Mill Dam and Saw Mili — Organization of
McCarty's Militia Company — Their Scout after British and Indians
— Dr. Jesse Beacli — Orange Butler — First Marriage — First Birth —
First Newspaper in Orleans County — First Tayern — Store — Grist
Mdl — First IMerchants — James Mather Dealing in Black Salts, &c. —
Business at Gaines Basin— Village of Gaines — Gaines Academy — Ef-
forts to Locate Court House Here — Trade in Other Localities — Biog-
raphies of Early Settlers.
CHAPTER XX.
Town of Kendall — Partitioned between State of Connecticut and Pult-
ney Estate— First Settler— First IMarriage— First Birth— First Tav-
ern—First Death— First Store— First School— First Saw Mill— First
Public Religious Service — First Physician — First Highway from
Kendall Corners to Ridge — Biographies of Eariy Settlers.
CHAPTER XXI.
Town of 3Iurray— Towns Set Off— First Tavern— First Marriage— First
Birth— First Death— First Store— First Grist Mill— First School-
First Church — Sandy Creek — McCall & Perry's Mill — Sickness at
Sandy Creek — Biographies of Early Settlers.
CHAPTER XXII.
Village of Holley — Areovcster Hamlin— First Store — Post Office —
Frisbie & Seymour — Early Merchants — First Sawmill — Lawyer —
Tavern — Justice of the Peace — Salt Brine — Mammoth Tooth — Salt
Port — Presbyterian Church — Salt Spring.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Village of Hulberton— Josei)h Budd— Canal Basin— First Warehouse
— First Grocery— First Tavern— I. H. S. Ilulbert— First Named Scio
— Methodist Society — Abijah Reed and Sons.
CONTENTS. IX
CHAPTER XXIV.
Village of Hindsburgh — Jacob Luttenton — Jacob Hinds and Brotliers
— First Warehouse — Jabez Allison — First Hotel.
CHAPTER XXV.
The Town of Ridgewaj — Formed from Bata^-ia — First Town Meeting
—Turner & White's Grist Mill— First Saw Mill— Dr. White— Salt
Works — First School — Biographies of Early Settlers.
CHAPTER XXVI.
Village of Medina — Saw Mill by Land Company — Evan's Grist Mill —
Canal Feeder — Nixon's Brewery — Coan's Store — First Tavern — First
Merchants — Physician— Attorney — Quarries— Justus Ingersoll — Bap-
tist Meeting House.
CHAPTER XXVII.
Village of Knowlesrille — Wm. Knowles, Founder and First Settler —
First Clearinii — First Framed House — First Tavern — First Ware-
house — First Boat Load of Wheat — First Ashery — First School
House — Post'OfBce — First Religious Society.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Town of Shelby — Jo. Ellicott Locating Land — Ellicott's Mills — Road
Jrom Oak Orchard Road to Shelby — Salt Works Road — Anecdote
of Lnther Porter— Col. A. A. Ellicott— Ball in Ellicott's Mill— Abuer
Hunt — Fiddler Hackett — First Ph,ysician — Post Office — Iron Foun-
dry — Tannery — Biographies of Early Settlers.
CHAPTER XXIX.
Town of Yates — Formerly Northton — George Houseman — Discourage-
ment to Early Settlement — First Deed — Tappau's Tayern — Liquor
Sold— First IMarriage- First Death— First Store— First School— Bi-
ographies of Early Settlers.
CHAPTER XXX.
Biographical Notices of Joseph Ellicott and Ebcnezer Mix
AI^JPENDIX.
Towns in Orleans Count}' — Their Organization — Villages in Orleans
County — Table of Elevations — ]\Iembers of Assembly Elected from
Orleans Coanty since its Organization — County Clerks of Orleans
County — County Treasurers — County Superintendents of Common
Schools — First Judges of Orleans County Courts — District Attorneys
of Orleans County — Sheriffs of Orleans County — Surrogates of Or-
leans County — First Courts of Record — Supervisors of the Dilferent
Towns in Orleans County since their Organization — The Orleans
County Pioneer Association — First Annual Address, Delivered be-
fore the Orleans County Pioneer Association, Sept. 10, 1859, by Arad
Thomas.
INTRODUCTION.
After tlie discovery of America by Columbus, the
iirst settlement on tlie Atlantic coast by Europeans
was made by English and Dutch, on the south, and
by French on the extreme north. Ascending the great
river St. Lawrence, the French founded the cities ot
Quebec and Montreal ; and following the river and
the lakes westward, they established the settlements
at Pittsburgh and Detroit, many years before the En-
glish settled Western New- York.
The xilgonquins and Hurons inhabited Canada East
at the coming of the French. With these, from mo-
tives of policy, they formed an alliance. These Cana-
dian Indians, and^the Iroquois of Western ISTew York,
were at war with each other. Tlie French joined tlieir
Indian allies in this war, and thus incurred the invet-
erate hostility of the Iroquois.
Many desperate battles were fought between the
French and these Indians with various success. The
Algonquins and Hurons were driven out of their coun-
try, or destroyed, and the Iroquois came near exter-
minating the French settlements in Cairada. They
effectually prevented their locating themselves in ISTew
York, althongh they claimed this whole territory. A
few French missionaries only of their peojole were tol-
erated by the Iroquois within their country, excej)t
at the mouth of the Niagara River, Avhere the French
established a trading post in 1678. This was taken
by the Englisli under Sir William Johnson, in* 1759,
and retained by them until it was surrendered to the
United States in 179G.
INTRODUCTION. ^
Inl7->2, a trading house was iDuilt at Oswego, Under
the direction of the Colonial government of New- York ;
and in 1727, this was strengthened by a fort.
The French protested against this encroachment up-
on the territory they claimed, by the English, and sev-
eral times sent military expeditions to drive them out.
These English establishments at Oswego were taken
by the French in 1756, and destroyed. They were
rebuilt by the English in 1758, and continued m their
possession until 1796 ; they were surrendered to the
United States under Jay's treaty.
The French kept up communication through Lake
Ontario, between their western settlements and Que-
bec but made no other location within the bounds ot
New-York, being kept back by the power of the In-
dians. . . T T A
In 1760, a powerful army of British, Indians, and
Provincial Americans, was sent into Canada, under
Gen Amherst. To these forces the French surrender-
ed Canada and all their western possessions, which
included their claim to AVestern New York.
The Iroquois, or Six Nations, having early entered
into relations of amity and friendship with the English,
remained true to their engagements after the overthrow
of the French in America, and so down to the time ot
the Revolution.
At the breaking out of the Revolutionary war, (xen.
Philip Schuyler, in a council with the chiefs of the
Six Nations, at German Flats, in June, 1770, had ob-
tained their promise to remain neutral in that war.—
After the war had been some time in progress, howev-
er Sir John Johnson, Brant, Col. John Butler and
other tories of that day, prevailed on the Indians to
violate their pledge, and take up arms against the
Americans ; and with the exception of the Tuscaroras
and Oneidas, they remained the firm friends ot the
British through that war.
Xii INTRODUCTIOlSr.
Under the influence of tlie Johnsons, a large pro-
portion of the white inhabitants in the Valley of the
Mohawk were tories ; these uniting with the hostile
Indians, led by Butler, Brant and others made incur-
sions, carrying murder and devastation along the fron-
tier settlements of the Colonies, and retreating with
their prisoners and plunder to the British strongholds
at Niagara and Oswego, where they were safe.
This predatory warfare continued at intervals, from
1775 to 1779, along the Mohawk and Susquehanna
rivers more especially.
In 1779, Gen. Sullivan, with an army of five thou-
sand men, was sent b}^ Gen. Washington to punish
the Indians and tories of New- York, for their conduct
in the war. He encountered them in force in a forti-
fied camp near Elmira, where they were defeated with
great loss. The army of Gen. Sullivan pursued the
enemy to Canandaigua, thence through their villages
in Livingston County, destroying everything belong-
ing to the Indians on their route. But few of the In-
dians were Idlled after the battle at Elmira ; but they
were thoroughly frightened, wasted and vanquished,
and never afterwards resumed the occupancy of their
settlements east of the Genesee river, but on their re-
turn from flight before Sullivan, they located near
Geneseo, Gardeau, Mount Morris and other places in
the western part of the State. The Oneidas not hav-
ing eno-asred in the war, were not disturbed in theu-
homes.
The Indians were terribly beaten and humbled by
this expedition of Gen. Sullivan, and from that time
forward remained peaceful toward the whites.
PIONEER HISTORY OF ORLEANS COUNTY.
CHAPTER I.
THE INDIANS OF WESTERN NEW-YORK.
Their Traditionary History— Ancient Fortification in Shelby— Their
Friendship for the White Men in the War of 1812— Fishing and
Hunting.
"hISTOEY of the Indians, who inhabited
Western New-York at the coming of the
white men to reside among them, is compar-
atively unknown. Their own traditionary accounts
go hack but little more than a century, but the nu-
merous relics and " ruins" and the marks of ancient
fortifications, upon which no doubt human labor and
skill have been emj^loyed, which are found scattered
over all this region of country, seem to prove conclu-
sively that here men have lived for many centuries
past.
All these traces of former habitations of men are
found within the bounds of Orleans County. When
they were made, and by whom, seems to be as inex-
plicable to the Indian of the present day as to his
white brother. The commonly entertained opinion, of
those who have investigated the subject most, is that
this country has been inhabited by a people of higher
civilization and more skilled in the arts than those
found here and known as the Six Nations, who have
become long since extinct.
The most considerable of these " ancient fortifica-
tions" to be found in Orleans County is thus described
in Turner' s History :
14 PIONEER HISTORY
"About one and one-half miles west of Shelby Cen-
ter, in Orleans County, is an ancient work. A broad
ditch encloses in a form nearly circular, about three
acres of land. The ditch is at this day well defined
several feet deep. Adjoining the spot on the south is
a swamp, about a mile in width, b}' two in length. —
This swamp was once doubtless, if not a lake, an iiii-
passable morass. Prom the interior of the enclosure
made by the ditch, there is what appears to have been
a passage way on the side next to the swamp. No
other breach occurs in the entire circuit of the eni-
bankment. There are accumulated, within and near
this fort, large piles of small stones of a size conveni-
ent to be thrown by the hand or with a sling. Arrow
heads of ilint are found in or near the enclosure, in
great abundance, stones, axes, &:c. Trees of four
hundred years growth stand upon the embankment,
and underneath them have b^en found earthen wares,
pieces of plates or dishes wrought with skill, pi'esent-
ing ornaments in relief of various patterns. Some
skeletons almost entire have been exhumed ; many of
giant size, not less than seven or eight feet in length.
The skulls are large and well developed in the anteri-
or lobe, broad between the ears, and flattened in the
coronal region.
Haifa mile west of the fort is a sand hill. Here a
large number of human skeletons have been exhumed,
in a perfect state. Great numbers appear to have
been buried in the same grave. Many of the skulls
appear to have been broken in Avitli clubs or stones."
The Indians found actually occupying this part of
the country when white men began to settle here were
the Senecas, a tribe of the Six Nations. They had no
village or permanent settlement within Orleans Coun-
ty ; but they counted this as part of tlieir territory,
and occupied it as their hunting and fishing grounds,
and were accustomed to follow these pursuits here. —
OF ORLEANS COUKTY. 15
Their places of residence were their villages in Genesee
and Niagara Counties. These Indians were friendly
to the whites, and the pioneer settlers of Orleans
County never feared their hostility. In the war of
1812, with Great Britain, they took up arms on the
side of the United States, and made themselves use-
ful to us in checking the invasions of the hostile In-
dians from Canada, who acted with the British.
These Indians had formerly been favorably dispos-
ed to the British Government, and it w^as a source of
alarm at the breaking out of the war lest the}^ should
be found with their ancient allies. Tlieir great chief,
Red Jacket, counseled them to maintain neutralit}'.
This neutral state was construed unfavorably by the
pioneers, and rumors of contemplated Indian atroci-
ties were circulated from time to time, until the Sene-
cas had resolved to take up the hatchet with us.
The rapid settlement of the county b}^ white men
had the effect to diminish the number of wild game
animals, vrhicli the Indians had been accustomed to
hunt ; and fishing in the Oak Orchard and Johnson' s .
Creeks, with seines and nets, soon exterminated the
salmon and drove away other kinds of fish that had
formerly come up these streams from Lake Ontario in
abundance, until the Indians found their occupation
worthless and ceased to come here.
In an early da}^ parties of Indians came over from
Canada and wintered in Carlton, for the purpose of
hunting. In the spring they would return to Canada.
As game became scarce they discontinued their visits.
Indians in families, or singl3% frequently traveled
about among the dwellings of the pioneers to beg or
sell their small wares, or get whisky. They were gen-
erally harmless, and made no trouble. Their claim
to the land was long since settled by treaty transfei--
ing it to white men, excepting the reservations to
which they retired.
CHAPTER II.
PHELPS AXD GOKHAlt's PUKCHASE.
When Made — Territory Included in — Consolidated Securities — Their
Sale to Eobert Morris — Divisions of their Purchase — The Triangle.
,K.«r HE original charter, granted Iby tlie King of
'%^^ England to the colony of Massachusetts, in-
V^P eluded all th^ country between the north and
south "boundaries of the colony, extending from the
Atlantic Ocean on the east, to the Pacific Ocean on
the west. The .western boundary had not then been
explored, and the extent of the continent was un-
known.
New York was afterwards chartered by the same
authority, covering a portion of territory previously
granted to Massachusetts. After the close of the
Revolutionary war, Massachusetts urged her claim.
The difficulty was finallj^ compromised between Mass-
achusetts and New York, by commissioners mutual-
ly agreed upon, Dec. 16, 1786, by giving to New York
the sovreignty of all the disputed territory lying with-
in her chartered limits ; and giving the property in
the soil to Massachusetts, or the right to buy the soil
from the Indians, who were then in possession.
All of the State of New York lying west of a line
running from Sodus Bay through Seneca Lake, to
the north line of Pennsylvania, estimated to contain
6,000,000 of acres, was sold subject to the title the
Indians then liad to it, by Massachusetts, to Phelps
and Gorham, in the year 1786, for $1,000,000, to be
paid for in a kind of scrip, or stock, which had been
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 17
issued by Massachusetts, called "Consolidated Secu-
rities," wliicli at the time of the sale was worth about
50 per cent.
In July, 1788, Phelps and Gorliam made a treaty
with the Six IN'ations of Indians, by which they pur-
chased from them a tract estimat(^d at 2,250,000 acres ;
bounded east by the Pre-emption Line ; which was
the eastern boundary of their purchase from Massa-
chusetts, and west by a line from Lake Ontario to
Pennsylvania, twelve miles west from Genesee Piver.
From this sale to Phelps and Gorham, and other
causes, the market price of these "Consolidated Se-
curities" rose so hio-h that Phelps and Gorham were
unable to buy them to fulfill their contract with the
State ; and so were compelled to surrender.to the State
of Massachusetts, all the lands lying west of the west
boundary of the tract they had purchased of the In-
dians, as above stated. To these lands so surrender-
ed, the Indian title had not then been extinguished. —
This tract was sold in the year 1791, by tlie State of
Massachusetts to Robert Morris. About the year
1793, Robert Morris sold this tract to an association
of capitalists residing in Holland, excepting and re-
serving a parcel of land twelve miles wide, to be ta-
ken off from the east side. This strip was afterwards
called "the Morris Reserve." a part of it was sold
by Morris to Bayard, Leroy and McEvers, known as
The Triangle, containing 87,000 acres, and another
portion lying west of The Triangle, and containing
100,000 acres was sold by Morris to Cragieand others
and by them to Sir William Pultney and the State of
Connecticut, ever since known as "The 100,000 Acre
Tract, " or " Connecticut Tract. ' '
The tract so purchased by the Holland Company
contains about three million six liundred thousand
18 PIONEER HISTORY
acres, and is distinguislied as ''The Holland Pur-
cliase."
THE TRIANGLE TRACT.
One of the large divisions of the Phelps and Gorham
Purchase, lying west of the Genesee River, is known
as "The Triangle." By treat j between Phelps and
Gorham, and the Indians, after they had granted to
Ebenezer Allen, a piece of land of 100 acres, on which
to erect a saw mill, at what is now Rochester, an-
other tract was granted to Phelps and Gorham, for
a "Mill Yard." This was called "The Mill Yard
Tract," and was twelve miles wide east and west, by
twenty -four miles north and south, from Lake Ontario.
The agreement â– was, this " Mill Yard" should be
bounded east by the Genesee River ; south by a line
running west fi'om about where Avon now stands ;
and west twelve miles ; thence north to Lake Ontario.
It was then supposed that the course of the Genesee
River was about due north, and the west line was at
first run by Hugh Maxwell, due north from said south
west corner, accordingly.
It was afterwards ascertained, that the mouth, of
the river was more than twelve miles east from the
termination of this line, on the lake shore.
The matter was afterwards arranged by a new line
being run by Mr. Augustus Porter, nearly parallel
with Genesee River, and twelve miles west of it, for
the west bounds of the Mill Yard Tract. This left a
triangular shaped j)iece of land lying between the
lines so run by Maxwell and Porter, containing about
87,000 acres, forming the towns of Clarkson, Hamlin,
Sweden, Bergen and Lero}'. This tract has ever
since been described and known as " The Triangle."
CHAPTER III.
THE 100,000 ACRE TRACT.
Boundaries— Dr. Levi Ward — Levi A. Ward — Joseph Fellows — Trah-
sit Line.
EFORE the west line of the Mill Yard Tract
had been rectified "by tlie new line run "by Por-
ter, Mr. Robert Morris sold a tract Ipng next
west of "the Mill Yard," to contain 100,000 acres, to
Cragie'and others. This parcel was afterwards sold
by the pro2:)rietors to Sir William Pnltney, and the
State of Connecticut, to each, an undivided half. Af-
terwards, and about the ja^ar 1811, this tract was di-
vided between the estate of Sir AYilliani Pnltney, and
the State of Connecticut.
The 100,000 Acre Tract includes the towns of Ken-
dall, Murray and Clarendon, in Orleans County; and
Byron, and a portion of Bergen, Stafford and Leroy,
in Genesee County ; and is bounded on the north by
Lake Ontario, and on the south by a part of the Mor-
ris Reserve, known as the "Cragie Tract;" on the
east by "The Triangle;" and on the west b}^ "The
Holland Purchase." " In Jul}', 1810, the State of Con-
necticut appointed Dr. Levi Ward agent to sell farm
lots for them, and about 181C, Dr. Waixl and Levi II.
Clark purchased of Connecticut all the unsold lands ;
but by agreement sales were continued in the name of
the State. Dr. Ward and his son Levi A. \Yard,
have ever since continued to act as ao:ents for the
20 PIONEER IIISTOllY
State of Connecticut, wliilo Mr. Joseph Fellows lias^
been a like agent for the Pultney estate.
THE TRANSIT EINE.
This line which forms the eastern boundary of the
Holland Purchase, and the western boundary of
Morris Reserve, begins on tlie north bounds of Penn-
sylvania, 12 miles west of the west bounds of Phelps
and Gorliam's Purchase ; thence runs due north, to>
near the center of the town of Stafford, in Genesee
County ; thencejwest a fraction over two miles ; thence
due north, to Lake Ontario. It forms the eastern
boundary of the towns of Carlton, Gaines, and Barre.
It is called the Transit Lino, because it was run out
first by the aid of a Transit insti-ument. The dffset
of two miles is said to have been made to pnn^ent
overlapping the Connecticut Tract by the lands of
the Holland Purchase. The trees were cut through
on the Transit Line, to tli(^ width of about four rods,
at an early day, by the Land Company ; tlius afford-
ing a convenient land mark to tlit^ early settlers in
locating their lands, and serving as a guide in finding
their way through the woods. The Transit Line was.
run by Joseph EUicott, in 1 798.
CHAPTER lY
THE IIOLLAKD PTJIICHASE.
■Names ot Company — Location of Tract — Surveys — Ceded by Indians —
Counties iu'CSTew-York One Hundred Tears Ago — Genesee Country —
Genesee County and its Subdivisions — Joseph Ellicott and brother
Benj., Surveyors — Agent of the Company — Laud Office — Where Lo-
cated — Practice in Locating Land^ Articles — Clemency of the Land
Company — Deeding Lots for School Houses — Land Given to Relig-
ious Societies — Anecdote of Mr. Busti — Rev. Andrew Ravrson —
Route ot Travel to Orleans County — Oak Orchard Creek and John-
son's Creek — Why so Named — Kinds of Forest Trees — Wild Ani-
mals — Salmon and other Fish — Rattlesnakes — Raccoons and Hedge-
hogs — Beaver Dams — Fruits — Effect of Clearing Land on Chmate —
The Touawanda Swamp.
HIS tract included all the land lying iu tlie
State of ISTew York, and west of tlie Transit
^^ P Line, excepting tlie Indian Reservations, and
contains about 3,600,000 acres. It was purchased of
Robert Morris by an association of Hollanders, in
1792-93. The names of the original members of this
association were Wilh(^lm AYilliiik, Jan Willink,
Nicholas Yan Stophprst, Jacob Yan Stophorst, Nich-
olas Hubbard, Pieter Yan Eeghen, Cliristian Yan
Eeghen, Isaac Ten Gate, Hendiick Yollenhoven,
Christina Coster, widow, Jan Stadnetsld, and Rutger
Jan Schimmelpennick.
The surveys of the Holland Purchase were begun
on the east, at the Transit Line, and continued west
dividing the whole territory into ranges and town-
ships ; the range lines running from north to south,
the townships from east to west. The ranges number
from the east, and the townships from the south. —
22 PIONEER HISTORY
Townships are all sul^divided. into lots, and the towns
of Carlton and part of Yates, into sections and lots. — •
The county of Orleans contains the north parts of
ranges 1, 2, 3 and 4, and the east parts of townships
14, 15 and 16. It is about 20 miles square, not inclu-
ding so much as is covered by Lake Ontario, and con-
tains about 405 square miles.
About the year 1797, the Indians ceded most of
their lauds on the Holland Purchase, to the white
men ; reserving to themselves tracts of the best land
for their occupation. Most of these reservations have
been since conveyed by the Indians to white men. —
J^o reservation was irade of any land now in Orleans
county.
One hundred years ago, the then province of New
York, contained ten cou.nties, viz : New York, "West-
chester, Dutchess, Orange, Ulster, Albany, Richmond,
Kings, Queens and Suffolk.
The county of Albany embraced all the territory
now included in the State of New York, lying north
of Ulster, and west of Hudson River. So much of
said territoiy, as lies west of Schoharie, was taken off
from Albany, and named Try on, in the year 1772. —
Tiyon was changed to Montgomery, in 1784.
All of said territoiy lying west of " the Preemption
Line,'" mcluding all land sold by Massachusetts to
Phelps and Gorham, in their first purchase, was ta-
ken from Montgomery in the year 1789, and named
Ontario county. Ontario county, at that time, was
an unbroken wilderness, only as it had been occupied
by the Indians, west of Genesee River. Some settle-
ments by white men had been made in the eastern
part. It was then generally known as '' the Genesee
country," named from the Genesee River, the most
considerable stream of water in the country.
Canandaigua was then the chief town in the county
OF OELEAXS COUNTY. 23
and it has ever remained the county seat ot Ontario
county.
From Ontario has since "been formed the counties of
Steuben, Allegany, Cattaraugus, Monroe, Livingston,
Wayne, Yates, Genesee, Niagara, Erie, Chautauqua
and Orleans.
Genesee county was taken from Ontario in 1802. —
The Genesee River was then its eastern boundary,
and it included so much of the State of New York, as
lies west of that river.
The original county of Genesee has been subdivided
into Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chairtauqua, Livingston,
Wyoming, Erie, Niagara and Orleans, leaving a small
portion around Batavia, which w^as the original coun-
ty seat, still known as Genesee county.
Orleans county was set off from Genesee, Nov. 11,
1824. The town of Shelby was annexed to Orleans
from Genesee county, April 5, 1825.
The county of Genesee included, in its original lim-
its, all of the State of New York, which Robert Mor-
ris purchased.
The general land office of the Holland Land Com-
pany was first located at Philadelphia.
Mr. Joseph EUicott was engaged as principal sur-
veyor for the Holland Land Company, in July, 1797.
Assisted by his brother, Benjamin, and others, he
commenced surveying the lands embraced in the Hol-
land Purchase, in 1798, by running and establishing
the Transit Line, as the eastern boundary. These
surveys were continued ten or twelve years, until the
whole tract was divided into townships, ranges, sec-
tions and lots.
In 1800, Joseph EUicott was appointed local agent
of the Holland Land Company, and for more than
twenty years thereafter, he had almost exclusive con-
trol of all the local business of the Comi)any,
The Land Office was first established on the Pur-
24 PIONEEK HISTOEY
cliase at Piue Grove, Clarence Hollow, in Erie coun-
ty ; but upon the org-anization of Genesee county, in
1802, the office was transferred to Batavia, where it
remained until the affairs of the Company were final-
ly closed up in the year 1835.
The principal Land Office was kc^pt at Batavia, but
several other offices were established in different parts
of the Purchase, for the convenience of parties having
business with the Company.
It was usual for persons, who desired to locate on
land of the Holland Land Company, to select the par-
cel they desired to take, go to the Land Office at Ba-
tavia, and make a contract with the Company's agent
there, for the purchase. Yery seldom indeed was
payment in full made, and a deed taken, in the first
place. The common jiractice was for the purchaser
to make a small payment down, and receive from the
Company a contract in writing, known as an "Arti-
cle," by which the Compau}^ agreed to sell the parcel
of land described, the purchaser to pay the price in
instalments, within from five to ten j^ears, with inter-
est ; Mdien he was to receive a deed. On receiving his
"Article," the settler went into full possession of his
land, cleared it up, and made improvements, making-
such payments to apply on the purchase monej' as he
was able.
These land "Articles '"' were transferred by assign-
ment, and were conveyed from hand to hand, often
many times before they were returned to the Com-
pany. A settler who wished to sell out his interest in
land did so by assigning his "Article." Or, if he de-
sired to give security tor a debt, or obtain a credit in
his business, he would pledge his " Article. ' ' Trades-
men and speculators of every class were accustomed
to deal largely in these "Articles," and men who had
means to lend, often liekt numbers of these contracts,
transferred to tlwm by absolute sale, or in security
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 25
for some obligations, to be afterwards redeemed by
the owner. The Holland Land Company sold their
wild lands in Orleans county for from §2 to 80 per
acre, according to the quality and location of the
land. In the later years of the existence of the Land
Company, frequently the Company w^ould give a
deed to the settler, and take his bond and a mortgage
on the land deeded, for the balance of "purchase
money."
The Comj)any generally dealt very leniently with
its debtors, frequently renewing their "Articles"
when they had run out without payment ; and some-
times abating interest accrued and unpaid, or throw-
ing off a part of the sum originally agreed to be paid,
when the bargain had proved a hard one for any rea-
son to the debtor.
Another measure of relief to the settlers, from their
obligations to pay for their land, was the Company
agreeing to receive cattle, and apply their value on
"Articles" for land, on w^hich payment was in ar-
rears. For some years before the Company ceased to
exist, they would send their agents to different points
on the Purchase, to receive these cattle, and indorse
their value on the "Articles" of the settlers. The
cattle were driven to a distant market. Although
this arrangement was beneficial to the people, it was
attended wdth considerable loss to the Company.
It was provided in an early School Act of the State
that sites for school houses should be secured to the
school districts by deeds in fee, or by leases from the
party owning the fee of the land.
It often occurred, before the year 1828, that there
was no deeded land in the district, or none where a
school house was desired to be located. In such ca-
ses, the Company provided by a general order, that
they would grant half an acre to such district gratis,
if the Company owned the land where the school
26 PIONEER HISTORY
house should stand, then not under "Article," provi-
ded, if such site should fall on land held by some per-
son under contract, the district was then required to
procure a relinquishment of the right of such person
in the half acre, to be indorsed on liis " Article."
Another instance of the generosity of the Holland
Company, as shown in the conduct of their general
agents, is recorded of Mr. Busti, who for many years
was their head agent, residing in Philadelphia. Mr.
Turner, in his History of the Holland Purchase, in a
note says — " In the fall of 1820, Mr. Busti was visit-
ing the Land Office, in Batavia ; the Rev. Mr. R., of
the Presbyterian sect, called on Mr. Busti, and insist-
ed on a donation of land for each society of his per-
suasion, then formed on the Holland Purchase. Mr.
Busti treated the Rev. gentleman with due courtesy,
but showed no disposition to grant his request. Mr.
R., encouraged by Mr. Busti' s politeness, persevered
in his solicitations day after day, until Mr. Busti' s
patience was almost exhausted, and what finally
brought that subject to a crisis was Mr. R's. follow-
ing Mr. Busti out of the office, when he was going to
take his tea at Mr. Ellicott's, and making a fresh at-
tack on him in' the piazza. Mr. Busti was evidently
vexed, and in reply said : — "Yes, Mr. R., I will give
a tract of one hundred acres to a religious society in
every town on the Purchase, and this is Jinisy —
"But," said Mr. R., "You will give it all to the
Presbyterians, will you not ; if j'ou do not expressly
so decide, the sectarians will be claiming it, and loe
shall receive very little benefit from it. " ' 'Sectarians,
no!" — was Mr. Busti' s hasty reply, " I abhor secta-
rians, they ought not to have any of it ; and to
save contention, I will give it to the first religious sp-
oiety in every town." On which Mr. Busti hastened
to his tea, and Mr. R. to his home, (about sixteen
miles distant) to start runners during the night, or
OF OELEANS COUNTY. 27
next morning, to rally the Presbyterians in the sever-
al towns in his vicinity to aj)ply first, and thereby
save the land to themselves.
The Land Office was soon flooded with petitions for
land from Societies organized according to law, and
empowered to hold real estate, and those who were
not ; one of which was presented to Mr. Busti before
he left, directed to "General Poll Bnsti," on which
he insisted it conld not be from a religions society,
for all religions societies read their bibles, and know
that P-o-1-1 does not spell Pcml. Amidst this chaos
of applications, it was thonght to be unadvisable to
be precipitant in granting these donations, the whole
responsibility now resting on Mr. Ellicott, to comply
with this vague promise of Mr. Busti ; therefore con-
veyances of the "Gospel Land," were not executed
for some space of time, notwithstanding the clamor of
petitioners for "deeds of our land," during which
time, the matter was taken into consideration and
systematised, so far as such an operation could be.— â–
Pains were taken to ascertain the merits of each appli-
cation, and finally a tract, or tracts of land, not ex-
ceeding one hundi'ed acres in all, was granted, free of
expense, to one or more religious societies, regularly
organized according to law, in each town on the Pur-
chase, where the Company had land undisposed of ;
which embraced every town tlien organized on the
Purchase, except Bethany, Genesee county, and
Shelden, AVyoming countj^ ; the donees always being
allowed to select out of the unsold farming lands in
each town. In some towns, it was all given to one
society ; in others to two or three societies, separate-
ly ; and in a few towns to four different societies, of
different sects, twenty-five acres to each.
In performing this thankless duty, for the land was
claimed as an absolute right by most of the appli-
cants, the whole j)roceedings were so managed, un-
28 PIONEER HISTORY
der Mr Ellicott's judicious directions, tliat amidst all
the clamor and contention, which from its nature such
proceedings must elicit, no complaint of partiality to
any particular sect, nor of undue weight of influence
in any individual, was ever charged against the agent
of the Company, or his associates acting under him."
It is understood the Rev. Mr. R. referred to was
Rev. Andrew Rawson, of Barre. Mr. Busti was hy
profession a Roman Catholic.
The county of Genesee was formed from Ontario
County in 1802, and the town of Batavia w^as organi-
zed at the same time, and then included the entire
county of Genesee. The town of Ridgeway was form-
ed from Batavia June 8, 1812, and then emT3raced all
the territory now included in the towns of Shelby,
Ridgeway, Yates, Carlton, Gaines and Barre.
Some of the first settlers of this territory north of
Tonawanda Swamp* came from Canada, in boats
across Lake Ontario ; others from New England and
the east, came by boats along the south shore of the
lake. Those who came in on foot, or with teams, usu-
ally crossed the Genesee River at Rochester, and then
took the Ridge Road west.
The Ridge in this locality had been used as a high-
way, ever since the county had been traversed by
white men ; and it was a favorite trail of the Indians.
Bridges had not l)een made over the streams, by
which it was intersected, and it was difficult crossing
these with teams. Sir William Johnson, going with
a large body of soldiers to Fort Niagara, went along
the Lake shore from Genesee River, and encamping
for th(^ night on the Creek in Carlton, west of Oak
Orchard, he gave it the name of Johnson's Creek,
which it has since retained.
The Oak Orchard Creek was so named from the
beautiful oak trees, which grew along its banks, as
seen b}' the first discoverers.
OF okleajS^s county. 29
In its natural state Orleans connty was thickly
covered with trees. On the dry, hard land, the pre-
vailing varieties of timber were beech, maple, white
red and black oak, white wood or tulip tree, bass-
wood, elm, hickory and hemlock. Swamps and low
wet lands were covered with black ash, tamarack,
white and yellow cedar, and soft maple ; large syca-
more, or cotton ball trees, were common on low lands
and some pine grew along tlie Oak Orchard Creek,
and in the swamps in Barre ; and a few chestnut
trees grew along tlie Ridge in Ridgewa}', and in other
places north of the Ridge. It has been estimated by
the first settlers, that from seventy-five to one liun-
dred cords of wood of 128 feet each, stood on each
acre of land on an average over the county.
The principal wild animals found here were the
bear, deer, wolf, raccoon, hedgehog, wood-chuck,
skunk, fox, black, red, striped and flying squirrel,
mink and muskrat. Bear and deer were plenty, and
hunting them furnished food and sport for the pion-
eers. For some years the wolves were so destructive
to the sheep and young cattle, it was difficult to keep
them. The bears would kill the pigs, if they strayed
into the woods. As the forests were cut down, and
settlers came in, these large animals were hunted out,
till not a bear, deer or wolf has been seen wild in Or-
leans county for several years.
Fish were plenty in the streams, coming up from
Lake Ontario in great numbers.
At the first settlement of the country, white men
and Indians caught an abundance of salmon here. — â–
These fish, in high water would run up the Oak Orch-
ard and Johnson's Creek, and out into their tributa-
ries, where they were often takc^n. Salmon were once
caught in a small stream in the west part of the town
of Gaines. It is related that at an early day, after a
high freshet, Mr. John Hood caught a number of sal-
30 PIONEER HISTORY
men on the bank of this stream, south of West Gaines,
where a tree had overturned, leaving a hole through
which the water had flowed ; and where they were
left when the water subsided.
A kind of sucker fish, called red sides, used to run
up from the lake in plenty. They were taken in
April and May, in seines, by wagon loads. The sal-
mon disappeared years ago, and very few red sides
run now.
Rattlesnakes were numerous along the banks of
Oak Orchard Creek and IM^iagara and Genesee Rivers,
when the country was new. They had several dens,
to which they retired in winter, and near which they
were frequently seen in sprmg time. Lemuel Blan-
don relates that in 1820, he went with a party to fish
near the mouth of Oak Orchard. They intended to
stay all night, and built a shelter of boughs on the
lake shore, on the east side, near where the hotel now
stands ; and set fire to an old log that lay there. Af-
ter the fire began to burn, two or three rattlesnakes
came out from the log, and induced the fishermen to
fix their camp in another place.
Enos Stone, an early settler in Rochester, said " The
principal colony of the rattlesnakes was in the bank
of the river, below the lower falls, at a place we used
to call Rattlesnake Point ; and there was also a
large colony at Allan' s Creek, near the end of the
Brighton Plank Road, I think the}' grew blind about
the time of returning to their dens, in August and
September. I have killed them on their return, with
films on their eyes. Their oil was held in great esti-
mation by the early settlers. Zebulon Norton, of
Norton" s Mills, was a kind of backwoods doctor, and
he often came to this region for tlie oil and the gall of
rattlesnakes. The oil was used for stiff* joints and
bruises ; and the gall for fevers, in the form of a pill
OF OKLEAKS COUNTY. 31
made up with chalk.'-* A rattlesnakes den where
they used to winter, and out of which they would
crawl in earl}^ spring to sun themselves, was situated
on the west "bank of Oak Orchard Creek, on the Ship-
man farm, in Carlton. No snakes hare "been seen
there for many years.
Raccoons were plenty. Their fat was used to fry
cakes, and their flesh was much esteemed for food by
the inhabitants.
Hedge hogs were also common. They frequently
came around the log cabins in the night in search of
food. Dogs, who were unacquainted with the animal
sometimes charged upon him so rashly as to get their
heads flUed with the quills, which it was very difiicult
to extract, on account of their barbed points.
There were no natural openings in the woods, or
prairie grounds in this county, before the settlement
of the country, adapted to the habits of the quail ;
and they are supposed to have come in with the emi-
grants. They soon became plenty, the large M^heat
fields affording them sustenance.
Quails, raccoons and hedge hogs are nearly exter-
minated in Orleans County. A rattlesnake is very
seldom seen.
The beavers were all destroyed by the first hunters
who came here.
Those who asume to know say skunks and foxes
are more numerous now than ever before, which if
true, may be owing to the abundance of field mice
which they feed on.
Before the settlement of this county, streams of wa-
ter on an average were twice as large as they are now;
and they were more durable, flowing the year round,
where now they are low, or dry, a part of the year.
iJarge tracts of low land, now cultivated to grass
and grain, originally was marsh, too wet even to
* Phelps & Gorham's Purchase, p. 425.
32 PIONEER IIISTOEY
grow trees ; sometimes occasioned by the clams of the
beaver, which "by flooding the land destroyed the
timber once growing there. As tlie beavers were
hunted and destroyed, their dams were opened, or
wore away, and their ponds in time have become cul-
tivated fields. Quite a number of tliese beaver dams
existed in Orleans county. The largest in Barre per-
haps was at the head of Otter Creek, on lot 15, from
which a stream flowed north, and near which some
years ago, E. P. Sill had a saw mill, that did a large
business. This beaver pond covered a hundred acres
or more, which after the beaver were gone, but be-
fore the pond had been eftectually drained, became a
cranberry marsh ; and old people still recollect going
there to get cranberries. Near the outlet of this pond
or marsh, was a favorite camping place of the In-
dians, who made this a kind of head-quarters in their
visits here to hunt and fish. As the water subsided
in these marshes, diflerent kinds of forest trees gradu-
ally came in. Another beaver dam was erected on
the head waters of Sandy Creek, on the farm of AVil-
liam Cole. And another on the farm of Amos Root,
at the head of a small stream which flows into Tona-
wanda Swamp. Remains of beaver dams arc seen in
Ridgeway and other towns.
When white men began the settlement of this coun-
ty, the winters were much milder than now. Old set-
tlers tell us the ground seldom froze in the woods so
hard a stake could not easily be driven into it at any
time. Snow did not fall to as great a depth as is
sometimes seen now. The thick tops of the tall trees
broke the force of the winds, and the softening influ-
ence of the great lakes — Erie and Ontario — served to
prevent the extremes of heat and cold, which liave
been more prevalent -since the timber lias been cut
down, and the wet lands dried up.
OF ORLEANS COUNTV. 33
Soon iiftt^r clearings began to be made in the forest,
peach trees ^Yere planted, and grew luxuriantly,, and
ripened the choicest fruit, in great abundance. The
j)each crop was never a failure, and apricots and nec-
tarines were grown successfully.
The cultivation of aj)ples received early attention,
and some orchards, now in full health and bearing,
are almost as old as the first settlement.
In the woods, the first pioneers found occasionallj''
a Avild plum tree, bearing a tough, acrid plum, of a
red and 3^ellow color ; and a small purple fox grape
of no value.
For many }^ears l^efore and after the opening of the
Erie Canal, wlieat was the great object of cultivation
among the fiirmers. The quantity of wheat raised
and exported from Orleans County yearly, between
1830 and 1840, was immense. Barley did not come
into cultivation till much later tlian wheat, and no rye
was sown for many years.
It was not until after the ravages of the weevil, or
wheat midge, had begun to interfere seriously with
wheat growing, that the culture of beans attracted
any considerable attention.
THE TOXAWAXJ)A SWA^fP.
This swamp lies in the counties of (xenesee and Or-
leans, covering joarts of Byron, Elba, Oakfield, and
Alabama,, in Genesee County ; and parts of Slielby,
Barre, and Clarendon, in Orleans County. Originally
it contained about twenty-five thousand acres, most
of which was too wet to plow, and Avas covered with
swamp timber, or was open marsh, covered with flags,
or swamp grass. Oak Orchard Creek drains this
swamp.
About 1820, the State constructed a feeder from the
Tonawanda Creek in Genesee County, to convey the
34 ^ PIONEEIi illSTOKY
water of Toiiawanda Creek into Oak Orchard Creek,
to supply the Erie Canal with water.
The outlet for water from the swamp was through a
ledge of rock, too small naturally to drain it suffi-
eientl}-, and when the Tonawanda Creek was thus
brought into it, the level of Avater in the swamp was
thereby raised, and nothing was then done by the
State to facilitate the discharge, thus increasing the
stagnant water.
In 1828, the Holland Company sold a considerable
portion of these wet lands to an association, who ex-
pended about twelve thousand dollars, in enlarging
the capacity of the outlet, to drain the swamp through
Oak Orchard Creek.
The Canal Commissioners then appropriat(^d the
whole of the Creek for the canal, and further at-
tempts at drainage were abandoned.
In April, 1852, an Act was passed appointing Amos
Root, John Dunning, Henry Monell, and David E. E.
Mix, Commissioners, to lay out and construct a high-
way across the Tonawanda Swamp, on the line be-
tween ranges one and two, of the Holland Purchase.
A road was made and opened to travel under this Act,
at a cost of about $2,750.
As the surrounding country became settled, this
swamp became an obstacle in passing through it,
from the great expense required to make and main-
tain highways. This large tract yielded but little re-
tiu'ii to the owners, and paid but little tax to the pub-
lic. No further attempts to drain were made. The
association sold their lands to difierent individuals,
and nothing was done to reclaim this tract, until
April 16, 1855, an Act of the Legislature appointed
Amos Root, S.M. Burroughs, Ambrose Bowen, Robert
Hill, John B. King, and Henry Monell, Commission-
ers to drain the swamp.
It was provided in this Act, tliat the Commissioners
OF OKLEANS COUNTY. 35
should assess the expenses of their work upon the
owners of the lands immediately affected by the
drainage, in proportion to the benefits each would be
adjudged to receive ; the whole amount of such as-
sessment not to exceed $20,000.
The Commissioners entered uj)on their work, and
made an estimate and assessment of the expense. —
This gave offense to the parties assessed, who united
almost unanimously, the next year, in a petition to
the Legislature to repeal the law, and it was repealed.
In 1863, an Act was passed appropriating $16,306 ;
to be expended in improving Oak Orchard Creek, and
the Canal feeder, on condition that all persons, who
claimed damages of the State on account of the
makmg the feeder from Tonawanda Creek, to Oak
Orchard should release all such claims, before the ex •
penditure of the money.
CHAPTER V.
THE LOG IIOU.se.
Description — How Bailt— Wiiulo-svs and Door — Walls Raised at a Bee
— Cliimneys — Ovens — Cellars — Double Log House — Copied after In-
dian Wisrwam — Fires — Great Back Loo; — Li";lUs.
HE log lionse; as it was constructed and used
hy the first settlers of Western New York, as
"an invstitution," belongs to a generation now
gone hy. No new log houses are now being built,
and the few old ones now standing, will soon be de-
stroyed by the relentless " tooth of time,*' and of those
who were their builders and occupants, soon not one
Avill be left to tell their story.
The most primitive log house, to which we refer.
was rather a rough looking edifice, usually 12 or 15
by 15 or 20 feet square. It was made of logs, of al-
most any kind of timber, nearest at hand, of uniform
size. These were used with the bark on, by rolling
one log upon another horizontally, notcliing the cor-
ners to make tliem lie close together, to tho height
wanted for tlie outer walls of the house.
An opt'uing in one side was lelt for a door, and
commonly another for a window. Poles were* laid
across tlie walls for a chamber Hooi- to re st on, to be
reach'.Ml by a moveable ladder. A ridge ])ol<> and
rafters sui)ported a roof, which was made of oak or
hemlock splints, or elm bark.
Bark for roofs was i^eeled in June, in strii)S about
four feet long, and laid upon the rafteis in courses.
OF OKLEAiS^S COU:XTY. S7
licld to the rafter by lieavv poles laid traiisversly,
and bound on by strips of bark. An openini;' in the
roof at one end was left for the escape of smoke from
the tire, which was built ux)on the ground undei- the
opening. "^Fhe remainder of the ground enclosed was
covered with a floor of basswood logs, split, or hewed
to a flat surface. The crevices between tlie logs were
filled or "cliinked" as they called it, by putting in
splints in large openings, and plastering vrith clay in-
side and out.
When a sash, lighted with glass, could be procured
that was used for the window. Instead of glass, oil-
ed paper was sometimes substituted. In an extreme
case, the door was ihade of splints hewed flat and
thin ; but ordinarily of sawed boards, hung upon
wooden hinges, and fastened with a wooden latch,
which was raised by a string tied to the latch, and
put through a hole, to lift the latch from the outside.
Hence, to say of a householder, "his latch string was
always out," was equivalent to declaring his generous
spirit in opening his house to whoever applied for
hospitality.
The carpenter and joiner work on the house was
now complete. Masons, x^ainters, glaziers, and all
other house builders, had nothing to do here. The
owner was his own architect, and commonly the house
was put up at a "bee," or gathering of all the settlers
in the neighborhood, gratis.
We read that Solomon's Temple rose without the
sound of a hammer. The temple in that respect has
no advantage above these early homes of the settlers
of Orleans County. There was no hammering here,
for there w^ere no nails to be driven. Sturdy blows
with the ax did the business, and every thing was
fastened with wooden pins, or withes.
If time and means permitted, and the wish of the
owner was to indulge in the luxury of a cliimney, he
88 PIOT^EER HISTORY
was gratified by building one end wall of Ms house
with stone, laid in clay mortar, from the ground sev-
eral feet in height, carrying up the remainder of the
end with logs in the usual way. A high cross beam,
or mantel, was put in, on this a superstructure of
sticks laid uj^ in a square, as the walls of the house
were, tilled in with clay, was carried up above the
roof and called- "a stick chimney.'"' This chimney,
and all the wood work exposed to the tire, being well
plastered with the cliiy mud, rendered the whole tol-
erably safe from danger of burning, giving little en-
couragement to insurance companies, whose agents
never ventured to take risks on such property.
As wealth increased, and a higher state of civiliza-
tion and architectural development was introduced in
the structure of log houses, stone chimneys were built
from the ground up. About the time when stone
chimneys were first made, cellars under the log houses
began to be constructed ; and were found to be ex-
ceedingly convenient, as a depository safe from frost,
adding much to tlie storage caj)acity of the house.
The introduction of brick ovens marks an era that
may be called modern compared with the primitive
log house. These ovens were sometimes made at a
distance from the house, standing on a frame of tlie
kind called Scotch ovens.
AVhen the family had become sufficiently affluent
to afford it, sometimes a chamber floor of boards
would be laid upon the cross beams over head ; leav-
ing a hole in the flooring, by which a person from be-
low could mount into the chamber on a moveable lad-
der.
And sometimes a wealthy settler, who felt cribbed,
and confined too closely in a single room, would build
an addition to his log house, like the first, and adjoin-
ing it, with a door between. The owner of sucli a
- double log house, was looked upon with envy and
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. ^ 39
admiration by all the neighboring housekeepers, who
wondered what he could do witli so ninch room ; and
it would be a remarkable and exceptional case if the
owner and his family did not put on some airs and
go to keeping tavern.
It woukl be several years before the general class
of log householders got a barn. Straw and fodder
would be stacked out for the cattle. And, if a shelter
for cattle or horses was desired, some crotches of trees
would be set in the ground for posts, poles laid across
on these, and a pile of straw heaped on, and a shed
warm and dry was the result.
The log house was copied from the wigwam of the
Six Nations of Indians, as to its general form and.
structure. The bark roof was similar in both cases,
but the Indians commonly built the walls of their
Avigwams of bark fastened to upright poles, without
a floor, their fire on the ground in the center, the
smoke rising without any chimney, found its way
tlirough a hole left open in the center of the roof.
Fires were sometimes made in these log houses of
the white men, by cutting a log eight or ten feet long,
from the largest trees that would go through the door
of the house without splitting. This was run upon
rollers endwise through the door, and rolled to the
back of the fire place. A fire was then built in the
niiddle of the log in front, and fuel would be applied
to that place, until the fire would consume the center
of the log ; when the ends would be crowded together
until the whole was burned. Sometimes such a back
log would last a week or ten days, even in cold weath-
er. The light from such a fire was commonly suffi-
cient to illuminate the single apartment of the house
at night. If more light was wanted, a dipped tallow
candle, made by the mistress of the houseliold ; or a
taper made of a dish of fat, or grease, with a i-ag stuck
in it for a wick, would answer the purpose.
CHAPTER VI.
LOG HOUSE FUKXITUKE.
Beds and Bedding — Fire Place — Hooks and Trammel — Bake Pan —
Table— Chairs — Pewter Spoons — Blue Edged Plates — Black Earthen
Tea Pots.
LL household furniture used at iirst in the
log houses of the farmers, at their first begin-
ning in the vv'oods on the Holland Purchase,
was about as primitive in its character, as their
new dAv^ellings. It was such as was adapted to
the wants and circumstances of its owner, and such
as he could readily procure.
For teiuporary use, a few hemlock boughs on the
lloor, covered with blankets, made a comfortable bed.
If a better bed and bedstead was wanted, it was made
by boring holes in the logs at proper height ; putting
in rods fastened to upright posts ; and upon this bed-
stead, laying such a bed and bedding, as the taste
and ability of the party could furnish. To a cross
pole over the fire place, kettles were suspended by
wooden or ii-on hooks ; often by an instrument called
a trammel^ which was a Hat iron bar filled with holes,
hanging from the pole, on which a kettle suspended
on a hook, might be raised or lowered at pleasure, by
moving the hook from one IioIq to another.
Their nearest approach to an oven was a cast iron
ll)ake pan, covered with a moveable lid, standing on
eg s, and lifted by a bail. Dough was placed in this
vessel, and coals put on and under it, when in use. —
OF OIILEANS COUNTY. 41
Another cooking utensil was a fiying 2:)an, witli a
handle long enough to be held in the hand of the
cook, while the meat was flying in the pan over the
lire. Tlie table was at lirst a board, or box covei-
laid on a barrel ; and man}^ of the first families have
taken their meals with the keenest relish, for some
time after moving into a new log house, oif a barrel
head, or a chest cover. Their chairs were often blocks
of logs, or benches and stools, of home manufacture.
It was many years after the first settlement of Orleans
County, before a stove of an^^ kind was seen here.
The pewter mugs and x^l^tters, and the wooden
trenchers that graced the shelves and tables of our
grand-mothers, among the early settlers of New Eng-
land, were not commonly seen in the outfit furnished
the young couple commencing housekeeping among
the first, on this part of the Holland Purchase. —
Spoons of tinned iron, or pewter — home made ; and a
slender stock of necessary crockery, including the
veritable "blue edged plates," comprised the table
furniture ; not however forgetting the black earthen
tea pot, in which the tea beverage for the family was
duly prepared, whether the ingredient to be steeped
\vas houglden tea, or sage, or pennyroj^al, or any
other herb of the fields. These little black steepers,
holding about a quart, were claimed by their owners
to make a better article of tea, than mry other materi-
al ; and were used for every day, some time after
block tin had become the fashionable article for a tea
pot, which increasing wealth and pride had introduced.
To this day, one of these interesting relics of antiquity
is occasionally seen, with its spout probably broken
off, adorning the upper back shelf of some kitchen
pantry, in the great new house, which has succeeded
the log one, carefully preserved, and annually dusted
by the loving hands of the venerable dame, who used
42 PIONEER HISTORY
it once ; or, of her grand-daughters wlio, inheriting the
time-honored frugality of th(^ family, in turning every
thing to profitable account, make even the old teapot
useful in storing a few garden seeds.
CHAPTER VII.
CI;KAKrNG LAND A?^D FIRST CROPS.
Cutting down the Trees — Black Salts — Slashing— Clearing — Fallow —
Planting and Sowing — Harvesting — and Cleaning Up — How Done..
RLEANS County was originally covered witlr
^^ a lu^avy growth of trees. Tliese had to be re-
moved to open the soil to cultivation. This,
was commonly done by cutting the trees so as to leave
a stump, two or three feet high. The felled timber
lay upon th(> ground until it was dry, when tire was
put in, and the whole field was burned over at once.
The logs were then cut off at proper length, to be
hauled together in heaps by oxen, and burned ; and
the ashes of the heaps collected and leached to make
black salts and potasli. The land being thus cleared'
of wood, the first crop was wheat, sown broadcast,.
and covered with earth by harrowing the ground with
a triangular harroAv, or drag.
A field with the trees l^'ing as they fell was called
a "slashing,'' and sometimes a "clearing," or a "fal-
low," as the work progressed.
The wheat was sown in the fall, to be harvested the
next season ; no spring wheat being raised. Some-
times corn and potatoes were 2:»lanted among tlu^ logs,,
the first season, by digging in the seed with a hoe.
It was several years before the land could be plow-
ed to much advantage, after the tree's were felh^d, on
account of the stumps, but as these were cliiefi}^ hard
wood, they soon rotted out.
For some j^ears, the first settlers cut their wheat
44 PlONEEIl HISTORY
€rop with a sickle ; threshed out the grain with tiails,
or trod it out with liorses and cattle, and freed it
from chaif by slioveling in the wind, or fanning with
a hand fan. The want of barn floors, and other con-
veniences, made all tliese operations exceedingly la-
borious and slow, compared with such work now-a-
days.
Before barns, with threshing lloors in them, were
made, some farmers made lloors, or platforms of split
logs, and laid them on the ground, without uny roof
over them. Beside these, they stacked their grain
and threshed it on these floors in fair weather, or trod
it out with oxen or liorses.
CHAPTEK VIII.
lIAKDSlIirS AND PIIIVATIOXS.
Want of Ercfidstuff— Scarcity of 3IiHs— Difficulty of getting Grain
Ground — Mill on a Stump — Fever and Ague — Quiuiue and Blue
Pill — No Post Office — Keeping Cattle — Difficulty Keeping Fire —
Instance of Fire Out — Want of Good Water — No Highways — Dis-
couragement from Sickness — Social Amusements — Hospitality —
Early Merchants — Their Stores and Goods — Domestic 3Ianufac-
tures — Post Offices and Mails.
'CARCITY of bread and breadstuff's before the
war, aiid even dov/n to 1818, is to be miniber-
ed among tlie hardships and piivations which
beset the settlers ; and even when they could get a
bushel of wheat, or corn, the difficulty in reducing:
the grain to Hour, or meal, was truly formidable. —
The n(^arest mill was 1 5 to 30 miles away ; there was
no road leading to it : and probably no horse to draw,
or ("arry the grist, if a road liad bo^en opened. But
meal must be had, th'.' undaunted emigrant would
liitch his oxen to his sled, or wagon, pile on a V)ag for
himself, and take as many bags for his neighbors, as
th<^ occasion required, and start for some mill. We
will leave imagination to des(^ribe his journey. After
thred' or four days absence, it is announced in the set-
tlemcMit that Mi-. A. has got back from the mill, and
nrarvelously soon would (>ach family be eating pud-
ding, or have a cake. But, what if the family had no
neighbors ; and no horse or ox, to carry their grist.—
Still the grist must go at once. Its owner shoulders a
lialf a bushel, or a Imshel, according to his strength,
and carries it to the mill, be th(» distance what it may.
46 riONEEll lIISTOIiY
threading Ids way by marked trees, through the
woods. Such Journeys were not liglitly to be thought
of, and they were honestly performed.
A sort of domestic mill, in which corn could be re-
-duced to meal, was made, and used, by some of the
settlers, by making a hollow in the top of a hardwood
stump for a mortar ; rigging a heavy pestle on a spring
pole over the mortar ; and thus pounding the corn
line enough to be cooked.
But, if the new comers had bread enough and to
spare, they all had to pay a penalty to Nature, in the
acclimating process, which all went through almost
without exception. Fever and ague attacked the pi-
•oneer, or his wife, or children, or all of them together,
whenever an opening was made in the forest ; or the
^arth was turned up for the first time to the hot rays of
the summer sun.
Oh, the amount of quinine and blue pill, consumed
in those days, by those who could get a doctor to pre-
scribe in their case ; while those sick ones, who had
no doctor, because there was none to be had, wore
their ague out, and let it work itself off the natural
way ; generally coming out about as well as those
who doctored, and tried to "break" it, excepting that
they took more time to do it.
The first professional doctors who came in were
most intensely allopathic in their practice ; and dealt
out quinine and blue pill in most heroic doses to their
patients ; infinitessimal prescriptions, and homeopath-
ic practice, had not then been thought of.
Another privation, if not a hardship, consisted in a
lack of post oflices, and mail facilities. Coming as
most of the pioni^ers did from New England, which
they, and their fathers regarded as a civilizt^d country;
and where they had always liad post ofiice accommo-
<lations all they wanti^d, it was rather hard to be shut
out compleU'ly from the (uik;r world.
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 47
The first settlers in Orleans County got their letters
from Batavia, or Clarksou. They did not take news-
papers by mail.
The first winter was a hard time for the pioneer to
keep his cattle, on account of the scarcity of fodder.
It took several years to clear the trees, and get a crop
of hay grown in their places ; and a year or two was
required before cornstalks, or straw could be pro-
duced. If nobody in the neighborhood had fodder to
sell, the new settler must cut down trees for his cattle
to browse, or feed upon the boughs, a work of im-
mense labor, especially in severe cold weather, and
deep snows ; and a sad time the poor cattle had, com-
pelled to lie out exposed to all storms, and feeding on
such diet.
Especial care had to be taken to keep fire from go-
ing out in their dwellings, it was so difficult to recov-
er it again. An instance is given of such a loss in the
house of widow Gilbert, in Gaines, who returning
from the funeral of her husband, found the fire was
out, and no means at hand to kindle it. Fire had to
be procured from the nearest neighbors, then several
miles off". The tinder box and powder horn, were the
usual resort in such cases, but these might be out as
well as the fire. Friction matches had not then been
invented. And it was an inconvenience at least, to be
deprived of soft water, the bark roof of a log cabin be-
ing a poor contrivance for collecting it, when there
was no snow to melt. The hard water from the
ground was prepared for washing clothes by "cleans-
ing," as they called it, by putting in wood ashes
â– enough to form a weak lye.
The Holland Company commonly sold their lands
for a small payiuent down ; and gave a contract, ex-
tending payments for the balance, from five to ten
years ; with interest annually after about two years.
This seemed to })e a good bargain to the settler at
48 PIONEEK IIISTOm'
first ; for, altliougli he was poor, ho felt lu^pefiil and
strong-, and went into the woods to begin -liis clearing,
sanguine in the belief tliat he could meet his payments
as they fell due. fr(^m the produce of his land ; be-
sides paying the necessary expenses of his living, and
his improv(^ments. But, after a. year or two, a part
of his famil}^ ar(r^ takeii sick ; doctors and nurses
must be paid ; stot'k, team, tools, furniture, and pro-
visions, must be bought. He mr.y hav(^ cleared a few
acres, l)uilt a. log cabin, and raised some crops, more
than was needed Ibr lionu^ consumption ; but the sur-
plus he could not sell. Tlie road to a market was im-
passible for teams ; and, iC the roads luid been opened,
if was hard work at best to ])ay for land by raising
wheat among the stumps, at th<^ price of thirty cents
a bushel. Is it surprising that under circumstances
like these, some of the earli<n' settlers of this count}',
after toiling sevei'al years, and linding thems'.dves
constantly running behind hand, got discouraged, and
wanted to sell out, and go awa^y. .\nd many would
have sold their claims, and left the country, or gone
any way, Avhether they sold or not, if the Land Com-
pany had enforced their l(\gal rights on th'eii- Articles
as they fell due. But the Company were It^nient. —
They gave off interest due them, and soinetimcs ])rin-
cipal, in cases of great hardshi]i to the settler. Many
times, when he went to the Land Office to say lie
could not make his payments, and must give it up ;
the agents of the ( 'Ompany linding him industrious and
frugal, trying to do Uw l^est he could, woukl nnvthini
with such words of kindness, generous encouragement
and cheer, that he would go back to liis home with
fresli courage, to renew his battle with the mnsketos,
the ague, and tlie Ixvars ; and wait a little long(»r for
tlie good time coming. But few were al)le to take
deeds of their lands, and ])ay for them, until after the
Erie Canal was navigable. Tiiey kept on cl(^aring
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 49
land, and enlarging their lields ; and between the
years 1880 and 1836, good crops of wheat were raised,
and sold at the canal, for about a dollar a bushel. —
Til en the clouds of gloom began to lift from the face
of the country. Prosperity had verily come ; no more
''hardships, privations and sufferings" after that ; and
more deeds of land were taken from the Holland Com-
pany, in this county, in those years, than were given
in all others together.
Notwithstanding so many and so great discourage-
ments, surrounded the pioneers, they never yielded to
the gloom of the present, or suffered their great hope
in the future to die. They had their joys as well as
griefs, running along their pathway together. Social
amusements, conviviality', fun and good feeling, were
intermingled with their sadder experiences.
Thej^ visited together, labored for and with each oth-
er. They exchanged work in chopping, logging, and
in heavy toil on their lands, where several together
could work at better advantage than alone.
They were " given to hospitality." They aided, as-
sisted, and helped one; another ; with a liberality and
kindness, that seems remarkable in contrast with the
selfishness of older society.
If a family came in, who had not in advance built
themselves a cal)in for their residence, they had no
difficulty in finding a sto2:»ping place with almost any
settler, who had got ar house, until a log house could
he built. And the best of it was, all the mc^ in the
neighborhood assembled at a "bee," and built a log
house gratis, for their new friends, if it was necessaiy.
If a man fell sick in seed time, or harvest, and could
not do his work, his neighbors would turn in and sow
his seed, or gather his crop for him. If a family was
out of provisions, everybody, who had a stock, shared
with the needy ones.
A happy feature of this primitive society was the
50 PIONEER HISTORY
entii'e absence of caste, dividing the people into class-
es, and making social distinctions. Everybody was
considered just as good, and no better, than every-
body else. All met and mingled on terms of social
equality.
At the dancing parties, quilting frolics, weddings
and other gatherings of the people for social enjoy-
ment, everybody in the neighborhood was invited,
wdi ether tliey wore "store clothes," or common home-
spun ; and they commonly all attended.
People generall}^ were acquainted with everbody
near them. Old people are living, who say for sever-
al years they knew every family in town ; and used
to visit with them, going often on foot miles through
the woods, by marked trees, to meet together.
As clearing away the forest, and doing the heavy
work of beginning settlements in the woods, constitu-
ted the main business of the pioneers ; they thus
learned to value ability to excel in whatever was use-
ful in their calling.
Hence, at theu* loggings, raisings, and other assem-
"blings for work, or x>lay, friendly trials of strength or
sMll, found favor. Contests in chopping, lifting, cut-
ting wheat and other tests of muscle, were common ;
and seldom did a number of young men meet on a
festive occasion without forming a ring for wrestling.
The pioneers, at their first coming here, were gener-
ally young. They were resolute, intelligent, deter-
mined and persistent ; for no others would quit the
comparative ease, safety and comfort of older socie-
ty, to encounter the certain hardships, perils and dis-
couragements of frontier settlement in the woods, in
such a country as this was. The true grit of the emi-
grant was proved by the fact that he came here ; and
such men were not to be driven back by hardships,
want, sickness or misfortune.
While the hope and resolution of the settler could
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 51
not protect liim from sickness and calamity, they fill-
ed liim with fortitude to endure them, gave him a
keen relish to enjoy whatever in his way might afford
a pleasure.
Looking at these pioneers from the standpoint of
the present day, an observer might well conclude they
were as happy then, as their descendents are now, on
the same ground. Many who began here in poverty
and want and w^orked their way through every diffi-
culty to wealth and abundance, have often said in
their old age, their happiest days in life were spent in
their old log houses, away back among the stumps,
EARLY JIERCIIANTS — THEIR STORES AND GOODS.
Soon after the settlement of this county, asheries
were built; the large quantities of wood ashes, produced
in burning the log heaps in clearing land, were a
source from which money could be made easier than
from crops of grain raised.
These ashes were leached in rude leaches ; the lye
obtained was boiled down to a semi-solid state, call-
ed black salts ; and then sold to Mr. James Mather,
or some owner of an ashery, who put the salts
through the ]:>rocesses of making potash, or pearlash,
a refined kind of potash, the use of which is now super-
ceded by saleratus.
These products of ashes brought some money and
were taken by the merchants in exchange for their
goods.
Before the canal was made, merchants' goods were
brought in by water, by wa}' of Lake Ontario, or on
wagons, from Albany.
Kobert Hunter and brothers, of Eagle Harbor, were
teamsters who traveled to and from Albany with
large teams of horses to wagons and brought in most
of the goods used here for several years, before they
came by the canal.
52 PIONEER HISTORY
A wagon load would go a great way in stocking a-
store tlien. The important and heavy article of whisky
was made sufficient for home consumption here.
Merchants did not then as now confine their trade
to a single line of goods, as hardware, di-ugs, grocer-
ies, etc., but tfieir stock, in the common language of
their advertisements, comprised "all the articles usu-
ally called for at a country store;" and that meant
(3verythiDg the people wanted to buy at a store. The
wants of the settlers were few and simple in the line
of such goods. They confined their purchases to ar-
ticles of prime necessity, which they could not well
do without, such as tools to work "with, building ma-
terials, &c., which did not grow upon their land ; an oc
casional calico dress, and a few kinds of utensils,,
sucli as they could not make at home.
These goods were generally bought on credit, the
pay being promised to meet the wants of the merchant
when he went to New York, a, journey he undertook
about twic(? a year. These debts were not all paid
when due, and many of them were collected by legal
process, and many of them were lost to their owners.
The credit system was a bad one for both parties in
many cases. People found it very difficult to pay
their store debts before the canal was made ; for
though they had a large and good farm, plenty of the
finest wheat, and possibly a stock of cattle, hogs and
horses ; they had no money, and could not sell their
stuii' for money, as they could not get it to a market-.
Timber was plenty, and sawTuills had been built
about th(? time the canal became navigable ; and saw-
ed lumber t\un\ paid ston? debts ; and wheat, pork,
fiour and produce of all kinds, that could go to mar-
ket on the (umal, found a ready sale, at fair prices ;.
and thus means to pay debts could be obtained.
DOMESTIC MANUFACTURES.
Most of* the early settlers were New England Yan-
OF ORLEANS COUIS'TY. 53
kees, of that class, who. if they wanted a thing they
had not got, they made it. AVith very few tools, and
those of the simplest kinds, they made almost ever}-
thing reqnired, that conld l)e ^^rodueed from the ma-
terials on hand. .
The}' brought in a few clothes when they came ;
when these were worn ont, the}' supplied their wants
viith. cloth made at home. The women made up the
common articles of clothing for their families. If the
man had a new coat, or other garment his v/ife did
not feel competent to make, the cloth was taken to
some one properly skilled, to be cut out, and a tailor-
ess would come to his house, and make it up. These
itinerant seamstresses, did most of the needlework re-
quired by the family, and which they could not do
themselves ; the modern classilication' of needle wo-
men into milliners, mantau makers, dress makers, <S:c.,
did not then prevail.
The people got their leather made b}- neighboring
tanners, and from such stock, a traveling shoemaker
visited the houses of his customers, and made and
mended their shoes and boots. The boys and girls,
and some of the older folks, commonly went barefoot
in the summer, and often in the winter likcAvise.
POST OFFICES AND MAILS.
Mr. Merwin S. Hawley of Buffalo, son of Judge
Elijah Hawley, who resided in Ridge way in his boy-
hood, and speaks from his recollection says :
"In 1815, the only mail to and through Ridgeway,
was carried on horseback twice a week, between Can-
andaigua and Lewiston. Oct. 22, 1816, a post office
was established at Ridgeway Corners, named "â– Oak
Orcliard," Elijah Hawley, postmaster.
The mail was ]iow carried in two horse carriages,
three times a week each way ; stopping over night at
Huff's tavern in East Gaines.
64 :piOKEER HISTORY
Aug. 24, 1817, a post office was established at Oak
Orchard Creek, on the Ridge, which place was then
growing to be a smart village, and James Brown was
appointed postmaster there.
To make the names of the offices conform to the
name of the places where they were located, the new
post office was called " Oak Orchard," and the name
of the other was changed to "Ridgeway, " Mr. Haw-
ley holding the office of postmaster there until his
death. During this year, (1817,) a daily line of mail
stages, each way, between Rochester and Le wist on,
on the Ridge Road, was commenced.
A post office was established at Gaines, July 1,
1816, Wm. J. Babbitt postmaster.
The next post office in Orleans County was located
at Shelby Center, and got its mail from Ridgeway.
Post offices were located in other parts of the coun-
ty from time to time, as the wants of increasing popu-
lation required.
CHAPTER IX.
THE EKIE CANAL.
When Begun — Effect — Rise in Price ot Everything— Progress of Im-
provement — Carriages on Springs.
^'^^
HE work in digging the Erie Canal was begun
on the middle section near Utica, on tlie 4tli of
July, 1817. In 1823, the eastern part of the
canal was so far completed, that in November boats
from Kochester reached Albanj^, at the same time
with boats from Lake Champlain, on the Champlain
Canal. And in Nov., 1825, a fleet of boats from Buf-
falo passed the entire length of the Erie Canal, carry-
ing passengers to the Gi'and Canal Celebration at New
York.
To no part of the State of New York has the Erie
Canal proved of more benefit than to Orleans County.
Although the soil was fertile and j)roductive, and
yielded abundant crops to reward tlie toil of the
farmer, yet its inland location and great difficulty of
transporting produce to market, rendered it of little
value at home. Settlers who had located here, in
many instances, had become discouraged. Others,
who desired to emigrate to the Genesee country, were
Itept back by the gloomy accounts they got of life in
the wilderness, with little prospect of easy communi-
cation with the old Eastern States to cheer the hope.
As soon as the Canal became navigable, Holley,
Albion, Knowlesville and Medina, villages on its
banks, were built up. Actual settlers took up all
the unoccupied L^nds, and cleared them up. No
56 PIONEEK IIISTOIIY
speculators came here and boiiglit up large tr£icts,
and left them wild, to rise on tlie market. The lum-
"ber of the country found. a ready market and iioated
away. Wheat was worth four tunes as much as the
price for wdiich it had been previously selling. Pros-
perity came in on every hand ; the mud dried up, and
the musketoes, and the ague, and the fever, and the
bears, left the country. Farmers jiaid for their
lands, surrendered their articles, and took deeds from
the Company. Good barns and framed houses, and
houses of brick, and stone began to be built, as the
common dwellings of the inhabitants. "The. good
time coming,'" wdiich the first settlers could not see,
but waited for, with a faint and dreamy l)ut persistent
hope, had come indeed. The price of lands rose rap-
idly, making many wealthy, who happened to locate
farms in desirable places, from the rise in value of
their lands. From this time forward, rich men, from
the Easter Ji States, and older settlements, began to
€ome in and buy out the farms and improvements of
those who had begun in the woods and now found
themselves, like Coopers Leather Stocking, "lost in
the clearings,"" and wished to move on to the borders
of civilization, where the hunting and fishing was bet-
ter and where the ruder institutions, manners and
customs of frontier life, to which they had become at-
attached, would bo better enjoyed among congeiiial
spirits.
The clearing away of shade trees, thus drying up
the mud and the substantial bridges over streams
and leveled and graveled highways, which the num-
bers and abundant means of the people, now enabled
them to establish, occasioned a demand for other car-
riages for the conveyance of these now independent
farmers and their families.
Time was when they went to mill and to meeting,
to the social visit, or the quilting frolic, hax^py on an
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 57
OX sled. A little progress, and pride and ambition
substituted horses and lumber wagons as the common
veliicles of travel, in place of the oxen and sleds.
A buggy was no more known or used than a balloon
in those wagon days, and when tlie canal was first
made navigable, there was not probably a one-horse
buggy in Orleans County. Indeed several years after
boats began trips on the <'anal, Messrs. R. S. & L.
Burrows, then merchants in Albion, brought on six
or eight one-horse wagons, with wooden springs under
the seats, manufactured in Connecticut, and put them
on sale ; and great was the wonder of the people, and
the comment they made upon the amazing luxury
and comfort and ease in i-iding in tliese little rattling,
jolting machines.
CHAPTER X.
I'UBLIC niGUWAYS.
The Ridge Road — When Laid Out — Appropriation — Oak Orchard
Road — Opened by Holland Company — Road from Shelby to Oak
Orchard in Barre — Salt Works Roads — State Road along Canal —
Judge Porter's Account of first Tracing the Ridge Road.
LTHOUGIH the Ridire Road had been travel-
^^ ed by the Indians from time immemorial, and
C after the settlement of the country by white
men, improvements had been made by cutting out
trees, and making the crossings at the streams of
water more passable, yet many large trees still ob-
structed the carriage way, and bridges were wanted
in many places. In April, 1814, the Legislature of
the State appropriated $5,000, and appointed com-
missioners to apply said sum to the improvements of
such parts of said road between Rochester and Le^vis-
ton, as said commissioners should think proper, for
the public benefit. This appropriation, together "wdth
some labor by the few inhabitants then living on this
route, made the Ridge road a tolerably fair wagon
road.
The Ridge road, so called, was regularly laid out
and established by Pliik-tus Swift and Caleb Hopkins,
under an Act of the Legislature passed Feb. 10, 1815.
An act i)roviding for a re-sarvey of the Ridge Road,
from Rochester to Lewiston, was passed March 24,
1852, John LeValley, Grosvenor Daniels iand William
J. Babbitt were appointed commissioners to superin-
tend the work tlirough Orleans County. Darius W.
â– OF OKLEANS COUNTY. 59
Cole, of Medina, was the Surveyor, and the road was
re-surveyed and established six rods wide. Although
the Ridge road had been opened and traveled many
years, no survey and record of it had been made be-
fore Swift & Hopkins' survey.
Mr. Lewis W. Gates, formerly of Gaines, relates
that about the year 1843, Judge Augustus Porter,
then of Niagara Falls, gave him the following account
of the Ridge Road.
He, Judge Porter, and others, were interested in
surveying and locating a large tract of land west of
Genesee River, since known as The Triangle. The
Indians told them there was a gravelly ridge extend-
ing from the Genesee to Niagara River. Porter and
his company emjiloyed a surveyor named Eli Gran-
ger, to go with a few men and trace a road through
on this Ridge, from river to river, and they traced the
Ridge Road through near its present location, in 1798.
The Oak Orchard Road was the first highway cross-
ing Orleans County north and south, that was open-
ed and worked. Supposing, as everybody then did,
that the trade from this part of the country must go
by the lake, and that Oak Orchard Harbor would be
its place of embarkation, the Holland Company and
the settlers, at an early day ox^ened this road for
teams, made log causeways through wet places and
bridged the streams. It w^as a rough road, but teams
could get through with light loads, as early as before
the war.
Andrew A. Ellicott built a mill on the Oak Orchard
Creek, at Shelby Center, about the year 1813. To ac-
commodate travel to this mill and jH'omote the sale
of land, the Holland Company cut out a highway
leading from the Oak Orchard road near the County
Poor House, to Shelby Center. This highway follow-
ed the ridge of highest land, crooking about on places
where it could bo easiest constructed. It is still used
60 PIOTs^EEIl IlISTOKY
as a public liigliway, and is traveled on or near tlie
line originall}^ i'ollowed. This was the iirst road cut
out for teams, east and west, south of tlie ridge. As
the timber whicli grew in this County was generally
hard wood and decayed soon, few fellen trees, or logs
lay in the woods to obstruct teams passing anj'where
in the forest, where standing timber or swamps did
not prevent ; and the course of travel was directed by
marked trees, until enough inliabitants had come in
to lay out and work roads.
Before the forest vras cleaved from this county,
much of the land was wet, and in fitting a highway
for travel, a large amount of log caus(nvay had to be
laid, in places now dr}^ hard land. AVhere the Oak
Orchard Road crosses the canal in Albion, and for
many rods nortli and south of the canal, such a caiise-
way was laid. Indeed, man}' farms, which in a wild
state, were not taken by settlers at first, because tlie}'
were so low and wet, now, on draining the water off,
and cutting away the trees, are the best farming land
in the neighborhood.
The Ridge Road was laid out six rods Vvide, and
the Oak Orchard Road four rods wide. In selling
lands bordering on the Ridge Road, or the OakOrcli
ard Road, the Holland Company bounded the tract
they sold by the outer lines of the road ; thus giving
the lands the roads covered to the public. In selling
lands on all other roads, the}' deeded to the center of
the highway. When no natural obstruction prevent-
ed, highways were laid out on the line of lots accord-
ing to the Company's surve}', and then the owners on
each side gave eacli tlie half of the road.
Works were put up by the Holland Company for
the manufacture of salt, at the salt springs north of
Medina, as early as 1805, and opened for use by the
settlers. To facilitate access to these works, the Com-
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 61
pany cut out two roads, about the same time, one
leading south from the works, to the "Old Buffalo
Road ;" the other south-easterly, to the Oak Orchard
Road. These highways were known as the Salt
Works Road. AVhen the manufacture of salt there
was discontinued, the Salt Works Road was dicontin-
Tied.
Frequentl}', when a new road became a necessity,
all the settlers would turn out with their teams, and
cut out the trees, and clear them from the roadway,
and build such sluiceways as were necessary and so
make a highway passable, to be worked up w^hen the
roots had rotted out and the people of the district
had got able to do so.
Ab(Mit th(^ year 1824, the people along the Ridge
Road turned out on the 4th day of July and celebra-
ted the day, l)y cutting out a highway from the Ridge
nortli to Waterport which is now the road leading
from Eagle Harbor to Waterport,
An Act of the Legislature was passed April 2, 1827,
appointing John P. Patterson, Almon H. Millerd and
Otis Turner, commissioners to locate and lay out a
public highway, four rods wide, leading from Roch-
ester to Lockport, " on, or near the banks of the Erie
Canal." A highway was located and laid by said
commissioners, Jesse P. Haines, of Lockport, being
the surveyor, pursuant to said Act. For most of the
way said liighway was laid on tin? south side of the
Canal. The records of said sui"v-ey and highway
were tiled in the County Clerk's offices, and in the
several towns througli which it passed, and the road
establishetl Oct. 1, 1827. The law required the com-
missioners of highways in the several towns, to open
the road to travel ; and it was done b}^ them along
the most of the line where the public convenience re-
quired it. Considerable of this road was never open-
62 PIONEER HISTORY
ed, and the franchise was suffered to be lost to the
public by non-user.
This was known as the State Road. Through the
village of Albion, it is called State Street.
CHAPTER XL
RAILROADS IK ORLEANS COUNTY.
3IecliDa and Darien — ^ledina and Lake Ontario — Rochester, Lockport
and Niagara Falls.
AY 5, 1834, an Act of tlie Legislature was
passed incorporating the Medina and Darien
Railroad Company, to construct a Railroad ;
and the road was built from Medina to Aliron, in Erie
County, twelve or fourteen miles, and fitted for cars,
to be drawn by horses. It went into operation about
1836. After a short trial, it was found to be an un-
profitable investment, the track was taken up, and
the road discontinued.
This was the first Railroad incorporated to be made
in this county.
Li 1836, the Medina and Ontario Railroad Company
was incorporated by the Legislature, to construct a
Railroad between Medina and Lake Ontario, at the
mouth of Oak Orchard Creek. ISTothing further was
ever done towards ojoening tliis road.
The Rochester, Lockport and Niagara Falls Rail-
road Co. was organized December 10, 1850. It passes
through the county near the Erie Canal on the south
side. This road has since been consolidated in the
New York Central Railroad, by which name it is
now knoAvn, its original corporate name being drop-
ped.
The construction of this Railroad has proved of im-
mense benefit to Orleans County.
CHAPTER XII.
STATE OP EDUCATION.
School Houses — Description — Gaines Academy — Other Academics and
Schools.
ETTLERS on the Holland Purchase reverenced
the institutions existing in New England, from
wliicli the majority of them came, and endeav-
ored to engraft them npon their social organization in
tlieir new homes in the woods. Tliey I)elieved the
safety and permanence of the free govennnent of ihoAr
country was found in the intelligence of the people ;
and among tlieir first labors, after providing shelter
and food for their children, was the building of school
houses and furnishhig instruction there. Before
enough families liad located in a neighborhood to
erect even a log school house and supply it with
scholars, it was not uncommon for a school to be
opened in some log cabin, where a family resided. —
All the children in the neighborliood came in, or were
brought ux^on the backs of their fathers through the
pathless forest, when the weather was bad, and at-
tended these schools. Scliool houses were built, and
well patronized, before school districts were organized,
and parents did tlie best they could to give their
children the elements of a common education, at least.
Orleans County was not behind any part of the
countiy in its zeal for schools. Tiie earlier school
houses were made of logs, much after the same pat-
tern as the dweih'ng places of th(^ people, such struc-
OV OKLKATS'S (XH']VTY. 05
tures as would now he considered extrenK^^ly iincotu-
fortable, inconvenient and ill adapted to the })nri)08e
for wliicli tlK\y were nuidr.
They were badly lighted, badly ventilated, small,
cold, cheerless and dismal places. Every internal ai -
rangement was nncomfortabl*^ compared with school
houses now. But nobody complained. '
After a few years this state of things improved. Ai-
population increased, and wealth began to accumu-
late, better accommodations were procured.
The people of the town of Gaines, living along tlieir
beautiful natural Ridge Road, believed trade and
business for the county must center there ; and before
the county buildings were located at Albion, they be-
gan to devise projects for l)uilding up a village there,
which should insure to them the full benefit of the lo-
cation. They had several stores, and mechanic shops.
They established a printing press, and published the
first neAvsjiaper in the county, and proposed to found
an Academy. The locatit)n of the Court House at Al
bion was to them a sad disappointment, they did not
despair, however, but established their Academy,
which was incorporated in the 3'ear 1827, This was
the first incorporated literary institution in Orleans
County. A brick building, three stories high, was
erected by the joint efforts of the school district, and
the friends of the Academy and f(U' some years it was
occupied by both schools, Tlie Acadenn^ was well
patronized, while it was without a rival, but when
Academies were erected in other towns in the neigh-
borhood, Gaines Academy began to languish, and fi-
nally ceased to exist as a school. The building wat?
fitted up as a dwelling house, and as such still re-
mains. Academies wer«^ established at Albion in
1837, at Millville in 1840, at Yates in 1842, at Medina
in 1849, at Holley in 1850. The Phipps Union Semi-
nary was established at Albicm abo'it 1888, and in-
66 PIONEEll illSTOKY
corporated by the Regents of the University in 1840.
This Seminary is a boarding and day school for the
instruction of girls only. Its course of study includes
all the solid and ornamental branches of education
usually taught in the best schools for females in this
country. It is one of the oldest institutions of the
Idnd in this part of the State, and has sustained a
high reputation.
CHAPTER XIII.
STATE OP RELIGIOX.
Reli^ous Feeling among the People — Ministers and Missionaries —
Meeting House in Gaines — First in County — Building.
ELIGION was not forgotten by the first set-
tlers of Orleans County, and amid all their
hardships and difhculties, they never omitted
attending to the public worship of God. For some
years they had no church organizations, or settled
ministers of the gospel, or houses built expressly for
places of public worship. They had religious meet-
ings however in their log cabins, sometimes conduct-
ed by a preacher, sometimes with none. As soon as
school houses were built, they held their meetings in
them. Though mau}^ of the settlers were members of
Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, or other denomina-
tions, in the old States, from which they came, here
they kept up no denominational distinction. If it
was announced that a religious meeting was to be held
in some place, everybody for miles around attended
it, never stopping to inquire to what denomination
the preacher belonged. Many old people remember
with deep emotion some of those solemn seasons of
prayer and praise, enjoyed by them in company with
all those who loved God and his worship, in their
neighborhood, in some little log shanty in the woods.
As the first settlement of the county began on the
lake shore in Carlton, and gradually extended along
the Ridge Road, so religious meetings were held first
in Carlton.
68 PIONEf:R HISTORY
About the year 1809, Rev. Mr. Stei^le, a Methodist
preacher, came over from Canada and visited as a
missionary tliose settlers, who had come into Carlton,
and preached to them whenever he could get a con-
gregation together. He is said to have been tlie iirst
preacher of any denonunation. He was soon follow-
ed b}^ Elders Irons, Butcher, and Carpenter, Bax)tists;
and Puffer, Hall, Gregory, and others, Methodists.
Before 1820, a Baptist church was formed in Gaines,
a Congregational churcli in Barre, another in Ridge-
way, and from that time forward, the people united
in such church organizations as were agreeable to
their views of religious truth and duty, instead of
those conmion meetings of all, which prevailed at an
earlier day.
In the year 1824, a company of citizens of Gfaines,
viz: Oliver Booth, 2d, Elisha Mchols, Elijah D.
Nichols, James Mather, YanRensselaer Hawkins,
Elijah Blount, Jonathan Blount, Jr., Zelotes Sheldon,
John J. Walbridge, Romeyii Ostrander and Asahel
Lee, united together and built the meeting house now
standing in the west part of tlie village, '* for the ben-
ellt of the Congregational and Baptist Societies in the
town of Gaines, each society to use the same for one-
half of the time alternately. When not occupied by
said societies, to be free for public worship for any
other religious society." The proprietors sold the
slips in the house, and gave the purchase money, af-
ter paying for building the house, to aid in ])uilding
Gaines Academy.
This was the first church edifice erected in Orleans
County. For several years it was occupied according
to the intent of the founders. It has now been trans-
ferred to a Methodist society.
CHAPTER XIV.
BUKYING C4UOUNDS.
Mount Albion Cemetery — Boxwood Cemetery — Hillside Cemetery.
URYING places for the dead were established
ill coiiveiiient localities, in the early settlement
of Orleans County. One of the oldest of these
is at the village of Gaines, on the Ridge Road. Mr.
Oliver Booth, who owned the land, gave half an a(;re,
on condition that the neighl)oring inhabitants would
clear off tho trees with which it was covered, which
they did.
Tinder tli(^ statute in such Case made, many of these
rural old burying places have been put under the care
of Cemetery Associations, duly incorporated under
the general law. Others have been vested in the
towns in which they are situated, under an old law,
which provided that burying grounds, which before
th<^n had horn used a certain length of time l)y the
public, should be so vested.
In the vicinity of the large villages however, more
extensiv(> grounds have been devoted as burial places.
The most considera])le of these is "Mount Albiox
Cemetehy," situate two miles south-east from the vil-
lage of Albion. This burying place, including about
twenty-five iicres, was purchased by the village of Al-
bion, in May. 1848, for $1,000. It was then an un-
broktm forest. The natural advantages of this Ceme-
tery, for the ])ur])osc; designed, can scarcely ha equal-
70 PIONEER HISTORY
eel b}' aiiY similar grounds in the country. It was
dedicatecl/Sept. 7, 1843.
Before Mount Albion was purchased, a burying
g round was used on the south side of th(^ canal, east
of the creek, in Albion. The bodies have all been re -
moved from that ground, and burying there discon-
tinued.
From the lirst, and until 1862, Mount Albion Cem-
etery was under the care of the Trustees of the village.
By an Act passed March 26, 1862, the control of the
Cemeteiy was vested in three commissioners, to be ap-
pomted by the village Trustees. Dr. Lemuel C. Paine,
Lorenzo Burrows and Henry J. Sickels, were aj^point-
ed such commissioners, and they have been ever since
continued in office. Lots in this Cemetery are sold to
whoever will buy, the purchasers not being confined
to inhabitants of the village of Albion, and owners of
lots reside in every town in the county.
The first persons dying in Medina, were buried
wdierever their friends could find a place ; but in the
fall of 1830, Mr. David E. Evans, by his agent Mr.
Gwynn, gave an acre of land for a burying ground, on
the east side of Gwynn Street, south from the railroad
depot, on which the first corpse buried was the wife of
Edmund Fuller, in 1830.
These grounds have been used for bui'ials ever since.
In 1860, Mr. John Parsons interested himself in get-
ting the fences around these grounds repaired, with
contributions furnished him for the purpose ; and in
order suitably to mark the spot, by some fitting mem-
orial, which at small expense would be likely to stand
many yi^ars ; he procured and planted, as near as
might be, in the center of the grounds, a fir tree, un-
der the center of which, in a glass jar, inclosed in lead,
he deposited various articles, as mementos of the times
and people of Medina at present. This tree is now
growing vigorously.
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 71
"Box^vooD Cemetery" lies a littlo north of Medi-
na, on the east side of the gravel road leading to the
Ridge, and contains about six acres, and is owned by
the village of Medina. Messrs. S. M. Burroughs,
Geo. Northroi^, Caleb Hill and others, bought this
ground while a forest, of Mr. Gwynn, for a Cemetery,
in 1848. They sold it to the village for $600, and
it was laid out in lots, and formally opened for
burial purposes, in 1850. David Card was the iirst
person buried here, in 1849.
Many bodies of the dead buried in the old ground
in Medina, have been reniovt^d to Boxwood Cemetery,
and this is now the principal burying jilace for the
village and vicinity.
"Hillside Cemetery" is the name of a burying
place belonging to "The Holby Cemetery Associa-
tion," which was organized Dec. 11, 1866. In Jan.,
1867, the association purchased about seven and three-
fourths acres of land, Ij^ing about half a mile south o"
the business part of Holley village, and south of the
corporation limits, at a cost of $1 ,100. A large
sum has since then been expended by the Association
in improving these grounds, grading the street, and
ornamenting and fitting up the premises.
A large part of this burying place has been laid out
in lots, carefully numbered, mapped and the map tiled
in the County Clerk's office. These lots are sold by
the Trustees and deeded to purchasers.
August 17, 1867, this Cemetery was formally dedi-
cated b}" appropriate I'eligious ceremonies.
The affairs of the Association are managed 1)}' nine
Trustees, who serv(^ in classes, three years. Trustees
now in office, (1871,) are John Beny, Sargent Ensign,
Nelson Hatcli, James Gibson, Samuel Spear, Humph-
rey Ruggles, Simon Ilarwood, Ely H. Cook and Or-
ange A. Eddy. John B'.M'iy, President, Orange A.
Eddy, Secretary.
72 VIONKKK IirSTOllY
Shade trees liave beeii set ai'oinid the grounds and
man}' trees and ornamental shrubs planted.
The soil is ^vell adai)ted to the purpose designed. —
The location is pleasant and commodious to the vil-
lage of Holley and surrounding country and the
good taste and liberality displayed by the people of
IloUey and vicinity in founding and fostering tliis
Cemetery is creditable to their public spirit, refined
feelings and proper regard for- their best interests.
CHAPTER XV.
THE TOWN OF BAllUE.
First settled along Oak Orchard Koad — Land Givcu by the Holland
Company to Congregational Societ}' — Congregational Church — Pres-
byterian Church in Albion — First Tavern — First Store — First Law-
yer — First Doctor — First Deed of Land to Settler — Deeds of Land in
Albion — First House in Albion — Death of Mrs. McCallister — First
Warehouse — First Saw Mill — First Grist Mill — Trade in Lumber —
First Ball— First Town Meeting— Fourth of July, 1821— First Wed-
ding in Albion — Story — Biographies of Early Settlers.
HIS town, so named by Judge John Lee, in
honor of Barre, Mass., his native town, was
V^ r set otF from (xaines, by Act of the Legislature,
March C, 1818. At the time of the first settlement of
this tow^i, the main road, by which peojjle traveled to
and from the old States, was the Ridge road. The
Ridgo was always dry and comfortable for travel
when the streams, which cross it, could be forded, be-
fore the bridg(?s were made ; but on leaving the Ridg«?
north or south, wdien th(^ ground was not frozen, the
roads were terribly muddy, long tracts of low land
requiring to be covered with logs laid transversely
side by side for a carriage track, called " corduroy.''''
As this was a work of considerable labor, the settlers
had to wallow through the mud as best they could,
imtil they were able to build their highways.
There were no sawmills, and even if there had been
mills, upon such roads lumber could not be moved to
market, and there was no market for lumber south of
the Ridge, before the canal was dug.
The Indians liad a trail, or Indian road, from their
74 PIONEER IIIvSTORY
settlements in Livingston count}^ on tlie Genesee riv-
er, to an Indian village in Niagara county ; and an-
other trail from the mouth of Oak Orchard Creek, to
intersect the first mentioned trail, which was used \iy
white men and known as the Oak Orcliard Road,
passing through Barre, from north to south. On this
trail or road, the travel to Batavia was conducted. —
It was not passable for carriages, as the Indians had
none, and the settlers had to clear the brush and re-
move the fallen trees, which obstructed, before they
could get their teams through. This was done by the
Holland Company at an early day.
Several families came into Barre before the war of
1812, but that event nearly suspended emigration
while it lasted.
Salt was made on the Oak Orchard Creek north of
Medina, before the canal was made ; and to accom-
modate the people and benefit themselves, the Holland
Company opened a road from the Salt Works, in a
south-easterly direction, to intersect thc^ Oak Orchard
Road, about two miles south of Albion. This was
known as the " Salt Works Road" and was discon-
tinued many years ago.
Among the inducements offered b}' th(^ Land Com-
pany to settlers on their lands, was an off'er of a tract
of land, to the first religious societ^y that should be
organized in each town on their Purchase. In pursu-
ance of this custom, the Holland Company deeded,
March cS, 1822, to the Trustees of "The First Congre-
gational Society in the town of Barre," one hundred
acres of land, lying on the north part of lot nineteen,
town fifteen, range two ; being part of the farm after-
wards cleared and owned by ^Izariah Loveland. —
The deed conveys this land to said "Trustees and
their successors in office, for the benefit of the said
Congregational order, and those who preacli the doc-
trines contain(Ml in the Assembly's Catechism, and no
OF OFwLEAXS COUNTY. 75
other." So careful were our fathers in Barre, to pro-
vide for keeping their religious faith pure, and free
from heresy, as they regarded it. That religious so-
ciety was the first organized in Barre, and still exists,
now located at Barre Center. Its first board of Trus-
tees was Orange Starr, Cyril Wilson, Ithamar Hib-
"bardjJohn Bradner, Caleb C.Thurston and Oliver Ben-
ton. The church connected with this society, was or-
ganized Dec. o, 1817.
"The First Presbyterian Society of Albion" was
incorporated March 20, 1826, and was the second re-
ligious society incorporated in the town of Barre, and
the first in the village of Albion. Its first Trustees
were Harvey Goodrich, Joseph Hart, Ebenezer Rogers,
William White, Hiram Sickels, and Milton W. Hop-
kins. Their first house of worsliip, the same now oc-
cupied by the Episcopalians, was erected in 1830.—
The whole number of communicants, in this church
at its organization, was sixteen. Rev.AVm. Johnson,
their first pastor, commenced his laboi'S here in 1824.
The first tavern in Barre was kept by Abram Mat-
tison, in 1815, on the west side of the Oak Orchard
Road, about two miles south of Albion. The first
tavern in Albion was kept by Churchill, on the
soutli corner of ^Main and Canal Streets. The first
school was taught by Mrs. Silas Benton, in the south
part of what is now tlie village of Albion.
The first store, for the sale of dry goods and grocer-
ies, is believed to have been kept by E. & A. Mix, at
Porter's Corners. Mr. Abiatliar Mix removed to that
place, and took an Article for a tract of land, in 1817.
Being a mason by trade, and having no mason work
to do, he went into the business of making potash,
and selling goods, his brother, Ebenezer Mix, of Ba-
tavia, furnishing a part of the capital.
About the year 1819, a store was opened by Orris
76 I'lONEETw IIISTOllY
H. Gardner, near Benton's Corners, on tlie Oak Orch-
ard Road.
The Oak Orchard Road was the tirst piil)lic high-
way hiid ont in this town. About 1803, the Holland
Company caused a survey to be made of this road
from ''The Five Corners," in Gaines, about a mile
north of Albion, to the forks of the road south of Bar-
re Center. Tliis survey was due nortli and south, to
straighten the old trail. The highway was not open-
ed and worked precisely as laid.
Many of the earliest locations of land by settlers
were made along this road, and it was these locations,
this highway and the Erie Canal, which established
the village of Albion.
The first regular lawyer in this town was Theoplii-
lus Capen, v/ho came here about the time work on
the Canal was begun, and kept an office for a while
in Albion. William J. Moody came to Albion to
practice law, a short time before the county of Orleans
was organized, he was followed by Alexis AA'ard,
Henry R. Curtis, A. Hyde Cole, Geo. AV. Fleming
and several others.
Dr. Orson Nichoson was the first physiciaiL He
settled in Barre in 1819.
The first deed of land lying in the town of Barre,
from the Holland Land Company, was given to Jacob
Young, dated June 7, 1813, and (conveyed one hun-
dred acres of lot thirty-tlir(M^, town fifteen, range one.
This land is now owned by Stephen N. Whitney, and
lies about a mile and a half south from Albion, on
the east side of the Oak Orchard Road.
William Bradner took a deed from the Company,
of the land in Albion, on the east side of Main Street,
from Bailey Street, to the north bounds of Barre,
December 3, 1819, containing two liundred and sixty-
six acres. Roswell Burrows took a like d(^ed of on(5
hundred and sixty-one acn^s, lying on the west side
OF ORLEANS COl'NTT. 77
of Main Street, bounded north by the town line of
Gaines, October 11, 1825. This tract, so deeded to
Burrows, was taken np by Article from the Company
by Jesse Bumpns, in August, 1815, and afterwards
sold by him to Mr. Burrows. The land so deeded to
AVilliam Bradner, was taken by Article from the Land
Company, by William McCollister, about the year
1811. Mr. McCollister made the llrst clearing in the
village of Albion, where the Court House now stands,
The first dwelling house erected in Albion was a log
cabin, built by McCollister, near where Phipps Union
Seminary now stands. In that he lived, and there his
wife died, about the year 1812 ; being the first white
woman who died in the town of Barre. No clergy-
man was then in town to conduct religious services
on the occasion and no boards could be obtained to
make her coffin. Her sorrowing husband, assisted by
two or three men, split and hewed some rough planks
from trees, pinned them together with wooden pins,
to make a box, in which the corpse was placed, and
buried, this little company, present at this iirst funer-
al, comprised almost the entire pojndation of the
town.
The first warehouse in town was built b}' Nehemiah
Ingersoll, on the canal, about fifteen rods east of Main
Street, in Albion.
The first saw-mill in town was built by Dr. Wm.
AVliite, on the creek south-east of Albion, about eighty
rods south of the railroad, in the year 181(5. AVilliam
Bradner built a small grist-mill on this creek, farther
down, in 1819.
For several years after the Erie Canal was first
opened, a brisk trade in white-wood lumber was car-
ried on, from timber cut convenient to draw to the ca-
nal. Good whitewood boards sold on the bank of the
canal for $5 per thousand feet, and other lumber at
corresponding prices. Whitewood was a common
78 PIONEEE HISTORY
tree in tliis town. The lumber was carried to Albany.
After buildings began to be constructed by carpenters
and joiners, the Hoors and finishing were principally
done with whitewood.
The first regular luill in Barre was at Mattison's
tavern, July 4, 1819. To fit the house for the party,
they took up the split basswood floor and laid down
boards in the bar-room to dance on.
The first town meetings, after this town was organ-
ized, were held at Mattison's tavern, the next after-
wards at Benton's tavern.
The 4th of July, 1821, was celebrated by the peo-
ple of Barre in a grove near where " the round school
house" was afterwards built, on Lee Street. A com-
mittee was appointed, who procured the necessary
gunpowder, liquor and sugar, at Batavia. Provisions
for the tables were furnished by voluntary contribu-
tion, and a dinner gotten up which was partaken of
by everybody in.pic-nic style. Dr. Orson Nichoson
delivered an oration and the customary patriotic
toasts were drank, to the sound of discharges of mus-
ketry, as they had no cannon. In the evening, the
remains from the tables and the bottles, were taken
to a neighboring log cabin, and there disposed of by
all who chose to take part ; and music and dancing,
and festivity, were kept up till next morning, by a
company of old and young. This was the first public
celebration of our National Independence in Barre.
Among the first settlers in Barre were William Mc-
CoUister, Lansing Bailey, Joseph Hart, Joseph Stod-
dard, Elijah Darrow, Reuben Clark and Silas Benton.
Th(^ first marriage, in what is now the village of Al-
bion, took place under the following circumstances.
An action was tried before Robert Anderson, a Justice
of the Peace, at the village of Gaines, to recover dam-
ages for a hog that had been killed by the defendant
wrongfully. The plaintiif recovered a judgment. As
OF ORLEAXS COUNTY. 79
soon as the result was declared, the defendant took
the Justice aside, and asked him to go at once to a
house mentioned and many him ; giving as his reason
for haste, that execution would soon be issued against
him on the judgment, which he was unable to -pay ;
that he would be taken to Batavia to iail, and, if he
was a single man, he did not know when he should
get out, but if he was married he could swear out in
thirty dn,js. The Justice objected, that it was then
midnight, the house named was three miles oif, the
night was dark, and the road was through the woods
most of the way. He finally agreed to go after get-
ting supper. In the mean time the would-be bride-
groom hurried to the house to wake up the family,
and the bride, and put a light in the window to guide
the Esquire. The marriage took place according to
programme. The house stood on the west side of
Main Street, about a quarter of a mile north of the
canal.
BIOGRAPHIES OF EARLY SETTLERS.
latnsing bailey.
The following is Lansing Bailey" s history, written
by himself, for the Pioneer Association :
' ' I was born in the town of Stephentown, Rensse-
laer County, New York, Nov. 11, 1787.
AVlien I was seven years old, my father removed to
Whitestown, Oneida County, New York.
In 1800, being then in my twenty-second year, I was
married to Miss Loda Parmelee, and in Nov. 1811, I
started, in company with two others, for the Grenesee
country, on foot, with knapsacks and provisions on
our backs.
On the evening of the fifth day, we arrived at Dan-
iel Pratt's, an old acquaintance and relative, then re-
80 PIONEER HISTORY
siding on tlie Ridge Road, in the town of Gaines, a
little west of Gaines Corners.
The best locations on the Ridge Road had been ta-
ken, and also the l)est lots on the Oak Orchard Road,
for several miles south of the Ridge Road, but they
were not settled south of the 'Five Corners,' in what
is now Gaines.
Myselt and brother, took an Article from the Hol-
land Land Company, of two hundred and sixty acres,
lying one mile west of where Albion now stands. — •
Five da3^s after making our location, we started for
home by the wa}' of Batavia. We had but little mon-
ey, consequently we bought but one meal on our out-
ward and homeward trip, $3.50 being the entire
amount of our expenses, which consisted in lodging
and a little of ' the creature' to w^ash down our diy
meals.
In February, 1812, putting all on board an ox sled
covered with cloth, with two yoke of oxen attached,
after bidding farewell to friends, with wife and child
aboard, whip in hand, we set out for our. wilderness
home, my brother driving two cows, and three 3'oung
cattle.
After a journey of nine days, we arrived at Daniel
Pratt's, wdiere w^e unloaded our goods, and I soon
started to find some wheat, wiiicli I found in Riga,
and got it ground in Churchville.
Soon after my return, myself and brother set out
for our future home.
There was a track as far as the Five Corners. Thus
far we took a grind stone, and six pail kettle, with
some other articles, were tljen about a mile and a half
from our place, and no track. The snow^ was about
three feet deep, with a hard crust about two feet from
the ground, sufficient to bear a man, but not a beast.
We commenced breaking the crust in the direction
of our place, and drove the cattle as far as we could
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 81
break that day, fell some trees for them to browse,
and one across the path to keep them from returning,
and we went back to the Five Corners for our lodging.
In the morning, we took a straw bed and some oth-
er articles on our backs, and went and found the cat-
tle all safe. That day we got through just before
night, foddered our cattle on browse ; fell a dry stub
and made a good fire from it ; shoveled away the
snow, made us a bush shanty A\dth some boughs to
lay our bed on, took supper and went to bed.
Next morning the snow on our feet and limbs,
which were a little too long for our shant}', was two
or three inches deej). However, we had a good nights
rest. We staid there until some time in April, going
to the Ridge every Saturday night, and returning ev-
ery Monday morning, with a weeks' provisions.
On one occasion we found one of our cows cast. —
We divided the loaf with her, put a bell on her, and
if we could not hear the tinkle of the bell in the night
we got np and looked after her. Thus we carried our
cattle all safe through the winter.
AVhen we went to the Five Corners to fetch our ket-
tle, while the snow crust was hard, on our return, our
dog barked earnestly at a large hollow tree, that had
fallen down. On looking into the hollow, we saw
two eyes, but could not tell what animal it was with-
in. My brother went after an ax and gun, while I
watched the hole. After tilling the hollow %^ith sticks,
we cut several holes in tlie log, to ascertain the char-
acter of the animal. Soon however she passed one of
the holes, and we knew it was a bear. We then re-
moved the sticks, and put in the dog. The bear
seized the dog, and my brother reached in his hand
and pulled the dog out badly hurt. The bear pre-
sented her head at the hole, and I killed h<^r with the
ax.
On searching the log, we found a cub, which we
82 PIONEEK HISTOKY
took liome with iis. It could not bite, but would try.
A Mrs. Adams, wlio liad recently lost a babe, took
it and nursed it, until it got to be quite a bear, and
rather harsh in its manners.
As soon as the snow settled, we made us a hovel
house, such as we could lay up ourselves of logs,
twelve by fourteen feet square, with split logs for floor
and roof, the roof projecting over, to aiford a shelter
to put things under, outside the house.
AVhen the snow was mostly gone, three of us with
ax in hand went through on a line as near as we could,
cutting out the under-brush for a road, coming out a
little west of where Gaines village now is, on the Ridge
road, which is now called ' the Gaines Basin road.'
This we accomplished in less than half a day.
In a few days we liad the satisfaction of introducing
Mrs. Bailey, my wife, into our new house and were
happy to get home.
Our next work was to clear ji small patch and sow
some apple seeds, carrying dirt in a tray to cover
them ; from those seeds originated many of the orch-
ards in Orleans County.
In June following we peeled basswood bark for
our chamber floor and elm bark for a roof to our
house.
Harvesting came and we went to Mr. James Math-
er' s in Gaines, to reap wlieat. He would not give us
one bushel of wheat per day for our work, as he gave
his other hands, but would give us seven bushels for
cutting a certain j>iece, which we did in two days. —
On my return home at night I found Mrs. Bailey had
left home, where she had gone I kn<nv not till next
morning I learned she had been sent for to attend
Mrs. Daniel Pratt, who was sick and died soon after.
We cleared fifteen acres the first season. It was a
task in time of logging to get up our oxen in the
OF OELEAlSrS COUNTY. 83
morning, especially on Mondays, as they would have
Sundays to stray away into the woods.
On one ocrasion I started after them and found
their tracks near where Jonathan Whitney now lives,
on the Oak Orchard road, a mile and a half south of
Albion. I followed the tracks eastward all day,
crossing the Transit Line several times. I could tell
that line by the timber having been cut on it by the
Holland Company.
After a hard day' s toil and travel, making a good
fire I camped by it for the night and had a good
night's rest. In the morning I heard a dog bark and
a bell tinkle, I followed in the direction of these
sounds, carefull}^ noting where I left the cattle tracks
and came out on the Ridge road, at Huff's tavern, in
East Gaines and was right glad to get something to
eat.
Mr. Rosier was there returning from the dangers of
the war, driving some cattle and mine had got in
with them. I renewed my pursuit and found my ox-
en about two miles south of the marsh, which lies
south of tlie Ridge, in East Gaines and glad was I to
get them home again.
When it was time to sow our wheat, we went with-
out bread three days rather than leave our work to
go to mill. I have been to Church ville, Johnson's
Creek, Rochester and Salmon Creek, for milling, be-
fore there were mills built nearer.
In the fall, I built me a good, comfortable log
house, without a board, nail, or pane of glass in it,
using bark for roof and chamber floor, split stuff for
gable ends, lower floor and doors and oiled paper
for windows, being compelled to exercise strict econ-
omy and also to be quite independent in building my
house. I found it however a good shelter and a com-
foilable home for several years.
Soon after I moved into my house, my brother left
84 PIONEER HISTORY
for the east, leaving me in care of seven head of cattle
to cany through the winter, with no fodder except a
few cornstalks. Winter set in early and by the time
I had killed my winter's supply of venison, the corn-
stalks were all gone and I found all I could do to
keep fires ViW^ fodder my cattle, Sundays not except-
ed.
Thus I labored, cutting trees for the cattle as best
I could, until my brother' s return, the latter j)art of
winter. We should not have attempted to winter our
cattle, had not persons liere assured us our cattle
would winter with little or no care.
In June, 1812, the town of Ridgeway was set off
from Bataviti, which before then comprised the whole
present county of Orleans. In April, 1813, the first
town meeting was held on the Ridge road, west of
Oak Orchard Creek. At that time, the flats along
the creek were covered with water from bank to bank.
In going to the town meeting, we, who lived east,
crossed the creek as best we could, on rafts of felled
trees.
At that election I was chosen one of the assessors
for the east part of the town. On the day appointed
for holding the general election, I started for Mr.
Brown' s, on Johnson s Creek, where we were to open
the polls. When I came to the Oak Orchard Creek,
I put off my clothes and went through. On opening
the polls, the board were challenged by Paul Brown,
as not being free-holders ; true we were not, but we
did not regard it. We adjourned at noon to Mr. El-
licott's, at Barnegat, in what is now the town of
Shelby and next day to Ridgeway Corners and from
thence to Gaines Corners, where we closed.
The above journey was performed b}- the Board of
Inspectors of the Election on foot. I do not think
there was a horse in town at that time.
Thus far all had passed off pleasantly, soon after,
OF OKLEANS COUNTY. 85
however, I was taken sick with the fever and ague,
which was so severe as to confine me to the house. —
Dr. Wm. White was called to attend me. He came,
said he could give me something that would stop it,
but would not advise me to take it. I replied I would
take it on my own responsibility. He gave me arse-
nic. I took it. It stopped the ague, but I did not
get well for a long time.
On the 3d of Ma}', 1813, my wife was confined. My
brother went to Five Corners for assistance, and when
he returned with one of the neighboring women, they
found me on one bed, my wife and one babe on an-
other bed, and another babe on a pillow, on a chair,
all right and doing well. I thought the woods was a
fruitful place.
I made a cradle from a hollow log, long enough to •
hold one baby in each end, and being round, it need-
ed no rockers, and served our purpose nicely.
In July after, I called upon my neighbors, some of
whom lived several miles from me, to help me put up
a log barn. Some fifteen came. We found we could
not get through in season for them to get home that
day and rather than come again, they finished it,
though it got to be late before it was done and they
all staid over night, on beds spread on the floor, pio
neer fashion.
About this time, in 1813, one morning while we
were at breakfast, a man came in from the Eidge and
said the British had landed from the lake at the mouth
of Oak Orchard Creek and would probably come up
to the Ridge, if not repulsed. AVe were well armed.
My brother took the rifle and started on quick time.
I could not go as fast as they, but followed on as fast
as my strength would admit, I soon reached the
Ridge road and was glad to learn there was no dan-
ger. The enemy only wanted to steal some of Mr.
Brown' s cattle, from near the Two Bridges, in Carlton.
86 PIONEER HISTORY
After I left home on this military expedition Mr.
Farr and Mr. Holsenburgh came to chop for me. —
They left their homes before the news came. We re-
turned about 4 o'clock afternoon the same day. Mr.
Darrow came with us to get a pig. With some diffi-
culty the men chopping could see my cabin from
where they were at work. My brother, as we came
near, gave a loud whoop, like an Indian. I stopped
him. He then blew a blast on a tin horn he had. I
stopjied him again, saying supper was not ready. I
then threw my frock over my shoulders and went to
the pen to catch the pig. Farr and Holsenburgh
heard the whoop and the horn and saw me going to
the pen and mistook my frock for the blanket of an
Indian ; and hearing the pig squeal soon after, they
concluded the Indians had come and killed my fam-
ily and were going to linish with a feast from the
pigs ; and they started for their homes to get their
guns to fight the Indians. Mr. Farr then lived at the
Five Corners in Gaines and Mr. Holsenburgh, on the
place afterwards owned by Ebenezer Rogers, a mile
south of Albion.
Mr. Farr hurried home, got his gun and was ready
for a fight. Mv. Chaffee, on hearing the story, told
Mr. Farr it could not be true, as there were no Indians
landed and he saw us when we started for home.
Holsenburgh w(^nt diiectly to Mr. Harrow' s, before
any of the party had got ])ack, told what had happen-
ed at my house, said Mrs. Darrow and Mrs. Hart and
their families must hide in the woods, as the Indians
would soon be there and actually got th<'m started.
The men returned however in time to stop them.
While tlie above was being performed, we could
hear no sound from the axes, and knew not the reason
until near sunset, when Mr. Farr came and explained
the whole transaction.
About tlie first of August, my brother was taken
OF OKLEANS COUNTY. 87
with fever and ague. Some one told liim of a remedy.
He tried it, a violent fever ensued, which lasted but a
few days, and he died, August 8th. Before my broth-
er was buried, ni}^ wife was taken sick with the same
fever and died on the 13th of the same month. They
were both in succession carried by friends to the
burying ground in Claines, and interred there. Some
friends living on the Ridge took my children home
with them, while I returned to my desolate house to
spend one of the loneliest nights I ever knew, as there
was no one to accompanj^ me home.
I informed my father of wliat had transpired. He
soon came and took two of my children home with
him. I hired a Mrs. Adams, a cousin of mine, to take
care of the other.
I was now so lonely that as soon as I could secure
my crops, I left home and went to my father's.
In the fall before leaving, Mr. Parmelee, a brother-
in-law came with a wagon to help secure my corn,
which we had planted among the logs. I did but lit-
tle work that season, not logging one acre.
On going into m}^ corntield we found it badly torn
down. We got a dog, and lantern in hand went at
night to the field. The dog started off furiously and
soon treed some animal up a large hemlock. On
looking up I could at times see eyes shine. We con-
cluded it was a bear, and each one selecting a small
tree to climb, in case the bear should come down and
attack us, I went to try my skill in shooting in the
darkness. Soon as I tired there was a screeching u])
the tree, '{'h*' creature must have gone nearly to tlie
top of the tr(^e. Directly tliere was a cracking heard
among the limbs, I scrambled up m^^ ti-ee, and the
bear came down from hers.
No sooner liad she struck the ground than the dog
gnii)plcd in witli lier, but s(K)n cried out piteously. —
We thought tjie dog was beino; killed. I hastened
88 PIONEER HISTORY
down from my tree, called for the light to see to load
my gun. AVe walked up to the combatants and found
the dog biting instead of being bitten. Parmelee said
he did not climb his tree. He had some sport after-
wards telling how he had saved my life by holding
the lantern so that I could see and not climb off at
the top of the tree.
Before my return to the east, Mr. Caleb C. Thurs-
ton came to view the country, said he would move in-
to my house, if I would driv^e my oxen down and help
liim up, as he did not wish to buy another yoke, and
would hire me to clear five acres when he bought a
lot ; to this I consented.
In the winter of 1814, Mr. Thurston moved on with
oxen and wagon. While gone to my father's, Lewis-
ton and Buffalo were burned and Capt. McCarty,
with a part of the Company to whicli I belonged,
went as far as Mol3'neaux tavern, where they sur-
rounded the house, shooting one Indian through the
window. Finding another helpless on the floor drunkj •
a Mr. Cass pinned him to tlie floor with his bayonet.
The British soldiers ran up stairs and were taken
prisoners. Mr. Molyneaux said he would And rails
as long as they w^ould And Indians, and they burned
the bodies of the killed.
In the summer following, I took my oxen and wag-
on and seventeen bushels of wheat, with Mrs. Thurs-
ton on the load, for a visit to Mr. Pratt" s and went to
mill beyond Clarkson. I returned as far as Mr.
Pratt's the next night about dark. I asked Mrs.
Thurston if she would venture througli the woods with
me. She said she would and if we had to lay out,
we would do the best we could.
When Ave left the Ridge and turned into the woods,
it was so dark I could not see my oxen, although I
was sitting on the foreboard. We arrived safe home,
without accident.
OF OKLEANS COUNTY. 89
I think it would be difficult in these daj's to find
women of sufficient fortitude to endure such hard-
ships and privations, as did these early pioneer
women.
At this time there was no clearing between my
place and the Ridge road.
The war with Great Britain was now raging along
our frontiers, in all its horrors. More settlers were
then leaving the country than were coming in. There
were then but five families in what was then called
Freeman's settlement, west of Eagle Harbor. No
road had been opened. We had to follow marked
trees as our guide.
Mr. Thurston's eldest daughter, then about ten
years old, went to stay with our friends there a few
days. She was taken sick and not able to walk
home. Her father [ind myself went after her and car-
ried her back to her father' s house, the most of the
distance on our backs. It was a hard lift for us to get
her up the bank of Otter Creek.
The first of September, our militia company was or-
dered to Buffalo. On the fifth we reached Batavia. —
Mr. Thurston being infirm, was allowed to return to
his family in their solitude. I was kept with the
Company, until the first of October, when I was dis-
charged and returned home, having received seven
dollars and fifty cents pay for services and two dol-
lars for extra labor.
I lodged the first niglit on my return with the Ton-
awanda Indians. I have never since turned an Indian
away, who desired to stay with me over niglit.
Before I left home to go to Buff'alo, as a soldier, I
had baited some j)igeons. After we were gone, Mrs.
Thurston took the net and caught them and in this
way herself and children were provided with a rich
repast, although so. far oft' in the wilderness alone.
In the winter of 1815, with my pack on my back, I
90 PIO^TEER HII^TOKY
returned to Wliitestown, and on tlic^ 8th day of Feb-
ruaiy, was married to Miss Sylvia Pratt, wlio return-
ed Avitli me to sliare alike the toils and blessings of
life, where, b}^ the blessing of God, we still remain.
I have had twelve children ; three died young, I
had the pleasure of sitting down with all the others at
my own table, the present summer, (1861) although
some of them reside eight hundred miles away from
me.
At the close of the war, settlers came in rapidly
and soon I was out of the woods, having it cleared
and settled all around me.
In the early settlement of the country, it was diffi-
cult to raise pigs, as the bears would catch them in
the summer. Consequently, pork was high priced,
and scarce. With my riile, I could take what veni-
son I needed, and therefore fared well for meat. The
oil of the raccoon was first rate for frying cakes. —
Thus we fared sumptuousl}'.
At one time, I had a sow and pigs in the woods. —
One day I heard the sow squeal. Being nearer to
them than to the house, I ran, supposing I could save
lier. As I came near and hallooed, bruin dropped his
prey and reared up on his hind legs, wlien he saw
me he ran off, but he had killed the hog. I got my
rifle and pursued, but saw no more of him.
In the summer of 181G, I heard a man's voice hal-
looing in the woods south of my house. I went to see
what was going on. Saw several men there and in-
quired what they were about. One of them said
they were going to make us a canal. I laughed at
them, and told them they would hardly make water
run up hill between here and Albany. I added, it
would be as long as I would ask to live, to be able to
see such a canal as they talked of in operation. How
litth^ did I then know of what men could perform,
aided by intellectual culture and public wealth, hav-
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 91
ing lip to that time spent most of my life in the woods.
Before this we had to go to Batavia for our merchants
goods and to tlie Post-office.
The foregoing comprises what I think of now of my
pioneer life.
I cannot look "back npon the past of my life and
contemplate what the good Lord has in his loving
kindness done for me, without acknowledging his
preserving care, and that too when the most of my
days have been spent in rebellion against him, in not
obeying his commands and in neglecting to acknowl-
edge liim under the sore afflictions he has seen tit to
bring upon me and to sustain me under them ; and
above all, that in after life, He by his good spirit
should call after me, until I was brought to see and
feel his goodness, in the forgiveness of my sins and
to thank and praise him for all his mercies and to
ask that I may be accepted by him through the
merits of his Son, and have the pleasure of meeting
in his kingdom above, with all the old pioneers, not
of the Avoods only, but all those that are seeking a
better and a lieavenly country.
LANSING BAILEY."
Dated— Barrc, August 1, 18G1.
Mr. Lansing Bailey, the author of the foregoing
sketch, died at his residence in Barre, December 1866,
aged 79 years. Many years before his death he sold
out the land he took up from the Holland Company
and bought the north-east part of lot 10, town 15,
range 2, of the Holland Purchase, on which he ever
after resided, and which is now occupied and owned
by his son, Timothy C. Bailey.
Lansing Bailey was a man of strong, native good
sense, who always stood liigli in the estimation of all
who knew him, highest with those who knew him best.
He used to say when he left his father's house, his
father gave him a hoe and three slieep, and he thought
92 * PIONEER IIISTOKY
Ms father did as well by liirn as lie was able, as lie
not only gave him a hoe, bnt taught him to dig, for
which he always felt grateful.
Mr, Bailey was always industrious and frugal and
by a life of economy and prudence, acquired a
handsome property. He was liberal and public
spirited in his character, almost always holding some
public office or trust. He was for many years Super-
visor of the town of Barre and was relieved from that
office only after he had peremtorily declined being
a candidate, against the wishes of a large majority in
his town.
GIDEON IIAKI).
Hon. Gideon Hard was born in Arlington, Vermont,
A23ril 29, 1797. His grand-mother was sister of Col.
Seth AVarner, celebrated in the history of the Kevo-
lutionary war for his services in taking Ticonderoga,
and in the battle of Bennington. In his youth he
labored first upon a farm, afterwards with an older
brother at the trade of house joiner for two years.
About this time he resolved to obtain a college
education. Being poor and dependent mainly on his
own exertions, like many other New Englaiid boys,
he tauglit school in the winter seasons and studic^d the
remaindei; of the time, until he succeeded in passing
through Union College at S(;henectady, where he re-
ceived his first degree in July, 1822. In the autumn
of that year he commenced studying law with Hon.
John L. Wendell, then of Cambridge, Washington
county, since law reporter of the Supreme Court of
the State of New York.
The rules of the Supreme Court at that tinu^ re-
quired three years of law study previous to admission
to practice. B}' the aid of his friend and teacher, J.L.
Wendell, lu? was allowed to take his examination at
the May Tei-m of the Court 1825, and was then ad-
mitted attorney in the Supreme Court.
^cc^^^--^^^ Wa^(^
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 93
In March, 1826, lie settled to practice his profession
in Newport, now Albion, but did not move his wife to
liis new home until July of the same year.
He opened his ofRce and began his practice.
In 1827 he was elected Commissioner of Schools for
Barre and in the autumn of that year he was ap-
pointed County Treasurer, an office he held six years.
In 1832 he was elected a Representative in Congress
from the district comprising Orleans and Niagara
counties, and took his seat in Congress in Dec. 1833,
during the first year of President Jackson's adminis-
tration, in political classification being ranked as a
Whig. In 1834 he was re-elected to Congress, and dur-
ing the long session of 1836 he served on the committee
on elections. The case ot James Graham, a member
from North Carolina, whose seat was contested, came
before that committee, where after a lengthy examin-
ation a majority of the committee reported in favor of
the contestant. General Newland.
Mr. Hard drafted a counter report of the minority
in favor of Graham, which he presented and advo-
cated in a personal efi'ort before the House. He was
sustained by the vote of the House. This result, in a
body where he was largely in the minority, on a
question which was decided mainly on party grounds
and by his political opponents, was highly gratifying
to his political friends and party and fiattering to his
ambition.
On the 4th of March 1837, he left Congress and re-
turned to Albion to practice his ])rofession.
In 1841 he was elected Senator in the State Senate
to represent the eighth district of New York, and was
the only Whig Senator elected in the State that year.
The Senate of the State at that time constituted the
Court for the Correction of Errors, of which Court he
thus became a member.
The business of the Court consisted in revicAdns:
94 PIONEER HISTORY
the decisions of the Supreme Court and the Court of
Chancery, which might be brought before them on
appeal. , Tlie Court held three terms of four weeks
each annually.
As the Senate was composed largely of civilians,
who in the decision of cases which came before them
while sitting as a court of law, did little more then
vote upon the final questions, the main labor of the
Court fell upon the members who were lawyers, in
investigating the questions of law presented, and
writing out the opinions that were given.
Mr. Hard took his share of this labor, thoroughly
examining the causes in the Court and writing out
his opinions in support of the conclusions to which
he arrived, mau}^ of which are published in the Law
Reports of the State.
In 1845 he w^as re-elected to the State Senate and
appointed Chairman of the Committee on Railroads.
In 1848 his office as Senator having terminated by
the adoption of the new constitution of the State,
which abolished the old Senate and Court for Correc-
tion of Errors, Mr. Hard was appointed a Canal Ap-
praiser, which office he held two years, and in 18.50
returned to the practice of his profession until the fall
of 1856, when he was elected County Judge and Sur-
rogate of Orleans county, which office he held four
years.
The year 1860 he was in ill health and did little
business. The next three years he spent mainly in
attendance upon his sick wife. She died, an event
which broke up his family, and since then he has re-
sided most of the time with his children engag(^d in
no business.
Mr. Hard married Adeline Burrell, of Hoosi(^ Falls
New York, in August, 1824.
They had two children, Samuel B. Hard, a lawyer
and business man residing in the city of New York,
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 95
and Helen B. who married Geo. II. Potts, and resides
in New York also.
Mrs. Hard died at Albion Sept. 15, 1864.
EBENEZEE ROGERS.
Dea. Ebenezer Rogers was born in Norwicli Conn.,
October 3, 1769. He married Betsey Lyman of Leba-
non, Connecticut, who died August 28, 1849. Mr.
Rogers removed from New England to Onondaga Co.,
N. Y., in 1812, and in March, 1816, settled on the
farm on which he afterwards resided in the south part
of the village of Albion. When he came, not more
than twenty families had settled in Barre and his
house was a home for many of the young men, who
came here to select a farm for themselves, or, who,
having a lot, were clearing it and building a cabin,
preparatory to occupying with their families.
Being a professor of religion and deeply impressed
with the importance of that subject, he was among
the most earnest of the settlers in introducing the
stated observance of the forms of public worship
among them ; and with his near neighbor, Joseph
Hart and others, he assisted to form the first Congre-
gational Church and Society in Barre, which finally
was established at Barre Center, and after Albion
became a village, he was conspicuous in organizing
the First Presbyterian Church and Society in Albion,
which was an oftshoot from the organization first de-
scribed. Of the latter church, Mr. Rogers was a long
time deacon, and a ruling elder.
He was by trade a tanner and shoemaker, but nev-
er followed that business.
Of a strong physical constitution, Mr. Rogers lived
to see his children settled around him in competence,
enjoying the abundance of the good things of this
good land, which he and his worthy compeers
had done so much to reclaim from the wilderness of
96 PIONEER HISTORY
nature. Mr. Rogers died January 28, 1865, aged
ninety-six years, three months and twenty-five days.
ASA SANFOKD.
" I was born in the town of Farmington, Hartford
Co., Conn., June 2, 1797. My parents were members
of the Presbyterian Church and gave their children a
strictly religious, as well as a common school educa-
tion, as was the custom in New England. In Febru-
ary, 1806, my father removed with his family, then
consisting of wife, foui- sons and two daughters, to
Candor, Tioga Co., N. Y., a journe}^ of about three
hundred miles.
My father, oldest brother and myself, performed
this journey, with a pair of oxen and one horse, at-
tached to a sled, being twelve days on the road.
A hired man brought my mother and her other
children in a sleigh.
That country was then wild, with but few settlers
scattered along the Susquehanna and Chemung riv-
ers, with dense forests stretching back thirty miles
without a human being, inhabited by bears, wolves,
panthers, deer and smaller animals.
A road had been opened between Owego and Ithaca,
on which a few settlers had located.
In the fall of 1806, 1 went to Ithaca with my father,
with oxen and wagon, after a load of salt.
I think Ithaca was then the most loathsome and
desolate place I had ever seen. It stood on low,
black soil, surrounded north and west by a quagmire
swamp. It rained hard, and the black mud was so
deep, it was with difficulty our oxen could draw two
barrels of salt home.
My father and another man, built the first school
house in the town of Candor, and opened the first
school there. The school house stood three miles
from my father's dwelling and I went there to school
OF OKLKANS COl.NTY. 137
tlironirli tlie woods, Avitli no (tther slioos tliaii such, as
my thoTIk'I- madp from w(joh^ii cloth fvoiii day to day.
In June, 180(5, my t'athei', his liircd man, my broth-
ers and myself, were lioeing corn, bet ween ten and
nleyen o'ldocdv in the forenoon, wlien wt- noticed a sin-
ti;ular appearance in the atmosphere ; the sky looked
sombre, the l)irds retired to the woods, the hens to
their r(X)sts, and we went to tlie liouse. The sun w«.»
all darkened, but a rim around the edge ; tlie
gloom and chill of evening settled on all the earth
around. This lasted but a short time, when the sun
came out frcmi its dark i)all, eyery thing assumed ilss
wonted actiyit}- and light and the • gieat eclipse'
])assed off.
I continued most of the time working with and U)T
my fathei-, occasionally working for others, till one
day as I was chopping in the woods, a young man
came along and said to me. he was not going to live
longer in that hilly, steille phice : that lie had l>een
to tlje ' rrenesee' and found a country far preferable
to that for beauty and farming purposes.
I heard his stor^' and determined that at some time
1 would see that famous * (renesee country.'
In the spring of 1816, 1 liought my time of my
father, for sloo, I \vas nineteen ytnirs old. 1 hired
out to work for sl4 jter month and in less than a
yeiiv earned enough to pay my father for my time,
and had inone}- left. T continued working where 1
could make it most profitable, got plenty of work and
good ])ay, until in the summer of 1810. feeling as if 1
had work(Ml for others long enough, having tlien ten
acres of land and several head of cattle, T felt a desire
to get a good wheat farm for myself.
T started with two young men, on foot. kna})sack!^
on our l)acks, Aug. 27, 1819, to go to tlie Genesee
country. AVe went through Ithaca, and took tile
road to Geneva, traveling as fai* as Ovid the first day,
98 I'lONKKU KISTOKY
forty miles. Xext day through CTeiieva and Carian-
daigria, we rejielied AVent Bloomfield. Xext day
through Liina and Avon, w»^ arrived at Batavia and
went to the otfice of the Elolhind Company to see
about land.
In the office the agent appeared rather sour, little,
disposed to l)e sociable. We asked him if he had
Land to sell. He said Jie had. He was asked where
it [ay and re])1ied 'everywhere, all over, you cannot
^â– 0 rimiss." T asked liini if it was wild, or improved
farms i He answered ' go and look, when you run
youi' head into a great iiuin-ovement you will know
it, won't you :" I turned indignantly and walked out
of the office, saying ' I had a mind to boot that fellow.'
'."he agent followed us out to close the blinds and
Iiearing our con versa ticm, said rather pleasantly,
^ boys keej) a still' u])per lip.'
U''e stayed that night at the old 'Pioneer tavern.'
'i'lie landlord tried hard U) convince me that the agent
was a Xew England gentleman, one that I wouhl be
pleased to do business witli.
We were informed of the rapid gj-owth of a new
town north from Batavia, called Barre, lying between
tlie Tonawanda Swamp and the Ridge road. Towaids
this new town we set (nit next morning.
After examining various ]iarts of Barre and (laines.
we selected oui- htcatiohs in Barre, and returned to
the Land office to secure our Articles for our land ;
but linding we lacked a tew dollars required to i)ay
tjio lirst payment, the agent kindly otfered to 'book'
tJie lots to us. until we got the numey.
We made no farther complaint against th(^ agent,
wiio -booked' the laiul to ns and we returned to
m'ake preparations fin- felling the timber on oui- new
farms. Never before did Ave complain of the rapid
flight of time, l)ut here, while laboring for ourselves,
we fhouffht these the shortest days we had ever seen.
<»F OJILKAXS CorNTY. 91)
On the 12th of October, J819, liavhiu' ol)taim'(l tlu-
irioney, we went to the office and took out our Articles
for our land, went back to our work and after chop-
ping live or six acres apiece, we returned to our
friends in Tioga county.
During the next winter, we fitted out with teams,
tools, clothing and a quantit_\- of pork, and in March.
1820, set (mi for our new homes and after a tedious
Journey of twelve days, through sno\\-, wat^'r and
mud, we arrived home April 1 st.
Having no hay for our cattle, we cut 1)r(t\vse totVvd
them, giving a few ears of corn procured from our
neighbors, till vei>:etation grew so that ilu^v could livf
in the woods.
We hired our board cooked at a. neighbors and
cleared oft' what we had cho])ped the previous s^^ason
and ])lanted the land with corn, Tlie season })eing
propitious, we had good crops of corn, with oats, po-
tatoes, beans and other vegetaliles and melons in
abundance. AVe also cleared oft' and sowed several
acres with wheat.
In the autumn tlie bears were very troublesome in
our cornftelds, committing their nightl}' depredations,
till it became necessary- to put our veto upon tliem ;
this we did in various ways — by trapping, shootiiig,
night watching, etc., until we had captured four of
them and thus saved our cf)rii.
After securing our cro})s and ])re])aring for winter,
we sold our teams and returned to our ])ai(MitaI
liomes.
During the next seascm we expcricnciHl much incon-
venience in gt^tting our board dressed for us. The
woman who did it became (piite tired of doing i]u'
work for the ' old bachelors,' and T began to real i/e
tilt; truth of the DiviiKMlecla ration that " it is not good
for man to l)e alone.'
After visitinii' among friends in Tioga Coiintv a lew
KK) vn»\KKi: HisToin
(lays, 1 hiied out for three iiiontlis. Marcli .1, 1821, I
was iiKU-ried. About the mkklle of tlio montli, putting
all o)i hoard a covered wagon, witli two yoke of oxen-
attached, and in conipau}' witli tht' two young men
])reviously referred to, we set out again for our neAv
wilderness lionie, in tlie Genesee country.
After two weeks hard lal)or, we arrived at our home
to the great Joy of our Jieighl)ors, especiaUy the
momen. We moved into a small house with one of
our neighbors, until we could build us a house,
which we bidlt in a few weeks after.
While the earl}' pioneers of a new country are
necessarily subje(.'t to many liardsliips and privations,
unknown to settlers of older ccmntries, still there are
many enjoyments and pleasing reminiscences for
these pione(^rs. which they never forget. Aristocracy-
is uidviiown in a new country. The people are all
friendly and kindly disposed towards ea<'h other. If
any are sick, they are at once cared for. If a farmer
was attacked w ith ague, that dread disease, so com-
mon among the pioneers of this county, before he
could get his spring crops into the ground, his neigh-
bo]-s \N ouhl turn out and put them in for him and if
necessar}', thej' would keep his work along until he
\\as a1»l<' to do it himself. If tlieie is an}- state of so-
<'iet.\' wlieri^ men fulfil the Divine injunction 'love thy
neighbor as thyself,* it is found among tlie pioneers
of a iw^- cfjuntr}'.
If any one got lost in the woods, and did not returji
at night, s(»arch was at <nice made by everybody and
no sleep was had until the lost one was found.
.\fter we moved into (Uir new house, I started out-
to buy me a cow, bought one and we now conmienceds
liou.s(»k(H^}>ing under circumstances quite favorable, at
least our neighbors thought so. My wife had a few-
necessary articles of furniture, so that ww were ab€)iift
as w«^ll (iffas aiiv of our neighbois.
OF (>ui.p:an> < or.NTY. lol
There were no })iaiios or melodeojis in tliosi> (la\ s.
The little wheel for spinning Hax and the »;reat wheel
for spinning tow, furnished the nmsic A t«'\v years
later and we had other house music.
I plodded on foi- figlit years, adding ti«']d to lield of
-my cdeared, iiu])rov'ed land and then found myself iin-
.-able to pay even the interest due on my Article to the
Land Compam'.
I raised about ^1\K and witli this went to Batavia
to see the agent. I determined this time to walk into
the office with head iij) and meet any insult 1 might
receive with manly independence.
I found the agent alone in the oliice, went up to
Jiim and laid <lown my Article and all the mone\ 1
.had. saying my Article has ex])ired and here is all
the money 1 have. I want to renew my contract,
•as I have no idea of giving up my premises yet.
Tlie agent walk(^tl up. took my .Article, unfolded it
and said 'you have not assigned it I see.' Then
taking up thn money he said pleasantl\ . "walk into
the other room.' I did so and in less tinu^ than 1
liave been writing this, my new Article was made out,
my payment indorsed and I was ready to start for
home. But on returning to the contractor's room,
•the agent said to me he had relincpiished all the back
interest and ^1 "j)er acre of the principal, making an
entire new sale, with eight yeai-s' pay day. as at tii'st.
and asked me if 1 was satisfied. My gratitude had
"by this time become almost unbounded and 1 left
the office, thanking the old agent for his kindness anil
thinking after all, beneath a. rough exterior he had a
genercms heart.
I mention this incident to show the kind and gener-
ous treatment extended towards tlie ])oor industrious
settlers upon the lands of the TJolland ('om])any. -
Many incidents of a like character might be recorded
.to the credit of the (\>mpany.
1(>2 flONEKi: IlISTOKY
I caiiic lioriK* inspired witli new energy and determi-
nation to struggle on and overcome everj^ liardship
and diftienlty in my way.
We had l)nt little sickness compared witli our
neighbors, as yet. In the spring of 1828, 1 liad severe
intlamation of the lungs, and in the spring of 1828,
T was taken with fever and ague, which held me
through the seast)n.
The next spring my wife was sick with fever and
ague and tlirnsh. which kept her ill till the October
following.
Our <,'hildren, then four in number. ha<l their full
shares of fever and ague. It was painful to see the
little ones draw u]t to the tire while suffering their
chill, then see them retire to their beds, tormented
witli tile raging thiist and fever following the chills,
while their mother could do little for them, except to
supply their frequent calls for water.
In the fall of 1824 or 182.") two men living near Barre
Center, named ISelah Belden, and Nathan Angel,
started on Saturday morning to hunt deer west from
the ('<mter. They parted in the afternoon, each after
separate game. At night Mr. Belden returned — Mr.
Angel did not. Next morning Belden, with some of
his neighbors, went out and spent the day looking for
Angel. T)ut not finding him, the next morning a gene-
ral rally of all the men in town was made and the
woods thoroughly searched and the dead body of Mr.
Angel tbund, having appai-ently fallen and died from
exhaustion. The body was carried to Benton's Corn-
ers, then the centre of the settlement.- a Jury called
by Ithaniar Hibbard. Ksq., one of the first coro-
ners and it is believed this was tlie first c<^»roner s in-
(juest in ()i leans county. As the county was cleared
i\\) and the low lands drained of their suiface watei-
the ]>copIe siifien'd less from ague.
'I'he can.-il being now ojiened. farni<M's found a r(^ady
OF O K LK A NS CO I N T Y . K â–ºS
market and better prices for their jirodiK^e. Home
manufactures were ])r()te«'ted from foreign compe
tition and th*- ],)rice of domestic goods greatly
reduced. It was then tlie farmers began to tlirive
and soon to pay up for their lands. Tlie price of real
estate iadvan(^ed and some even predicted the tinte
M^ould come wlien the }iest farms woidd be worth <jne
iiundred dollars per acre, hardly cx])ecting to live io
see their predictions fullilled as they have done.
The attention of the earl}^ pioneers was called to
the subject of connnon schools for their <'hildren and
the next building to go up after a log cabin fo' ;j.
dwelling was a log school house.
One of (mr own statesmen while a mem]>er of tiic
Legislature being asked where he graduated. replie<! :
* In a log school house u]) hi Oi'leans county.' I have
<iften carried my eldest son to and from sc1k)o1 oi: tiiy
back through the deep snoAvs of wintei-.
More than forty years ago I united with the Meth
odist Episcopal Church at West BaiTe and in 1843
withdrew from that church and united with the Wes-
le3'an Methodists.
Many ye'drs ago, convinced of the sin of intemjiei-
ance, I resolved to use no more intoxicating li(]uor as
a. beverage, a resolution to which 1 liave strictly ad-
iiered ever since.
ASA SANFORD "
.lannary 28111, 1862.
ANDt.'KW II. (iUEKX.
Andrew II. Ureen. of By ion. (renesee count}', N.
Y., writes for the Orleans county Pioneer Association
i-ecords, his local history as follows :
"I was born in Jolinstovvn. Montgomery ('o.. N.
Y., Oct. 16th, 1797. and in June. bSOl). <'ame to (ietie
see county from Rome. Oneida county, N. Y.
In 1792, my fatliej- and Judge Tryoii, of New l^eb
anon, cumr to Irondeijuoil. near Koehestei- and built
104 riOMKKU HISTullV
a storeljousc : and iii 1808, my lather caniH to vvliat is
now Bergen and Sweden and piircliased something of
a farm and commenci^d on the north honnds of wliat
i3 now the iVEethodist eami) liTonnd, in Beruen, rnn-
niug- north to tlin road running rast to Sweden Centre,
tvvt>nty-tivp h>ts <'ontainiiig three tlioiisand acres at
tv/onty-two sliiliings iwv aei-e.
It was a tiard country to settle. Tliere were but
few iidiabitants and tlie roads were v(^ry had. As
soon as they l)egan to erect mill-dams theiv was a
great deal of sickness.
We Avent to Ilanford's Ijanding. at the mouth of
(Jenesee liivei-, to trade and sell potash. I found but
two houses hetvveen oui' hcjuse and (^larkson Corners,
and l>ut two from there to (lenesee river. For several
years I was as tamiliar in every family from my
fatlier s to (feuesee river as I am now with my near
neighbors.
The first time I passed througli Kochester was in
the summer of 1809. The next I remember about it
was the bad road^ and that T was ver}' much fright-
ened crossing the (lenesee i-ivej-. 'I'he water was deep
ajid ran very swift. 1 expected to go down stream
and over th«' falls.
\ think tliere was one mill and two oi- three shanties
to be seen tliei'e then. Thei-e was a small clearing
\viier<' the Eagle tavej-ji tnrmerly stood, but I liad as
niMch as 1 could do to get my load througli the mud.
I little thought then tlmt black ash swaiu]) was ever
to be the place it now is. Late in the fall of 1809 my
father sent ]»ie to Sangei-stield Huddle after a load of
iiiercliandise. East of Caiiandaigua was anew turn-
[)ike where 1 got stuck in the mud and had to wait
until the next teamster <'ain»' along t(> lielp me out.
r wastlien fourteen years old. My father liad tifteen
workmen and the tirst summer cleared one hundred
aci'es.
OF OUI.KANS CO UNIV. lOf)
In October .liulgt' Findley tVoin (Teiios«>p came nu
with a company of men to survfy townsliij) nimiber
fwo of tlie one Imndred thousand, acre tract. They
also sto})ped with us. making- a family of twenty-six
men, l)esides having two families in the house.
The •latch-string" was always out and none, ever
went away hungry as we had|)lenty of pork and wild
game to season it. Deer, hears and w(>lves were
plenty. I never heard of hut one panther-. The sur-
veyors had thei]- tent neai* where the steam saw mill
now stands in Clarendou. Their cook cauie in on
Wednesday night for l)read. One evening he had
got to where (A)l. Shubael Lewis afterwards lived
Avhen he heard some one halloo, lie soon found it
was a. panther on his track. It followed him to the
clearing. The man was much exhausted when he
came in. He was an old hunter and said he knew it
was a panther. The men all came in Saturday after-
noon. The iSabbath was as well kept in 18()U as in
bS(j8. We were seldom witlnnit »nangelical ])reacli-
ing. We had one close communion Ba])tist Kldei-.
some Methodists and some Presbyterians. All could
sing the good old tunes and sing them with a will. The
year ]8(H> was productive and healtliy. In 181(»,
about July 2(>th. we had a frost that killed most of the
wheat and corn. Tlie fall of 1811 was very sickly.
Thei'e were se\('ra1 families settled at Sandy Oreek
village. They were all sick. We made up a load of
some six or seven and went down to hel}) them. I
never saw m) ha])]»y a com]^any. We cairied two
hjads of necessaries and staid two Light^ and when
some of them got so thev euuld take care of the
others we h4t for home.
I used to have many hard and hinesome rides
through the woods on horseback. One very daik
night I had been to Dr. Ward's after medicine, ("om-
ino- h(mie I lost mv road an<l al^o mv liat. Before I
106 IMONKER If I STORY
found my hat tlu- wolves l)e<ian to liowl. I took off
my shoes so that 1 niiglit find the road, and hy the
time I had mounted ni}" horse to "o on, tlie wolves
were within ''speaking distance'" and hefore I liad
gone far they sti'uck my T)arefoot tracks : then they
made a terrific roaring. 1 thought I was a 'goner'
sure enough, but 1 presume if the wolves had seen
me then on the old Avhite horse they would liave })een
Jis friglitened as I was.
Our m«?n had all kinds of musical instruments and
any time wlien the drum was heat the wolves were
almost sui-e to respt>nd.
Abc^ut the beginning of wintcM' my fjitlier started
Trie off with an ox team and load of grain to find
.ludge Farwell's grist mill. After a tedious day's
travel 1 came in sight of water pouring over rocks.
It was no small stream. 1 thought it must be Mag-
ara Falls. 1 was glad to find I could get my grist
gi'ound, so 1 chained my oxen to a tree and found a
comfortable night's lodging among the bags in the
mill. I got home the the next day witli my grists
Our folks thought 1 had done well nnd 1 thought so
too.
The first winter 1 walked seven miles lo school every
day and back again.
A. U. <iREP:K"
Hvitoi, (rpiii^soo ("<). N. Y'., .luiic 1(1, 1803.
In a letter written by tiiealxne named A. II. Gre^en
to the Secretary of the Orleans County Pioneer Asso-
ciation, dated June 14th. 1866, he says: 'vT w^as
quite interested the other day. while hunting up the
old road re<'ords of our town, Byron, in 1809. It was
then the town of Murray, but now contains eight ot
niTK^ towns entire.
I.I MS .loNKS I'KCK.
Mr. P(^ck furuished his local histoiA' tbr theOrh^ans
OF OlILEA^Si rOlNTV. 107
County Pioneer Association Records as follows:
'' 1 was T3orn Octoher 27tli. 1816, in a very clieajv
log lionse on Onondaga Hill, in Onondaga Co., N. Y.,
about a mile and a half from the old Court House,
Up to eleven years of age 1 was engaged prin<'ipalh-
in endeavoring to get sonietldng to eat. nf>t always
however with much success, and in going to school
barefoot both summer and winter.
I nevei' had anything made of leather to wear on
my feet until the s])riiig of 1828.
My amusements consisted in listening to the howl-
lugs of the wolves and in gymnastic exercises with
the musketoes.
In May, 1828, I had a pair of shoes and was sent
to Pike. Allegany county, to live with my brother
Luther. I stayed there until May 1833, when I re-
turned to my parents with whom I lived until 1836,
when I went to \V3'oming to attend the Middlebury
Academy.
In the spring of 1838 1 returned to Pike to read
law in my brothers office. Tn 1841 he removed to
^^unda, now in Livingston county and 1 stayed with
him in his office till 1848. In July of that year 1
commenced jobbing oji the canals and continued in
tliat business until the summer of 1861. since which
time I have done little business of any kind. 1 was
never married.
I left the town where ] was born in bsi7 and ar-
rived in Clarendon, or what is now Clarendon, Orleans
count3\ Just forty yeai-s ag(» to-day (March 20, 1864.)
I came to llolley liist in tlie spiing of 180(5 and stayed
until December. 1 tlit^n returned to Pendleton in
Niagara county and completed a large J(d) I had on
tile Erie Canal through tln^ Mountain Ridge and
went back to Holley in the spring of 18^7. since which
titne Holley has l)een my residence.
M\' mother. (lied March 4. 1848. aued 71 \ cars. Mv
108 PIONKKK HFSTOUY
father diod .hiiu' '2. I8r>2, aged 82 years. 1 am tli^*
yonngest of my brothervS. all of vvhoiiiai'e living.
Tliei-e are, or were, no incidents in my eai'ly liirttor\'
or tliat of my brothers, not common to all the early
settlers in This vicinity, except I thought we managed
to be a littk^ ])oorer than an\' bod\' else. My father
had th(^ misfortune of liaving two ti'ades, that of a
farmer and <*arpenter and Joinei-. He worked Iiis
hands altogether too much and his brains altogether
too little, and dividing tlie time l)etv/een the two, nec-
essarily j-esulted in doing neither- well. CJonsequently
neither ])rospered. This his sons tui-ncd all about in
182i"), wluMi my broth»»rs ])ecam(' old enough to take
charge of affairs. Since which tim<* there has been
an im})rovement.
LIM'S .ION EH PECK."
D.ited— HoUey, March 20, l.S()4.
IIAiaKY 0(»o]HIICU.
Harve\- (loodrich was born in Herkimer county, ^'.
v., in Nov. 1791. His father, Zenas (Toodrich, re-
moved to that place from Berkshii-t\ Mass. When a
young man Harve}^ Goodrich removed to Auburn, N.
v., and worked for some time at the business of mak-
ing hats, and for several years lie officiated as a
constable. Having been successful in accumulating
l)roperty. he with his brotlier-in-law. (Tcorge W.
Standart, took a job of \v(»rk in making the Krie
canal, and leaving Auburn after his canal work was
<*om2)leted, he hu'ated permanently at Albion in the
year 1824. and engaged in selling dry goods and
groceries in company with (leorg*^ W. Standart.
After Ihe <leath of Mr. Standail Mr. (xoodrich soon
quit sellijig di'v goods and for many yeai's carried on
the business of mannfactuj-ing hats and dealing in
hats and furs- He was also engHged in buying pro-
duce. For a number of years he held the office of
postmaster in Albion.
Being of an active, energetic temperment and by
edncation and inclination fitted to take a leading part
in ])nblic affairH. lie Avas one of the prominent men in
the comninnit}- wlinre he lived, always conspicuons
and busy on public occasions, generally holding some
offt<'ial ])osition.
In politics he "was a dcm<»crat of the sti-aitest sect.
faithful and tine to his }»arty.
But ])eihaps tlie ardent and earnest character of
the man ap])eared clearest in his zeal in tiie cause of
religion.
While a resident in Aubuin and about tlie year
1817. lie made a })ublic profession of religion and
united with the First Presbyterian Church in that
pla<*e, then under the ]»astoral care of Rev. Dr.
J^nsing.
One of the first enterprises in which he IxM-aiiie in-
terested after he canic^ to Albion was in establishing
a Presbyterian church there. That denomination
}iad no chu]"cli oiganization in Barre.
Through the agency of Mr. (loodricli. more especi-
alh\ aided l)y several other Presbyterians who had
settled in .Ubion and its vicinity, the services of a
young preacher from Auburn Theological Seminary,
Rev. William Johnson, were obtained and the Pres-
byterian (•'liurch in Al])ion was organized about Feb.
1i2, 18*24 by Ilev. Andrew Rawson, then laboiing as a
missionary here, who was distinguished as a vt^teran
pioneer ministtM- in ( hieans <'ounty. the new church
consisting at the tirst of Harvey (xoodrich, .Jedediah
Phelps. Joseph T Tart. Kbenezer Rogers, .lames Smitli
and Franklin ('(»wdry and their wives, and Artenms
Thayer. Fay (Hark, Lavinia Bassett and Betsey
Phelps, sixteen jiiembers in all.
Jul}' 29, 1824. together with Messrs. Hart and
Plielps, Mr. Croodrich was elected a nding elder in
Jhe Presbvteriaii Church, ;m office he continued to
llO IMONKKK JIISTOKY
hold unti] liis death. Altliougli never formally chosen
as a Deacon in the churcli to wliioli he belonged, he
was always known and called '^Deacon (roodrich"^
by every body wIkj spoke to him or of liim.
It was a remarkable trait in Mr. Goodrich's charac-
ter, that seldom a case of sickness and death of any
person in his neighborhood occured but what lie
attended, administering what he could to aid the suf-
ferers according to th<>ir needs and usually taking
<diarge of the funeral ceremonies over the dead.
Thus for over forty j'eare, he was a leading and
useful man in the church and society at large, largely
identitied with the l)usiness and growth of the vil
lage of Albion, a friend of the poor and needy,
and well known and respected ]\y the people of the
<H>unty.
About two years before liis death he suffered
a stroke of paralysis, completely disabling him in
the midst of his most active industry, from which he
lingered and languished until he died August 4, 1808»
aged 71 years.
oi:so\ Niciiosox.
Dr. Orson Niclioson was born in Galway, Saratoga
<'ounty, Xew York, Marcdi 2. 1795. He was educated
ns a physician. In the yeai- 1822 Ik^ removed to the
village of Albion which was then beginning to he
S(^ttled. He entered ardently into every undertaking
-of a public character connected with the organization
of the county of Orleans and the civil and social in-
stitutions which such an organizaticm occasioned.
He was ele(;tt^d the hrst County Clerk of Orleans
<50unty and b.y a le-election to a second term, held
that office six years.
In August 1810, he settled about two miles south
of Albion. In 1822 he moved to Albion and there,
for many, years had n large practi('e as a ])hysician.
,4<»**^
Q
-<i^-^j«-
>v
<>K OUJ.EAXS r'orNTY. Ill
His liealtli failing, lie* w(Mit into buisiness witli Dr. L.
r. Paine and dealt in drugs, mediciiu's and Ijooks
until a few years before liis death.
He was tlie first regular pli\>ieian who settled in
Barre, he was also the first physician who settled in
Albion.
Dr. xSichoson married Luey Morris in the \ ear I82(i.
The}' had thrt^e ehildren. Adeline E.. Caroline A.
and Helen .1. .Adeline E. married .lonathan S. Stew-
art, and Helen J. married ('harles A. Stanttm. She
died May 12, 18(52. Mrs. Luey Xichoson died Oc-
tober 8, "1804. Dr. OrsoTi Xichoson died ^Sfay 7, 187(i.
riMoTllV <•. STUONC.
r
Timothy (?. Strong was born in Southampton.
Mass., March li"), 171)0. At tlie age of sixteen years
he entered as an apprenti(•^- to learn the art of print-
ing with. I. J). Huntington, at Middlebury, Vermont.
He married Aurelia (Toodsell, daughter of Dr. Pen-
field Goodsell, of Litchfield, (;t., April 14, 1811. He
commenced business for liimself at ISIiddlebury, by
publishing a newspaper called the '* Yermcmt Mir-
ror," also a niagazim' edited by Sannu'l Swift, and ;i
literary work called the " Philosophical Repository,'"
edited by Prof, Hall, of Middlebury College.
In Sept. 1817, he removed to Palmyra, X. Y.,
where he published Ji newspa})er. In the fall of 1821'
he removed to Ann Arbor, Michigan, and in February
1825, he remo\vd to New})ort, now Albion, Orleans
county, N. V., and purchased of Franklin Cowdr}
a newspaper establishment called ''The Newport Pat-
riot,'' which was started by Mi*. Cowdry, Feb. 9th.
1824. Ml-. Strong changed tlie name of this paper to
'The Orleans Advocate.' In Febuaiy. 1828, in the
midst of the excitement following the abduction of
Morgan, Mr. Strong changed it to tli»' 'The Orleans
112 !M(»NKEH Hisroin
Advocate, and Anti-Masonic Telegrapli," and soon
at'td- to 'The AnKn-ican Standard.' Under this name
it was puhlislied tAvo years l)y Mr. J. Kenipshall,
when it jiassed batdv into the liands of Mr. Strono;
wiio rhan,i;ed it to the "Orleans American.' and puT*-
lislied it till in April 1S44, when he sold his paper
and i)rintinf;- establishment to J. <t .1. H. Denio, who
continued the ])aper till 18r)8, when they sold out ^
and after passing through seAeral hands it was bought
in .fanuary. K'^()l. by H. A. Bruner. its present pro-
]»rietor.
In XoA'ember. 18:^4, Mi'. Strong aa as elected (younty
(lerk of Orleans county, an office he continued to hold
l\y re-election for nine years.
Mr. Strong made a profession of religion in early
life and united with the Preslnterian Ohurch. He
died at Albioji of a cancer August fith, 1844, in the
lifty-fifth year of his age. leaving a wife and twelve
children surviving.
X ATI! AN wiirrxEV.
Nathan \\'hitne\' was l^orn in (.onway, Massachu-
setts. January :22d. 1791. II(^ removed to Orleans
c(mnty. in February, 1814, and settled in what is now
Barre. 1 \(' was at tlie taking of Fort Erie in Septem-
ber, 1814. Wlien the town of Barre was organized
he was elected .Fustice of the Peace, an ofli(.'e he held
several years and when Orleans county w^as set off
lie was elected Sup^n'visor of Barre and served in the
year 1820. Joeing fond of military exercises, he held
\arious military offices from Lieutenant to Lieutenant-
Colon*'!. 1^'ing regarded as a capable, lK)nest and
efficient man b}- his fellow citizens, he was often put
forward by them to official positions and discharged
the duties of almost every town office. He removed
from Barre to Elba. (3}enesee county-, in 1827. and af-
OF OIJT.KAN^ ('(»nNTV. 113
terwaidts reitioved to T^'e county, Illinois, wliei>^ hn
was liviiiji,' in tlK-" fall of l.Sd9.
AVKKY M. STARKWEATllKU.
Avery M. Starkweather was born in Preston, Con "
necticut, October 3d, 179<». He resided a time in Pa!
»nyra. ^. Y., and came tc* the town of Rarreand took
an article lor his farm in Aj)ril, 181G, After the Erie
Canal was opened, for thirteen years he had charp,e
of the first State rej^airiiiiz: srow T)oat on this section.
He was Superintendent of Canal Repairs one yeaj.
His beat extended from HoUey to Lockport and at a
salar}-^ of s^oOO, without a clerk or any perquisites.
His instructions required him tf> travel over and per
sonally inspect Ms section at least once each week in
the season of navigation, which he did.
For thirteen year*? he was an assessor of the town < 1
.Barre, and was Supervisor of the town for the years
1842 and 1843. He was an active, thorough biisinesH
man, honest and c(mscientious, much respected as far
as he was known. He died Oct. 3, 1865.
AMOS i;oo'r,
Amos Root was born at Sand Lake, ReJisselaei
<'ount3', X. Y., July 12tli, 18(13. He was aj)prenticed
to learn the trad<! of blacksmith and removed to Alie-
gany county, X. Y., in 1818. After serving his ap
prenticeshi]) he carried on business as a l^lacksmith
nearly thirty 3-ears. sin«'e which time he lias l)een a
farmer.
Al)Out 183(5. he nnned from Allegany county to
Michigan, and retiirTn^d to ihe town of Barre in 18;^.8,
whei'e he has since resided.
He mairied Rhoda Ann Hennr'tt July 11th, 1S24.
Being a large and strong ir;an in his youth lie wat*
noted as a great wood chopper. While residing in
Allegany county he was engaged with a large compa-
ny cutting out a n<.>w road. A bet of fifty dollars was
114 P!0?iKK!l niSTOKY
made by the coiiipaiiy aw to Jiis power as a cliopper.
A large wliitc oak tip*' was fell^^d and Mr. Root and
ills antagonist stood on it to try wliicli could first
cliop off a l(jg, Root taking the butt. Mr. Hoot won
the bet. It was a Lot day in Jnly. The man o])-
jjosed to liim overworked liiniself and died in a week
afterwards from tlie effects.
Mr. Israel Root, father of .Vmos, who was a soldier
of the Revolution, lemovtHl from Allegany to Orleans
county in 1825, and settled on the farm now owned
by his S(jn Amos, in Rai-re. He came aci-oss the
country in a wagon with his fandly, and Amos
brought the goods on two canoes made of large pine
Jogs and lashed togethei-. These he launched on the
Genesee vun^r at (rardeau and paddled down to Roch
ester and then put them in tin? canal and came to
Gaines" Basin, then n favoi'ite landing place for emi-
grants who conie l)y ca,nal to setth' in this vicinity,
ozr.vs s. ciirRcii.
Ozias S. Chuicli was l)orn in Windham, Connecti-
cut, January ;-?lst, 1785. By occupatioii he was a
farmer, though he labored with his fatliei- at the
f)lacksnuthiiig business during his minority. Octo-
hej- 18th. 18(n>. he married Parmelia Palmer, who
was born in Windhajii, Oct.Hd, 1780. The}^ removed
to Otsego county. X. Y.. in 1812, where he worked at
farming until 1817. when he removed to Henrietta,
M(mro(? Co.. N. Y.. and fi'om thence to the town of
15[irre in 1884.
Mr. Church was a (hMuociar in ])olitics and took a
d(M3]) and active interest in his ])arty. As United
Wtates Marshal he took the census of Monroe county
in 1880, and «»f Oi leans county in 1840, He was
I*ost Master at South Bari-e foi' twenty years.
Mrs. Churcli died Dec. 7, 18(51, and Mr. Church
Dec. 10th, 18(>8. They weie ])jirents of John P.
(Miurch. who died while C(»untv Clei-k of Orleans
Ui^
OF ORLEANS COINTY. 11
-county, ill December, 1808, and of Hon. Sanford E.
Chureli, present Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals
'-of tlie State ( )f New York. '
WILLIAIM P.KADXEK.
William Bradner removed to the town ot (laines
from Palmyra, N, Y. Soon after he bought of Mr.
McCollister the article for lot thirty -five, on the East
side of Main street in Albion, and took a deed from
the Holland Company for 266 1-2 acres, December 3,
1819. His brother, Joel Bradner, took a deed from
the Company for ninety- two acres lying on the south-
west corner of said lot thirtj'-five. William Bradner
sold one hundred acres of tlie north-west ])art of his
tract April 22nd, 1822, to Tngersoll, Smith & Buck-
ley.
A. HYDK COLK.
Hon. AhiK^ron Hyde Cole was born at Lavanna,
'Cayuga county, N. Y., April 20th, 1798. His pa-
rents removed to Auburn in 1807, and there he pre-
pared for college and entered tlie Sophomore class in
Union College in ISlo. Among liis classmates were
(xeorge W. Doane, lateBisho}) of New Jersey, Alonzo
Potter, late 13ishop of Pennsylvania, Dr. Hickok,
late President of Union Colk^ge, and William H.
Seward, late (xovernor of New York, Senator, &:c.
He remained in college two years and then left with-
out conqJeting his college course, in consequence of
the death of his mother, and other changes in his
father's family.
In the tall of 1817, he entered the law office of
Judge JoseiJi L. Richardson, then first Judge of
•Cayuga county, as a student. He was admitted At-
torney in the Supreme ('ourt in his twenty-first year
and formed a partnership with Judge Richardson in
practice. A few months afterwards he dissolved with
Judge Richardson and entei-ed into partn(>rshi]i to
1]6 PIONKKli HlftTOKY
piac'ti(.'e law witli Mr. (ifeorgr W. Fleiniiig, AfU;r
being at Seneca Falls for Ji time, they removed Ur
Albion in the spring of 1825. where the}- practiced
law together till 1832. After dissolving with Mr,
Fleming, Mr. Cole was for sonu' years in practice of
law with his In-other. Hon. Dan 11. Cole.
Ml-. Cole served seventeen years as a Justice of the
Peace of the town of Barre, and transacted an ira-
niense anionnt of official bnsiness.
In No\eniber, 1847, he was elected member of tht»
Senate of the State of Xew York, where he served one
term of two years and declined a re-election. After-
leaving th(^ S(Miate he resnmed his law practice iii
Albion, bnt a large amount of business (^oming into-
his hands as executor in the settlement <.»f an estate*
in (^ayuga county, he «'Jos<^d his law practice in Al-
bion and devoted his time exclusively to the duties of
his executorship, and to the management of a large
farm he owned in the town of Gaines.
Although a good advocate and a strong and logical
reas(jner at the bar, Mr. Cole was not so fluent and
])olished a speaker as his pai'tner Mr. Fleming. In
their earlier yeai'S of piax^tice tog(^ther. Mr. Cole fui'-
nif<hed his quota of brains to the tirm. whih^ Mr. Flem--
ing furnished the tongue.
Mr. (^)le was esteenu?d to be a well read and soun<l
lawyer whose opinions on legal questions were much
sought ;ind relied on. His ('ounsel and advice were
s(> much valued among the people that he early Ihj-
ranie distinguished T)y way of eminence as the 'coun-
selor* or 'counselor Cole.* by which title or name
he was always s])okon of and well knoMii.
Ill temperament he was ardent, impulsive and sen-
sitive, feeling ([uick and sharj^ly tin; iritations of the
moment. Bnt nothing like hatred ever had a place iu
his bosom.
From the ^tecuiiaiity of his ciiMrMcter he sometime*
OF oKj.KANs roi;:NJY. 117
;appearetl /jni^sf/i/eand ruuglitothose who approached
Mm, but no man had a kinder heart. The sternness or
^-pjiarent liai'sliness of manner which he possessed.
wafr; more than l)ahinced in liis case by the
feeeii regret lie felt when 1h^ knew he had caused
pain to any and the lieart}' sympath}' and g(^nei'osity
Jie ever manifested to those in distress.
Mr. Cole was never married. Coming toOi'leans
tMjunty when it was first organized, among the tirst
lawyers who settled here, he was a prondnent man in
public aifairs and well known to the people of the
x-ounty. He died Oct. 14, 1859.
HKN.fAMIX L. nKSSAC.
**I was born in the town of New Baltiinore. Greene
t-ounty, N. Y., March 12th, 1807. The death of my
mother which occurred when I was twelve years of
,age, threw me upon the family of nn' grand ]>arents
where I n-mained until I was fourteen 3'ears old, M^'
fiatlier, who was a blacksmith by trade, and who re-
sided in the county of Chenango, having mai-ried a
«<^ond time and closed uj) his business in Chenango,
started for the State of Ohio with a view of commen-
<*ing business there as a farmei-. This was in the fall
•of 1821. When he arrived in the town of (.'larence,
Erie count}', a snow storm set in and prevented his
further ])rogress that fall, and having with him some
tools and a small stock of mm he rented a shop and
began w(u-k Jis a blacksmith at Ransom's drove, as it
is now called, at ( -larence Hollow. He soon after
purchased one Iiundi'ed and sixty acres of land
.at the ( Treat Rapids on the the Tonawanda Cnvk,
.«ix miles south of Lockport.
In the summer of 1822. having obtained a scanty
•trommon school education, and l)eing large enough U>
help my father in his shoj) and on his farm, he wrote
to me ijivinii" a ijlowing account of the country', of Ids
118 PlO^v'KEK HISTORY
farm, of tlio line iisli in the creek and tlie fine sport
in taking them, and d(^siring me to come and liel}>
]iim.
I accordingly went to All)any and put my ljaggag(^
on board a seven liorse wagon, then about to sail for
Buffalo, loaded with specie for tlit^ I'nited States"*
Bank at Erie, Pennsylvania. Thus equipped I
started tVti' the Holland Purchase in .luly, 1822, iit.
<'are of Mr. Hockins, the owner of the establishuKUit.
We t]-aveled slowly, not making over fifteen miles a
day, sleeping in our wagon nights and watching our
treasure, (xetting tired of this slow mode of travel-
ing, when we arrived at Canandaigua I took the stage
and came on to Clarence, and arrived at my father's
July 22d, 1822. In a few days I went with my father
to explon^ his new farm, he car3ing a bag of provis-
ions and I a compass and chain with (jther articles
for our journey, ^iy half-brother William, then
thirteen years old, accompanied us.
It was here, in .hily, 1822, in what was then called
' tlu> nortii woods ' that I commenced my pioneer life,-
and for tlie next thret^ years, and until October, 1825,
I shared in the hardships, labt)rs and privations of
the early settlers. During that time I assisted in
c]io]>l)ing and pai'tly clearing fort}' acres of lieavily
tiiribered land and erecting a comfortable log build-
ing. Being ])ossessed of a strong, athletic frame, and
a good robust constitution, and never having been
sick a day in my life, 1 i^ndured the hardships and
labors of the wilderness with che'rfulneFS and
])leasurt'. and 1 oft«'n look liack to tliose days and
reckon them among th(^ happiest of my life. And 1
would not omit to lecord hen^ with grateful heart
till' kind care of my Heavenly Father in ])reserving
my life amid the dangers and accidents through
which T passed in my youthful days.
Not ])ossessing at my fatliers the advantages for
OK oIJi.KANS ((trNTV. 119
mental inipi-oveiiK^iit wliicli I <ipsirpd.I concluded in the
fall of 182.0 to abandon my pioneer life, return to the
east, obtain an education and study a j^rofession.
Accordiiiiily October 2d, l^^n, I left my ax and hand
spike and wt^nt to Lockpoit, uot on board the canal
boat 'DeWitt Clinton" and .sailed foi- the east.
8topj)ing in Albion for the boat to take* on loading I
took an excursion through that low. muddy, and as
I thought unsightly young village. 1 little thought
then that 'Newport,' as it Avas called was destined
to be my future home. 1 tlieii ])ronounced Xewport
a. (pieer place (m which to build a town.
I returned to the boat and passed on tlu'ough Hob
ley. Brockport. .\ dams' and Spencer's Basins, all
little straggling hamlets, as I thought them, ar-
riving in Rochester in the night. Mt^v^ I expected io
meet a gentleman from Tompkins county by appoint-
ment, with whom T was intending to travel to visit my
relatives in this vicinity and tlien ^i.) by boat with
some relatives to Albany. But the gentleman did
not couK^ as I expected. My little stock of mon«'y
was exhausted on Tuesday- night in paying for my
supper. I was noAv a stranger in a. strange land. I
knew not what to do or how I shouhl be provided
for. 1 wandei'ed al)out Rochester until Saturday
morning, eating nothing except a few apples which I
picked up in an or«'hard in the town of Brighton. : I
slept nights on the piaz/a of tlx^ Exchange Hotel, on
the corner at the intersecti(m of the canal with the
basin, where the ])a('ket boats used to lay u]). Every
morning when a lire was made u]) in the old bakery
at the west end of the atpieduct. 1 went into the front
room and warmed myself, tantalized by the smell of
the T)read which was piled u]) on the counter, stearii
ing hot, and for which 1 was starving. 1 was too
])roud to beg. and 1 thank (iod Cor it, too hoiK^st to
steal.
Tlni8 the week passed until Saturdjiy iiioruiiig when
I had a j)ressing- invitation to join a circus company
then performing tliere. I was then young, ac^tive and
strong, but my good (juaker training, and above all
the hand of Providence shaping my ways, kept my
3'^outhful feet from tliat imih.
On Saturday morning 1 met a man who asked me
if I would work, and I gladly hired t(j him for a part
of the day. He led the way to the barn back of
the *'anal, between Fitzhugh and S(jphia streets,
where the ground was literally strewn M'ith heav}'
raiinon. and I worked until the middle of tlie after-
noon assisting to put them on a scow boat for
distribution along the canal, to be used in firing a
grand salute at the meeting of tli<' waters of Lake
Erie with the Hudson river, November 2d, 1825, a
day never to be forgotten in Western New York. 1
r":ceived half a dollar for my work and went to a
liumble tiivern for supper and had lodging in a bed.
A better meal or sweeter sleep I never enjoyed. The
next morning 1 went out on the street and almost the
tirst man I met was thn friend for wijom 1 was wait-
ing.
After writing to my rehitives in Tompkins county 1
\M for Albany and entei'ed the city with the tleet of
canal boats in the canal celebration November 2d,
lH2i), amid the roar of artillery and tlie sound of mar-
tial musii*.
Tlie Erie and Champlain canals were now finished.
Navigation between the ocean and lake was now
opened, and a new era of unparalleled prosperity had
conmienced, and the pxiiltant ])e(jple wen- duly cele-
brating tliH aus])icious event. ' Peace hatli her victo-
ries.'
After mingling with the throng that crowded the
streets a few hours, J started on foot for the home of
lay childhood, where loved ones I had not seen for
OF oUJ.EANS <<»rNTV. 121
more than tlnw vt'iirs weiv daily »'Xj)<M'ti]ig iiif. It
was night-fall when I ascended the last hill Jind the
well-known trees were standing like sentinels aronnd
the old homestead in the fading twilight. My trnant
feet onee more passed the threshold. The old watch-
dog knew ni}' stej). With a Unttering heart I looked
in at the window, and for a moment snrveyed the
group as thin sat around the <-heerfnl fireside, (rod
in his goodness had kept them all and the wandering
idiild had got home.
I was past eighteen years of age wlien I retnrne<l
from Western New York. I had seen sf>mething of
the world and had some exjierience in j)ioneer life.
My education was not such as the district schools of
this day afl'ord. My mind had been somewhat in\-
proved by reading in a desultor}' and aimless man-
ner. I taught a winter school in my native town, and
in the spring of 1820 hired out as farm lahorei- at nine
dollai'S per month in the county of Albany.
I taught sch(K>l in the same county the winter of
1826-7, and in the si)ring entered the Ureenville Acad-
♦^my, in Ureene county, where I remained until the
coming fall, and by this time I had succeded in pi-e-
paring myself to enter the sophomore class at I'nion
College ; my friends however prefered that I should
tc)llow a mercantilf,^ life, and pnjcured me a situation
in a wholesale dry goods house in the city of
New York, whert^ I i-emained until the termination
of fall business. I then returned to my native town
intending to go back to ^'ew York the following-
spring.
1 taught scho(;l at Marbletown, lister county, N.
Y., the winter of 1827-S, with great success, foi'ming
many ])leasant aci^uaintances that have been chei-
ished through suhse(pient life.
Early in the spring 1 was attacked with IMeurisy,
and lay at th<- }>oint of death for a number of days.
122 I'K (NKKU , H IS rOKY
On recuvcriiiir the s])niio- had s(» far advaiict'd I did
not goto New York as I intended. bnT continued my
sell ool until the spring of 1.S29. when laying down
i\\eferulr 1 ('(tinnienced business on my own account
in the village of West Troy. All^any county, heing
nearly twenty-two years old.
April 11. 1880, I was married t(» hehorah. daughter
of Bev. Simeon Dickinson, of East Haddam, Conn.
She was at that time a teachei- in Mis. U'illard's Fer
male Seminaiy at Troy.
I continued my business at WVst Troy, until the
fall of that yeai-, when I sold out and lemoA'ed with
my wife t(» the city of Mo])ile. .Vlahama. where she
opened the Mobile Fcnnale Seminary, under tlie most
favoral ^\ e a u s})ices.
I was clerk in th(^ United States Hank in tliat city.
In the month of Dec, 1881 my wife died suddenly,
and I was left ;done in a strange city witliout a rela-
tive nearer than the State of Xew York.
I transferred the St^minar}' to other hands, resigned
ni}^ clerkship in the Bank, (dosed up my business
matters, and in Mandi 1882 i-eturned to my old home.
T spent that sunmier and the following winter in
traA'eling for recreation, and in the s])ring of 1888,
being twenty-six years old. 1 entered upon the stud}*
of the law with Amasa Mattison Ks(j., then a promis-
ing lawyei- of C'airo. in the county of (Ireene, where I
remained until fall, when 1 enter<'d the'oftice of Judge
TTii'am (rardner of Lixdvport and remained with him
until A])ril 188'), wheii I came to .Albion \vhe]-e I have
ever since resided.
June b8. 188.5, T was married to Candinc- (t., daugh-
ter of Samuel Baker of ('oeymans, in the county of
Albany and in August following ]»ur(diased the ]tro])-
•'rty on whi(di J have since resided.
T am now (1862) nearly tifty-four years of age, and
must soon, in all human ])r(d)ability. lay aside the
OF ORLEANS fOlNTY. 123
active duties of my ])rofession. and jield ni\^ place to
those younger and better fitted fortlie resjxmsibilities
of the station.
In reviewing- the })atliway of my life 1 l)ehold it
plentifully strewn with incidents, always overshadow-
ed hy the watchful care of my Heavenly Father,
whose unnumhered mercies I am called U})on to record.
AVhen fourteen years of age I united with the Re-
formed Dutch Church in Greene county, upon a con-
fession of my faith, and in 1842 I united with the
Presbyterian church in All^ion. my wife coming with
me to the same altar.
I). L. HESSAC."
Albion, January S, lHr53.
IIKNKV ]{. ( TRTIS.
Hon. llenrA' K. Curtis was born in Hoosic, Rensse-
laer county New York, in the year 1800. After pass-
ing his youth at labor on a farm, and in acquiring
such (.elementary education as his own exei-tions and
the limited means of his widowed mother could sup-
ply, he commenced the study of law with Daniel
Kellogg of Skaneateles, and ju'i'^^it'^^ it aftcn-wards
with Hon. Hiram Mathei- in P^lbridge, New York.
• In the fall of 1824 he settled in All)ion. Orleans
county before he was admitted to the Bar, going into
partnership with Alexis Ward, who was here before
him, and who had been admitted to tli<^ Supreme
Court.
In 18:^1 he was appointed District Attorney for
Orleans county, in which office he was continuiKl by
subsequent appointments, (excepting the year 1882,)
until June 1847, when he was elected County Judge
and Surrogate, being the first (^ounty Judge chosen
under the constitution of 184<>. He was re-eh^cted to
the same office in Nov. ISoO. and died befoi-e the ex-
])ii-ation of his second term.
Befon' he w;is a Judge he liad lield the offices of
Examine]' and Master in Chancery, and many civil
offices in town and village.
He wjis a liard student devoting himself to tlie
labors of liis profession with untiring- assidnity, never
engaging in other business speculations.
For twenty-five years he was a ruling Elder in the
Presbyterian Church and mm-h of that time a faith-
ful teacher in the Sunday School in his church.
As an advocate he was cool, clear and ])ersuasive,
and the known honesty of his charactej- and the sin-
cerity of his manner and language, conmionly carried
conviction in his favor to the courts and Juries he
addressed.
As a counselor he vsas a peacemaker, judicious,
<'autions and sound. Never encouraging litigation
when it could be avoided. He was a man with few
enemies and many friends, an honest law\er and good
man. He died September 20. 1855,
ZKNAS F. HIRIiAKI).
" I was born in Scroon, Essex county, New York,
April 4, 1804. My ancestors were of Scotch descent,
and were jimong those who tied to this country from
the oppressions of the old world, to enjoy <-ivil and
religious liberty in tlie new world.
M}' father a ftei-wjirds removed from Scroon to Bran-
don, Vermont, and from Brandon he moved in the
summer of b'^lO. to what is nr>w Barre, New York.
.July 1:2. bSl(>, on lot 10, townshi]) 15, range 2, of the
Holland l*urchase. one mile west ("f Albion where lie
lived sixteen years. lie then removed to Barre Center
where h(^ resided until his death, whicli occurred
February 5, 185:;}.
I att«mded the first s<'hool taught in Barre. in a log
richool house, which stood on the west side of Oak
0)"cliard road, in what is now the village of Albion.
also attended the first town meetiim- in Barre after
OF OFil.KANS COl NTV. 125
tlif town was organized, at tlie hous«- of Al)iahani
Mattison, al)0ut two miles south of Albion. I also
attended the great celebration of the o])ening of the
Erie Canal, Avhen the waters of Lake Erie mingled
witli those of the Hudson River. I was also jjresent
when the site for the eounty buildings was .located at
Albion, whicli was the most exciting time. ]>Hrhaps,
ever known in this county.
1 was present when the first Congregational church
in the town of Barre was formed, at the house of
Joseph Hart. This church then consisted of the fol-
lowing named persons, vi/ : Josepli Hart and wife,
Ebenezer Rogers and wife. Ithamar Hibbard and wife.
Artemas Tliayer and wife. Artemas Houghton and
Thankful Thurston.
I was mairied to Amanda Wrisle^-, in Barre, June
j;>, 1828. She was T)orn in dill. Mass., Nov. 18. 1809.
Z. F. ITIRBAKD.'
Dated — Karre ('fnti-r, Ai)ril ith. 1H(m.
Jjetter t'nnn AVilliam TanncM-. fornieriy of Orleans
county, N. Y., written to tlie Pioneer Association :
•'To the officers and members of the Orleans (■ounty
Pioneer Association :
Uentlemen : As fond memurv often shar])ens old
ears to catch some word of the old lionie ( )f our youth,
so now at three score years and one I have lieard of
your society. What you do or what you say, I do
not know, but I do know if y(.)u are tlie real ])ioneers
T should be glad indeed to meet with you at your
annual gathering.
Tell me. dear sirs, are yon together to sj>eak of the
days when Albion was a mud hole, and Jesse Bum-
pus and Dea. Hart and a f*'w others owned tlie whole
of it ^ And when the old log school Ji<uise half a
mile north of Albi(m was built, where Francis Tanner
lirst declared nuirtial law among the little folks ; and
when Mr. Jakeway so well ada])ted tothebusinei<s by
126 PloNEElt JirSTORY
his six feet four iiicliesof ])ody and legs, used to break
tlie road tlirougli four feet of snow, with tliree yoke of
oxen, from the Ridge Koad to father Crandall's near
one Angel's, not (labriel, "but ' Cabin Angel,' as he
was called by way of distinction.
And tliere was I)ea. Daniels, and Esq. Babbitt a
little east, the workings of whose face denoted wis-
dom as he sat in Judgment to decide weight}^ matters
between neighl)ors.
Never shall I forget envying tluit man his high
office as justice of the peace when I was a small
boy.
Then there was John Proctor and his tall and ami-
able wife and large farm.
Then again at Gaines Corners, the corpulent land-
lord Booth, together with Dr. Anderson, with his
mild and pleasant wa^y- of telling people it wouldn't
liurt much to pull teeth, and then almost taking their
heads off with his strong arm.
Later, tliere was good Jeptha Wood, who first
taught me that hot and cold iron would not weld
togetlier.
But I must not name others lest I have not room to
say a word to the <jld Pioneers.
How simple was I in my boyhood days to envy
the honored Esq. Babbitt, or the rich farmer Proctor
of those early times. I have since been * Esq.' my-
self. I liave been rich also ; but neither the honor of
the one nor the gold of the other, brings happiness
while here on this mundane sphere. AVhen
I turn ni}' thoughts to the spot of all others most
dear to me, Samuel N. Tanners old farm, and the ' city
of the dead,' Mount Albion, opposite to his once
earthly habitation, where I once chased the deer, and
see the monumental slabs t^-ected over heads man}' of
whom were my friends in youth, I am ready to ex-
claim — ' Where are the pioneers I (mce knew i'
<»F OKI. HANS Cur'NTV. 127
But sirs, some of vou still live and allow me tu
?<peak of what you have done. Yoii are among the
greatest men of the nation. You liave leveled the
sturdy forest, planted fiuitful fields, orchards and
gard(^ns. l>nilt lailroads and canals, set nj) talking
wires l)y wliicli we carry our freight and trav*^l
('liea])ly over tliiec hundred miles a day and converse
witlj lightning speed with far distant friends.
I imagine 1 sec I)e AVitt Clinton standing in liis
beautiful garden in the city of New York, listening,
as it were', to hear the sound of the axes of Dea.
Hart. Bumpus. Proctor. Babbitt, and a long list of
jiames I hav<* no room t(j refer to. And I se(^ him
turn to give the (,'ommissions to the Chief P^ngineer
and Surveyor ; and what do I liear liim say ? ' The
pioneers are theie at work : you can accomplish your
work now."
•
Teach it to Aour rhildreji and grand-children, that
they ai-e indel>tefl to you for all the vast improve-
ments made in the great west, as the result of hard
toil and labor. Labor, wliich always precedes the
developmeni of everything great and good; labor,
that (iod ordained, sanctioned and approved; labor
that is so conducive to health and comfort and that
brings its sure reward. 1 love lal)or, e^'en in deepest
old age. T would obey Cod and benefit myself b}"
laboring when able, seeing it is the only sure road
leading to individual and national wealth and great-
ness, as well as to ])ersonal ha])]>iness and com-
fort.
Had (Mir statesmen spent money without stint and
built youi- lailroads and canals, unless ])receded and
accompani<'<l by the ])ione»M-s, it would have availed
but little.
Education is a i)riceh'ssaccpiisition ; give it to the
voung bv all mt^ans, hut do not foraet to teach them
128 PIOXKKU HrsTUKT
the great value uiu\ ])enetit of intelligem and well di-
I'eeted lalx))-.
And now. gentlemen. 1 assk youi' patience In deci-
phering my tremhling writing, and excuse bad spell-
ing, for 1 see much of it. T have labored too long
and hard to be able now to write elegantly.
Respectfully, your obedient servant,
WILLIAM tanner;^
Ka<t Liberty. Allen Co., Iiul, March 13, 1865.
KOSWKbr. S. BIRKOVVS.
Roswell S. Burrows wjis born in (iroton, Conn.,
Fel>. 22, 1798. He was fitted for college at BacoB
Academy, Conn., entered the Sophomores Class in
Yale College in 1819, and took a dismission in the
fall of 1820, in consequence of protracted ill health.
He never returned to college, but in the year 1867, the
honorary degree of A. M. was <'onferred on him by
Yale College. •
He i-eceived some capital b}' devise frr)m his grand-
fatlu^r with which he purchased a cotton factory in
Rhode Island, and there carried on business for some
time for himself. His factory not provhig as profita
l)le an investment as he expected, he sold out, receiv-
ing a small payment down and a mortgage for the
balance, which, through the fraud of another party,
])roved a total loss.
Tu Jul}'. 1824. he came to Orleans county and lo-
cated at Albion, and in Sept. next after, he borrowed
two thousand dollars of his father, and a like sum of
his father-in-law. laid it out in a stock of goods, and
witli this <'apita], increased by a small sum saved
from the ruin of his factory speculation, coiimienced
business as a merchant, in a little wooden )>uilding.,
standing very near the site of the First XationalBank
of Albion.
Tn November 1824, his younger brother, Lorenzo
B)urrows. came t<» Albion t<) assist him as his clerk.
Wf
h.
r--^-» <â–
Y/A//ArK>^ n
<»K ()UT,KANS (HTNTV. 129
This {iiTaii,uvii!('iit continued until in 1S2(\ tlif tinn < :
K. S. & L. HuiTows was fonn«^d. wlucli existed \n
l)usiness as dry "oods nierelumts. 2:)r()dii('e dealer.--,
and in ^vai-eli()usin<j; and forwarding on tlieErie Canal
for ten or eleven years, wlien tliey sold out their entire
stock of goods.
When Mr. Burrows settled in Albion the canal w;ts
made navigable as far west as Lo('kport, and one iri-
ducement he had to sto]) liere was the ])romise of
Canal CommissioiK^r, Wni. C. Bouck, that he should
receive the appointment of Collector of Canal revenue
an office tli(Mi about to be established at Albion.
This office of (jolhM'toi- was given to him in 1825,
and was continu(,'d by re-ajipointment until b'^.32,
when he Avas succ-eeded T)y C. ^^. McConnell.
Mr. Burrows built the warehouse now standing iirx"!
east from Main street on the canal, in 1827. After th<-
sale of their goods in store, as above stated, Messir..
K. 8. & L. Burrows continued their warehouse busi-
ness and dealt in pr(jduc(- until the general banking
law went into ojjeration. under which they estaf>-
lislied the Bank of Albion, which commenced busi-
ness under tliat law Jidy IHth, 1889. This bank coii-
tinued in operation about twenty-seven years, an<i
was finally (dosed under the new policy which sub-
stituted National Banks. Its first officers were Rc»s-
w^ell 8. Burrows, President ; Lorenzo Burrow's, Cash-
ier; and Andrew J. ('hester. Teller.
Mr. Burrows organized a new bank in Albion. I ><-
cember 23, bSO*}, called 'The First National Bank of
Albion.' This was the first National Bank which went
into opeiation in the State of New^ York west of Sy-
racuse. Roswell S. Burrows, President ; Alexande:
Stewart, (^ashier ; and Albert S. AVarner, Tell'-r.
Mr. E. S. Burrows own(Hl a majorit}' of the capital
stock of botli these banks, w^as always their Preside] it
and a T>ire<'tor and the princi])al manager.
loO FIOXEKU iliSTOKY
\Mtliiu tln^ last forty years Mr. Ijui-j-ows has been
Director and Trustee of many corporations and coni-
{)anies, siicli as railroad companies, telegrapli com-
p-anies, tlie Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge compa-
ny, and on<^ mining company. lie has been Trustee
of sm'eral religious, iKMievolent and literary institu-
tious. llt^ lias frec[uentiy been proposed by his
friends as a candidah^ for various civil offices hut ah
ways declined a nomination.
Several 3^ears since the extensive and very valuable
library of Professor Neander, of Germany, was of-
f'red for sal<^ by reason of the death of its owner.
Mr. Buri-ows purcliased this librar}' and presented it
to the E.ochester Theological Seminary, connected with
MieBaptisr denomination. This library, consisting of
several thousand \-olumes of rare and valuable books
collected througli many years by one of the best
scholars of his time in Eui-ope, is valued nt trom fii"-
t.vn to twent}'^ thousand dollars.
In addition to this library, a few jears ago Mr. Bin-
rows offered to give this Theological Seminary the mu-
nificent gift of one hundred thousand dollars to add
to its endowments, with the ])romise of more if pros-
y-ered in business jis lie hoped to be. The Trustees
of the Seminar}' proposed to Mr. Burrows if he
would increase his proposed endowment of that insti-
t'ltionto uvo hundred andlifty thousand dollars they
would give it the name of 'The Burrows Theological
Seminary of .Rochester, N. Y."
These proposals it is understood have never been
f*>rmally withdrawn or acted on.
As a business num Mr. Burrows is cool, shrewd,
clear-headed ami sagacious ; never disturbed by
l^anics, or deceived by false ap])earances. l\o lias
accumulated a great tbrtune b}' indefatigalile indus-
ti-y, and prudently and safely iuA estinji' his accumu-
lations. .Mtliouu'h a-'lvaiieed iu years, lie wjis
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 131
never perluips more hiiay than now, and never found
Jiis great exj)erience and capital yielding liim a larger
profit.
AViLLi A3r h?:nnim an.
Judge Peiniinian was born in Peterboroiigli, Hills -
borough County, N. II., .Vugust 5, 1793. After ob-
taining a good common school and academic educa-
tion in Ids native State, he emigrated to Ontario Co.,
l^ew York, in Sej)t., 1816, and from thence to Shelby.
Orleans County, in October, 1820. He took up land
in that town on which he resided about eight 3'ears ;
lie then removed to Albion, remaining there more
than two years, finally settling on a farm in Barre,
near Eagle Harbor, whca-e he has ever since resided.
In 1825, Mr. Penniman was appointed a Judge of
the Court of Common Pleas, for Orleans County, then
lately organized, and was one of the first bench of
-fudges, which composed that Court, which ofiice he
lield five years. In 1831, he was elected Justice of
the Peace of Barre and served in that office until he
removed to Eagle Harbor, when he resigned.
In 1846, he represented Orleans County, as a mem-
ber of the Convention to revise the Constitution of the
State of ISTew York.
Judge Penniman was a celebrated school teacher
for many years after he came to Orleans County,
having taught school fourteen winters and seven sum-
mers. He always took a livel}' interest in the subject of
common schools, was Commissioner of schools and
town inspector each of the eight years he resided in
Shelby, and served as town superintendent of schools
in Barre three years, while that system was the law.
He was a popular Justice of the Peace, while act-
ing in tliat capacity. He used to say, he once issued
108 summons in one day, in all of which Dr. William
White was jJaintiflT. As a Judge he was firm, up-
182 rrftN'KKK history
rifilit jnul iiiii)artial, aiming to sustain tlie right in his
decisions, and in all his official and social relations hr
has sustained a character marked for sonnd views of
men and things, honest, faithfid, sagacious and true ;
and lunv in his old age and retirement enjoys the re-
s])ect of all who know him.
.lESSE .>rASOJS\
Jess<' Mason was horn in Cheshire, Mass., July 24;.
1779. By occupation he was a farmer. He removed
to Phel])s. Ontario C'ounty N. Y., about the year
181(1. \\here lie resided six years, then removed to-
Baire, Orleans IJounty, and settled on lot 17, in town-
si lip IT), lange 2, now owned by Wm. H. Pendry.
In tlie year 1837, he sold his property in Barre and';
remov(nl to Ohict, wlum^ lie resided until liis death, in-
Nov., 1804.
Mr. Mason served one cani])aign in the war of 1812,.
was one of the last American soldiers to leave Buffa-
lo wl'.eu it was burned by the British.
Mr. ^[ason was a man of positive convictions in alii
matters of his belief!, political, moral or religious..
Energetic, enter] )i'ising and liberal in all that pertain
ed to ])iiblic affairs in his neighborhood, he bore even*
more than his share in all tlie labors, expense and
trouble in opening roads, founding schools and.
churches and organizing society in the new country...
.Vll such duties and burthens were performed and
borne by him as labors of love, in which he seemed
to deligiit.
Mrs. Hannah Mason, wife of Jesse Mason, daugh-
ter of llev. John Leland, a Baptist minister, residing
in Orange c(mnty, Va. was born Dec. 18,1778. Mr..
Leland was originally from Mass. AVhile living in
\irginia he bec'ame the intimate friend of President
.lelferson, and it is said Mr. JefTerson derived his first
clear idea of genuine democracy from what lie saw of!"
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 133
the working of that principle in a church, of whicli Mr.
Leland was pastor. Miss Leland married Mr. Mason,
in Cheshire, about the }ear ISOO.nioved witli liini to the
west, and as long- as lie lived, proved herself a help-
meet indeed, lull}' sharing and sympathizing with
liim in all the toils, hardsldps and anxieties througli
whicli he passed in a long and activt^ life. She died
January 21, 1807.
STEPilKN 1!. TIirnSTOX.
" I was horn in Westmort^land, Oneida Co., X. Y.,
January '■>, 1808, and removed witli nn' father, (Jalel»
O. Thurston, to Barre to reside, in the spring of 1814.
My father being a farnu^r, brought me up to la])or in
that honorable calling. I resided with my father, at-
tending school occasionally winters, until I was twen-
ty-two years old, when I bought seventy-six acres of
land, part of lot 1'.), township 15, range 2, in Ban-e.
-on which I resided until A])ril, I860, when I i-emoved
into the village of Albion, where I now reside.
I was married to Miss Julianna Williams, daughter
'of Samuel Williams, of Barre, January 11, 1832. —
She was born in Burlington, Otsego Co., N. Y., A])ril
.5, 1812.
S. B. THURSTON."
Albion, July, 1807.
HUFUS HALLOCK.
Rvd'us Ilallock was born in Richmond, Chittenden
Co., Vt., Nov. 7, 1802. His father was a farmer, and
young Bufus lalxned on his father's farm summers
:a,nd attended school winters.
In February, 181. ">, with his father's family, lie re-
moved to Murray, Orleans Co., N. Y. In 1823, lie
removed with his father's family to Louisville, St.
Lawrence Co., where he resided two years, and then
•<*ame to Barre, Orh^ans Co., and settled on lot 43,
township 14, range 2, of the Holland Purchase, whert^
T34 PIONEER IIISTOKY
lie resided till his death in 1870. He was iiianied July
H, 1826, to Susan Tucker, of Shelby, who was l)orn in
New Hampshire, May 9, 1804.
Mrs. Hallock died at her home in Barre, May 18thy,
1868, a.2;ed 64 years.
Mr. Halloek by his industry and economy ac-
cumidated a competence of property.
In religious belief a Baptist, Mr. Hallock was regard-
ed as an exemplary christian man, respected by all
who knew him. Resolute and prompt in his charac-
ter Jind conduct, he generally met and overcome-
or removed every obstacle and adversity which he-
has encountered in his path in life.
He told a story of his father which illustrates what
sort of a man his father was, and exhibits a daslr
and courage which has been ti*ansuiitted to his de-
sceudants.
Traveling alone through the woods one da}" after he
cauie to tliis county, he saw a bear and two cubs-
asleep unde'r the roots of a fallen tree. Resolving tt>>
capture a cub, Mr. Hallock stealthily (U'e])t up to the
spot where they lay and seized a cub l)y its hind legs-
and backed away dragging his prize and keeping his
eyes fixed on the mother beai' who followed after hhn
growling and gnashing her teeth. He kept on in this
way several rods until lie backed and fell over a fal-
len tree, when the old b(^ar attracted by the cries of
the cub left behind returned to that and came {ifter
him 7i(» more. Mr. Plallock carried the cub hom(=-
tJimed and raised it. He died .Ian. 16), 1871.
JONATHAN ( [.ARK.
'' I was born in Londonderry, Rockingham county^
New Hampshire. July 'M, 17iK). My father died
when 1 was (piite young. 1 lived with my grandfath-
er. John Clark, until I was fiftetm years of age ; T
then went to live with mv Uncle, -lohn (^lai'k, .Fr.. in,.
«'F OKI.EAXS < OITsTY. ^'■'^>
Saloiii. Massachusetts, Avliero I reniaiucd until I w.-ss
twcnty-ono ye.'irs of age.
Marcli,18] 2,1 -went ahcniid tlie scliooiier Talbot.Capt .
(reorge Burclmiore. lieadt^d foi- tlie East Indies, \x\ii\
a uiiscellaneous cargo in the (•a])acitY of a coninu»n
seaman.
Xotliing woitliy of note happened To us until we
readied tlie eipiinoctia] line, wlien the Ca])tain said
" Old JS'eptnne must come aboard that afternoon and
the green ones must he shaved and sworn."" T!ie
oatli which we were reqnired to take in connection
with the other raw liands, was as folhnvs :
*M promise to never eat hi'own bread when I caii
get white ; never to leave the i)ump until I call for a
spell ; and never to ki-ss the maid when I can kiss
the mistress."'
The shaving process consisted, in l)rief, in placing
the subject on the windlass, brushing liis face with
tilth and scraping it oft* with an iron lioop, as a sub-
stitute fo]-a razor, the subject in the meantime^ being
in great dangei- of having the unsavoiy lather thrust
into liis mouth while taking the oath. Luckily for
me I passed the ordeal more happily than my com-
rades having, in advanc(\circidated a bottle of saijoss
"â– O be lovful."
Crossing the lin<^ is a great occasion r<tr Jokes and
fun in general among sailors.
In due time, and witlionl liarm. we reached the
vicinity of the (•a])es. wlien we encountei-ed lieaAy
weatlie]'.
We I'an tweiitv-three days iiiidei- close reefed To]>-
sails, s] lipped a lieavy sea on our starboard quarti-v
which washed the wliole h'Ugth of the deck and ca?^
ried awa\^ oui- bulwarks. Wt? dou1)led the Ca}»e o1
(rood Hope and reached tiie Isle of France (me hun
dred and thirtecMi days ont from Sal<^m. We lay the; e
t\vf> months, dis(diarge({ caru-o. took in balhxst and
1ii^G I'lOXKKIl HISTOIJY
sailed for the Iskmd of Siiinalia. Wo were lunmiig
into Lemonarger wlieii we wciv met l)y an armed boat
commanded by a man claiming to bt^ king of Ar-
cheen, who demanded of iis a dnty on the pepper
we might purchase. We ivgarded him and his crew
;is savages and pirat^^^, and declining to trade with
them put to sea again. AVe ran to iSoo-Soo and saw
a sail approaching. Tliat (^xcit^d our apprehensions
of danger.
'I'he Captain inquired if \\h' would light should the
occasion demand it. Our unanimous response was
'* we will."
We wei'e tlK^i stationed wliere we could do the best
execution in self defence.
My stati(mwas on the si(U> of the ship with an ax
to vnt off their hands should they attempt to board
us. All the men Avere armed with deadly wea])ons,
and we had a six-pounder ready for any emer-
gency.
The strange Aessel sent a boat to us witli a. letter
v/iitten in English, rt^questing us to trade with the king
of Archeen, or in case of our refusal he would seize
US and our vessel.
The night following being very dark we weighed
anchor and i)ut to sea, ])idding his suspicious majes-
ty good-bA^e.
We th(Mi sailed to an l^iiiglish i)ort, To])anooley,
'ivjiere we took in a cargo of pep])er antl sailed for
home.
We were to touch tin* J^i-a/ils to receive the orders
of the owners. Here we weiv hailed by what we re-
garded as a liostile vessel and chasinl and tired at
astern; and when foi-ced to yield, to our great joy
we found the strange vessel to be a man-of-war from
our own Salem, named 'Thedrand Turk." a priva-
teer sent out to i-e-take our shi}), which the owners
supposed to be in the hands of the British.
OF ORLEAXS COI'NTY. 137
The mutual congratulations between tlie crews of
the 'Talbot' and 'The Grand Turk* were very
pleasant to us all. Here we first learned of the war
between the United States and Great Britain, which
had then betMi doing its work of desti'uction ten
months.
We entered the })ort of Pernambuco, March 18th,
1813, having been absent Just one year. The cai'go
was put in Portuguese bottoms and sent to Europe.
The second mate and myself remained to takt^ care
of the ship until November, ISlo, when I left for Gib-
raltar on board tlie Rebecca, with a cargo of hidc^s
and sugai'. AVe stopped at Gibraltar a few daj's,
then ran down to Naples and discharged cargo and
took in a miscellaneous loading and returned liome-
Avards, landing in New York where I was discharged,
and started for Salem wliere I arrived January 1st,
1816.
I give the names of the places in the East Indies as
I heard them pronounced. I niay have spelled them
wrong. I'hus ends my seafaring life.
July oth, 1816, I left Boston for AVestern New
York. I traveled through Albany, taking the Great
Western Turnpike, walking on loot all the way, until
near Aubui-n when a traveler kindly permitted me to
ride with him, saying he would take me to where \
could find good land.
We passed through Rochester, and taking the
Ridge Road came to Sheldon's Corners, now West
Gaines. We then turned south, Jind traveling about
a mile reached a school house just as the school was
out for noon. A little sunny-faced giil ran uj) to us
and said to the man who had so kindly assisti*d me :
' Well dad, we are glad you have come for we are
about half starved out.'
That man was Gideon Freeman and tli(^ little gii-j
was Sally Freeman.
138 IMOXKKR mSTOKV
I looked ni'ouiid ;i little and finally houglit the
farm on which I have ever since resided, ])ai't of lot
fifty, ill towiishi]) fifteen, range two. of tln^ ilolland
Purcliase, lying in the noi-th-w^^stern part of J5arre.
then (laines. near the south end of what is now
known as ' The Long Bridge/ oAer the Ei-ie canal.
My land cost me five dollai's p(M- acre. T took an ar-
tich^ for it and was ;i1)1e to pay in full in ahout eight
years.
I nndeibrushed li\e aci-es. built n h»g house and
went hack to Salem.
I Avas married Xovemlter '2'}\\\. ISJC). to Ahigail
Simonds. who was hoi-n in Salem. Massachusetts.
-July 0th. 1700.
AVhile I was ])reparing to stait on onr journey
west 1 "was accosted by an ohl sailor friend
who inquired where I was goings L said 'to the
Holland Purchase." Said he. 'where can that he^
I never heard of that ])lace before.' I told him 'it
was a fine countr}' in Westei-n N<nv York;" that 'T
had bought a farm there. huiU a log house and was
going to live ther(\" Said lie. • I would not give the
gold! could scrape from a card of gingerbread foi'
tile entire Holland Puichase." Ihit he did not know
everything.
]\h' wife and I left Snleni for oui' new westein home
with a s})a]i of horses and a wagon. We were twen-
ty one days on the road. We ai'rived at my ])lace
and began lioused\ee])ing .laiiuaiy 1st. b'^1 7. without
a table, a <*hair or a liedstead, all of whi(di :n'ti(des 1
soon mad«^ in true (lenesee juoiieer style.
For many years in the settlement 1 was called
'Sailor Chirk * to distinguish me from another (Mark
who was. [ am hap})y to say, a very decent man.
Money being very hard to be got, we mad<' hlcrA
.VV///.V. which became practically a legal tend»M' or sul>
stilute for mone\-.
OF (lKL^:A^â– s cointy. 139
I and my iieighbo]-. Mr. Benjamin Foot, worked
together in tin- inannfa('tnr»\ hnt aftei' a time lie gold
to a Mr. Elijali ShaAv. wlio condncted th(- })nsiness
witli nic until that nt'cessarv callinu- was "played
«nit.'
Mr. Sliaw and myself arc the only pcisons living m
this school district who came in as early as JSIG.
My wife having been reared in the city knew noth-
ing of spinning wheels, though she was a good house-
keeper : Tmt under the influence of her neighbor's
example, sht^ urged nu^ to raise flax and purchase
her a Pioneer Pinno, which I did, biinging home
one of the largest size on my shoulder from a dis-
tance of seAeral miles : and before long she could
discourse as melodious music as any in th(^ settle-
ment.
In the early i)jitt of my pioneer iife, like others, 1
had to cut browse for my cow. One evening I went
out and felled a tn^e. thiid^ing it would certainly fall
west, but alas for my sagacity, it fell east striking
our house, bi-eaking down about half the j-oof and
alarming me greatly for the safety of my family.
However no one was hurt except by being badly
fi'igliten(Ml. The i-oof was easily repaii-ed, but a iin<'
niirroi'. a very c^legant one for a new countiy. wliich
Miy wife's father, who was a seaman, had biought
from Hamburgh, in Euro])e. was bioken into frag-
ments, and could not be repaired.
During the cold seasons many of the settlers suf-
fered for the necessaries of life, but hap])ily for me
and mine we did not suffer. 1 went east with m_v
team far enough to hnd all t]i<' jaovisions we needed
and brought home a full su])]>ly for all oui- n(MN>ssi-
ties.
The fall of 1S*J4 WMS a sad ])enod to me. My wife
died OctolHM' ^Oth of this 3'ear.
T desire lici-c to recoi-d mvsxrateful sense of the kind-
140 riONEF.TI HISTOKY
iiess of our neighbors during ]mr sickness. Theii- at-
tentions were timely, cordial and continued. All
those kind women then living in the district are dead
except Mrs. Benj. Foot.
I married my present wife, Elizaheth Stephens, in
Gaines, March 20th, 1825. She was horn in iSIiddle-
town, Rutland comity, Yt., June 20th, 1806.
We lel't our pioneer log house and moved into our
present dwelling in 1825. About tliis time the l)oats
were seen passing along in 'Gov. Clinton's big
ditch,' the Erie canal, on the north border of my
farm, c(^nnecting the great commercial and agricultu-
ral interests of our ctmntry. And I trust that our nat-
ural and artilicial channels of trade may remain
open, and the love of freedom among our ])eople con-
tinue to aid, with the blessing of Uod, to preserve and
perpetuate our nationality, restore the Union of these
Statey and the free institutions of our country.
In 1825 I experienced religion, and about 1829 my
wife and myself connected ourselves with the Metho-
dist Episcopal Church, in wliose communion we still
remain.
JONATHAN CLARK."
Barrc, April 7th, 1804.
OLIVKi: HEN'l'OX,
Oliver Benton was born in Ashheld, Mass., Aprd
10th, 1791. lie came to Barre to reside in 1812. He
married Elvira Starr, May 15th, 3817. Mr. Benton
took n\) a large tract of land two miles south of Al-
bion, on which he resided.
After the town of Barn^ was organized, and about
1818 or '19 the tirst postoffice in the town was estab-
lished and called Barre, and Mr. Benton was ap-
pointed postmaster, an office he held many }'ears.
For many yt^ars he was a noted tavern keeper on
the Oak Orchai-d Iload, and as he had a large and
OK OKLKANS ( OUNTY. • 141
oomraodiouslioTisr for the times, town meetings, balls
and gatlierings of the people we«e held at his honse.
On the death of AVilliam Lewis, who wns the lirst
Sheriff, Mr. Benton was elected Sheriff of Orleans co.
Nov. 182n, and lield the offi<'«^ three years. He died
Feb. r2th, 1848.
MosKs s:\rn'ir.
Moses Sndth was born in Newburg, New York,
F<'bruary 0th, 1785. Tie married Chloe Dickinson, of
Phelps, New York, April Jltli, 1811, and moved to
Barre, Orleans coimty, Nov. l(3th, 1824, and took a
deed from the Holland (^>mpany of a part of lot two,
townsliip fifteen, range one. on which lie continued to
reside until his death May 16th, 1869. He had four-
teen children, eight of whom survived him. He was
a carpenter and joiner by trade, T)ut the main occu-
pation of his life was farming.
He was of Scotch des(;ent. His grandmother emi-
grated from Scotland and settled on what is known
in liistor}' as the Hasbrouck place, in the South part
of tli(? city of Newburgh, on two hundred and Miy
acres. On this farm Mr. Moses Smith was born, and
on this farm stands the celebrated building known as
'* Wasliington* s Headquarters."'
AXTITOXY TRIPP.
Anthony Tripj) was born in Providence, Rhode Is-
land, In his childhood he removed with his father" s
family to ('olumT)ia county. N. Y.. where he grew
up to manhood, was mairied and settled. He after-
terwards removed to Delaware county. A^hel'e he re-
sided until he moved to Barre.
In 1811 he cauie to Barre and took up one hundred
acres of land about two miles South of Albion. It
is claimed this wns the first article foi- land issued by
142 PIOXEKIi JUS TORY
tlie HullMiid C'onijxuiy in Barre. The wai- ])reakiiig
«ut next year lie did not settle on liis land.
In 1817 his eldest son, Sanmel, conimenced clear-
ing this land and l)uilt a log house there, into
which Mr. Tripp moved with his family in 1824, and
where he continued to reside until his dt^ath.
He married Mar}' Brown. Their children were
Samuel; Talitlia, who married Sylvester Patterson;
Stephen R., who married Ruth Mott ; Anthony ; Al-
rah, who married Jane II. Blakely. She was killed
January, 180G, by a chimney and battlement from an
adjoining building falling through the roof of a storc^
in Albion, in which she was trading, crushing hei' to
death. Mary, who married Psaltei- S. Mason. Al-
ineron, wlio marri(>d Sylvia Burns.
aj.lp:x I'oin'Eii.
Allen Porter was born in Fraidvlin county. Mass.,
Ang. 24th, 1795. He married Electa Scott, i)ec. 22d,
1819. In the fall of ISlo he located for himself a
tarni in the town of Barre. upon which lie removed
in March, 1816, and commenced felling the trees, and
on which he has ever since resided.
At the time Mr. Porter came in, not more than fif-
teen families had settled in the i)resent limits (^f
Barre.
Previous to this time tlip Holland ('om])any had
t'ut out the road from the Oak Orchard Koad to Shel-
by Center, which now passes the County Poor House.
A few lots had been taken but no dwelling had been
erected on the road so cut out in Barre and no set-
tlement had been made in this town south of tlie Pooi-
House Road and west of the Oak Oichard Road.
Mr. Porter remembers hauling wheat raiseil (jn Jiis
farm, to Rochester, and selling it there for thirty-one
rents a bushel, and paying live dollars pei- barrel for
OF OILLKA.XS COirNTV. 143
â– salt, st'vt'iitcpii cents jxt })()ini(I for nails, and other
^•oocLs ill like pro])ortio]i.
Wliilo Mr. Porter was a \k)\ Jiis fatliei- removed to
Seneca county, X. Y. Allen being yet in liis niinoii-
ty was drafted in tlie war of 1812 and sent to the
frontie]-. He Nolunteered at Bult'alo to go over into
Canada to reinforce our troops in Fort Erie, and was
present in the sortie from that Fort in Sept. 1814. Mr.
Porter has held vjirious offic(^s, civil and military, and
is a well known and much res])ected citi/en.
Kl.J/rit IlAK'l'.
Klizu!" Hart was born in Durham, (Treeiie county,
^^ Y., May 28d, J8(>:!. His father, I)ea. Joseph Hart,
removed to Seneca county, X. Y'.. in 1806. and to
Barre, Orh'ans county, in October, 1812. It was sev-
eral years after he came to Jiarre. Ix'fore any scliool
was o2)ened in his father's neighborhood, and he
never had the lieiietit of mucli instruction in school.
Wliih- j-esiding with liis father he was employed
mainly in dealing uji land and in ]al)or on the farm,
and grew u]) to manhood as other boj^s did in that
new country, without much knowledge of books oi-
business, or of the world beyond the community
where he lived.
About the year 1827 lie was elected nonstable, an
office he held two Aears. His business now called
him to spend much of his time in Albion. He had
iibout five hundred dollars in mon(\>'. His brother
AVilliam had a like sum wliieh he ])ut into Elizurs
hands to use for their Joint beiielit. Kli/ur began to
buy small promissory notes and to L'lid small sums
to smdi customers as applied, and sometimes to re-
lieve debtors in executicms which weic put in his
liands to collect as constable.
About this time his father deeded to his sons Wil-
liam and Kli/ur diic hundred acres of liis farm for
144 PIONKKH IIISTOHY
wliicli tlu-y })aitl him live Imiidred dollars. They con-
tiniied joint owners several years when William gave
Kliziir tlie fiv«^ hiindi'ed dollars he had ])nt into his
hands and all th(^ profit he had niad*^ on it for a d<'ed
of the whole on<' hundred acres to himself. This
hind lies in th<' village of Alhion : is still owned and
o(M'iij)ied l>y Wm. Hart, and the ris(^ in its valne has
made him a wealtliy man.
As Mr. Hart fonnd his means increase lie began to
invest in bonds and mortgages, and in articles for
land issued by tlie Holland Compan}^ He seldom
lost but generall}' made money in all his trades, and
(*ontiniied this business for many years.
In 1852 he was made an assignee, and in a year or
two after receiver of the property of the Orleans
I nsui'Miice Company. And on the failure of the old
Hank of Orleans he was a])2)ointed receiver of that
institution.
On February ](»th, 1800, in company with Mr. Jos.
M. (Cornell lie established 'Th«^ Orleans County
Bank' at Albion, with a capital of §100,000. Of this
l^ank he was President as long as it exist<Hl. When
all State Banks were superseded b}- National Banks,
he changed his institution and organized ' The Or-
leans County National Bank ' in its stead Aug. Otli,
.\Si5r), of which he was President the rcMiiainper of
of his life.
Mr. Hart was not a speculator in business, advan-
cing money in uncertain ventures and taking the
chances on their success. His investments were the
n'sults of careful calculations, and usually returned
tile profit he had computed before hand.
Alwa3\s attentive to his business, but never dilatory
or im])ulsive, correct and exemplary in all his habits,
beginning with comparatively nothing, without tlie
aid or iiiHiK'nce of wealthy connections, lie becanu^
one of the opulent country bankeis in the State, and
OF OKLKAN.S COFXTY. 145
at liis deatli was master of a fortune aiiionntin.u'
to liiindreds of tiioiisands of dollars.
Ill his will he gave the Presbyterian Cliuich in Al-
hion, of which he was a member, fifty thousand dol-
lars to build a house of worship, and an endowment
of five thousand dollars to the Sunday Scho61 con-
nected with his church.
Mr. Hart niarrioxl Miss Loraine Field in Ma}', 1835.'
She died Feb. lltli, 1847. He married Miss Cornelia
King, Oct. 16th, 1849.
His surviving- children are Frances E., who married
Oliver C. Day, and resides in Adrian. ^-lichigan.
Jennie K. and E. Kirk ; th(^ last named married Lou-
isa Sanderson and resides in Albion, is Cashier and
principal owner of the Oi'leans County I^ational Bank.
Elizur Hart died August 13th, 1870.
.1 All VIS :\I. SKINXEIl.
'-I was l)orn in Providence, Saratoga Co., Is', Y.,
June 3, 1790. I married Mary Delano, Veh. 14, 1822.
She was born in Providence, Dec. 2o, 1800.
I labored on a farm, of which my father had a lease-,
in the summer season, and with my father in the win-
ter, a part of the time, in his shop, making saddles,
and harness, lie being a saddler by trade.
When I became of age, I hired out to work on a
farm for Earl Stimson, then a large farmer in Gal way,
iirst eight months, at $11 a month, then a yi.'ar for
iSllO. My wages for this work, deducting my clotli-
ing bills, constituted all my capital.
On the 18th da}' of March, 1822, I started for th*^
Holland Purchase, and came alone to Durfee Delano's,
a little west of Eagle Harbor, in Gaines.
I bought lifty-hve acres of land of Winsor Painf\
for which I agreed to give him i^250 — $100 down, my
liorse, saddle and bridle, for $80, and $70 worth of
saddles, to be delivered in a year.
146 PIONEER HISTORY
1 worked on my place until the next fall ; Mrs.
Paine did my washing and cooking and I furnished a
portion of the provisions. I chopped and cleared and
sov^ed with wheat, six acres ; raised one acre of spring
wlieat, one hundred bushels of corn. I returned to
Saratoga in the fall, made the saddles in the winter,
to pay for my farm, and in January 1823, moved mj
wife to our new home in Barre, where we have since
resided, on lot 33, township 15, range 2.
Dated, Dec. 1, 1863. JARVIS M. SKINNER."
NATHANIEL BRALEY.
\Vas "born in Savoy, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts,
Dec. 14, 1796. He has alwaj's followed farming. He
came to Palmyra in 1801, settled in Gaines, Orleans
Co.. X. Y., in 1819, married Sarah Wickham in 1821.
She was born in Chatham, Columbia Co., July lo,
1799, and removed to Gaines in 1816.
Mr. Braley removed to Barre, where he now re-
sides, in 1838.
LUCIUS STREET.
"I vv'as borii in AVest Springfield, Massachusetts,
Dec. 19, 1795. My father gave me a good common
school education for those times and brought me up
in his occupation, as a farmer.
I followed the business of teaching school for sever-
al Avinters, when I was a young man.
TJay 5, 1818, my brother Cliapin and myself started
from my father's house in Hinsdale, Mass., on foot,
vAth knapsacks on our backs, for the 'Genesee'
country.
After going to Batavia and looking over the towns
of Orangeville and China, we came to Barre and set-
tied on lot 3, township 14, range 2, of the Holland
Purchase, about two miles south of Barre Center
whei-e we still reside, (1864.)
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. ] 47
We took our a,rticle for our land, May 18, 1818, and
'immediately began chopping, boarding witli a family
named Cutlibret.
I taught a district school, in all, seven winters, and
singing school two terms.
One of our neighbors, Henry Edgerton, a strong,
athletic man, carried a bushel and a half of wheat on
'his back, to Farwell's mill, in Clarendon, eight miles,
got it ground and brought it home.
In the fall of 1820, my brother and myself, having
partially recovered from fever and ague, from which
we had suifered, and getting somewhat homesick,
'Went on foot back to Mass., being quite discouraged
at the prospect of ever paying for our land, as the
price of produce was so low. We wanted to sell out.
Finding no opportunity to sell our articles, we
•worked out for farmers in Massachusetts the next
season, at $8 a month, then the common wages, and
returned to Barre, in the fall of 1821, to sell our im-
provements, but found no buyers.
We had agreed to give six dollars an acre for our
■'land, on ten years' time — the first two years without
•interest. At this time, wheat was worth in Rochester
â– from thirty-one to thirty-seven cents a bushel.
While I was teaching school in Springfield, Mass.,
in 1821, I saw Esq. Brewster of Riga, Monroe Co., N.
'Y., who, with one of his neighbors, had come there
from Riga, with two large loads of flour, drawn by
four yoke of oxen. The flour sold for $5 a barrel. —
They sold their ox(,^n and Genesee sleds, bought a
span of horses and an old sleigh and returned to Riga.
In the summer of 1822, I boarded with Mr. Edger-
.ton, and worked two days of every nine for him, to
pay my board. That season I cleared, fenced and
sowed ten acres with wheat, from which next season
.1 harvested 25o bushels of o:ood wheat. The canal
148 I'lOTs^EEIl IIISTOKY
being then navigable west as far as Brockport, 1
conld sell my wheat there for $1 a bushel.
My brother and myself divided our land, giving me
109 acres. I then abandoned the intention of selling,
and NoA'. 10, 1823, was married to Miss Martha M.
Buckland, daughter of John A. Buekland, of South
Barre.
In those days we were required Iw law to '•irain^
as soldiers, two days in each year, viz : on the first
Monday in June and September, company training,
and one day for a general muster, which was often
held at Oak Orchard Creek. ^Ye were often called
to meet at Oak Orchard and made the journey, 10
miles, on foot, carrying our gun and equipments and
paying our own expenses. We would drill until
near night, then on being dismissed, return home the
same day, if indeed we Avere able to reach home be-
fore the next morning.
In the early times in this countr}^, inspectors of
Common Schools were allowed no comxjensation for
their services, the honor of the office being deemed
sufficient remuneration. After serving the town in
that office several years gratis, Dr. J. K. Brown and
I agreed and declared to the electors, that if ap-
pointed to that office again we would pay our fines of
$10 and thus relieve ourselves of the service, where-
upon the town voted to give us seventy-five cents each
per da}^, for the time we might be on duty.
Under circumstances like these, not as many were
seeking the small town offices then as now.
Bears, wolves, wild cats, deer, raccoons, hedge
hogs and othcM- w^ild animals, were 2:)lenty here then.
In the summer of 1818, my brother and I be-
ing at work chopping on our farm, heard a hog
squeal, and saw a b(\ar walking off very deliberatel}^
carrying tlie hog in his j^aws. We gave chase and as
we came near, the bear dropped his prey and ran off;
OF OKLEANS COrNTY. 149
he liad killed the hog. We then made 'a dead fall,'
as it was called, in wliich to entrap the bear, which
was a pen made l)}^ driving stakes into the ground,
and interweaving them with brusli horizontally, in
which the hog was placed. Into this pen we expect-
ed the bear would come and spring a traj), which
would let a weight fall upon him. It proved a suc-
cess, for in the morning we found the bear in the pen ;
he had sprung the trap, and a spike of the dead fall
through his leg held him fast.
Religious meetings were early establislied and
maintained at South Barre and Barre Center. Dea-
con Orange Starr was among the foremost in these
meetings.
Many pleasant reminiscences of pioneer life might
be mentioned, for though we endured many hard-
ships and privations, we had plenty of sport mingled
with them, giving ns a pleasant variety of mirthful
enjoyment. Major Daniel Bigelow, being a good
horseman, and having no horse, broke one of his ox-
en to the saddle, and was accustomed to ride him
through the settlement.
Riding out one day, his ox being very thirsty and
coming near a large puddle of water, started forward
to the drink on double-quick time, and iDlunging into
the water, stopped so suddenly as to throw his good-
natured rider over his head, sprawling into tlie mnd,
much to the amusement of those looking on.
I am a descendant, on my mother's side, of the
seventh generation, from Samuel Chapin, an early pi-
oneer of Springfield, Mass., who settled there when
only three families were in the place. At a gathering
of his descendants at Springfield, on Sept. 17, 1862,
fifteen hundred such descendants were present. Dr.
J. Gr. Holland, known as 'Tinioth}' Titcomb,' deliver-
ed a poem on the occasion, wliich he said he was re-
150 PIONEER HISTORY
quested to do because lie had married into the Chapin *.
family.
I am also descended in the sixth generation on my
father's side, from Rev. Nicholas Street, who came -
from England and was ordained pastor over the tirst
church in New Haven, in 1659.
LUCIUS STREET."
Dated, Barre, Feb. 25, 1804.
THOMAS W. ALLIS,
Extracts from the local history of Thomas W. Allis. ,
written by himself for the Pioneer Association.
''I was born in Gorham, Ontario Co., N. Y., Nov.-
1, 1798. My father died in the year 1805, and I was
brought up from that time until I attained my major-
ity, in the family of an uncle, in Hampshire, Mass.
In March, 1820, in company with a younger broth-
er, I moved to Murra}', in Orleans County, to what is
now the town of Kendall.
^Ve brought with us four barrels of tlour, one bar-
rel of pork, one barrel of whisky and a bed.
"We located three and one-fourth miles north of the â–
Ridge road, and on(3 mile east of the Transit Line.
In going from the Ridge to our place, we -passed-
Ijut one family and they lived in a log house, in the
woods, with no plastering between the logs, with only '
part of the ground covered by a floor, a bark roof, no
chimney.
We liired our })rovisions cooked, and lived with a
family near by, in a log cabin similar to the one
above described.
We bought a contract for one hundred acres of
land, by the terms of which we agreed to pay 8300
for the improvements, and $G00 for the soil.
We kept bachelor's hall there most of the tinu^ for
four years.
I soon bought iifty acres more of land, witli six
acres improvement on it, for Avhicli T agived to pay
OF OKLEANS COUNTY. 151
8450. But few families were then north of the Ridge,
in tliat section of country,
I worked at clearing land and raising crops.
Wheat was worth only three shillings per bushel, de-
livered in Rochester.
The first plow in our settlement, I bought in com-
pany with two neighbors. Vie walked to Gaines
village, bought one of Wood's patent plows and car-
ried it on our backs from the Ridge road three ar.d
one-fourth miles to our home.
I was married Nov. 18, 1824, to Miss Elizab^ili
Clements, of Queensbury, Warren Co. N. Y.
On the 9th of Januar}^, 1826, my house was burned
with all my furniture and clothing and one yeais"
provision. Our neighbors turned out and drew logs
and rolled up part of a house, but a snow storm came
on and stopped the work before it wa? finished. ]My
brother and myself afterwards built a log house, com-
mencing on Thursday at noon, built a stone chimney,
linished and moved into it the next Saturday'. Siz«^
of the house was sixteen b}" thirteen feet. We liv^^d
in this small house about two years and then I finish-
ed the house which had been begun by my n(,^ighbors
soon after the hre.
I resided in the house last built about fourteen
years.
I paid interest on the purchase money, for the fiTut
liundred acres I bought, to about the amount of th.e
])rincij)al before I took a deed.
I afterwards bought fifty-three acres for 8450, for
which T paid with the avails of one crop of vv'heat.
In 1887 I bought a timber lot of 48 acres.
In 1840 I built a frame house, thirty hy sev(>iity
iWi, which cost me 82,000.
In March, 1860, I sold my farm in Kendall, pait < t
which I had held for fort}^ 3'ears, and bouglit a hor.t:<^
152 rroxEER iiistoky
jind fifteen acres of land in Albion, on wliicli I now
reside.
THOMAS AV. ALLIS."
Albion, Jiiniiaiy, iyG3.
Mr. T. AY. Allis, above referred to, was for many
3'ears one of the solid men of the town of Kendall,
li onored and respected by all who knew him. He
was a Justice of the Peace and held various other
town offices. Having acquired a competenc}^, b}'
many years' stead}' toil and economy, he retirecl from
liard labor on a farm, to a village i-esidence, where he
is now (1871) spending a quiet old age, in the enjoy-
ment of the fruits of his labors.
J0S]':PII nAEKElt,
Extracts from the local history of Col. Joseph Bar-
]cer, written by himself.
" I was born m Tadmorden, Lancashire, England,
September 21st, 1802, and emigrated with m}^ father's
family to America in the spring of 181G. I arrived in
the town of Seneca, Ontario county, in July of that
year, and resided there until I bought the farm in
Barre, in N^ovember, 1825, on which I now reside. I
was married in October, 182^, to Miss Submit Cowles,
wiio was born in Heath, Franklin county, Massachu-
setts, by whom I had nine children. My wife died
February loth, IS.ll. I lived a widower two and a.
half years, and then married widow Elizabeth Gruern-
:sey, who was born in Micldleburgh, Schoharrie Co,.
Xl Y., March IDth, 1810.
In tlie fall of 1819, I started with another man from
Seneca, N. Y., to go to Lundy's Lane, in Canada,
\Ye traveled on foot with knapsacks on our backs.
Passing through Rochester, then a small town and
very muddy, we took the Ridge Road, then tliinl}*
settled. Before Ave arrived at Hartland Corners our
provisions gave out ; we tried to buy some bread ;
could get no]i(^ ; then tried l)egging, with no better
OF OKLEANS COUIS^TY. 153
success. AVe went on to Buck's tavern in the Eleveii
Mile Woods. It v/as very dark when we got tliere
and i-ained very hard. We had not a dry thread in
our clotlies, and our shoes and stockings were full of
mud and water. Buck's tavern was a log house A\ith
a Dutch lire place, and had a good rousing fire. Af-
ter taking some riwi and supper, we hung our outer
garments uj) to dry and went to bed. The next morn-
ing we started earl}^, and after getting through the
woods, I went into a house and bought six pence
worth of bread Avhich lasted us through to Lundy's
Lane. We stayed there three weeks and returned
home.
In September, 1828, 1 set out to look me up a farm:
came b}' way of Batavia, and through the Indian
Reservation to a place now called Alabama Center.
and took up sixty acres of land lying about three-
fourths of a mile north of that place. I chopped the
trees on about one acre, when finding iialf of my lot
was swamp I felt sick of it and left for home, where I
sta3^ed, working out until the fall of 1825, then start-
ed again and bought the place on which I have ever
since resided in Barre, lot fifty-four, townshiii fourteen,
range two.
I moved to my place in January, 1S2G. There was
a shanty on my land witli a shingled roof. I got
ready to begin work about February 1st, and meas-
ured oft' ten acres of woods for ni}^ next year's work
to chop, clear, fences and sow with wheat ; all of
which I did, sowing the last of my wheat in October.
The reason of my being so late sowing wheat was,
my wife was taken sick soon after harvest. I could
get no girl to work and I was obliged to take care of
my sick wife and do all my work in doors, and out of
doors. I had to milk, churn, work butter, wash and
iron clothes, mix and bake bread, and in fact do all
there was to be done. I worked on my fallow days
154 I'lOXEER HISTORY
and nights wlieiiever I could leave my sick wife. At
last I hired a girl, but she stayed with ns onl}^ four or
five days, and I then had to do housework again.
My wile recovered so as to be about, the forepart of
October.
I woiked out some tlie next winter to get potatoes to
eat and to plant and to pay" my doctor' s bill. I bought
four small pigs in the summer, and beachnuts being
plenty they grew finely and when killed weighed
about one hundred and twenty pounds apiece. The
pork was i-ather soft but tasted good.
The second winter I cli02:)ped about seven acres.
The weather was line, but on tlie night of April 13tli,
the wind blowing a fearful gale while we were snugly
in bed, took the roof off our shantj^ leaving us in bed,
but with iieither roof or chamber floor in our house.
I got up and x^ut out the lire; we put on our clothes
and. taking our little girl went to Mr. Russells, our
nearest neighbor, about forty rods, where we stayed
until, with the help of our kind neighbors, we got up
the body of another log house. In two or three
weeks we had our liouse so far made that we moved
into it and lived in it all summer without a chimney.
In the fall I built a Dutch lire i)lace and a .y//cZ; chim-
ney.
It was about two 3^ears after I moved on my lot be-
fore the highway was chopped out either wiiy, north
or south from me. The logs and underluaish were
cut so that we could drive a team through. I
was iioor when I came here and I lived according to
ni}' means. One-fourth pound of tea lasted us over
seven months. I bought a barrel of pork and half a
barrel of beef, when I got the tea, and they were all
gone in about tlie same time together.
We had i)lent3* of flour and some potatoes. My
cow was not used to the woods, and sometimes I could
find her and again I could not, so sometimes we were
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 155
obliged to eat our bread and potatoes for a meal. I
thought it rather dry living to work hard on, but we
lived through it, always hoj^ing for "the better time
coming.''
The next year I fatted three fine hogs and put them
all down for home use. The third summer I liad over
20 acres cleared and had got to living prett}^ comforta
bl}'. In Jul}' of tliis year I Avas elected Second Ser-
geant in Capt. Gates Infantry Company' rather against
my wishes. I liowever accejjted.
In August following I was taken sick with fever
and ague whicii lasted me three months. I could hire
no men to work for me for love or nione3\ Almost
everybody was sick this ^-ear. Tiie neighbors turned
out however, late in the fall and sowed about six
acres with wheat for me, and I hired a boy a month
to husk corn and dig potatoes. About tlie time the
boy got througli w(irk the ague left me and I was
pretty well all the next winter. The next spring I
had three fits of ague, then sores came all over my
face. I had no more ague shakes for tlie next three
(jr four years.
About this time ni}' wife was taken sick with in-
fiammation in the bowels just at the commencement
of the wheat harvest. I had fourt(M?n acres to
harvest and no one to help me. I got a
physician to attend my wife, and my little girl and
myself nursed her as well as we could ; and when I
could l)e spared I went to m}' harvest field and
worked, whether by day or niglit. Thus I harv(^sted
ni}' fourteen a<'r(^s and took care. oT my wife. Just
before I finished cutting my wheat however, I Avas
again taken vrith "cliills" and began to shake, and
kept on shaking about an hour, did not stop cradling
but wlien the fever came on I had to quit and steer
for the house and had a ]ia]-d time to get there. I
liad tAvo mort^ fits, when uia' face brolve dut in so]-es
15G J'lOXEKi; IHSTOKY
as former!}^ and I had no more fever and ague. ISly
wife getting no better, I went to find a girl to take
care of her, feeling I was not able to take proper care
of myself, much less of lier. I traveled all day,
found plent}- of girls that wanted to go out to spin,
but vrould ]iot do housework. I went a second and
third day with like results, and cami^ home sick
both in body and mind, and found my ^v\i'Q some bet-
ter. I finall}' succeeded in getting a woman to help
until my wife got able to be about.
I kept chopping and clearing my land as fast as I
could alone, for I was not able to hire. I changed
work occasionally vrith my neighbors, and sometimes
hired a day' s work. My crops were sometimes good,
sometimes poor ; but I got along and made
money.
In July, 18o3, I was elected Captain over the Com-
pany in which I had served as Sergeant over four
years, and I was afterwards elected Colonel. This
military office, as ever}' body knows, was not a mone}'
making business in tliose days ; but I had got into it
and determined to carry it through to the best of my
ability. It cost me much time and mone}', for which
I received nothing back. I had the honor of com-
manding as good a regiment as there was in the coun-
ty, and felt proud of it. I did military duty nineteen
years ; eleven years as an offictM-, serving as a Cap-
taiii bi>fore I was naturalized, or a voter in town
or State. I resigned all militaiy office A])ril 2()th,
1839.
I have labored steadily as a farmer, (Mijoying good
health, except ha^â– ing tlu^ ague, as I have stated, and
liad a^ g'ood degree of ])rosi)ei-ity attend my laboi's.
JOSEPH BAIlIvER."
]\Iarch i)tli, 1S6.3.
EXo-^ niCK.
Enosllice was ])()in in Conway, Ilampsiiire county,
OF OULEAXS (tirXTY. 157
Massacluisetts. in 1790, and came with liis fatlier's
family in 1804, to Madison county, N. \ .
In June 1810, witli a pack on his back, lie came to
Ban-e Orleans county, and located on lot eighteen, in
township fifteen, van-e two, where he cleared ahout
tw(^nty acres. He next lived a f.^w years m {Shelby,
and in 1831 bought a farm near Porter^ s Corners,
where he has ever since resided.
Mr Rice began in the world poor, but by persever-
ino- industry ^and frugality h.^ has acquired a fan-
amount of property to mak(^ his old age comfort-
able.
].rTiii:n i'ohtkk.
- My father Stpplien Porter, was born in Lebanon,
Connecticut. Abmit the year 1812 or 'IB he started
with his wife and live childnm on an ox sled, witn one
yoke of small oxen to come to ^ York btate. He
had but few articles of furniture and but ^Go m
mon(0'. After a Journey of twenty-two days, with
^extraordinary good luck, he landed in Smyrna, Cne-
nango countyr N. Y., with cash reduced to >5l8
Hei-e he hired an old log house in whidi he resided
one year. Tlun lir hitched his oxen to the old sled,
and' with his traps and liimily aboard, started for
Ontario county. After travebng seven days, he ar-
rived at his place of destination and hired a house
and twenty-five acres of land.
In th(^ fall of 1815, he took an article from the Hol-
land Land CompauA-. of the west hundred acres of
lot 40. township 14, range 2, in Barre, the same on
which' I now resid(^ about three-fourths of a mile
west of Portei-s Corners. In. March following, m
company with Allen Porter, Samuel Porter and Jo-
seph Kockwood, he started with provisions for hve
weeks, to make a beginning on their lands. They es-
tablished th<>ir d.^pot of provisions at the house of
158 piONEEii iiLvronY
Dea. Ebenezer Rogers, in tlif soutli part of what is
now the village of Albion.
They took what provisions the}' wanted for a week
on their backs, with their axes and started through
the woods to their lands, about five miles away, the
snow being about knee deep.
The first thing in order was to select a place to
build their cabin. The site was fixed on the farm
now owned by J. AV. Stocking, about twenty rods
east of where Stocking's house stands. They cut such
poles as they could carry and built their first cabin
ten by twelve feet square, covered it with split bass-
wood troughs, got it tenable, and the colon}' moved
in and took possession the same day. They cut hem-
lock boughs and spread them on the ground, covering
them with blankets, which made a good bed. The
room not occupied by the bed served for cvdinary and
dining purposes. After thus preparing their house
they commenced chopping in earnest, working through
the week until Saturday afternoon, when they all re-
turned to Mr. Rogers' to spend the Sabbath and get
another weeks' j^rovisions. In this way they worked
until they had chopped about five acres each, when
they all returned to Ontario Co., to spend the sum-
mer.
In January, 1820, my father moved his famil}' to
his new home in Barre, where he made a comfortal^le
residence the remainder of his life, and died in the
fall of 1831, aged 53 years.
My father paid little more than tlie interest on the
purchase money for his land, while lie lived. It was
paid for b}' his sons and has been a home for the
family ever since.
In the spring of 181G there was no liouse occupied
by a family in Bari-e, west of the Oak Orchard Road,
on the line on which my father located, although sev-
eral were in process of erection. My mother died on
^-
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 159
tlie homestead, Aiignst 1857, aged 77 years. I was
my fatlier's second son, and now own and reside on
the old premises, to whicli I have made additions hy
purchase.
I was born in Ashfield, Mass., in 1805, and came to
this county with my father, in 1820, being then about
fifteen 3'ears old.
I have had abundant experience in pioneer life. I
have chopped and logged and cleared land. I boiled
blade salts three or four years, a part of the time
barefoot, because my father was too poor to furnish
me shoes, with little other damage than the occasion-
al loss of a toe nail, or a small wound in the foot from
sharp stubs.
I have lived through it all, and by dint of economy
and industry have advanced from poverty to compe-
tence.
I have held various offices in the gift of m}' fellow-
citizens. I was Suj)ervisor of the town of Barre from
1857 to 1862, five successive jenvs.
There was no school in my neighborhood for sever-
al years after 1820. The first district school house
built there was erected at Sheldon's Corners. The
district was afterwards divided and a log school
house built about a mile north of Ferguson's Cor-
ners. Again the district was divided and now stands
as district No. 12, with a good school house.
I married for my first wife, Lydia Scoot, daughter
of Capt, Justin Scoot, of Ontario County, Oct. 20,
1830. She died Dec. 3, 1842. I married for my sec-
ond wife, Caroline Culver, daughter of Orange Culver
of South Barre, June 27, 1844, with whom I am still
living.
LUTHER PORTER."
Barre, ]\Iay 27, 18G:J.
NEIIEMIAII IN(4EltS0LL.
Nehemiah Ingersoll was born in Stanford, Dutchess
IGO PIONEER HISTORY
Co., N. Y., in 178C. In 1816, he removed to Batavia,
where he remahied a jeav or two, then "bought a farm
in Elba, five miles north of Batavia, to Avliich he re-
moved and where he kept a public house several
years. In April, 1822, in company with James P.
Smith and Chillian F. Buckley, he bought of William
Bradner one hundred acres of land in Albion, bound-
ed north by the town of Gaines ; west by the Oak
Orchard road ; south by Joel Bradner' s farm, and ex
tending east one hundred rods from the Oak Orchard
Road. For this tract the}' paid 84,000. i\Ir. Inger-
soll soon bought of Smith and Buckley, all their in-
terest in this land.
Soon after purchasing this tract iSIr. Ingersoll had
a large i)art of it surveyed and laid out into village
lots, believing a town vrould soon grow up. He
did not immediatel}^ remove to Albion but did com-
mence improving his property there.
He and his associates built the large warehouse
standing on the canal at the foot of Piatt street and
a framed building for a store on the corner of Main
and Canal streets, where the Empire block now
stands.
Ingersoll & Wells (^Dudley Wells) traded some
years in this store, and business Avas carried on in
the warehouse by Ingersoll and Levvis P. Buckle^y.
In the struggle for the location of the County build-
ings, Mr. Ingersoll engaged with spirit. In competing
with the village of Gaines, he offered tlie commission-
ers appointed to locate the Court House, the grounds
on which the Court House now stands as a free gift,
which offer was finally accepted and the location thus
secured here.
Early in 1826 he removed to Ablion to reside. He
was prominent among those engaged in effecting the
organization of the county of Orleans from the county
of Genesee, and in establishing all those institutions
OF OllLEANS COUNTY. 1 Gl
required and eonseqiient upon beginniiio: a m-w
county.
In 1835, having sold or contracted for the sale of mowt
of his land in Albion, he removed to Detroit and en-
gaged in large hnsiness there, in which he sustained
severe loss ; and in 1845 he went to Lee, Oneida county,
N. Y., at which place he resided until his death.
Mr. Ingersoll married in his youth Miss Polly Hal-
sey, daughter of Col. Nathan Halse}\ of Columhia
county. She died in 1831.
For a second wife he married Miss Elizabeth C.
Brown, of Lee who survived him.
Mr. Ingersoll died February 21, 1868, aged eighty-
two years. He was naturally of a strong constitn-
tion and of an active temperament and ap-
peared twenty 3'ears younger than he was. Although
the later j^ears of his life \\ore spent awa}' from Albion,
he was often here and always manifested the deepest
interest in the prosperity of the village and county of
Orleans. At his request his remains were Ivi-ought to
Albion after his decease and deposited besid*:' liis first
wife in Mount Albion Cemetery.
His second wife, Mrs. Elizabeth C. Ingersoll, died
August 17th, 1869. After her marriage, she resided
several years in Albion and shared with her hus-
band in a feeling of attachment to the place and peo-
ple, wdiich proved itself in a generous gift of ten
thousand dollars, which she made in her will to tin;
Prostestant Episcopal Church in Albion. Both Mr.
Ingersoll and his wife were members of that com-
munion.
•Il'STUS IN(ii:HSOLL.
Hon. Justus Ingersoll was born in Stanford, Dutch-
ess coiinty, IST. Y., in 1794. He learned the trade of
tanner.
On the br(>aking out of war with Gi'eat Britain, in
162 PIONKER HISTORY
1812, he entered the United States army as ensign in
the twenty -third regiment of infantry. He served on
the nortliern frontier in several engagements, and was
in the celebrated charge on Queenstown Heights. He
was promoted to the rank of Captain for meritorious
service.
In one of the battles in Canada, in which he served
as Captain of Infantry, he was wounded in the foot.
Refusing to leave his Company, and being unable to
walk, he mounted a horse and continued with his
men. In another engagement he was shot through
the body, the ball lodging in a rib. He refused to
lia\'e it removed, as he was informed a portion of
rib would have to be cut away, which would proba-
bly- causfi him to stoop ever after in his gait.
He was a favorite with his company and much es-
teemed by Gen. Scott under whom he served.
In 1818 he came to Elba, Genesee county, N. Y.,
and soon after settled at Shelby Center, in Orleans
(^ounty, where he carried on tanning and shoe-mak-
ing, and held the office of Justice of the Peace.
After tlie canal was made navigable, and Medina
began to be settled as a village, he removed there,
built a large tannery and transfered his business
to that place.
He was appointed Indian Agent and postmaster at
^ledina, by President Jackson ; he was also Judge
of Orleans County Courts.
His tannery being accidental!}' burned and sus-
taining other misfortunes in business, he removed to
Detroit with his brother Nehemiah, in 1835, where
they went into the leather business on a large scale,
iu which they were not finally successful.
Mr. Ingersoll was a man of firm and persistent
charactei', active and enteiprising — esteemed among
his acqy.aintances for the u])rightness of his conduct
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 163
sand the courtesy of his manners. He died in 1845.
LORENZO BURROWS.
Lorenzo Burrows was born in Groton, Conn.,
:March loth, 1805. In his boyhood he attended the
Academy at Plainfield, Conn,, and Westerly, Rhode
Island. In Nov., 1824, he came to Albion, N. Y., to
riissist his brother, Roswell S. Burrows, as his clerk.
He continued to act in that capacity until in 1826,
.after he attained his majority, he went in company
with his brother in business under the firm name of
R. S. & L. Burrows.
He assisted his brother in establishing the Bank of
Albion in 1839, and after it went into operation he
was appointed Cashier and devoted himself mainly
to the business of the bank and to the duties of Re-
• ceiver of the Farmer's Bank of Orleans, until in No-
vember, 1848, he was elected a Member of the House
/ of Representatives in Congress, for the District which
comprised Niagara and Orleans counties. He was
re-elected to Congress in Nov., 1850, and served in
that office, in all, four years.
Since his election to Congress he has done no busi-
ness as an officer of this bank.
He was elected Comptroller of the State of New
York in Nov. 1855, which office he held one term of
two yearb\
In Feb., 1858, he was chosen a Regent of the Uni-
versity of the State of New York, an office he has
â– Jield ever since.
He was County Treasurer of Orleans county in the
year 1840, and Supervisor of the town of Barre for
the year 1845. He was Assignee in Bankruptc}' for
the county of Orleans, under the law of 1841. In
the year 1862 he was appointed one of the Conmiis-
•sioners of Mount Albion Cemetery— an office to
-which no salary or ])ecuniary compensation is
164 PIONEEK HISTORY
attached, but wliicli is attended with considerable-
labor. To this labor he has devoted all the time neces-
sary, discharging the principal part of the duties
of tlie Commission, with what success let the beauti-
ful terraces, trees, paths, walks, avenues, roads, and
improvements whicli adorn tliis "city of the dead," ~
and which remain the creations of his taste and skill,
bear witness.
Since leaving Congress Mr. Barrows has employed,
himself principally in discharging the duties of the
offices above mentioned in taking care of consider-
able real estate he owns in connection with his broth-
Qi\ and in liis own riglit, in, or near Albion, and else-
wliere ; and in tlie enjoyment of such leisure as an
ample fortune whicli he has secured in ea-ilier
life affords, in social intercourse with his family
and friends.
(JEOnOE E. MIX.
'• I was born in (Treenlield, Saratoga county, IST. Y. .
yiy fathers name was Abiathar Mix. In May, 1817,
when I was less than one year old, my father re-
moved with his family to what is now Barre, Orleans
county, ]N^. Y. There I had my bringing up and have
(^ver since resided. My Genesee cradle was a sap-
trcnigh, Genesee school rooms were log houses, log
barns, and other like accommodations.
I stayed at home and worked on the farm summers,
and went to schools wint(U's when I could, until I was
•nghteen years of age. My father then gave me my
time, saying he had nothing else he could give me
then, but that I could make his house my home.
After that I worked by the day and month summers^
and attended school winters — went several terms 'to>
an Acad(»my.
At the age of twenty-three I commenced teaching,
district scliool and tau";ht five winters in succession-
OF ORLEAXS COUJV^Ti'. 165
During those five years I traveled considerably in the
western and southern States, and became quite a rad-
ical reformer in sentiment.
I was nominated County Clerk by the Liberty Par-
ty but was not elected.
I married Miss Ellen De Bow, of Batavia, N. Y.,
in 1852.
I have alwa}'s made a living, and got it honestly I
think, and have laid by a little every year for myself
-and others I have to care for. I never sued a person
and never was sued. I never lost a debt of any great
.amount, for if a person who owed me could not pay
it, I forgave the debt.
I made a public profession of religion when I was
eleven 3'ears old, and several years afterwards united
with the Free Congregational Church in Gaines and re-
mained a member of that Church as long as it was in
being.
I never held any civil office of profit. My political
principles were not formerl}' jjopular with the major-
ity of the people.
I held military office in the 214th regiment X. Y.
State militia, from 1837 to 1844, and served as ensign,
lieutenant and captain.
I have lived to see slavery abolished in this coun-
tr}^. The landless can now have land if they will.
Now let us drive licpior and tobacco from the coun-
try.
GEORGE E. MIX."
Barre, February 1869.
•'TIIINCJS I CAN r.iniE.MiJKK."
BY GKOUOE E. MfX.
'•I can remember the dark and heavy forest that
-once covered this land, with only now and then a lit-
tle ' clearing ' that made a little hole to let in the
.sunsliine ; the large creeks tliat seemed to How and
166 PIONEER HISTORY
flood the whole country during a freshet ; the large '
swamps and marshes, in almost every valley ; the
wild deer that roamed the woods almost undisturbed
hy men ; the bear that plodded his wa}^ through the "
swamps and the wolf that made night hideous with '
his howling,
I remember when the roads ran crooking aroundi
on the high grounds, and when roads on the low
lands were mostly causeways of logs. When almost
all the houses were made of logs, and almost all the
chimne^^s were made of sticks and mud, and the fire- •
places were of Dutch pattern.
But the sound of the axman was heard at his toil
through the forest, hurling the old trees headlong.
The woods and the heavens were lit up with the lurid
glare of fire by night, and the heavy forest sooiii
melted away. Those little holes in the old woods,
soon became enlarged to broad fields of waving"
grain, that glistened in the sun light.
The foaming creeks soon became rivulets, or dried
up. The swamps disappeared and nothing remains
to show where many of the great marshes of the old
time were. The deer, bear and wolf have departed.
The crooked I'oads have been straightened, and the
log causeways have been buried out of sight. The
log houses, stick chimneys, and Dutch fireplaces,
are reckoned among the things that were and are not
now.
I can remember when my mother spun Hax on a
little wheel and carded wool and tow by hand and
spun them on a great wheel ; when she colored her
yarn with th(^ bark and leaves (»f trees and had a
loom, and wove cloth and made it up into ch)thing
for her family.
I can remember when my father plowed with a
wooden plow with an iron share and reaped his grain
with a sickle and threshed it with a flail ; Avhen he •
;0F 0KLEAN8 COUNTY. 167
mowed his grass with a scythe and raked it witli a
hand rake. I remember when no fruit grew here but
wild fruit, but we soon liad i)eaches in profusion,
bushels of them rotting under the trees.
At the first settlement of this county, fruits, sucli
as grapes, strawberries, cranberries, blackberries,
gooseberries, raspberries and mandrakes, were to be
found growing wild. We had nuts from the trees,
such as butternuts, chestnuts, beachnuts and wal-
nuts.
Pumpkins, squashes and melons, were largelj^
raised and of great value to the people. Pumpkins
were cut in strips and diied on poles in the log
cabins and kept for use the year round. Maple trees
furnished, us nearly all our sugar. At our fall par-
ties and our husking and logging bees we had pump-
kin pies. At our winter parties we had nuts and
popped corn and in the summer, berries and
ci'eam.
I can remember when the common vehicle for trav-
eling about was an ox sled with wooden shoes ar.d
the only wheel carriages were lumber wagons and
they were few, when the Ridge Road was the main
thoroughfare by which to reach the old settlements
and stage coaches were the fastest means of convey-
ance.
It was considered an impossibility to make the
Erie Canal. People said possibly water might be
made to run up hill, but canal boats, nevei-.
Some said they would be willing to die. having
lived long enough when boats in a canal should tif)at
through their farms ; but afterwards when the^^ saw
the boats passing by, the}^ wanted to live more than
ever to see what would be done next.
Next after the canal came the railroad. I heard
the cars were running at Batavia and I went out there
to see the great wonder of the age, and saw them.
1/58 PIONEEK HISTORY
We were next told of tlie telegrapli. Knowing ones
said that was a liumbug, sure. I remember even
some members of Congress ridiculed Professor Morse
and liis telegrapli as a delusion. But in sj)ite of rid-
icule, and doubt, and incredulity, the telegrapli be-
came a success, and b}^ it the ends of the earth have
been brought together. These things I have seen and
remembered wliile living here in Orleans county.
GEORGE E. MIX."
MRS. LYDIA MIX.
•' I v/as born in Brantford, Connecticut, in 1783. At
the age of eighteen I married Abiathar Mix, and ec-
moved to Dutchess county, N. Y., where my hus-
band owned a farm, on which we lived, working it
chiefly by hired men, my husband being a mason b}'
trade, labored at that ])usiness in the summer and
winters he made nails and buttons.
We resided there until Ma}', 1817, wht-n we sold
our farm and removed to Bai-re, Orleans Co., and lo-
cated on lot 'S2, township 14, iMiige 2. Very little
land was then cleared in that neiglil)oihood, and e^'en
tliat vras covered with stumps of trees. Mr. Mix had
been here the yeav before and engaged a man to build
a log house for him. AVhen we came on we found oui-
house with walls up and roof on. My husband split
some bass wood logs and hewed them to plank, with
which he laid a floor, and we began housekeeping in
our new house.
My husband had ten or iifteeu Jiundred dollai'S in
money, when he moved here. He took an article for
a large tract of land and went to making potash aud
selling goods and merchandise, in company with his
brother, Ebenezer IMix. who was then a clerk in the
land office of the Holland Company, at Batavia.
The settlers, building their houses of logs and theii-
chimneys of sticks ami mud, my husband found noth-
OF OKLEANS COU^VTY. 169
ing to do at liis trade, until they began making briclv
and malving tlieir cliimneys of stone, witli brick ovens.
He then closed out his mercantile business and
went to work at his trade and being something of a
lawyer, he used to do that kind of business consider-
ably for tlie settlers.
We had pretty hard times occasionally but managed
to get along with what we had and raised our seven
children to be men and women.
My husband died in 1856. Three of my children
have died. I shall be 86 years old in a few days, if I
live.
LYDIA MIX."
Barre, February, 1869.
.roSEPil JIAKT.
Josepli Hart was born in Berlin, Hartford Co..
Conn., in Nov., 1775, and died in Barre, Orleans Co..
N. Y., Jul}', 1855.
Mr. Hart moved to Seneca, Ontario County, N. Y..
in the year 1806. In the fall of 1811, he came to Bar-
re and took an article from the Holland Land Co., of
lot 34, township 15, range 1, containing 360 acres, the
principal part of which is still owned by his sons,
William and Joseph.
In April, 1812, in company witli Elijah Barrow,
Frederick Holsenburgh and Silas Benton, then 3'oung
unmarried men, he returned and built a log house on
his lot and moved his famil}' into it in October follow-
ing.
Elijah Darrow took an article of part of lot 1, town-
ship 15, range 2, held the land and Avorked on it about
two years, then sold it to Mr. Hart, who sold it to Eb-
enezer Rogers, about the year 1816.
Sikis Benton took an article of part of a lot lying-
next north of Darrow' s land, which was for many
years afterwards owned by Samuel Pitch. Benton
made a clearing on his land, built a log house on it,
170 PIONEER HISTORY
in wliicli he lived several years and in which his wife,
Mrs. Silas Benton, tanght a scliool, probably the tirst
school in the town of Barre, boarded several men and
did her house work at the same time, all in one room.
A log school house was afterwards built on Benton's
land, to which Mrs. Benton moved her school, whicli
was said to have been the first school house built in
town.
Frederick Holsenburgh took an article of part of
the lot lying- next north of Benton' s, in the village of
Albion, on the west side of the Oak Orchard Road. —
The Depot of the N. Y. Central Railroad stands on
the Holsenburgh tract.
Joseph Hart mariied Lucy Kirtland, wlio was born
in Saybrook, Conn., and who died at Adrian, Mich.,
January, 1868, aged 89 years.
He was here during the war of 18J2, and was sever-
al times called out to do militar}^ sei-vice in that war.
He was a prominent and active man in all matters
pertaining to the organization of society in the new
country. He assisted in forming the Presbyterian
Church, in Albion, in wiiich he was a ruling elder
Avhile lie lived, and from his office in tliat church he
Avas alwa3"s known as Dea. Hart.
He almost always held some towji office, and for
many of his later 3^eai-s he was overst^er of the poor of
the town of Barre, a position tlie kindness of his na-
ture well qualified him to fill. His fortunate location
near the thrivina- village of Albion, which has been
(extended over a part of his farm, made him a wealthy
man. Tlirough a long life, he maintain(ed a high
charactei' for probity and good judgment, and died
respected by all wlio knew him.
ADEN FOSTER
Was T)orn in Sudbury, Vermont, July 20, 1791 ;
married Sarah Hall, of Brandon, Vt., Jan. 28, 1817;
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 171
came to Bane in the winter of 1817 and settled on lot
80, township 14, range 1, half a mile south of Barre
Center. He cleared np his farm and resided on it un-
til his death, Feb. 18, 1838. Mr, Foster was an active
business man, a leading man among the early settlers.
He was for several years Capt, of a militia compan}-,
and for some years a Justice of the Peace.
ALEXIS WAllD.
Alexis Ward was born in the town of Addi-
son, Vermont. May 18, 1802, His parents removed
to Caj^uga county. New York, when he was quite a
lad. He studied law with Judge Wilson of Auburn,
and w^as admitted to tlu^ bar in 1823. In 1824 he re-
moved to Albion, where he was soon appointed a Jus-
tice of the Peace.
On the refinement of J udg(e Foot, who was the iirst
Judge of Orleans count}^, Mr. Ward was appointed
First Judge in his place Feb. 10, 1830, an office he
held by re-appointment until January 27, 1840.
In 1834-5 he Avas mainly instrumental in procuring
the charter incorpoiating the Bank of Orleans, which
was the first bank incorporated in Orleans county,
and in 1836 was elected its President and held that
office until his death.
He was one of the movers in founding the Phipps
Union Seminary and the Albion Academy, and was
always liberal in sustaining our public schools.
It was mainly owing to his exertions that the Roch-
ester, Lockport and Niagara Falls Railroad was built,
and if it has ])roved a beneht the thanks for its con-
struction are chietly due to Judge Ward.
The Suspension Bridge across Niagara River made
a part of his original plan in connexion Avitli this rail
road, and his arguments and exertions were? mainly
effectual in inducing Am«*ri<'an capitalists to take
stock in this Bridge.
172 PIONEER iriSTORY
He projected the ])laiik roads from the Ridge through
Albion to Bane Center and took a hirge pecuniary
interest in them.
He, with Roswell and Freeman Chxrke, built the
large stone ilouring mill in Albion. He also built
several dwelling houses.
He was a large hearted, public spirited man, always
ready to do anything he thought might benefit Albion.
In all his business relations he was just, honorable
and upright, every man received his due ; his purse
was alwa} s open to the calls of charity. A man of
untiring energ}' and perseverance, — to start a project
was with him a certainty of its comj^tletion.
In his intercourse with those about him he was
kind, affable and generous. His reserve might be
construed by those who did not know him well, as
haughtiness, but few men wcne i'lvvv from this than
he.
As a Christian, he was an exemplary member of
the Presbyterian Church t)f Albion, with which he
connected himself in 1881. He always gave greater
pecuniary contributions to sustain that church and
its ministers than any other man. He did much by
liis prayers, counsel, charities and example to sustain
the cause of religion generally.
In November, 1854, he Avas elected Member of As-
sembly for Oileans count}-, but his deatli pi-evented
his taking his seat in the Legislature.
He married Miss Laura Goodricli of Aubui'u in
182G. He died November 28th, 1 854.
THE LEI'] FA^MII.Y.
Judge John L(h\ t]i<' ancestor of tJiis family and the
man alter v%hom the Le*,^ Settlement in Barre was
named, was born in Barre, Massachusetts, June25tli,
ITOo. In an early day he emigrated to Madison
county, New York, where he resided fourteen years,
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 1.73
find came to Barre, Orleans county in 181G, and took
np a tract of land. He retu7"ned home, but his sons,
Charles and Ora, then young men, came on and
cleared up several acres of their fathers purchase,
and bnilt a log house into wliich Mr. John Lee and
his family moA'ed in February, 1817.
Mr. Lee was an intelligent, energetic man, benevo-
lent and patriotic in his character, ahvaj^s among the
first to engage in any work tending to premote the
good of his neighbors or the prosperitj^ of the country.
With the hospitality common to all the pioneers, he
kept open house to all comers and frc^quently half a
dozen men looking after land or waiting till their log
houses could be put up, v\^ould be quartered with him
though his own family was large.
He was always conspicuous in aiding to lay out
and open roads, biuld school liouses and induce set-
tlers to come in and stay. He was appointed a
Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Genesee
county and his opinions and counsel in all matters
of local interest were much souglit by liis neighbors.
He died in October 1823.
His children were Denc(\y, wife of Benj. Clodard,
who died in Barre in 1831. Submit, wife of Judge
Eldridge Farwell, who is still living, (..harles, Ora
and Asa. Sally wife of Andrew Stevens. She taught
the first school kept in the settlement in a log school*
house in Avhicli the laniiiy of a Mr. Pierce then re-
sided, in 1818-19. She died at Knowlesville in 1828.
Esther wife of Gen. \Vm. C. 'fanner, died in 1835.
John B. who died in September 1800. Clarissa wife
of John Proctor, who died in 1832. CyntJiia married
William Mudgett of Yates, in 1837, sJie is now living
the widow of John Proctor. Cliarles lias always
r(»sided on a part of the land originallv talccMi wj) hy
liis father. He has abva^^s been a prominent man in
174 FIONEEll HISTORY
public aflaiis in town and county, and was for a
number of years a Justice of tlie Peace.
Ora Lee also has resided on a part of the land so
taken up hy his father. It is said he cut the first tree
that was felled between the village of Millville in
Shelby and the Oak Orchard Road in Barre. Gen,
John B. Lee removed to Albion about the year 1832,
and engaged in warehousing and foi'warding on the
canal. Shortly after this he purchased of the Hol-
land Company a large number of outstanding con-
tracts made by the Company with settlers on the sale
of their lands in the north part of this county. He
conveyed these lands to the purchasers as they were
paid for.
A few years afterwards he engaged in selling dry
goods in Albion. In a short time he left this and
devoted himself mainly to buying and selling flour
and grain, and in manufacturing tloui' during the re-
mainder of his life. He took delight in military
affairs, held various offices in the State militia, rising
graduall}' to the rank of Brigadier-General.
ABKAIIA^t CANTIlSrE.
Abraham Cantine w^as born in Marbletown,
Ulster county. He volunteered as a soldier in the
United States Army in the war with Great Britain, in
1812, and served as a Captain in the stirring scenes
of that war on the Canadian frontier. He was
wounded in the sortie at the battle of Fort P]rie.
After the war he was discharged from the army
and returned to Ulster county, of which he was ap-
pointed Sherift' by the old Council of Appointment,
in Feb. 1819. Soon after the expiration of his office
as Sheriff, he removed to the town of Murray, in Or-
leans county. He was employed about the year 1829,
to re-survey that portion of the 100,000 acre tract ly-
ing mainly in the town of Murray, which belonged to
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 175
the Pultney estate, part of township number thrtM% a
labor he carefully and faithfully perfonned.
He represented the county of Orleans in the State
Legislature in 1827. He served five years as an As-
sociate Judg(i of the Court of Common Pleas of Or-
leans county. He was Collector of Tolls on the Erie
Canal at Albion in 1835.
Several years befor his death he removed to Albion
to reside, and died there .about Aug. 1, 1840, aged
fifty years.
Judge Cantine was a clear headed man, of sound
judgment, well informed and always sustained
a high reputation for ability wlierever he was known.
He was a warm personal and political friend of Pres-
ident VanBuren.
CAUOLINE }\ ACHILLES,
Daughter of Mr. Joseph Phipps, was born in Rome,
^ew York. She was one in a numerous family of
daughters, wliose earl^' education was superintended
by lier latlier with more than ordinary care at home,
though slie had the advantages of the best private
schools and of the district schools in the vicinity. —
AVhile slie was quite young her father settled in Bar-
ye, and at an earl}' age she was permitted to gratify
the ambition she then manifested and whicli has been
a ruling passion of her life, to become a teacher, by
taking a small district school, at a salary of one dol-
lar per week 'and board around,' as was then cus-
tomary in such schools. The salary, however, was
no object to lier, she v.ished to teach a school, not to
make money. After teaching this school two oi' three
terms, she attended the Gaines ^Vcademy then in the
zenith of its prosperity. Having spent some thne
here she was sent to a ' linishing Ladies School kept
by Mrs. and Miss Nicholas, in Whitesboro, N. Y.
On leaving Whitesboro she determined to engage in
17G PIONEEK HISTORY
teaching permanently and acceiDted a situation to in-
struct as assistant, in a classical school which had
been opened by two ladies in Albion.
Finally an arrangement was made between tlie two
principals and their assistant, under which they trans-
ferred their lease of jn-emises, and all their interests
in the school to Miss Phipps.
She now associated with an elder sister and the
two commenced their labors as teachers on their own
account, in a building then standing on the site of the
present Phipps Union Seminary, in April, 1833,
Acting on a favorite theory with her, that it is bet-
ter to teach boys and girls in separate schools, she di-
vided her scholars accordingly, and after a time she
declined to receive boys as pupils and devoted all
her energies to her school for young ladies.
This j)roved a success. So many pupils had come
in that in Angust of her first year, she had been join-
ed by another and younger sister as teacher, besides
a teacher in music and all found themselves fully
employed.
She thus became convinced a Female Seminary
could be supported in Albion and that she was ca-
pable of superintending it, and encouraged by the
counsel and inliuence of some of the best citizens of
the village, she issued a circular to the j)nblic, an-
nouncing the founding of such an institution of learn-
ing here.
After near a ja^ars trial the new Seminary was
proved to rcKjuire additional buildings, to accommo-
date the large school. Miss Phipps invited some of
tlie most wealthy and influential men of Albion, to
meet and hear her projDOsition to erect a new Semi-
nary Building, which was in substance, that they
should loan to her four thousand dollars, with which,
and funds she could otherwise procure, she would
erect a building and repay the loan to the subscribers
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 177
in installments, and thus establish permanently the
Seminary she proposed.
Such proceedings were had upon this projjosal that
a i^aper was circulated, and tlie required sum sub-
scribed, with a condition added that the avails of this
loan to be repaid by Miss Phipps, should be used to
found an Academy for boys in Albion. This plan
was eventually carried into effect, and the brick edi-
fice still used as a Seminary, built in the year 183G,
and Pliipps Union Seminary duly incorj)orated in
1840.
Miss Philips was thus instrumental in founding two
incorporated schools in Albion, which have proved of
great public benefit.
Miss Phipps was married to Col. H. L. Achilles, oi
Rochester, N. Y., in February, 1839, and soon after
resigning the care of the Seminary to her younger sis-
ter, she removed to Boston, Mass., where she resided
the succeeding ten years. During this time this
younger sister married, when the Seminary was trans-
ferred to others, less competent to manage its affairs,
in whose hands it lost the large patronage it liad rp-
. (Reived, and was well nigh ruined.
This compelled Mr. and Mrs. Achilles to return to
Albion, in 1849, and resume charge of the Seminary,
or lose a large pecuniary interest they had invested
there.
The tact and energy of Mrs. Achilles, well sustain-
ed b}^ her husband, gave new vigor to the institution,
and soon brought the Seminary back to the higli
standing it had under her former administration.
Tired and worn down by the harrassing cares, anx-
ieties and labor of superintending so large an estab-
lishment and school, so many 3^ears, in 1866 Mrs.
Achilles reluctantly consented to transfer her dearly
cherished Seminary again to strangers.
After three years' trial by these parties however, it
12
17.S PIONKEU HlSiOUV
was tliouglit best that Mrs. Acliilles should again
take charge of Pliipps Union Seminary, whicli she
did, bringing with her to lier duties the skill, experience
and practical ability- which have given her such emi-
nent success as a teacher.
Mrs. Acliilles has devoted the l)est years of her life
to the cause of female education. She has labored in
her chosen vocation, with the zeal and enthusiasm of
genius, and may enjoy her reward in the good she
knows she has done, and in the success with which
she sees her work has been crowned.
CHAPTER XVI.
THE VILLAGE OF ALBIOK.
Pirst Inhabitants — First Business Men — Strife witli Gaines for Court
House — Stratcgj' used by Albion men to get Court House — First
Court House — Second Court House — County Jail — First Hotel —
First Warehouse — Stone Flouring 3Iill — Lawyers — Drs. Xichoson
and "White — First Tanyard— First Blacksmiths— Xame of the Vil-
lage.
^^ "^"^^ Orchard Road intersects this village and
);^^ now forms Main Street, north and sonth, in
j^iS)^ the center of the 2:)lace. It was this road and
the Erie Canal that iixed a village here.
When the canal was commenced Albion was used
'for farms, but by the time the canal became naviga-
ble considerable of a town had sprung u]).
William McCollister cleared the first land on what
is now in the corporation, where the Court House and
Female Seminary stand, and built his log house on
the Seminary lot in 1812. He took up lot thirty-five,
township fifteen, range one, on the east side of Main
street, under article from the Holland Company,
which he sold to William Bradner, who took the deed
from the company of two hundred and sixtj^-six and
one-half acres of the north part, his brother Joel
taking a deed of ninc^j'-two acres on tlie south part,
on the west side of Main street.
Jesse Bum^uis took up by article from the compa-
ny, tlie land from the town line of Gaines on the north,
to near State street on the south. John Holtzbarger,
<ii' Holsenburgh, as he was sometimes called, took up
180 PIONEER HISTORY
the next land south of Bnmpiis, and Elijah Darrow
took the next.
Before the canal was made Mr. AVilliani Bradner
sold one hundred acres of the north-west part of his
tract to Nehemiah Ingersoll and others. Mr. Inger-
soll employed Orange Risden to lay out his land hor-
dering on the Oak Orchard lload and canal, into vil-
lage lots, and to make a plat of the same. From this
Mr. Ingersoll sold lots and opened the streets, he hav â–
ing bought out his partners.
The Bumpus tract, on the west side of Main street,
at this time was owned by Mr. Roswell Burrows, the
father of Messrs. R. S. & L. Burrows. He did not
lay out his land into village lots by any general sur-
vey and plan, but laid oft* lots and opened streets
from time to time as the wants of the j)ublic required.
The land fronting on Main street, througli the village,
was taken up and mostly occupied by purchasers â–
from the original proprietors, about the time the canal
was made navigable.
The location of tlie County Seat in Albion, about
this time, and the bustle and business of erecting
county buildings, establishing the courts and public of-
fices and organizing the affairs of a new county, town
and village, brought in an influx of inhabitants at
once, representing the difterent callings and emj^loy-
ments pursued by those who settled in villages along
the canal.
The south side of the canal— the north being the
towing 2>atli — was soon occupied by buildings put
up for the canal trade, such as warehouses and gro-
cery stores. Tlie large number of passengers who
tilled the canal boats, made the grocery stores, from
which they and the boatmen procured their sui^plies,
places of lively trade, by night and day. Variety
stores, each ftlled with goods of every name, class and-
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 181
-•description demanded by the customers, were numer-
ous, though small.
Among the first merchants were Goodrich & Stan-
dart, John Tucker, O. H. Gardner, K. S. & L. Bur-
rows, Alderman Butts, and Freeman Clarke, of late
years a prominent banker in Rochester, N. Y.
When the Commissioners appointed to select the
site for the Court House came on to fix the spot, their
choice lay between Gaines and Albion. Gaines had
the advantage of being the largest village, being on
the Ridge Road, and being well supplied with me-
chanics and merchants, and of having many of the
institutions of old and well organized communities es-
tablished there. Albion was nearest the geographical
center of the county, and was intersected by the Erie
Canal and Oak Orchard Road. The west branch of
Sandy Creek runs through the east part of the vil-
lage. Rising in some swamps in the south pari of
the town, it afforded sufficient water after the melting
of the snow in spring, and after rains to turn ma-
chinery a part of the year, but in summer was nearly
, dry. On this stream two saw mills had been built,
. one in the village, the other south of it.
The Commissioners came to consider the claims of
the rival villages about the ndddle of the dry season,
Mr. Nehemiah Ingersoll, Philetus Bumpus, Henr}'
Henderson, and a few other Albion men, determined
to use a little strategy to help Albion. Knowing
when the Commissioners would be here the creek
would be too low to move tlie sawmills, and foresee-
ing the advantage a good mill stream would give
them, they patched the two dams and flumes and
closed the gates to hold all the water some days be-
fore the Commissioners would arrive ; sent some
teams to haul logs and lumber about the saw mill
and mill yard, in the village to mark the ground and
give the appearance of business there.
182 PIONEEK HISTORY
AVhen the Commissioners oame to see Albion.,
having "been generously dined and wined, by its hospi-
table people, they were taken in a carriage to see the
place, and in the course of the ride driven along the
creek and by the sawmill, then in full operation, with
men and teams at work among the lumber, with a
good suppl}'' of water from the i^onds thus made for
the occasion. The Commissioners were impressed
A^dth the importance of this fine water power and
gave the county buildings to Albion before the ponds
ran out.
Mr. IngersoU donated to the county the grounds
now occupied by the court house and jail and public
park.
The first court house was built in 1827, of bricky
with the County Clerk's office in the lower story.
Gilbert Howell, Calvin Smith and Elihu Mather were
building committee.
This Court House was pulled down and a new one
erected in its place in 1857-8, at a cost of $20,000.
W. V. N. Barlow was the architect, and Lyman Bates,.
Henry A. King and Charles Baker, building com-
mittee.
The present jail was built in 1888, and the clerk's
office in 1836.
The first hotel was kept on the south-west corner
of Main and Canal streets, by Cliurchill. The
next hotel, called Albion Hotel, was built by Philetus
Bumpus about twenty rods south of the canal on the
west side of Main street, and kept several years by
Bumpus k Howland, succeeded by Hiram Sickles.
Mr. Bumpus then built the Mansion House, a hotel
standing on the north side of the canal, on Main St.,
which he kept several years.
Mr. Philetus Bumpus, and his father, Jesse Bum-
pus, built the first framed dwelling house in Albion,,
on the lot on which ]\Ir. L. Burrows now resides.
OF OKLKAXS ("OrNTY. 183
Tlie tirst wareliouse was built hy Nelieniiali Inger-
soU, on the canal about t\^'('iity lods east of Main St.
The next by Gary & Tilden, on the west side of Main
street, on the canal.
The first sawmill in the corporation of Albion was
built in 1819, by William Biadner.
Mr. William Bradner built the first grist mill, ihr
mill stones for which lie cut in person from a rock in
Palmyra. One of these stones is now us^ed for a
corner guard stone on the corner of State and Claren-
don streets. These mills were cheap structures and
were taken away after a few 3'ears.
The stone flouring mill on the canal was built b}^
Ward & Clarks in 1833.
The flrst law^3'er in Albion Avas Theophilus Capen.
He remained here but a sliort time. The next law-
yers were AVilliam J. Moody, Alexis Ward, Henry R.
Curtis, Gideon Hard, William W. Ruggles, and
others came about the time the county was or-
ganized.
Dr. Orson Nichoson was the iirst physician. Ht^
located two miles south of the village in 1819, and
removed to Albion about 1822. Dr. William White,
who had been in practice at Oak Orchard in Ridge-
way, came here about the time the county was organ-
ized, and opened a drug store and w^ent into partner-
ship with Dr. Nichoson in the practice of medicine.
Dr. Stephen M. Potter was one of the earh' physi-
cians who settled in Albion. He was born in West-
port, Mass., removed to Cazenovia, X. Y., and from
thence to Albion. About the y(^ar 1837 he removed
to Cazenovia again. He represented JNIadison county
in the State Legislature in 184G.
The flrst tanyard was located on the south side
of the canal on the lot nov/ occupied b}' the gas works,
by Jacob Ingersoll, about the year 1825. Tanning
184 PIOXEEIi HISTORY
was continued here until the gas works were built in
1858.
The first blacksmiths were John Moe, Rodney A.
Torrey, and Phineas Phillips.
Albion was at first for some years called Newport,
but on account of trouble with the mails, there being
another post office in this state by the name of New-
port, at a meeting of the inhabitants to take meas-
ures to get the village incorporated, on motion of
Gideon Hard, the name was changed to Albion in the
first Act of incorporation passed April 21st, 1828.
The first company of fireman was organized in 1831.
John Henderson settled in Albion incept. 1825 and
established the first shop for making carriages. He
kept the first livery stable in 1834, and started the
first horse and cart for public accommodation in 1837.
He has been an active man, an ingenious mechanic,
and has built ten or twelve dwelling houses and nu-
merous shops, barns and other buildings here.
CHAPTER XVII.
TOWN OF CiRI.TOX.
Name — Lumber Trade — First Settlement of White Men in County —
James Walsworth — Village of Manilla — Names of Persons who took
Articles of Land in Carlton in 1808, 1804 and 1805 — Matthew Dun-
ham — Curious ^lill to Pound Corn — Dunham's Saw Mill and Grist
Mill — First in County— First Frame Barn— The Union Company —
Death ol Elijah Brown — First Children Born in Town — First Store
— Biographies of Early Settlers.
Y^
W^ ARLTON was set off from Gaines and Ridge-
way April 13, 1822, by the name of Oak
Orcliard. The name was changed to Carlton
in 1825.
The region of Land lying north of tlie Ridge Road
in this vicinity was called the "north woods'' in early
times. It was heavily timbered land, containing large
numbers of immense whitewood trees and white and
red oaks of the largest kind. Some pine grew near
the Oak Orchard Creek. Hemlock was abundant in
,som^^ localities, and basswood, elm, beech and some
maple compiised the principal kinds of trees.
The settlers in their haste to clear their lands, gen-
erally burned uj) all of this fine timl)er that they did
not want for fencing, in tht> first few years of their
settlement. After sawmills were built, white wood
was sawed and the boards hauled to the canal for sale,
and large quantities of oak trees were squared to the
top and sent down the Lake to Europe for ship timber.
The prices obtained were barely sufhcient to pa}' the
-expense of the labor required to move the lumber,
186 I'lONEEU IIISTOllY
but the destructive work Avas kept up till most of
the timber trees of every kind have been cut down
through this town.
The first settlement of white luen in Orleans county
mas made in this town in the year 1803 by William
and James Walsworth, wlio came from Canada.
James settled near the mouth of Oak Orchard Creek,
and William near the mouth of Johnson's Creek.
James Walsworth was tlie pioneer settler of this-
county. He came across from Canada in May 1803,
in an open boat with his family, and built a log cabin
for his residence, which at that time Avas the only
house near the shore of Lake Ontario, between Fort
Niagara and Braddock's Bay. His nearest neighbor
at first, resided near Lockport, Niagara count3\ Mr.
Walsworth was very poor then. The only provisions-
they had when they landed were a few potatoes ; these
and fish from Oak Orchard Creek, in which there was
then an abundance, supplied their sustenance, ex-
cept an occasional barter with boatmen, who. coast-
ing along the south shore of the lake, would put into
the mouth of the Oak Orchard for sheltei'. Wals-
worth hunted and fished mainly for a living, and
when he collected any store of peltries he took them
east along the shore of the lake to a market. After
two or tliree years he removed to what used to be
called "The LewistonRoad," between Lockport and
Batavia, where he was afterwards Avell known as a
tavern keeper.
The Walsworths and the few other settlers who came
in and stopped along the Lake Shore in Carlton, com-
prised all tlie settlers in Orleans county Ix^fore the
year 1809, with one or two exceptions.
About the year 1803, Joseph Ellicott concluded
that eventually a village must grow up at the mouth
of Oak Orchard Creek. In anticipation of that event
he made a plat for a town there and call<'d it Manilla.,
OF OKLEAXS COUNTY. 1S7
a name wliicli is now found on some maps for the
place more commonly known as Oak Orchard Harbor,
It was supposed in those days that most of the trade
to and from the Holland Purchase, would lake the
lake route, and ISIanilla would be the depot. At that
time the sand bar, at the mouth of Oak Orchard
Creek was less then in later years, and the small
schooners then on the lake could come over it with-
out difficulty. It was in furtherance of this thought
that the Holland Company did what they did towarcls
opening the Oak Orcliard road to travel. The Erie
Canal, however, effi^ctually stifled this project, and
turned trade and commerce in another direction.
John G. Brown took up two and one-half acres of
land from the Company, on the west side of Oak
Orchard Creek near the mouth and lield it on specu-
lation for a time, but nothing was done in the way of
founding a village. This land was deeded to him by
the Holland Company Dec. 2, 1806, and was described
in the deed as lot No. 15, on a plan of the village of
Manilla. This was the first deed of land in the town
of Carlton given by the Company. Brown conveyed
the land to Silas Joy, Nov. 28, 1815. The following
named persons took Articles of the Holland Company
for land lying in the present town of Carlton, in the
years following, viz :
IN 18 8.
John Farrin, James DeGraw, Cornelius DeGraw,
James Walswortli, Elijah Brown, John G. Brown,
James McKinney, Elijah Hunt, James Dunham,
David Musleman, Samuel I'tter, Ray Marsh, Henry
Lovewell, John Parmeter, AVilliam Carter, Martin
Griffin, Eli Griffith. William Griffith and Stephen
Hoyt.
IN 18 4.
Samuel McKinn.'y, John Jason, Henry Lovewell,
188 PIOXEER HISTORY
AVilliam Carter, Job Shipman and Epliraim Waldo.
IN 1805.
Paul Brown, .Job Johnson, Epliraim Waldo, David
Miller, and Thaddeus Moore.
Matthew Dunham and his sons Matthew, James
and Charles, came from Berkshire county, Mass., to
Wayne county. New York, about 1795. They re-
moved to Carlton in 1804. They were chair makers,
and began working at their trade soon as they could
get settled after they came in.
Henry Lovewell from New Hampshire, and Moses
Root and his family from Cooperstown, N. Y., came
to Carlton with Mi\ Dunliam and his family.
Matthew Dunham, Jr. married Rachel Lovewell,
daughter of Henry Lovewell, in the year 1814. Mr.
Dunham died in 1854, but Mrs. Rachel Dunham is
yet living, 1871, aged about eighty-six years.
In the summer of 1804, Matthew Dunham and his
sons built a dam across Johnson' s Creek where the
dam now stands at Kuckville, and erected a small
building on it, Avith machinery for turning wood.
The Dunham family carried on the business of turn-
ing in a small way in this building several years.
They did not tind much sale for their goods near
home, but sold some chairs and wooden bowls to the
new settlers. The most of their work they took across
the lake and disposed of in Canada. They continued
this commerce until the embargo was declared in
1808, and after that they smuggled their chair stuff
over to considerable extent on a sail boat which they
owned.
It is related by some of the first settlers that in this
turning shop the Dunhams fixiul an apparatus for
pounding corn, by making a tub or box in which the
corn was placed, and a heavy ])estle was made to fall
at each turn of the water wheel. Into this box they
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 189
would pnt about a bushel of corn, occasionally stir-
ring it up to bring it under the pestle, and thus pound
it until it was reduced to meal. It took considerable
time to turn a bushel of corn into meal by this pro-
cess, and aid could be afforded to but few families
in this way.
Several families coming in to settle in the neighbor-
hood, the want of a sawmill and a gristmill was great-
ly felt. Three or four years after the Dunhams built
their turning shop, the Holland Land Company of-
fered to furnish the irons for a sawmill, and the irons
and a pair of mill stones for a grist mill if they
would erect such mills on their dam. A saw mill
and a grist mill were built accordingl}^
These were the first saw and grist mills built in
Carlton. They were small, coarse affairs, but
the}'' were very useful to those living near them.
They remained the property of the Dunhams until
about 1816, the}" Avere purchased by George Kuck,
and rebuilt on a much larger pattern than the old
mills.
Mr. Reuben Hoot owned a small sail boat of a few
tons burthen which he used to run across the lake.
On this, pine lumber was brought from Canada before
sawmills were built here, and it was the principal
conveyance by which passengers and i)ro2^erty were
carried across the lake either way for a number of
years.
Mr. Moses Root built a framed barn before Dun-
ham's sawmill was erected, bringing the boards from
Canada. This is sujitposed to have been the first
frame barn built in Orleans county.
Reuben Fuller and John Fuller came from Brad-
ford county, in Penns3'lvania, and settled near Kuck-
ville in 1811.
tup: union company.
In December, 1810, eight young men in Stock-
190 PIONEKU IirsTOliY
bridge, Massachusetts, formed a company, wliicli
tliey named "The Union Company," and agreed
each to contribute an equal sliare of stock, and go
tosether and form a settlement on the Holland Pur-
chase, where each partner should bu}' for himself a
farm with his own means, and the company would
help him clear a certain portion of land and build a
house and barn. The buildings to be alike on each
man's farm.
They limited the conq^any to tw(^ years, during
which they would all live and work together and
share the avails of their labor equally.
Before leaving Stockbridgt^ tlie}- drew irp and
signed their agreement in writing.
Thus organized the}^ came to Carlton and took up
land west of Oak Orchard Creek, each a farm, which
was worked according to contract.
Fitch Chamberlain was mariied but left liis wife at
home until he could get a home for her made ready.
They brouglit no women with them and kept bache-
lor' s hall the first year when Giles Slater, Jr. , went back
to Stockbridge and married a wife and brought her
to his new home, and soon after his example was
followed by the i-emaincler of the company.
The company made judicious selections of land ;
its affairs were well managed and successful. All of
the j)artners were fortunat(^ in accumulating proper-
ty, the sure reward of honest, persevering industry.
Their families have ever been among the most respec-
ted and influential in town.
Fitch Chamberlain was a ph5'sician and practiced
medicine in the later years of his life. Tlie members
of the company are all dead except Anthony Miles,
now aged 84 years, in 1871.
The Union Coinpany consisted of Minoris Day,
Fitch Chamberlain, Charles AVebstei-. Anthony Miles,
OF ORLEANS COUNT V. 191
â– Selali Bardrilee, Moses Barnuiii, Jr., Eussell Smith,
and Giles Slater, Jr.
The first death among the settlers was that of
Elijah Brown. The first birth vras a pair of twins,
children of James AValsworth, in 180G. At their
birth no physician or person of her own sex
was present with the mother. The first marriage was
that of William Carter and Amy Hunt, in 1804. Pe-
leg Helms taught the first school in ] 810-11. And
George Kuck kept the first store in 1816.
The first public religious services in Carlton were
held about the year 1810, and were conducted b}'
Hev. Mr. Steele, a ]\Iethodist preacher who came
from Canada.
Elder Simeon Dutcher, of the Baptist denomina-
tion, settled in Carlton in 1817. He was the only
preacher residing in town for several years.
Among the first settlers were Elijah Hunt, Moses
Root, Henr}' Lovewell. Paul Brown, Elijah Brown,
Job Shipman, Matthew Dunham.
Dr. Richard AV. Gates was the first regular phy-
sician who settled in the j^ractice of his profession in
Carlton. After a few years he moved to Barre, and
thence to Yates. He represented Orleans county in
the State Legislature in 1841, and was Supervisor of
Carlton in 1820.
BIOdKAPHIES or EARLY SETTLERS.
(; KOI Mil: KUCK.
Rev. George Kuck was born in the city "of London,
England, December 23, 1791, and educated at King's
College, London. He came to New York city in
180G, and lemoved to Toronto, Canada West, in 1807.
In the war between England and the Pnited States in
3 812, he served as Lieutenant in the Canada militia.
192 PIONEER HISTORY
After the war, and until 1815, lie was clerk in the
employ of the Canadian Government, at Toronto,
until October, when he removed to Carlton and pur-
chased the farm on which he resided ever afterwards,
now known as Kuckville.
He erected a frame gristmill on the site of the log:
mill built by M. Dunham on Johnsoivs Creek.
In 1816 he opened a store near his residence, at that
time the only store north of the Ridge in this 23art of
the country, where he kept a large store of goods
and carried on a great trade.
He soon after built a warehouse at the mouth of
Johnson's Creek. At one time he had a store,,
gristmill, sawmill, asliery, warehouse and. farm, all
under his personal supervision and in successful ope-
ration. His investments were judicious and safe, his
affairs all managed with economy and skill, which
resulted in making him a w(:>alth3' man.
He married Miss Electa Fuller March 25th, 1819.
In March 1821, he joined the Methodist Episcopal
Church, in which he was ever after a prominent mem-
ber. He helped to form the first religious class in his
church in the town of Carlton, and Avas its leader.
In 1825 he organized and tanght the first Sunday
School in the count}^ north of the Eidge. In April,
1829, he was licensed to exhort, in 1833 he was
licensed to preach, and in 1837 he was ordained
Deacon by Bishop Hedding, and in 1849 he was or-
dained Elder by Bishop Morris, at Albion.
He was appointed Postmaster at West Carlton,
since Kuckville, an office he held, in all, about 30
years.
He was a man of good education and fine natural
ability and his life was filled with usefulness. He
was among the first and foremost in all matters of re-
form and advancement, active in tlie cause of temper-
ance, morality and religion, always a leading man in
OF ollLKANS CiH'NTY. 19^:
the counsi'ls of the churcl!. lie died Mareii IG,
1 868, aged 70 years.
DANIEL (iATES.
Daniel Gates was born in Kutland count}', \"ermont,
Mareh lltli, 1786. lie marri^Hl Ann Anderson, Mar<'h
12th, 1808.
About November, 1811, lie removed t*) Orleans
county, and bought an article of part of lot tAventy-
ninc>, township fifteen, range two, on the south side of
the Eidge. A former owner liad cleared a small spot
and built a log house there. On this farm Mr. Gatf^s
resided several years. He afterwards bought a farm
in Carlton, where he resided at the time of Iris death,
January :]1 st, 1858.
Mrs. Ann Gates died January 1st, 1860. Tliey were
i)arents of John and XcJiemiah F. Gates, of Carlton,
Lewis W. Gates, residing in Michigan, and Matthevr
A. Gates, of Yates.
Mr. Gates moved his family in with a yoke of oxen
and wagon. No bridge had been built across Gene-
see River, and he forded tlie stream at Roiliester, a
nuin riding a horse hitclied before the oxen, to guide
them through the river.
Few settlers along the Ridge Koad came in advance
of Mr. Gates, or braved the hardships and difRculties
of j)ioneer life with better courage. They liad very
lew of the conveniences and comforts of civilized life,
and sometimes were in want of food. Once about
the last year of the war a scarcity prevailed among
the four families then comprising all the inhabitants
in the vicinity of Mr. Gates. ]5ut one pan full of
Hour remained among tlumi all, and that they kept
to feed the children, the older folks expecting to sub-
stitute boiled green wheat in place of bread. Mr.
Gates cut a few l)undles of his wheat then in tlie
194 PIONKKK HISTORY
milk, and dried it in the sun. They rubbed tlie soft
grain out of the straw and boiled it. This was eaten
â– with milk and relished very much by the family, and
it supplied tliem until wlieat ripened and dried fit to
grind.
For several years no settler located between Mr,
Gates' place on the Ridge, and Shelby. Along the
line of the canal was then a solid forest. Mr, Gates*
cattle w^ere suffered to range the woods to browse in
summei". Tliey usualh' returned to the clearing at
night. Once his oxen, one of which wore a bell, with
his cow failed to come in at night. Mr. Gates armed
himself witli a bayonet on the end of a staff to rej^el
a bear or wolf if he chanced to be attacked, and went
out to hunt for them, his old English musket being
too heavy to carry. After several days hunting he
found his cattle where Knowlesville now stands — at-
tracted there by some wild grass growing along tlie
brook.
ELI.JAFJ HUjN'T.
Elijali Hunt was born in Pennsylvania. He was a
soldier in the llevolutionary War, AVliile in the ser-
vice, being in a scouting party in Pennsylvania, he,
with his party, was taken ])risoner by the Indians,
He with the other prisoners was made to run the
gauntlet from one j^oint to another, fixed for the pur-
pose. Tile Indians — men, women and children —
posted themselves on each side of the track to be
run over by their jjrisoners, and assaulted them as
they passed with clubs, hatchets, knives, stones, .&c.
If the prisoners were fortunate enough the}' might
get through and live, and they might be severely
wounded, or even killed by the way. Mr. Hunt got
through witliout serious damage. ^Vfter reaching
their village on the (renesee River, tlie Indians con-
OF 0KLEAN8 CO TXT Y. 19o
■€luded to sacrifice Mr. Hunt after tlieir terrible
fasliion. He was stripped and painted blacli prepar-
atory to his suffering ; but before tliey began to tor-
ture liim, an old squaw, whose son had been killed
in the fight when Hunt was taken, came forwai'd and
â– claimed her right by Indian custom to adopt him as
her son, in place of the one that was killed. He was
released to her and adopted as she proposed, and re-
.mained with the Indians near the Genesee river, in
Livingston county, about three 3^ears, when the war
having ended, he was permitted to return to his
friends in Pennsylvania.
He was always treated kindly after his adoption by
the Indians, especially bj' liis new mother. Mau}-
years after his settlement in Carlton, the Indians
found him out and visited him with many demonstra-
tions of tlieir friendship.
In the depth of winter, after the cold suinmer of
1816, fearing he might be in want Avitli his family, on
account of the loss of crops that 3^ear, two Indians,
•one of whom claimed to be his brother, being a son
-of the squaw who adopted Mr. Hunt, came to Carlton
to visit him and afford relief if he needed it.
He came to Carlton in the summer of 1804 and
took up a farm about a mile west of the mouth
of Johnson s Creek, on the Lake shore. After a year
or two he went back to Pennsylvania with liis family
.and remained until October, 1806, when he returned
and settled permanently on his farm, whei-e he ever
afterwards resieled. and died in 1830, aged stn-ent}-
iiine years.
The long residence of Mr. Hunt among the Indians
.qualified him to become a pioneer in this new settle-
ment, and fitted him to endure the piivations and
^difficulties he had to encounter.
The daughter of Mr. Hunt, Amy Hunt, mai-i-ied
William Carter in 1804, which was the first marria"-e
196 pi<)NJ-:eii iiiSToitY
in that town, and probably the first marriage m Or-
k^ans county,
ItAY MAKSir.
Ray Marsli was born in Connecticut, About tlie
year 1800 lie Avent to Canada West and w^as employed
in teaching school. In 1803 he married Martha Shaw,
who was born in Nova Scotia. In that year, he left
Canada at Queenstown, in a sinall boat, and coasted
along the south shore of Lakt^ Ontario to Oak Or-
chard Creek, in Carlton, and took an article for land
lying near the lake in Carlton.
In 1805, on account of sickness in the neighborhood
of his home in Carlton, he removed to Cambria, in
Niagara county, and located on the Ridge, about five
miles from Lewiston. He was driven away from here
by the British and Indians when Lewiston was burned
by them in the war with England, losing almost ev-
ery thing lie had in the world, except the lives of him-
self and family. The}^ lied to Ontario county, but
returned the next year to near Ridgeway Corners and
stopped there. He had now a large family of chil-
di'en ; to maintain them he had to sell his interest in
his farm in Cambria ; and in the cold seasons of
1810-17 they suffered for necessary food ; and few-
families suffered more from the prevailing sickness of
the country, aggravated as it was b}^ their poverty
and want of means to afford relief.
Mr. Marsh died about 1852. His A\'idow, now
(1870) eighty six years old, is living. She had seven
grand-sons soldiers in the Union army in the war of
the great rebellion. During the war slie spent a
large i)Oition of her time knitting stockings for the
soldiers. Siu^h women are worthy the name of
'" Revolutionary Motliers,'" and are an honor to the
American uanu'.
.lor. siiip.AiAX.
Job Shipman was b(»rn in Saybrook, Connecticut, .
OF OKLEA^S COrXTV. 197
June 2d, 1772. After lie aiTived at iiianliood lie re-
sided for a time in Greene coant^', N. Y., and at
length came to ^Vayne eonnty. Avliere lie joined the
family of Mr. Elijah Brown, and removed hy way of
Lake Ontario, to the town of Carlton, in the summer
of 1804.
While coming np the lake Mr. Elijah Brown died,
/.and his body was brought to Carlton and buried
thei'e. His sons were James, John (laidner, Paul.
Elijah, Jr., and Robert M.
Mr. Shi2:)man took an article of part of lot twelve,
section two, range two, of Avhich his son Israel after-
wards took a deed from the land comjiany, and on
which h(^ resides.
He married widow Ann Tomblin in May. 1815.
Israel Shipman was his onl}^ child.
Job Shipman died January 12th. 1888. His wife
died February 8th. 1858.
The first town meetings in Carlton for two or three
years were held at his dAvelling, because it was one
of the best log lionses in toAvn ; had a shingled roof,
board floor, and stood near the middle of the town ;
but it was so small that few of the voters assembled
could get in the house at once. They comj^romised
the matter by allowing the Inspectors to sit in the
house wliile the voters haiuh^d in their ballots to them
through the A\indow from without.
As it was in cold weather, even the liberal potations
of whisky in which they indulged would not warm
the crowd sufRcientl}', so they made a large log heap
near the house wliicli being set on lire answered the
purpose.
LYMAX irLLioi:.
Lyman Fuller was born in Pennsylvania, August
IGth, 1808. In Februarv 1811, his^ather. Kein)en
198 I'lONEER HISTORY
Fuller, moved with Ms family to near the lake shore-
in A Vest Carlton.
In the fall of 1811, Capt. John Puller, a brother of
Reuben, settled in Carlton. Mr. Reuben Fuller died
July 4th, 1837. Mr. Lyman Fuller succeeded to the
possession of his father' s homestead, on which he re.
sided and where he died March 22d, 1866. He was a
much respected man among all who knew him.
CHAPTER XVIII.
TOWN OF CLARENDON.
Difliculty in getting Titles from Pultney Estate — Elclrcclgo Farwell —
Farwell's Mills — First School — First Merchants — J. and D. Sturges
— First Postmaster — First Physician — Presbyterian Cliurch — First
Town Electing — Biographies of Early Settlers.
LAKENDON comprises a i)()rtioii of the (^ne
liiindred tlionsand acre tract, and ^vas formed
from Sweden February 23d, 1821.
Owing in part to .the difficulty of getting a good
title to the land, which up to about 1811, w^as owned
for several years b}^ the Stat(^ of Connecticut and iho
Pultney Estate jointly, s(^ttlers came in slowly at
first.
Tlip land was divided between the State of Connec-
ticut and the Pultney Estate, in 1811 ; but the lots
wdiicli fell to the Pultney Estate, were not surveyed
and put in tlie market for sale until about the year
1821. Settlers were allowed to take posses-
sion of land and make improvements with the expec-
tation that when the lands came in market the}'
would retain what they had so taken and then get a
title. Some settlers located on these lands under
these circumstances and cleared them up and built
houses. AVlien they finally came in market the set-
tlers was charged 88 or $10 per acre, — a niiudi higher
piice than he expected when he came in, and a higher
price than the Holland Company charged for their
lands of like quality ; but Ik' was compelled to
pay it or l(\av(^ and lose his labor.
200 PION r.KIl HISTOKY
Among thelirst settlors in Clarendon were Eldridge
Farwell, John Cone. ]>radstreet SpafFord, Elislia
Huntley, David Clmrcli, and Cliauncey Robinson.
Eldridge Farwell erected the iirst sawmill on Sandy
Creek in 1811, and the iirst gristmill at the same plaet;
in 1818. A village grcnv up in the vicinity of these
mills which, in honor of Mr. Farwell, was called and
known as FarwelFs Mills. Situated a little iiortli-
west of the center of tlie town, it has been the princi-
pal place of trade and business.
.Fudge Eldridge Farwell was the pioneer settler.
The next settler was Aianso]i Dudley, in 1812.
The first store was kept at Farwell' s Mills bv Fris-
bie & Pierpont, in 1821.
The iirst scliool vras taught b}' Mrs. Amanda Bills.
'i"ie first s(diool house built in Clarendon stood a
little south of Fai'wc^lTs Mills, or Clarendon, as the
place is now being called, was built in 1813 of logs,
and was fourteen by eighteen fe(^t square.
Frisbie & Pierpont tiaded in the little red store
building in which after tliey left, David Sturges sold
goods for many years.
In addition to his ])usiness as a merchant with Mr.
Frisbie, William Pierpont kept a tavern, lifter two
or three years he moved away and Mr. Hiram Frisbie,
liis partner, succeeded to the store and tavern to
v,'hich had been added nn ashery, all three of which
Mr. Frisbi(^ cai-ried on Uso or three yeai-s, and until
he removed to Holley aboiit the year 1828.
in 18ir). Jose])h Stui-ges built a distilleiy at Fai'-
well's Mills, Vvhich lie carried on Avith his brothei-
David, eight ov t(^n years, when Mr. Frisbie having
moved away, and Joseph Sturges having died in
:March, 1828, David Sturges began to sell dry goods
and groceries how. He was a sharp business man
and drove a laige trade. He was the next merchant
OF (IKLKAXS COrNTY. 201
in town after Pierpont eV Frisl)ie. Ho died in Sei)teni-
ber, 1848.
Judge Eldridge Faiv.ell was tlu^ tirst postmaster in
town, and D]-. Bussj' the first pliysician.
On the 4th of February, 1823, a Presbyterian
Church was organized in Clarendon. For several
years it maintained a feeble existence, nntil in 18B1, it
imited with the Presbyterian Churcli in Ilolley, and
became extinct as an organization in Clarendon.
The first town meeting held in and for the town of
Clarendon was at the school liouse at FarwelFs Mills,
April 4th, 1821.
Eld ridge Farwell was a candidate for Sux)ervisor
on the Clinton ticket, and AVilliam Lewis on the
Tompkins ticket. Tlie IMeeting was opened with
prayei" b}' Elder Stedman. Tlie election of Supervi-
sor was concluded to be first in order. No chairman
had been formally appointed, but on suggestion of
somebody the entire meeting went out of doors in
front of the school bouse. Some one held his hat and
half a dozen voters stood by to see that nobod}^ voted
twice, or cast more than one ballot, and ballots for
Supervisor were thrown into the hat l)y all the voters
present. Eldridge Farwell was elected the first Su-
])ervisor, and .loseph M. Hamilton, Town Clerk.
Jonas Davis made spinning wheels, and Alanson
Dudley carried on tanning and shoemaking at Far-
weirs Mills, at an earlv dav.
B10(H(APHIES OF EARLY SETTLERS.
IIOKACK PKCK.
'• 1 was born in Farmington. llartfoi-d Co., Ct)nn..
April ];â– ), 1802. In the spring of 1817, I hired out to
drive cattle, shee}) and hogs to Bufialo, and went on
Avith a drove. The mud was ck'<^]) and 1 had a hard
202 I'lOXEEK HI8TUKY
time wading tliroiigli it after my drove. I went tlirougli
however, and come back to FarwelVs Mills in Clar-
endon, expecting to meet my father and his family
there, as they had made arrangements to move when
I left them.
On my journey back from Buffalo, all I had to eat
was six crackers, and I drank one glass of cider.
I found my fathei- had not come on. I was alone,
but fourteen years of age, had but four dollars in
money, my jyay for driving the drove, and had no
acquaintances there. This was the next spring after
the cold season. It was difficult for me to find a
place to stay for the reason no one had an3^thing to
eat or to spare. I found friends, however, in Mr. and
Mrs. Leonard Foster. They said I might stay with
them till my folks came on. After that I fared well.
They divided their best fare with me, which consisted
of hoe cake and maple molasses, and we had to be
sparing of that.
I stayed with m}' benefactors three weeks, when
my parents and their family arrived. My father had
prepared a small log cabin shingled with bark the
summer before. We moved into it. All the provis-
ion we had on hand to eat was half a barrel of very
lean pork.
My father had no money left, owned no living crea-
ture except his family. We had no table and only
two chairs. We had an acre of cleared land on oui'
lot sown witli wlK^at. These were glooni}^ times to me.
The first thing was to procure something to eat. I
paid my four dollars to David Church for two bushels
of wheat. The next thing was to get somi^ straw to
sleep on. This we got of our neighbor, Chauncey
Robinson, for two cents a bundle.
We had hard fare until the n(?xt harvest. We ate
bran bread and had not enough of that. After har-
vest we had enough to eat, and I thought at this time,
OF OKLEANS COUNTY. "^^
could I be sure of enough to eat hereafter I should "be
content.
The next year my father bought a two-year oJit
cow, which helped us very unu^h.
In the winter of 1818-19, my eldest brother, Ln titer
C Peck, taught a district school near where Holley'
now stands, for three months, for which he was to
have thirty bushels of wheat after the next harvest.
AVhen father received the wheat the price had fal-
len Father drew the wheat to Rochester, and re-
ceived after deducting expenses, thirty-one cents per
bushel.
In 1820 we bought a yoke of oxen. \N e then cob-
sidered ourselves well of. Previous to tliis I went to
school winters. I went one winter to FarwelV s Mills,
three miles from my fathers. I worked summers
chopping and logging witli my father, working out
for others when I could get an opportunity.
In the winter of 1819-20, I taught school on the
' fourtli section road lor ten dollars per month. I fol-
lowed that business for ten winters— had higlier wages
as I advanced in experience.
During this time and up to my majority I began \o
consider myself a man, used to attend parties, would
yoke the oxen and hitch them to a sled, go after the
young ladies and wait on them very politely. And 1
enjoyed it as well and even better than in after tiiiie.s^
riding in a fashionable carriage.
I once thought it quite smart to visit a young lady
who resided in Le Roy. On one occasion I had been
to see her. had a very i^leasaiit visit, time passed very
agreeably, and before I was aware it was getting
i-atherlate. Sometime T)efore daylight, however, I
started for honu^ on foot through the woods near three
miles. When I came to about the middle of tlie
woods, a wolf appeared in the road befori^ me. I
halloed right lustily, the w.^lf left the road ratlier
204 PIONEER HIS TOR V
leisurel)-, and I passed on rapidly. Soon a liowling
commenced, which was answered hy other wolves at
a distance, and before I got through the woods, a
pack of these animals was on my track, and near to
me judging hy their cries. They made all sorts of
noises hut pleasant ones to me. I saved myself from
them by the energetic use of my locomotive j)owers.
I came readil}^ to tlie conclusion that this business
of being out so late nights 'would not pay.'
I married Miss Amia AVhite January 22, 1829. She
was born June 19, 1802, and died January- 15, 1834.
I married Miss Adaline Nichols January 81, 1836.
She was born Februaiy 6, 1809:
HORACE PECK."
Clarendon, ISTI.
I5EX.JAMIX G. PETTi:;(;lLL.
"I was born in Lewiston, Lincoln county, in the
State of Maine. In 1817, I started for the Genesee
country with my pack on my back and walked to
Portland, thirty- five miles, where I Avent on board a
vessel and sailed to Boston. I left Boston on foot
with my pack on my back for the place of my des-
tination. My pack was not v^ny heavy, but I had
in it, among other things, forty silver dollars. After
a hard journe}" I arrived at Ogden, Monro(^ cqunty,
on the lirst da}^ of April. I stopped there a while
with an uncle of mine, was xovy homesick, wished
myself back in Maine many times.
I worked out that summit' In' the month, and in
the fall boufrht some land in what is now Clarendon,
Orleans county, then a part of Sweden.
I settled on my land, cleared it up, and in due time
raised excellent croi)s, and in a few years found my-
self out of debt and considered nn^self rather ' fore-
handed.'
I lal)nivd hai-d in the ('(tiiimciicciiHDt. had consider-
OF OliLEAXS COUNTY. 205
able sickness in my fainil_y, but a good Pro\idence
lias been mindful of me and mine, and in all my law-
ful undertakings I have been blest, foi- wliicli I feel
truly grateful.
BENJA3IIN G. PETTIXGILL."
Clarendon, 1804.
lilJADSTKEET SPAFFOiJD,
Mrs. Harriet S. Merrill, a daughter of Mr. Spafibrd,
gives the following account of him :
"My father came from Connecticut about the year
1811, and purcliased a farm about a mile south of
Holley, on wliicli he resided until his death in 1828.
He was twice married — my mother, Mrs. Eunice Dar-
row, being his second wife. My father had but one
child by his first wife, a daughter named Hester, who
in after ^^T-ars became I^Irs. Daniels, and is now Mrs.
Blonden.
When tliis sister ^vas four 3^ears old her mother
died of consumption. At that time ni}^ father s house
was the only one between Holley and FarwelFs Mills.
In other directions it was a mile to the nearest neigh-
bors. During her last illness my father was her prin-
(;ipal physician and nurse. He used frequently to
sa}^ to his friends he feared she would die suddenly
while alone with him.
It was arrangx^d between my father and his nearest
neighbors, that if anything more alarming occurred
in her case, he should blow the horn as a signal for
tliem to come.
Not long aftei-, at midnight of a dark v.inter Jiight,
death knocked at his door ; he took the tin horn and
blew the warning notes ; but the winds were adverse.
and nobody heard. Again and again he blew, lon-
ger and louder, but no one heard or came. His wife
soon expired. "My father closed her oyoa, ])laced a
napkin about her head and covered her lifeless form
20Q I'lOXEKK IIISTOltY
more closely, fearing it would become rigid before he
t;oiild obtain assistance to habit it in the winding sheet
preparatory for the tomb, for snch were tlie habili-
ments used in those days.
He dressed his little danghter, placed her in her lit-
tle chair by the fire, gave her her kitten to play with,
and told her to sit tliere until he came back. He then
went a mile to liis nearest neighbors and roused
fheni to come to his aid, and returned finding his
little daughter as he liad left lier, alone w4th lier dead
mother.
I was one of the first children born in the town of
Clarendon, being now 46 3'ears of age.
HARRIET S. MERRILL."
Clarendon, .Tune 1863.
Ts'ICHOLAS E. DAKKOW.
"I was born in the town of Chatham, Columbia
county, N. Y., April 1st, 1808 ; have been a farmer
by occupation. My father, John Harrow, came to
WHieatland, Mom-op county, N. Y., in 1811, and
worked there two seasons, tlien returned to Columbia
county, sold his farm and was nearly read}' to move
his family to tlie Genesee countr}^ when he was taken
sick and died March 22d, 1813. "
In June, I8I0, my fjither's faniil}^ removed to the
farm he liad bought two A-ears previous. My mother,
then a wddow, married Mr. Bradstreet Spattbrd, w^ho
had settled in Clarendon, about the year 1811 or '12.
X grew up among the liardshijis of the new countrj^ ,
and December 30th, 1830, w^as married to Sarah A.
Sweet, daughter of Noali Sweet, wlio came to Claren-
clon from Saratoga county, in 1815. My wife was
bom in Saratoga county in 1812.
My lather was a blacksmith b}' trade, but owned
and worked a farm. He w^as one of the leading me-
chanics who made tlie great chain which was put
OF OKLEA^•S COUXI'V. 207
across the Hudson River to jDrevent the Britisli tleet
from coming nj) in tlie Revolutionary War, links of
which are now in tlie State Librar}' at Albany.
I have resided most of the time since 1815, in Clar-
endon ; and for the last twenty-four years on the same
farm. I lived a short tiine in Mui'ia}' and a short
time in Ohio.
I attended school in the first scliool liouse built in
Clarendon. It stood a little south of Clai'endon vil-
lage, and was built in 1813, of logs, and in size was
about fourteen by eighteen feet square, with slab floor
and benches. The writing desks were made b}' bor-
ing holes in the logs in the wall, driving in pins and
putting boards on these.
We have ten children, nine of whom are living.
M}^ second son is now serving in the army of the Po-
tomac in the war of the great rebellion.
I should have said in connection witli my father" s
history, that himself and three of his brothers served
in the Revolutionary War.
NICHOLAS E. DAKROW."
Clarendon, April 18G4.
ELDRIDCiE FAUWELL.
Eldridge Farwell was born in A'ermont in 1770.
Sometime previous to 1811, Mr. Farwell located
near Clarkson village on the Ridge road, but removed
in that year to the town of Clarendon, then an un-
broken wilderness, where he built the first saw mill
in that town on Sandy Creek. This sav. mill made
the first boards had in all this regioil. In 1813, he
built a grist mill on the same stream, which was the
pioneer gristmill in that town.
On the organization of Orleans count}', ^Mr. Farwell
was appointed in 182i5 one of the Judges of tlu^ Court
of Common Pleas, which office he held five years.
The village sometimes caHed Farwell' s Mills in the
208 PioxEEK Hrs'jx>i;Y
tov/n of Clai'cndoii, was so naiiiod in his lionorlie
Ixniig the lii'st to settle tliere.
He married a daughter of Judge JolinLee, of Bavre.
Judge Farwell died October 15, 1843.
will!a:\! lewis.
William Lewis vv'as a Deputy Sheriff of Genesee
county. He was the first Sheriff of Orleans county.
He had held the. office of Snpervisor and Justice of
.tlie Peace in Clarendon. He was a prompt and efTi-
cient officer, and a worthy man. He died July 23d,
1824, aged about 43 years.
.UAirJIN EVAUTS.
]\[artin Evarts \vas born in lliga, ^lonroe county,
N. Y., July 21st, 1812. He removed with his father's
family to Clareiidon in 1817. Until within a few years
he resided on the farm originally taken up l\y his
father. Mr. Evarts was Supervisor of (Marendon in
1863. He married Charlotte Burnham, August 19th,
1835. She died June 20th, 1862.
LEMIEI. COOK.
Lemuel Cook \sas born in ]S"ew Haven county, Ct.,
September 10th, 1763. His father died while Lemuel
was a child, leaving his widov.' and cliildi-cn in desti-
tute circumstanci^s.
In the revolutionary war Iih with his two brothei's
entered the army, Lemuel enlisting November 1st,
1779, being then in his 17th year. He was honorably
discharged June 11 th, 1783. After leaving the army
his poll tax Vv'as remitted to liim by the Select ]Men of
his town, on account of Avounds he had received in
battle while serving in the armies of his countr3^ In
1792, he settled in Pompey, Onondaga county. In
1838, he removed to Bergen, Genesee count3^ and from
OF OllLEANS OOIlNTY. 2U9
thence to Clarendon, wliere lie died May 2()tli, 18GG.
of old age, being 102 years, 8 months and 1 days old.
He was probabh'' the oldest man that has lived in
Orleans eonnty. He was a revolntionaiyjiensioner.
ISAAC CADY.
. Isaac Cady was born in Alstead, New Hampshire.
July 26, 1793. He married Betsey Pierce, October
26th, 1816. He came to Clarendon in 1810. on foot,
from Kingston, \t., and located the land o]i which
he afti^i'wards settled and lias since resided.
14
CHAPTER XIX.
TOWN OF GAINES.
First SotUers — Case of Getting Fire — Noah Burgess — Mrs. Burgess —
Catting Logs for a House — First Orchard — First School House —
Drake's Mill Dam and Saw Mill— Organization of McCarty's Mil-
itia Company — Their Scout after British and Indians — Dr. Jesse
Beach — Orange Butler — First Marriage — First Birth — First News-
paper in Orleans County — First Tavern — Store — Grist Mill— First
Merchants — .James Mather Dealing in Black Salts, &.c. — Business at
Gaines Basin — Village of Gaines^ — Gaines Academy — Efforts to Lo-
cate Court House Here — Trade in Other Localities — Biographies of
Early Settlers.
AINES was formed from Ridgeway, Febnia-
.^^5^ ry 14th, 1816, and included tlie town of BaiTe,
^ and the principal part of Carlton, within its
oiiginai limits. William J. Babbitt was prominent!}'
active in getting this town organized, and on his sug-
gestion it was named Gaines, in honor of Gen. E. P.
Gaines, of the U. S. ^\-rmy.
A number of families had located along the Ridge
Road before the war with England in 1812. One of
tlie first settlers, if not the lirst, within the present
bounds of the town of Gaines, was a Mr. Gilbert,
Avho was living about two miles east of Gaines vil-
lage, iji 1809. He died in or about that year and was
buried in Murray. A man who accompanied the
Avidow and li^\r niece liomefrom the funeral, they being
all the lamily, found their fire had gone out, and they
had no means to kindle it, until this man, on liis way
home called and notified Mr. Elijah Downer, and he
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 211
sent liis son several miles to cany tlieni lire, tliey
being the nearest neighbors.
The records of the Holland Land Company show
that articles for land in the town of Gaines, i)arts of
township lifteen, range two, were taken in the year
1809, by the following named persons : Andrew Ja-
cox, Whitfield Rathbun, William Sibley, Cotton M.
Leach, JSToali Bnrgess, James Mather, and Henry
Luce.
Turner's Histor}^ of the Holland Purchase says:
"Whitfield Rathbun was the pioneer upon all that
part of the Ridge Road, in Orleans county, embraced
in the Holland Purchase.''
Noah Burgess came from Canada in a boat with
his family and effects and landed at the head of «Still-
water, in Carlton. He located on the south side of
the Ridge, on the farm now occupied by Hon. Robert
Anderson and his son Nahum.
Mr. Burgess was sick and unable to work when he
first arrived, and the widow Gilbert, above referred to,
took her oxen and moved the family and effects of
Mr. Burgess from Stillwater to his jjlace on the Ridge,
a distance of about four miles. Mrs. Bnrgess, avIio
was a strong, athletic woman, then chopped down
trees and cut logs for a log house, and Mrs. Gilbert
drew them to the spot with her oxen, and the walls
of the house were rolled up from these logs by men
who came along to look for land. The house so built
was occupied for a time b}' Mr. Burgess, and stood
where the Ridge Road is now laid in front of the
dwelling house of Nahum Anderson. Mrs. Burgess
set out a small orchard of apple trees near her house,
which is supposed to be the first orchard set in
Gaines.
Mr. Burgess sold his land to William Bradner, and
located a mile farther east, where he died some twen-
212 PIONEER HISTORY
ty years ago, and Mrs. Burgess, referred to, died in^
the summer of 1869.
Tlie widow Gilbert was a hardy pioneer. The
next winter after the death of her husband, aided b}''
her niece. Amy Scott, she cut down trees to furnish
browse for a j^oke of oxen and some other cattle
through the winter. Slie removed to Canandaigua in
1811. '
Rowley, AVilcox, Leach, Adams, Rosier, Sprague,
and Daniel Pratt were some of the settlers along the
Ridge in 1810.
Daniel Gates came in 1811 and bought an article'
of a farm, about two miles west of the village of
Gaines, on the south side of the Ridge, since known as
the Palmer farm.
A former proprietor had chopped down the trees on
a small spot and built a cabin of logs, twelve feet
square, with a single roof.
The Holland Company agreed with their settlers if
the}^ would make a clearing and build a log house,
they might have the land two years Avithout paying
interest on the purchase monej^.
â– This cabin was built to save such interest, and ac-
quired additional notoriety from the fact that in this
building Orrin Gleason taught the first school in
Gaines, in the winter of 1813.
Henry Drake came to Gaines in 1811. In 1812
he built a dam and sawmill on Otter Creek, a few
rods north of the Ridge — the first sawmill in this
tOVv'U.
When war with Great Britain was declared in 1812,..
the settlers in this vicinit}^ apprehending danger from
their proximity to the frontier, assembled together
and elected Eleazer McCarty, one of their number.
Captain, to lead them in their defence if the settle-
ment was attacked by the enem}'.
In December 1813, the British burned Lewiston, .
OF ORLEANS COT':XTY. 213
rand news was brought to Capt. McCarty by the fleeing
inhabitants, that British and Indians were coming-
east on the Ridge. Pie sent a messenger in the night
to John Proctor, the only man who had a horse in
the settlement, to carry the news to Murray, and call
the men together to resist them. The next morning
the company was en route towards the foe. The next
night they came in sight of Molyneaux tavern, ten or
12 miles east of Lewiston, and saw a light in the house.
Captain McCarty halted his men and advanced him-
self to reconnoiter. Approaching the place he saw
British and Indians in the house, their guns standing
in a corner. He returned to his men and brought them
â– cautiousl}^ forward ; selected a few to follow him into
the house, and ordered the remainder to surround it
. and prevent the enemy from escaping. IMcCarty and
his party rushed in at the door and sprang between
the men and their guns and ordered them to surren-
der.
The British soldiers and tlie Indians had been help-
ing themselves to liquor in the tavern, and some were
• drunk and asleep on the floor. The surprise was
complete. Most of the i)arty surrendered ; a few In-
dians showed fight with their knives and hatchets and
tried to recover their guns, and several of them were
killed in tlie melee. One soldier made a dash to get
his gun and was killed by McCarty at a blow. The
remainder surrendered and were put upon tlieir march
towards Lewiston, near which our army had then ar-
rived. One prisoner would not walk. The soldiers
dragged him forward on the ground awhile, and get-
ting tired of that, Henry Luce, one of McCarty' s men,
declared with an oath, he would kill him, and was
preparing for the act, wlien McCarty interfered and
saved his life.
McCarty encamped a few miles east of Lewiston.
While there he went out with a number of his men
214 PIONEEK IIISTOKY
and captured a scouting party of British soldiers re-
turning to Fort Niagara laden with plunder they
had taken from the neighhoring inhabitants. Mc-
Carty compelled them to carry the plunder hack to
its owners, and then sent them prisoners of war to
Batavia.
After fifteen or twenty da3"s service, McCarty's
company was discharged and returned home. Most
of his men resided in Gaines, and comprised nearly
all the men in town.
The first regular practicing physician in Gaines was
Dr. Jesse Beach.
The first licensed attorney was Orange Butler, who
settled here before it was determined whether the
county seat would be Gaines or Albion. Judge Eli-
jah Foot and W. W. Ruggies followed soon after.
The first marriage in Gaines was that of Andrew
Jacobs to Sally Wing, in the fall of 1810 or '11.
The first child born in Gaines was Samuel Crippeiiy â–
Jr., in 1809.
The first printing press in Orleans county was lo-
cated in Gaines, by Seymour Trac}', who published
the first newspaper there. Tracy was succeeded by
John Fisk.
The publication of this paper commenced about
1824, and continued about four years.
The first gristmill was built on Otter Creek, about
the year 1822, by Jonathan Gates.
The first tavern was kept by AVilliam Sibley iii
1811. The first store was kept by William Perry in
1815.
Among the early merchants were E. «5t. E. D. Nich-
ols, Y. R, Hawkins, and J. J. Walbridge.
James Mather, though he never kept a store of
goods, was an active trader in "black salts," potash,
and staves, which he purchased from the settlers and
took to the mouth of Oak Orchard Creek, or Gene-
OF OllLEAlS^S COUNTY. 215
see River, and sliipped to Montreal, for wliicii lie paid
in iron, salt lisli, leather, and some kinds of coarse
goods most needed, and some money.
Money to pa}^ taxes, and to meet the pressing wants
of the pioneers in this vicinity, was for some time
mainly derived from this source.
The merchants of Gaines hnilt a warehouse at
Gaines' Basin, on the canal, sooji after the canal was
navigable, where the goods for Gaines and other
towns north were mainly landed from the boats and
where the produce from the same region vv-as princi-
pally shipped.
A brisk business was done here for some }'ears,
and until the improvement in the highways, and the
growth and competition of neighboring villages had
drawn the trade elsewhere, when this warehouse was
removed.
About the time the canahwas completed, the vil-
lage of Gaines was a place of more trade and busi-
ness than any other in the county.
E. &. E. D. Mchols, Y. R. Hawkins, Bushnell ^c
Guernsey, and John J. AValbridge were thriving mer-
chants, doing a lively business in the dry goo<]s
trade.
A full line of mechanics shops was established.
The only academy, meeting house and printing press
in Oi'leans county were located here.
Two hotels were well patronized ; stage coaches
were plenty on the famous Ridge Road, and every-
thing considered the good people of Gaines, and most
of the county in fact, excepting Newport, since
named Albion, thought the court house would be
built in Gaines sureh', and they put up the price of
village lots accordingly^ while the peo])le of New-
port, or Mu(lx>ort, as Gaines men called it, wh(>n con-
trasting places as sites for a Gonrt House, offered to
216 iMONEKK iii>;tohy
give away lots, and do many other generous acts if
the Court House was located there.
But the court house went to Albion, and the stream
of travel which once went on the Ridge, took to
the boats on the canal, and the post coaches hauled
off; villages grew up along the canal and trade
w^ent there.
The resolute business men of Gaines tried hard to
retain their high position, they got their academy and
their village and a bank (The Farmer's Bank of Or-
leans) incorporated b}' the Legislature, and lowered
the price of building lots. But their glory had de-
parted ; their acadeni}* stoi)ped, village franchises
were lost by non-user ; their ])ank went to the bad ;
but tlieir tine fai-ms, choice garden spots, and un-
rivaled Ridge Road remain good as ever.
BJOdHAPHIES OF EARLY SETTLEKS.
KICUA \ID TIIEADWKLI,.
•' 1 was born in AVeston, Fairheld county, Connect-
icut, May 15th, 1783. In the winter of 1790, my
father, iu c(jmpany with a neighbor set out to move
his family to the Genesee country. He had a covered
sled drawn by a yoke of oxen and a span of horses.
I well recollect as w(? weie about to start, our friends
around us tliought my parents verj^ cruel to take their
childreji away to tlie Genesee to be murdered by the
Indians.
My fatlier and all his children had the measles while
Oil the Journey. My father ne^er fully r<:'covered and
died the next August. My mother was then left a
widow witli seven children, of wlioni I was the (>ldest,
being th<m thirteen }'ears old.
When I was about fii'teeu years old I revisited my
nativ(» town and took along some bear skins and
OF ORLEANS COUXTY. 217
other skins, to exhibit as trophies of my skill as a
;himter.
I attended school some and worked out the remain-
der of the time till fall, then returned to my mother
on foot, and then went to work to help her support
her family.
After my father s death, my mother sold her oxen
for one hundred dollars and took a note in payment.
The maker of the note failed and mother never re-
ceived five dollars on the debt. One of her horses
died, and the other was so ugl}^ she gave him away,
:and thus lost her team, and the bears killed all her
hogs.
When I was eighteen or twenty years old I resolved
to build a log house for mother on the land my father
took up. It was usual then to raise such buildings
at a 'bee,' and that could not be done without
whisky.
I went to a distillery in Bloomfield on horseback,
with two wooden bottles in a bag to get the liquor.
Following the Indian trail through the woods on ni}'
way back, I saw a cub climbing a tree and the
mother bear coming towards me with hair erect and
about two rods off. I put whip and spur to my
horse and did not stop to look back until I was out
of her reach. I had a small fiock of sheep about
that time. Neglecting to yard them one night, the
wolves killed nearly all of them.
A year or two after I first came into the country, a
man hired me to take a horse to the Genesee River,
where Rochester now stands. There was but one
house on that road then. I forded the river with ni}'
horse.
I was married January 17th, 1809, to Miss Temper-
,ance Smith, of Palmj'ra. She died in May follow-
ing.
For several years after I came into the county, the
218 PIOXEER IIISTOllY
Indians were numerous liere, hundreds of Indians to
one wliite man. They were veiy friendly. I used to
go to their wigwams and have sport with tlieni wrest-
ling and pulling sticl^,- at which I was an expert, fre-
qentl}" throwing their smartest young men at ' back
hold,' or what we called 'Indian hug.'
Bears, wolves and raccoons were plenty, and I
caught them frequently.
In March, 1810, I married Frances Bennett, and
commenced house-keeping again, and went to work
clearing my land. I think I have chopped and log-
ged off as much as one hundred and fifty acres in my
day.
I have had the fever and ague several times, but
generally ]ei: it work itself off. I used to work hard all
day in my fallow, and frequentl}^ worked evenings
there when it was good weather.
My wife would often come out when I was at work
and sometimes helj) me pile brush.
During the war with England I was several times
called out to do militar}^ duty.
I moved into the town of Shelby in 1827, and after
a few years sold out and moved to Gaines, on the
farm on wliich I now reside.
RICHARD TREADWELL."
Gaines, 1863.
Mr. Treadvvell died June 9th, 18G6 aged 83 years.
W A LTER FAI KFIELl) .
"I was born in Pittsford, Vermont, September 10,
1788. I married Polly Ilarvrood, in Pittsford, in 1809,
In August, 1810, I bought the farm I now own, in the
town of Gaines, of the Land Compan}^, for $2,50
cents per acre, part of lot five, town fifteen, range
two, on the Oak Orchard Eoad, about a mile south
of the Ridge.
In February, 18T1, I moved my wife from Vennont
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 219
to Gaines, and in April of that year we moved into a
log cabin, in wliich James Mather was then keeping
bachelor's hall, and lived with him. ' In Jnne after-
wards I put up a log house 18 by 20 feet square and
covered it with bark, with split basswood logs for a
floor sufficient to set a bed on, and then we moved in.
Our nearest neighbors south following the Oak Or-
chard Road, were south of tlie Tonawanda Swamp.
In August follow^ing my wife was taken sick. I
could get no one to help about house, for such help
was not in the country, and I was compelled to leave
my work and attend to my wife for six weeks, during
which time I did not take off my clothes except to
change them.
I was poor and had to work out for all I liad. I
came very near being homesick then, but I stood it
through. The next winter I chopped two or three
acres on my land, and in the spring burned the brush
and planted it witli corn among the logs, but squir-
rels and birds got the greater j^art of it, so we got but
little corn that 3'eai-.
In the spring of 1812, some families located south of
Avhere Albion now is. Of those families I had stop-
ping at my house at one time, while the}^ were building
tlieir cabins, William McCollister, Josepli Hart, Silas
Benton, Elijah Darrow, Frederick Holsenburgh,
and John Holsenburgh, and the families of some of
them.
The war of 1812 ])ut a stop to the settlement for
a while. We were troubled some with British desert-
ers.
Up to 1813, our provisions were mainly fish, pota-
toes, and turnips, ^ — that is anumg the poorer class of
settlers like m3^self. Sometimes we would have hulled
wheat and hulled corn. Sometimes I went to Parma
or Rochester to mill, and when I got back my grist
would not ])ay my expenses. •
220 PIOXEKK IIISTOIIY
After the war and the cold seasons, tlie county
filled uj) with settlers very fast. Roads and improve-
ments were made, and the land cleared up and culti-
vated, anddlie conveniences and comforts of life pro-
cured, thus relieving the wants of the people and
supplying their needs.
WALTER FAIRFIELD."
Gaines, I8G0.
Mr. Walter Fairfield died January 9tli, 1865.
JOHN PKOCTOIt.
"I was was born in the town of Dunstable, Mid-
dlesex county, Massachusetts, January 22d, 1787.
In March, 1810, I arrived in Batavia, since changed
to Gaines, on the Holland Purchase, and purchased
a lot of land near the Transit Line. I chopped over
five acres of land and built a log cabin in wiiat was
then called the 'Nine Mile Woods.' My cabin was
situated seven miles from any cabin going east, and
two miles west. There were no iubabitants going
south nearer than Batavia village. IL^re I kept bache-
lor' s hall, sleeping in the open air on hemlock boughs
until I had completed the roof of my cabin, which I
covered with bark. I had to travel seven miles to
get bread baked.
I w^ent to Massachusetts in the sununer and re-
turned to my cabin in January. In the spring of
1811, I cleared oft' and planted tlii'ee acres to corn,
and in the fall sowed five acres to wheat.
In December I went back to Massachusetts on foot.
February 11th, 1812, I was married to Miss Polly
Cummings, of Dunstable, and started on the 12th
with my wife for my home in the woods, in a sleigh
drawn by two horses.
When we arrived at oui' new home, at what has since
been called Fair Haven, in the town of Gaines, there
were but three famili<'s in GaiiK\^, viz.: Elijah Dow-
OF OllLEAXS COUNTY. 221
ner, Ani}^ Gibert, and Elliott. Tlie nearest
grist mill was at Black Creek, twenty mik^s distant,
and on account of bad roads it was as eas}' for us to
go to Rochester to mill, a distance of thirty miles.
In the fall of 1812, 1 harvested a good crop of wheat
and corn.
In the winter of 1818-14, the British and Indians
came . over from Canada and massacred several of
the inhabitants on the frontier, 3,nd many of the set-
tlers Hed out of the country for safety. The people
throughout this region were in great consternation.
The news of th(» approach of the savages spread rap-
idly.
AVilliam Burlingame, who resided about four miles
west of my place on the Ridge, called me out of bed
and requested me to go immediatel}^ and arouse the
people east. I immediately mounted my horse, the
only horse then owned in the vicinitj^, and before next
day liglit visit(>d all the inhabitants as far east as
Clarkson.
The effect of the notice was almost electric, for
quite a regiment of men in number w^ere on the move
early the next morning, to check the advance of the
enemy. We marclied west to a place called Hard-
scrabble, near Lewiston, and there perfoimed a sort
of garrison duty for two weeks, when I with some
others returned, for, having been elected collector of
of taxes, it became necessary for me to attend to the
duties of my office.
Again in September, Avhile the war was in progress
at and near Fort Erie, in Canada, news came to us
tliat the British were about to attack the Fort and
our troops there must be reinforced. In conqoany
with several others I volunteered to go to their relief.
On arriving at the Fort, via. Buffalo, we made several
attacks on the enemy near th(.' Fort, and in the wood?
opposite Black Rock.
222 PIOJfEER IIISTOKY
A sortie was made from the Fort Sej)tember ITtli,
ill wliicli we routed tlie enemy. In tliese actions sev-
eral bullets passed tlirougli my clothes, and one
grazed my finger.
A man of our company named Howard was killed,
another named Sheldon was wounded in the shoul-
der, and Moses Bacon was taken prisoner and carried
to Halifax.
In that sortie General Davis, of Le Roy, was
killed, and Gen. Peter B. Porter was taken prisoner,
and rescued again the same day. We came home
after an absence of twenty -four days.
About Fel)ruary 1st, 1815, I was notified to attend
the sitting of the court in Batavia as constable. Ow-
ing to the situation of my faniil}^ I could not be long
absent from home ; and in oi'der to get released from
court, it was necessary for me to appear before the
judge; so taking a rather early start I reached Batavia
before the court had 0]3ened in the morning. After
the court liad organized for business I presented my
excuse and was discharged.
After that I collected over one hundred dollars
taxes, made my returns as town collector, on half a
a sheet of paper, took a deed of one hundred acres of
land of the Holland Company, and an article for
another hundred acres and started for home, where I
arrived in the evening of the same day, liaving
traveled a distance of not less than forty-four miles.
In December, 1818, I made arrangements to visit
my friends in Massachusetts, on horseback. Several
of my neighbors were in to see me off. As I was
about to mount my horse a deer came down the creek
from the south. I ran into the house and got my
gun and some cartridges I brought from the war,
loaded my gun as I ran out, and as the deer was
passing leveled my gun and snapped it, but it missed
lire. I took up a stone and struck the Hint, and snap-
OF OliLKANS ('OUNT\. 22o
ped tlie gun again before the deer got out of range.
This time it discliarged killing the deer instantly. I
remained now and helped dress the deer and divided
it with our neighbors, and then went on my Journey.
I rode to Vermont, there exchanged my horse and
saddle for a cutter and another horse, and drove
to my destination, near Boston. After an ab-
sence of about sixty days I returned home in time to
dine oif a piece of the venison I killed just before
starting, which had been kept by my wife.
Our associations in our wilderness home undergo-
ing fatigue and hardships together, sharing alike in
gratitude for every success, and in sympathy' for
every adversity, bound the early settlers together as
a band of brothers.
For many years our religious worship was held in
common together, with no denominational distinc-
tions.
JOHN PROCTOR."
Gaines, June IbGo.
Mr. John Proctor died in 1868.
SAMUEL HILL.
" I was born in Barrington, Rockingham county,
N. IL, November 18th, 1793. I was married Febru-
ary 28th, 1815, to Miss Olive Knight.
In the winter of 1823 we moved to Gaiiies, with
means litth' more than enough to defray the expense of
the journey, and settled on part of the farm on which
I now reside. AYe began by building a log house, the
crevices between tlie logs serving for windows. The
children would sit on the fire sill in front of where
was to be a chimney. Thus we lived from May 10th,
to fall, whcni we made our house comfortable for
winter.
M}" father was a pra(;tical farmer, and my first rec-
224 PIONEEK HISTORY
ollections of work were of helping clear land. He
with the help of his ho3^s, of whom I was eldest but
one, cleared one hundred and fifty acres.
Begining with little, we have by hard labor, strict
economy and the blessing of God, succeeded in se-
curing a comfortable home and a competence of this
world' s goods.
SAMUEL HILL."
Gaines, March 18G4.
SAMUEL SALSBUKY.
" I was born in Newport, Herkimer county, N. Y.y
July 24, 1804. In January, 1817, 1 removed with my
brother Stephen to the Holland Purchase and settled
in Ridgeway. The country with few exceptions Avas
a wilderness. Provisions were scarce and dear,
wheat worth three dollars a bushel, corn two dollars,
potatoes one dollar, and other things in proportion.
Before harvest nearly ever}^ family was destitute of
bread. Their resort for a substitute was to the grow-
ing wlieat, which was boiled and eaten with milk ; or
by adding a little cream and maple sugar together, to
make a kind of dessert after a meal of potatoes and
butter, and possibly a little deer, squirrel and raccoon
meat.
Our milk was strongly flavored with leeks occas-
ionally, with which our native ' pastures ' abounded,
but we used to correct this by eating a fresh leak
before eating the milk. AVe had plenty of maple
sugar.
School houses were scarce, and of churches there
were none. I attended school in a log house two miles
from home, south of what is now Lyndonvilh^, and
this school house was for many years used as a place
for worship. Here I used to hear Elder Irons and
Elder Dutcher, Bajitists, and Elders Paddock,
Boardman, Hall, and Puffer, Methodists.
OF ORLEANS CorNTY. 'iSf)
Among my early school tcarliers weiv Gen. AV. C.
Tanner and Mrs. Mastin.
C]iop2)ing, clearing and fencing land wa.s the prin-
cipal business in those days.
My last feat in chopping was in 1832, when I walked
three miles morning and evening, and chopped over
three acres, leaving it fitted for logging in ten and a
half days.
In FeTn*narv, 182o, I crossed Niagara river on the
ice wdiich had Avedged in near tlie niouth of the river.
It was a warm day, the water was on the ice and
large openings were frequent. In one place a seam
of open w'ater three feet across was passed on aboard,
which served as a bridge. I crossed in safety.
In the winter of 1826-7, I united with the Methodist
Episcopal Clmrch. I had never, to this time, heai'd a
temperance lecture or known anything of temperance-
societies, but from that time I believed it wicked to
use intoxicating drinks as a beveragv, and I have
never used them since.
I was mai-ried to Miss Eh'<'ta Beal, February 23d,
1829.
I was licensed to pi-eached t\u) gospel in July, 1882,
by the Conference sitting in P<mn Yan. Till then
I had been a farmer and school teacher. Fron>
that time till 1844, I labored in that vicinity in tlu
Methodist Episcopal (Jhurcli. In May. 1843, ]
withdrew from that church and joined in organizing
the Wesleyan INIethodist Connexion of America, and
from then since, I have labor<Hl as a minister in that
Connexion.
SAMUEL BAMSBURY."
Eagle Harbor, .March 1804.
I'KKKY DAVIS.
Perry Davis was l)orn in \V<^stpo]t. Massachusetts,
January 1 st, 1 773.
15
226 PIONKKJt UISTOUY
In 1793, lie niairied Keln'cca Potter. Slie died May
12th, 182o.
After his marriage, lie resided about thirteen years
in Galway, Saratoga county. He tlien resided about
•eighteen years in Palmyra. N. Y.; and in 1823, re-
moved to (laines, and took up land near the mouth
•of Otter Cr'^ek ; and in 1825, removed to the village of
^raines and Iwuglit tlu^ farm next north of the Ridge,
And west of the Oak Oiehard Koad. He was an ac-
tive business man, being engaged at different times
SIS a merchant, farmer, s(;hool teacher, and manufacv
turer ; and while residing in (raines, superintending
at the sam»^ time three farms, a sawmill, a giistmill,
and a small iron foundry, all in operation. He was
deacon, and a prominent membei- of the Baptist
Church in (faines.
He had eight daughters, viz.: Barbara, who died in
childhood ; Rowena married William Hayden ; Cyn-
thia married Daniel Ball : Ciiiderilla married Samuel
Parker ; Mary manied Richard Workman ; Ann
married AVilliam AV.Ruggles; Eliza married Elonzo G.
Hewitt ; and Laura married Di*. Alfred Babcock. In
1827, he married Sarah Toby, of Stockton, N. Y.
She died November 4th. 18r)0. Mr. Davis died April
:Jd, 1841.
[.KVl ATWKl.r..
Levi Atwell was born in Canaan, Columbia count}',
N. Y.
He m!irried Mabel Stoddard, and moved from Cay-
uga county to Gaities in February, 1812, and took an
article? of ])art of lot fort\'-four. township fifteen,
range two, and resided on tlie same land until he
died, February, 1847.
He t<K'k up his land in A})ril. 1811, and in June
after he came on. chopp^**! down the trees on a few
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 227
. acres, and that season put up a log house, into whicli
he moved his famil}' when they came.
His brothers-in-law, Gideon Freeman and Joseph
: Stoddard, came on and took up land at the same
time. He remained on his land during the war mtli
England.
The house into which he moved had no door, or
window or floor except the earth, and not a board
. about it. Tlie logs had been merely rolled up for the
walls, without stopping the crevices between them.
The roof was covered with "shakes" split from oak
trees like stave bolts, about three feet long, laid on
in courses like shingles, without nails, and held on
by poles laid on transversely, with no chimney, but a
large hole in the roof left for the smoke, and whicli
. admitted the light.
The snow was about three feet deep. A huge fire
-was kept up in one end of the cabin ; this heated the
roof and melted the snow, which dripped most un-
. comf(jrtably upon everything in the house. A blan-
ket hung at the doorway closed that, and chips
driven into the crevices between the logs stopped
them in part till spring, when stones were laid for a
hearth, and a stick chimney put in.
Mr. Atwcll had a yoke of oxen and several other
â–º cattle that arrived a few days after he brought his
family. He brought several bushels of ears of corn
when he moved in, which he dealt out sparingly to
his stock. They had no other food except the trees
he cut down for them to browse, until they could get
their living in the woods in the spring.
His family consisted of himself, wife and four chil-
dren, the youngest ab(mt two years old. His chil-
dren' s names wei-e Ira, Abbey, Roxy, Joseph and
Martin.
In the fall of 1812, a man by the name of Crofoot
â– died in the neighborhood. No boards to inak^' his
228 PIONEEK HISTORY
coffin could be found, not in use in tiie settlement.
W^hen Mr. Atwell moved in his family, he brought
a board for a side-board, on his sled. This he had put
up for a shelf in his house for dishes, &c., and this
shelf, and a board from some other house were taken
for the coffin, in wliich the corpse was buried.
SAMl'EL C. LEWIS.
Samuel C. Lewis was born in Poultney, Vermont,
June 8th, 1796. At the age of seventeen, he enlisted
in the United States Army as a soldier in the war of
1812, and served in a company commanded by Captain
Miller, who was founder of the sect since known as
Millerites, or Second Adventists. He was in the bat-
tle of Plattsburgh, and al French Mills. He served
in th(? army about two years.
In February, 1816, in company with his brother
<Tideon, Roswell and Amos Clift, Elias Clift, and
their sister Esther Clift, who afterwards married Guy
('. Merrill, he came in a lumber wagon drawn by two
yoke of Oxen, from Poultne}^, A^ermont, to Gfaines,
b(4ng twent}'-live days on the road, arriving in Gaines
March lOth,"^ 1816.
Arba Chubb, a brother-in-law of the Lewises, with
his wife and child, arrived in Gaines the day before
j\Ir. Lewis and company, and moved into the log
house l)uilt by Mrs. Burgess, near where Judge An-
derson now resides. The house had not been occu-
])ied for some time previous, and was not in good con-
dition to inhabit ; but it was the best they could get,
and the three Lewis brothers went there to stay with
Mr. Chubb. They had cleared away the snow and
got a good supply of fuel for their fire heaped up
against the stoned up end of tlie house, which served
as a cliimney the night after their arrival, as the
weather was stormy and cold, and the house had.
large ci-evices open between the logs.
OF ORLEANS COrNTY. 229
Mr. Chubb and liis family had a bed in a coiiier of
the room, while the three young men lay on the flooj-
with their feet to tlie fire. In tlie night tlie great lire
thawed out tlie old ehimne}^, and the Avhole pile fell
forward into the room, luckily, however, without
crushing any of the persons sleeping there. Next
morning they piled the stones back in their places,
and made a chimney that answered their purpose.
Mr. Lewis and his brother bouglit of Lansing-
Bailey, an article for one hundred and twenty-live
acres of land, lying at Gaines Basin, on whicli Mi-.
Bailey had built a log house, which had not a shingle
or nail in it, all pieces being fastened with wooden
pins.
On this lot they labored clearing land the next
summer, occupying their house, and getting their
cooking and washing done in Mr. Bailey's family, on an
adjoining lot, for which they worked for Mv. Baile}'
every seventh day that season to pay him.
Samuel C. Lewis married Anna Frisbie, in March
1819. She died the next yc^ar.
January 80tli, 1824, he married Anna AVaiiiei-, of
Cornwall, Vt. She died April 10th, 1841.
Mr. Lewis retains and resides on the lot of land on
which he first settled.
H(^ has walked and can-ied his knapsack on his
back, twelve times the whole distance between Gaines
and Poultney, At. Once he performed the joui-ney
in October, in six da^'s, walking on an average nearlA'
fifty miles a day.
In the year 1819, he had a tax to ))ay and wanted
a dollar to make the sum recpiired. To raise the
money, he cut four cords of body mai)le wood and
drew it a mile and sold it to Oliver Booth for tweiity-
iive cents a (!ord, and so paid his tax.
<;iDEON s. LEwrs.
Gideon S. Li'wis was born in Poultney. \'ei-mont.
280 FIONEKK UI8T0KY
September, 1792. He married Betsey Mason, daugh--
ter of the late Jesse Mason, of Bane, N. Y., in the •
fall of 1820. She died in September, 1842. He then
married Betsey Shelley, of Gaines. He had four chil-
dren, Lestina, who married Henry Cox ; Homer, who •
studied medicine, and died some years ago ; Augus-
tus and Augusta, twins. Augustus is dead. Au-
gusta married Alonzo Morgan. Gideon S. Lewis died^
October 6th, 1865.
Roswell Lewis, brother of Samuel and Gideon,
resided in Gaines about three years, then returned to '
Vermont.
NATHAN SHELLED.
Natlian Shelley was born in Hartford, Washington-
4'ounty, N. Y., March 17th, 1798. In May, 1812,
with liis father's family he removed to Gaines. His
father settled on the Ridge Road, two miles west of
the village of Gaines.
War with Great Britain was declared soon after he
arrived. After the defeat of the Americans at
(^ueenstown, in October, 1812, many of the inliabi- â–
tants on the frontier retired eastward, and Mr. Shelley
took his family and went with them, but returned in'
December after.
Nathan Shelley married Dorcas Tallman, May 21st,
1820. She was born in W^ashington county, N. Y.,
August 4tli, 179,5.
In 1821, he took up and settled part of lot forty-
five, township fifteen, range two, on wliich he has ever
since resided.
His iirst log liouse had but one loom, onl}^ four
lights of glass, and a bedquilt for an outside door,
whf^n hf^ movod into it to iv^sidc in the tlic wintei/
of 1821-2.
OF OKLKANS COUNTY. 231
Beginning poor, by a life of steady indi-istry and
prudence he became a wealtliy fanner.
THE BULLAHD FAMILY.
This soniewliat numerous family in Gaines, are de-
scendants of David Bullard, who was boni in Ded-
ham, Massachusetts, in 1761. He removed to Ver-
mont, where he resided until September, 1814, when
he removed to Gaines, N. Y., bringing with him as
many of his children as had not gone there before.
He first settled upon lot twenty-three, a little west of
the A-illage of Gaines, noith of the Ridge, on a farm
which had been taken up by his son William.
After a year or two he removed south of the Ridge,
upon lot twenty-one — a farm now owned hy his son
Brigadier, where he resided until his death in June,
1831.
He married Elizabeth Hadley. His children were
William, who married Xellie Lov eland. Polly mar-
ried William Woolmnn. They settled in 1*811, in
Gaim^s, on the farm afterwards owned l\y Phineas
Rowle}^ .ludith married John AVitherell. They set-
tled north of the Ridge, next east of Oliver Booth.
Olive married James Baitlett. Betsey married Fred-
erick Holsenburgh. Nancy married Samuel Scovill.
Sally married Arba Chubb. David married Elvira
Murwin. Brigadier married Lovina Parker. Ran-
som married Lydia Buck.
William, Judith and Biigadier settled in Gaines in
February, 1812. William Bullard died in September,
1861.
'illK B1M.IN(.S FAMILY.
Joseph Billings, Sr., the ancestor of this family,
was born in Somers, C-onnecticut, and settled in Che-
nango county, N<Mv York, whern he resided until
his death.
232 pioNMMU Hrs'i'oKV
He piircliased of Isaac Bennett a large quantity of
land in Gaines, which Mr. Bennett had taken by
article from the Land Company, which he afterwards
divided among his sons, Joseph, Timothy, and Lau-
ren. Joseph and Timothy settled on this land in
1817, and Lauren in 1822. '
Joseph Billings married Charlotte Drake. His chil-
dren, are J, Drake Billings, who married Melinda
Shaw. Myron married Phebe Bement. Clinton
mai-ried Esther Murdock. Harlow married Adeline
King. William H. married Sarah Everett. Clarissa
married Elijah 11 Lattin. Helen married John
Lattin.
Timothy Billings married Betsey Bidwell. His
children were Newton and Sanford, who died in early
manhood, and Pomeroy, who died in childhood.
Lauren Billings mai'i'ied Eoxana C. Rexford. His
cliildren are, Kai'thalo P., who married Catharine
Murdock. Pomeroy O., who married Harriet Thomp-
son. Loverna C. mari'ied Norman A. Beecher. L.
Dwiglit. Simeon P. mairied Carrie E. (rray. Joseph
F. nuxrried Josephine Eldridge.
Joseph, Timothy, and Lauren Billings, occupied
adjoining farms, which they cleared and improved.
.Joseph and Lauren were each Justices of the Peace
in Gaines for a number of years.
Lauren was a Colonel in the State Militia. Joseph
was Supei'visor of (Raines from 1887, to 1841, inclu-
sive.
Jospph Billings died December 10, 1800. Timothy
Billings died May lOth, 18:17.
AlJitA rilLJJl?.
Arba Chubb was born in Poultne}-, At., Se})tem-
ber 18th, 179L
He married Emily Frisbie, October 17, bSlI). Feb-
ruary 2()tl!, 181(5. the}- started to move to Gaines, N.
OF ORLEANS (OrNTY. 233
Y., on a wagon, and arrived tliero after being- twenty
days on the road.
He bonglit a farm lying between the Kidge and
Gaines Basin, and resided there until 1832, when he
moved to Gaines Basin and bought a warehouse there
and carried on business as a dealer in produce, and
sold goods until 1840, when he moved to Gaines vil-
lage, and from thence to Michigan, in 1856.
His first wife died in 1820. For a second wife he
married Sally, daughter of David BuUard, of
Gaines.
In 1821, Mr. Chubb was appointed by the Council
Justice of the Peace. He was after that elected Jus-
tice by the people of Gaines, and held the office
thirty-three years, a vacation of one year only occur-
ring during that time.
After moving to Michigan he was elected Justice of
the Peace from time to time, until in the whole he
served in that office 47 3'ears. No man has held the
office of Justice of the Peace in Orleans count}" as
long as Esquire Chubb. He also held eveiy other
town office but constable, and evevy office in the
militia, from Corporal to Majoi', inclusive. He was
for some time ])ostmasier in Gaines, and Member of
Assembl}' from Orleans county, for the j^ear 1848.
Esquire Chubl) describes a lawsuit tried bcvfore
him soon after lie was elected Justice, wiiich occa-
sioned him great trouble at the timt\ He gave the
following account of it :
"Orange Butler was on one side, and a young
lawyer named Capen, from Albion, on the other. I
think they planned to give me a sweat. The plaintitf
put in his declai-ation. Tlie defendant demurred.
Plaintiff put in a rejoinder. The defendant a surre-
joinder. Tlie })]aintitt' a ]el)utter. 'IMic defendant a
surrebutter.
Al)oiit all tliis special pleading I knew nothing. I
234 PIONKKK HISTORY
supposed, liowever, they would ask me to make a
special decision ; but what the decision should be, I
knew no more than the biggest fool alive. There I
sat, the sweat rolling down my face, inwardly cursing
the day I was appointed Justice, and my folly in
accepting an office I knew nothing about.
I think the lawyers saw my trouble, had pity on
me and helped me out as well as they could, and went
on and tried the case."
Esquire Chubb resides at Ionia, Michigan, and is
now (1871) serving in his old office of Justice of the
Peace,
I HE ANDKRSOX FAMIl-Y,
The ancestors of this family originally emigrated
from Scotland to Ireland, and thence to Londonderry,
New Hampshire, at an early day.
John Anderson, the ancestor of most of the families
of his name in Gaines, was born in Londonderry, Aug.
:3L 1757. He was a soldier in the Revolution, fought
at Bunker Hill, and was at the taking of Ticonderoga
under Ethan Allen. He married Jane Archibald in
Londonderry, Feb. 7, 1782, and settled in Ira, Rut-
land county Vermont, in the same year. He repre-
sented this town in the State Legislature eight or ten
years in succession. His children were : Ann, Jane,
John, Robert, Matthew, Betsey, Thomas A., Marga-
ret, Nancy, Eli B. and Samuel F., all of whom were
early settlers in Gaines, exc(»pt Betse}^, who died in
Malone, N. Y. January 11, 1813.
John Anderson, senior, moved with his famil}^ to
Gaines in 1821, and located on lot twenty-nine, town-
ship fifteen, range two, on the north side of the Ridge
road, where he died October 22, 1827. He was a man
of very great physical strength, of good intellect,
•'nei'getic and persistent in his character. One of his
lules of action was : Do what duty requires and
OF OKLKANS COUNTY. 285
Conscience approves as right, without fear. Indeed
lie never showed fear of anything. Many instances
are recollected of his cool and determined courage in
cases of danger. In several conflicts he had with
bears, lie performed exploits as hazardous and full of
daring, as Gen. Putnam' s battle with the wolf.
One evening wiiile he lived in Ira, dogs treed a bear
not far from his residence. A number of men were
present, but they had no gun. Mr, Anderson told
them to build a Are around the tree and keep the bear
up it until morning, and then he would go up and
drive him down. The fire was made. Next morning
Anderson armed with a club, climbed the tree to the
bear thirty feet from the ground, and ciept out on the
limb on which he had retreated.
Disregarding the growls and bristling of the feroci-
ous cieature, Mr. Anderson went within reach and
aimed a blow at its head with his club which the bear
wai-ded off' and knocked the club to the ground.
Nothing daunted. Mi-. Andeison descended, got two
clubs, and again went up the tree to the bear. Taking
a club in each hand, he made motions to strike with
liis left hand, and when the bears attention was at-
tracted to these, he struck him a terrible blow on the
head with the other club, which knocked the body of
the beast off the limb, leaving him hanging by his
fore paws. A blow or two on his claws loosened
their hold, and the bear was killed by the men be-
low when he struck the ground.
Another time while he lived in A'ermont. being m
the woods, he saw a bear coming towards him. Con-
cealing himself in bushes on a steep place, he lay in
ambush, and the bear ])assed him so near that with
a spring he rushed u]ion him, and armed only with a
stone, pounded his h«'ad until he killed him.
Ann Anderson married Daniel Gates of Rutland,
Vermont, niovnd to Gaiuf^s in 1811, and settled
236 rroxEp:it iiistohy
on lot twenty-nine, townyliip tit'teen, I'ange two. After
a few years he sold this farm and i'emo\'ed to a faiin
in Carlton, where he died January 81, 1858. Mrs.
Ann Gates died January 1, 1866. Two of her sons,
John and N. F. Gates, now reside in Cai'lton, and
another Matthew A. Gates, resides in Yates.
Jane ^Inderson married Phineas Rowley, of Rut-
land, Vermont, moved to Gainers in 1817, and settled
on lot thirty, township fifteen, range one. Tliey both
died several years since. Two of their sons, Jolm
and Andrew J. Rowle}', are yet living in Gaines.
Margaret Anderson married John Farnham Jan. 22,
1818. They removed to Gaines, Oct., 1824, and settled
on lot fortes township iifteen, range two. Jolm Farn-
ham was born in Poultne^y, Xt., Februar}' 26, 1795,
and died November 3, 1841. Margaret Farnham died
in May, 1868.
Nancy Anderson married fSolomon Kingsley in A'er-
mont and moved to Orleans county about 1819. They
removed to Michigan in 1885 and died there.
John Anderson, Jr., was l)orn in Ira, N'ermont,
Sept. 12, 1785. He settled in Gaines on lot twenty-
two, township Iifteen, range two, in b81(>.
At the hrst town ineeting held in llidgeway, April
G, 1813, he was elected Overseer of the Poor. He
was a man of positive chaiacter, a great lover of truth,
withdrawing his confidence fi-om the nuin who failed
to keep liis })romis('S.
A neighbor owed him twelve shillings, whicli he
promised to pay in a few days. Mi'. Anderson re-
plied he hoi)ed h(^ would, that it was woi'th a shilling
to dun a man ain' time. In a few days the neighbor
met him, spoke of liis del)t and renewtnl his ])r()mise
to pay.
As they met 0(M*asionally afterwaids, the debtor
would dun himself, but i)aid nothing, till one da}'
iuiving rep('at<'d his acknowledgenu'ut and promise.
OF OKLKANS COUNTY. 237
Mr. Anderson took out a sliilling and lianded him,
saying, " Hero is a sliilHng for you, we are now even.
I have given you credit on account one sliilling each
time you have dunned yourself for me and broken
your promise. Your credits balance your debt and
one shilling over, Avhicli I have paid you. It is settled,
don't speak to me about it again.".
Eli B. Anderson was married in Poultne}', A'ermont,
removed to Gaines with his father, and resided with
him until his death, and occupied the same place six
or eight yeai's after his deatli, when lie removed to
Michigan.
Samuel F. Anderson moved to Gaines with his fath-
er, being then about cigliteen years old. In 1836 he
married Miss Maliala Phipps of .\.lbion, and removed
to Cassopolis, Micliigan where he still resides. He
has represented his county several years in the State
Legislature and been Judge of County Courts.
Matthew Anderson moved to Gaines in 1816 and
took an article of part of lot twenty-seven, township
fifteen, range two, since known as the "" Hunter Farm'"
a little north of Eagle Harbor, now owned by C. A.
Danolds and S. ^V. Knef^land. He cleared some land
and biult a log house on his farm. He died Septem-
ber 80, 1816. In 1814 or 1815, h(^ represented the
town of Ira in the Vermont Legislature. He was
Captain of a company of militia, which under his
command volunteered and went to meet the British
at Plattsburgh in the war of 1812.
Hon. Robert Anderson was born in the town of
Ira, Vermont, April 21, 1787.
In June, 1807, he was elected Lieutenant in the
militia. In October 1812 he was appointed Justice
of the Pejice in Rutland. He went with a company
of volunteers to fight the British at Plattsburgh in
the war of 1812.
In November 1812, he came to Gaines and bought
238 PIONKKK HISTOUV
an article for 150 acres, part of lot 22, towiisliip fifteen,
range two, to which he moved his family in 1816, and
where he lias ever since resided. Two younger brotli-
ers, Matthew and Dr. Thomas A. Anderson and their
families came on at the same time from Vermont.
The Dr. drove a two horse himher wagon, which
earried the women and cliildren of the party, the
other two men drove each a team of two yoke of oxen
drawing a wagon laden with their goods, with a cow
led behind each team.
They arrived in Gaines March 2.0th, having been
twenty- live days on the road.
On arriving in Gaines, Robert Anderson moved
into the log house the logs for which were cut by
Mrs. Noah Burgess in 1809. It was roofed with elm
bark and had a Hoor of split basswood in most ap-
proved pioneer style. The next year he built a small
framed house and lived in that.
In the summer of 1821, David AVhipple and wife,
parents of Mrs. Robeit .Vnderson, came to Gaines
from Vermont to visit their children. The}' rode in a
one horse wagon with bolsters and box lumber style,
eovered with cloth over hoops. The seat was a chair
wide as the box, splint bottomed, the posts standing
on the steel springs of a wolf trap. This was prob-
ably the first wheel carriage rigged with steel springs
that run in Orleans county, and was much admired
for its novelty ond convenience.
Mr. Anderson and his wife started with her parents
on their return to Vermont, to visit triends on the way.
They went as far as Brighton, where she was taken
sick and died. The death of his wife and the sick-
ness prevailing in the country, with which he was
attacked, so disheartened him he offered his farm for
sale, and would have sold at almost any price, but
no purchaser appearing and his health having im-
proved, he concluded to stay. In August 1822, he
Of' OK LEANS COUNTY. 239
married liis second Avife, Miss Roxaua Lamb, of
Bridgewater, N'ermont, who died March 27, 1837.
In 1840, he rented Ins farm to his eldest son and
only surviving child, Nahum Anderson, to whom in a
few years after he sold it, reserving the riglit to li\e
in his family during life.
In 1817, he was elected Lieutenant of a militia
company in Gaines, and resigned at the end of a year.
The same year he was appointed a Justice of the
Peace, which office he held until the winter of 1822.
In that winter, he was appointed Judge of the Court
of Conmion Pleas of Genesee county, an office he
held over two }'ears and resigned. In the spring of
1818, he was elected Supervisor of the town of Gaines,
an office to which he was annually elected as long as
the town of Gaines belonged to Genesee county.
After Orleans county was organized, he was elected
the lirst Supervisor from that town, to serve in the
lirst Board sitting in the new county, in 1826, b}'
whom he was appointed Chairman, in consequence
of his experience as a Supervisor.
In the session of 1822, he served as a member oi*
the State Legislature, being one of three representa-
tives sent from the county of Genesee.
Judge Anderson was never ambitious to hold public
offices, generally taking office only when it was of-
fered him without his asking, and resigning the first
proper opportunity. He was regarded as a man of
sound judgment, honest and faithful, and shared
largely in tlie confidence of all who knew him.
For some 3'ears past he has lived quietly, retired
from the cares of business, possessing a competence
of property acquired by his own exertions, happy in
the societ}' of his many friends, enjoying a pleasant
home.
Br. Thomas A. Anderson, son of John Andeison,
senior, was born in Ira. Yt., Mav 14th, 1792. He
240 1>I0NEKR HISTORY
marrif'd Sarali Wliipple of Mai one, X., Y., and moved
to Gaines, as above stated, in 1816, and located at
Fair Haven, or Proctor's Corners, in the town of
Gaines, where he practiced his profession for some
time in company with Dr. Trnman S. Shaw, who af-
terwards practiced in Knowlesville, and Yates, and
died a few 3^ears since in Medina, Orleans connty,
N. Y.
Dr. Anderson had practiced medicine several j^ears
in Rutland, Vermont, before coming to Gaines. He
was esteemed a skillful physician, and had as much
business as he could do. He was constitutionally
feeble, never had good health, and died September
2d, 1829, leaving one child only, a daughter, now
wife of S. Dewey Walbridge, of Rochester, N. Y.
His wife died April 22d, 1829.
MOSES BACON.
Moses Bacon was boi-n April 5, 1787, in Burlington,
Hartford county, Conn. He was a farmer.
About the year 1809, he came to Gaines and took
an article from the Holland Land Company of two
linndred acres of land on the south part of lot tiiirty-
seven, township fifteen, range one. He worked for
the Land Company opening the Oak Orchard road
the summer of that year, to apply towards paying
for his land, and returned to Connecticut in the fall.
The next spring he came back and commenced work
upon his land as a permanent settler.
In December, 1818, he went in Captain McCarty's
company to the defence of the frontier, and in his
chargt^ upon the British and Indians at Molj'neaux
tavein, in (Jambiia, on that occasion Mr. Bacon was
present and did good execution.
In January, 1814, hc^ married Miss Sarah Downer.
In Septembei- of that year he was called out with the
OF OULEAXS COUNTY. 241
lueu Oil tiiiHi IVoutier gem Tall}', to aid in repelling the.
British and Indians in tlie war witli Great Britain.
He was in tlie hatth^ of Fort Erie, in which he was
shot throngh the neck and taken prisoner by the
British, who carried liini to Halifax, where he suffered
greatly nnder the cruel trc^atnient of the officers who
had the American prisoners under their charge. The
next year lie was discharged, the war having closed,
and returned liome broken in constitution from the
hardships of his wound and imprisonment, and with
a cough contracted in Halifax IVom which he never
recovered, and for which he di'<'w a i)ension from the
United States ever aftei-waixls.
Mr, Bacon sold tlu; east part of his farm to his
brother Hosea, and th(^ iiorth part to his brother
Elias, reserving one hundred acres for himself. Upon
this place he lived until his death, which occurred
June 28th, 1848.
SA.MIKL mi>i:L.MAX.
lSamiu4 Bidelman v/as bo]n in Manlieim, Herkimer
county, ]N'. Y., June 29tli, 1800. His grandparents
both came to Americji ivom (T(^rniany, before the
revolutionary war, and settled on the ]Mohav/k river.
In that war his grandfather's buildings were burned
by th(^ Indians, and his family narrowly escaped
massacre by Hying to the block house fort for pro-
h^ction.
His father, Heiiry Bidelman, came to Shelb}' in
1816, and bought an article i'ov one hundred acres of
land of John Timmerman. In January, 1817, he
came to Shelby with a, part of his children, leaving
his wife and otlier children in Herkimer county until
he could prepan? a placc^ for tliem. He was eleven
days on the journey.
In July, 1817, John (larlock, })rother-in-law of
IG
242 PIONEER HISTORY
Henry Bidelman, brouglit on Mrs. Bidelman and the
remainder of lier children, and with their other load-
ing lie brought three bags of flour. This was the
next year after the cold season, and the neighborhood
was destitute of flour ; some of the inhabitants had
not even seen wheat bread for weeks, having lived in
that time, as far as bread was concerned, on bran
bread and some sea biscuit — "hard tack," which
they procured from the Arsenal at Batavia, which
had been stored there to feed the soldiers in the war
of 1812.
It was a custom then when a new family arrived,
for all the settlers for miles around to come together
and give them a greeting. Such a surprise i:>arty
waited on the Bidelmans, and after they had broken
up and gone home, Mr. Bidelman found he had
only a part of one bag of his flour left out of the
three brought on by Gaiiock, as each family of the
visitors must of course take home a little. Part of
one bag of flour only for a family of twelve hungry
persons to live on under the circumstances, looked as
if the end was near.
These sea biscuit furnished material for much talk,
as well as some food for the people. Mr. Joseph
Snell, who was something of a wag, reported that a
Mr. Simons, who resided a little south from Mr. Bid-
elman, got some of the biscuit and ate too freely of
them ; that they had swelled in his stomach and had
burst him. He said his attendants tied hankerchiefs
and straps around him, and did the best they could
to make him contain himself, but without success ;
he burst and died, and was to be buried at a time
specified. Several persons went to attend the funeral
before they understood the hoax.
The first year after he came to Shelby, Mr. H. Bid-
elman took some land of D. Timmerman which lay
about a mile from his house, to j)lant with corn on
OF ORLEAIN'S COUNTY. 243
sliares. In lioeing time, in the long days in June, he
would get his boys together, Samuel "being then about
twelve j^ears old, get them a breakfast of bran
bread and milk and say to them, " now hoys you can
go and hoe corn, and when j'ou get so tired and hun-
gry 3'ou can t stand it any longer, come home and we
will try and get you something to eat again. This
was the way they fared before uncle Garlock came
with Hour.
The cold season of 1816 cut oif the crops, and there
was but little to be had to eat. Flour was worth
fifteen dollars a barrel in Rochester, wheat three dol-
lars a bushel here, and no money to buy it with.
But crops were good in 1817, and as soon as the
farmers began to raise wheat, and about 1820 and
1821, as there was no way to get wheat to market, the
price fell to twenty -five cents a bushel. Articles of
wearing apparel were enormously dear. Cotton cloth
was worth fifty cents a yard.
In 1818, Mr. II. Bidelman chopped and cleared off
six acres of land for A. A. EUicott, for which he ob-
tained flour for his famil}^ for that season. He cleared
five acres for Elijah Bent, a little South of Medina
village, for which he received in payment one-third of
the pork of a hog that weighed three hundred pounds
in all; that is, about one hundred pounds of pork cost
twenty dollars, paid for in such hard work. So the}^
managed to live along until they could raise something
of their own to live on.
About this time 3'oung Samuel, being then twelve
or thirteen years old, and his brother AVilliam two
years older, got disgusted with Western New York
and agreed to run away T)ack to the Mohawk country,
fearing they would star\ e to death if they remained
here. They did not go however.
In the year 1820, May 20th, barefoot, with an old
straw hat, a pair of tow cloth pantaloons and a
244 noNEKi: iiistouy
set'ond liand coat (311, Samuel Bidelman started on foot
and alone for Eidgeway Corners, to learn tlie trade of
tanning and currying leather, and slioemaking, of
Isaac A. Bullard, wlio carrii^d on that business
there.
Before that time he had lived in JJutch settlements,
and could hut imperfectly speak, or understand the
English language.
Mr. Bullard' s tanning then amounted to about fifty
hides a year, but gradually increased to about one
hundred hides a year while Samuel liv(^d with him.
When he had been about three and a half years with
Mr. Bullard, they had some difficulty and Samuel left
him and went to his father. The difficulty was set-
tled and Samuel was bound as apprentice to stay
with Mr. Bullard until he was of age, and he went
back and remained.
Bullard was addicted to strong drink, which made
him rather a hard master to his apprentice. He died
April 0th, 1827.
After Mr. Bullard' s death his vdfe carried on the
business he had left, and Mr. Bidelman worked for her
l)y th(^ month six months, and then bought out tlie
tan}'a]"d and dwelling house and carried on the busi-
ness on his ovv'u account.
May 17th, 1829, he married Eliza Prussia. She was
born in La ncastei' county, Pennsylvania, of German
parentage.
At E.idgewa}'- Mr. Bidelman taimed about seventy-
jiv(^ hides a year. He kept two journeymen, made
jeath"r and carried on slioemaking. Stoga boots
were v/ortli four dollars a pair, coarse shoes two dol-
lars. Boots were not so generally worn as now.
Tanner"' s bark, hemlock, was wortli one dollar and
iifty cents a cord.
In the spring of 1885, ]\Ir. Bidelman sold his place
in Bidgeway, retaining possession until the next Oc-
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 24o
ber, intending to move to Miciiigan. He was now
worth about fifteen Imndred dollars and was t^renty-
nine years old.
He finally bought a tanyard at Gaines village of
James Mather, and moved there Oct. second, eighteen
hunctred and thirtj'-five. G aines was then quite a place
of business. It had in active operation one acadeni}',
five dry goods stores, three groceries, one steam grist
mill and furnace, three taverns, two churches, twf)
tannerys, one cabinet shop, one large wagon factory,
three law offices, three blacksmith shops, one milline-
ry shoj"), one ashery, besides harness, shoe, and tailoj-
shops, &c.
At Gaines Mr. Bidelman employed four or five
men in his tannery, and five or six men in liis shoe-
shop generally.
In 1838, the Patriot War, as it was called, in Cana-
da, closed. This part of the countrj^ had been in a
high state of excitment for two years, the people de-
siring to furnish aid to the Canadian rebels. Hunter s
lodges, as they were called, were formed along the
frontier for this purpose. Such a lodge used to meet
in the upper room in Mr. Bidelman' s Tannery, which
was formerl}' occujiied by tlie Free Mason's. Mr.
Bidelman took great interest in this movement and
gave an old cast iron bark mill to be cast into can-
non balls. He gave the last gun he ever owned and
a pair of boots, to fit out a soldi(4- wlio went to Can-
ada to join the insurgents.
A cannon, wljich had belonged to an artillery com-
pany in Yates, in ^ which Mr. Bidelman had held a
commission as Lieutenant, was sent to the Patriots.
General "Winfield S(,'ott passed through on tlie Ilidgc
Road vrith some United States troops to maintain
peace on our bordei's, and in a sliort time t-rder was
ao-ain restored.
246 PIONEEK IIISTOKY
The Ridge Road was tlien a great traveled thor-
oughfare ; six to eight stage coaches passed through
Gaines each way daily.
In eighteen hundred and forty- one Mr. Robert Ran-
ney went in company with i\Ir. Bidelman in business
as tanners, in Gaines, for a term of live years. They
put in a large stock and worked it, but the business
was not profitable for the partners. They had
difficulty in settling their partnership matters,
and on the whole, these five years were the most un-
pleasant and un2:)rosperous in business to Mr. Bidel-
man of any like time in his life. Since closing with
Mr. Ranney, he has been connected with his sons in
business. He was Supervisor of Gaines in the years
1842, 1845, 1846, 1853, 1854, and 1857.
DK. .JESSE BEECn A?.^D DK. .JOHN IIENIiY BEECH.
The following extracts are taken from a memoir by
Dr. John H. Beech, of Coldwater, Michigan, of him-
self and his father, Dr. Jesse Beech, who was the pi-
oneer physician of the town of Gaines :
"Dr. Jesse Beech was born March 20tli, 1787, at
Ames, Montgomery county, l^ew York. He studied
medicine with Dr. Lathrop, of Charleston, and with
Dr. Slieldon, of Florida, N. Y. In those days medi-
cal colleges were not accessible to students of ordi-
nary means. There was a public prejudice against
dissections, and the students of the two doctors named
occupied a room in a steeple on a church in Charles-
ton, where they dissected bodies. One of the class
would stay in the steeple all day Sundays with their
cadamrs to keep the hatch fastened down to exclude
intruding boys.
Dr. Jesse Beech commenced practice at Esi:)erance,
N. Y., in the year 1813, and in February of that
year married Susannah, a dauglitei- of John Brown,
of that place.
OF OKLEANS COUNTY. 247
In the fall of 1815 lie came to Gaines, wlu^re lie met
James Mather, with whom he was acquainted, and
was persuaded to stop there, accepting a theory then
believed in by settlers in that region, which was this :
' Batavia must be the Gotliam of the Holland Purchase
Oak Orchard Harbor must be the commercial port.
The great commercial highway of the country would
be from the head of navigation on Oak Orchard Creek
to Batavia. The country north of the Ridge was too
ilat and poor to be of any account, and tlie town
second to Batavia must be on the Ridge where the
road from Batavia to the lake crossed it. A kind of
half shire town for Genesee county was then at Oak
Orchard Creek on the Ridge. Genesee county would
be divided at Tonawanda Swamp, and the new coun-
ty seat would be Gaines.' Philetus Bumpus Avas then
hunting bears where Albion now is, and the future
greatness of Gaines was not dimmed by prospects of
Clinton^ s Erie Canal.
Such was the theoiy. The canal made dough of
the whole of that cake, and caused the whole country
about here to change front.
James Mather, and Oliver Booth, the tavern keep-
er, were active men in Gaines, Avlien my father came
in, both being very attentive to new comers, and Esq.
Arba Chubb came in soon after. He was the best
wit and story teller of the times, full of talk and re-
partee, a most social and agreeable man.
My father bought some land near the ' Corners,'
and brought my mother there the next spring. She
found the 'house' onl}^ half floored and not all
' chinked.' The fii'e waft built against the logs on the
side which had no floor, over which the roof was
open for the escape of smoke.
She was told that the rule of the settlement was
that new comers must burn out three logs in the
house walls before they could \)e allowed to build a
:248 i»ioxEKi: insToiiY
stone Lack for a ciiimiiej ; and tliey nmst liave liad
at least three 'sliakes' of a^-U(^ before tliey could be
admitted to citizenship.
The records are silent as to when slie hurnedoutlier
three logs ; but it is said that she soon attained to the
rank of full citizenship, having her first sliake of
ague on the fourth day ai'tt>r arriving in town. My
father must have found tlie people much in need of a
doctor, for I find on page seventy-one of his day book,
previous pages being lost, a large amount of busi-
ness charged for so small a population. The i)rices
charged would now be deemed quite moderate, to
wit.: Leonard Frisbie is charged 'To visit and setting-
leg for self $2.50." Subsequent visits and dressings
from thirty- seven and a half to seventy-five cents
each, and so in other cases.
In 1817, 1818, and 1819, it took him three or four
days to make a circular visit to his imtients. They
resided in Murray, east of Sandy Creek, at FarwelF s
Mills, in Clarendon, in differ(>nt parts of Ridgeway,
Barre, c\:c.
On these circuits the Idnd peoplt? treated him to
their b(^st, whicli was often corn cake and wliisk}^ or
Evans' root coffee, with sorrel pie for dessert, for the
doctor and basswood browse for his horse.
I find a bill rendered in pounds, sliillings and pence
to my fatlicr hy Geoige Kuck, for general mei'chan-
dise had at his store in West Carlton, in 1818. Ira
Webb was at the same time in trade at Oak Orchard
Creek, on the Ridge, but tlxc 2)i'iacipal mei-cliants wei-e
located at Gaines.
In the spring of 181 (), my father had about half
an acre of corn 'dug in" among the logs near his
house. "When it was a IV'w inches higli a frost blight-
ed tlie tops so that ever}' leaf was held in a tight
dead envelope. ]My mother cut oil' the to])s with lier
scissors and a fail- cro}) was harvested.
OF OHLEA.\S C'OUIS^rY. 240
In order to save the pig from tlie beai'^s itt^pen was
made close to tlu^ liouse, and a i)iece of rlnnldnt!;
left out to halloo ' shoo ' through.
One day mother' 3 attention was attracted l)y Jin
nnusnal hackling of the pig. Looking througli the
crevice she saw a large rattlesnake coiled n}) in tlif
hog-trough, with head erect, buzzing like a nest of
bees. Fearing to attack the old fellow, she ran to
the neighbors for help and Avhen she returned the
snake had gone.
In 1816 they had a patcli of oats near tlie house
from which the deer had to be driven frequentl}'.
Their first child, and only daughter, Elizabeth, was
born June 22d, 1817. She married Ezbon CI. Fuller,
and settled at Coldwater, Michigan, where she died in
1853. Their only son, your humble servant, was born
September 24th, 1810. I think I must have been one
of the first draymen in the count}^ as I remembei-
wdien a very small bo}' seizing the reins and backing
my father's liorse and cart loaded with merchandise,
part of which was a demijolin of aquafortis, down a
cellar gangwa}^ Some smoke and some hurraing
were among the consequences.
A few years later a young clerk and mj'self sent a
hogshead of molasses from a wagon down the same
gangway at one ' pop.' The ' pop ' carried away
the lieads of tlie cask and poured the sweet out to
the rats.
At the age of fourteen I tried clerking in a dry
goods store for Fanning ct Orton, in Albion. After
six months probation I felt no furtlu^r inspiration oi-
as]Diration in that line and resigned, I presume witli
the iK^arty consent of my employers, though they liat-
tered me b}^ expressing their regret, which I tliought
was proof of their politeness rather than my abilit}-.
I then attended Gaines Academy until I was eighteen
years old, when I commenced studying medicine with
250 PIOISTEEK HISTORY
Drs. Niclioson & Paine, in An)ion ; afterwards with
Dr. Pinkney, at Esperance, and gradnating at the
Albany Medical College in 1841.
I practiced ni}^ profession from tlie old Jiomestead
until 1850, then removed to Coldwater, Michigan,
where I have been engaged in the same business
since, except during the rebellion, in the greater part
of which I served in the army as surgeon, first of
Battery D. First Michigan Artillery; afterwards of
Tvfenty-Fourth Michigan Volunteers, in the Army of
the Potomac. The greater ^ymt of the time, besides
performing my regimental duties, acting as Surgeon-
in-Chief of the First Brigade, Plrst Division, First
Army Corps.
In January, 1842, I married Mary Jane Perry, of
Clarkson, IST. Y. '- ^- - '-
We have mentioned the anticipations of the people
of securing the location of the county buildings at
Gaines. The brick building standing on the hill south
of the village, was built by contributions started with
the intent to donate it to the county for a court house.
It was originally three stories high, about forty by
seventy feet on the ground. Tliese anticipations of
the contributors being blasted, they converted their
building into an academy.
At the organization of Orleans county, the village
of Gaines contained three stores, three asheries, three
tanneries, two taverns, one chair factory, one carriage
factory, one cabinet shop, three blacksmith shops,
one distillery, one cloth-dressing and wool-carding
establishment, two brick yards, one printing office
where a nev/spaper was published, one liat factory,
and one saddle and harness shop. Works requiring
motive power weie driven by horses. 'â– 'â– '
The first chapter of royal arch nuisons in tlie county
No. 82, was |organized at Gaines. Dr. Jesse Beech
was H. 1^ in 1826.
OF OIILEANS COUJS^TT. 251
Previous to 1825, Col. Boardman's Cavalry was a
marvel in the eyes of us youngsters. Dr. Jesse Beech
w^as its surgeon.
I find by an old receipt among my father' s 23apers,
that Gaines Basin, in the canal, was excavated by a
subscription fund, subscribed mainly by G-uernsey,
Bushnell & Co., E. & E. B. Nichols, and James
Mather.
Dr. Jesse Beech was a temperance man even to total
abstinence, enforcing his princii^les by banishing de-
canters and wine glasses from his sideboard — a pro-
ceeding rather unusual in those times.
He was a fine horseman and occasionall}^ ofiiciated
as marshal on public occasions. He was always ex-
ceedingly particular in his dress and personal apj)ear-
ance, and always wore an elaborate ruffle shirt. His
dress never was allowed to interfere with business re-
quiring his attention, and sometimes, when ofl" pro-
fessional duty, he would go into his field where his
men were clearing land, and though he was small in
stature, he would show by his agility and energy in
working with his men that he was a match for their
stoutest.
A few of the last years of my father' s life, he kept
a store of drugs and medicines on sale in connexion
with his practice as a phj'-sician and surgeon.
In February or March, 1828, he v/as hurt by a
vicious horse from which he suffered greatly as long-
as he lived. He died March 4th, 1829. His widow
afterwards married Captain Eliliu Mather, and re-
moved to Coldwater, Michigan, where she died March
IGth, 18G9.
.1. 11. BEECH."
OI.IVEIJ ]U)OTII. V
Oliver Booth was a Avell-known tavern keeper on
the Ridffe Road in Gaines. He came here from
252 PIOXEEU IIISTOIIY
Wayne couiitj^ in the spring of 1811, and settled on
tlie farm north of the Ridge and east of the Oak Or-
chard Road in the village of Gaines. He cleared his
farm and built a double log house, with a huge chim-
ney in the middle. Here he kept tavern a number
of years.
His house was always full of company. Travelers
on the Ridge Road stoj^ped liere because it was a
tavern and there was no other. Here he dispensed a
vast amount of wliisk}^, — for everybody was thirst}^ in
those days, — and some victuals to such strangers as
were not acquainted with the proverbial lilthiness of
the kitchen.
Aftei" Gaines had become a village, and laid claims
to the count}' seat, and peopL^ had come in who
wanted more style, and wliose stomachs could not
stand such fare as Booth' s tavern supplied, another
tavern was opened and Booth sold out and moved
away. He finally settled in Micliigan where he
died.
No description of Booth or his tavern would be
complete without including Sam. Wooster. Sam's
father lived in the neighborhood, and he (Sam.) then a
great lazy boy, strayed uj) to Booth' s tavern, where
b}' hanging about he occasionally got a taste of
Booth's whisky in consideration of l)ringing in wood
for the fire and doing a few other chores, l^or tiiese
services and the pleasure of his company. Booth gave
him v.'hat ht^ ate and drank, with a place to sleej) on
the bar-room lioor. His clotlies did not cost much.
He never Avore a hat of au}^ sort, seldom had on
stockings or shoes, x^obody can remember that he
wore a shirt, and his coats and i)ants Aver(> such as
came to him, nobody coidd tell how or from Avhence.
Sam. never washed his face and hands, or combed his
head, and his general appearance, shirtless and shoe-
less, with his great black, frowsy luvad 1)ar(.s his i)ants
OF ORLEANS; COT'NTY. 253
ragged and torn, and his coat, if lie had an}", minus
one sleeve, or half the skirt, to one who did know him
might befit a crazy prisoner just escaped from Bed-
lam. Yet Sam. was not a fool or crazy. His wit was
keen and ready, and his jokes timely and sharp. He
would not work, or do anj^thing which required much
effort any way. He was a good lisher however, and
with his old friend Booth, he would sit patiently by
the hour and angle in the Oak Orchard, or any other
stream that had lish, perfectly content, if he had an
occasional nibble at his hook.
One year while he lived in Gaines, some wag for
the fun of the thing nominated him for overseer of
highway's in the Gaines village district, and he was
elected. He told the people the}' had elected him
thinking he was too lazy to attend to the business,
and v.'ould let them satisf}' their assessments by mel"e
nominal labor on the road; but tlie}^ would hnd them-
selves much mistaken, and the}' did. Sam. warned
them to work as th<j law directed. He superintended
everything vigorously, and every man and team and
tool on th(^ highway within liis beat had to do its
whole duty promptly that year at least.
Although Sam. loved whisky and drank it whenever
it was given to him, for he never had money to buy
anything, he never got drunk. He never quarreled
or stole or did any other mischief. Bad as he looked,
and lazy and dirt}^ as he was, he was harmless.
When Mr. Booth sold out and moved to Michigan,
Sam. went witli him and lived in his family after-
wards.
A few months after landlord Booth got his double
log tavern going, a man rode up to the west front
door ,eacli half of the house had a front door, and
asked Mrs. Booth if he could get dinner and feed
his hors(^ there. She sent her daughter, then ten years
old, to show the man where he could get feed for his
254 PIONEER HISTORY
liorse in the stable, and she went to work getting
Ms dinner.
Having taken care of his horse, the stranger came
and took a seat by the front door of the room where
Mrs. Booth was getting dinner and commenced talk
by saying :
"Well, Mrs. Booth, how do you like the Holland
Purchase?"
" O, pretty well,'" she replied, " I think it will be
a good country when it is cleared np."
" What place did you come from Mrs. Booth V
*' We came from down in the Jarseys."
" Is the country settling about here very fast ?"
"Yes, quite a good many settlers have come in."
" How is it about the mouth of Oak Orchard, are
they settling there much ?"
, " No they are not, that cussed old Joe Ellicott has
reserved all the land there and wont sell it."
Just then Mr. James Mather passed by, and seeing
the stranger sitting in the door, whom he recognized
as Mr. Joseph Ellicott, the agent of the Holland Land
Company, he turned to speak to him. As he came
up, Ellicott motioned him to be silent, fearing he would
pronounce his name in hearing of Mrs. Booth and end
the fun. After a salutation to Mr. Mather, Mr. El-
licott said to Mrs. Booth :
" Has old Joe Ellicott then really reserved the land
round the mouth of the Creek."
"Yes, the devilish old scamp has reserved one or
two thousand acres there as a harbor for bears and
wolves to kill the sheep and hogs of the settlers."
Ellicott asked " What can induce uncle Joe to re-
serve that land ?"
She replied, "Oh, the old scamp thinks he will make
his Jack out of it. He thinks some day there will be
a citv there, and he will survey the land into city
OF OULEAXft COUXTY. 255
lots and sell them. All, lie is a long-lieaded old
chap."
Ellicott walked into the road and talked with Mr.
Mather a few minutes till being called to liis dinner
he said to Mather : "Don't tell Mrs. Booth who I
am until I am out of sight.*'
After Ellicott was gone, Mr. Mather went over and
Mrs. Booth asked him who that old fellow was who
got dinner there ^
He replied, "it was Mr. Joseph Ellicott, from Ba-
tavia."
"Good," says she, " didn't I give it to him ? Glad
of it! Glad of it!"
Mr. Booth was unable to read or write, and he was
accustomed to keep his tavern accounts in chalk
marks on the walls. Thus, for an account of six
pence, he made a mark of a certain length ; for a
shilling, a mark longer ; two shillings, longer still,
and so on. He distinguished drinks, dinners, horse
feed, &'c., by ])eculiar hieroglyphics of his own inven-
tion.
Booth, the tavern keeper, must not be confounded
with Oliver Booth, 2d, better known to the old pio-
neers as "Esq. Booth," who owned and resided on the
next farm west, which la}^ on the west side of Oak
Orchard Road, and north side of the Ridge. Esquire
Booth was among the very first settlers of Gaines vil-
lage. He was not related to the tavern keej)er. He
was born in Granby, Connecticut, in 1779, and set-
tled in Gaines, in 1810. He removed to Michigan in
1833 and died tlu^re.
Esq. Booth was the first Supervisor elected north of
Tonawanda swamp to represent the town of Ridge-
way, then the whole of Orleans county, in 1813. He
served several â– \'ears as a Justice of the Peace, He
256 TIOXEEPv IIISTOKY
Avas an odd man in apj)earanc(' and manners, but
upright nnd lionest.
JAMES :MATin:u.
James Mather was born in Marlborough, Yt., July
23d., 1784. His family are said to be descendants
from Rev. Increase Mather, President of Harvard
Universit}', who received the first degree of Doctor of
Divinity, that was conferred by that college. Mr»
Mather came to Gaines in the summer or fall of 1810,
to look out a place for his settlement. There was
then some travel on the Ridge Road, with a prospect
of more when tlie country^ was settled. The Holland
Company had establised their land office at Batavia,
and it seemed to liim sure that in time a village or
city would grow up at the mouth of Oak Orchard
Creek. The Oak Orchard trail was then marked from
Batavia to the lake, and Mr. Mather shrewdly pre-
dicting a village would be founded Adhere that trail
crossed the Rklge, took up some four hundred acres
of land lying on each side of the Oak Orchard Road
and south of the Ridge, on whicli he aft(.H-vrards set-
tled and resided while he lived.
Before removing to Gaines, Mr, Mather had resided
for some time in the town of Russia, Herkimer coun-
ty, where he manufactured potash Avliich he sent to
the Canada market by way of Ogdeusburg. He was
in this business when the embargo declaring non-
intercourse vritli Great Britain v/as proclaimed. He
continued his trade however, and by the skillful dis-
tribution of a few dollars among the government offi-
cials, his ashes were allowed to pass the lines and his
profits were large.
In the winter of 1811, he l)roke up his establish-
ment in Herkimer county and removed to his land in
Gaines. A younger brother, Rufus Mather, assisted
b}^ driving a t(\am of two yoke of oxen before a sled
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 257
which was headed, among otlier things, with three
potash kettles. There was no bridge ovei* Genesee
River, at Rocliester, and Knfus attempted to cross on
the ice near where the canal now is. In the middle
of the river the ice broke and It^t the loaded sled into
the water. Riifus succeeded with great difficulty in
getting out without loss, and followed the Ridge to
his destination, and stopped at the house of Cotton
Leach, west of the j^rf sent village of Gaines. Rufus
remained and labored for James the next summer.
James Mather had cut down the trees on a small spot
south of the Ridge, on the Oak Orchard Road, near
where his son George Mather now I'esides ; but no
clearing within the bounds of the village on the Ridge
had then beeii made.
Rufus Mather sa3's he felled the tirst tree iu the vil-
lage of Gaines, on the Ridge Road. That tree stood
on the west side of Oak Orchard Road. A piece of
land was soon cleared tliere and James Mather built
his log house on that corner in the spring of 1811,
He married Fanny Bryant February 15th, 1813.
She was born in Marlborougli, Vermont, October 28th,
1788.
In the winter of 1813, they commenced house keep-
ing in the log liouse ]Mr. Mather had built on his lot,
and remained there during the war, Avhen so many
went away.
Ml". Mather always ke23t open house, according to
the custom of the country there, though he never
I)rofessed to keep tavern; entertaining every one who
applied to him for accommodation as well as he could,
and his house was generally full of newly ariiving.
emigrants who were waiting till their own cabins could
be built, or of such casual strangers as came
along.
Oliver Booth, afterw^ards tlie tavern keeper, stop-
17
258 PIONEER HISTORY
peel with Mr, Mather when he first came in, nntil lie
got his own honse built and fitted up.
Soon after Mr. Mather settled in Gaines, he set the
potash kettles he brought with him and commenced
buying salts of lye, or "black salts," of the settlers
as soon as settlers came in and made them. These
salts he boiled down into potash and took them to
the mouth of Genesee River, or the mouth of Oak
Orchard Creek, and sent them to Montreal to a mar-
ket. He paid for these salts in salt fish, iron, leather,
coarse hardware, and a few axes, chains, and such
tools as farmers must have, which he obtained in ex-
change for his potash, and took care to sell at a fair
profit, and with these things he paid somt^ money.
He was in fact almost the onl}^ soui'ce from which
those who did not bring money with them got any to
supply their wants.
Early in the spring of 1811, Mr. Mather finding his
provisions getting low, went to the Oak Ore-hard
Creek, at the head of Stillwater, from the lake, with
two men and a seine and caught three barrels of fish
in a few hours. These he drew to the Ridge with his
oxen and took them to Black Creek Mill, a few miles
south of Rochester, and with these fish and money, he
bought wheat and pork, got his wheat ground and
took it home, and so lie was well supplied the first
year with these proyisions. About the time Orleans
county was organized, he built a large brick build-
ing for a tanner}^, in which with his brothers and
others he carried on tanning a number of years,
though he never worked at that business himself. He
dealt considerably in land, at one time owning a
large farm where Eagle Harbor village and flouring
mills are now built, and several large farms in other
places. From the rise of value in these lands, and
the profits of his speculations, he became wealthy.
He died August 29th, 1854.
OF OliLEANS COUNTY. 259
Mr. Mather had seven children.
Louisa, who married AVheeler M. Dewey. She
died many years since.
Dwight, who died in youth.
Adeline married Paul H. Stewart.
Eunice married Daniel F. Walbridge.
George married Mary Ann Crane. He resides on
his paternal homestead.
Ellen married Hon. Noah Davis, of Albion, late a
Justice of the Supreme Court.
Mary married Howard Abeel, a merchant of
Albion.
ELIHK MATIIEll.
Elihu Mather was born in Marlborough, \t., July
26th, 1782. He was a tanner by trade. He came to
Gaines to reside in 1825, and went into business
with his brother James in his tannery and working
his farm.
In the great antimasonic excitement arising from
the abduction of William Morgan, Mr. Elihu Mather
was indicted as an accessory to the crime, and tried
at Albion and acquitted. The trial occupied ten
days. Mr. Mather continued to reside in Gaines
until 1851, when he removed to Coldwater, in Michi-
gan, where he died Januar}^ 29tli, 1866,
IIENUY DRAKE.
Henry Drake was born in ISTew Jersey, April 6th,
1770. He settled in Gaines in March, 1811. In 1812,
he built a dam on Otter Creek, a few rods north of
the Ridge, in Gaines, on which he erected a sawmill,
which was the first sawmill built within the present
town of Gaines.
Mr. Drake learned tlie clothier's trade in his youth,
but followed farming as his business in life. He
married Betsey Parks, in New Jersey. She died
260 PIONEER HISTOKY
Aiinl 16tli, 1843. Mr. Drake died December 25th,
1863, at tlie age of almost 94 years.
SI3IE0N DUTClIEli.
!>imeon Dutclier was born in Dover, Dutchess Co.,
N. Y., April 21st, 1772. For lifteen years after ar-
riving at manhood he labored as a millwright, a trade
he assumed without serving any regular apprentice-
ship. He then commenced preaching and was or-
dained an Elder in the Baptist denomination. In the
year 1817, Elder Dutcher removed with his family to
(Jarlton, New York, and in 1820 he removed to the
town of Gaines, where he resided until he died. The
l)rimar3^ object he had in coming to the Holland Pur-
cliase was to preach and serve as a missionary among
tIio peo})le, the Baptists having no church organiza-
tion in Orleans county.
The people; were few, poor and scattered, and Elder
Dutcher never received much pay for his ministerial
labors, l^it supj)orted his family mostly by M'orking
a farm. He used to preach in several neighboring
towns in the log cabins of settlers, or in the school
houses after such were erected. And for several
years he officiated at nearly all the marriages and fu-
nerals in this part of the countrj'.
The first ft-amed meeting house erected in Orleans
county was built in the village of Gaines by a stock
company, who sold the slips to whom they could,
on th<' condition that the house should bo used by
different denominations, and it was so used.
A Baptist church was organized at Gaines in 1816,
under the pastoral care of Elder Dutcher, to whom
Ik; preaclK^d until 1827, when the anti-masonic excite-
ment prevailed in his church. Elder Dutcher, who
was a Free Mason, was required to renounce Freema-
sonry. He declined to do so and was excommunica-
ted, and dismissed from his church.
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 201
In the later years of his life Elder Dutcher professed
to be a iiniversalist in religions sentiment. He was
always regarded as a good man and was much be-
loved by the early settlers. He died January- 22d,
1860.
HON. WrLLIA?>[ .T. BABBITT.
William J. Babbitt was born in Providence, Rhode
Island, September 1786. He learned the blacksmiths
trade of his father and worked at that business main-
ly until he came to reside in Gaines, where he had a
small shop and occasionally worked at his trade for
several years. In the year 1812, he took up the farm
on which he ever afterwards resided, part of lot thirty,
township lifteen, rang(^ one, and moved his family
there in 1813.
For many 3'ears after Mr. Babbitt settled in
Gaines no professional law}T'r had come into what is
now Orleans county. The people however would in-
dulge occasionally in a lawsuit, and Mr. Babbitt be-
ing a good talker, and a man of more than common
shrewdness, tl^y frequently employed him to try
their cases in their Justices' courts. He improved
under his practice until he became the most noted
"pettifogger"' north of the Tonawauda Swamp,
and whichever of the litigants secured the services of
Esq. Babbitt, was quite sure to win his case. He
was active in getting the town of Gaines set off from
Ridgeway in the winter of 1816, and July 1st of the
same 3^ear, on his application a postofRce was estab-
lished in Gaines and he was appointed postmaster,
which office he held liv(> years. This was the first
postoffice and he was the first postmaster in Gaines.
In 1831-2 he represented Orleans county in the As-
sembly of the State. He was appointed a Justice of
the Peace by the council of appointment in 1815, and
reapi^ointed from time to time until the elections to
262 PIONEER HISTOKY
that office were given to the people under the consti-
tution, when he was elected by the peo2:)le holding
the office of Justice of the Peace in Gaines, in all 23
years.
He was several times Supervisor of his town, and
held various other town offices from time to time.
He took pleasure in serving in official and fiduciary
positions, and was largely gratified in this particular
by his fellow citizens.
He was remarkable for promptness in keeping en-
gagements. Late in life he was heard to say he was
never behind set time in being present in any legal
proceeding to be had before him. He acquired a
character for uncompromising fidelity in business
matters, and by a life of industry and economy laid
up a large i)roperty.
He died July 20th, 1863.
He married Eunice Losey, June 27th 1810. She
died April 4th, 1867.
GIDEOIS'^ FKEEMAN.
Gideon Freeman was born in Stillwater, Saratoga
county, January 11th, 1787. About 1799, he moved
with his father to Ledyard, Ca3aiga county, and in
March 1812, he settled northwest of what is called
Long Bridge, and took up the southwest section of
land now in the town of Gaines. He was the first
settler in this locality south of tlie Ridge, and founder
of wliat was for many years known as "Freeman
Settlement."
He cleared up a large farm and carried on a large
business as a farmer. His son, Chester Freeman,
now of Barre, relates that in the cold season of 1816,
liis father planted forty acres to corn, wliich was a
total failure. He had a large stock of hogs that year
which lie expected to fatten on his corn, from the loss
of whi(,*h, having nothing tq f(3ed them, many of them
OF OKLEANS COUNTY. 263
starved to death in tlie next fall and winter. He had
a large stock of cattle at that time and but little food
for them.
Mr. Freeman choj^ped over nearly fifty acres of
woods to browse his cattle in the winter of 1816-17,
cutting down all trees suitable for that purpose, and
losing only about six of his cattle from starvation.
Mr. Freeman owned a part of the section lying next
east of his home farm. On that land one year he
s owed forty acres to wheat, which grew very large.
At harvest time he measured off one acre of his field
and cut' and cleaned the wheat on it, getting fifty-five
bushels of wheat on that acre.
Mr. Freeman was a liberal, generous man, and la-
bored hard to induce settlers to come in and to open
the country to inhabitants. He sustained some large
losses in his business and became insolvent, finally
losing all his land. He removed to Ypsilanti, Mich-
gan, where he died in 1832.
Mr. Levi Atwell, Joseph Stoddard and Reuben
Clark were among those who moved into the Freeman
settlemen soon after it was commenced.
CHESTER FREEMAN.
Chester Freeman, son of Gideon Freeman, was
born in Scij)io, Cayuga county, August 18th, 1807.
He married Eliza Chidester in 183.1. She died in
March, 1848, and October 30th, 1849, he married
Amanda Morris. He has resided on lot thirty-one,
in township fourteen range two, in Barre, since
1842. He came into Orleans county with his father
in 1812.
DANIEL PRATT.
Daniel Pratt was born in Westmoreland, Oneida
county, N. Y., March 25th, 1788. He married Polly
Bailey, August, 1809, and moved to Gaines and set-
264 PIONEEK niSTOKY
tied OR the Ridge in the spring of 1810. His wife,
Polly, died August 30th, 1812. He married Caroline
Smith, January 8th, 1815.
He went east during the war of 1812 and remained
two years, then returned to Ids farm, on wliicli he
labored until his death, October 7th, 1845. Mrs.
Caroline Pratt, died September 18th, 1831.
The first wheat sold by Mr. Pratt was taken on
an ox sled by him to Rochester, and sold for twent}"-
live cents a bushel.
Mr. Pratt was a man of quiet habits, trusty and
faithful. He was mucli ]-espected by liis acquaintan-
ces.
He was Town Clerk of Gaines for many years and
held the office of Overseer of tlie Poor a long time.
DANIEL BROWN.
Daniel Brown was born in Columbia county, N, Y.,
June 15tli, 1787. He removed with liis father's fami-
ly to Upper Canada, in the year 1800. He resided in
Canada during the war 1812. He experienced mucli
trouble in consequence of liis refusal to bear arms
in that war against his native country. He was in-
dicted and tried for treason and acquitted. In Janu-
ary, 181 G, he remo^'ed to the town of Gaines and set-
tled one mile north-east from Albion.
Mr. Brown has established an enviabh? character
for integrity among his acquaintances, and has been
honored and respected.
He was Supervisor of the town of Gaines in 1844,
and lias held various other town offices.
He married Maiy Willsea, in Canada, in the year
1807.
Mr. Hntwn is still living.
WriJJAM \V. KrG(iLES.
Wm. W. Ruggles was born in Hai'dvvick, Massa-
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 265
chusetts, January 1st, 1800. His father, Seth liug-
gles, removed witli liis family in 1804 to Poultne}-,
Vermont, wliere \Vm. W. labored on a farm until he
was eighteen yeaivs old. He then entered the office of
Judge Williams, at Salem, N. Y., as a student at
law. Here he studied law eight months in the year,
teaclilng school winters' He closed his preparatory
law study with Chief Justice Savage, at Albany.
Having been admitted to the bar, he came to Albion
and formed a partnership with Judge Moody, which
was soon dissolved.
He removed to Gaines in 1824, and begaJi tlie prac-
tice of his profession there.
In the contest between Gaines and Albion for the
county buildings, he took an active part for his vil-
lage.
He aided in founding Gaines Academy and the
Farmers Bank of Orleans, at Gaines.
He exerted himself to have the New York Central
Railroad located along the Ridge, and used his inllu-
ence in favor of the building of Niagara Suspension
Bridge, and was a stockholder in that company.
In his profession as a lawyer he was diligent and
successful. He held the offices of Master in Chancey,
Supreme Court Commissioner, Judge of the Court of
Common l*leas, and Justice of the Peace and various
other town offices. He was several times the candi-
date of the Democratic party for the State Legisla-
ture, but failed of an election as his party was largt'-
ly in the minority.
Judge Ruggles had a cultivated nnud, (Miriched by
studious habits of life. He was particularly fond of
Astronomy, on which he left some lectures in manu-
script, written by him.
In the autumn of 1849 he went to Chicago, intend-
ing to reside and practice law there, but having taken
cold while on jiis voyage around th«* lake, he was
266 I'lONEEK HISTORY
compelled to return to Gaines siek, and never re-
covered, dying at Gaines, April 22d, 1850.
Ho spent a year surveying government land in
Michigan, when General Cass was Governor, where
he contracted fever and ague, from which he suffered
ever afterwards.
He married Miss .Inn Davis, daughter of Dea. Perry
Davis, of Gaines, in 1827. She died Aug. 20th, 1846,
He left three children, William Oakley, now a broker
in New York ; Henry C, a Civil Engineer in Cincin-
natti, Ohio ; and Helen, who married Mr. Fred
Hoott, and resides in Gaines.
• EAGLE IIARHOK.
Eagle Harbor, a thriving village on the Erie Canal,
in the town of Gaines, is said to have been so named
because n large bird's nest w^as found in a tree grow-
ing there about the time the canal was surveyed, sup-
posixl to have been built b}^ an eagle.
The land on which the village is built was for a
number of years at first held under articles from the
Holland Company.
Harvey Smith took a deed of eighty acres on the
south-east corner of lot thirty-six, November 1, 1819.
Stephen N. Chuljb took a deed of fifty-three acres
next north, Septi^mber 0th, 1884, and Macy Pratt, of
one hundied and thii'ty-eight acres north of Chubb,
November 29th, 1819.'
On the East side, Asahel Fitch took a deed of
one hundred twenty-live acres, part of lot twenty-
six, February 20th, 1821. James Mather took a
deed of two liundred acres next north of Fitch, No-
vember 27th, 1829 ; and Robert Huntei-, one hun-
dred and seventy-six acres next north of Mather,
January 81st, 1828.
South side; of Canal, fifty acres of lot thirty-five
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 267
were deeded to Amos S. Samson, December 22d,
1836.
Stephen Abbott took njD the land afterwards deeded
to Harvey Smith, and commenced cutting down tim-
ber on it in the winter of 1812. This was probably
the first clearing done in Eagle Harbor.
Little improvement was made until work was
begun on the canal. The high embankment over Otter
Creek was constructed by a man named Richardson.
He opened a store here to accommodate his workmen,
which was the first store.
Hicks and Sherman bought Kichardson s store and
continued it after him.
A, Mr. Hicks built the old red warehouse, the first
in the village, south side of the canal, where Collins'
warehouse now stands. This was owned and occu-
pied by A. S. Samson afterwards.
In 1832, this warehouse was sold to Willis P. Col-
lins who opened a dry goods store in it and continued
it about six years, then built a store and warehouse
on the east side of the street and moved there.
David Smith built the first sawmill about forty
rods north of the canal, on Otter Creek.
James Mather built a sawmill on the south side of
the canal in 1826.
N. Pratt, J. Delano and L. Northrop, built the
lower dam and sawmill in 1825.
James Leaton bought the Hunter farm, and he in
company with W, P. Collins, built the north fiouring
mill in 1837. This mill was burned in t]i<^ fall of 1839,
and re-built immediately.
A large fiouring mill on the south side of the canal
was built by General E. S. Beach, in 1847. This mill
has since been burned.
The brick church was built in 1827 by the united
means of Presbyterians, Methodists and Baptists,
I'lOXEEK IIISTOKY
and owned lialf by Methodists, and one-foiirtli each
l)j the otlier denominations.
Tiie first meeting liouse was taken down and rebuilt
in 1845, the same parties building and owning the
new house, as they did the old one.
Tlie Wesleyan Methodists erected tlieir cliurch ed-
ifice in 1845-0.
Eagle Harbor postoflice was established about the
year 1837, with AV. P. Collins first postmaster.
The first school house was built in 1822, on tlie
west side of the street.
The second school house was built on the lot now
owned hy the distri(;t, in 1841 ; and the third school
house in 1846.
Col. Jonathan Delano was the first carpenter and
joiner.
Samuel Robinson was the first slioemaker, and Da-
vid Sraitli the first tavern keeper.
Col. Delano and Sam. Robinson the first grocers,
Mr. Hurd the first blacksmith, and Dr. -lames Brown
the first physician.
The growth of Eagle Harbor has been greatly pro-
moted by the large capital employed there by Gen.
Beach in erecting mills and manufacturing flour, and
by the active business energy of Mr. Willis P. Col-
lins, for many years a resident in the ^•illage, and tlie
foremost man in ever}' enterprise teiiding to add wealth
and importance to the place.
CHAPTER XX.
TOWN OP" KENDALL.
Partitioned between State of Connecticut and Pultney Estate — First
Settler— First ^larriage— First Birth— First Tavern- First Death-
First Store— First Scliool— First Saw Mill— First Public Pteligious
Service — First Physician- First Highway Irom Kendall Corners to
Ridge — Biographies of Early Settlers.
ENDALL was named in lionor of Amos Ken-
dall, Postmaster General at the time it was
formed from ^STurra}^, A2~>ril 7th, 1837. From
its location, being oft* tlie line of travel, and because
the land was not snrvejed into lots, and foraially put
in market to sell to settlers as soon as lands on the
Holland Purchase, settlements were not made as early
or as numerous as in towns on the Purchase. The
State of Connecticut and the Pultney Estate had
owned these lands under a joint title, and for consid-
erable time they remained undivided.
In Jul}^ 181 0, Dr. Levi Ward became agent for the
State of Connecticut to sell their lands on the 100,000
acre tract, of which Kendall fonns a part. And in
1811 a foi-mal partition of land between the State of
Connecticut and the Pultney Estate was made, and
Mr. Joseph F(^llows was appointed agent of the Pult-
ney Estate.
Land offices were opened by these agents, and set-
tlers were invited to come in and take lands. But few
came into Kendall until after the cold season of 181G,
and for some time after that they had difficulty in ac-
270 PIOlSrEEK IIISTOEY
quiring a goo(J title to farms bought of the Pultney
Estate.
Samuel Bates, from Vermont, is said to liave been
the first white man who settled in this town, locating
on lot 111, in East Kendall, in 1812. He cleared some
land and sowed wheat, but did not move his family
in until 1814.
David Jones, Adin Manlej^, Amos Randall, John
Earns worth, Zebulon Rice, Benjamin Morse, and
Nathaniel Brown, settled in 1815.
Felix Augur, Rev. Stephen Randall, Ansel Bal-
com, George Balcom, Stephen Bliss, James Weed,
in 1816.
Ethan Graham, William Clark and his son Robert
Clark, came in 1817.
The first marriage in town was that of James Aiken
to Esther A. Bates, March 2d, 1817.
The first birth was that of Bartlett B. Morse, in
November, 1815.
The first death was that of a son of Geo. Balcom,
in 181G.
Hiram Thompson kept the first store in 1823. The
first inn was kept by Lyman Spicer in 1823.
The first sawmill was built by Augur and Boyden,
in 1819, and Gurdon Balcom taught the first school
in 1819.
The first gristmill was built by Ose Webster, on the
site on Sandy Creek, now occupied by the mills of
his son Ebenezer K. Webster, forming a nucleus for
the settlement now known as Webster's Mills. Pre-
vious to the erection of this gristmill, the people of
Kendall took their grain to Rochester, or to FarwelF s
mill in Clarendon, to be ground.
Farweir s mill was much nearest, but the road to it
was almost impassable with a load, and the little mill
had not capacity to do all the work in that part of the
country.
OF ORLEA^^S COUNTY. 271
The first religious service in Kendall was conducted
"by Elder Stephen Randall, a Methodist preacher.
The first physician who practiced in town was Dr.
Theophilus Randall, though T)r. Rowell, of Clarkson.
was frequently called.
AYhen Mr. Bates settled in Kendall there was no
public highway in town. Settlers and others coming
there usually left the Ridge a little east of Kendall
and traveled a road which had been opened into what
is now Hamlin ; thence west to Kendall. The first higli-
Avay leading south from Kendall to the Ridge, Avas
located and cut out b}^ the early inhabitants without
any public authority, from Kendall Mills following-
up the west side of Sandy Creek to the Ridge road.
This road is yet traveled a part of the way.
The first settlers of Kendall were chiefly from Ver-
mont, bred among the Green Mountains, and the
change of climate, air, wat(?r, food and occupation
they experienced in this new and comparatively level
countr}', was attended with the usual consequences.
They were almost all sick at times, and although the
utmost kindness prevailed, and ever}" one did all the}'
could to help themselves and others to alleviate suf-
fering, yet so f«^w were well, and in their little rude
huts furnished only with a most scanty stock of con-
veniences, short of provisions, and no place near
where the common necessaries for the sick could be
obtained, sohie of these people suffered great misery.
If they sometimes felt discouraged and wished them-
selves away, when tlKy were sick they could not go,
and when they got better they would not go, for the}"
came here to make them homes, and with the stub-
born resolution of their race they persisted in the
work they had begun, till their fondest hopes were
more than realized in the beautiful country theii' toils
and sacrifices made out of the wilderness.
The principal settlement in town for several years
272 PIONEEll HISTORY
at first, was in the east -pari, near the center. The
Randalls, Bates, Clarks, Manley, and other lead-
ing men tliei'e were intelligent, and wanted the lights
of civilization to sliine into their settlement, if it was
away in the woods. Accordingly they met together
about the year 1820, and formed a Public Library
Association. Among the names or prominent actors
in this movement were H. W. Bates, Adin Manley,
Dr. Tlieophilus Randall, Amos Randall, David Jones,
Calvin Freeman, Orrin Doty, James M. Clark, Benj.
Morse, Nathaniel Brown, Caleb Clark and Noah
Priest.
They raised by contribution among themselves in
various ways, about seventy-five volumes of books,
organized themselves into a society, elected their offi-
cer's, and kept up their organization about ten years.
Mr. Amos Randall was librarian, and these books
were well read in tliat neighborhood, and the habit of
thought and study thus imj^lanted has borne its
proper fruit in after years, in the numbers of Intelli-
gent and infiuential men who have grown up there.
They were too poor to each take a newspaper, and
tlie nearest post office was at Clarkson. Several men
united in taking a paper. AVlien it came to the post
office whoever of the com^Dany happened there first
took out the paper, and the neighbors would come
together to hear it read — those who did not contribute
to pa}^ the expense as well as those Avho did — and the
paper was then passed to some other family and read
over and over until it was worn out.
Salt water was early discovered in Kendall, and
salt made there to supj)ly the people.
In 1821, Mr. II. W. Bates and Caleb Clark dug a
well and planked it up to obtain brine on Mr. Bates'
faini and there they made about one thousand bush-
els of salt. They sold their kettles to a Mr. Owen,
who mad(! salt in them in the southwest part of the
OF OKLEANS COUNTY. 273
town. Salt making in Kendall was dii^continued
wdien tli(^ Erie canal opened.
About the year 1825, a company of Norw^egians,
about lifty-two in number, settled on tlie lake shore,
in the north-east part of the town. They came from
Norway together and took up land in a body. They
were an industrious, ])rudent and worthy })eople held
in good repute by people in that vicint}'. After a few^
years the}- began to move away to Join their country-
men who had S(4tled in Illiiiois, and but few of that
colon}^ are still in Kendall.
They thought it very impoitant that ev(^ry family
should have land and a home of thrir o^A•n. A neigh-
bor once asked a little Norwegian boy whose father
happenixl to be too poor to own land, wdiere liis
father lived? and was answered, " O, we don't live
nowhere, we liain't <;-ot no land.''
BIOCillAPHIES OF EARLY SEITLEKS.
ADIX MAXLEY
"I was born in Taunton, Mass., March 10, 1793.
1 was brought up among tlie boys of New England,
never liaving belonged to the ' upper ten.' J roughed
with the hardy sporting ones, always ivady for ath-
letic games, and could commonly act well my part.
AVhen about twenty-four years old I was taken with
the western fever, and having laid up two or three
hundred dollars, in time saved while sowing my 'wild
oats,' I b(Jiight a horse and wagon and started with
three others for the Genesee country. Not knowing
or thinking of any trouble ahead, we dashed away.
One of my ti-aveling companions was Stephen Kan-
dall, Jr., son of Rev. Stephen Randall, who had
previously gone west, and tlien resided at Avon.
18
274 PIONKEK HISTOltY
The son now resides in the town of Union, Mom'oe
county, iind lias got to be an old man and wealthy.
We arrived in Avon in September, 1815. From thence
we made our wa}' into Murray', and to what is now
Kendall, by way of Rochester. At Rochester we
were glad to get into tlie barn with the horses for a
night' s lodging, there being about thirty men, and
liow many horses I cannot tell. Which made most
noise would be difficult to tell ; one thing I do know,
the men swore most and drank the most whisk}'.
Tliat was an awfid company. It seemed as if they
Avere the liltli ajid otlscouring of the whole country.
In the morning 1 })roposed to sell my horse for I was
short of funds and had no farther use for him. A
gentlemanly appearing man by the name of Gilvreed
offered to buy him. He said he had good notes
against a responsible man, but the notes amounted
to more than tiie ]nice of the horse, and I might give
my note for the balance, and 'as to the value of the
notes, I might enquire of gentlemen who knew, at the
same time referring to some standing by, who said
they w^ere good and no mistake. So the exchange
was made in due form and both parties were highly
gratified.
But the result was that tlie makei- of the notes was
not worth a straw, and the man, Gilvreed, was worse.
This was m}' first financial operation in the west.
What added to my liumiliation was, I thought I had
such a vast knowledge of men and things as to be
proof against being outwitted by anybodj'; and that
I knew more than 'old folks.'' I wonder if boys
think so of themselves now-a-days '(
I then made my way west along the Ridge Road to
Murray Cornc^rs, now Clarkson, where Dr. Baldwin
liadlocat^^d and kept a tavern, which at that time was
a very lucrative T)usiness, as ])eople were flocking
from the east ra])id]y.
OF ORLEAIVS COUNTY. 275
From Muna}' Corners we struck off iiortli-west
what was then called ' Black North,' a region where
the probability was, what the miisketoes did not eat
up, the fever and ague would kill. On we went,
nothing fearing, until we came to wliat was called
'Yanty Creek,' where we found three families loca-
ted, who I believe were the only white inhabitants
in what is now the town of Kendall. Thej^ were H.
W. Bates, Amos Randall, and Benjamin Morse and
their families. I concluded to make a ' pitch ' here.
I now had to learn the customs and emploj'ments of
the people among whom I was going to reside, which
consisted mainly of chopping, rolling logs, raising
log houses, drinking whisky to keep off the fever
and ague, hunting deer, bear, raccoons, bees and
catching fish.
After working hard at a log raising, and taking-
cold after it, I was awakened in the night b}' an aw-
ful 'shaking' and could not tell what it meant, but
found out sure enough afterward.
In the spring of 1816, I went to work in good
earnest to clear a patch of land on which to raise a
little of the needful, and behold in June there came a
frost and spoiled all our labor and made our corn-
fields in the wilderness, instead of ' blossoming like
the rose,' look as though the fire had run through
them.
The next fall I was taken down with the ague
'proper,' and in attemi)ting to break it up I made it
worse, until it became aiqful. I theii made up my
mind to make my way back to Massachusetts. But
how was I to do it '\ I was so weak I could not walk
a mile. Finall}^ I found some men going to Vermont.
and agreed with them to take me along witli them
and let me ride i)art of the time. If I could remem-
ber their names I would record tliem witli gratitude
for their kindness.
270 pioNEin: iiistoky
I found my unconquera'ble Avill had a wonderful eftect
upon my body. I had no more ague on my journey,
though I had it every day before I set out. I went
to Massachusetts, and remained till I got well re-
cruited, and nothing daunted by what I had suffered,
I determined to return again to the west, and Janua-
yy 17th, 1817, I was married to Miss Miriam Deming,
and in February following, with my wife, my brother
and his wife and one child, Eri Twitchell and wife,
and Nathaniel Brown, we started with three yoke of
oxen hitched to a huge covered wagon. The perils of
that journey were neither few nor small in pass-
ing over mountains covered with snow and ice,
sidling roads with yawning gulfs below, and crossing
streams on ice, and floundering through snow drifts,
with a constant headwind blowing in our faces for
twenty -two days together.
When we arrived in tlie neighborhood of our new
liome, our neighbors hailed oui- coming with joy, and
wanted a little Hour just to make a cake. I suppose
they had gatheired some sticks and had baked their
last meal.
We moved into a small log hut with only one room
the fireplace against the logs at one end, with a stick
chimney, bark roof and floor. Taking it altogether
we tliought it a terrible place to live in.
We liad three yoke of oxen and nothing for them
to eat, this was the worst of all. We turned them
into the woods and cut browse for tliem, but the poor
cattle suffered mucli.
In the next spring Ave liad to pay one dollar a
bushel for potatoes, and alike price for oats, and no
money to buy with at that. AVe got some potatoes to
plant and the}^ came up twice, once by natural growth
and once rooted up by the hogs. We set them out
again, my wife helping me, for she vras a true ' yoke
fellow.'
OF OKLEANrt COUNTY. 277
So we plodded on througli the summer, with wheat
costing S2.50 a "bushel, pork twenty-five cents a pound.
Our first child was horn Sept. 24th of this year. It
was very feehle, and remained so for a long time, its
mother having the fever and ague every day for nearly
seven months, and taking care of her child the most of
the time. At six months old the child weighed onl}'
four pounds ! Thus we toiled on for three years.
The third yeav w^e raised wheat and other crops
enough for our comfort, and had built a framed ad-
dition to our house. Our prospects now seemed fav-
orable for going ahead, but in March following, our
house took fire and was consumed, together with all
our provisions, and nearly all our household furniture.
Under the circumstances, this was a sore trial to us.
We then had three cliildren, and no wdiere to lay oui-
heads. We had nothing to eat except what came from
charity. Our neighbors were poor but exceedingly
good.
After a while we got another house and toiled on.
getting together some of this world's goods. We had
ten children, all of whom lived to grow up to be men
and w^omen. We have sent nine of them to school at
once.
My wife died July 80, 1857, aged 04 years. I have
never experienced an}' calamity in m}' life tliat afflicted
me like her death, with such severit}'.
For several years after I came into this country, I
spent considerable time going far and near to assist
in raising log buildings. Sometimes going several
miles and carrying my dinner in my hand.
Mr. H. W. Bates and myself were accustomed to
labor much together, changing works. In the winter
of 1816, we went a mile into the woods to chop ; there
by accident a tree fell on him crushing him badly.
Had lie been alone he would have perished. On an-
other occasion Mr. Bates and another man witli my-
278 PIONEER HISTORY
self, went two miles into the Avoods one day in June,,
and felled the timber on two acres. I think the like-
was never done in that neighborhood before or since.
In the early settlement of the Genesee country, in-
temperance prevailed to an alarming extent. Almost
everybody drank whisky free as water when they
conld get it, and I am surprised so many escaped
total and eternal ruin. Many years ago I saw the-
evil and totally abandoned the use of every thing that
i ntoxicates as a beverage and labored faithfully as I
could to save others. For my zeal and persistence in
opposing tlif^ traffic in liquor, I have suffered much
from rumsellers. At an early day I have seen Justi-
ces Courts in session with a bottle of whisky on the
table before them, thus polluting the fountains of
justice with the vile abomination, and if the
Honorable Court happened to become too much ah-
sorbcd with the cj-eature, they would adjourn over to
cool off.
I have had a large experience in hunting bears,,
deer, raccoons and wolves, and camping out in the
woods in cold and stoi-m, without fire or food, working-
out in the dead of winter, eating frozen dinners in the
woods, sharing fully my part in all sorts of hardships
which fell to the lot of the first settlers here. I have
endured it all, and lived to a good old age, thankful
to that good Providence which has cai'i'ied me through
so far and so safely.
ADIN MANLEY."
Albion, F'cbriiary 20tli, 1801.
Mr. Mauley dicxi in AlT)ion, July 2nth, 1867, aged
74 years.
IJOHEIIT CI.AUK.
"I was born in Lisbon, Connecticut, October 25th,.
1801. My ancestors came to America from England
s<>me time in the sixteenth century. My father re-
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 279
moved to Columbus, Chenango county, N. Y. in 1805.
In 1810 he removed to Utica, and in 1817 he settled
with his family on what was then called the Triangle
Tract, n(^ar the county line, and between the towns of
Kendall and Hamlin, about three miles from Lake
Ontario. The place was then called Clark's settle-
ment, because three brothers of the name of Clark
settled tlieie. My uncles, Caleb and James settled
there one year before my fatlier, whose name was
William Clark, came on, which was quite a help to
us, for they had a little wheat sown, and some corn
and potatoes planted.
When my lather arrived there was not a pound ol
pork or tloui' in the settlement, except what he brought
with him ; and tlie next day the pork. Hour and whis-
ky were divided among tlie neighbors.
One reason for the entire destitution among the set-
tlers was the anti<'ii)ation of riiy father s arrival, for
they all knew he would bring a supply for a time,
and so neglected to ])]<)vide for themselves otherwise.
The names of tlie families then in the settlement
Avere Bates, Priest, Randall, Balcom, Ross, Clark
and two by name of Manle}'.
The setljers, in anticipation of our coming had
peeled elm bark in tli(^ montli of June previous,
enough to form a roof to a liouse, and on our arrival
they commenc(Hl cutting logs for a liouse, and to clear
a spot of ground large (Plough to set it on, and in a
few days it was rais(»d and covered with bark, in true
pioneer style. 'Plny^ also split l)asswood and hewed
slabs for a tioor, which covei-ed about two-thirds ot
llie surface of the room, the remainder being left for
the fireplace and hearth.
AVenoAv moved into our neAv house and (Mnnmenced
our pioneer labors.
The door of our liouse was a bed blanket, a,nd win-
dows >vere liardl^' necessarw for our liouse was not
280 PIONKKK HISTOItV
'•chinked' and sufficient liglit came in tlirough crevi-
ces between tlie logs, and a large space was left open
in the roof for the smoke to pass tlirougli. Onr iire
place was tlie entii-e end of th(» house, and oui- hearth
the solid earth.
My father soon ol^tained some hoards and made a
door and temporary windows. The next tiling to he
done was to chink the cracks between the logs. This
being done, we dug up the soil and wet it and made
mnd witli which ^^â– e plastered the outside over the
chinks, v.diich made our house quite warm and eom-
fortable.
About this time our stock of provisions began to
get short, and the entii-e settlement was getting hai-d
up for something to eat ; but as potatoes were about
lipe we had plenty of them, and as we had a cow we
lived quite well until we could get wheat ground,
which at that time was very difficult. Before our
wheat was hard enough to grind, our mother hulled
and boiled it and wc ate it with milk, and we thought
it very good eating.
This state of things did not last long, for my broth-
er James had a givat propensity for hunting, my
father having bought him a gun ; he very .soon su])-
})litHl us with A'enison which proved a luxury in the
v/ay of meat.
At length our wlicat ciop having matu]*^'d, a grist
for each neighbor was prei)ared, and I stai-ted with an
ox team and about twelve bushels of wheat, which
with fodder for the oxeu by the way, was about as
niucli as the team could draw. I staid at Murray
Corners, now Clarkson, the first night, and the next
day, a little before night, I got to the mill at Roches-
ter, chained the oxen to the wagon and fed them for
the night. I slei)t that night on the bags in the mill
until my grist was ground, which was com2)leted
about daylight. After feeding my team and eating
OF ORLEANS COUNT^. 281
my venison, I started for home and got there about
sundown the third da}^ out. The next morning, I
guess, all the neighbors had short cake for breakfast.
I will now give a description of what was called an
Indian Mill which was used to some extent by the
early settlers. We selected a solid stump of a tree
in a suitable ^luce near the house, cut a hole in the
top with an axe, deep as we could, and then ])uilt a
fire in the hole burning it, and putting in hot stones
until it was sufficiently deep for a mortar. We then
made a pestle of hard wood, took a strip of elm bark
tied one end to the pestle and the other to the top of
a limber sapling tree that would l)end directlj^ over
the mortar, making a spring pole, which completed
the machine. Put a (piart of corn into this mortar,
and a man could soon convert it into samp — coarse
meal — which when well boiled, made xi^vy good eat-
ing in milk. The Indians used it almost exclusively
for bread.
I had never chopped down a tree or cut off a log
when I lirst came into the forest. The next morning
after arriving in the woods, I took an ax and went
to where my'fiither was preparing to build his house,
and commenced chopping down a ti-ee i^erhaps six
inches through. I chopped all around the tree till it
fell. When the tree startcnl to fall, I started to run,
and if the tree had not lodged on anothei', I know not
but I should have been killed, for I ran in the same
direction the tree was falling. I was so scared at this
my first attempt at falling timber, that I picked uj)
my ax which I had thrown away in my fright, and
made tracks for th(,' house, concluding to cho]) no
more until I had learned liow to do it.
The first school in the settlement was taught b\'
Gurdon Balcom, the next by Wesle}' Randall. Tlie
first minister of the gospel who preached in this set-
tlement was Elder Randall, a Metliodist and a very
282 riONEEK mSTOKY
good mail. Dr. Theopliilns Randall was the first
])liysician.
In the fall of 1818 I went to Oneida county, and
learned the art of distilling wliisk}^, which at tliis
time was a very popular business. My mother died
Avhile I was there, which nearly broke uj) our home
<3ircle, and which was to me particularly, a cause of
great sorrow.
I returned home in June following and found my
father' s family, as I expected, in a very lonely con-
dition. I went to work with my father and brothers,
clearing land and securing our crops. When that
was done, I went back to Verona and worked in a
distillery another winter. Next spring I returned
and worked in Whitney's distillery in Rochester, and
the fall after I went to Toronto, in Canada, and erect-
ed the first steam distillery ever erected in Canada,
wliich at that time was one of the curiosities of the
age.
I worked thousands of bushc^ls of tlie finest wheat
I ever saw into whisky. The wheat was bought for
two and six pence per bushel.
The next June I returned liome. nn^ father in
the meantime had married again and moved to
Le Roy, having let out his farm in Murray. I w^orked
in Le Roy and Clarendon. I became 21 years old
October 2r)th, 1822. T took a job clearing land in
Le Roy, for wdiicli I received $600. My father' s fam-
ily and mj^self then moved back to Min-ray, and T
l)aid up the balance for his farm.
I married Anna Augur, daughter of Felix Augur,
of Murray, now Kendall, Feb. 18, 1824. Mr. Augur
had come in from Vermont the yeiiY previous, and
bought his land of the State of Connecticut for $3.00
an acre, Dr. Levi Ward was the land agent. Mr.
Autcur was a soldiei- in tho Rpvolutionary War^
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 283
Gen, C. C. Aiignr, now of the United States army, is
]iis grandson.
Tlie next spring after I was married, I Ixjught a
piece of land in Clark's settlement, wliicli had some
Avork done on it, and went to keeping honse there.
I chopped over twenty acres with my own hands,
all but four days help of a man. I tlien sold out my
chance on this lot, and bought fifty acres in another
place ; which is a part of ray present farm. It was
then entirel}^ wild, so that I commenced again in the
woods.
I bought it second-lianded, and agreed to pay eight
dollars per acre. I worked some on my land, work-
ed out some by the day and b}^ the job ; but as grain
brought but a small price, I concluded that was a
pretty liard way to get a living, and built a distiller}^
near my farm. At this time settlers had come in in
mimbers. Grain was raised in plenty, with no cash
market for it. Money was scarce, and the little we
had was what we received for ashes. AVe cut and
burned our timber and made hla/^li ^altn from the
ashes, which brought cash. I have carried ashes on
my back to market, until my shoulders were blister-
ed, to get a little money to buy necessaries for my
^amil3^ I built my distillery because grain was
plenty and cheap. I could distill it, take it to mar-
lc(^t at Ro(^hester and sell it for cash, at a good ^irofit
to me and to the settler, who sold me his grain, which
lie could not take to another market and make as
much from it ;â– and he could raise grain easier than
lie could make and market black salts.
I sold my distillery in bS8(), and determined to
make farming the lousiness of my life after that.
The year 1828 is well rememben^d and distinguish-
ed, as being ' the sickly season,' through this country.
Th(^ sickness began in July, and in August there wen^
not well persons enough in town to tak<M'are of the
284 . PIONEER HISTOIiY
yick. And in this neigliborliood tliere was but one
well man, Amnion Augur, and not one well woman,
that could get out of the house. Many families suf-
fered much for lack of liel}). My family was all sick.
One day Dr. Robert Nichoson was the only person
who entered my house. He calh^d, prepared our
medicine and left it at the head of our beds, and went
on to other scenes of sufiering. That was the most
gloomy day I ever saw. My wife crept from her bed
to mine, holding up by the door post, to see if I was
alive, and then got back to lier bed, wliere lay our
little daughter, equally helpless. AVe all spent a
dreary niglit. M}^ hired man was down sick at the
same time. The next day we got hel]). The 3*ears
1826 and 1827 were also sickly j^ears. I could give
many cases of suffering in those times, but amid it all
we had our pleasures, for we \Aere all brethren and
loved one anotlu^]-.
ROBERT CLARK."
Kendall, March, 1S04.
SAMUKI. HATES
Was the hrst wliite man wlio settled in what is now
Kendall. He was born in Haddam, Conn., Aug. 9,
1760. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary War,
during the last three and a half years of its continu-
ance, serving in a New Hampshire regiment. He win-
tered with Gen. Washington at A'alley Forge, and
participated in several ini])ortant ])attlcs. He served
under rien. Sullivan in his memorable expedition
against the Indians iji Western New York. He had
a fondness for militar}' life and service ; a trait of
character transmitted to his d(\scendants, and honor-
ably exemplilied in his grandson, Lieut, (yol. Willard
W. Bates, who was killed while leading his regiment,
the 8tli Heavy Artillery, N. Y. Vols., in a blood}'
battle before P(>te]-sbu)'g, \'a., in the wai" of the Re-
bellion.
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 285
From what ^f r. Bates saw while with Gen. Sullivan
lie early formed a desire to settle in the Genesee coun-
try, a wish he was afterwards enabled to gratif}^
After leaving the army, Mr. Samuel Bates resided
several years in Randoljih, Vt., removing from thence
to Burlington, Yt. Leaving his family in Burlington,
he came to Kendall, and took up lot 111, town 4, of
the 100,000 acre tract, having the land 'booked' to
him, as they called it, that is, having the agent of the
State of Conn, note on his books that he had gone in-
to possession, with a view of securing his right to the
land when it slx)uld come in market for sale. Of this
land, in due time he got a title and it is now ()v>'ned
by his son, Capt. H. W. Bates.
The lirst year he was in Kendall, lie cleared sever-
al acres of land in the summer of 1813, he sowed two
acres to wheat, built a log cabin, and returned to
Burlington after his family, and brought them to
Kendall in June 1814. His eldest son, Capt. H. W.
Bates, then about twenty-one 3-ears old, accompanied
him.
On arriving at his new log house he found hife wheat
held in full head, looking fine. The crop so raised
furnishing bread for th<^ family the next year.
Mr. Bates and his family, coming as they did from
the Green Mountains of Vermont, suffered severly
from fever and ague, some of the first years after they
came to Kendall. They Avere all sick, Mr. Bates himself
never fully recovering from his acclimating fever. He
died August 21, 1822.
AMOS KANDALL.
Amos Randall was born in Ashburnham, Mass.
January 3, 1788. He married Fanny Tabor in 1814.
She was born in Shelburne, Vt., Feb. 11, 1793.
In 1814, they removed to Avon, and in the spring of
"iSQ PIONEER IIISTOHY
1815, settled in Kendall, on the farm now occupied
hy his son, Hon. Gideon Randall, where he after-
wards resided, and died Aug. 28, 1830. Mr. Randall
was a public spirited man, and entered zealously
into every undertaking for the benefit of his neighbor-
hood. He acted frequentl}^ as counselor and arbitra-
tor among the settlers, to aid in arranging business
matters, in which his neighbors needed such help.
The first school house was erected on his land where
the stone school house now stands.
The first cemetery in town was located on his farm
and the first burials of the dead were there.
He was a Supervisor of the town of Murray before
the count}^ of Oileans was organized, or Murray had
been divided into the several towns which now include
its original territor}^ He left six children, viz :
Charles T., Gideon, who resides on his paternal home-
stead, Dr. James W. now a practicing physician in
Albion, Fanny E. wife of O. M. Green, George W.
and Amos S.
DAVID JOXES.
David Jones was born in Pembi'okeshire in ^^^ales,
July 17, 1792. He removed to America with his
lather' s ftimily in the year 1801. His father settled
in New Jersey and his son David i-emained with him
until he was eighteen years old, then came to Ontario
county, New York, where he resided four 3'ears, and
then settled in Kendall in 1815.
He married Miss Catharine AVhitney February 24,
1824. Their childnai are Claudius, who married
Harriet Weed and resides in Illinois ; Thomas, un-
married ; Almiretta S. J. married C. G. Root ; Seth
married Sylvia Shelly ; Cynthia Ann married James
R. Whitney, and David who married Lucy A. Chase
all of whom reside in Kendall,
Mr. Jones was j)oor when he settled in Kendall and
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 287
Doiight liis land on credit. He was a large strong-
man able and willing to labor. He cleared and im-
proved a large farm and became a wealthy man.
Sickness in liis famih' and the want of a market
for farm prodnce made it very difficult for him to ob-
tain means to pay for his land improvements for some
years at first. He said he agreed to pay four hundred
dollars for his first hundred acres, and it was fifteen
years before it was all paid.
He was a man of strong native intellect and of
sound judgment in matters that come within his ob-
seiTatiou or experience, but he never had the lu'nefit
of much instruction in school.
He died January 2i\ I860.
CHAPTER XXI.
r
TOWN OF MURRAY.
Towns Set Off— First Tavern— First Marriage — First Birth — First
Death— First Store— First Grist Mill— First School— First Church
— Sandy Creek — McCall & Perry's Mill — Sickness at Sandy Creek
— Biographies of Early Settlers.
LARGE part of the western portion of Monroe
?ounty was at lirst incorporated by the Leg-
islature in March 1802, as Northampton.
The town of Murray was formed from Northampton in
June, 1812. It received its name in honor of John
ALurray, a merchant of tlie city of New York, who
was a large proprietor.
Murray, at its formation, included what now com-
prises the town of Murra}^, Kendall, Clarendon, Union
or Hamlin, Clarkson and Sweden,
Sweden, which included Clarendon, was formed
from Murray in 1813, and Clarkson, which included
Hamlin, in 1819.
Kendall was set off in 1837, leaving the town of
Murray of its present dimensions.
The lirst inn was kept in 1809, by Epaphras Mat-
tison.
Messrs. Wait, Wright, Sisson, Earnsworth, and
Rockwood, were among the earliest settlers.
The first marriage was that of Solomon C. Wright
and Tryjjhena Farnsworth.
The first birth was that of Betsey Mattison.
The first store was at Sandy Creek, by Isaac
Leach, in 1815.
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 289
The first gristmill was lyuilt hy Pcny and Luce
in 1817.
The first school was kept l)y Fanny Ferguson, in
1814.
The first town meeting in tlie old town of ISInrray,
before it was divided, was held in the harn of John-
son Bedell, about foui* miles south of Brockport.
The first ehurcli formed in this town was the Con-
gregational hy Rev. John E. Bliss, Jani\ary oth,
1819.
The first settlements in what is now included in the
town of Murray were made on the Ridge at and near
Sandy Creek.
Epaphras Mattison first settled here in 1809. In the
year 1817, some fifteen or tAventy famili(^^ had located
at Sand}^ Creek, and in thai yi^av Jhmvy McCall and
Robert Perry built mills on the creek, iht^ir dam
raising the water so as to overfiow (nghtcen or twenty
acres then ('overed with heavy trees, whic^li were left
standing. The water killed the timbtn-, and a terrible
sickness followed among the inhabitants, about one-
quarter of whom died in out^ season. 'I'lie well pei-
sons were not numerous enough to take care of the
sick and buiy^ the dead, and settlers from other neigh-
borhoods came there and helped the needy ones.
The mill dam was taken down and the sickness dis-
appeared.
Mr. Andrew 11. Green, of Byron, Generft^^ county,
relates that several families were settled at Sandy
Creek, in 1811. In the fall of that year settlers in
Byron heard that these 2)eo])le at Sandy Crtn^k were
nearly all sick and in great suffering, and tliey made
up a company of six or eight and went over to help
them, carrying a load of necessaries. Mr. Green
says : " I never saw so helpless a company." Sandy
Creek was regarded as an unhealthy location for
19
S;90 PIONEKK IIISTOJIY
some years after its iirst settlement, occasioned in
great part by building mills there in the woods.
The first settlements in what is now Murray were
made along the Ridge Road. Mills having been built
in early times on Sandy Creek, near where that stream
crosses the Ridge, mechanics and business men loca-
ted there, and at the time the Erie Canal was first
navigable here was a livel}" village known as Sandy
Creek, a name by which it has ever since been dis-
tinguished.
The first post oflice in town was established here,
called Murray.
Though the 2:)eople sufiered terribly from sickness
about the time mill dams were first built in the
Creek here, and while neighboring lands were being
opened to cultivation, yet Sandy Creek was the prin-
cipal place of business in the town until Holley and
Hulberton, on the canal, were settled and gradually
drew away most of the trade and business to these
new villages.
BIOGRAPHIES OF EARLY SETTLERS.
HAKLEY N. BUSIIXELL.
Harley N. Bushnell was born in Starksborough, Vt.,
the youngest of thirteen children in his father's fami-
ly, Feb. i8th, 1796. When he was fifteen years old
he went to Connecticut to learn the trade of a clothier
of his brother. He served as an apprentice in that
business five years, and received thirty days school-
ing in the time. In February, 1817, he came to Ba-
tavia, Genesee county, and went to work at his trade.
In August afterwards his employer ran aAvay, owing-
Mr. Bushnell one hundred dollars, and the Sheriff"
came and seized all his employer' s property, turning
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 291
Buslmell out of business. He finally bought the es-
tablishment and run it on liis own account, and with
a partner ; but in the end found it a losing business.
After a time he gave up his trade and was elected
constable. In this business he was not successful in
laying up money, and in the end found himself about
even with the world.
He did some business as a justice, and labored
some at his trade until February, 1823, he removed
to Holley, north of where the canal now is, Vrdiich was
then covered with felled timber, not cleared off;
bought two acres of ground and leased tvv'o acres
more for a mill pond. He commenced getting out
timber for a house eighteen by twenty-four feet
square, hewing and framing it at the stump. There
was considerable snow on the ground, and on the
snow crust mornings, he drew all the timber for liis
house to the spot with a yoj)L' over his shoulder. Af-
ter getting his famil}' settled in his new house, he
cleared otf part of his land, and with the help of his
neighbors atone or two " bees," he built a log dam.
got out timber and built a sawmill, and began sawing
about May 1st, 1824. In 1825, in comjDany with
Samuel Clark he built works for wool carding and
cloth dressing at Holley.
In October, 1826, his house burned with all its con-
tents. In two weeks he had another house up. In
June, 1828, he bought the interest of his partner in
the wool carding and cloth dressing works, which he
carried on alone until 1833, when he sold out and
bought a farm. After a few years he sold his farm,
moved to Holley, and ever after did business as an
insurance agent.
For many years he was Superintendent of the Pres-
byterian Sunday School in Hollej'.
He was one of the founders of the Orleans Count}'
Pioneer xissociatiou, and many years its President.
292 PIONKKi: HISTORY
He was a kind ]ieart<xl, genial man, benevolent and
])liilanthropit*, earnest and zealous in sHj^port of
every good cause, and died lamented by all who
knew him, October 28th, 1868.
ARETAS PIEKCE.
Aretas Pierce was born in St. Johnsbury, Vermont
March 27th, 1799. He came with his father's family
to settle in Clarendon, where he arrived April 7th,
1815. Tlie family moved into a house built for a
school house, until they could build a house for
themselves.
They built a house and moved into it April 24tli,
1815. The first year they lived on provisions they
brought in with them. Tlie next year being the cold
season, they bought r^'e at one dollar and twenty -five
cents a bushel, and pork at twenty-five dollars a bar-
ivl, in Palmyra. The next j'ear the}^ were out of
l)read stuif before harvest, and ate green wheat boiled
in milk as a substitute, and what is strange none of
tlie family had dyspepsia !
He married Matilda Stedman, May 8th, 1823, and
has always resided on the lot originally taken by his
father.
When his fatiier came in it was an unbroken wil-
derness on the west, from his place to the Oak Or-
chard Road, eight miles ; north to Sandy Creek, four
miles: east two miles; south to Farwell's Mills.
Eldridge Farwell, A. Dudley, John Cone, Wm. Aus-
tin and Mr. West, had settled in Clarendon, and
other settlers towards Sandy Creek came in the same
year witli Mr. Pierce. A few came before them.
In the years 1 817-18, the inhabitants in this settle-
ment suffered for want of food.
Samuel ISIiller worked for Artemas Daggett chop-
ping wood for one dollar a day and board himself..
All he had to eat, most of the time, was com meal
OF OKLEANS COUNTY. 29o
and water; l>ut lie did not complain or tell ol" it
then.
Ebeuezer Fox settled a mile and a half east ol"
Murray depot, and all they had to eat for a number
of weeks was what they could pick up in the woods.
The best they could find was the inner bark of the
beech tree.
Mrs. Fox had a young babe, and her next oldest
child was in feeble health, and she had to nurse tliem
both to keep them from starving.
Almost all the money the settlers had was obtained
by leaching ashes and boiling the lye to black salts,
and taking these to Gaines or Clarkson and selling
them for about three dollars a liundred pounds.
After 1818 the country tilled up rapidly with set-
tlers and more produce began to be raised than was
wanted for home consumption. The price of wheat
fell to twenty-five cents a bushel, and onl}' tliirt}-one
cents after hauling to Rochester, and so remained nn-
til the Erie Canal was opened.
Mr. Pierce settled on lands owned 1)}' tht^ l^ultne^'
estate, and these did not come into market for sale
until 1821, though settlers were allowed to locate
themselves with the expectafion of buying their land
when it came into market. The ])rice of his lot was
fixed at eight dollars per acre, but having expended
so much in building and clearing, he was compelled
to pay the price or suffei' loss by alniiidoning all he
had done.
Tlie reason given by the conij)any for not bringing
their lands into market was, they liad '' so miu-li bus-
iness on hand they could not attend to it," but the
settlers thought they were waiting to have the canal
located before establishing their price.
iri'nHAIM) IMCK.
Hubbard Rice was born in Pompey, Onondaga coun-
294 PION^EER HISTORY
ty, July 28tli, 1795. He removed with his father to
the town of Murray, and settled on a lot adjoining
the Tillage of Holley, in May 1812. His father, Mr.
William Rice, continued to reside on this place until
about the year 1830, he went to Ohio to reside with
his children, and died there.
Hubbard Rice lived with his father until 1825, then
he moved to the south part of Clarendon, where he
remained until he removed to Holley in 1864, where
he still resides, 1871.
After Lewiston was burned in the late war with
England, Mr. Hubbard Rice, then a boy of eighteen
years, volunteered as a soldier and served a campaign
on the Niagara Frontier.
Coming to Holley when a boy, he grew up to man-
hood there, seeing and sharing in all the toils, dan-
gers, hardships and privations which the settlers en-
dured.
He has been spared to a lipe old age to witness the
founding, growtli and development of a beautiful vil-
lage on a spot he has seen when it w^as a native forest
covered with mighty hemlocks, through which now
by canal, railroad and telegraph, the commerce and
intelligence of the world are flowing.
('II AIT]\UE Y R< )IU XSON .
Chauncey Robinson was born in Durham, Connect-
icut, January 5th, 1792. When he was two years
old he was carried with his father's family to Sauquoit,
Oneida county, N. Y., where, to use his own words,
'' I was educated in a district school, and graduated,
at twelve years of age, between the plow han-
dles."
He removed to Clarendon, Orleans county, and set-
tled about two miles south of Farwell's Mills, July
1813; cleared a farm and carried it on until May, 1851,
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 295
he removed to Holley, where lie resided until his
death, which took place ]\Iay 8th, 1866.
In the war with England in 1814, he was called out
Avith the other inhabitants of the frontier generally to
aid in repelling the British who were then besieging
Fort Erie.
He was several months in this service ; was in the
battle and sortie at Fort Erie, Septembei" 17th, 1814,
whicli was the last battle of tln^ war fought on this
frontier.
A^ery few families had located in Clarendon when
Mr. Robinson went thci-c. IL* began in the woods,
built a log house, and all its fixtures, furniture and
surroundings, wer(^ in tlx' primitive st^de of those
times.
He was a man of ardent temperament, a lluent and
earnest talker in private conversation or public de-
bate, noted for liis intense hatred of slavery and op-
pression, and his love of freedom and free govern-
ment, and for his zeal in the cause of temperance.
Upon this and kindred topics he frequently wrote ar-
ticles for the newspapers.
He was an active man in organizing the town of
Clarendon, laying out and opening highways, and loca-
ting school districts, frequently holding public office
as the gift of his fellow townsmen. He was Supervisor
of Clarendon four years in succession. He was an
oi'iginal and free thinker on those subjects of public
policy which excited his attention, enforcing his doc-
trines with a y.oii] which some of his opponents thought
fanatical.
In his personal habits he was industrious, frugal
and temperate. When ho was an old man hi^ said :
"I have never used one pound of tea, coffee, or to-
bacco, and comparativcl}^ little liquor ; none for the
last thirty yeai's; not even cide]-. My constant drink
at liome and abroad is cold water."
296 PIONKEK IirsTOKY
Hiram Frisbie was Lorn in (Iranville, N. Y.. Aug.,
1791. lie lirst came to Orleans county with a view of
taking the job of buikling the embankm(^nt for the
Ei'ie Canal, at lioUey. Failing in this he went witli
his brother-in-law, William Pierpont, to Farwell's
Mills in the town of Clai-endon, and 0})ened a store
there in 1821. They sold goods and made pot and
pearl, ashes there. Pier})ont also keeping tavern seve-
ral years, when Pierpont sold out the whole business
to Mr. Frisbie, who maiuig^d it ail alone several
years, until tlit' insolvency of some leading merchants
in Holley made an o|)ening for his business there,
he then closed out i?i Clarendon and moved to lioUey
to reside about the year 1828 or 1829.
In connexion with Mr. James Seymour of Clarkson,
he bought: all the unsold land in lIolhT, of a one
Imndred acre tract, which had been taken up origi-
nally by Mr. Areo\ester Hamlin.
xVt Holley he sold goods as a mei'chant, built hous-
es, sold village lots, bought produce, opened streets,
and became wealthy from the rise in ]>i'ice of liis
lands and the profits of his trade.
He was appointed postmaster soon at'ttM- 1h^ came
to Holley, an office he held fifteen years.
Some years ago he was thrown from his carriage
while driving some high spirited horses, several of his
bones broken, and was so badly injured as to r^nider
iiim incapa,ble of active bodily lal)orj as ]>efor('. He
still resides in Holley, one of the few old men yet re-
maining who settled here before the canal was made,
enjoying in ipiiet tiie avails of a long life of busy in-
dustiy and sagacious investment.
.lACOI! HINOS.
.lac(;b Hinds was l.)i)rn in llv town of Arlington,
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 297
Benniugton county, Yt. He settled in the. town of
Murray in 1829, and bought a farm wliich liad been
taken up by article from the State of Connecti(;ut b}^
Jared Luttenton.
The Erie Canal passes through this farm. Boating
on the canal was then brisk, and no station between
Albion and Hulberton was established at which boat-
men could get their supplies.
Mr. Hinds built a grocer}^ store and began tliat
business.
It was a good location from which to ship wheat,
which began to be produced in considerable quanti-
ties, and Mr. Hinds built a warehouse in 1830.
About this time his brothers Joel, Darius, and Frank-
lin, came on and joined him in business, and being-
active, energetic business men, a little settlement
sprang up around them, which was named Hinds-
burgh.
Jacob Hinds had been engaged in boating on the
canal and became acquainted with the canal and its
boatmen and men engaged in trafic through it; in 1830
he was appointed Superintendent of Repairs on tht-
western section, an office he held three years.
After an interval of ten years, in 1849 he was elec-
ted one of the State Canal Commissioneis and served
three yeai-s in that capacit}',
Sinc(^ retiring frcmi these offices, Mr. Hinds has
followed farming as his principal occupatioii.
ATSTIN DAY.
Austin Hay was born in W^inhall, \'ermont, .Vpril
lOth, 1789.
He marri(Hl Polly Chapman, July 23d, 1810. He
moved to the town of Murrav in the winter of
1815.
For some years after he came to Murray lie served
as a constabl(\ and being a go(jd talker he ])racticed
298 PIONEER HISTORY
pettifogging, or acted as counsel in Justice's courts,
and for a number of years, and until professional
lawyers came in, he did a large business.
After tlie Erie Canal was made navigable he en-
gaged in buying wheat, which he followed some
years, shipping large quantities chiefly from Holley.
He was appointed Judge in the Old Court of Com-
mon Pleas, of Orleans count}', an office lie held five
years.
He was elected Sheriff of Orleans county in No-
vember, 1847, nnd held the office three j^ears. In
Januar}', 1848, he removed to Albion, where until
within a few years he lias resided. He was Supervi-
sor of Barre in 1852.
Bis wife died October 15th, 1858, which broke up
his family, and since then he has resided in the fami-
ly of his son, F. A. Day, in Albion, and lately with
his daughter, Mi's. Buell, in Holle}', relievfHl from the
cares and anxieties of business.
ELT.TAH AV. WOOD.
Elijah W. AVood was born in Pelham, Mass.,
April 22d, 1782. He removed to the town of Murray
at an early day, where for many years he served as
Constable and Justice of the Peace, and during one
term of five years he was Judge in the Old Court of
Common Pleas of Orleans count}'.
He was a shrewd and successful pettifogger in jus-
tices' courts, where he made u]) in wit and natural
sagacity any lack hv may have suft'ered in legal at-
tainments. He died in Murray at the age of eighty
years.
KKCOLLECTIOXS OF MRS. SALIA' SMITH.
"I was born in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, in 1795.
My father nnnoved with his family, including myself,
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 299
to Leroy, New York, in 1816. We were twenty-one
days on the journey.
I came to Murray in 1817, and taught school in
district No. 8, in a log house in which a family re-
sided at the time. My wages was nine shillings a
week and boarded among my patrons. I taught
eight months during which time I was happy and
fared well.
While I was boarding at the house of David Gould,
in the winter time, his stock of fodder for his cattle
gave out and he was obliged to feed them with
'browse,' and to save them from starving on such
fare he went to Victor, Ontario County, and bought a
load of corn for his cattle. His brother-in-law brought
the corn to Murray on a sleigh with two horses,
and arrived at Mr. Gould's house late in the evening
of a cold and stormy night.
There was no stable nearer than Sand}' Creek, three
miles, where the horses could be sheltered. Mr.
Gould's house had but one room, but it was conclud-
ed to keep the hoi'ses there over night. Mr. Gould
and wife occupied a bed in a corner of the room, two
girls and myself liad our bed with its foot at the side
of Mr. Gould's bed, and the hoi-ses stood in the other
corner and ate their corn, and thus w(^ all slept that
night as we could.
I married Artemas Daggett, February 14th, 1819,
and commenced house-keeping on the farm where I
now reside, September, 1870.
Mr. Daggett died in 1831 and left me with three
small children and one hundred acres of land, owing
about nine hundred dollars. In two years I raised
the money and paid our debts and took a deed of the
land.
About this tim«^ I married Isaac Smith, with whom
I lived in peace and plenty until his death in Au-
gust, 186G.
oOO PIONEER HISTORY
During a great sickness at Sandy Creek, Mr. Brace,
liis wife, and six children resided there. One of liis
daughters fell sick and went to the house of a doc-
tress in town to be treated. Others of the children
were taken ill. Mr. Brace was notified that his
daughter under the doctress' care was much worse
and he went to see her. She died and he was taken
down sick and could not go home. In the mean
time a son at home died. Mrs. Brace had taken sole
care of him in his sickness, and while watching his
corpse the dead body of Mr. Brace was brought
home and fatlier and son buried at the same time.
The other sick ones recovered.
At this time Mr. Aretas Pierce, Sr., who lived foui*
miles away, came and found the Brace fanuly misera-
bly poor, and destitute of all the comforts and most
( >f the necessaries of life. He went about and got a
contribution, and next da}' the pressing wants of the
family were sup})lied b}' the benevolent settlei'S
around.
SALLY SMITH."
Murr,i\-, Se{neinbi;r, 18TU.
A I, ANSON UAN'Sl lEIJ).
Alanson ManstieUl was bom in N'tMiuont, Marcli
t)th, 179::^.
With an ax which constituted his whole i)ersonal es-
tate, lie came into tlie town of Murra}' in the yeai-
1814, and hired out to woi'k, clio})ping until he earned
enough to take an article of lot number two hundred
and nineteen, a little north of llindsburgh. He then
ivturiK-d to A'ermonl to ])ring his father's family to
settle (m his laiid. They started from Vermont, his
father and mother and six children, Alanson be-
ing oldest of the children, — with a p-air of horsep
and a sleigli, in which was a barrel of pork
and somt* meal, a few household noods and the fami-
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 301
ly. A milch cow was led behind. The pork and
meal and milk of the cow supplied most of their pro-
visions on the road, and helped sustain them after
arriving in Murray, until they could otherwise be
supplied.
They arrived in the winter of 1815, put iqi a log
house for a dM'elling, and began clearing the timber
from a piece of land, and the iirst season planted
the corn from four ears among the logs, from which
they raised a good crop.
He married Polly Hart, in Murra}^, October 14th.
1817. Her father settled near where Murray depot
now stands, in 1816.
He united with the Baptist church in Holley, in
1831. The next year the Gaines and Murray Baptist
church on the Transit was fonned, and Mr. Mansfield
united with tliem and was chosen deacon. He was a
worthy, honored and good man, and died respected
by all who knew him, September 30th, 1850.
ABXEK nALCOM.
Abner Balcom Avas born in Richlield, Otsego Co.,
N. Y., September 15, 1796, and brought up in Hope-
well, Ontario county.
He married Ruth Williams, of Hopewell, March,
1816. She died in March, 1822.
In the fall of 1822, he married Philotheta Baker.
She died February 7th, 1865, and for his tliird wife
he married Mrs. Philena Waring.
In the fall of 1812, in company with his older
brother, Horace, and two other men, he chopped over
twenty -two acres on lot one hundred and ninety-two,
which Horace had purchased, and on which he set-
tled in the spiing of 1816, and where he died. This
was the first clearing in Murray, on this line between
the Ridge and Clarendon.
Mr. Abner Balcom first settled in the town of
302 PIONEER HISTORY
Ridgeway, on the farm now or lately owned by Gros-
venor Daniels, to whom he sold it and removed to
Murray "before the canal was made.
In compan}^ with Mr. Hiel Brockway he built the
dam and mills on the west branch of Sandy Creek,
on lot one hundred and ninety-five, near which he
has ever since resided.
These mills, a sawmill and gristmill, are known
as "Balcom's Mills,'' and in them Mr. Balcom has
always retained an interest.
Mr. Balcom has always been much respected
among- his fellow townsmen. He has held all the
town offices except clerk. He served as Suj^ervisor
of Murray in 1847-8. He is an influential and consis-
tent member of the Transit Baptist church, in which
he has been deacon.
. His son, Francis Balcom, was among the volunteers
who went into the Union Army in the first years of
the great rebellion, and was killed in battle while
gallantly lighting to save the country which the in-
structions of his father and the instincts of his own
nature had taught him to love.
KEUBEX BRYANT.
Reuben Bryant was born at Templeton, Worces-
ter county, Massachusetts, July IStli, 1792. He
graduated at Brown University, Rhode Island, about
the year 1816.
After some time spent in teaching, he removed to
Livingston county, N. Y., and studied law in the of-
fice of the late Judge Smith, in Caledonia. Having
been admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court, he
settled to practice his profession in Holley about
the year 1823, in whicli village he was the pioneer
lawyer.
In the fall of 1849 he removed to Albion, and in
1855 he removed to Buffalo to aid his only son, Wil-
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 303
liam C. Bryant, u lisiiig young law3-er just getting
into practice in tliat cit}-.
He was appoint(^cl Master in Chancery by Governor
Silas Wright, an office he lield when the Conrt of
Chancery was abolished nndei' tlie Constitution of
1846.
He was a thorougli cUissical scholar, and had liis
mind well stored with Greek and Latin lore, which lie
delighted to quote in social moments with his friends
when circumstances made it proper.
As a la wj^er he had a clear perception of the law
and the facts, and of their bearing in his cases ; but
he was too exact, cautious, and diffident of himself
to be an advocate. All his life he suffered from a
malady which was a perpetual burden and cross to
him, and annoyed him in his business. He died in
Buffalo in January, 1863.
CHAPTER XXIL
VIIXAGi: OF nOLI^EY.
Areovcster Uamlin — First Store — Post Office — Frisbie & Seymour-
Early Merchants — First Sawmill — Lawyer — Tavern — Justice ot
the Peace— Salt Brine — ]Mammoth Tooth— Salt Port — Presbyterian
Church — Salt Spring.
OLLEY, situate in the town of Murray, is
a village which owes its existence to the Erie
Canal. The site of this village was originally
covered \nth a heavy growtli of hemlock trees. These
were mostly standing when the canal was surveyed
through, hut it being apparent a town must grow up
liere, a vigorous settlement had been begun when
work on the great embankment was commenced.
Areovester Hamlin took up one hundred acres of
land of the State of Connecticut, which included most
of the present village of Holley, about the the year
1820, and immediately commenced clearing off the
timber and laid out a village.
Col. Ezra Brainard was the contractor who built
the embankment for the canal over Sandy Creek, and
while that work was progressing settlers came in and
began to build up the place.
Mr. Hamlin erected a store in which he traded. He
built an ashery and carried on that business ; he also
built the first warehouse on the canal.
To help his village, and accommodate the settlers
who were coming in, he got a j^ost office established
here of which he was first postmaster. He was an
OF OliLKANS (orXTV. 805
enterprising, active business man, but attempted to
do more business than his means would permit, and
failed. All his propert}^ was sold out by tlw Slierift"
about the year 1828 or 1829.
Ml". John W. Strong opened a store here a little af-
ter Mr. Hamlin, and Ik? also failed about the time Mr.
Hamlin did, when Hiram Fi'isbie and James Seymour
purchased ail the real estate tliat Hamlin liad liot
sold to other settlers.
Mr. Frisbie came here in 1828 and opened a store
and connnenced selling goods, a business in which he
has more or less been engaged ever since.
Mr. Frisbie l)ouglit out the interest of Mv. Seymour
many years ago, and he has sold out the greater pail
of his tract of land into village lots.
Among the early merchants, aftei- thos(> named,
Avere Mower and "Wardwell, and Selby & Xewell.
Alva Hamlin, Geo. A. Porter, S. Stedman, and E.
Taylor Yv'ere carpenters and joiners, who settled here
in an. early day. John Avery and brother were the
first blacksmiths. Samuel Cone Avas the first shoe-
maker. Dr. McClough first 2)hysician.
Harley N. Bushnell l)uilt a sawmill on the creek
north of the canal, in 1824.
Reuben Bryant settled as a lawyer in Holley about
the time the canal was made and was the first lawyer.
John Onderdonk was the first tailor.
A man by the name of Samuel Cone built and kept
a tav(^rn where the Mansion House now stands ; and
a Mr. Barr built and kept another tavern house, a
little west of the Mansion House. Both of these
taverns were l^efore the Canal was navigabl(>.
Turner was the first Justice of the Peace.
The Presbyterian and Baptist meeting houses were
built in 1831.
Major AVilliam Allis came here as a clerk in the
store of John AY. Strong. After the closing out of
20
;5(.)() PrONEEIt HISTORY
Mr. Stjong's biusiness Maj. Allis carried on biisiiies.s
iis a i)rodiK'e dealer and served a term as Sheriff of
Orleans Connty.
Salt Avas found in the ra\ine on the bank of the
<"n'««k south of the canal. A brine spiing was located
near where the railroad crosses the creek. In its nat-
ui-al state this was known as a ' deer lick." When
the Static of Connecticut sold the land on which this
spring wjis found, in the deed given they reserved all
mines, niinei-als and salt siu'ings. The State after-
waids agreed with Mr. John Il(n^d that he should
• )|)en the sj)ring and test the water and share half the
avails with the State. Mr. Reed dug out the spring,
set two kettles near the creek in the ravine and com-
menced boiling the water for salt. When the water
was pumped from the well it ap})eared limpid and
clear, after btdling it became red colored, and if then
boiled down to salt it remained red colored salt. To
remed}^ this he boiled the water, then drew it off in
\;its to setth^ the coloring matter fell to the bottom,
the clear brine was then returned to the kettles, and
made whitt? salt.
Heed commenced boiling in 1814. After a time six-
teen kettles were set liere to make salt and used un-
til navigation was opened in the canal, when Onon-
fhiga salt coidd he furnished here so cheaj) these
works were abandoned. Indeed, they never afforded
11 |)rofit to those working them.
The wood for the fires was cut on the west side of
tlie creek mainly, and drawn upon the top of the
bank, of proper length to put under the kettles, and
thrown down the bank through a spout made of tim-
ber. A load of wood was sold at the works for a
bushel of salt, or one dollar. Althougli the Ibrine so
obtained was comparatively weak, the}' made hun-
dreds of bushels of salt, which was sold to settlers in
this vicinity, and carried away in bags.
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. >>01
Some years after the canal was dug, Erastiis Cone
bored for stronger brine to a depth of nearly one
hundred feet, near the old spring, but tlie result did
not warrant his making salt there and none has been
made since.
The first school housc^ in the yillage of Holler" was
made of logs, about the year 1815, and stood not far
from the present railroad depot. It had no arrange-
ments for making a fire in it, and was used for a
school only in the summer, for several years. The
first teacher in this school was Lydia Thomas, after-
wards Mrs. Henr}' Hill.
When laborers were excavating and building the
canal embankment, a tooth of some huge animal, a
mammoth, perhaps, was dug np. The tooth was a
grinder, and weighed two pounds and two ounces.
No other bones of such a creature have been found,
and it has been conjectured this tooth must have been
shed there by the animal to whicli it belonged, when
it came after salt. It is now in the State collection in
Albau}'.
Holley was sometimes called ' Salt Port,' by tlie
boatmen : but that name was soon dropped for Hol-
ley, a name given to the village in honor of Myron
Holley, one of the Canal Commissioners, wlieii tlu'
canal was dug.
On the 5th of .lanuary, 1819, a Congregational
Church was orgjinized at the village of Sandy Creek,
in Murray, which was distinguished as the ' Congre-
gational Clmrcli of Sandy Creek.' July 13, 1881, by
act of the Pr(>sl)ytery of Rochester, this Church was
united with the Presbyterian Church in Clarendon,
and removed to Holley, where the new organization
was thereafter known as the ' Church of INIurray.'
The village of Holley was incorporated undei" tlu'
general Act of the Legislature, July 1, 1850.
CHAPTER XXIII.
TUE YILLAC4If; OF ntJLBERTOX.
Joseph Biuld — Canal Basin — First Warehouse — First Grocerj' — First
Tavern — I. IT. S. Hulbert — First Named Scio — Methodist Society —
Abijah Reed and Sons.
HE village of Hulberton is a canal village
in the town of Murray, Joseph Budd, from
the county of Rensselaer, x^ew York, settled
here in May, 1826, and purchased of a former proprietor
about one hundred acres of land lying on both sides
of the canal. At lirst Mr. Budd resided in a log
house standing a little soutli of the Methodist Meeting
liouse. He afterwards erected a substantial stone
dwelling in which he resided, now occupied by Mr.
.Marcus H. Phillips.
Mr. Budd was a large hearted, generous and public
spirited man, with sagacity enough to see liere must
l)e a village if the advantages were properly improved,
and he set to work accordingly.
In 1828 he dug a basin in the soutli bank of the
canal west of the bridge, large enough for canal boats
to turn about in, and commenced to sell village lots to
sQcli as he could induce to purchase of him. Settlers
soon located here.
In 1880, Dr. Frisbie built a warehouse on the basin
Budd had dug out. This was the lirst ware-
house.
Isaac II. tS. liulburt opened a grocery on the
tow path east of the bridge in 1830, being the first
grocery.
* OF ORLEANS COUNTY. '^09
Orsamus Squire buiit and occupied a store on the
lot now used for a liotel, in 1828. This was the first
store.
This store was altered over and fitted up for a
tavern, and tlie first tavern kept here hy Tinioth}-
Tuttle, in 1832.
In 1833 Mr. Budd caused his land next to the liigii-
way and canal to be laid out into village lots by A.
Cantine, surveyor, and the village has been Iniilt on
this plan.
I. H. S. Hulburt was an active business man, wlio
sold goods, bought farm produce, staves and lumber,
and drove a brisk trade with the boatmen, and served
as justice of the peace.
Finding it inconvenient to 0:0 over to Sandv Creek,
on the Ridge for all their mail business, he applied
for a post office here.
The village was named Scio at an early day by ^Iv.
George Squire.
On examining for a name for the new post office, it
vvas found there was one post office named Scio in
ISTew York alread}^, and tlie village name of Scio was
changed to Hulberton, in honor of Mr. Hiilburt, 1)}'
which name the village and the j)Ost office have ever
since been called.
The post office was established in 1835, I. H. S. Hul-
burt, first postmaster.
Mr. Joseph Budd was a religious man, and desiring
to promote the cause of religion and good morals
among the people in his settlement, he invited Elders
Wooster and Hemenwa}^ of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, to make this one of their preaching stations,
and through these instrumentalities, a society and
church of Methodists was organized. This society
erected their meeting house in 1835. Its trustees
.at that time were I. 11. S. llulburt, Saniu(4 Co}M'-
810 riOiTEKK HISTORY
land, Hiram Hibbard, Josepli Budd, and George
Squire.
Among the prominent business men whose wealth
and industry aided largely to build up Hulberton,
were the Reed family, consisting of Abijali Reed
and his sons Epenetus, Hercules and Jacob, and his
son-in-law Edward Mulford.
They were merchants, upright, honorable, and fair,
who came here from Greene county, N. Y. They en-
joyed the confidence of the community, and carried
on a large business while they lived.
Gilbert Turner was the first blacksmith, and Wm.
Perrigo was the first shoemaker.
Among the early settlers in and near Hulberton
wei-e Remember S. Wheeler, George Squire, and
Hanford Phillips, who bought the farm on which Mr,
Budd formerly resided and on which he set out the
apple orchard, which has since become justly cele-
brated, now owned by Mr. Phillips.
Mr. Joseph Budd, wiio is worthy to be called the
l*ioneer of Hulberton, died in May, 1806.
CHAPTER XXrV
VILLAGE OF niNDSBtTRGH.
Jacob Luttenlon— Jacob Hinds and Brothers — First W:irchons<;— Jab*;>t
Allison — First Hotel.
'iXDSBURGH, a little village in the tcnvii <^t
Murray, is situated on land which was first
settled by Jacob Luttenton. who built the first
house here. Mr L. sold out to Jarob Hinds in 1820,
and Mr. Hinds commenced building up a village.
]Mr. Hinds built the first warehouse in 181)0, and tlie
lirst tavern in 1835.
He, in connexion with his brother .Jo(4, built the
tirst store for selling dry goods and groceries, in 188;"),
i)})ened it for trade in 183G.
In the year 1882, consideralile trade liaving l)<'en
(established here, and the emigration to Kendall an<i
other places north generally, making this its point o*
debarkation from the (^anal, the Hinds Brothers and
their neighbors in public meeting resolved to call
tlieir place Hindsburgh, believing a small village
would be liere located.
The trade in i)ro(luce })roving good at Hindsburgli,
Mr. AV. Whitney, of Rochester, built another ware-
house hei(^ in 1880.
Hindsbingli has always been a good placr froirj
which to shi]» the abundant crops of gi-ain, apples,
and fVirm ])roduce r.'iised in this neighborhood. As
long as tiavel by passengers went l)y the canal, boats
stopping h»^re. with tlie help of local trade, mad(j busi-
ness liveb.-.
312 riONEEU IIISTOKY
Several grocery stores have been kept here, a iiimi-
ber of meclianics maintained, and a large trade in
dry goods snstained by the Hinds Brothers and
others.
The death of Joel and Darius Hinds, the removal
of their younger brother Franklin to Iowa, and the
death of Jabez Allison, who was an early settle]-
here, and who had dealt largely in produce, seemed to
check the transaction of business, and for some time
llindsburgli has not increased in trade or popula-
tion.
Mr. Allison was for many years a justic' of the
T)eace, and Supervisor of the tuwn.
CHAPTEK XXY.
THE TOWN OF lUDGEWAY.
Formed from Batavia— First Town Meeting— Turner, White cc Ilooic-
er's Grist Mill— First Saw Mill— Dr. Wm. Wiiite— Salt Works-
Seymour Murdock— Eli Moore First Tavern Keeper and Merch-
ant — School Districts — First Scliool — Universalist Society— First
Stage — Isaac Bennett — Biographies of Early Settlers.
IDGEAVA"! was formed from the town of Ba-
tavia, June 8th, 1812, and included in its
original limits wdiat now comprises Ridgeway.
Gaines, Barre, Shelby, Yates and Caiiton.
In 1830 the west tier of lots in the town of (laines,
and three lots lying next south of them in Barre, be-
ing part of the most westc^rn tier of lots in the loth town-
ship, second range of the Holland Purcliase, were
added to the east side of Ridgeway, in order to in-
clude the whoh' villag<> of Knowlesville in one
town.
This town ^vas named from the Ridge Road, or
natural embankment called "The Ridge,"" which runs
through the county, parallel witli the shore of Lake
Ontario, and was the first town incor]K)rated in Or-
leans count}'.
The first towii meeting in this cuinily was jicld at
Oak Orchard, in Ridgewa}', April Oth, 181:?. At
this meeting 01iv(vr Booth, of (laines Coijiers, was
elected Supervisor.
A bountj- of live dolhirs on each wolf killed in
town w^as voted yearly- at several town meetings.
Judge Otis Tuinei- removed with liis family frou)
314 nONKEii ULSTOKY
Palmy m, X. Y., and settled at Oak Orcliard in No-
\ember, 1811. His brother-in-law, Dr. Wm. ^Vhite,
came from Palmyra shortly after and settled near
JNfr. Turner.
Turner, White & Hooker built a <;rist mill on Oak
Orchard Creek, between tlie Rid<z;<* and Medina in
1812.
The Holland Company built a sawmill on the same
creek, near M<Klina, in 1805.
Dr. William White was the first physician who
settled in Orleans Co. After a few years he removed
to Albion and built a sawmill there on Sandy Creek,
a. little south of tlie village.
As settlers came in Dr. White uave more attentioii
to the practice of his profession, and did a large l)usi-
ness. And about the time of the digging and open-
ing of the canal, he kei)t a small drug store in con^
nexion with his other business, practicing nuHlicine in
pai'tnershi}) with Dr. O. Nichoson.
When Orleans county was organized lie was ap^
pointed the first Surrogate.
He w;ts afterwai'ds engaged in boating on the canab,
then carried on a farm in (Jarlton, and about 1842 he
returned to Albion and lesumed the practice of med-
icine, adopting the homeopathic system. Not getting
much practice he removed to HoUey, where he served
several years as Justice of the j)eac(^ of Murray, and
died a few years after.
The Holland Cimipany cut out roads to the brine
springs north of Medina, and built w^orks for making
salt. But little salt was made until the works ])assed
into possession of Isaac Bennett, in 1818. He bored
about one hundred and lifty feet and obtained brine
which he boiled into salt, having at on<^ time as many
as seventy kettles in use, furnishing a large portion
of all the salt used in this ])ortion of the country.
At the time of opeuing the canal these salt Avorks
(»K OKLKANS (OUNTY. 81^)
were superseded by Onondaga salt, and discontinued.
Mr. James H. Perry, of Ridgeway, has furnished
tlie following additional history of this town :
'' The first permanent settlement in tliis town was
made by Seymour Murdoch. In tlie spring of 1810,
he started with his family to remove to western New
York to settle where he might find a place to suit.
Arriving at Avon, he left his family there, which con-
sisted of twelve besides liimself, and with his oldest
son went to the land office at Batavia. He there learned
that the llidge Road had been opened, and a few set-
tlements made on it.
From Batavia he went to Buffalo, followed down
tlie river to Lewiston, then went east along the Ridge
Road, and when about two miles east of the western
boundary of Orleans county, he came to two men by
The name of Lampson, eating their dinner l)y a tree
they had Just cut down.
Thes(* mp]i had conti-act«'d with the Holland Com-
pany to bu}' 2)art of lot twenty-fou]', township fif-
teen, range four, and Mr. Murd(.)ck ]jurchased of
them their rights to the land they had selected. This
done he returned to Avon after his family, going by
way of Batavia, while his son went east on th(^ Ridge
to find the best I'oute to get through.
His eldest daughter declared she would go no far-
ther into the woods and was left at Avon. Taking
the remainder of the family he stai'ted for Ridgewaj',
traveling through a dense forest to Clarkson, thence
west on the Ridgt^ Road, they reached their new-
home June 1st. 1810.
A ^Ir. AVilliam Davis lu'gan to build a log house
on the lot iKwt west of Murdoclvs about this time,
but did not move his family there till September,
1810.
Soon after this two men located at the Salt Works
one and one-half miles woiithof the Rid^jre on the bank
aiO PioxEErw iiisT()]iv
of Oak Oi'L'liard Creek, in n log liou^e erected by the
Land Compan}'.
Erza I). Barnes came the same summer and ])oarded
atMiirdocks while he was building his house two and
a half miles east, and worldng two days in eacli
week for Mr. Murdock to jiay for his board. At that
time there was in the present town of Ridge way live
horses, two yoke of oxen, and three cows, all the an-
imals of the kind in town. These wej-e brought in
by Sej'Uiour Murdock.
Eli Moore moved to E,idgeway Corners in the S])ring
of 1811, and built a block house which he opened as a
tavern th(^ same season, and which still comprises a
part of the large hotel standing ther(\
Tile same season he opened a small store for tlie
sale of dry goods and groceries, which makes him no
doubt the pioneer landlord and merchant of Ridge-
way, if not of Orleans county.
Sholes and Cheeney were the first blacksmiths,
Isaac A. Bidlard the first tanner and currier and
shoemaker. Dr. Wm. White the first physician, Israel
Douglass the first justice of the i)ea.ce, Cyrus Ilar-
wood the first lawyer, and Elijah Hawley the lirst
postmaster.
In 1814, the town was divided into school disti-icts,
by William White, Micali Harrington and Gideon
Freeman, throe Commissioners of Ccjnnnon Schools.
District Xo. 2 extended on the Ridge from the
County Line on the west to Oak Orchard Creek on
the east, a distance of about seven mih's, the bounda-
ries north and south were unlimited.
The first school house was built of logs, in 1815, on
the nortli-west corner of lot number twenty-four, on
the south side of the Ridge Road.
The first school in town was l;iughl by Betsey
Murdock in 1814, in a liarn built l)y lier father,
Seymour Murdock. This barn is still standing.
' OF OTJLKAXS COT '^iTY. 817
A d'cuv^htev oi' William Davis was the first xjersoii
who died in town. She was buried about a mile west
of the Corners, in what is probably the oldest bury-
ing ground in town, and b}^ some said to be the old-
est in the County.
The first bii-tli in town was a daughter of John
MMrdoek.
The first Universalist Society was organized Dec,
1-1, 1838. Mrs. Julia A. Perr}^ gave them a site on
which their ])resent church edifice was erected and
dedicated in June, 1885. Kev. Charles Hammond
was the first pastor of that church.
Mr. Ilildreth, of A'ienna, drove the first public con-
veyance for carrying passengers, and the mail between
Ilochester and Lewiston, being a covered wagon
di-awn ])y two horses.
When Isaac Bennett connnenced salt boiling at Oak
Orchard, Israel and Seymour B. Murdock, contract-
ed to furnish him sixty-five cauldron kettles by a day
set. They bought the kettles near Utica, sent them
by lake to the mouth of Oak Orchard Creek, v/here
they did not arriv(3 until the day before the contract
expired. They raised teams enough to transport all
the kettles to the Salt Woi'ks, at one trip in time to
])erform their contract and get their pay in gold."
lUOGllAPlUES OF EARLY SETTLERS.
rsK.vKL I)ou(;la8s.
Mr. Douglass Avas born in !Xew Milford. Connecti-
cut, November 20, 1777. He moved to Scottsville,
Monroe County, N. Y., in 180G. In 1810, he removed
to the town of Batavia, now Ridgewa}', Orleans Co.
He was the first Justice of the Peac(^ in Oi-leans Ca
318 PIONKEK JIISTOKY *
liaving been appointed previous to 1812, for the town
of Batavia.
At the Hist town meeting held in and for the town
of Ridgeway, after that town was set off Ironi Bata-
via, at the house of John CI. Brown, at Oak Orchard,
April 6, 1813, he was elected town Clerk. This was
the first town officer elected by tlie people residing in
what is now Orleans County.
There being no magistrate to preside at town meet-
ing in the new town of Ridgeway, a Justice by the
namt^ of Smith was sent from Batavia for that pur-
pose. The otlier tou n officers were elected afterwards
at the same meeting.
Mr. Douglass held the office of Justice of the Peace
for three terms in Ridgeway ; h(3 also held various
otlier town offices, and at one time was Justice, Over-
seer of the Poor and Supervisor.
He was generally and justly regarded as an
lionest, fail- minded man, and one of the best
l)usiness men in the county. He always resided on
the Ridge Road, near Oak Orchard Creek. Mr.
Douglass died January 2, 18G4, aged SG years.
W.M. C TAXNKU.
" I was l>orn in Clarendon, Rutland Count}', Ver-
mont, ^Vpril 'iO, 1793. My father gave me a good
common school education, with a few months study
at an academy.
On the first day of May, 1815, 1 ]<'ft home with a
friend, and sj)ent most of the next summer ex])loring
tiie western country. We bought land in the toAvn of
Ridgeway, tlien nearly thi-ee miles away from any set-
th^ment. T returned to A'ermont to prepare for ])erma-
nent settlement on my land tiie next spring.
When the time came to go back, my friend was
sick and could not go, and my father permitted my
OF OKLEAIS'S COr/JN'TY. 319
younger brother Josias, not then twenty-one years of
age, to accompany me.
We began our journey February' 14, 1810, with a
good yoke of oxen and wagon, and in company witli
another team we went on our wear}' way.
We bought two barrels of poi'k at ^kaneatehas,
Avhich completed our outlit. We arrived at our new
liome March <>, 1810, being twenty-one days on the
road. I cut tlie first tree that was cut on the farm on
which I now live, lot seventeen, township fifteen,
range three. We, my brother and I, kept ' bachelor s
hall ' on my land two years.
In October, 1810, my brother went to Verniojit,
leaving me in the woods alone, out of sight and hear-
ing of my neighbors. I suffered man}^ hardships that
winter, ])rincipally for want of pro])er food. I <'ut all
^he trees I could and fed our oxen on the to})S, for we
had raised little in that cold season for the sustenance
of man or beast. I enjoyed my work well, but the
nights were long and lonesome.
On leaving home, my mother gave me her bible and
1 read it through that winter by iiiv light.
My brother returned in February. The next win-
ter I left him to 'keep house,' but in comparative
t'omfort, for we had plent}' of proA-isions.
I went to Vermont in the fall of 1817, and returned
in ^larch folh)\ving, bringing with me my younger
sister for a housekeeper. She still resides near me,
as the wife of Avery Y. Andrews, is the mother of a
large family, and in good circumstances.
My sister and myself left my father's the last day
of February, in a cutter, and arrived in Ridgeway,
March 12, 1818. Her bed, l)edding and clothing we
brought ])acked in a box, which contained all her
Avorldly effects, with which she commenced life as an
independent housekeeper.
She was a tall, slim girl, activt? and clieerful, car-
'•^20 PIONEER HISTORY
i-j'iiig sunsliiiio in lier coiinteimnce and manners
wherever she was. Sh® left a large circle of young
friends and associates, tlie pleasures of a father's
liouse and a mother's care, to obscure herself in the
woods, for tlie benefit of her brothers. She found a
respectable circle of 3'oung people here, although
I'ather widelj^ scattered.
We brought with us at that time a favorite dog,
concluding our sister would feel greater security in
her wilderness home, when we were albsent at our
work : and he fully justified our conclusions, for he
soon learned to consider himself as her special pro-
tector in our absence, and nothing could induce him
to leave her/ when we were awaj^ from home.
If she Avent for an afternooif s visit through the
woods to a neighbor's, the dog vras sure to accom-
])any her, lie down by the door, and be ready to at-
tend her home. She alwaj^s felt secure in his pres-
ence.
As cold weather approached, our season for eve-
ning parties commenced. Most of the houses in town
were cheerfully opened for our accommodation, and
the young folks, with a few couple of 3'oung married
people, formed a company quite respectable in point
of numbers. We were quite democratic, there were
]io exclusions. Mau}^ a time did w^e spend our eve-
nings dancing on a split plank floor, traveling several
miles to the place appointed, walking on logs, over
brooks and^wet grounds, some of the company car-
rying a torch to light the wa}^
We sometimes went four or fiv(^ miles to an evening
party, on an ox sled, drawn by two yoke of oxen,
with as many passengers as could ' pile on ;' and as
far as appearances would prove, all enjoyed both the
ride and the dance first rate.
The first regular ball we attended was held at what
is now' Millvilk', in Shelby, July 4, 1819, and as it
OF OKLEAXS COUNTY. 321
was quite a primitive one, and perhaps the first one
ever lield in this county, it may justify an imperfect
description. •
There were no carriages, and but fe^^â– horses in tlie
(country. The young men would bring their girls be-
hind them, l)otli riding the same horse. Others
would be in waiting to take the horse and go after
their girls, and so on until the company iiad assem-
bled. The same course was pursued on their return
home.
At th(^ time of which I write, we met in the upper
room of a new building made for a store. The floor
was good, but the ceiling ovor head was low at the
sides where the seats were placed, and it caused much
polite bowing, to prevent our heads from coming in
contact with the rafters.
Our table was spread in tlie street in front of the
store, and it was well supplied with substantial fare.
We had a fine, social time, formed many j^leasant ac-
quaintances and friendships, which Avere destined to
endur(> through life. It is presumed there are few
persons to whom it do'es not give pleasure, when the
thought of such gatherings, in which they have par-
ticipated, recurs to mind. Of more than twenty
young ladi(^s, who attended that party, but tliree are
known to be living at this time (1863.)
As bear stories are sometimes entertaining to pio-
neers, I will relate one Avith which my sister was
somewhat connected :
A respectable young man of the neighborhood
(tailed to visit her one evening, and continued liis stay
into the small hours of the night. His way home lay
for a mile and a half through th<^ woods. He reported
next day that as he was retui-ning through these
woods, lit.' treed a bear ; but men who were
alarmed by his outcries, were so uncharitable as to
report that the bear treed him. He was never very
21
322 PIONEER HISTORY
communicative on tlie subject, and it was generally
believed the latter was the fact.
Our first religious meetings were held in a log
scliool house, half a mile west of Millvllle. The peo-
ple would assemble from' quite a distance and the
house would be well filled.
Elder Gregory, a Methodist, was our preacher.
He resided near by, was a good man and practiced
what he taught.
A Mr, Fairbanks preached occasionally. He or-
ganized the first Presbyterian Church in Shelby, at
that school house, in 1820.
Judge William Penniman, a popular school teacher
iu those days, taught a school in that school house
several terms.
My sister Anna was a pupil in his school out
there in the winter of 1820. The old school house
has long since disappeared. An academy and fine
church buildings have arisen in Millville in its stead.
There are, however, associations connected with that
old school house that will cau^se it to be remembered
by the old settlers.
I received a lieutenant' s commission in the militia
service, dated March 4th, 1817, which I believe to be
the oldest commission granted to any one now a resi-
dent of Orleans county. I was promoted in regular
gradation to other military offices, and was finally
<?1ected Brigadier General, my commission being da-
tL'd April 30th, 1826. I was the first officer of that
rank ever commissioned in this county. I discharged
its duties as well as I was able for two years, and
then resigned my commission.
I appointed the following named gentlemen my
brigade staff" officers, viz. : William Allis, Brigade
Inspector ; Samuel B. Ayers, Paymaster ; John Fish,
Aid-de-Camp; Harmon Goodrich, Quartermaster ; Or-
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 323
son Nichoson, Surgeon ; Alexis Ward, Judge Advo-
â– cate.
I was married Marcli IStli, 1821, to Esther Lee,
daughter of Judge John Lee, of Barre. My wife
died in August, 1835.
I married for my second wife Julia A. Flagler,
daughter of Rev. J. S. Flagler, of Genesee county,
N. Y.
WILLIAM C. TANNER."
Ridgeway, Dec. 5th, 1863.
Gen. Wm. C. Tanner died July 8th, 1869.
LEVI DAVIS.
"I was born in Wardsborough, Vermont, in 1793.
My father was a revolutionary soldier. My father
;afterwards removed with his family to New Salem,
Mass., at which place I was married in November,
1816, to Miss Lorana Hunt.
In 1814 I served a short time as soldier in the war
with England.
Soon after I was married, in company with two
other families, I moved my wife and a few articles
of furniture with a yoke of oxen and wagon, to El-
licott, Chautauqua county, N. Y., a journey it took
us thirty-five days to perform, during which snow
fell almost every day.
After passing Canandaigua, we entered a forest
with few settlers, and even these residing from three
to ten miles apart ; and in one case we traveled four-
teen miles without passing a single house. The road
most of the way was only marked trees, with tlie un-
derbrush cut out, and no bridges over the streams ex-
cept the ice.
On our wa}' we exchanged our wagons for sleds,
and how any of us lived through the last perilous day
of fourteen miles travel through the woods, God only
knows.
324 PIONEER HISTORY
We started as early as possible in the morningj
overturned one load of goods, and fearing we should all
perish in the woods, we unhitched our teams from the
sleds some time in the night, patting our oxen before
us, the women being supported by holding fast to
the tails of the oxen, and thus pursuing our way
through the trackless forest four miles, we arrived ai
a log house about four o'clock in the morning. The
liouse had been partially chinked but not plastered.
Here we tarried the next day and night, during which
time we went back, shod our sleds and got them out
of the forest.
AVe had to pay one dollar each for a joke of oxen
one night at hay, and one dollar a bushel ^for oats.
So in about forty days, like the Israelites of old, we
reached the promised land.
Tn October, before this time, I had been to Chautau-
(pia county and contracted for a piece of land there,
to do which 1 traveled out there from Massachusetts,
and back again with my knapsack on my back, on
foot, averaging fifty miles travel per day on the
Journey.
The third day after arriving on my land, I pro-
cured some boards and built a shanty twelve feet
square, nailing two of the corners to two standing
trees, making a board roof, with not a tree cut
down near it.
The year 1816 was the 'cold season;" corn was
cut off by frost and it was almost impossible to get
bread. For three weeks before harvest we had
nothing to eat but some very small new potatoes, but-
ter and milk. By changing the order of having these
dislies, we made quite a variety, lived^ 7iig7i, with
hopes buoyant, and worked hard. Here we cleared
up a new farm, raised an orchard from apple seeds
brought out from Massachusetts, and also raised
eight children.
>>..
A
'â– ^-y^OC(X4
'^-C^.
OF OKLEANS COUNTY. 325
I went into lumbering business in 1832 ; took my
lumber to Cincinnati to sell, but the stagnation in
trade, and scarcity of money, owing to the course
taken by the Old United States Bank, after its re-
newed charter was vetoed by President Jackson,
made it impossible for me to dispose of my lumber
without great loss, which obliged me to sell my prop-
erty in Chautauqua county to pay my debts, and I
found even then I had not enough by $500 to pay up.
That deficiency I afterwards earned by work at mason
business and paid up in full.
I removed to Orleans county in 1833, and worked
as a mason several years.
Previous to the opening of the Erie canal, I have
paid seventy-five cents per 3'ard for sheeting, and
seventy-five cents per yard for calico for my wife a
dress. I have also paid fifteen dollars a barrel for
salt.
I have laid the corners of over fifty log buildings,
and have helped raise as many frames. I have spent
more than six months of my labor gratuitously, in
opening new public highways, and building cause-
ways.
LEVI DAVIS."
Ridgeway, February, 1863.
.JERE31IAII BKOWTs'.
" I was born in Cheshire, Massachusetts, July 7.
1780. My father, who was an officer in the revolu-
tionary war, died when I was seven years old. ]
lived with my eldest brotlier until I was sixteen years
old, and then ran away from him and worked out
by the month the next seven years.
When I was nineteen j^ears old I traveled with my
knapsack on ni}- back, on foot from Massachusetts to
Farmington, Ontario county, N. Y., spent a short
time there, then returned as I came, most of tlie
<way alone.
326 PIONEER HISTORY
Again in 1807, I traveled the same ground over in
tlie same way.
In 1809 I was married to Abigail Davis, daughter
of the Rev. Paul Davis, of New Salem, Massachu-
setts.
The winter after I was married I came on horse-
back to Farmington, to seek a home in the wilder-
ness of Western New York, and located a piece of
land for that purpose. I went back to Massachu-
setts and worked by tlie month to earn the means
to move my family to my new farm.
I arrived in Farmington in February, 1811, and
built me a log house in the woods one mile from
any inhabitant. I was then the happy possessor of
a wife and one child, six dollars in money, a dog
and a gun. I exchanged my gun for a cow, which
was the best trade I ever made except when I got
jiiy wife. The next sj^ring I cleared my land, and
raised over one hundred bushels of corn the same
season.
In 1812 the Avar broke out, I Avas called to the
lines to defend my country. I received notice on
Friday night, about nine o'clock, to be in Can-
andaigua on the next Monday morning at ten
o'clock, to march to Buffalo. I hired a man and
woman to take care of my sick wife and child du-
ring my absence, w^hile I responded to the call. I
Avas then an officer in the militia, and I marched
on foot with the rest of the officers and men to Buffalo,
Avhere Ave arrived the second day after the battle.
Our company Avas the first that arrived and assisted
in collecting the dead. On receiving an honorable
discharge I returned home.
The tivo summers next folloAving, myself and Avife
Avere sick with the ague and fever, almost con-
stantly.
In the Avinter of 1815, the ague having left me, and
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 327
having regained ray health enough to move, I sold
ray land and returned to Massachusetts. The next
spring I carae to Ridgeway, in Orleans count}', and
"bought nie some land, and in May brought on ray
family.
About t]ie first of the next September, myself and
wife and one child were taken sick, and nntil Decem-
ber following, we suffered every thing but death.
Often during that time while myself and wife w^ere
confined to our beds, our children w^ere crying for
food, and neither of us had strength sufficient to ena-
ble us to get to the cupboard tf) help them.
In the month of June next, Israel Murdock in-
formed me of several families v/ho were destitute ol
bread, and asked if I thought it could be had for
them at Farmington. I told him I thought it could,
and taking his liorse and wagon, I went there and got
a load of corn for which I paid one dollar a bushel.
This, together with some rye, which Israel Murdock
had then growing, and which the neighbors com-
menced cutting as soon as it was out of the milk,
sufficed for all of us to live on until after the hai-
vest.
The favorite, because tlie only way to replenish OTir
meat barrels, vras io hunt raccoons, using their flesh
in place of pork, and their fat to fiy doughnuts in.
The next winter (181G) I went to Farniington, and
bought two tons of pork, paying ten dollars per hun-
dred for it, and one dollar and fifty cents each for
barrels, and three dollars per barrel for salt. I
brought my pork to Ridgeway with my oxen, and
sold it to tlie inhabitants for from twenty-six to thirty
dollars per barrel, trusting it out to such as could not
then pay, and some of those old pork accounts re-
maining unsettled, I am beginning to consider tlieni
rather doubtful demands.
In the spring of 181G, Ave held our first town meet-
328 PIONEER HISTORY
ing, and elected our iirst town officers. There not be-
ing freeholders enongli in town to lill the offices to
which we had chosen onr candidates, Mr. Joseph El-
licott sent Andrew Ellicott to onr town to notify the
town officers elect, to go to Batavia and take deeds of
tlieir lands and give their mortgages, in order to
"become legal town officers, and they went and did so.
I lia\ing beeii cliosen commissioner of highway's went
with the others.
In my official capacity I assisted in lading out live
highways from the Ridge to the lake. AVe would lay
a road, following the lines between lots to the lake,
keeping us bus}' all day. At night we would make
a fire, cut some hemloclv boughs tor a bed, and sleep
on them before our iiie soundh' till morning. Then
making our breakfast, we would take another line
ba<'k to the Ridge, and by tlie time we could get back
to the settlement it would be afternoon, and when we
could get something to eat we generally had excellent
appetites.
AVe were, however, amply compensated, our })ay be-
ing two dollars for every twent^'-four hours we spent
in this kind of labor, to apply on our taxes. AVho
would not desire to be a rommissioner of liiglnvays
under such circumstances I
Since then I have held all the town offices in tlie
gift of the people except clerk, collector, and consta-
ble. I was once a candidate for the last named office,
but to my great grief and moifification T was de-
feated.
Our county was viny iinhealtliy until 1828. That
T think was the last sickly season, and during that
season ni}'' health was good, and for eight weeks in
that summer I never undressed myself to go to bed
at night, being constantly watching with, and taking
care of tlie sick, eitjier in n\\ own family or among
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 329
my neiglibors. Since that time this county has }3een
jis healthy as any other section I ever Ivnew.
In 1822 I bnilt the first furnace and cast the first
plough ever made in this State west of Rochester.
When I first settled in Ridgeway, the town of
Ridgeway extended from Niagara county eastward to
the Transit Line, having originallj' been the nortli
part of Batavia, from which it was taken
Such is some of ni}^ experience as a j^ioneer of
Western New York. I have lived to see ' the
wilderness blossom like the rose/ and to see many
of ni}^ early companions in the hardships of this new
county, depart before me to 'that bourne from whence
no traveler returns.'
JEREMIAH BROWN.'"
Ridgeway, July, 18C2.
Mr. Jeremiah Brown died Nov. 17, 1 868. He Avas
a man of large frame, strong and vigorous constitu-
tion, a farmer by occupation, but sometimes varied
his employment by buying cattle, and driving them
to Philadelphia to market, and in other speculations
in trade.
Albert F. Brown, late jNIayor of Lockport, and Col.
Edwin F. Brown, late of the Unioii Arnn', are his
sons.
.lOSKPK L. PKIMIY.
Joseph L. Perry was born in Huntington, Conniiect-
icut, November 30th, 1794. In 1804, his father re-
moved his family to Aurelius, Cayuga county, N. Y..
to a farm near Auburn.
Joseph L. Perr}^ married Julia Ann Reed, daugh-
ter of Jesse Reed, of Aurelius, July 15th, 1819, and
in March, 1820, removed to Ridgewa^', Orleans coun-
ty, and located half a nnle west of Ridgewa}- Cor-
ners, on the Ridge Road, on lot twenty-four.
He Avas town collector and clerk of Ridgeway,
830 riONEER HISTORY
and deputy sheriff while this county was part of Gen-
esee county, also deputy sheriff of Orleans county
afterwards.
In 1825 he purchased the store and hotel at Ridge-
way Corners, and carried on the mercantile business
for a number of years, theu moved into the liotel and
kept tavern there many years. He also carried on
tlie asliery business, and at one time run ten miles of
the old pioneer line of stages, on the Ridge Road, in
company with Champion, Bissell and Walbridge.
He was postmaster a number of years, and mail con-
tractor between Ridgewa}" and Shelby, several years.
He was extensively engaged in buying and shipping
grain on tlie Erie canal, running two boats of his
own, which lie somt^times commanded in person. He
Avas a shrewd, sharp, quick witted man, a good judge
of human nature, always jovial and abounding in
fun.
He never lacked for expedients to extricate himself
from any perplexity, and his sagacity ajid energy al-
ways carried him safel}^ through, or over, every imped-
iment which interfered Avith his purposes. He died
September 17th, 1845, at his residence in tlie town of
Ridgewaj'.
CIIARLKS 1>. HURLIXGIIAM.
'"I was born in Greenlield, Saratoga Co., N. Y.,
February 8th. 1810. being the fifth of my father's
eleven children.
Tn 1818 my father removed vntli his family to Per-
ry, now in \V3^oming county, on what is known as
'The Cotringer Tract.' The Avestern line of our
farm avjis the eastern bounds of the Holland Purchase.
Tlie farm contained one hundred acres, fifteen of
Avhich had been cleared and a log house and barn
erected when avc came on.
In clearing our land Ave Avere ^accustomed to make
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 331
' black salts ' for sale, as these, with pot and pearlash
were the principal articles of export that hi-onght
money into the settlement.
In common with our neighbors, we sometimes suf-
fered some hardships for lack of the necessaries of
life. My father at one time went to the Genesee Flats,
twelve or fifteen miles distant, and bought corn that
was nearly spoiled by the Hood of the previous sea-
son, pajdng one dollar and twenty-five cents a bushel,
to help us along in the spring.
I renjember one pleasant incident of our x^ioiic^^r
history. After getting along as best we could at one
time, without any bread for several weeks, we, sat
down to a meal of boiled new unground wheat, and
maple molasses, all the product of our own farm, the
most delicious dinner, it seemed to me, I ever ate.
Ah, that was a dinner a little boy could not easily
forget, and that was the crisis, the turning j^oint in
the pinch.
Not long after this we had grain to sell, wheat at
the nominal price of thirtj^-one cents, and corn at
eighteen cents per busliel, with very limited sales at
those prices.
Our house stood, as I then thought, in about th(^
center of the world, and having joined to it an addi-
tion of another house of about the like size, we were
frequently favored v/ith social gatherings of peoph*
there of all classes during tlie winter evenings. Those
were occasions never to be forgotten by mc Tht'
childr<^n and young people vrould amuse themselves
in harmless phiy and gossip, and the parents enjoy
themselves in x>lanning and story telling, while a few
of the venerable^ motlicrs were intent on pre})aring
the invariable accompaniment f)f every gatliering, a
good supper.
Starch, prim, and ui)]^er ten, w^ere unknown there.
Liberty, equality and frat<^rnity reigned suprinnc^ in
382 PIOXEEK niSTOKY
those halcyon days. Ah nie, hut tliose were days of
'Auld Lang Syne/ the memory of which is exceeding
pleasant.
In those times our religious meetings were held in
a XDi'iAate house about half a mile from ours. Elder
Luther, a man of more than ordinary ability, was the
preacher who visited tlie place occasionally. He was
a little eccentric in his manners and language, but
c[uite well adapted to the times, and character of his
congregations.
As a specimen of pioneer preaching, it is remem-
bered of Elder Luther, as he was in the midst of a
sermon, urging some topic, and wishing to adduce
authority to sustain some point, he stopped a mo-
ment, then said, 'John, what do you sayf Then
changing his tone of voice to imitate a fancied reply,
he repeated what the apostle says on that subject.
And then he called out, ' Paul, what are your views V
Giving a repl}^ as before, in like manner thus interro-
gating other apostles and our Savior, and giving tlieu-
answers, closing up with — "And now, old Ben. Luther,
vrhat have you to say to- all this V and then he gave
his own conclusions, makiug the ])omt deeply impres-
sive upon his hearers.
Our chorister was the blacksmith of tlie settlement,
* Uncle Seava,' as he was called by everybody; a
white liaired, tall, slim, straight and solemn old gen-
tleman, lie would rise and give the pitch for New
Durham, Exhortation, Xorthfield or Majesty, or
.some such tune in which the whole congregation who
could sing would join, taking their style from the
chorister, giving to the vi^ords and the music that pe-
culiar ' nasal twang ' common in those days, which
was designed to be especially impressive upon the
hearers, and it had its intended effect, at least upon
me, for I have not forgotten those auspicious occa-
sions I witnessed when I was a little boy. Although
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 333
some of the young peo^ole seemed to "be amused by
the queer preaching and nasal singing, and some who
attended failed to be profited, apparently, by the ser-
vices, yet those religious meetings were reall}^ the
' green spots ' in our earl}^ pioneer life, and were
doubtless of great moral value to the settlement.
Though district schools were established at an early
day around us, my earh^ advantages for attending
school were quite limited. However, at the the age
of eighteen years, I went before the board of inspec-
tors for examination, and being found by them of
sufficient capacity, I was installed into office as a
school master in a district school, which calling I al-
ternated witli mercantih* business, until I Avas thirty
years old.
I embraced religion while teaching school in Poi*-
tageville, Wj^oming county, in April 1831, and soon
after became a member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church.
I married Adeline C. Miller, in Xew Berlin, jST. Y.,
in September, 1834.
In 1840 I was received as a member of tlie (xenesee
Conference of the M. E. Church, and began preacli-
ing, in which service I havt^ ever since been (^ngaged^
removing to Knowlesville in 1862.
CHARLES D. BURLINGHAM."
Knowlesville, April, 1864.
.TOSIAS TANNER.
" I was born in Clarendon, A'ermont, August ITth,
1795.
I received a fair common school education like
other farmers' sons in that neighborhood.
I came to the town of Ridgeway, N. Y., with my
brother, William C. Tanner, in March, 181G, wliere I
liave resided ever since.
I was married November 28th, 1825, to Miss Lucy
Baldwin.
334 PIONEER HISTORY
I have lived on my farm forty-eight years. I have
had four children. My youngest son, Benj. B. Tanner,
was a Lieutenant in the 151st Regiment N. Y. Volun-
teers, and died in the service of his country in the
war of the rebellion. *
JOSIAS TANNER."
Ridgeway, April, 1864.
LUCIUS BARRETT.
''I was born in Fabius, N. Y., April 13th, 1807.
I was son of Amos Barrett. My father removed with
his family to Ridgeway, N. Y., in March, 1812, and
settled on the Ridge Road, one mile west of Ridge-
way Corners. We moved into the house ol Jona-
than Cobb, and resided with his family until my
father got his house ready for his family. Mr. Cobb
was an old neighbor of my father, and had moved
to Ridgeway the year before we came.
I well remember the house my father first built
with the help of the settlers in that vicinity. The
walls were logs, the floor basswood logs split, and
hewed, the roof covered with long shingles split from
black ash, not a door about the premises, nor a board.
A blanket hung at the entrance served as a door, and
kept out the cold and wild beasts. The fireplace was
some stones against the logs at one end of the house,
and the chimney was a hole through the roof. This
sheltered us from the rain, but the snow sifted in
plentifully.
Farming has been my business. I bought the
farm on which I have since resided, in 1831.
I was married to Electa B. Chase, of Clarkson, N.
Y., April 23d, 1833.
I have lived to see the various changes through
which this section of country has passed. I have
known by experience the pinching pains of poverty,
and I have enjoyed the comforts of competence. I
OF 0RLEAN8 COUNTY, 335
have seen broad fields, smiling witli harvests of plen-
ty, emerge from the wild forests. I have not only
seen this but I have realized it. I have lived it, and
I trust my claim will not be disallowed when I assert
that, in a humble manner perhaps, I have contribu-
ted my part to bring about these happ}" results.
LUCIUS BARRETT."
Kidgeway, 1864.
SEYMOUR H. MUKUOCK.
" I was born in Dutchess county, N. Y., April 8th,
1796.
My father, Seymour Murdock, emigrated to Or-
leans county in 1810, w^hen I vras fourteen years of
age, and located on a part of the farm now owned
and occupied b}^ me on the Ridge, in Ridgeway.
In the transit from Dutchess county, we had a hard
time, traveling with an ox team, with a family of twelve
persons. We were a little over a month on the way,
and reached our place of destination June 1st, 1810,
and dwelt in our wagons nearly six weeks, and until
we had time to erect a house in which we could
reside.
From the Genesee River to Clarkson Corners was
one dense wilderness, with onl}^ an occasional com-
mencement of clearing made by a few settlers. At
Clarkson was a log tavern at which we stopped.
From Clarkson to our first stoi)ping place there was
then, I think, but three houses, and they were cheap-
ly erected log cabins.
We were two days in journeying from Clarkson to
Ridgeway. The roads, if roads they could j^roperl}'
be called, were almost impassable.
At^the crossing of Otter Creek, in Gaines, fire had
consumed the logs, which had been thrown into the
bank to form a sort of dugway up the ascent from
the stream, which left an almost perpendicular ascent
386 PIONEER HISTORY
for us to rise. To accomplisli tins, we took off our
oxen and drove them up the old road, and then with
teams on the hill, and cliains extending from them to
the tongues of the wagon below, we drew our wagon
np. In doing this, at one time the draft appeared too
much for the team, the oxen fell and were drawn back
by the load, and the horn of one of the oxen catching
under a I'oot, was torn entirely off".
The next difficulty we encountered was at a slash-
ing about two miles east of Oak Orchard Creek,
where a man by the name of Sibley had cut down
timber along the track, and just then had set it on
lire, which rendered our path both difficult and dan-
gerous, as we were obliged to go through the midst
of the fire.
The next difficulty was at Oak Orchard Creek. A
dugway had been made down the bank only to ac-
commodate the Yankee wagons, and ours being a
Pennsylvania wagon, with longer axle, it was serious-
ly endangered by its liability to be thrown down the
bank.
On ascending the bank out of the creek on the west
side, one of my brothers, then a little fellow, fell off
the wagon and might liave been left if he had not
screamed lustily for help.
On arriving at our journey's end, our first business
was to eat from the stock of prepared provisions we
])rouglit with us. The food was laid out in order
around a large stumj) which stood conveniently by,
and I well remember the relish with which we all
])artook of this our first meal, at our new home in the
Avoods.
The scenery here, as I now rc^nember it, was truly
magnificent, one dense forest, composed of large, stur-
dy oaks, extended as far as the eye could see, east and
Avest, and on the south side of the Ridge Road. Or
the north side the forest was more dense, and com-
OF OllLEAXS COUiSrTY. 337
posed of a greater variety of timl^er. The nearest
ojDening east of its, was the one alluded to above,
where we encountered the fire, two miles east of Oak
Orchard Creek. The nearest one west was at John-
son' s Creek, althongh Mr. Dunn had erected the body
of a log house, but had made no clearing at the place
on which he has since resided, two miles east from
Johnson's Creek.
At Johnson' s Creek, which was about five miles
west from our then home, there was one log house
built, and a small clearing. This was our nearest
jieighbor, as north of us was an unbroken forest ex-
tending to Lake Ontario, with no mark of human
liabitation west of Oak Orchard Creek.
At the head of Stillwater, in Carlton, lived a Avidow
Brown, and I have heard of residents at the mouth of
Johnson's Creek, but of this we knew nothing then.
South of us were no families, so far as we knew, ex-
cept two families by the name of Coon, who I think
came in thi^ same season we did, and one family by
the name of AValsworth, i-esiding near Tonawanda
Swamp, which was our only stopping place between
our place and Batavia, on this side the swamp. We
liad no necessity then for the law we now liave called
the 'cattle law.'
The store nearest to us then was at Batavia, thirty
miles distant.
Our nearest jjost office was also at Batavia, and
there also was the nearest church, and so far as 1
know, that was the nearest place to us wliere religious
meetings were held.
There was also the nearest school house known to
me, unless there was one at what is called Slater's
Settlement, near Lockport.
The nearest gristmill was at Niagara Falls, forty
miles distant.
The health of our family continued good during the
22
838 PIONEER HISTORY
first 3'ear, and yet the season was so far advanced be-
fore we could "be ^^I'epared to put in seed, that we
raised nothing the first year except some potatoes
and a few turnips.
I remember a man called at our house that sum-
mer, and knowing the family he kindly offered to
make my mother a garden gate, there being then no
fence around the garden, or within five miles of it.
The general health of our family, and of those who
became our neighbors, continued good, with trifling
exceptions in the form of ague and fevers, &c., until
after the war of 1812.
During this war much suffering prevailed, as no
provisions had been laid by, and the war necessarily
took the time of many who would have otherwise
been raising all necessary food, thus ceasing to be
producers, and yet remaining consumers. This pro-
duced a great dearth of j)rovisions, and much suffer-
ing, consequently in some instances whole families
left the county, some on foot ; in some instances wo-
men went away carrying their children in their arms,
in hopes of reaching a land of plenty and safety.
At the taking of Fort Niagara, I and most of our
family, and our neighbors of sufficient age and size to
bear arms, went to the defence of our country. Du-
ring our absence a band of Tuscarora Indians on a
retreat passed through our neighborhood and greatly
frightened our women and children before they could
be made to understand that these Indians were our
friends.
Uj} to this time the settlers were sparse and illy
prepared to encounter the horrors of war in our
midst, and were in constant preparation for immedate
flight.
The hardships and privations and sufferings of our
people consequent upon the war, were speedily fol-
lowed by fearful sickness.
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 339
About this time emigrants coming to this region
w«re many and frequent, and as the population in-
creased so the sickness increased. Great and ahnost
universal suffering among the inhabitants followed. If
any were so fortunate as to escape sickness themselves,
their physical abilities were overtaxed with care of
those who were sick, and still the improvement of the
county continued ; perfect harmony abounded among
the people, and contentment, founded on hope, was
universal.
On June 1st, 1825, just fifteen years after dining
off tliat stump above referred to, I was married to
Miss Eliza Reed, of Cayuga county, IST. Y., and we
took up our residence within a stones thrown of the
log hut first erected by m}^ father. I have resided on
the place ever since, and am happy and contented in
the realization of the hopes entertained when a boy
fighting musketoes and felling trees in the tlien wil-
derness, w^here is now a good flourishing neighbor-
, hood of inhabitants.
SEYMOUR B. MURDOCK."
Ridgeway, June, 1864.
LYMAN ]iATES.
Lyman Bates was born in Palmyra, N. Y., Janu-
ary 16th, 1798.
In November, 1819, he came to Ridgeway and
commenced clearing a new farm.
In January, 1821, he married Miss Abinerva
Kingman, who was born in Palmyra in June, 1796.
When not employed in discharging the duties of
public office, in wdiich much of his life has been spent,
he has labored on his farm. He has served nine
years as Supervisor of the town of Ridgeway, been
several terms justice of the peace, and held othei-
town offices. He served one term of five years as a
.Judge of the Old Court of Common Pleas of Orleans
340 , PIONEER HISTORY
county. He was a member of Assembly for Orleans
county in 1828. He was President of the Farmer's
Bank of Orleans, and lias always been deeply en-
gaged in business.
Coming here when everything was new and unset-
tled, lie identified himself with every movement
made to develop the resources o± the country, and
to establish and maintain good order and prosperity..
Of a plausible address and sound mind, honorable,
fair, impartial and honest in all he did, his party, his
iriends and all who knew him, have ever made him
the prominent man in his town and neighborhood,
Aviiose opinions have been sought, whose counsel has
been followed, and whose influence for good has been
seen and felt.
DAVID HOOKER.
David Hooker was born in Connecticut, July 9th,.
1771. He married Betsey Saunders in 1795,
Mr. Hooker settled in Ridgeway, on lot thirty-
seven, township fifteen, range three, in February,
1812.
Soon afterwards in company with Dr. William
^Vhite and Otis Turner, he was engaged in building
the mills on Oak Orchard Creek, since known as
Morris Mills, which are now destroyed. He served
in the war against Great Britain, and was at the
taking of Fort Erie.
His wife died in Mai'cli, 1813. He married his seC'
ond wife, Polly Pixley, February, 1814.
He built the framed liouse now occupied by his
son, Perley H. Hooker, in 1816.
Besides his son Perley, he left one daughter, wliO'
still survives him as widow of the late Harvey Fran-
cis, of Middleport, 'N. Y. David Hooker died Au-
gust 6th, 1847.
OF OKLEANS COUNTY. 341
OTIS TUKIS^EE.
Otis Turner removed from AYayne county, and
settled on the Ridge, east of Ridgeway Corners, in tlie
year 1811 . He was a farmer l)y occupation, but pos-
sessing intelligence and aj)titude for business, he was
frequently employed in public, official stations. With
his brother-in-law, Dr. White, and David Hooker, he
built a sawmill on the Oak Orchard Creek, between
Medina and the Ridge, the second in town.
He was a Judge of the Old Court of Common
Pleas of trenesee county, before Orleans was set oft\
and he represented Genesee county as one of her
Members of Assembly in 1823.
He was for many years a prominent member of the
Baptist Church at Medina, being one of the few who
took part in its organization. He died in Rochester,
N. Y., August 14th, 1865.
TII0]\[AS ^VKLD.
Thomas Weld, father of a large family who bear
his name, was born in Connecticut in 1771. He mar-
ried Lorana Levins.
They first settled in Vei-mont, and moved to North
Ridgeway in 1817.
Mrs. Weld died in 1820, and Mr. AVeld, November,
18th, 18o2.
They had five sons and two daughters. The sons
were Elisha, Jacob, Andrew, Elias, and Marston.
They all settled near their father. Elias now lives
where his fatlier did. They were industrious and
thrifty farmers.
SAMUEL CllUKClI,
Samuel Church was born in Brookfield, Massachu-
setts, in 1781. He married Ann Daniels. They set-
tled in North Ridgeway, in 1816. Mrs. Church died
in 1855. They had four sons.
342 PIONEER HISTORY
WILLIAM ]S\ PRESTOT^.
AVilliani N. Preston was born in Lyme, N. H., in'
1781. His wife, Sarali Daniels, was born in Pem-
broke, N. H., in 1785.
They settled in North Ridgeway, a mile and a half
north of the Ridge, in 1819.
His wife died October 3d, 1831. He died Decem-
ber 29th, 1841. He had three sons, Isaac Samuel,
and Williston.
JAMES DANIELS.
James Daniels was born in Pembroke, N. H., in;
1783. He settled in North Ridgeway, on the town
line. A few years since he moved to Michigan. He
was brother of Grosvenor Daniels. He had four
sons.
WILLIAM COCHRANE.
William Cochrane was born in Pembroke, 'N. H.,.
in 1781. He married Rlioda Mndgett, of Pembroke.
They settled in Ridgeway in 1819. They had four
sons and three daughters. William Cochrane, of
Waterport, is eldest of the sons.
V/ILLIAM coiin.
William Cobb was born in Massachusetts. He
married Hannah Hemenway. They settled in Ridge-
way in 1817. They had four sons and one daugh-
ter. He died on the fEirm where he settled, April Ist,
1855, aged sixty-six years.
S K Y MOr H ]Sr I ' Kl )0C K .
Seymour jNIurdock was born in Dutchess county,
N. Y., iiil7G4.
He married Catharine Buck of Amenia. She \vas
born in 17G8.
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 343
They moved from Greene county to Ridgeway in
1810, and located on the Ridge Road, about live
miles east of Johnson's Creek. At that time there
was no settler between Mr. Murdock's settlement and
lake Ontario on the aorth ; none south to the swamp
but Coon and Walsworth in Shelby, and east and
west on the Ridge it was several miles to any neigl)-
bors.
The nearest postofRce, store or church, was at Ba-
tavia, thirty miles distant.
The nearest gristmill was at Niagara Falls, forty
miles distant.
Mr. Murdock was one of tlie first settlers on the
Ridge, in Ridge wa}^
He had eight sons and four daughters. His sons
names were Israel, John, Seymour B., Henry, Zimri,
Jasper, Hiram, and William.
Israel kept public house some lifteen years on the
Ridge Road. He was one of the best business men
in town. He died in 1831.
John died in Gaines, September 19tli, 1860. Mr.
Seymour Murdock died April 14tii, 1833. His wife
died September 7th, 1823.
OUOSA'EXOll DANIELS.
Grosvenor Daniels was born in Pembroke, Rocking-
ham county, N. H., May 3d, 1793.
He married Sally Palmer, of Vermont, in April,
1813. She died in July, 18.^4, and he married Florinda
Hicks, in 1855.
Leaving his family in Vermont, Mr. Daniels came
to Ridge way in the spring of 1815 and took an article
of part of lot forty- seven, townshij) lifteen, range
three.
Robert Simj3son came with Mr. Daniels and took
one hundred acres adjoining his land. At that time
844 I'lONEKU IIISTOKY
there was no settlement between Ridgeway Corners
and Lyndonville, in Yates.
Simpson and Daniels built for themselves a camj)
and began cntting the trees on their lands, getting
their washing done and bread baked at Eli Moore' s,
on the Ridge. After cutting the trees on five or six
acres, Mr. Daniels went over to Canada to work a
few weeks to get money, as lie could get none in
Ridge way. After a few days he was taken sick with
fever and ague, of which he did not get cured until
the next spring. Being unable to work, he returned
to Vermont, where he arrived in December, 1815.
The next winter he started to move his family to
his western home, on an ox sled. He had sixty dol-
lars in money and thirty dollars worth of leather.
On arriving at Rome, N.Y., the snow went off and he
bought a wagon, on which he made the remainder of
his journey, and on arriving at his log cabin home
he had spent all his leather and money but six cents,
and owed six dollars for money he borrowed of a
friend on th(^ journey.
The next summer, 1810, was the cold season. He
had not got his land fitted for crops ; produ(;e through
the country was cut off by the frost, and Mr. Daniels
found great difficult}^ in getting food for his family,
but having recovered from his long sickness of the
former year, and being strong and resolute, he worked
with a will and got thiough until lie had raised some-
thing on his land.
Being among the first settlers in his neighboiliood,
he had raised produce and had it to sell to settlers,
who came in abundantl}' for several years next after,
and soon found himself in affluence, a condition in
which he has ever since remained.
After a few years on the lot Ik? first took up, lie
bought of Abiier Balcoin the fai-ni he now lives on.
Having taste and ability foi- military service, he was
OF OKLEANS COUNTY. 345
commissioned Ensign not many years after lie came
here, and rose hy regular promotions to Brigadier
General in tlie militia.
He lias been a prominent man in public aflairs,
and though he has never sought official distinction in
civil life, he has been honored with various town
and local offices .
LAUKA EAKEK.
Mrs. Laura Baker was born in Bristol, Vermont.
March 16th, 1799, and married Samuel Bostwick,
December 4th, 1816.
In January, 1817, the}' emigrated from Fairfield,
V^ermont, in a wagon drawn by a yoke of three year
old steers, to Shelby, N. Y.
While at AVhitesboro, on their journey, their
trunks were broken by thieves and robbed of ever}'-
tliing valuable. This obliged them to sell part of their
clothing to pay expenses b}^ the way. They traveled
in company with another ox team with another famil}'
of emigrantb', averaging from eight to nineteen miles
R day.
They remained the last night on the road, at Gaines.
The snow fell that night a foot deep. The road was
so bad and the steers so exhausted by travel and
hard work, that Mrs. Bostwick was obliged to walk
the last six miles of the way on foot, as she had done
half the wa}' from Vermont.
The house into which they, with the other v>-agon
load of emigrants, moved, was a nice log building
with one door, no window or light except what came
down cliimney or between the logs. It was then
occupied by another family from Vermont, former
acquaintances.
A few weeks later anotlier family of acipiaintances
came on from A'ermont and moved into the same
house, where they all resided until other houses could
be built.
346 PIONEER HISTORY
The inmates of this cabin now numbered twenty-
five persons. Their furniture was two cliairs, a spin-
ning wheel and a few pieces of iron ware. Their
table was a chest, their bedsteads were round poles
bottomed with bark, one un each side of the room,
the other beds were made on the floor. Holes bored
in the logs, in which, pins were driven, supj)orted
shelves against the walls.
The next spring, while making sap-troughs, Mr.
Bostwick cut his foot and was disabled from work
four weeks. Mrs. Bostwick hired a few trees tapjDed,
gathered the sap herself, boiled it in the house in a
twelve quart kettle, a six quart pot, and a small tea
kettle, and made one hundred and sixt}^ pounds of
sugar.
When th(? snow went off she made a garden in
which she set gooseberry, raspberry and blackberry
roots which she found in the woods. She never
feared wild animals that roamed in the forest, but she
used to admit her fear of the Indians who frequently
came along and remained all night, and she would
watch and tremble with fear while they slept like
logs on the floor, with their feet to the fire.
Having worn out the clothing they brought from
the east, Mrs. B. bought a loom and made cloth for
her family and others. She took in weaving of her
neighbors, and received pay in wheat at six shillings
a bushel, though the best she could do with it was to
take it to "R.idgeway Corners and sell it for four shil-
lings a bushel, paid for in goods at a high price.
Mr. Samuel Bostwick died many years ago, and in
the y(\ar 1888 his widow married Mr. Otis Baker, a
thriving farmer of Shelby.
In 1853 he disposed of his farm and moved to Me-
dina, wh(^re they yet resid(\
Married at the age of seventeen years, Mrs. Baker
lias passed a stirring and eventful life in things which
OF OKLEANS COUNTY. 847
"belong to the settlement of a new conntry. Slie lias
passed through it all in triumph. From pinching
poverty to the possession of abundance, she has
traveled every step, and surrounded by kind friends
and present plenty, she yet remains one of tlie best
specimens of the noble women who did their part in
bringing this county out of the woods.
iSTAIIUM BAKRETT.
Nahum Barrett was born in Hinsdale, X. H. He
married Sally Bennett of Westmoreland, N. H., in
1805.
In March, 1815, he removed with his family to Ti-
oga county. His wife died there in 1820. In Janua-
ry, 1828, he removed to Ridgeway, and died there
April IStli, following, aged fifty-one years. He had
nine children, of wliom the eldest is
LUTHEIl BARRETT.
Luther Barrett was born in Windham county, Yt.,
in 1806. While living in his father's family in Tioga
Co., for three years of the time it was live miles from
Ids father's to any school, and when a school was
opened nearer, young Luther never had much op-
portunity to attend it.
In Ma}^, 1825, he left his father's family and came
to Ridgeway and labored for his uncle, Amos Bar-
rett, on his farm. He continued to work out b}" the
month, until the year 1831 he purchased the farm
three-fourths of a mile west from Ridgeway Corners,
on which he has since resided.
He married Miss Almira Flood, February 18th,
1835. She was born in Londonderry, A^ermont, Jan-
uary 2d, 1807.
They have four children, S3'lvcster F., Elsie A.,
married Henry Tanner ; Medora P., and Lod(Mna A,
348 PIOIS'EER ]IISTOKY
Lodema iiiarried xindrew Weld, and I'esides in Pax-
ton, Illinois.
Mr. Barrett is a former, wlio by a life of persistent
industry and prudence, lias accumulated a fair prop-
erty, and by a life of honesty and integrity lias se-
cured a fair character. He enjo^^s the confidence of
his townsmen and represented them as Supervisor of
Ridgewa}^ in the years 1857-8.
OIIEISTOPJIEIt W] lALEY.
Christopher Whaley was born in Montville, Con-
necticut, June 16tli, 1798. AVith his parents lu) re-
moved to Yerona, N. Y., in 180;:>.
He was educated as a physician at the medical in-
stitution at Fairfield, Herkimer county, and gradua-
ted as Doctor of Medicine, June 18th, ]819. In Sep-
tember, 1819, he settled in the practice of his profes-
sion at Shelby Center.
In February, 1832, he removed to Medina, where
he resided until his death, October 20th, 1807.
Dr. AYhaley married Mary Ann S. Coffin, March
20tli 1824. iVfter li^r death he married Soph-
ronia Martin in 1841. After her death he married
Carrie E. Perry, July IGth, 1863. His ^\ddow and
three children survived him.
Dr. Whaley devoted his life zealously to the jirac-
tice of his profession, in which lie had a large ride
and eminent success. It is truly said of him "lie
never refused his services to any one in need of them,
whether they were rich or poor, and without taking
into consideration the possibility of losing his fee.''
AXDIJKW \VKI,1).
Andnnv AVeld was born in Heading, A'ermont, Au-
gust 6th, 1804. lie canu^ to llidgeway in the fall of
1817, in the family of his father, Thomas Weld.
OF OKLEAXS COUNTY. 349
The}' came in a wagon drawn by three yoke of
oxen, being twenty- seven days on their journey. Mr.
AVeld settled on lot nine, township fifteen, range
four.
Andrew resided with his father until he was twen-
ty years old, then lal)ored one year for his brother,
EJislia, on a farm for one hundred dollars.
In February, 1828, he married Roxy Stockwell.
She died May 9th, 1839. He married Clarissa Root
for his second wife. She died December 22d, 1866,
and for his third ^\Mfe he married Mrs. Susan
Downs.
Mr. Weld is a farmer, industrious and frugal who,
in the honest pursuit of his chosen calling, has laid
up a competence for his support and comfort while
he lives.
WILLIAM JACKSON.
AVilliam Jackson was born in Duanesburg, N. Y.,
October 21st, 1799.
He bought an article for one hundred acres of
land in Kidgeway, j)art of lot twenty-one, township
fifteen, range four, in September, 1826, After build-
ing a log house on his lot, he returned to Onondaga
county after his family and brought them to
their new home the next February. His
liouse was without a door or window or floor when
lie moved into it, but blankets for a few days were
good substitutes for doors and windows, when he
made a floor, and doors and lived comfortably.
Prosperit}^ attended his labor. In a short time he
bought more land, wliicli he has fitted and cultivated
into one of the fint^st farms in the county.
Mr. Jackson married Martha Comstock, January
20tli 1822. They have had eleven children, seven of
whom are living.
350 PIONEER HISTORY
His father, James Jackson, was born in London,
England, and emigrated to America in early life.
ELIJAH IIAWLEY.
Elijali Hawley was Iborn in Bridgeport, Connecti-
cut, June 2d, 1792.
He married Rlioda Spencer in May, 1805. In May,
1815, lie settled near Ridgeway Corners.
Mr. Hawley was a practical surveyor, and many lines
of lands in Ridgeway and Shelby were traced and
settled by his surveys.
From memoranda found among Mr. Hawley' s pa-
pers after his death, made by himself, in 1814 the
town of Ridgeway, which then comprised the present
county of Orleans, contained six hundred and eighty-
one inhabitants, one hundred and thirty electors, and
but live freeholders worth two hundred and fifty
dollars each.
He was appointed justice of the peace by the coun-
cil in March, 1816, and Judge of Genesee County
Common Pleas, May 23d, 1818, which office he held
until his death.
He Avas Supervisor of Ridgewa}^ in 1818. He was
appointed postmaster at Ridgeway Corners in
1816.
He died April 29th, 1820, leaving his widow and
six children surviving. Merwin. S. Hawley of Buffa-
lo is his son.
-lAMES .(ACKSON".
James Jackson, eldest son of James Jackson, was
born in Duanesburg, N. Y., March 29th, 1798. He
married Maria Marlatte, February 21st, 1819. He
settled on part of lot twenty, townshi23 fifteen, range
four, in Ridgeway, in February, 1823, where he has
since resided.
OF ORLEANS COUNTY, 351
He lias been a successful farmer, overcoming by
sturdy industry the obstacles of sickness, hardships
and the privations of a new country, by which he
has been beset.
He has had ten children, ]iine of whom survive.
His wife died December 13th, 1870.
JOHN JA-: VALLEY.
John Le Valley was borii at Paris Hill, N. Y., May
'31st, 1810.
His parents removed to Holland, Niagara county,
when he was nine years old. His father died poor,
leaving a widow and five minor children, of whom
John was eldest.
At the age of eighteen he commenced the battle of
life on his own account, with a resolute will his only
capital, and his father s family on his liands to
provide for.
He iirst bought seventy rods of land adjoining the
place on which his father liad resided, and paid for
it in work at seventy-five ceiits a day and boarded
himself. On this he built a small house, into which
he moved his mother and her children. He then
bought on credit one hundred acres of land. On this
he cleared and fenced seventy acres, built a house
and barn, dug wells and made other improvements,
and at the end of three years sold his farm for three
thousand six hundred dollars. This he accomplished
though to begin with he had not a dollar in money,
no team, or stock or seed ; but he did have good
health, a strong will, and a noble mother s wise
counsel and encouragement, to which, he was ready
to listen and follow, in whose welfare he has always
felt the most tender solicitude, wlio has always shared
his house and home, and still survives at the age of
eight}^ years, enjoying in the family of her son all
3/52 PIONEER HISTORY
that filial affection and abundant means can supply
to make lier old age liappy.
In 1835 lie purchased the farm he now occupies,
parts of lots twenty -nine and thirty, township fifteen,-
range four, in Ridge way, containing one hundred and
ninety -two acres.
He has built mills, worked a stone quarry, and
cultivated his large farm with eminent success and
become wealthy.
In 1852 he was appointed one of the Commissioners
by the Legislature to re-survey the Ridge Road.
He has held various civil ofiices in the gift of his
fellow citizens.
He has been three times married, and is now living
with his third wife, Seraphine M., daughter of the
late Joseph Davis, of Ridgeway, to whom he was-
married January 13th, 1856.
AMOS BARRETT.
Amos Barrett was born in Chesterfield, N. H., May
10th, 1778.
In 1802 he married Lucy Thayer, and soon after
settled in Fabius, Onondaga county, N. Y. His wife
having died, he married Huldali Winegar, December
20th, ^1807.
In 1811 he bought fifty acres of land, part of lot
fifteen, lying one mile west of Ridgeway Corners, on*
the Ridge Road.
He started to move his family to their new home'
with a sleigh and horses and an ox team. One of
his oxen broke his leg while being shod. He made a
single yoke for his remaining ox, hitched him in the
team beside a horse, and thus performed his Journey,
liis team attracting much notice in passing. The
yoke is preserved as a valued relic by his cliil-
dren.
He crossed Genesee river on the ice, and arrived at
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 853
his lot in Ridgeway, Mairli 14t]i, 1812, and stopped
with his neiglibor, Jonathan (Jobb, in liis log hoiiso,
eighteen by twenty-four feet square, which on this
occasion contained tw(^nty-six iinnates.
Mr. Barrett soon built a log house on his lot and
moved into that. Snow was deep that spring. He
had no hay ; as a substitute he dug up a few brakes
on low land near and felled trees, on which his ani-
mals brows<?d, the pooi" horses hardly surviving on
such diet.
In June, 1813, war witli Great Rritain was declared
and Mr. Barrett went with his neighbors under Capt.
McCarty, to the defense of the frontier.
During this war, Mr. Bari-e^t's family remained,
while many others tied trom the country.
Beginning in the woods, witli lields to be cleared ot
timber before they could be made ])roductive, witli
fever and ague to contend with, and privations of so
many of the necessaries and comforts of civilized life
to be born, it Avas sometimes hard for Mr. Barrett to
meet the wants of his somewhat numerous family
with the needed supjDlies. Food sometimes ran short,
and but for the fish in the streams, and game from
the forest, the}'- might have had more suffering.
Mr, Barr(4t had a fov/ling piece with which he was
a dead shot. He never had a rifle ; and a trusty steel
trap, which did good service on occasion, once de-
tained a wolf who happened '' to put his foot in it."
Numerous deer, and occasionally a bear yielded to
his prowess as a hunt<^r, nnd furnished meat for the
family.
Mr. Barrc^tt paid three doUais per acre for the first
fifty acres of land he bought He had the sagacity to
foresee that the price of lands would rise as settle-
ments increased, and he secured to himself titles to a
number of other parcels of land, and realized the
rise in value as he had expected.
23
3,'54 PIONEER HISTORY
Mr, Barrett had seven sons and one daughter, all
of whom he lived to see married and settled around
liim, with twenty-two grand children to perpetuate
the family.
He took pleasure in the last years of his life visi-
ting the homes of his children. His social qualities
made him a Avelcome guest always among all his ac-
quaintances, by whom he w^as familiarly known and
addressed as " Uncle Amos."
He was generous and kind to worthy objects of his
bounty, but the profligate, dishonest and idle, found
HO favor at his hands.
He was a pioneer in introducing improved modes
and implements in agriculture. He was the first in
his vicinity to use cast iron plows in place of the old
Dutch plow. A tlireshing machine took the place of
the flail in his barn at an early day, a rude im-
])erfect machine, but it was an advance in the right
direction, and his neighbors were induced to draw
their grain to his machine, and thus taught its labor
saving power.
Mr. Barrett died in 18G0, in the eighty-second year
of liis age.
SIDNEY S. BARRETT.
Sidney iS. Barrett, eldest son of Amos Barrett, was
lioi-n in Fabius, N. Y., May 8th, 1804. He came to
Ridgeway with his father' s family in March, 1812,
and resided in that family until he w^as twenty-four
years old, then with two younger brothers he bought
{)art of lot twenty- four, township fifteen, range four,
In Ridgeway. He worked his land in company with
these brothers for five or six years, when it was di-
vided and he took a part to himself, on which he has
ever since resided.
He maii-ied Lydia H. Fox, February 23d, 1832, by
•jM-S^SiVi^isX,.
A *%^
: u^K<
*af^Vj ¥^ jj^ ^, -^p
/
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 355
wliom he had two sons and two daughters, all of
whom lived to adult age.
WILLIAM KNOWLES.
Mr. Knowles was born in Sandersfield, Berkshire
. county, Massachusetts, July 19, 1790. His ancestors,
for several generations, had been residents of Cape
Cod, and were of the true New England, Puritan
stock.
They were God-fearing people, of deep religious sen-
timent, and strict in their habits. His parents brought
up their family of nine children according to the no-
tions prevalent in those days among the descendants
of the old Puritans.
The school house and the church were prominent
institutions in New England civilization, and Mr.
Knowles had the advantages of both, as they were
enjoyed seventy years ago. His schooling was re-
stricted to the district school of that time.
In December, 1813, Mr. Knowles collected his ef-
fects together, purchased a span of horses and wagon,
and a quantity of iron and steel for loading, and
started to go to the Genesee country, where three of
his brothers had alread}^ located.
On his way west he stopped at Schenectady and
bought eight kegs of oysters to add to his load. He
arrived safely at the house of his brother in Kiga,
January 5th, 1814.
In January, 1815, he came to Ridgeway and stop-
ped at the house of an old friend, Eleazer Slater.
He took an article of lot three, township fifteen, range
three, on which the village of Knowlesville, so named
in his honor, now stands, on the Erie canal, contain-
ing 341 acres.
In March, 1815, he began to cut down the trees
aipon his land so purchased, to build a house, then
356 PIONEER HISTORY
more than a mile from any liouse, or highway or foot
patli.
The spot on wliich he cut the lirst tree is where the
residence of Mr. li. P. Wood now stands. In due
time his cabin was raised, with sides of logs, roof of
staves, or shakes, as they were called, fastened to
their places "by poles bound crosswise, with a floor
of basswood logs roughly hewed on one side.
Mr. John Canifee, having a wife and one child and
no house, moved into the new house of Mr. Knowles
before it was completed, while the floor was only half
laid down and a blanket was used for a door, and
lived in it in that condition for two weeks.
Mr. Knowles hired two men to work for him, one of
whom had a wife, who was their housekeeper. Du-
]'ing the first summer this woman, Mrs. Hill, was •
taken sick and died.
At that time there were no roads, no barns, no pas-
tures, and none of the modern conveniences for living,
in the settlement. Mr. Knowles had obtained some
cows which he hired kept twO miles from his house.
He would work hard in his clearing all day, then go
two miles to milk his cows and bring the milk home
in pails through the woods.
The death of Mrs. Hill was a sad event in the
wilderness. It rendered the log cabin desolate.
The men Mr. Knowles had hired soon left him.
In November, 1815, he went back to Massachu-
setts, and in January, 1816, was married to Miss
Mary Baldwin. They came on to the house Mr.
Knowles had built. Mrs. Knowles soon accustomed
herself to the inconveniences and difliculties of her
new situation, went cheerfully to work and became a-
model housekeeper. The inconveniences of house-
keeping were not a few.
Mr. Knowles, on his way home with his wife, had'
purchased a set of chairs with splint seats. These •
OF ORLEAN8 COUNTY. 357
were regarded at first by the neighbors as a great liixii-
r}^, and frequent comments were made by them nj)oii
the extravagance, as they regarded it of tlie Knowh^s
family. But if the}^ did indulge a little in the matter
of chairs, their other furniture of the liouse at first was
sufficiently primitive to satisfy the most fastidious
of their friends, for they had at first no table but a
board x>^it on the top of a barrel. Their first bed-
stead was made by boring holes in the logs in the
side of the liouse, and putting in rods fastened to
pole bedposts, with side pieces of like material.
In the cold summer of 1816, frost in June killed
the corn, rendering the prospect gloomy and sad for
the new settlers, but the wheat crop proved good in
quality, though less than an average vield in quan-
tity.
In the summer of 1816, the engineers surveying foi-
the Erie Canal, came along and pitched their tent on
Mr. Knowles farm, on the spot where Abell & Brace
jiow have a store, stopping there a week, and finally
established the line for the canal through the centei-
4)f his farm.
The canal was completed to Lockport from tlic
east in 1824.
Mr. KuowIgs built one section of the canal a little
east of Holle}'.
In 1825 he built the lirst framed house in Knowles-
ville, on the south side of the canal, in which he kept
a hotel for several years. Afterwards he built the
brick house near th(^ canal on the west side of the
Main street, in which he kept a temperance hotel for
:several years, until he finally closed the house as a
tavern.
Mr. Knowles built the first warehouse) in Knowles-
,ville, in 1825.
He bought and shipped the first boat load of wlu^at
^ever shipped from Orleans county.
358 PI05TEER HISTORY
Mr. Knowles was always among tlie first engaged
in all public enterprises for the benefit of the commu-
nity in which he lived.
He helped build the first school liouse in Ills dis-
trict, which was made of logs. This served also as a
place of public worship. Here ministers of various
denominations preached the gospel, and the people
flocked to hear them without regard to sectarian pre-
judice or partiality.
In 1838 Mr. Knowles built his late place of res-
idence on the beautiful eminence in the west part of
the village, and north of the canal.
In 1830 the brick church in Knowlesville was erec-
ted, Mr. K. furnishing one-half or more of the funds
for that purpose.
Mr. and Mrs. Knowles united with the Presbyte-
rian church in 1820, which was the first religious so-
ciety organized in Ridgewa}'^. For nearly forty 3'ears
he has been a ruling elder in that church.
He never had children of liis own, 3^et he has taken
into his family and brought up and educated seven
or eight children of others. To one of these Rev. I.
O. Fillmore, he gave a liberal education, sending him
to college and theological schools to fit for the gospel
ministry, besides granting him a generous allowance
of means to establish himself with comfort in life,
in grateful remembrance of which favors, so bounti-
fully and disinterestedly bestowed by Mr. Knowles
and his family, Mr. Fillmore acknowledges his obli-
gation, and devotes himself witli filial duty to
make the last days of his kind benefactor as happy
as possible.
Mr, Knowles has been twice married. His first
wife died April 2d, 1861. He married Mrs. Mary
Crippen for his second wife.
H(; has sold liis large farm and other real estate, re-
servin^^ only a liouse and lot in KnowlesviHe, where
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 859
he resides, relieved from the cares and perplexities of
business, calmly awaiting tlie approach of death, en-
Joying the full assurance of the good man's hope.
The foregoing is the substance of a sketch of Mr.
Knowles, furnished for tlie Orleans County Pioneer
Association by his adopted son, Eev. 1. O. Fill-
more.
AVERY V. ANDREWS.
'* I was born in Claremont, New Hampshire, .July
25th, 1798.
In 1802 my father removed to Waterbury, Vei-
mont.
In October, 1817, he started with two yoke of oxen
and a wagon to move his family to western New York,
and after traveling thirty days arrived at Gaines,
then Genesee county, N. Y. I was then eighteen
years of age.
In the fall of 1819, I bought an article for fifty acr^s
of land in Ridgeway, and in 1821, I bought an arti-
cle for sixty-two acres with a small log house on it.
All my personal estate then consisted of one yokt^ o*
steers and a cow.
I lived in my log house seventeen years, then built
a dwelling house of stone in which I now reside.
AVERY V. ANDREWS."
Uidgeway, June, 18CG.
NANCY G. MASTEN.
*'I was born in Warwick, Massachusetts, Septem-
ber 2()th, 1796.
I was married to Ephraim G. Masten, at .\lbany,
N. Y., November 15th, 1815.
We settled in Bethlehem, Albany county, N. Y.
In 1819 my husband came to Ridgeway, Orleans Co. ,
and bouglit an article for one hundred and thirty
acres of land on lot seventeen, townshi]) lifteen,
360 TK^NKinj HISTORY
range three, then in a wild state, cleared three acres
.and sowed it with wheat, and in November, 1819,
moved upon his land with his family.
We lived in a log- house until in 1831 w(3 built a
dwelling of stone on the site of the old log hoiise.
Mr. Hasten died March 20th, 1840.
NANCY G. HASTEN."
Jlid^oway, September, ]80(>.
lA'SANDEH V. <;koveh.
''1 Avas l)orn in Deej-tield, Massachusetts, Jan-
uary, 22d, 1802.
In the fall of 1807, my fathiM- moved to Phelps, On-
tario county, I being then in m}' sixth year. Here
I spent my boyhood working on a farm summers
and attending district school winters. When I was
twc^lve years old my father sent me with his hired
man a mile and a half into the woods to chop cord
wood, and on my t-welfth birth day I chopped and
])iled on<^ cord of Avood, and well do I remember of
biagging of my exploit vvlien I returned home. But
idrate<iy^ of which we hear occasionally, had some-
tliing to do with it, for I got the hired man to fall an
old basswood ti-ee with a dead top for me, and this
helped materially to make out my ])ile.
My father being of Green Mountain oiigin, where
men were born with iron constitutions, reqnired more
work of me than my constitution could endure, con-
sequently when I was about nineteen years old, I be-
came physically unable to labor.
In 1823 I went to school at an acadeni}' in (leneva,
and in the fall of that year I obtained a teacher's cer-
tificate. Thus accoiitered, and with little knowledge
of the WMjrld, and still less of its lucre, I emerged as
a pedagogue which occupation I followed with an in-
crease both of success and wages.
f^Mnding this business irksome and by no means de-
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 361
sirable for life, I resolved upon a profession. AVlien
consulting with friends for a choice it was thought
my piety did not come up to the ministerial standard,
and I had neither the conlidence nor imjmdence to
warrant success as a lawyer, therefore the only al-
ternative was I must be a physician, which I resolved
to be.
I studied medicine with Dr. James Carter, of Gene-
va, and attended medical lectures in the city of New
York in the winter of 1827-8, and returned in the
spring to Geneva, with just six cents capital in my
pocket witli which to start in business.
In January, 1829, I located for practice in the vil-
lage of Alloway, in the town of L^^ons. Tliere, with
a capital all borrowed, except the aforesaid six cents
which I had not encroached upon, did I start out
with saddle bags well tilled, full of confidence of
success. I stuck up my tin and was ready foi-
business.
It was in the healthy season of the year, and no-
body would get sick to accommodate me, or test the
efficienc}^ of my drugs, or my ability in prescribing
them. And it was even more than hinted that tlie
hlues were lurking about me.
But at length l)y patient industry I eventually ac-
{[uired a good and lucrative practice as a phj'sician.
and how well I have acquitted myself in my profes-
sion, and in such other business as I have been en-
gaged in, I leave for others to decide.
I had not |)liysical stamina sufficient to enable me
to enter tli(^ wilderness and hiy low its primeval for-
ests, supplant the ferocious bears, and prowling and
howling wolves, — or to build log houses, and occupy
them,— therefore I am scarcely entitled to have my
name enrolled among the real settlej-s and early pio-
neers of Orleans coimty fifty years ago, my onh'
claim being that I swung the ax in nn- bovhood davs
362 pioj^teer history
in Ontario county, and also that I have cleared some
land by proxy in Orleans connty.
October 3d, 1831, I married a daughter of Henry
Howard, of Alloway, Wayne county, N. Y. I car-
ried on my professional business in connexion with
merchandising, until in 1844, Ii-emoved to Alexander,
Genesee county, and in February, 1845, I moved to
Knowlesville, on the farm on which I now reside.
Here I have practiced medicine but little, keeping a
drug and book store, and superintending my farm.
My wife died April 8th, 1847, and I married for a
second wife, Mrs. Eliza Ann Browii, xVugust 12th,
1858.
I have failed to get rich, being too timid to make
any bold and great business strikes, having too great
a development of the organ of cautiousness to
secure the avails of any great far-reaching enter-
prise.
To sum up the events of my historj^ in short, in my
boyhood I was a farmer, then a teacher, then a clerk,
next, a student of medicim^ after that a doctor, then
a merchant.
I have run an ashery and a distiller}^ for which lat-
ter business I trust I am now sufficiently penitent. I
have kept a drug and book store, and am now living
quietly on my faim in Knowlesville.
LYSANDER C. G ROVER."
Knowlesville, January 21, 18U7.
KDWIX V. HEALY.
'' My father moved from Massachusetts to Marcel-
lus, N. Y. in 1805.
I was born in Marcellus, Onondaga county, N. Y.,
April 14th, 1812, and was brought up at labor on my
father's farm until I became a man.
I taught school four years, then studied med-
icine, and graduated in my proft^ssion in 1837,
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 363
and settled to practice in Cortlandville, N. Y. In
1838 I was married to Miss Maria Thomas, of Skane-
atelas, and began housekeeping immediately.
I practiced my profession eighteen j^ears, then from
failing health was compelled to abandon the practice
of medicine and removed to Medina, N. Y., in 1856,
and engaged in the business of selling drugs and
medicines, which I still follow.
EDWIN p. HEALY."
Medina, April, 1867.
MILO COON.
Milo Coon was born in DeRuyter, IST. Y., Novem-
ber 4th, 1799.
His father, Hezekiah Coon, was a native of Rhode
Island, He came to Ridge way in 1809, and took an
article for one hundred acres of land one mile east of
Ridge way Corners, upon which he moved with his
liimily September 29tli, 1811.
When he settled here his neighbors were Ezra D.
Barnes, Israel Douglass and Seymour Murdock.
Milo Coon married Edith L. Willets, August 31st,
1823.
PETEK IIOAG.
Peter Hoag was born at Independence, New Jer-
sey, December 3d, 1794.
In 1804 he came with his famih^ to Parmington,
Ontario county, N, Y. From that time until Octo-
ber, 1815, he labored on a farm, or went to school, or
kept school. In October, 1815, he took up a lot of
land in Ridgeway and built a log house on it, into
which lie moved his family in March, 1816.
About the year 1838 he disposed of his lot, bought
part of lot nineteen, township fifteen, range three, on
whicli he resides with his son Lmvis.
Mr. Hoag married Hannah Vanduser, March 15th,
1815. She died August 18th, 1831.
364 PIONEEll IIISTOKY
He married Maria Douglass, January nth, 1832.
Slie died March 20th, 1866.
His children are Mary, who died in infancy. Zach-
ariali married INIaria Temple, and resides in Michi-
gan. James, who married Elizabeth Slade, resides
in Kendall. Eansom, who married Melvina Porter,
resides in Medina. Marj', who married Sylvester
Gillett, resides in Bergen. Lyman died in infancy.
William L., who married Clara Bigford, resides in
Wisconsin. Charles Henr}^, who married Minerva
Powers, resides in Wayne county, N. Y., and Lewis
H., who married Sarah Hoag, and resides on his pa-
tei'nal homestead.
DAA'ID irooD.
"I was born in the town of Tarbot, Pennsylvania,
August 2d, 1794.
In 1797 my parents removed to Seneca, X. Y., town
of Romulus. We had many hardships and priva-
tions to endure, the country being new and we so fai'
from school and religious meetings. Our land was
heavily timbered and required a great deal of hard
w^ork to get it in a condition to till. AVo had to go
ten miles to mill.
I went to school after I was nine or ten years
old, what I could, and worked on tli*^ farm sunmiers
until in September, 1813, I was drafted for a soldier,
being tlien nineteen years old, and went to Fort
C-feorge, in Canada, which had been taken In* our for-
ces in the spring before.
I was three months in tlu^ iH'i'O? '^^^^ ^''"'^^ then dis-
charged.
I continued with TU}' parents until 1816, when I came
to the town of Ridgeway and worked one summer for
a brother of mine who had located one mile south of
Knowlesville. The next spring T bought an article
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 365
for one Inindred and nineteen acres of land, upon
which I went to work ch^aring.
The title to the farm on which my father had re-
sided and labored for twenty years in Seneca count}^
})roved bad and he was compelled to abandon it,
leaving him almost penniless, and he came to the town
of Shelby and began again anew.
I bnilt a honse on my land in Eidgeway, in Octo-
ber, 1818.
In May, 1819, I was married to Miss Elizabeth
Burroughs, daughter of David Burroughs, of Shelby,
and in June alter, we moved into my house npon my
farm, on which farm I liave resided now forty-seven
years.
I worked ni}-^ farm and my wife took good care of
things about the house, and so we prospered as well
as any of oni- neighbors. T built my first barn in
1820.
Presbyterian churches were organized at Oak Or-
<;liard Creek, and at Millville at an early day. In
the year 1831 a Church edifice was erected b}^ the
Presbyterians at Knowlesville.
During these years so long ago, although our labor
was hard and fatiguing, yet we performed it with
cheerfulness and in hope. Our neighbors knew no
broils, families were all peaceful and friendly with
each other, kind and attentive in sickness, even unto
death.
Thus we toiled on irom y(\ar to year, tlie forest gradu-
ally retiring b(^fore us, and giving place to fruitful
fields, and gardens, and orchards, yielding a gene-
rous reward for our labors.
I built a new house which I finished in 1835, but
our old log house was like a sacred spot, cherished
in our memories.
Since occupying my present residence I have seen
the present wilderness exchanged for cultivated
366 PIONEER HISTORY
land, filled with the habitations of industry. I have
witnessed the introduction into our county of those
great works of improvement, the Erie Canal, the
Railroad, and the Electric Telegraph, and now, in
the evening ot my days, I am enjoying a competence
of this world's goods for my comfort, expecting soon
to pass over the 'river,' where I hope to meet not
only the pioneers of the woods here, but all who are
here 'seeking a better country,'
DAVID HOOD."
Ridgeway, January, 1865.
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE VILLAGE OF MEDINA.
Saw Mill by Land Company — Evan's Grist Mill — Canal Feeder — Nix-
on's Brewery — Coan's Store — First Tavern — First Merchants — Phy-
sician — Attorney — Quarries — Justus IngersoU — Baptist Meeting
Tlouse.
HE territoi-}' included in the village of Medi-
na was mainly covered with forest trees when
work was begun here on the Erie canal.
Mr. Joseph Ellicott had, at an earl}'^ day, located a
large tract of land here of the Holland Land Compa-
ny, including the rapids in the Oak Orchard Creek,
but settlement was commenced at Shelby Center, no-
body at that time expecting a village would grow up
here.
Mr. Samuel F. Gear built a sawmill lor the Hol-
land Company or Mr. Ellicott, on the falls in the Oak
Orchard Creek, in Medina, about the year 1805, and
about the same time the Salt Works were established
at the brine springs, north of the village. This mill
was a cheaply constructed affair. No roads leading
to it were made, and before the war of 1812, few set-
tlers located here. They could not get their logs
to the mill for the distance and bad roads. The mill
was not kept in repair and soon tumbled into
ruins.
Mr. Ellicott rented out the salt works, but working
them was impracticable, and not much salt was made
there until the springs came into possession of Isaac
Bennett in 1818.
HG8 PIONEEK HISTOKY
Mr. Sylvanus Coan opened the first store in 18245-
before tlie canal was finislied, and some small estab-
lislmients for selling goods to those working on the
canal soon followed, but the opening of navigation
was the signal for commencing the improvement of
the water power on the Creek and bnilding np tho
town.
In May, 1825, David E. Evans laid the foundations
of his large llouring mill, afterwards owned by Wil-
liam R. Gwynn, standing on the race near the rail^
road.
This mill was built of stone, John Ryan master
mason, and finished in 1820. It was finall}' l)urned
in December, 1859.
The State of New York built a dam in the creek
at the time the canal was dug, and made a raceway
to carry the creek water into the canal, as a feeder'*
This race proved too low for the purpose and was
abandoned.
In 1825 Mr. Evans made an arrangement with the
State, under which he raised a dam higher up the
stream, and connected this by a raceway to the
canal. Evans drew water from this raceway to turn
his mill, and sold water power to othei-s to be drawn
from his race.
Joseph Nixon built a brewery here about the year
1827. After a few years it was turned into a distille-
ry, and malt liquors or whisky were made there for
several years.
This brewery was burned three times, and the site
is now occupied by Bignall & Co. as a foundry.
Uri D. Moore kept the first hotel, on Shelby St.,
in 1824.
Ashael Wooodruff and brothei- were merchants
here in 1826.
John Ryan, mason, settled here in 1827 ; Simeon
Downs, blacksmith, in 1825 ; Dr. Rumsey,
OF ORLEJ^XS OOUNIT. 369
the first regular pliyyiciaii, in 1827. Dv. Lathrop fol-
lowed soon after,
Tlie first attorney was Nathan iSaw^er. The first
carpenter, Samuel F. Gear, The first iron founder
was Simeon Bathgate.
The postofhce was established in Medina in 1829,
and Justus Ingersoll was the first postmaster,
David Ford and John Parsons were tinsmiths.
Otis Turner, and Chase andBritt were grocers. Clark
and Fairman were early merchants.
The first fire company was organized August 16tlj,
1832,
The first bell in a stee})le was raised on tlio Presby
terian Church in 1836,
This was the first bell in the village, and the only
church bell between Albion and Lockport for several
years. It was rung a number of times every day to
regulates the hours of labor and rest of the inhabi-
tants.
A town clock was afterwards procured and plact^d
in the steeple of the Methodist Church, to serve in the
place of so much bell ringing. The clock proving a
poor machine was soon given up.
Justus Ingersoll, who had been Ji tanner in Shelby,
moved to Medina in 1826, and built a large brick
building for a tannery west of the creek, near th«-
the canal.
This was afterwards convertcnl into a fiouring mill,
and burned December, 1858.
Mr, Ingersoll was justice of the peace, postmaster,'
Indian agent and Judge of the Court of Common
Pleas of the county, and an active man in villaire
affairs.
The first religious society organized in Mediiia wais
the Episcopalian.
**St, John's Church in Medina," filed a ct>rtificat^
24
:>70 I'loxEEU iirsTOKV
of incorporation in the county clerk's office nnder
that name November 12tli, 1827.
Rev. Richard Salmon, missionary-, was then in
charge.
Bishoj) Hobart held the first Episcopal service by a
IMshop in Orleans county, in this church Septem-
ber 7th, 1828.
The coi'porate officers of the church for its first
3ear were Justus IngersoU and Richard Xan Dyke,
Wardens.
Christopher Whaley, Elijah Beech, John B. Elli-
cott, Joseph Nixon, Henry Yerrington, Benjamin W.
Van Dyke, Jonas S. Billings and Hezekiah R. War-
ner, Vestrymen.
Mr. David E. Evans gave the church a piece of
land on which to erect their church edifice, the foun-
dations of which were laid in 1831.
The first religious services were held in this build-
ing, in the basement, on Christmas Eve, 1832.
Josluui M. Rogers w^as the minister.
The house was finished, and consecrated by Bishop
Onderdonk, September 80th. 183G, where it now
stands, on Center street.
The Methodists filed a certificate to incorporate a
society by name of ''The first Methodist Episcopal
Society in Medina," October 1st, 1830.
They filed another certificate altering their name,
among other things, April 7tli, 1834.
They commenced building their house of worship
of stone, in 1833. In raising the roof the timbers
gave way and eleven men fell in the ruins. No one
was killed, some bones were broken.
The basement of this house was finished and iised
in 1834, but it was several years before the whole
house was completed.
This house was taken down and rebuilt in 1850,
and thoroughh' repaired in 1869.
OF OKLEAIVS COUNTY. 371
The Baptists tiled a certiticate to incorporate "The
First Baptist Church and Society in Medina," ]\rar(!h
14th, 1831.
Their first house of worship was a huildin<:i: i)iit np
for a barn in the rear of tlie hrick hotel, on the south-
west corner of Center and Shelby streets. This was
lathed and plastered and seated, and used for reli-
gious meetings until their tirst meeting house; wjis
dedicated in the winter of 1832.
Their new church on the corner of West and Cen-
ter streets was commenced in the fall of 1870.
The Presbyterians built the lirst building designed
for religious worship in Medina, on the north side of
Cross, near the corner of West street.
Deacon Theophilus Cook commenced, alone and
unaided, getting out the timber for tliis house. See-
ing his zeal showing itself in faith and work.'i, Mr.
Ephraim Scovill Joined him in the work. Others fol-
lowed with their labor and contributions, till
a building about thirty by forty-live feet was
erected, in which the Presbyterians worshipped from
about 1830, to February 17th, 1836, when their l\^^^â–
church edifice was dedicated.
The first house was then used for school })urposes
several years, wdien it was sold to the Konian (Jatho-
lics, who moved it upon the same lot with their
church, built an addition to it, and it is now thei]-
school house.
The Presbyterian Church was organized with se\ -
enteen members, March 19th, 1829.
The Presbyterian Society was incorporat<'d August
27th, 1831, by name of "The Trustees of the first
Society of the Congregational Church at Medina."
The first printing press in Medina was set u]) in
the fall of 1832, and the first newspaper called "Me-
dina Herald,-' published by D. P. Adams.
After the Erie canal was located and survived
372 PIONKLIt HISTORY
through Medina, aiteiition was called to this place as
the probable site of a village, and about the year
1823, Mr. Ebenezer Mix surveyed and laid out the
village for the proprietors and named it Medina.
Mr. John B. Ellicott, a relative of Joseph Ellicott,
was sent here by the proprietors to superintend their
interests, as local agent.
Mr. Artemas Allen came to Medina in 1822, and
was the first mason who settled in the village. He
had charge as master mason in building the aqueduct
for the Erie canal on Oak Orchard Creek.
The stone for this work were mainly obtained from
the bank of the creek north of the canal. The re-
maining stone were from Shelby Center, or Claren-
don, and a few" from LockjDort.
Mr. Allen built a large brick tannery and dwelling
house for Justus Ingersoll, and a large stone build-
ing called the Eagle Hotel, which was burned some
years ago.
Mr. Allen claims he first discovered the quany of
llaging stone at Medina, got out the first flags, and
laid a number of rods of sidewalk in front of the
residence of David E. Evans in Batavia.
The stone from which the water lime used
on the aqueduct was made were obtained be-
tween Medina and Shelby Center, burned on log
heaps, and ground with an upright revolving
stone.
Mr. Artemas Allen removed to Coldwater, Michi-
gan, where he is now living.
The village of Medina was incorpoitited March 3d^
1832.
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE VILLAGE OF KN0WLE3VILL?:.
Wra. Knowles, Founder aucl First Settler — First Clcarins- — First
Framed House — First Tavern — First Warehouse — First Boat Load
of Wheat — First Ashery — First School House — Post Office — First
Religious Society.
-""^ XOWLESYILLE. situate on the eastern
bounds of the town of Ridgeway, as at pres-
ent Ibounded, owes its existence to the Erie
canal. When work was begun on the canal, but
two or three families had located on the ground now
covered hy the village.
Mr. A\'illiani Knowles, the pioneer and founder of
the village, was the first settler. He took uj) from
the, Land Company and settled upon lot three, town-
ship fifteen, range three, in the winter of 1815.
Sliortiy after Jolm Caniff took up one hundi-ed
acres of tlie nortli part of lot fift^'-nine, in town-
ship fifteen, range three, adjoining Mr. Knowles' hind
and east of it.
The first tree cut on the site of Knowh-sville stood
where the residence of R. P. AVood now stands, and
was felled in Marcli, 181."). There Mr. Knowles built
the first log cabin, in Avhicli he resided. He hired a
Mr. Hill to work for him in clearing land, and his
wife was their house-keeper. In course of that sea-
son, 181i"), Mrs. Hill died, being the first ])erson wlio
died in what is now Knowlesville.
The Erie canal was finished from Lockport to Roch-
ester a yeJir or two bei'ore it was comph^ted from
374 TIOXKKli HISTOKY
Loc.kpoi't to Biiiialo ; l)ut as this long level had to be
fed mainly by watei- let into it from Genesee River,
it was impossible to raise the water in the western
part more than two or three feet deep ; but even then
some little llat-bf)ttomed boats were run through to
Rochester regularly to carry passengers and light
parcels, before the water was let in from lake Erie to
Jill the canal.
In 1825 Mr. Knowles built the tirst framed house,
on the south side of the canal, and west side of Main
street, yet standing, in which he kept the first tavern,
for several years. Afterwards he built the first brick
house erected, near tlie canal, and north from his old
tavern house, and kept a tavern some time there.
Mr. Knowles built the first warehouse in 1825, and
Ml'. Wm. Van Dorn kept the Jirst store in Knowles'
warehouse.
Nathan S. AVood opened the second store in
1825-6.
In 1827 Mr. Knowles bought twenty thousand '
Tnishels of whf^at at Knowlesville. The lii-st boat he
loaded with this wheat is said to have been the first
boat load of grain shipped from Orleans county by
canal.
Moses Huxley kept the first grocery store on the
canal in 1825. Philo Dewey kept a grocery here in
1880.
The lirst tanner and shoemaker was Andrew
Ik^tts.
The first blacksmitli was Daniel Batty. 'I'he first
carpent<*r and joiner was Andrew Ryan.
Mr. Knowles built an asheiy in 1816. He manu-
factured a little potash; afterwards, for about four
years, he used his works solely for making black
salts, wliich he sold to .Tann^s Mather and others at
Gaines.
Tile lirst school house was built of Iolj-s in 1817.
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 370
and stood a little north of where a brick school house
was afterwards built, on the west side of the street,
north of the canal.
The post office was established here in 1826. It
became necessary to give the village and x)ostofRce a
name. The inhabitants met together and i-equested
Mr. Knowles to give the name, and he called it Port-
ville. It was afterwards ascertained that there was
already a postoffice in Xew York named Portville,
and the name was then changed to Knowlesville.
The Presbyterian Church was first organized after
the Coiigregational form, by Rev. Eleazer Fairbanks,
Avitli eleven members, Aug. 27, 1817. In June, 1820,
it united with the Presbytery of Rochester, and
since then has been Presbyterian in its form of Ctov-
ernment.
This was the first religious society organized in tlie
present town of Ridgeway, and as such received the
deed of the " Gospel Lot,-' so called, of one hundred
acres given by the Holland Land Company. The
first fourteen years of its existence its meetings for
worship were held in the school houses, and some-
times in the dwellings of its members in this part ol
the town.
Their first public- house of worship, now standing
in Knowlesville, was built of brick, and dedicated
in 1832.
The first Baptist meeting house, and the first Metli-
odist meeting house, which was afterwards burned,
were erected in 1833.
The village of Oak Ondiard, on the Ridge Road,
in Ridgewjiy, was the principal village in town be-
fore the Erie Cjinal was made. After the canal was
completed Oak Orchard began to decline, and
Knowlesville took the trad<\ })opulation and busi-
ness.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
run TOWN OF SIIKLBT.
•lo. Ellicott liocatlng Land — Ellicott's Mills — Road from Oak Orchard
Ttoad to Shelby — Salt Works Road — Anecdote of Luther Porter —
Col. A. A. Ellicott— Rail in Ellicott's Mill— Abuer Hunt— Fiddler
Elackett — First Ph5'sician — Post Office — Iron Foundry — Tannery —
Biographies of Early Settlers.
HELBY was set off from Kidgewa}', March
6tli, 1818, and was named in honor of Gover-
nor Blielby, of Kentucky.
In surveying the Holland Purchase for the propri-
etors, Mr. Joseph Ellicott noticed those tracts of land
that seemed to possess pc^culiar advantages, and lo-
cated some of the best for himself. The falls on the
Oak Orchard Creek attracted his attention as afford-
ing a good site for mills, and he laid off for himself
and purchased seven hundred acres of land here in
a bod}^ including this water power. At an early
day he located some of his relations here and fur-
nished means to begin a settlement and improve the
water power, and in tlie year 1812 lie built a sawmill,
and in 1813 a gristmill, under the supervision of Ids
nephew, Col. Andrew A. Ellicott.
To tacilitate the groAvth of this settlemeut, the Elli-
cotts, with the aid of the Holland Company, opened
the first highway from Shelby Cc^ntor east to intersect
the Oak Orchard lload in Barre, and the Holland
Company built the Salt Works Road from tlu^ Brine
OF ORLEAIN^S COUNTY. 377
Springs. North of Medina, one branch of wliidi led
sonth-west through Shelby, to the Lewiston Road.
The mills first built at Shelby Center were small,
coarse and clumsy aftairs, which, when driven to
their utmost capacity for work, could not supply all
the wants of tlie settlers.
The little grist mill was generally crowded with
customers at all seasons of the year, some coming
many miles. And at seasons when the water was
low it could not do half the grinding required, and
grists sometimes lay weeks at the mill before they
were ground.
Late in the summer one year when the water was
lowest in the creek, Luther Porter, of Barre, then a
boy fifteen years of age, was sent there, some ten
miles, to mill with two bags of grain, on horseback,
and told by his father to stay till he got his grist.
^Vrriving at the mill, Luther hitched his horse and
went in. He saw the mill full of bags, unground,
and a number of men waiting their turns, and con-
cluding at the rate things moved it was likely to br
several days before his tuiii would come, he resolved
to try a little strateg}'- to get his meal sooner. Sa}'-
ing nothing to anybody he unloaded his bags on
some lumber, Jind watching his oportunity when the
miller had put in a fresh grist and gone out to wait
upon his customers at a little grocery he carried on
near by in connexion with his mill, he carried his
bags into the mill, nobody seeing him, and set them
back in a i-etired place among tlie most dusty bags in
the mill, collected some mill dust and sifted it care-
fully over and about his bags and the place where
he set them. This done, lie %\'aited the return of tlie
miller, and going to him asked very innocen,tly if his
grist was ground ;; '' When did 3'ou bring it here f
said the miller, ''Oh, a great while ago,"' says Lu-
ther.
378 PIONEEK TMSTOKY
The millor liad forgotten, said lie would look. Lu-
tlier went and helped thid the bags. The miller see-
ing the dust, said they had accidentally been over-
looked, bnt if he would put ont his horse and stop
at his house he would try and put them through be-
fore the n(^xt morning.
Luther staid of cours(\ the work was done, and by
daylight next inorning he started for home with his
meal.
" Col. Andrew A. Ellicott was the jjatroon of Shelby
A'illage. He is remembered for his many acts of
kindness to the new settlers, and especially for the in-
terest he took in the welfare of tli(^ Indians at Tona-
wanda. He was adopted into their nation, under the
Indian name of ''Kiawana," which means ''a good
man.'' He often lieli)ed them to bread in seasons of
scarcity.
Col. Ellicott removed from Batavia with his fam-
ily to reside in Shelby, in 1817. He had been em-
ployed with his uncle, Joseph Ellicott, in surveying
the Holland Purchase.
He built a second grist mill at Shelby Center, or
Barnegat, as it was then called, about the yenr 1819.
It was afterwards burned. AVhen this mill was fin-
ished it t3ontained the largest and best floor for dan-
cing then in town, and the young people of Shelb}'
and vicinity used it for the hrst haJl in town. It waF
several times afterwards used T)y dancing parties, a
man by name of Ilackett, who resided in Shelby,
furnishing the music on a violin.
The young people werc^ A'ery fond of dancing, and
got up parties to enjoy that amusement frequently
whenever they could find a floor, and whenever they
could secure the services of Hackett with his violin.
If he was not to b(^ had they managed with such
other music as thev could g(4. and sonu' of the old
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 870
people yet remember attending parties at an early
clay in this neighborhood, and dancing riglit merrily
to the mnsic of a Jewsharj).
Col. Ellicott died in [September, 1839.
The first birtli in Shelby was that of Asa Coon,
son of Alexande]' Coon, senior, Febrnary 14th,
1811.
The first death was that of William Bennett, Oc-
tober 4th, 1812.
Tlie first tavern was kept by Daniel Timniejinan.
in 181(5, and tli(^ first storn by Christian Grolf in
1818.
The first school was tanght by Cornelins i\shton iu
thewinter of 1815-1 G.
In the winter of 1819, in order to get money to pay
his taxes, Abner Hunt threshed wheat for John Burt,
lor every tenth bushel.
The work was done on the fiooi- of a log barn ten by
eighteen feet and the chaft' was separated
from tlie wheat with a hand fan made of boards.
Mr. Hunt cariied his share of the wheat on his baclv
two miles, and sold it to Micah Harrington for twen-
ty-five cents a bushel.
The first regular physician who settled in Slu4by
was Dr. Cliiistopher Wlialey, who came in 1819. Dr.
George Norton came soon after.
The fij'st postofiice in town was at Shelby CentiM-,
and the first ])Ostmaster was Colonel Andr«*w A. Eh
licott.
.John A'an Brocklin built and carried on a small
iron foundry at Siielby Center, al^out 1821-2 wliich is
said to be tlio first iron foundiy estal)]ishtMl in tiu'
county of Orleans.
Justus Ingersoll built and carried on ;i tannery in
Shelby about 1821.
i>80 PIONEER HISTOKY
BIOGRAPHIES OF EARLY SETTLERS.
THE GKEGOKY F.V:\tILY.
Among the old families in Orleans county, none are
better known or more favorably considered than the
Gregory family, of Shelby. Of Scotch descent,
Ralph Gregory removed from Fairlield, Vermont, to
Shelb}', in 1810, where he followed the occupation of
a farmer and bi'ought up his six sons to the same
calling.
Mr. Gregor\\ the father, died in 1837. His six sons
still survive and live in or near Shelby, except Philo,
who moved to Michigan ten years ago.
Brought u]) in habits of industry and strict econo-
my, they have each acqui]\Hl a competence of prop-
erty, and are enjoying a serene and quiet old age,
honored and respected by all who know them. It is
rare that so large a family of brothers livt? together
so long, and the Gregor}' Brothers may be referred
to for proof that in this good land of ours, perseve-
rance and energy will achieve success, and health
and long life made happy will very surely be attained
by those who liv(^ worthy of such rewards. Ex-
tracts from the local history of two of the bi'others
are as follows :
AMOS <;im:<;;okv.
•'1 am fourth son of lialph (in^gory. 1 was born
in Fail-field, Franklin county, AV'rm<uit, April 18th,
1790.
In the winter of 1817, my lalluM- widi his family re-
moved to what is now Shelby, Orleans county, N^ Y.
On that Jouriuy it fell to my lot to drive tlie team of
two yoke of Oxen attached to a wooden shod sled.
We were on the road from February 5th to April 3d,
niaking some stops, waiting for snow and to recruit.
The gi-eatest distance trav(?led in any one day was
OF OKLEANS COUNTY. 381
twenty miles, and tliat was on the ice on Lake Cham-
plain.
But in the closing np of our journey we were three
days getting from four or tive miles north of Batavia
to our stopping place I married Betsey Wyman,
April 5th, 1818.
AMOS GREGORY."
M A1"J" 1 1 VAV G IlEG ORY.
''I was born in Fairfield, Vermont. April 10, 1802,
being the yOungest of seven sons. I was a cripple
in my feet and aiikh^s from birth. I did not walk
until I was four years old. My crippled condition
and my extraordinaiy birth, being a ' seventh son,'
occasioned mv being called while a boy, 'doctor.'
This title was peculiarly annoying to me. This and
the drunkenness, profanity and iniidelity which char-
acterized some of the faculty with whom I was early
acquainted, i)rejudic*^d my mind strongly against the
medical profession. I liave lived to find honorable ex-
ceptions to this character among som<j of the profes-
sion I have since known.
My only sister died before she w as quite live years
old.
In tlie early part of September, 1815, there were
severe frosts destroying the crops before they had
matured. This so discouraged ni}^ two oldest broth-
ers, who then had families living a few miles distant
from each other, that they told my father they were
done with Vermont, and had determined to seek theii-
fortunes in tlie west.
At their suggestion, and in order to keep his famil}*
together, my father, then fifty years old, consented
to go with them, patriarch like, to seek for himself
and family 'a better country.' He accordingly took a
saddle horse and visited the Genesee country, and
spent some six weeks in vewing the entire region,
882 PIONEER HISTORY
when he returned liome bringing in a favorable report
of the land.
This was hailed with joy by iis all except my
mother, who was much attached to her old home.
Houses and lands, and everything else too cumber-
some to carr}" were disposed of, so that by the
first of February, 1816, we were on our way to the
far famed Genessee.
Our caravan consisted of two four ox teams, each
attached to heavy wooden shod sleds, starting on the
5th, and a two liorse team starting on the 6th. We
had good teams, but we had a tedious journey. The
most of the way the sleighing was bad. From White-
hall to near Auburn, our sleds had to be newly shod
♦-very other morning, and from Aubui-n west we had
to mount our sleds on wheels.
After refreshing ourselves awhile with friends in
Gorliam, Ontario county, we came on to Batavia and
there made another stop. It was now about the mid-
dle of March, and the younger boys went to work,
while m}^ father and the two eldest of his sons went
out to look for land. The place where we stopped
was about four miles north from Batavia, and is now
called I)awes Corners.
My father located a farm for himself on Maple
Ridge, in Shelby, paying one hundred dollars for
his ' chance ' on one hundred acres, and buying ar-
ticles of land in the vicinity for hisjsons.
On the third of April we again started'on our jour-
ney, and arrived at our new home near the close of
the third day, a short journey this last, but a very
wearisome one. I was then about thirteen years
old.
When we arrived at our future residence, we had
no shelter for men or beast. Orange Wells and Sam-
uel Wyman had located in that neighborhood in the
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 383
spring j)revious and made small improvements, and
built log houses.
Through the hospitality of Mr. Wells, we were
kindly sheltei-ed for a week, by which time we had
built a cabin for ourselves.
Our oxen could very well live on browse, but our
horses after standing one night tied to a brush
lieap, looked so sorry that my father took them back
to Batavia.
We were all happy when we got into our new
house, not a costly edihce like those dwellings of
some of our rich neighbors of the present day, but
made of rough unhewn logs, notched down together
at the corners, shingled with rough hemlock boards,
with Joints broken and battened with slabs round
side up, the floor made of split basswood logs spotted
upon the sleepers, and flattened on the top, leaving
an open sj^ace at one end for the Are place on the
ground, the end of the floor planks affording a con-
venient seat for the children around the fire, in the
absence of Chairs and sofas.
Our first work was to fell trees around our dwell-
ing, burn off the brush and logs, and enclose a patch
of land for a garden and a fruit nursery, my father
having brought a small bag of apjile seeds from Ver-
mont.
We procured ])eacli stones in Ontario (;ounty.
This was in the spring of 1816. Four families had
wintered near our location, but on the opening of
spring neighbors came in frequently, and the forest
resounded with the sound of the woodman's ax and
the crash of falling trees.
Among the names of settlers who had located in
our neighborhood about the time of which I have
spoken, I remember Elijah Bent, Alexander Coon,
Oliver R. Bennett, James Mason, Lec^nard Dresser,
AndrcAv Stevens, AVilliam Knowles, William C. Tan-
884 PIOXEKK JIISTOIJY
iier, Josias Tanner, Elijali Foot, Poter Hoag, Stephen
Hill, Franklin Bennett, Micali Harrington, Daniel
Fuller, Daniel 'I'immeiraan. William Dunlap and
Kliziir Frar_y.
Tiiere was a will and indomitable courage enter-
tained on the part of the settlers, but it was exceed-
ingly difficult for them to obtain money for the com-
mon necessaries of life.
Mr. Hiel Brockway bought a lot in this vicinity,
and sent on Mr. Calvin C. Phelps (now of Barre) to
chop, (;lear, and sow with wheat ten acres of land.
He boarded with Mr. Wells. To him Mr. Brockway
would send barrels of pork, flour, and whisky, the
last of which was considered in those days about as
much of a necessary as pork or flour, for him to sell
to the inhabitants.
This was a relief to many, and saved the buyers
much time in looking np their supplies and trans-
porting them home.
At one time my father paid Mr. Phelps eleven dol-
lars for as much pork as he could carry away in a
peck measure. I don't recollect the number of
pounds.
At another time h(^ paid Elijah Bent twenty-five
cents a pound for pork.
By the first of June in the year vre came, we had driv-
en the woods back from the house in one direction
thirty or forty rods. The brush was burned off and
the ground planted with corn among the logs. This
was in 181G, known as ' the cold season,' when snow
fell in every month in the year but two, with frost
every month. Consequently we raised but little
corn, and even that was saved in an unmatured
condition. We were, however, with much care, able
to make passable meal from some of it.
The little wheat sown the fall before yielded boun-
OK ORLEANS COFNTY. ^]8&
tifully, l3ut tlit^ suppl}^ not being eqnal to the demand,
owing to tlie large emigration of people into the
country, scarcity and high prices pi-evailed hefore
the next harvest.
With no small a supply to be obtained, roads so
new and rough, ])riees high, settlers poor, and their
best and almost only means of conveyance an ox
team, it is no wonder much suffering and want pre-
vailed.
My father Jiad one liorse, and he assumed the office
of commissary of subsistence in ])art, for the whole
settlement, and acted as mill boy for the family-
He would ride al)Out the countrj^ to find grain, some-
times getting a grist near Batavia, the next on the
Ridge Road, between home and Rochester. Not-
withstanding my fathi^rs faithful efforts, we would
sometimes come sliort tor food, then our good mother
would put us on 'half i-ations.'
At one time our supplies were completely exhauH-
ted. We had been expecting our fatlier home all day,
^vitll his bushel grist perhaps, but he did not come
and we went nearly supperless to bed, expecting he-
would arrive before morning.
Morning came but fatliei- did not. ^ye hoped he
would conu^ soon, and took our axes and went to
work, but our axes were unusually Iwany. Faint
and slow wei'e the blows we struck that morning.
While w<^- boys were trying to chop, mother sifted a
bag of bran we had and made a cake of the finest,
which she brought out to us during the forenoon.
We ate this which stayed us up till noon, when father
came and brought us plenty to eat, sucli as it waw.
Variety was not to be had in those times.
In course of this season most of the lands near my
fathers were located by a hardy and energetic popu-
lation, mostly from New England.
By the fall most of the occupied fai-ms had their
26
386 PIONEER HISTORY
fallows, of from tliree to twenty acres iu extent, ready
for sowing. This crop, though sowed among roots
and stumps of trees, produced a j^ield of from thirty
to fifty bushels per acre.
This bountiful return, together with a fair corn
crop, placed us above want and fully satisfied us
with the countr}^ we had adopted as our home. Pen-
ding this harvest there was great scarcity of provi-
sions, but neighbor lent to neighbor ; the half layer
ot meat and loaf of bread was divided, while for
weeks many families subsisted on boiled potatoes
and niiliv, and sucli vegetables as the forest af-
forded.
When the earliest patches of wheat were cut and
threshed, there w^as no mill to grind nearer than
Rochester. There were mills on the Oak Orchard
Greek, but the}- were of such construction there was
not water at that season sufficient to turn them.
I^eighbors would join together and send a team to
Rochester to carry grists to mill for them all at
oncf'.
In many instances green wheat was boiled whole
and eaten with milk. I ate of it and thought it good.
The products of this harvest exceeded the wants of
the producers for their bread, and as we had no high-
ways on w^hich we could send our grain to market,
we w^ere restricted in our sales mainl}" to new comers
who had not time to raise a crop. A bushel of wheat
was the price of a day's work of a man, and he was
considered luck}' who had an opportunity to sell
wheat foi* mone}', at even a low price.
On tlie lirst day of July, 1817, wheat Avas worth
two dollars and fifty cents a bushel in Orleans coun-
ty, and in the winter next after farmers drew^ their
wheat to Rochester with ox teams, a journey round
faking three' davs or more, and sold it for from twen-
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 887
ty-five to tliirty-one cents a bushel in mone}', and \v e
felt that was "better than to go home hungry.
In consequence of my lameness my parents did
not design that I should be a farmer, but Providence
seemed to order otherwise. M}^ privileges and means
for obtaining an education were limited, and to tlie
business of felling tlie forest, clearing land, and reap-
ing the harvest I became much attached, so that even
to the jDresent day, the ax and the sickle are in}- fa-
vorite tools.
At one time I came near entering as clerk in a drug-
store, but the proprietor proved to be a worthless
character, broke down and ran away. No other
business appearing to offer for me, I accej)ted the
occupation of a farmer, which. I have followed ever
since, now residing on the homestead of my father.
The lirst school taught in our neighborhood was
by Miss Caroline Fuller, of Batavia, in the summer
of 1817. The next winter we had a full school taught
by Mr. J. N. Frost, of Riga. I taught school niyself
two terms before I was twenty- one years old. When
I was twenty-one years old I was elected constable,
which office I held three years in succession. Since
then I have held a few offices both in tov>n jind
county, but never depended upon the lees of office
for my su^^port.-
I was married April 20th, 1828, to Maiy^ A Potter,
daughter of Wm. C. Potter, of Shelby.
My mother died April 4th, 1832, aged 05 years,
and my father died April 20th, 1837, aged seventy-
two years.
My father was a local preacher of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, and in connexion with Rev. Jas.
Carpenter, of the Baptist denomination, he labored
faithfully to plant and foster the j^rinciples of evan-
gelical truth in the minds of a people otherwise most-
ly destitute of religious instruction.
388 PIONEEK HISTORY
I have been connected with the temperance organi-
zations of all sorts that have been established here in
the last thirty years.
At the age of eighteen years I was led to embrace
the Savior of the world as niv Savior, and from that
time through much unworthiness, I have been en-
deavoring to hold on my way, trusting that the merits-
of Christ will avail for my short comings.
MATTHEW GREGORY."
Millville, January, 1863.
DAVID DE-AIAIIA,
David Demara was born in Albany county, Octo-
ber 26tli, 1808, and removed with his father's family
to Shelby, in 1811. His father first located in the
woods two miles from any house, built a log house
fourteen bj^ f^ixteen feet, covered it with bark ^ and
moved into it, without floors, doors, or windows.
He left the county in 1813, on account of the war,
and returned in 1815.
David Demara married Maria Upham, April 12th,
1837. She was born in Ward, Massachusetts, March
29th, 1814.
ABRAM BIDELMAN.
" I was born March 10th, 1800, in Manheim, Mont-
gomery county, N. Y.
In January, 1817, I removed with my father's fam-
ily to Ridgeway, Orleans county. We built a log
house and moved into it in the month of March.
While building our house, and just previous to put-
ting on the roof, a large tree fell upon the building,
and cost us much labor to remove it and repair
damages.
Cornelius Asliton and John Timmerman had set-
tled ^\^thin half a mile of my father's location when.'
we came in.
* OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 389
My father's family consisted of my father and
mother and ten children. When he moved here, he
was to all intents and jjurposes, poor, I do not
think, besides a pair of old ordinary horses and a
cow, my father could boast he was worth other prop-
erty worth fifty dollars. I worked out to help sup-
port the family until 1 was twenty-one years of
•age.
I married Miss Lucinda Michael in 1824. My
father, Henry Bidelman, died in 1860, aged eighty -
two years.
In March, 1818, snow fell about two feet deep; next
day it thawed, and a frost following made a haid
crust on the snow. On this James Woodward and
myself resolved to have a day hunting deer. We made
snow shoes from a seasoned board, which enabled us
to walk on the crust with ease. We were attended b}
a small dog, and armed each with a common pocket
knife. We soon started a fine buck from his browse
in a fallen tree top, the dog gave chase, and after a
few bounds, in which the deer broke through the crust
to the ground, lie stood at bay. We rushed upon
the deer with our knives and cut his throat. AYe
soon started another deer, which we killed in the
same manner. So we brought in two deer in about
an hour. Our. success so animated George Holsen
burgh, a neighbor, thathe joined us in another hunt.
In our second hunt we had not gone far into the Avoods
before we started as large a. buck as I ever saw. The
dog soon brought him to a bay. Holsenburgh, who
was a quick, athletic man, rushed up to the head of
the deer with intent to seize his horns, when he re-
ceived a blow from the fore foot of the animal which
laid open his clothing from his chin down, as if cut
by a knife. The hoof took the skin off upon his
breast, and left a visible mark down his body. Hol-
senburgh was terribly alarmed at this change in af-
890 PIONEEK HISTORY
fairs. He turned pale, and retired from the contest
he was so prompt to commence. Woodward and
myself went to the rescue, and quickly despatched
the deer as we had done the others. Our friend Hol-
senburgli liad had sufficient experience of that kind
of deer hunting to satisfy him, and \ye went in w4th
our game. Woodward and ra3'self went out again
the third time and brought in two more deer, making
five in all killed by us in one day.
In March, 1822, I helped the contractor Avho had
taken a section of canal to dig where Medina now
stands, build a log cabin. We cut our trees for the
building on the ground now the site of the village.
We finished our cabin in five and a half days. I
then engaged to work for tlie contractor half a month
for six dollars and fifty cents and be boarded. Our
work was digging for the canal. The first two days
we had fifteen hands, and the third day about
fifty. We were allowed a liquor ration. Mr, Eggles-
ton, the contractor, brought in on an ox cart from
Rochester, three barrels of vvdiisky among other
stores to use on his job. Of tliis each man was al-
lowed one gill a day.
At this time I Avas unacquainted with the nature of
whisky, and I with the others, drank my first al-
lowance. I v/ill not here attempt to de-
scribe its efi'ects. Suffice it to sa}', it was the first
and last liquor ration I ever drank. I sold the re-
mainder of my whisk}^ rations to those who were fa-
miliar with their use, at three cents each.
Tn the year 1828 I built for myself a log house
twenty feet square, into which I moved my family,
liaving but one room which we used for kitchen and
parlor, dining room, bedroom, &c. Our furniture
was such as pioneer farmers in this country usually
posssessed, viz.: a loom, 'quill wheel and swifts,
great wheel and little wheel for spinning, necessary
OF orlea:n's county. 891
"bedding, seven chairs, n table and a cradle, with a
few exceedingly plain culinary utensils, v/hich Avere
indispensible to our comfort.
For many years my wife manufactured our clotli-
ing, both woolen and linen, w^ove our own cover-
lets and blankets, and hundreds of yards for our
neighbors.
ABRAM BIDELMAN."
Shelby, October, 18G6.
Mr. Abram Bidelraan died June 8th, 1868.
.T0T]IA]\r MORSE.
"I w^as born in Providence, Saratoga count}^ N.
Y., Juno 14th, 1793.
I was married to Dorcas Ferris, August 15th, 1814.
I hired a njan to move me to Ridgeway, agreeing to
pay him forty dollars for it. Our outfit consisted of a
good tepan of horses and wagon, as there was no
snow then. My family consisted of my mother, my
wife and two children.
After we had been two or three days on the road,
a 'thaw' came that compelled us to stop a w^ek.
The earth then became frozen and w^e wTnt to Palmy-
ra, when one horse gave out. I bought another horse
for forty-five dollars, paid my watch, a far h.at, and
a pair of boots, for thirty-tAvo dollars, and gave my
note for the thirteen <lollars, and with my three horse
team went on to Rochester, which then consisted only
of a few log buildings, one of which was a tavern
where we stopped. On examining here I found our
only bed had been stolen. I afterwards found it
pawned at Palmj'ra by the thief and had to pay two
dollars and a half to get it again. We came by the
Ridge Road to West Gaines, where Ave found an
empty shanty and moved into it. I Avent to Batavia
through Shelby and procured an article of a piece of
land Avest of Eagle Harbor, and returned in one dav
393 PIONEKll illSTORY
as far as Millville. It snowed hard all that day, and
T think I did a good day's work, traveling so far
through tile woods on foot. I acknowledge my steps
were some hurried by seeing tracks of wolves in the
snow, and seeing some evidences of a bloody encoun-
ter the}' had had.
I bought a three year old heifer and x^aid for her
chopping three acres of timber, and fitting it for log-
ging, going three miles to the place where I did my
work.
In time of liaying and liarvest I walked to Palmyi'a
and worked there three weeks to hiiy pork and
wlieat for my family. The next fall I mo\ed into a
log house I had built, and felt at home. The next
yeai- 1 had a little trial such as was (•onim.on to pio-
neer settlers in those days. It was before harvest.
My cow had lost her bell, and had been gone in the
woods eight days. We were destitute of provisions,
except a small piece of bread, some sugar, and some
vinegar. I went to the nearest place where fiour was
HOld and could get none. On my I'eturn \v-e gave the
last nu)rs^'l of bread to our children. I picked some
potato tops which my wife boiled and we ate, dress-
ing them with vinegar. Our empty stomachs would
not retain this diet. We S2)eedily vttmited them up
and retii'cd supperless to l)ed. Early n^xt morning
I arose and went to my neighbors a mile away, and
thev divided their snuill store of Hour with nu'. I
carried it home and my wife speedily salted some
water and made some pudding, which we ate with
maple sugar, and this seemed t(; me to be truly the
best meal of victuals I ever ate. I felt, even in this
straight, the words of Solomon to be true: ''Better
is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox
and contention therewith."'
Another inctident. Myself and immediate neigh-
bors were destitute of flour. I had monev wliich I had
OF OKLEANf? COUNTV. 393
taken in exchange of land, so a neighbor took me
with liis team and wagon to Hanford's Landing, at
the mouth of Genesee river, to purcliase flour. I bought
six barrels of Hour and one barrel of salt and took
out my money to pay for it. Mr. Hanford, the man
of whom I had made my purchase, divided the money
I handed him into piles of about thirty-six dollars
in eacli pile, after doing which I was astonished to
hear him accuse me, in an angry tone, of being a
dealer in counterfeit mone3^, and to learn. that he had
condemned about one-half of what I had paid him.
He ordered a man in his employ to go immediately
to Kochester and procure Ji precept for my arrest. I
felt alarmed, and that I was in trouble. I knew not
what to do, but God, who is ever watchful over those
who put their trust in Him, was with me. While
things were growing more threatening, a gentleman
whom I had never seen but once before came up, and
after learning the facts, strongly condemned Mr. Han-
ford\s course. The money was again examined, and
only about nineteen dollars found bad. Tliis was re-
placed by (uirrent funds, and we were then allowed
to return to our homes in peace.
This supply carried the settlement through until
harvest, and by tlie blessing of Heaven and our own
industry and ecoiiomy, we have been saved fr(un
such destituti(m until the present time.
I hav(^ seen llie wilderness disappear, and ))eauty
and civilization spriug up in its place around m>\ 1
have, in conunon with mankind, diank of the cap of
affliction, perhaps more deeply- than many others.
I have been called to mourn over tlie graves of two
loved companions and four children, from a faTuily of
fourteen.
I now reside with my third wife, in West Shelb^',
and preach every Sunday at the Christian Church in
394 PIO]^fEER IIISTOKY
Barre, N. Y,, where I have laboi-ecl in tlie ministry,
more or less, for fifty years.
JOTITAM MORSE."
West Shelby, May. 18G8.
DAVID BUKKOUGHS.
DaA'id BurroDghs was born near Trenton, !N"ew Jer-
sey, and died iii the town of Slielby, Orleans Co.,
N. Y., in 1822, aged 46 years.
Mr. Burronglis removed to Ovid, Seneca county,
about the yeRi' 1798, where he resided, working a
farm and keeping hotel until the year 1818, when he
removed to Shelby, and settled on a farm about two
miles south-west from kshelby Center.
Mr. Burroughs took first rank among his towns-
men for his capacit}^ and intelligence. He was the
first Supervisor of Shelby, while it belonged to Gen-
esee county, and was apjDointed jugtice of the peace
about the year 1820, an ofiice he held till his death.
He was a member of the Convention tliat framed the
Constitution for the State in tlie yeai" 1821. He took
an ai'ticle of his farm from the Holland Company a
year or two before lie moved his family to Shelby.
He had a few acres cleared and a log house built,
ready for his family when they came in. He left
two sons, I. K. Burroughs, formerly a merchant and
business man in Medina, where he now resides,
and Hon. Silas M. Burroughs, who began life for
himself as a merchant. He afterwards abandoned
merchandise for the practice of law. He represented
the county of Orleans four years in the lower House,
in the legislature of the State, and was twice elected
member of Congress, and died before tlu,^ end of his
second term. He also resided in Medina.
DAuiLs SOUTH woirni.
Datiws Soutl) worth was born in l^almyra, N. Y..,
OF OIlLEAJiS COUNTY. 395
March IStli, 1800. He worked some at the trade of a
carpenter while a minor, but since the year 1825, he
has made that his principal business.
He married Mercy Mason, daughter of James
Mason, of Millville, in Shelby, where lie has ever
since resided. They have four children, Elvira A.,
Albert, Dexter L., and George J. H., all now liv-
ing.
NEWMAN CURTIS.
Newman Curtis was born in Dalton, Massachu-
setts, September 9th, 1797.
He married Maria Van Bergen, of Kattskill, N. Y.,
June 9th, 1818. In September, 1824, he settled on a
farm in Shelby, one mile south of I^.Iillville. Mr.
Curtis had fourteen children, eight sons and six
daughters, all of whom lived to become men and wo-
men, and all of whom received their education at
Millville Academy.
In 1854 Mr. Curtis sold his farm in Shelby and re-
moved to the town of Independence, i]i Iowa, where
he purchased two hundred and fifty acres for his own
farm, and located a large quantity of wild land of
the Government, for his children. Mr, Curtis became
wealthy from the rise in the value of these lands,
and the practice of industry and economy. He died
in the year 1858. His widow and twelve children
survived him. -
IIOIIATIO N. iii:w3:s.
Horatio N. Hewes settled in Shelby in the year
1825, as a partner in business with L. A. G. B.
Grant. He was engaged in selling goods, running
mills, and dealing in produce v>dth Mr. Grant for
some years, and after that became a large contractor
to do j)ublic work, and had large jobs of work on
the Erie canal. He removed to Medina to reside
396 PIONEEU II18T0UV
about the year 1854, where he died June 17th,
1802.
He was an energetic business man, and was exten-
sively known in this part of the State. He married
a danghter of Col. A. A. Ellicott.
LAxnjrop A. (;. li. gkant.
Lathrop A. Gf. B. Grant settled in SlieUn' about
the 3-ear 1824, as a merchant. He married a daugh-
ter of Col. A. A. Ellicott.
Mr. Grant gradually extended his business opera-
tions, and at length became a large dealer in farmer's
produce.
About the year 1851 he built the large stone mills
at Shelby Center, and run them for a time. He was
an active and inlliiential man in public affairs of his
town and county, and was the representative of Or-
leans county in the State legislature in 1820, being
the first member e'h-cted after the county was organ-
ized.
Twelve or ilfteen years ag'O he sold out his property
in Shelby, and removed to Oswego, N. Y., where he
has since resided engaged in extensive business.
AXDUKW A. EJ^LTCOTr.
Andrew A. Ellicott was l)orn in Lancaster, Penn-
sylvania.
He married Sarah A. AVilliams, of Elizabethtown,
New Jersey. He came to Batavia in May, 18013.
In July, 1817, he removed to Shelby, Orleans coun-
ty, where his uncle, Joseph Ellicott, had given him
eight liundred acres of land, which included the
water power at Shelley Center. He settled at Shelby
Center, wheic he built mills, officiated as Justice of
the peace, and ])ostmast<.'r. Ht^ was the lii'st post-
master in that town.
His influence with his Avealthv and numerous fani-
OK ORLEANS COrXTY. 397
]y connexions, his own benevolence and disposition
to aid such as needed help, which he always be-
stowed liberally when ho had opportunity, en-
deared him to the pioneers in Shelby, and contribu-
ted mucli towards inducing' settlements to bo made
there.
He died September 7t]i, 1830. His wife died Au-
gust 26tli, I80O. His daughter Sarah, widow of the
late Horatio N. Hewes, resides in Medina.
ALEXANI)l<:ii COON.
Alexander Coon was the iirst, or among tlie first
settlers in Shelby. He came from Rensselaer county,
N. Y., and located about two miles west of Shelby
Center, in 1810.
In a statement furnished by Mr. Alexander Coon,
Jr., for Turner's History of the Holland Purchase,
he says :
"My father's family left the Lewiston Road at
Walsworths, and arriving upon our land, four crotch-
es were set in the ground, sticks laid across, the whole
covered with elm bark, making a sleeping place.
The cooking was done in the open air. A very com-
fortable log house was then built in five days, with-
out boards, nails, or shingles. Our cattle were fed
the first winter on browse, tlie next winter on browse
and cornstalks.
Our nearest neighbor south, was Walsworth ; west,
the nearest was in Hartland ; north, one fiimily on
the Ridge Road."
Mr. Alexander Coon, s<niior, loft several sons, and
the family became among the most respectable in the
community.
Alexander Coon, Jr., Mas afterward a prominent
public man, well and favorably known in the affairs
of his town and county. For eleven years he rep-
resented the town of Shelby in the Board of Super-
398 PIONEER ITISTOEY
visors of Orleans county, — a longer time than any
other man ever served as a member of that Board.
He also held many other town ofRces. He said when
he was collector of taxes in Shelbj^, he had a tax of
less than a dollar against a man who, to pay it,
made black -salts, drew them to Gaines on a liand-
sled, and sold them for the money.
.JACOB A. ZIMMERMAISr.
Jacob A. Zimmerman was born inManheim, N. Y.,
August 23d, 1795.
In 1817 he came to Shelby with John B. Snell, who
moved from the same town.
In the summer of 1817, he married Nancj^ Snell.
In' the spring of 1819, they commenced keeping
house in Shelby, on the farm they ever afterwards
occupied.
Mr. Zimmerman says :
" I made a table. We had no chairs. I made
three stools, two for ourselves and one for company.
Our window lights Avere white paper ; no window
glass could be had here then. Our cooking utensils
were a four quart kettle, and a black earthen teapot.
I gave a dollar for six cast iron knives and forks and
six cups and saucers, which completed our eating
tools.
Times were ver}- hard. I was eleven months with-
out a sixj^ence in money ; two months without any
shoes. When we saw shoes tied .up with bark we
called them half worn out. I gave live bushels of
wheat for a pair of poor^ coarse shoes, made of tlank
leather.
In 1821 my log house was burned. The neighbors
lielpil m3 biiill a;i)':i3r liDa^.^, and in two
weeks after the fire we moved to the new house. In
November, 1826, I had bought and paid for eighty-
OF oklp:ans county. 399
seven acres of land. I afterwards increased my farm
to one hundred sixteen acres."
Mr. Zimmerman's children are Morris, married
Phehe Bent ; Eleanor, unmarried ; Gilbert, married
Janette Sanderson ; John A., married, Mary Powers;
Arvilla, married Egbert B. Simonds ; and AndreAv L.,
married Jennie Bartsom. Jacob A. Zimmerman, died
December Gth, 1864. .
John Grinnell was born in Edinburgh, Saratoga
Connt}^, December 4th, 1796.
His father, Josiali Grinnell, was a native of Rhode
Island. He settled in Saratoga county and removed
from there to Oneida county, where he died.
John Grinnell purchased a farm in Barre, in 1820,
on which in the fall of that year he built a log
house into which he moved in April, 1821. He cleared
Ms farm and resided there till 1854, when he moved
to Shelby.
He was three times married. First, to Roxana
Kirkham; second, to Lucy Babcock ; she died Janu-
ary 25th, 1846 ; third, to Mrs. Julia Ann Abbott, Oc-
tober 27th, 1847.
His children, Oyrene and Daniel, are dead. Paul,
married Sarah Butler ; Peter, married Eliza Berry ;
Lyman, married Leonoi-a Rooker ; Andrew J., mar-
ried Mary Rodman ; J. Wesley, married Alice
Haines ; Mahala, married William J. Cakhvell ;
Harley, married Maria Kelsey ; John Jr., married
Margaret Root ; Ella J., married Frederick Hop-
kins.
His brothers, Ezra, Major and Amos, and his sis-
ters, Betsey, wife of Alanson Tinkham ; Eliza, wife
of William Tyler ; Chloe, wife of Relly Tinkham,
and Anna, wife of Weston Wetherby, all settled
400 PIONEEK HISTORY
in Orleans county soon aftej- Mr. Jolm Grrinnell.
came in.
These families so early settled here, have been
prosperous in business. Being upright in purpose,
and honorable in character, they have become
among the most respected families in the county.
CHAPTER XXIX.
THE TOWX OF YATKH.
Formerly called Northton — George Ilousemau — Discouragement to
Early Settlement — First Deed — Tappan's Tavern — Liquor Soki—
First Marriage — First Death — First Store — First Sawmill — Beskr
Story — Preserved Grcenman — Anecdotes of tirst Justice — Yates
Center — First Post Ofllce — Peter Saxe — Names of First Settlers
along Range Line Road — Vilhige of Lyndonville — Biographies ot
Early Settlors.
- A.TES Avas formed from Iiid<;-eway, April 17,
'4 1822, In' the name of Nortldoii. The next
'^ yeai- the name was chanf^ed to Yates, m
honor of Governor Yates.
George lloiiseman, from Adams, JettV'rsou (bounty,
came into tliis town and settled in 1809. .lolin Eaton
came in 1810.
Verv' few settJers came in before <tr during the war
of 1812. The extnmie difficulty of getting farm pro-
duce to a market, and th(^ prospect that such a diffi-
culty would long exist, Irom the locality, disc-ouraged
emigi'ants from stopi)ing here, and little land As^as
taken before 1817.
Persons coming to this county To look for a place
for their home, generally sought a locality in the vi-
cinity of neighbors, where roads were opened, and
where the social enjojanents r»f human lifH could in
some degree be realized. It reqidi-tKl considerabio
heroism for a man to go back live or eight mfles from
any settlement into the thick, heavy forest, and begin
with the intention tliei-*' to ch-jir for himself a.
farm.
I
402 PIONEEK IIISTOKY
A few hardy resolute men located in Yates, re-
gardless of every discouragement, but no considera-
ble settlement was effected until after the cold season
of 181G-17, when the country lapldly filled up with
settlers.
The first deed of land given by the Holland Land
Company, in this town, was to Preserved Grreenman,
June 18th, 1810. Almost the v/hole of this town was
deeded hy tlie Holland Company between the years
1831 and 1835.
The first tavern was kept b}' Samuel Tappan, at
Yates Center, in the year 1825. The population of
the town at that time was less than eight hundred,
yet Judge Tappan, in a biographical sketch of him-
self, says:
'-'In the thirtei'U mouths in which 1 kej^t this
tavern, I retailed fifty-three barrels of spiritous li-
quors."
The first marriage in town was that of George
Houseman, Jr., and Sally Covert, in 1817. The first
death that of ]Mrs. George Houseman, senior, De-
cember, 1813.
The first store was kept by Moore & Hughes, at
Yates Center, in 1824.
The first school was taught by Josiah Perry, in
the year 1819, in the district including Yates Cen-
ter.
A sawmill was built on Johnson's Creek, below
Lyndonville, by Gardner and Irons, about the year
1819, and a gristmill on the same dam in 1821.
These mills, at a later day, have been known as Bul-
lock' s Mills, named from a subsequent owner. The
mills and dam are now gone.
Chamberlain & Simpson built the warehouse on
the Lake shore, north from Yates Center.
A family by the name of Wilkeson lived in the east
part of the town in 181 1 or '12. In the summer sea-
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 403
son of tliat year, Miss Eliza Wilkeson saw a young
cub bear near the house, among some vines they liad
planted. She was alone in the house, but seizing the
old-fashioned fire shovel, she went and killed the bear
with it,
Mr. Preserved Greenman took up about six hun-
dred acres of land lying east from Lyndonville, be-
fore the war of 1812. Mr. Greenman did not occupy
his land himsell", but settled his sons Daniel and
Enos there, giving the neighborhood the name of the
" Greenman Settlement."
Some years after, Mr. P. Greenman removed from
Montgomery" county to Yates, to reside. After a
few years he removed to Genesee county, and died
there.
Mr. P. Greenman was noted for being "set in his
way," and having made up his mind, it was hard to
turn him. Having sold his farm in Montgomery Co,,
while preparing to move to Yates, he had a valuable
ox-cart to dispose of. He named a price for his cart.
A man offered him a less price and would give no
more. Greenman declared he would not abf^te a
cent, and would burn his cart before he would sell
for less. No better offer was made, and when he
came away he piled his cart in a heap and burnt
it.
A rule he made was, that a pail of water must be
left standing in his house every night, and the last
person who retired must see that it was done, under
the penalty of being horse-whipped by Mr. Green-
man next morning, in case of neglect. It happened
once his daughter had a beau who made her a rather
long evening visit, and she was the last in the family
to retire for the night, and foi-got the pail of water.
Her father rose first, as usual, in the morning, and
finding the waterpail empty, called up his daughter
404 PIONEJiR lllSTOKY
and gave her a sound tlirasliing to maintain the rule
he liad established.
.Amos Spencer was the first justice of the peace
within the territory now called Yates. He was ap-
pointed by the Council in 1819.
The first school house in town stood three-fourths
of a mile north of Yates Center, and was built in
1818. Mr. Josiali Perry kept the first school there
in 1810.
YATES CEXTER.
Yates Center at first seemed to be the point where
the village would be built. A hotel was opened here
bj'- Samuel Tappan, and a store by Moore &
Hughes, the first in town, and several dwelling
1 louses were built.
Here the first postoflice was located, Wm. Hughes
first postmaster.
When population and trade began to- settle at
Lyndonville, Yates Center ceased to enlarge, but its
inhabitants were not discouraged. About this time
Peter Saxe, from Vermont, a brother of John G.
Saxe, the poet, located here as a merchant. He may
be considered the founder of Yates Academy, for
through his influence and energy it was planned, the
stock subscribed, and the institution incorporated.
Mr. Saxe traded here a few years, then i-emoved
to Troy, N. Y.
After the canal was made navigable, much of the
produce of the town of Yates found a market that
way ; this trade, and the mills at Lyndonville, opera-
ted in favor of that place, and against the Center.
The Methodist Chapel at Lyndonville, which was
the first house of worship built in town, was soon
followed b}^ the building of the Baptist and Presby-
terian churches at that place.
Considerable oak timber grew in Yates. ThiB was
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 40o
cut down long since, squared for slii]) building, or
riven into staves, and sent down tlie lake to
market.
The folloAving is a list of names of persons who, if
not first the first, were among the first who settled on
the road in the center of the town from tlie lake to
Ridge way, beginning on the lake :
On the west side of th(3 highway. — Amos Spencer
settled here on the lake shore in 1818. Next south,
Simeon Gilbert, in 1818. Next, Baruch H. Gilbert,
in 1817. Next, Luther St. John. Next, Isaiah Lo3W-
is, in 1818. Next a man by the name of Wing sold
to Dr. Elisha Bowen, who resided there many years.
l^ext, Zenas Conger. Next, Nellis. Next,
Thomas Stafford. Next. Moses Wheeler. Next,
Nichols. Next, Rowk-y, Next,
Samuel and O. Wliipple. Next, — — Beck.
Next, Collins. Next, Josiah Cam])bell.
Next, Elisha Sawyer.
On the east side of the highway, beginning ai the
lake. First, Robert Simpson. Next, Elisha Gilbert.
Next Nathan Skt^llinger. Next ZaclKnis Swift.
Next, Comfort Joy, in 1817. Next Lemuel L. Downs.
Next, Isaac Hurd took two hundred acres. Next,
Stephen Austin. Next, Benjamin Drake Next,
Truman .-Viistin. Next, Jacob Winegar. Next,
Stephen B. Johnson, in 1817.
The next two hundred acres were owned by several
different parties under article, but the deed from the
Land Company was taken by Sanuu4 Clark, Esq.
Next, was Peck. Next, Abner Balcom.
Next, Harvey Clark. Next, Elisha Sawyer. These
settlements were ("hiefly made b(^tween the j'ears
1816 and 1819.
VILLAGE OF LYNDONVILL!',.
Mr. Stephen ^\^ Mudgett, who had carried on tail-
406 PIONEER HISTORY
ning and slioemaking in Ridgeway, purchased fifty
acres of land, part of lot two, section seven, on the
east side of the north and south road in Lyndonville,
and removed there and set up tanning and shoe-
making.
Samuel Clark took a deed of two hundred acres
next north of S. W. Mudgett, on the east side of the
road.
About the year 1817, a man by the name of Peck
took up one hundred acres on the west side where
\Villiam Mudgett afterwards resided. Samuel and
Oliver AVhipple took up land next north of
Peck.
Soon after the county of Orleans was organized,
settlers began to gather here. Mechanics and trades-
men came in and a village began to be formed, Sam-
uel Tappan, who was postmaster, and kept his office
at Yates Center, removed it here, much to the dis-
gust of those living at the Center.
L. & ]Sr. Martin, from Peacham, Vermont, kej^t the
first store in 1880. Smith & Babcock soon followed,
and Royal Chamberlain was an early merchant. C.
Peabody was first blacksmith.
Blanchard and Chamberlain built the tavern
which stands there yet, which was kept by Miner
Sherwin, in 1830.
To settle the. postofiice satisfactorily to the people,
Yates postoffice was transfered to the Center, and
application ^^ as made to the department for a new
postoffice, to be called Ijyndon, that being the name
that had been agreed on at a public meeting of the
inhabitants, several of whom came from Lyndon,
Vermont. The ])Ostoffice department established the
postoffice by name ot Lyndonville, to distinguish it
from Linden, in Genesee county.
S. W. Mudgett, Samuel Tappan, Richard Barry
and otlu'rs, built the first flonring Mills at Lyndon-
OF ORLEANS OOUISTTT. 407
ville, in 1836. The Union School house was built in
1843.
Royal Chamberlain, from Veraiont, settled here as
a merchant about the time the village began to be
established.
As there was no lawyer by jjrofession in town, Mi,
Chamberlain being a ready talker and possessed of
some education'and sufficient self assurance, engaged
in trying suits] in justice's courts, and continued the
practice several years, until he became a noted
* ' j^ettifogger " through several towns around. He
was a judge of the Court of Common Pleas one term.
He removed from Yates several years ago, and now
resides in Lockport.T where he has edited a newH-
paper. He did considerable to build up a village at
Lyndonville.
D]'. Horace Phippany was the tii-st i-egular physi-
cian who settled in Lyndonville.
Rev. Jeremiah Irons was the first Baptist minister
who resided in Yates.
BIOGRAPHIES OF EARLY SEHLERS.
IIEUHEN KOOT.
"I Avas born in Cooperstown, Otsego county, JN.
Y., December 28t]), 1792. My father n'raoved with
his family, then consisting of his wife and five sons,
to Big Sodus Bay, in 180] or '2. In Ajml, 1804, we
moved by wny of Irondecpioit Bay and lak(^ Ontario,
to the mouth of .lohnson's Creek, in Carlton, near
which place my fatlier took an artich' of land from
the Holland Land Compan\-, and locatfMl on it to
make him a farm.
The party that cam(3 consistt.'d of my father's lanii-
ly and the Dunham familj", of six or sewn persons,
408 PIO^T:Eli uistohy
and these constituted tlie whole white i)opulation
north of the Ridge, between the Niagara and Gene-
see rivers, except afaniih' by the name of Wals-
worth, who liad settled at the nioutli of Oak Or-
chard Cre«:4v.
Ma" father built a house of such poles as we could
carry, as we had no team to draw logs, and (covered
it with elm baik, in which we lived without a iloor
for one or twoyeai's, then a floor was mad*' of split
basswood logs.
After building a shelttT lor the famil}-. tiie next
thing in order was to get sui)plied with food and
clothing, the stock we brought with us getting low.
We cleared a small j^iece of land and planted it with
corn ; from this we made our bread. Our meat coii-
sisted of hsh, venison, bear, raccoon and hedgehog.
We jiouuded our corn for meal two or three years,
by which time we began to raise wheat, which we
took to Norton's mill, in Lima, to bi^ ground. It
was aljout seventy miles by way of Irondequoit Bay
and the lak«*. 'i'he country was so infested with
bears and wolves at tliat tim(> we could not kee]) do-
mestic aninuds.
In the summer of 1800 or "7, my fathei- got a cow
from Canada, but tht- following tall she was killed
by wolves.
Our (dotliing Avas made from hemp of our own rais-
ing. We could not raise flax on account of the rust
that destroyed the tibrc.
For several years we had no l^oots or shoes for
want of material to make them.
My father built the first frame barn in what is now
Orleans county. The lumber and nails he brought
from Canada.
Turner, in his history of the Holland Purchase, is
in erroi- when he says that " James Mather binlt the
first franii" bai-ii, and got part of his lumber from
OF orlt-;axs coujnty. 409
Dunham's inill."" Our burn was built before Uun-
liam's sawmill Avas built. The barn was torn down
by Daniel Gates twenty-two or twenty-three years
since, who then owned the place, and some of the
flooring- can now be seen on the premises. Thvy
were split and hewn from whitewood logs. The nails
used were all wrought nails.
In Sej>tember, 181-1, my father and myself being
the only ones in our family liable to do military-
duty, were ordered to meet at Batavia, and go
from there to Buffalo to serve in the United States
army, in the war then being carried on against Great
Britain.
On our arrival at Bufialo, there was a call made
for volunteers to go to Fort Erie, under General Por-
ter, to take the British batteries that were then be-
seiging Fort Erie. My father and myself volunteered
and went over and assisted in taking the batteries
and capturing some live hundred prisoners. 'I'his
was on the 17th of September, 1814. After this w<'
v>ei(i discharged, rcceiviiig at th<' rate of. ^8 ])pr uiontli
for our services.
In 1814, I took an article from the Holland Land
Comjmny of the land on wliich I now reside, on lot
one, section tliree, township sixteen, range three.
In April, 181i), I went to Canada and worked on a
farm there during the summt-r. The winter following
I returned and cho})p(3d over twenty-live acres on ni}'
farm, and in March, 1816, I Avent t<.» 'I'oronto and
took command of a vessel and sailetl on lake
Ontario during the season of navigation until ih«'
year 1820.
In January ::i8tli, 1810, 1 was married to Miss Eliz-
abeth Hastings, of I'oronto. We moved upon m_\'
farm in Yates, in December, 1820, where we still re-
side. We have raised a family of ten childien, five
sons and five daughters. My r'kh'st and ywungest
410 PTONEKK TIISTOKY
sons are now serving in the armieH of their country
in the war of the great rebellion.
REUBEN ROOT."
Yates, June, 18G4.
SAMUEL TAPJ»AN.
Samuel Tappan was horn in Saco, Maine, Novem-
ber 19, 1781. When nine years old lie went to reside
with an uncle in Massachusetts. His father was a
Quaker in religious opinion, a zealous advocate of
their peculiar principles until his death. On the death
of his father Samuel was placed with a man in Saco, to
learn the tailor' s trade. Disliking this business he was
soon after bound as an apprentice to a shoemaker,
and commenced his •' servitude,'- as he called it,
August, 1793. His master belonged to the sect of
Quakers, hard and exacting, he made, no allow-
ance for the faults and failings, or the weakness or
feelings of others. He obliged his apprentice to as-
sume the dress, and conform to the mode of worship
of the Quakers, both of which were repugnant to the
feelings of the ^'oung man. His master had no
books but the Bible, and a few religious works on
subjects connected with the Quakers. Samuel was
inclined to read wliatever came in his way. His incli-
nations, however, were strictly restrained by his mas-
ter, by whom all books of poetry and romance were
absolutely forbidden, and the range of other books
to which he was admitted, was exceedingly limited.
After several years sj^ent in this manner, a friendlj'
Congregational minister kindh' supplied him with
books, and gavt^ him discreet counsel, which
rendered his st^rvitud*- more tolerable and happy.
He had iio lienefit of schooling, never having
attended school as m scliolai- T)nt thi'ee days in his
life.
In 1801. with tlu- la-lp of friends ht- purchased his
OF ORLEAIS'S COUNTY. 411
freedom from his apprenticeship, and returned to
Saco and worked at his trade about two years,
studying what he could in the mean time to fit him-
self for a school teacher.
In 1803 he taught his first school, in which occupa-
tion he was mainly employed for a number of years,
occasionally working at his trade, and studying when
he could without a teacher.
For several years he supplied the poets corner in a
village newspaper, and became considerably inter-
ested in politics, on tlie Republican side, under the
lead of Mr. Jefferson.
In 1809 he was appointed deputy sherift' for York
and Oxford counties, which office he held for two
years.
In 1811 he removed to Pittstown, Rensselaer coun-
ty, N. Y. The ti'oubles between the United States
and Great Britain thickening at this time, on his ap-
plication he was appointed an Ensign in the Infantry in
the United States Army, and assigned to duty in the
IStli Regiment, and stationed in the recruiting service
at Hoosic, N. Y.
After war was declared in 1812, he was transferred
to the 23d regiment.
In May, 1813, he was ordered with his company tc
the Niagara fi-ontier. Fort George, at the mouth of
Niagar.^ river, on the Canada side, was taken by our
forces, and Ensign Tappan was sent with fort}^ men
to plant the American fiag on the fort, which was the
first time that flag was raised ovei* conquei'ed British
territory in that war. Ensign Tappan was now ap-
pointed adjutant. In Sept<:>mber lie was sent with a
convoy of prisoners to Greenbush, being twentj^-one
days on the i-oad. He remained in Greenbush the
next autumn and winter, teaching school in the mean
time.
412 PIOXEER IIISTOEY
111 June, 1S14, he was again ordered to the frou-
tier and assigned to the command of a company, and
served at the capture of Fort Erie. lie was engaged'
in the batth^s of Chix)pt'vva and Lnndy's Lane. In
this hist battk- his com})an3' lost seventeen out of
forty-five in killed and wounded. In this battle
Lieutenant Tappan, at the head of his company, cajD-
tured Capt. Frazier, of the Eoyal Sc^otts, with twenty
of his men. The American arm\' afterwards retired
to Fort Erie, and was besieged tlnnv by the British,
but they were finally' compelled to raise the siege.
Afterwards, b\^ the bursting of a shell in our camp
which had been thrown there by the British, his knee
was broken, which confined him in hospital a long
time, and on account of which he received a i)ension
the remainder of his life. After he became suffi-
ciently recovered to return to dut}-, lie was retained
on the peace establishment, war with England being
ended, but resigned his commission in February,
1810. He then returned to Pittstown, and there
taugJit school the next seven years, serving in the
mean time as inspector and commissioner of schools,
commissionei' of deeds, auctioneer and coroner. In
1823 he moved to Ridgeway, moving in October, his
family consisting of a wife and five children, with all
his effects on two Dutch Wagons, rt:aching Kidge-
way, Xoxember 10th. After litting a log cabin for
his famih' he took a school for tlif winter. In the
spring hr went to work clearing land, but as he said
his farming was not a success. "'My tVuit trees
would fall down and my forest trees would stand up;
my crops were light but m>- bills wen^ heavy, and
one year's experience taught me 1 wan not born to
be a farmer."
In the spring of 1825 he moved to Yates and opened
a tav(!rn at Yates Center, keeping the first tavern
opened in that town. After keeping tavern one
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 413
year and retailing iifty-tliree barrels of liquor iu that
time, he sold out his tavern, was elected constable
and inspectoi- of schools and commissioner of deeds,
which last named office he held twenty years. He
was elected Justice of the peace in 1828. In the win-
ter of 1827 he taught school for the last time, conclu-
ding his nineteen years service in tliat capacity. Id
1821J li(^ was appointed postmaster, which office he
held tliirt(^en jears. In 1832 ho was appointed one of
the Judges of the Orleans County Court of Common
Pleas, which office he held five 3'ears. In 1846 he
was elected town superintendent of common schools.
The later years of his life were S23ent in quiet at home
with his liooks, and enjoying the society of family
and friends. He was constitutionally frail in body,
but energetic and active in his habits of life. Being
rc'ady -with his pen, and having considerable expe-
I'ience in lousiness, he was frequently employed to
draft deeds, wills and contracts for his neighbors,
and had some practice in trying suits in justices'
<'Ourts, as counsel foi- juirties. Of a cheerful and
lively turn of mind and easj^ lioAv of language, and
having an inexhaustible fund of anecdotes and sto-
ries at his command, lu' would make himself exceed-
ingly interesting in conversation, and give zest and
enjoyment to society wherever he was. His charac-
ter as a man is apth' described by his daughter in a
memoir of him pi-epared b}^ Ijci', from which we ex-
tract as follows :
"Judge Tappan maybe d»'scribed as a man of
more than ordinary intellect, well acquainted with
the leading events of the dav. Of the strictest inteo--
rity in his business relations, noted for punctuality,
a j)ublic spirited citizen, i-eady to bear his full share
of responsibility. In his social relations, his keen
perceptions and ready wit made him an instructive
companion. Although many excentricities mingled
414 PIONEER HISTORY
ill his character, yet those who knew him best over-
looked these, knowing liis heart was right, though
his words might sometimes wound.-'
He was married four times and had nineteen chil-
dren.
Many anecdotes miglit be told of him illustrative
of his difterent traits of character. He posssessed
ho mechanical ability and often related one of his
experiments in this department. After he moved to
Ridgeway and became a farmer he found a well curb
needed and concluded to make one without assis-
tance. He ascertained the size required, collected
the materials together and made it in the house du-
ring the evenings, being engaged in teaching in the
day time, but after its completion, when he at-
tempted to take it through the doorway he found it
several inches wider than the door. He was a great
pedestrian, often making excursions on foot, showing
greater powers of endurance than many younger and
stronger men.
In the spring of 1844, when starting on one of his
eastern journeys, he tells us in his journal that ar-
riving in Albion and not finding the water let into the
canal as he expected, he managed to get as far as
Rochester, and walked most of the distance to Ge-
neva. After he was seventy years old he walked
from Medina to Daw's Corners, near Batavia, at one
time.
While postmaster, he often left two horses in his
stable and walked from Yates to Ridgeway with the
mail bag on his arm.
He died February 8th, 18G8, aged eighty-six
years.
JOHN H. TYLER.
John H. Tyler was born in Randolph, Orange Co.,
Vermont, November 30th, 1793. He attended the
OF OKLKAiN'S COUNTY. 415
academy in Randolpli a short time and removed to
Massena, N. Y., in 1810. On war with Great Britain
being declared in 1812, lie volunteered as a soldier
and served near Ogdensbnrgh six months. In 1817.
he removed to the Holland Purchase, and March 22d
took an article for one hundred Sf.'venty-six acres of
land in Yates, part of lot two, section two, range
three, on Johnson's Creek, on which he afterwards
resided and labored as a farmer. He was Supervisor
of the town of Yates nine years, justice of the peace
a number of years, and represented the county of
Orleans in the Assembly of the State in 1830 and '31.
He was a man of vigorous intellect and good judg-
ment, and enjoyed the confidence of all who knew
him.
He married Selina Gil bert, daughter of Simeon Gil-
bert, of Yates, in 1819. She died October 7th, 1842.
He married Saloma Gates, daughter of Daniel Gates,
of Carlton, in 1843.
He died in August, 1850.
IIOUACK O. GOOLJ).
Horace O. Goold was born in Lyme, New Lon-
don county, Connecticut, August 12th, 1800. In
March, 1818, in company with two other men in a
one horse wagon, he came to Bloomlield, N. Y., after
a journey of fifteen days. He labored on a faym the
next summer, taught school the next winter, and in
the spring of 1810, removed to Carlton, IN". Y., and
located about two miles west of the head of Still-
water.
The first year of his settlement here lie raised
thirty bushels of corn and as many bushels of pota-
toes.
Mr. Goold said: ''During the first season we
were sometimes rather short of food, especially meat,
but some of the boys would often Idll some wild an-
410 PIONEER H1.ST0RY
imal, and we were not very particular wliat name it
hore, as liiiuger had driven us ' to esteem nothing un-
clean, but to receive it with thanksgiving.'"
Mr. Cxoold married Laurenda Fullei', of Carlton,
'November ir)th, 1820.
Several jears before his death, Mr. Goold removed
to Lyndonville, in Yates, where he died October nth,
1865. His wife died October 24th, 1865.
JOSIAll J'EHli\.
Josiah Ferry was born in Shaftsbury, Vermont,
Sejitember 6th, 1787. He removed to Yates in April,
1817, and commenced clearing a farm, and planted
and raised corn and j)otatoes among the logs and
sowed some wheat, all the first year.
Tli(^ people in Yates, in those days, generally went
to Dunham's gristmill, at Kuckville, in Carlton, to
get grain ground, and Mr. Perry relates of his carry-
ing a bushel of wheat on his back a half dozen miles
to that mill to be ground, going through the woods
by marked trees, no road being cut out.
Mr. Peny taught the first school that was kejit in
town. He held office as justice of the peace a short
time. He is yet living in Yates.
ALFRED BULLARD.
Alfred Bullard was born in Barre, Massachusetts,
February 10th, 1793.
He removed with his parents to Shrewsbury, Ver-
mont, and there received a fair common school edu-
cation, with the addition of a knowledge of field sur-
veying.
In 1817 he came to Batavia, Genesee county, and
in 1818 he removed to Barre, Orleans county, and he
finally settled in Yates in 1824, where he has ever
since resided.
For many years after coming into this county, his
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 41'^
principal enij)loynient consisted in surveying land,
and lie was known to almost eveiybody in Orleans
county as " Surve^^or Bullard/ AVhen Ik? was not
surveying he worked on a farm. He married C}'nthia
Peck in 1821. She died and he niariied Sally Smith,
who is dead also.
Mr. Bullard has not engaged in surveying for a
number of years on account of lameness, which com-
pelled him to use one, and sometimes two canes in
walking. He may be considered the pioneer surve^'or
located in Orleans county.
IIKNIIY MC NKAL.
Henry McNeal was born in Pittstown, Rensselaer
county, N. Y., in 1702.
He married Lucy Sternberg in 1814. They moved
to Yates in 1817. '
Mr. McNeal was tlie lirst Ca.])taiu of a. militia, com-
pany in Yates.
AMOS Sl'ENCKK.
Amos Spencer was born in Connecticut in 1787.
He married Jerusha Murdock, September 10th,
1811. They moved to Yates and settled on the lake
shore in 1818.
After a few years they removed to Hartland, Ni
agara county, where he was living in 1870. Thi^ lirst
year he resided in Yat(\s, he cleared the land and sowed
ten acres with winter wht^at. On this the next year
he harvested three hundred and thirty bushels ol
wheat. He drew forty bushels to Ridgeway Corners,
hired Amos Barrett to cavry it to Rocliester with his
team, gave him five dollars for drawing and paid hin
expenses on th(? road. Me sold his wheat for fifty-
four cents per bushel. They were gone four days,
and on getting home fouud thay had only five dollars
27
418 PIONKEK HISTORY
of the money receivtxl for their wheat h^Si, all the re-
mainder having been spent in ])aying nece.ssary ex-
penses.
ELISllA SAWYF.K.
Elisha Hawj'er was born in Keading, Vermont,
September 30th, 1785. He settled in Yates m 1816.
He took up four hundred acres of land on the south
line of the town. After somt' years he removed to
Lyndonville on a small place. He removed to Pax-
ton, Illinois, and died tliere l)eceniber 8th, 1808.
BAKUC'II II. '.;ili;kkt.
Baruch H. Gilbert was born in the town of North-
east, Dut<3hess county, IN^ew York, Angust 24th,
1705.
His father, Simeon Gilbert, came to Yates in the
fall of 1816, and took an article of land on the west
side of the line between ranges three and fonr, about
?v mile and a half south from lake Ontario, and re-
turned to his eastern home without making any im-
provement on his lands, to wliicli he did not return
irntil the spring of 1818.
Baruch H. Gilbert settled on the south part of the
land so taken by his father in the spring of 1817, and
cleared a farm there on wliich he i-esided about fifty
years.
Mr. Gilbert was of fair education, of considerable
spirit and energy t)f character, and settling in this
town among the very iirst, he interested himself in
every movement made to improve the country, intro-
duce and maintain the institutions of civilized society
and induce people to settle in Yates. He soon took a
prominent position in the business of his town and
neighborhood, and as long as he resided here he
was one of the leading men in all public affairs. He
officiated as justice of the peace for thirty years.
OF OKLEANS COUNTY. 419
He miiiTied Miss Fanny Skellenger in 1821. His
children are Simeon, who married Oliv*- Skellinger,
and resides in Illinois ; Stephen B., married Ann
Watkins, resides in California ; Xathan S., married
Mary E. Lane, resides in Loekport ; and Cord^^lia,
who is unmarried.
ELISIIA IJOWEN.
Dr. Elisha Bowen was born in Reading, Windsor
connty, Vermont, in the year 1791.
He received a diploma from Dartmonth College.
He was lirst married and removed to Palmyj-a, N. Y.,
in 1817, where his wife died.
In the 3^ear 1820 he removed to tlie town of Yates,
and settled on a farm between Yates Center and the
lake.
He was the first, and for several years the onl>-
regular physician i-esiding and practicing in the town
of Yates.
He married for his second wife Miss Adeline Raw-
son. After her death he married for his thiid wifV-
Miss Mary Ann Clark. She died in 18G1.
Dr. Bowen had twelve children, of whom nine are
living, viz.: Francis W., married a danghter of Dr.
Whaley, resides in Sacramento, California ; Samuel
C, married Kate, daughter of James Jackson, of
Ridgeway, resides in Medina ; Adeline, unmarried,
resides in Wisconson; Charles (/., married Julia Hard,
resides in Detroit ; Edgar .]., nmrried Mar;v Winn,
resides in Chicago ; Susan, married H. L. Achilles,
Jr., resides in Rochester ; Cornelia, married Samuel
Boyd, resides in Appleton, Wisconsin ; Mary, un-
married resides at Appleton, Wisconsin ; Theodore
E., married Mary Loomis, resides in Chicago.
Dr. Bowen was one of thirteen persons who united
to form the Baptist Church in Yates, in 1822, ot
which church he continued an active member until
420 PIOXEER IIISTORY
his death. He was a strong advocate of temperance,,
and amono; the lirst who united in the town of Yates-
to form a society to promote that cause.
Dr. Bowen was conscientious and correct in all the
iiahits of his life, and had the confidence and respect
of all who knew him. In the later years of his life
he did not jDractice his profession. He died April 6..
1863, aged 72 years. •
CHAPTER XXX.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF JOSEPH ELLICOTT AND
EBENEZER MIX.
JOSEPH ELLICOTT.
Altliougli Mr. Ellicott was never a resident of Or-
leans county, and consequently not strictly included
among its pioneers, whose histoiy it is the main ob-
ject of this work to record, yet, as the agent of the
Holland Land Company for so many years- no man
had more to do in organizing and settling this county,
and in23lanning and bringing into action the means by
which tlie varied resources of Western New York
have been developed.
The ancestors of Mr. Ellicott came from Wales to
America at an early day, and were among the early
pioneers of Buck's county, Pennsj'lvania.
Mr. Joseph Ellicott was thoroughly educated as a
surveyor, by lessons given him by his elder brother
Andrew. His first practical lessons were taken while
assisting his brother in surveying the city of Wash-
ington, after that place liad been selected for the Na-
tional Capitol.
In 1791 he was aj)pointed to run the line between
Georgia and the Creek Indians. He was then en-
gaged in surveying the lands of the Holland Company
lying in the State of Pennsylvania. When this was
completed he was sent to survey the Company's lands
in Western New York.
He spent many years in the woods, in the arduous
labors of a surveyor, and when he left tlie woods to
422 ptonp:ek irisTOKY
engage in the business of local agent of the Company,
his toil was scarcely lessened. During this time he
carried on an immense correspondence with the gene-
ral office, at Philadelphia, in reference to the business
entrusted to him, and also with the prominent men
of his time and country in relation to public affairs
generally, in which he manifested great interest. He
is es])ecially reuKMubered aside from his connexion
with the Holland Land Company, for the part he
took in promoting that great work of internal im-
provement, the Erie Canal. With the schemes for
the origin and prosecution of that woi-k, and its pro-
gress to success, he was conspicuously identified;
and among the great men Avliose comprehensive
minds devised that canal, and urged it forward to
completion, his name will ever rank among the
first.
By a lite of activity and enterpiise, he was enabled
to accumulate a large property without being
charged with peculation in office, or mal-admin-
istration of the vast business entrusted to his
carc^
A spirit of discontent had begun to be manifested
among the settlers on the Holland Purchase, growing-
out of their enormous indebtedness to the Company
for their lands which they had been permitted to
buy on credit, and while the leniency of the agents
had not enforced payment on their contracts, accu-
mlating interest liad largely' swelled the original
debts.
Worried and worn by the load of labor he had
sustained, and aware of the discontent which pre-
vailed, and which he hoped might be allayed if direc-
ted by other counsels, Mr. E. resigned his agency, and
thus closed a busy life. From that time he was afflic-
ted with a uKmomania upon real or imaginaiy diseases
with which he believed liimself to suffer. He was
OF ORLEAjSTH OOUNTl'. 423
taken by liis friends to New York and i:>l'dced in the
hospital at Belle\ne, Avh^i-e about Angust, 1826, he
committed suicide
Joseph Ellicott was never married, but for his nu
merous family of relativos he made most ample pro-
vision, some of the choicest lands on the Holland Pur-
chase being selected and secured by title to tlie Elli
cotts.
His remains weri' brouglit to Batavia and interred
in the village cemetery, a beautiful monument being-
erected under the superintence of David E. Evans,
his neph«nv, and successor as local agent of tiie Hol-
land Comjjany, marks the spot.
From his intimate accpiaintance as surveyor with
the^olland Purchas*^ lands in Western New York,
he was enabled to make some Judicious selections of
lands for himself.
In the original survey of Buffalo, he laid
off for himself one hundred acres, now included in
the best part of that city.
In the county of Orleans he bought seven hundred
acres, including the water power at Shelby Center,
and afterwards fourteen hundred acres farther down
the Oak Orchard Creek, whicli included the vil
hige of ]Vledina, and the b(^st water poAver on that
creek.
About the year 1<S24 he made his will, in which he
devised a hirge part of his great landed estate in
special gifts to his fa\'orite relatives. The lesidue
was devised to others of his kindred, nearly one hun-
dred in number, slinre and share [ilike, with a few
exceptions.
His pi-operty at thii time of liis death, even at the
low j)rice lands then bore, was estimated at six
hundnKl thousand dollars. From the great advance
in value at this time, this proy)erty is worth many
millions of dollars.
424 PIONEER IIISTOKY
He was tlie first Judge appointed in and for Gene-
see county courts.
EBENEZEIl MIX.
Ebenezer Mix is a name familiar as liouseliold
words to the old settlers on the Holland Purchase,
and no history of tlie jiioneers, or of the early settle-
ment, could h(' made complete without a reference to
him.
Mr. Mix was born at New Haven. Connecticut. He
died at Cleveland. Ohio, January 12th, 1869, aged
81 years.
In his native IS'ew England he learned and worked
at the trade of a mason.
He came to Batavia, Genesee county, to seek his
fortune, in the year 1809. There he worked tirst at
his trade as a mason. He afterwards taught school ;
was for a time a student in a law office, and finally
went into the service of the Holland Land Company
as a clerk in their office at Batavia, in 1811, where he
remained twenty-seven years.
Being a good theoretical and })ractical surveyor,
and a clear headed and competent business man, in
a short time lie was made contracting clerk in the
Batavia office, in which capacity it was his duty
to make, renew and modify contracts for the sale of
land, calculate quantities of land, make sub-divisions
of tracts of land, and act as salesman generally. In
this way he became intimatel}' connected with every
transaction of the Company relating to gifts of land
to churches and school districts, and took part in all
business matters between the company and the people
who settled on their lands. ^Vnd few men could be
found who would have done the Inisiness as well.
He excelled as a mathematician, was a practical sur-
veyor and possessed a remarkable meniorj'" of boun-
daries, localities, dates and distances. Indeed the
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 425
whole transactions of the Land Compan}', and tlie
map of their territory seemed to be pictured on his
mind with singular fidelity, making it a treasury of
facts, exceedingly convenient for reference in settling
conflicting questions concerning highway's, bounda-
ries and original surveys, which arise among the
people.
Naturally (jf a somewhat irritable tempera m(:>nt,
when aroused by the perjilexities of Inisiness, he
was sometimes rather sour and rough in manner to-
wards persons by wdiom he was annoyed, but his
wish and aim was to do right and justice, and how-
ever austere and crabbed his manner, his conclusions
and flnal settlement of matters he had in hand was
kind and benevolent to those with whom he had to
do.
Full many a tiiwe has the unfortunate settler who
had been unable to make the payments on his article,
and whom sickness and calamity had driven almost
to despair of ever paying for his land, had reason to
be grateful for the humanity and generous treatment
he received from Mr. Mix in extending his payments,
renewing his article, and abating his interest
money.
In the war of 1812 he served for a time as volun-
teer aid to Gen. P. B. Porter, and was at the sortie
at Fort Erie.
For twent}^ years in succession he was the Surro-
gate of Genesee county.
ORLEANS COUNTY PIONEER ASSOCIATION.
This Association was organized June, 18o9. Its
m<nnbers are persons wlio at an_v time pi-evious to
January, 1826, were residents of Western New^ York,
who sign its Constitution. Tlie ol:)jects of the Asso-
ciation, as contained in its constitution, ai'o to pro-
mote social intercourse by meeting together statedly,
in order to preserve and perpetuate the remembrance
of interesting facts connected Avitli the early history
of the st^ttlement of Orleans count}' and its vicini-
ty. Tile annual meetings are lield at the Court
House, in Albion, on the third Saturday in June.
It has been an object o^ the Association to collect
and pi'eserve as much of tli(^ history of the early set-
tlement of Orleans count}^ as possible. Tiie local
history of many of the* (\irly jDioneers has been ob-
tained and written out in books kept for tliat pur-
pose, and sev>eral photograph albunis have been
filled with the ])ictures of the men and ANomen wdio
came here at an early day.
At these yeai'ly gatherings, and at occasional spe-
cial meetings held from time to time in various ])laces
in the county, the old peoph^ ai'e accustomed to meet
together and recount their adventures while subduing
the wilderness, and have a good time generally.
It is intended to obtain as much of such history of
" 'ye olden time •' as possible, and when the actors
in these old scenes are no more, and the last of the
log houses shall exist only in the memoi-y and rec-
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 427
ords of the]" times gone by, tlien these old manuscripts
and relics, laid up in some public depository, sliall
remain for the information of posterity of the things
that were here, memories of the hardships, labors,
and privations of tlK* pioneers of Orleans county.
ADDRESS
DELIVERED BEFORE THE ORLEANS COUNTY PIONEER ASSOCIA-
TION, SEPT. 10th, 1S59,
By ARAE> THOMAS.
Mr. Prcnidenf, and Members of (he Orleans County Pioneer Association : —
In discliarging the pleasant duty of addressing you
on the present occasion, I am desirous to devote my
thoughts to the consideration of topics kindred to the
sentiments whicli led to the formation of this associ-
ation.
This seems no fit time to indulge in abstruse spec-
ulations, or idle rhetoric. 1 address a pra(;tical com-
pany, — men who have been trained to meet the stern
realities of life, and accomplish their destiny with un-
Hinching labor ; and having achieved a good work,
well may they enjoy the triumph it affords. Let us
then contemplate the past, and learn wisdom for the
future.
A stranger, who now for the first time should come
into our county, judging from appearances, would
be apt to think this an old settlement, where genera-
tion after generation of men had lived and died, and
where their accumulated labor had been expended
upon those works of enlightened civilization which
cover the land. But we know scarce fifty years
since the first acre of this territory was ch^ared of its
native forest, and the men are now living who recol-
lect when here was nothing but a dark, unbroken
wilderness.
Man}^ of the first settlers of this county have
passed away from among th»' living. Others follow-
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 429
ing in the tide of emigration are now inhabitants of
some Western States. A few survivors and represen-
tatives of a generation ra])id]y passing away, remain
quiet possessors of the soil their liands tirst subjected to
cultivation, and today they have assembled to talk over
the trials and iirivations, the hardships and the suf-
ferings, the varied events of fortune, j)rosperous and
adverse, which have fallen to their lot since first they
came into this county.
The 0(;casion is replet(^ with interest to us all. To
the aged veterans, it brings up memories of events,
which in passing thril]<^d their hearts with intensest
emotion.
To the more youthful spectator it aflbrds encour-
agement to labor, in view of these examples of suc-
cess over every opposition, obtained by resolute and
continued exertion. And to us all, it shows convin-
cing proofs that honest and laudable industry will
reap its rewards in due time.
Our theme embraces the consideration of subjects
connected with the early settlement of Orleans county.
In tracing the history of mankind in their migrations
since their memorable dispersion on the plains of
Shinar, we find a variety of causes which have impelled
men to remove from the places of their nativity. Tlie
venerable founder of the Jewish nation went down to
Egypt to save liis family from death by famine, and
his descendents came out of Egypt to save themselves
from a terrible bondage.
The builders of ancient Rome were tlie scattered
fragments of various nations who assembled there as
to a coDunon asylum of outcasts from everywhere,
and raised their walls for mutual protection and sup-
port ; and by encouraging immigration from broad, and
the gradual accretion of ^^ower by treaty, and con-
quest of foreign nations, in time they became the
mightiest empire on earth, in their turn to be overrun
430 PIONEEK HISTORY
by swarms from tlie northern hive, who, deserting their
inhospitable homes, came down with all their move-
able possessions, by fire and sword, to drive out the
inhabitants of the fair provinces of Italy, and give
themselves a better land.
The Spaniards who first settled in America, were
attracted there by their cupidity for gold. And
the ranks of the settlers in most new countries have
been swelled by adventurers who had been obliged
to leave their native land to escape the consequences
of their crimes.
A nobler impulse prompted our ancestors in their
migrations from Europe.
The discovery of America, the invention of print-
ing, and the Protestant Reformation had roused the
minds of the most intelligent nations of the w^orld to a
more exalted sense of the value of liberty, and a keen
j)erception of those natural and inalienable rights of
conscience which form the richest possession of a free
people. Persecuted for conscience sake in their na-
tive country, England, they had borne for years the
cruel oppression which religious intolerance and po-
litical tyranny forced upon them there, with christian
endurance, till overcome by suffering too grievous to
be borne, and hopeless of relief, they solemnly with-
drew from their national church and from the land
of their birth, to Holland, where, some years after
they formed and carried out the resolution to emi-
grate to America, there, under the protection of the
King of England, they thought to worship God in
peace, as they believed" to be right.
Piety and love of liberty furnished them sufficient
motives for removal, and armed them,with fortitude
required to meet the perils and hardships of their
new home.
With all proper admiration which we ought to feel
for the early New England Puritans, the ancestors
OF OllLEATs'S eOLTN'TY. 431
of SO many of tliose wlio liear mo, we may admit
they liad their failings. In the austerity of their
faith they often forgot the mild spirit of charity
which pervades the gospel they re^'ered, and in the
ardor of their zeal tliey made and sought to en-
force laws of great severit}^ against those professing
religious belief at variance with the dogmas of their
stern creed, and punished and persecuted with a
strange infatuation, those charged with the crime of
witchcraft.
But in reviewing this portion of the history of our
forefathers, we should remember not to Judge them
by the lights of the present age. Toleration to faith
and worship, contrary- to the forms declared by the
civil government for a thousand years, had then not
been known in Euroix\ and the opinion of good men
had before then always been, that such religious free-
dom would destroy the best institutions of society.
A belief in witchcraft was as old as history itself,
and was a common superstition of the times. The
excellent and pious Baxter held the existence of
witches as certain as the punishment of the wicked,
and the great and good Sir Matthew Hale, that able
judge, and profound luminary of the law, believed in
witchcraft as sincerely as did Cotton Mather.
The superstitions of the dark ages were then enter-
tained by the most enlightened and liberal minded men
everywhere, and it would be requiring too much, to
expect our forefathers to have freed themselves from
opinions we may deem absurd, but which up to that
time, and by all otlier men then, \\ ere held woi'thy of
acceptation.
I know we are sometimes charged with using ex-
travagant eulogium in speaking of the New England
Puritans of the okhni time. But making due allow-
ance for their eccentricities of character and conduct,
resulting from circumstances with which they stood
432 PIONEER HISTORY
connected, wo may look in vain to find in the early
history of any other people, snch noble patriotism,
fervent piety, sound wisdom, and incorruptible hon^
esty as in the case before us.
They had all been trained in the same school of
adversity, and possessed in a wonderful degree Iden-
tit}^ of sentiment, sympathy and character in all their
conduct and opinions which impressed itself upon all
their laws, their individual and social arrangements,
and njion every institution and action which found
place among them.
Intiexible and steadfast in their cherished princi-
ples, they trained their children in the faith and prac*
tices of their fathers, and the combined influence of
such faith and works, we may see in their effects
upon the energy and enterprise, the love of liberty,
the respect for law and order, good morals, religion,
learning and true patriotism, which, inspired by such
examples, has ever distingushed their descendants
down tlirough the period of more than two hundred
years.
We need not sounding eulogy or words of windy
panegyric to prove the value of New England intelli-
gence, integrity and power, in moulding and guiding
the rising destinies of our country. The wisdom of
her statesmen, the heroism of her soldiers, and the
spirit and conduct of her people, secured our nation-
al independence, and established our national federa-
tion of independent States upon the broad basis of
constitutional liberty. And even up to now this ele-
ment has always been prominent, I had almost said
controlling, in the legislation of most of the States,
and at Washington.
A few years since some curious individual ascer'
tained on enquiry, that thirtj'^-six of the members of
the two Houses of Congress, then in session, were
born in the single State of Connecticut.
OK ORLEANS COT^XTY. 433
In tljf ]MJi,<i,uag«- of Mr. MMltlius. iiifui coming up
to take ii]ioii liiniself his plaiv, and the lesponsibili-
ties ol* life, lincls no cover laid for liini on nature's
table, and lie goen out to spread a table for himself
where he de<nnts the prospect most inviting. The rich
treasures of experince and wisdom, and the abundant
stores of material good things the ]>ast has garnered
up, afford him capital with wlii(,'h to work out the
fultilment of his own and his country's hopt's.
These magnificent results of the skill and enter-
prise of the pres<ait day, are only other phases and
demonstrations of the same spirit which led to the
first settlement in America, and which has attended
every step of our progress since, as well exemplified iu
the resolution of the solitary emigrant who sets Ms
stake in the wilderness and determines there to dig-
up for himself a, farm, as in that mightier work of a
statesman, or a nation, which makes a canal or a
railroad across a continent, lays a telegraph wire
across an oct>an, or solv«^s tlie deepest pi'oblem of
state policy for the world.
Soon after the revolutionaiy war had ended, the
Bettlem<?nts in I»few England wei-e extended over the
the ]irinci]jal part of those States suitable for tillage,,
and multitudes of their active and adventurous young
men went out to seek their fortunes among tlie bor-
derers who were pushing tlie bounds of civilization
and imi)rovement back into the new territories, skirt
ing the old Atlantic Staters upoii tlie West.
A large majority of the fii'st settlers of Orleans
county wei'e either emigrants from New England,
or descended from the Puritan stock, who traced their
origin back to those who, in l)(,'ceniber, 1(520, lauded
from the May Flower upon Plymouth Rock. It 5s
admitted that as a class they were ])oor but honest,
possessing strong mora! convictions, of effective force
of intellect and will, they determined to plant and
28
434 PIONEEi: HISTOKV
grow up the institutions of religion, order and
civilization in this wilderness, such as prevailed in
their New England homes. Such views, habits and
purposes, characterized the emigrants who tirst set-
tled AVestern New York. Here was not the hiding
j)hice of a population of whom it might justly be
said they had left the homes of their youth as a
measure of prudent care for tlieii- personal safety,
cr from a kind regard for the good of the place they
had left. Neither did they come here to buy choice
lots and leave them till the toil of others on adjoin-
ing farms should add value to their purchases. Here
were few non-resident land holders at an early
day.
The Holland Land Company had purchased the
Western part of the State of New York, bounded on
the east by a line extending north from Penn-
sylvania to Lake Ontario, known as the Transit
Line.
Before the last war with (xieat Britain, a portion of
this tract which has been distinguished as the Hol-
land Purchase, had been surveyed by the Company
and offered for sale to settlers. The wonderful fertil-
ity of the Genesee countr>^ liad T»een reported abroad,
and before the war a few emigrants had begun to
make their homes among the heavy forests which
covered this country, some of whom had located
themselves in what is now Orleans county.
The possibility of such a work as the Erie Canal
had not then entered the great mind of Dewitt Clin-
ton, or been dreamed of 'even by the great men of
that day.
The most favorable means in prospect, then far iu
the future, for communic;iling with the old settle-
ments at the east, was by wagons on the highwaj^s,
or boats down the Mohawk or St. Lawrence. But
the pioneer settlers of the Holland Purchase belonged
OF ORLEAlS^y COUNTY. 435
to a bold and fearlesa race, who did not stop to en-
quire whether the trail of civilization had extended
to the new country, by which tliey could retreat with
ease and safety to the homes of their fathers, if life
in the woods should happen to prove uncongenial to
their tastes. They expected to overcome the formi-
dable obstacles before them by their own strong
arms and stout hearts. They knew that wealth was
in their farms, not perhaps in the shape of golden
nuggets, such as hre the imagination of emigrants
to Pike's Peak, or the other El Dorados of the West,
but in the golden produce of well tilled fields, which
honest hard work was sure to raise in abundance
in time to come, and they meant to have it.
It is really not as great an undertaking for the em-
igrant, who at this day goes from tlie Atlantic States
to settle in Kansas or California, as it was fifty years
ago to make a settlement in Western New York.
Railroads and telegraphs have made communication
easy and rapid between places most distant, and
modern improvements in the economy and arts of do-
mestic life are such, that most of the necessaries and
comforts enjoyed by residents in older towns can
readily be procured everywhere.
The farmer who locates on a prairie at the West, ])e-
gins his work by plowing the primitive sod, and the
next year he reaps his crop and finds his field as
clean and mellow as plow land along tlie Connec^ticut
river, and he can sell his products for almost New
York prices. But beginning a farm on the Holland
Purchase, fi"?ty 3^ears ago, was quite a different busi-
ness.
Indeed, we who have not learned by experience,
can hardly imagine the obstacles and difliculties to
be surmounted by the first settlers of Orleans county.
Roads from Albany, westward, were bad ; merchants
and mechanics had not yet arrived. A dense and
486 PIONEER HISTORY
hnavy forest of liard, liiige trees covered the land, to
"be felled and ckared away before the plow of the
farmer could turn up the genial soil. Pestilential fe-
vers racked the nerves and prostrated the vigor of
the' stoutest, as well as the weakest among them.
The ague, that pest indigenous to all new countries,
came up from every clearing^ usually in the best
days of summer, to seize upon the settler, his wife
and children, some or all of them, and shake out all
their strength and energy.
Though the noblest timber trees lor their buildings
existed in troublesome al)undance. sawmills had not
then been erected.
Though their lands produced the finest of wheat
whenever it could be sown, it cost more than its mar-
ket pri{;e to take it to the distant grist mills to be
ground. Sales of farm produce were limited to
home consum])tion.
Before the War of 1S12 but i\\\\ settlers had loca-
ted in Orleans county.
From Canandaigua to Lewiston, along the llidge
Road, and from the mouth of Oak Orchard Creek,
along an Indian Trail to Batavia, the trees had prin-
cipally been cut wide enough for a highway. A few
log cabins had been erected, and the sturdy emigrants
had begun by felling the trees to open little patches
of cleared land around their dwellings to form the
nucleus of their farms.
\^"ar was declared. The regular pursuits of peace-
ful industry were broken up. The settler was sum-
moned to become a soldier, and at the call of his
country, at times almost ev(^ry able-bodied man in
the settlement was away in the ranks of the army,
leaving their scattered, unprotected families, to risk
the chan(.'es of hostile foi'ays of the enemy, often
threatened from the west along the lake. The cour-
age and spirit of the women of those days was equal
OF OKLEANW COUNTY. 437
to' tile best exampleij to be found in American border
warfare. Neither the friglitfid rumors of the massa-
cre of their husbands and brothers in the light, or the
terrible announcements that the Indians, with mur-
der and pillage, were sweeping down the Ridge Road
or coming up the Creek, could drive them to abandon
the homes thoy had chosen in the woods, or make
them turn a point from the [performance of ^\hat their
duty required.
Perhaps the gloomiest time in the experience of the
pioneers was during and after the war, before the com-
mencement of work on the Erie canal. Considerabh-
wheat w^as annually grown, but beyond what the
farmer wanted for his own consumption it was of lit-
tle value, bearing a nominal piicn of aljout twenty-
five cents a bushel.
A kind of crude potash, made b\' leaching w ood
ashes, and known as " black salts," was almost the
only product which brought money, and became, in
fact, almost a lawful tender for value in trade, and
this had to be taken to market foi' miles ui)on ox
sleds or hand sleds, or on the backs of th«^ makers,
through woods and swamps, following a line of marked
trees. After the war, came the memorable cold seasons
of 1816-17. About these years, a cotem];)orary says,
" from half to two-thirds of all the people wert» down
ftick in the summer time.''
Without a supply of physicians or mirses, or med-
icines, or even bread, how were such sick men to se-
•cure their crops or clear their land, endure storm,
and w^ant, and trouble and distress, which beset
them at every turn X Surely nothing but an iron will
which no impediment could break or bend, an abid-
ing faith and hope which no disasters or discouragt^
ments could overcome or crush out, sustained them
through these dark days. Like heroes of another time,
*' through i\w. thick gloom of the present, they beheld
438, PIONEER iriSTORy
the brightness of the future," and they struggled
on.
It has been playfully said that you may place a
Yankee in the woods with an ax, an augur and a knife,
his only tools, and with the trees his only material
for use, and he will build a palace, if need be, want-
ing perhaps in the iinish which other tools, and the
aid of iron trimmings, nails and glass would afford,
but possessing the substantial requisites of conve-
nience, and fitness and strength.
The tirst log houses bnilt in this county, proved al-
most literally the truth of this remark. They were
the dwelling places of the best families in the land,
made by their owners, where the latch string was al-
ways out at the call of the stranger, and the best of
their plain and scanty store was always generously
shared with the weary and destitute, whoever he
might be.
The builders and occupants of those rude tene-
ments were then probably poor, as can well be im-
agined, sick and sutfering, with none of the luxuries,
and few even of the necessaries of their fornun- expe-
rience, but withal contented and hapjDy.
How often do we hear these persons, now occupy-
ing their noble mansions, fitted and furnished and
adorned with all the elegance and profusion which
the abundant means of their owners, and the taste and
fashion of the times command, refer to the little, old
log cabin first built upon their farm, and count their
residence there the happiest in their lives. These
buildings belong to the time gone by, and the last of
the log iiouses will soon have gone down with their
builders to that destruction which awaits all things
earthly.
For some years none new have been erected in this
county, and but rarely now can the traveler see one
left standing in dilapidated humility belfind the great
OF ORLEANH COUNTY. 439
new house, maintaining to tlie last its character for
usefulness, as a shelter for the grind stone, the salt
harrel, the swill tub, the work bench, and all the
hand tools there carefully treasured up for use on
the extensive domain of their wealthy owner.
Among tlie.se primitive settlers, the advent of a nevi
family to locate among them, was an occasion of
joy through the town. The acquaintance of the stran-
gers was promptly nought, a coidial welccmw ex-
tended, and the more material aid of all the force in
the neighborhood, kindly volunteered to help the new
comer roll the logs to begin his clearing, or pile them
into the walls of his cabin home. Such friendly
feeling prevailed in all their social aflairs. Relations
of Jicquaintance and friendship were sustained be-
tween all the families for miles around, and no dis-
tinctions of wealth or party, sect or condition were
known.
It is true no sucli visionary scheme of community
of goods, as was attempted by the old Plymouth
Colony, or by the Fourierites of a later day, with all
its attendant idleness and discontent obtained amon^
them, but a most generous spirit to lend to and help
the needy was a prominent trait in their character.
They were not speculators who entered upon the
lands to secure a title, trusting by a fortunate sale,
or by the rise in the market price to derive large prof-
its on their investment. The fevf r for land specula-
tion had not tlien set in.
The policy ot the Holland Company was to get
their lands taken up and occupied as fast as possible.
With this in view they gave contracts for deeds of
conveyance on pajment of a small portion of the .
purchase money, giving the purchaser some years of
credit in which to pay the r«^sidue. This jK)licy bro't'
in settlers, and the liberality of the com2)any in ex-.
440 pi()xi:i;h histouv
tending contracts \\ij('i>' i^jompt ))a\'ni«Mit could not
he. made, kept tliem on their lots.
A portion, however, of thn iirst iiiliabitants of this
county, like a j)ortion of the iirst inhabitants in every
new settlement, became cliarnisd with their life of
vicissitude and hardship, and the varied advantages
af pioneer settlement, and soon as tlie farms were
mostly taken uj) and occupied, and the progress of
cultivation had driven away the game and introduced
in some degree the order of civilized society, they be-
came uneasy and discontented, and longed for the
freedom and excitments of wilder life on the border.
Tiike Coopers hero. "Leather Stocking," they would
"•g;et lost among the clearings." and moved to the
West to Tiegin :igaii) in tlie forests of Miclugan or
Ohio.
To those wlio remained and labored tui tiirough
every affliction and discouragement, using such means
as their own sagacity and industry' atlbrded them to
assist tli<:>ir elforts, we aie indebted foi' such succ(^ss-
ful results as wt* no\A' set-.
And I iivdy rej^eat, what Init an inteJligeut
and confiding hope in '' the good time coming" could
have sustained these men under all discouragements
they endured i Wliat but that indomital^le spirit of
the race, which never falters at j)erils oi- hindrances
in tlie wa}' when a desirable object is to be gained,
under the wise ordering of a mysteri(jus good Provi-
dence, nerved them foi* theij- work, and clieered them
on to its succesfid acconij-iishment '.
In ardent imagination tlie young emigrant, who
had selected and contracted for liis farm, looked over
his fnture abodeand traced the l)oundaries of orchard
and meadow, and pasture, and ])lain, and saw the
shadowy cmtlines of his houses and his barns, his
fences and his fields, looming into being where
then the iirav old treen stood in solemn gi-andeur.
<»K OIILKAJVS COUN^TY. 441
the sturdy aentincls of uatuie for cfntiu'ies knt-piiig
watch over the primitive wilderness. lie ^aw in
vision of tliefutui'e his croi)s of waving eorn and his
granaries bursting out with x^lenty, and Inuiself the
happy possessor of a home blessed with comforts and
luxui'ies of life in abundance, and seizing his ax,
then perhaps his only chattel, he v,ent to work
with a will, to piove tlie scenes his fanc}-^ had por-
trayed.
It is a remarkable fact that the Eiiglisii settlements
in America were in the main first made at points the
most inhospitable and uninviting, thus bringing ewry
part of our country to be settled and improved. The
Puritans, who came over in the May Flower, intended
to have gone to Virginia, but through the treachery
of the captain of their ship, as some assert, tliey
were landed at Plymouth.
The first emigrants westward from IS'ew England,
located in the forests of New York, Michigan and
Ohio, because they came from a forest country' and
were not afraid of the woods, and because they could
not get to the fertile "|.)rairies of the West. There
were no roads by land, and no communication by water
to these beautiful territories. They wei-e compelled
by necessity to clear up and setth- the country as
they went through it.
Had the Puritans reached their intended destina-
tioii in the sunn}- South, and located along those
noble ri\'ers and fertile plains, tliej" would never have
removed to the hard, cold, ironbound hills of New
England. When then would New England have
been settled i Never by emigrants from the West.
And had the southern and middle States been first
settled, and the application of steam to motive ma-
chinery been made, and the railroad and the telegraph
and the knowledge of the useful arts we now possess
been known 200 years ago, Maine, New TTarapshir«
4A2 PIONEEFi l[ISTr>UY
and A'^ei'Diont, would "he to-day lik(^ parts of Lower
Canada, a vast and dreaiy wilderness, and as such to
remain until tlie more inviting regions of tlie West
bad all been settled. And had I'ailroads and tele-
graphs, and steam power, as now used, hoen kn(^wn
even fifty years ago, I fanc}'^ some of these venerable
pioneers would he now rejoicing in homes made happy
up*)n the hanks of the Missouri, or ])erhaps west of
the Rocky Mountains.
The interesting details of horder settlement in this
(country have so often been the theme of I'emark that
tliey have become trite matters of history. The
solemn and deepening shade of anticpiity is begin-
ning to clotlie tlieni with its m}stei'ious interest, and
as the inimediat'^' actors lea^'c u^<, slowly and silently
fading away from among the living, their memory is
cherished as the pride of their kindred, and they come
to be regarded as thb l)enefactors of their country*
The Pioneers of (Orleans county are not all (h^ad,
but the times of their troul,>le have gone by. The Hol-
land Purcliase is settled, subdued, and nuide the
(dieerful home of an industrious and thriving popu-
lation, now in their turn sending out their caravans of
emigrants, with the fervent spirit of their fathers,
(tarrying the arts and institutions of our favored
country to those new States so rapidly growing up in
the regions of the AVest. All the improvements in
s(uence and the arts are brought to aid the swift pro-
gress of our people in spreading themselves over our
entire national territory.
If the earliei' march of emigration and settlement,
frr)m the Atlantic westward has been toilsome and
slow, and two hundred j-ears scarc(^ brought settlers
to the great lakes and the slopes of the AUeghanies,
what shall we say of the advances of the last fifty
years, and which are now going foi-ward !
Since the first tree fell here under the ax of the white
OF ORLEANS COUKTY. 443
man, the triumphs of steam power have appeared. —
By the help of this tremendous agent, a voyage across
the Atlantic, which took the May Flower months to ac-
complish, is now made in a week. A trip to Boston,
which once cost these j^ioneers a month to perform, is
now the business of a day. Steam drives our mills,
carries our burdens, plows our fields, warms our
houses, digs our canals, and furnishes a motive pow-
er, to effect the mightiest and minutest work attompt-
ed by the ingenuity of man.
But steam, though admitted to be strong is voted
slow, in this fast age, and electricity is sent out to run
the errands of our ordinary business.
Excelsior I Higher ! is the motto of our noble Em-
pire State, and Forward is the cry of encouragement
with which Young America stimulates its ardor in the
race for victory.
My friends, we who are the. juniors of these noble
men, whose praise we have thus faintly endeavored
to celebrate, should never forget that we are building
upon foundations they have laid for us. That \^e in-
herit the lands their hands have cleared ; that we en-
joy the liberties they have achieved.
We shall ever admire their enterprise, patience and
fortitude. We shall justly feel proud to claim ac-
quaintance, perhaps i-elationship with such worthy
predecessors.
AVe shall teach our children the stor}^ of their la-
bors and success, as examples to be imitated ; and
from every memorial they have left us of strenuous
effort in a good cause, take courage and gain strength
to help our resolution in the x)erformance of all the
duties, which have fallen to our lot. And when we
look about us upon the broad patrimony we have de-
rived from then), and take an inventory of the abun-
dant good things they hav<' bequeathed to us, as the
fruits of their labors, let us not forget our duty of
444 PIO.N'KKK HISTORY
gratitude to tlie nicJiioiy of these our Ix'iiefaptors, to
whom we owe so much, nor fail to improve as we
oiiglit, the i-ich inlieritaiice we enjoy.
Venerable Pioneers — You liave not met on the
present oi-easion to gratify your vanity l>y publishing
to the world the exploits you have performed, or
boasting for the wond«^r of others of the marvelous
adventures you may have achieved ; but, like a com-
pany of weary travelers, life's toilsome journey al-
most done, — you are here to spend an evening hour
in social eonveise, on scenes you have witnessed by
the way, to bi'ing to mind again the stirring events in
which you have been called to mingle ; and to soothe
your spirits by a grateful recollection of that kind
Providence which has sustained j^ou in all your toils
and brought you in old age to the abundant enjoy-
ment and realization of the most ardent hopes of your
youth.
You have seen the c(Kintry of ^'our choice a gloomy
wilderness. You now behold it, b\^ your exertions
changed to <'ultivated iields, and dottfxi over with
noble houses, inters]>ersed with thriving villages and
connected by public highways.
Where a few years ago you hunted the savage
bear, your splendid herds and numerous tiocks now
roam and feed in sjifety. Wliere but lately you was
com])elled to grope your wa}' from town to town
through pathless woods, by marked trees, or Indian
trjiils, the railrt^ad or telegraph atford you means of
communication, in which time and distance are
scarcely items in the account of delay.
The rich pioduce of your fields, instead of rot-
ting on \-our hands, valueless because no buyer
could be found, commands at all times tht^ highest
price in the markets of tli«! world.
The iiowl of the wolf is exchanged hw the scream
of the steam whistle, and thou^'h vou liv(^ so far in
OF OKLEAN^^ COUNTY. 445
land, t}i«^ gallant wtpam vessel if^ made to lioat "by
your very doors.
How astonishing, how stupendons the change!
We have read of the AN^onderfiil Lamp of Aladdin,
and stories of Oriental Necromancy, where by the
superlniraan power of magic, and tht^ agency of
demons, the loftiest woiks of art. and the noblest
productions of industry and skill w^ere made to
appear or vanish at a word, — but the magic which
wrought the works we ct'lebrate, was the power of in-
domitable energy, applied with strong hands and
stubborn perseverence. The mighty improvements
which excite our admiration are only the happy re-
sults of your steady, well directed industry overcom-
ing its early discouragements and trials, — the honor-
able testimonials of the stfinest coivtlict aTid most
complete success.
Fortunate men and w(»iMen I i^ong, long may you
live, enjoj'ing the rich fruits of 3^our early toils.
And may you be permitted to witness the return of
many anniversaries of your present association, hap-
py in the consciousness that you have accomxjlished
the objects of your youthful ambition, and leaving,
when at last you shall be called to your rest, a noble
history, and a worthy example embalmed in the
memory of your grateful posteiity.
AF»PENDIX.
Towns iu Orleans County — Their Organization — Villages in Orleans
County — Table of Elevations — Members of Assembly Elected from
Orleans County since its Organization — County Clerks of Orleans
County — County Treasurers — County Superintendents of Common
Schools — First Judges of Orleans County Courts — District Attorneys
of Orleans County — Sherllfs of Orleans County — Surrogates ot Or-
leans County — First Courts of Record — Supervisors of the Ditferent
Towns in Orleans County since their Organization.
TOWNS IX ORLEANS COUNTY.
- TOWNS.
WHEN FOKMEl).
FROM WHAT TAKKN.
Batavia,
March 30 th
, 1602.
Batavia is now divided into other
towns, and not known by that
name in Orleans county.
Barre,
March 6 th,
1818,
from Gaines.
Carlton*
April 13th,
1822,
from Gaines and Ridgeway.
Clarendon,
Feb'y 23rd,
1821,
from Sweden.
Gaines,
Feb'y 14th,
1816,
from Ridgeway.
Sendall,
April 7th,
1837,
from Murray.
Murray,
April 8th,
1803,
from Northampton.
Kidgeway,
June 8th,
1812,
from Batavia.
Shelby, "
March (5lh,
1818,
from Itidgeway.
Yates.f
April ITth,
1822,
from Ridgeway.
* The town of Carlton was originally named " Oak Orchard," and was
changed to " Carlton '* in 1823.
t The town of Yates was originally named " Northton," and was changed
to Yates, January 21st, 1823.
VILLAGES IN' ORLEANS COUNTY.
NAMES.
Albion.*
Gaines.f
Holley.
Medina.
WHEN INCORPORATED.
April 21st. 1828. Incorporated by special act.
April 26th, 1832.
July 1st, 1850. " " general "
March 2d, 1832. " " special "
* Albion was originalU' named " Newport," and the name changed to AI-
l)ion when it was incorporated as a village.
+ The village of Gaines has ceased to use its corporate franchises.
OF OKLEAXS COUNTY. 447
Thk following list ok Elevations is taken fkom O'Reilt's
« History ok RociiESTKn and Western New Yoijk:
FEET.
Lake Erie above level of tide water is 570
Top of Niagara Falls is below Lake Erie 66
Bottom of Niagara Falls below Lake Erie 236
Lake Ontario below Lake Erie, 380
Canal at Albion below Lake Erie 64
Erie Canal at Albion above Lake Ontario is 266
Middle Falls, Genesee River at Rochester, perpendicular pitch, 96
Canal in Orleans county, level above tide water 509
MILES.
Distance from Albion by canal to Albany 293
From Albion to ButTalo, 59
From Albion to Rochester 34.
The descent given to cause a flow of water between locks in the Erie
Canal does not vary much from oae inch in a mile.
MILKS.
Distance from Albion by railroad to Suspension Bridge 44i
From Albion to liochestc* .30|
Members ok Assembly p;i,kctei> from Orleans County since
ITS Organization :
Lathrop A. G. B. Grant, from Shelby 1S36
Abraham Cantine, from Murraj' 1837
Lyman Bates, from Ridgeway 1838
George W. Flemming. from Barre 1839
John H. Tyler, from Vat . s, 18S0
John H. Tyler, from Yates 1831
William J. Babbitt, from Gaines 1833
Asahel Byingt(m, from Carlton 1833
Asa Clark, Jr., from ]\hirray 1834
Asa Clark. Jr., from Murray 1835
John Chamberlain, from Barre 1836
Silas M. Burroughs, from Ridgeway 1837
Horatio Reed, from Clarendon 1838
Horatio l{eed, from Clarendon 1839
John .]. Walbridge, from Gaines 1840
Richard W. Gates, from Yates 1841
Sanford E. Church, from Barre.. ' .1843
Elisha Wright, from Barre .1843
Sands Cole, from liidgeway 1844
Gardner Goold, from Carlton . . _ 1845
Dexter Kingman, from Ridgeway, 1846
Abner Hubbard, from jMurraj' 1847
Arba (^hubb, from Gaines 1848
448 PIONEER IlISTOKY
Kciib?ii Roblee, from Kendall • 1849
Silas ]\r. Burroughs, from Ridgeway 1850
Silas M. Burroughs, from Kidgevvay 1951
George ]\I. Copelaiul, tVom Clarendon 1853
Silas M. Burroughs, from Ridgeway 1853
Jereniiali Freeman, Irom Shelby 1854
Elisha S. Whalen, from Ridgeway. 1855
Dan. H. Cole, from Barre 1856
Almanzor Hutchinson, from Gaines 1857
Almanzor Hutchinson, from Gaines 1858
Almanzor Hutchinson, from Gaines .1859
Abel Stilson, from Barre 1860
Gideon Randall, from Kendall 1861
Nicholas E. Darrow, from Clarendon 1862
John Parks, from Ridgewa}"- 1868
Edmund L. Pitts, from Ridgeway 1864
Edmund L. Pitts, from Ridgeway 1865
Edmund L. Pitts, from Ridgeway 1866
Edmund L. Pitts, from Ridgeway. 1867
Edmund L. Pitts, from Ridgeway 1868
Marvin Harris, from Kendall . 1869
John Berry, from Murra3' 1870
John Berry, from Murray 1871
Note. — Alexis Ward was elected in November, 1854, and died be-
fore the session began, and E. S. Whalen was elected in his place.
County Cleuks of Ora.EAKs County f:.o i its 0:;ganization :
NAMES. WnEN KLECTED OR APPOINTED.
Orson Niclioson, November, 1825
Abraham B. Mills ...November, 1831
Timothy C. Strong November, 1834
Elijah i)ana -November, 1843
Harmon Goodrich* March, 1848
Dan. H. Cole November, 1848
Willard F. Warren . .November, 1854
John P. Church November, 1857
G Jorge A. Porterf Dcc'r 30th, 1858
James M. Palmer .November, 1859
Edwin F. Brown November, 1862
George A. Porter November, 1865
George D. Church November, 1868
* Appointed ia place of E. liana, deceased, under Act passed March 20th,
1848.
+ Appointed in place of J. P. Church, dcxieased.
OK OULKAXi? ( Ol'NTV
440
County TKKA«riip:i{s oi- Orf.kans Colntv khom us ()it(;AMZ-v-
Tiox:
Ist. Appointed l)y th*; J-5oai'd of Supei'visors f(i bold during- th«?
pleasure of the Board —
William Ferr}- 183.") Loren/.o Jiurrows 1840
.lames Mat her 1826 Codington AV. Swan 1841
Uideon Hard 1827 Joseph 31. Cornell 1843
Truxtou Burrell 1835 Lemuel C. Paine 1845
JIugh McCurdy 1837 John II. Denio 1847
2d. Elecled under tlu' Constitution ot ]S4(i, for ;\ term of three,
years —
John II. Denio November, 1848
Ambrose Wood 1 " 1851
Joseph M.Cornell • 1857
Ezra T. Coauu â– 18G3
Samuel C. Bowen " 186<»
Albert S. Warner " 1869
CouKTY Si rKi:iN'rKNr>T:NTs op Common Schoot.s roK Op.i.ean".
COUXTY :
Edwin I{. Reynolds, Jonathan O. Wilsea, John G. Smith, Olive?
Morehouse, Marcus II. Pliillips, Ahel Stilson, and James H. Mattl-
son.
FlKST JfDOKS i)V OiU.KANS ColXTY Coi KTS SJXCK THK OlJOAXIZ;
TiON OF rnv: Couxty :
XAMKS. WUK.V AIM'MINIKI
Elijah Fo<ji,
Alexis AVard, >
Henry Angevine
Benj. L. Bessac,
James Gilsoii,
.Vpril 22(1, 1825.
Feb. 10th, 1830.
Jan. 27th, 1840.
Feb'y 7t.h, 1844.
Jan. 10th, 184(1.
K1.K(TE1» UNIJEK CONSTITrTIO'J
OF 1846, COUNTY" JITDGE
AND SURKOG-4.TE.
Henry II. Curtis, June, 1847
Dan II. Cole, app. in place oV
H.K.Curtis,deceased,Sept.24,'55
Gideon Hard, Xovercber, 1855
Arad Thomas, November, 185!)
Edwm It. Reynolds, Noa-., 186.i
John (t. Sawyer, Nov'r, 18G7
District Arroax -Y^ (»i- Oiu.oxs Cot xty i l-om its First Ok
CANIZATION :
NAMES. WIIK.V APPOINTED.
Orange Butler, 1825.
George AV. Fleniiiiir 1828.
Henry R. Curtis, 1831.
George AV^. Fleming. 1832.
Henry R. ('urt is. 1833.
29
WHEN K/.ECTEU U>fDEK CONSTl-
OF ISl^J.
Sanlord K. Church, Jime 1847
Wm. K. ^IcAllJstcr, Nov. 1850
Benjamin 1,. Bessac, Nov. ISS."
Henry I). Tucker, Nov. 1856
John AV. Graves, Nov. 185!)
John (J. Sawyer, Nov. 1862
Irving Af. Thompson, Nov. 1865
Henry A. Childs, Nov. 1868
400 proxKEU TirsTOitY
Sheriffs ok Ohi.kans C'olntv since its Okganizatxon.
NAMES. >\-I[EN APPOIXTED OR ELECTED.
William Lewis On organizing County.
Oliver Benton November, 1826
V/m. AUis " 1829
Harmon Goodrich " 1833
Asahol Woodrutt " 1835
John Eoardmau " 1838
iJorate B. Perry " 1841
AramBecbe " 1844
AustinDay " 1847
Ilufiis E. Hill •• 1850
Ferdinand A. Day " 1853
George W. Bedell " 1856
Oanly D. Sprague •• 1859
Kobert P. Bordwell - 1862
Erastus M. Spaiilding " 1865
Robert P. Bordwell " 1868
SLRHOC4ATES OF OkLEANS CoUXTY SINCE ITS OlttiANIZATIOX.
XA.MES. WHEN APPOINTED OR ELECTED.
William White April 19,1825
Alexis W^ard-.-'- April 3,1829
John Chamberlain March 8, 1833
Thomas S. Clarlv January 21, 1836
))anH. Cole January 21,1840
Thomas S. Clark. January 21, 1844
Since 1847 the duties of Surrogate have been performed by the
Countv Judge. â–
Sui'KKvisoKs OF Towns, as Elkcted from the Organization of
Okt.eans County.
SUPERVISORS OF BARRE.
I.alhan Whitney 1826 Lansing Bailey 1839
Lansing Bailey 1827 Alvah Mattison - - .1840
Lansing Bailey 1828 Alvali Mattison 1841
Lansing Bailey 1829 Avery M. Starkweather 1842
Lansing Bailey . _ . 1830 Avery M. Starkweather 1843
Lansing Bailey 1831 Elisha Wright. 1844
jjansing Bailey _18:!2 Lorenzo Burrows 1845
A. Hyde Cole 1833 ^Varren Parker. 1846
Alvaii Mattison 1834 William Love 1847
Alvah LMattison 1835 William Love 1848
liansing Bailey .1836 Anthony Brown 1849
7 ,an-ing Bailey 1837 Anthony Brown. .1850
F .nusins' T.ailov 1 H:]>< A uthonv Brown. 1851
OF ORLEANS COUJS'TY. 451
Austin Day 1852 Luther Porter 1802
Henry M. Gibson ISoS John D. Bucldand 1803
Henry M. Gibson 1854 John D. BucklancL ..\ 1804
Henry M. Gibson 1855 Norman S. Field 1805
JohnD. Buckland 1850 Orpheus A. Root 1800
John D. Buckland 1857 Ori)heus A.Root 1807
Luther Porter 1858 Orpheus A.Root 1808
Luther Porter 1859 Charles 11. Mattison 1809
Luther Porter 1800 Charles H. 3Lattison 1870
Luther Porter 1801 Charles H. Mattison 1871
SUPERVISORS OF CARLTON.
Richard AV. Gates, .1820 Jasper j\I. Grow 184{>
Minoris Day 1 827 Willard F. Warren 1850
Minoris Day 1828 Gardner Goold 1851
John M. Randall 1829 John Dunham 1852
John M.Randal] 1830 Xelson Shattuck 1853
Minoris Day 1831 Reuben X. Warren 1854
Isaac ]\Iason 1832 ]\Iarvin C. Lacey 1855
Isaac Mason 1833 G:ardner Goold 1850
Chester Bidwcll .1834 Joseph D. Billinss 1857
Joshua E. Hall 1835 Joseph D. Billings 1858
Horace O. Goold 1830 Joseph D. Billings 1859
Hiram Merrick 1837 Daniel Howe 1800
Hiram Merrick 1838 Daniel Howe 180 1
Alfred Bidwell 1839 Joseph D. Billings 1802
Gardner Goold 1840 John H. Harris 1803
Gardner Goold 1841 John H. Harris 1804
Al'tred Bidwell 1842 George L. Baker 1805
Gardner Goold 1843 George L. Baker 1800
Asahel Byington, 2d 1844 Dennis Bickford 1807
Epenetus A. Reed 1845 Dennis Bickford 1808
Asahel Byington, 2d 1840 Benjamin F. Van Camp 1809
Alfred Bidwell 1847 Benjamin F. Van Camp 1870
Dalphon V.Simpson 1848 John Gates 1871
SUPERVISORS OF CLxVREXDOX.
Eldridge Farwell 1821 Elizur Warren 1832
Eldridge Farwell 1822 Elizur Warren 1833
Jeremiah Glidden 1823 Zardius Touslcy 1834
Jeremiah Glidden 1824 Horatio Reed... .....1835
Henry Hill 1825 Horatio Reed 1830
Hiram Frisbie 1820 Horatio Reed„. 1837
Chauncey Robir.son 1827 Horatio Reed ...1838
Chauncey Robinson ...1828 Bcnjiunin G. Pettingill 1839
Cliauncey Eobinson 182!> John â– \Iillard 1840
Chauncey Robinson 1830 Jason A. Sheldon 1841
John Millard 1831 Jason A. Sheldon 1S42
452 PJONKEi; HISTORY
Jason A. Sheldon 184.3 Thomsis Turner. 1858
Benjamin G. PettengilL . 1844 George :M. Copeland 1859
Benjamin G. PettengilL . 1845 Dau Martin 186a
Ira B. Keeler 184(i Mortmier D. Milliken 1861
Ira B. Keeler 1847 Mortimer D. Millken 1862
Orson Tousley -1848 ]Martin Evarts '. 1863
(Tcorge M. Copeland 1849 Nicholas E. Darrow - .1864
George M. Copeland 1850 Nicholas E. Darrow 1865
Nicholas E. Darrow 1851 Henry C. Martm 1866
Nicholas E. Darrow 185:> Henry C.Martin 1867
Daniel F. St. John 185;:} Henry C. Martin 1868
Nicholas E. Darrow 1854 David N. Pettengill .186!)
Dan Martin 1855 David N. Pettengill 1870
Lucius B. Coy 185(5 J)arwin M. Inman. 1871
Amasa I'atterson 1857
SUPERVISORS OF GAINES.
Sarnuel Clark 1816 Daniel Brown 1844
Samuel Clark 1817 Samuel Bidelman 1845
Robert Anderson 181 8 Samuel Bidelman 1846
Robert Anderson 1819 Arba Chubb 1847
Robert Anderson 1820 Henry Miller 1848
Robert Anderson 1821 Benj. Chester 1849
Robert Anderson . 1822 Aram Beebe 1850
Robert Anderson 182o Aram Beebe 1851
Robert Anderson 1824 Aram Beebe. 1853
Robert Anderson ......... 1825 Samuel Bidelman 1853
Robert Anderson 1826 Samuel Bidelman . .1854
Daniel Pratt 1837 Gershom R. Cady .1855
Arba Chubb 1828 Jonas Sawens 1856
Arba Chubb ...1829 Samuel Bidelman .1857
Arba Chubb .18^0 Nahum Anderson 1858
Will. J. Babbitt 1831 Nahum Anderson... 1859
John J. Walbridge 1832 Nahum Anderson 1860
Russel Gillett 1833 Almanzor Hutchinson 1861
Will. J. Babbitt. 1834 Nahum Anderson 1863
Arba Chubb 1835 Charles T. Richards 1863
William W. Ruggles .1836 Charles T. Richards 1864
Joseph Billings 1837 Nahum Anderson 1865
Joseph Billings 1838 Matthew T. Anderson 1866
Joseph Billings 1839 Matthew T. Anderson. 1867
Joseph Billings. 1840 Samuel AY. Smith 1868
Palmer Cady .1841 Samuel AV. Smith 1869
r^amucl Bidelman 1842 Elijah B. Lattin 1870
Wm. W. Ruggles 1843 Elijah B. Lattin. 1871
SUPERVISORS OF KENDALL.
Ryan Barber 1840 Ryan Barber 1841=
OF ORLEANS COUNTY. 45:3
Henry Higgins 1842 Philo F. Prosser 1857
Joseph Mann 184o Philo F. Prosser 1858
Joseph Mann 1844 Philo F. Prosser 1859
Levi Hard 1845 Maryin Harris. _ 1860
Levi Hard 1846 Marvin Harris 1861
Abram Odell 1847 Pierre A. Simkins 1862
Abram Odell 184S William K. Townsend 1863
Wm. R. Bassett 1849 Xathaniel S. Beimett 1864
Wni. K. Bassett 1850 Nathaniel S. Bennett 1865
Alanson Whitney. .- 1851 Gideon Randall 1866
Reuben Roblee 1852 Gideon Randall. .1867
William R. Bassett 1853 Oscar Munn 1868
William R. Bassett 1854 Oscar Munn 1869
Pierre A. Simkins 1855 Oscai Munn 1870
Philo F. Prosser 1856 Wm. O. Hardenbrook 1871
SUPERVISORS OF MURRAY.
Asahel Balcom 1826 Harrison Hatch 1849
William Allis 1827 Benj. F. Van Dake 1850
Amos Randall 1828 Jabez Allison 1851
Hiram Frisbie 1839 Jabez Allison 1852
Hiram Frisbie 1830 Ezra X. Hill. . 1853
William James 1831 Danly D. Sprague 1854
Asa Clark, Jr 1832 Danly U. Sprague 1855
Asa Clark, Jr - 1833 Benj.' F. Van Dake 1856
Asa Clark, Jr 1834 Jabez Allison 1857
Robert Nichoson.. 1835 Jabez Allison 1858
Robert Nichoson 1836 Jabez Allison 1859
George Squires 1837 Ezra N. Hill 1860
George Squires 1838 Jabez Allison 1861
Joshua Garrison 1839 Linus Jones Peck 1862
Joshua Garrison 1840 Roland Farnsworth 1863
Cornelius Thomas 1841 Roland Farnsworth 1864
Cornelius Thomas 1842 Roland Farnsworth 1865
John Berry 1843 lioland Farnsworth 1866
George Squires 1844 Roland Farnsworth 1867
Abijah Reed 1845 Roland Farnsworth 1868
Hercules Reed 1846 Roland Farnsworth 1869
Abner Balcom 1847 Roland Farnsworth 1870
Abner Balcom 1848 Roland Farnsworth 1871
SUPERVISORS OF RIDGE WAY FRO.M ORGANIZATION OF
THE TOWN.
Oliver Booth 1813 Elijah Hawley 1818
Samuel Clark 1814 Jeremiah Brown 1819
Samuel Clark - 1815 Israel Douglass 1820
Israel Douglass 1816 Israel Douglass... ...1821
Israel Douglass 1817 Jeremiali Brown 1822
4r)4 IMOXEEIJ HISTORY
.Tei-pmiiili Brown 1823 William C. Tanner 1848-'
.lereniiah Brown 1824 John F. Sawyer 1849
Lyman Btites 1825 John F. Sawyer 1850
Lyman Bates 1826 Christopher Whaley 1851
Lyman Bates 1827 Allen Bacon 1852
Lyman Bates 1828 Marson Weld .. 1353
Lyman Bates 1820 Borden H. Mills 1854
Lyman Bates 1880 John R. Weld 1855
Lyman Bates 1831 Lyman Bates 1856
William C. Tanner 1832 Alexander H. Jame>on 1857
William C. Tanner 1833 Lnther Barrett 1858
William C. Tanner 1834 Luther Barrett 1859
Seymour B. Murdock 1835 Dyer B. Abell I860'
Lyman Bates 1830 Dyer B. Abell 1861
William V.'Wilson 1837 Hezekiah Bowen, Jr 1862-
Nathan S. Wood 1838 Henry A. Glidden 1863
Xathan S. Wood 1839 Henry A. Glidden 1864
Josias Tanner 1840 Samuel C. Bowen 1865
Josias Tanner 1841 William W.Potter 1866'
Job Fish 1842 William W.Potter 1867
William Y. Wilson 1843 Allea P. Scott 1868
Dexter Kingman 1844 Allen P. Scott 1869
Dexter Ivius;mau 1845 Henry A. Glidden 1870'
Roswcll Starr 1846 Elisha S.Whalen 1871
Allen Bacon 1847
SUPERVISORS OF SHELBY.
Lathrop A. G. B. Grant 1826 Lathrop A. G. B. Grant 1846
Christopher Whaley 1827 Alexander Coon 1847
Christopher Whaley .1828 Alexander Coon 1848
Andrew EUicott 1829 Lathrop A. G. B. Grant 1849
Joseph Rickey 1830 Lathrop A. G. B. Grant 1850
Joseph Rlck3y 1831 Jeremiah Freeman 1851
William Cunningham 1832 Elisha Whalen 1853
William Cunningham 1833 John M. Culver 1853
Adam Garter 1834 John :\[. Culver 1854
Horatio N. Hewes 1835 Alexander Coon 1855
Adam Garter 1836 Philip Winegar 185(V
John M. Culver 1837 Philip Winegar 1857
Alexander Coen 183s Philip Winegar 1858
Alexander Coon 1839 Philip Winegar 1859
Alexander Coon 1840 Alexander Coon 1860
Alexander Coon 1841 John T. Gillett 1861
Alexander Coon 1842 John T. Gillett 1862
Alexander Coon 1H43 John T. Gillett 1863
Alexander Coon 1844 John T. Gillett 1864
Lathrop A. G. B. Grant 184.-. John T. Gillett 1865-
OF OKLEAXS COrNTV. 455
Joseph W. Ross 18GG John P. Gates 18G0
Joseph W. Ross 1867 David G. Deuel 1870
Diivid (;. Deuel 1868 Ela C. Bardwel 1 1 8:i
SUPERVISORS OF YATES.
Samuel Warner 18'2(! Iteuben Iluugerlbru 18-;)
Grindal Davis 1827 Asahel Johnson 1850
John n. Tyler 1 828 Asahel Johnson 1851.
John H. Tyler 1829 John J. Saw yer 18r;.i
John H. Tyler 1830 John Gates." 18^3
John H. Tyler 1831 Charles Lum 1854
Luther St. John 1832 Charles Lum 1855
John H Tyler 1833 David :. Iteuion 1850
John H. Tyler 1834 David :. Ilenion 1857
John H. Tyler 1835 DanierClark ^ 1858
John II. Tyler 1830 Chauueey II. Lum '. 1850
John IL Tyler 1837 Chauncey II. Luu\ 1800
John L. Lewis 1838 Daniel Clark 18C1
Asahel Johnson 1839 Tunis H. Coe 1802
John L. Lewis 1840 Tunis H. Coe 18C.-5
John L. Lewis 1841 Tunis H. Coe 1804
Samuel Taylor 1842 George Clark ISCo
John L. Lewis 1S43 Jonathan A. Johnson 1860
Daniel Starr 1^44 Jonathan A. Johnson 1867
John L. Lewis 1845 Jonathan A. Johnson 18CS
Daniel Starr 1840 Henry Spalding 1809
Horace Phippany 1847 Henry Spalding 1870
Horace Phippany 1848 (". Jackson Blood 1871
COUIITS OF RECORD.
The Couils Jbr Orleans County before tlie County Scat ^vas located
at Albion, were held at Bronyon's Hotel, in the town of Claines. The
record of the opening of the first Circuit Court is as follows :
" At a Circuit Court held at the House of Selah Bronson, in the
town of (4aines, in and lor the Count}- of Orleans, on Thursday, the
13th day of October, 1825, present. His Honor William B. Ivochester,
Judije 8th Circuit. DAVID STKICKI.AM),
WILLIAM C4ATES,
ABEL TRACY,
MONTGOMERY I'HltClVAL,
E. RERRIGO,
Z AUDIT'S TOUSLE Y,
Constables.
The followmu- i)er>on« appeared and were sworn as traverse,] urors,
to M-it:
Martin Hobart, Oliver Brown, Samuel Norton, Joshua Raymond,
Kathan Whitnej', Curtis Tomliuson, Zebulon I*ackard, Thomas Annis,
Zardius Tousley, Dudley AYatson, Seymour B. Murdoch, Ephraini Mas-
ten, Oliver Booth, 2nd., Daniel Gates, Archibald L. Daniels, Richard
M'Omber, Timothy Ruggles, Daniel Reed, Ethan Craham, John Hall.
>'hilo Elmer, -Joseph Davis, John Sherwood.
Four causes were tried ])y jury, viz.: 3Ioses jiacon \s. (Tcr-
shom Proctor. Samuel Finch vs. Charles Sayres. Berjamiu Bab-
cock vs. Curtis Tomliuson and Sophia Ringsbnry. Irene r.each vs.
Henry Drake.
The first Court of Common Pleas and (Tcueral Session^, lidd in and
for Orleans county, was at the House of Selah Bronson, in (iaines,
June 32d, 1825. Present, Hon. Elijah Foot, First Judge, Eldridge Far-
well, Wm. J. 3Ioody, Wm. Penniman and Cynis Harwood, Judges.
The members of the Grand Jury at this Court were Ralph H. Brown.
VFilliam l.ove, Harve}- Goodrich, Hiram Sickels, Henry Carter, Hiram
t'risbie, David Sturges, Joseph Hamilton, Levi Preston, John Proctor,
Robert xVnderson, Zelotes Sheldon, Sdas Benton, Ebenezer M. Pease.
Ji. A. G. li. Grant, Benjauiin Howe, Elijah Bent, Abraham Cantine
!;^ri Wood and Oliver Bennett.
William Lewis. Sheritf. Orange Butler, Dislrict .MtenHv. Orson
Michoson, Clerk.
INDEX OF SUBJECTS.
Articles of Land, given by Holland Co., 24.
Animals, "wild, 29.
Anecdote of John Anderson, 2o6.
Acadeni)-, First in County, at Gaines, 215, 250, C.l.
Albion, Village of, 179.
Anecdote of locating Court House, 181.
Address before Pioneer Association, by Arad Thomas, 42s.
Appendix, 440.
Assembly, Members of, from Orleans County, 447.
Attorneys, District of Orleans County, 44t».
Busti, 3Ir., Anecdote of, 2G.
Beaver and beaver dams, o2.
Black Salts, .J 1.
Burying Grounds. Blount Albion Cemetery, (!!). Boxwood Cemetery,
71. Hillside Cemeterj', 71.
Barre, Tovvn ot, 73. Land to Religious Societ}-, 74. Condition in deed
to Congregational Society, 74. First Presbyterian Society, 75.
Store, Tavern, 75. Survey of Oak Orchard Koad, 76. First
Lawyer, Doctor, Deed of Land, 7G. Death of Mrs. McCollister,
77. Warehouse, Sawmill, 77. Priceof Lumber, 77. First Ball,
78. Fourth of July, 1821, 77. First Marriage in Albion, 7,8.
First Deed of Land in, 70.
Bear Stories, 81, 87, 235, 134, 402.
Burgess, Mrs. X. Cut logs for House, 211.
Ball at Millville, 320.
Barn, first in Orleans Count}-, 408.
British at mouth of Oak Orchard Creek, alarm from. S4.
Counties in New York 100 years ago, 22.
Clemency of Holland Co., 25.
Clearing land, manner of, 43. First crops raised, 44.
Credit system, 52.
Canal, Erie, when begun, 55, eflcct of, 50.
Court House, locating ofj 181.
Clarendon, town of, l'J9. First town meeting in, 2U1.
Carlton, town of, 185. First town meeting in, 197. First settlement in
the County by Walsworth, 180. .Manilla, 180. 31111 for pound-
ing corn, 18S. Union Company, 189.
458 IM»KX.
Carriage seat on springs of wolf trap, 2o8.
Cemeterys, 69. Mount Albion, CO. Boxwood, 71. Hillsiue, 71.
Congregational Society in Barre, deed of land to, 74.
Cradle, Pioneez-, description of, S-).
County Clerk's list of 448.
Courts of Record in Orleans County, li rsi, 4.')C>.
County Treasurers, list of, 449.
Common Schools, County Superiulendenls oi,449.
Domestic manufactures, 52. Clothing, how made, .1;',.
Doctor's bill, specimen of, 248.
Deer hunting, 389.
District Attorneys, list of, 449.
Ellicott, Jo., agent, 23. Anecdote of, 2^)l\.
Eagle Harbor, village of, 200.
Erie Canal, when and where first work on, 55. 1 ts benel'ls, 5(5.
Education, state of, G4. Gaines Aoademj^ 05.
Fortifications, ancient, 14.
Fish, 29.
Friendship among settlers, 49.
Fire, loss of, anecdote, 210.
Gospel Lots, 2G.
Genesee County, 28.
Gospel Lot in Barre, 74.
Gauntlet run by E. Hunt, 194.
Gaines, business in, when County organized, 250.
(Jaines, town of, 210. 3Irs. Burgess' log house, 211. Capt. 3IcCart3^'s
Company in war of 1812, 313. First printing press there, 214.
Booth's tavern, 252. Sam AYooster, 253. ]\Irs. Booth and Jo,
Ellicott, 254.
Greenman, Preserved, anecdotes ol", 403.
Hundred Thousand Acre Tract, 19.
Holland Purchase, 21.
Ilackett, violin plaj-er, 378.
Hedgehogs, 31.
Hardships of settlers. Domestic mill, 40. Fever ajid Ague, 40. Brows-
ing cattle, 47. Keeping five, 47.
Highways, public, 5S. Bidge road, 58. 0!;k Orchard loail, 59. State
road, 01. Salt Works roads, 00.
l4ollan(l i>!nid Comjtany, names of, 21. Generosit^-of agent, 101. Do-
nations to School Districts, 25. Donations of
land to religious societies, 20. Anecdote of
Uev. Mr. Bawson and Mr. Busti, 20.
llolley, village of, 305. Salt found there, 300. Mammoth tooth, ;;!07-
First school house in, 307.
Hunters lodges, 245.
Hidberton, villiiiro of. 30s.
INDEX. 459
Hindsbiirgli, village of, oil.
Indian mill, description of, 278.
Indians, false alarm, 8G, 338.
Judges of County Courts, 440.
July 4, 1821, celebration, Barre, 78.
Knowlesville, village ot, 373.
Kendall, tovrn of, 269. Public library, 272. Salt making, 272. Xor-
Tvegians in, 273.
Land office ot Holland Company, 24.
Log house, description of, 3G.
Furniture of, 40.
Lawsuit before Esq. Chubb, 233.
Library in Kendall, 272.
Luther, Eld. Ben., style of preaching, 332.
Lyndonville, village of, 4W>.
Lumber, price of, 77.
Millyard tract, 18.
Manufactures, domestic, 52.
Merchants, early, and their stores, .il.
Mails and post offices, 53.
Manilla, 186.
3Iill to pound corn, 186, 278.
McCarty, Capt, Company in war of 1812, 212, 88.
Meeting house, lirst^ framed in County, 260.
Mammoth tooth found at Holley, 307.
Medina, village of, 367. Stone quarry, 372.
Murray, town of, 288.
Orleans Count}-, first white man settled in, 186.
Phelps and Gorham's Purchase, 16.
Pre-emption line, 17.
Pultney. Sir \Ym., 19.
Peaches and apples, 33.
Patriot war, 248.
Post office, first, 261.
Porter, Luther, strategy to get his grist, 377.
Pioneer Association of Orleans County, 426.
Quails, 31.
Rawsou, Rev. A., anecdote of, 28.
Rattlesnakes, 30.
Ridge Road, when traced out, 59. Surveyed, 58, 6ft.
Railroads in Orleans County, 63.
Religion, state; of, 67. First meetings in Carlton, 67. Rev. Mr. Steele,
68. Baptist Church in Gaines, 68. Building fleeting House
in Gaines, 68. Specimen preaching, 332.
Ridge road, 58. "VVhcn laid out, 58. Judge Porters account of, 59.
Ridgewav, town of, 313. First town election in, 84.
460 INDEX.
Railroads, 63.
Sulliyans Expeditiou, 12.
School House sites, 25. '
Salmon and other fish, oO.
Schools and school houses, 64. Description ot, 60. Gaines Academy,
65. Academies at Albion, Yates, Millville,
Holley and Medina, 65.
Salt Works roads, 60, 74.
State Road, 61.
Sandy Creek, sickness at, 103, 289.
Salt at Holley, 306, at Medina, 314.
Sawmill at Medina first, 367.
Shelby, town ot, ;>76. Deer hunting-, 3811. Dancing in a gristmill, 378.
How Luther Porter got his grist ,377.
Supervisors of towns in Orleans county, 450.
Sherifl's of Orleans county, 450.
Surrogates of Orleans county, 450.
Triangle Tract, 18
Transit Line, 20, 83.
Trees, kinds of in Orleans county, 21),
Tonawanda S« amp, 33.
Threshing grain, manner of, 44.
Taxes, raising money to pay, by S. C. Lewis, 220.
Town meeting, first in county, 314.
" Things I can remember," by G. E. Mix, 165.
Towns in the county, when organized, 446.
Treasurers of Orleans county ,449.
L^niou company in Carlton, 190.
Villages in county, 446.
Ward Levi & Levi A., agents, 19.
Wood, per acre, 29.
Wrestling, ring for, 50.
Wagons, one horse, 57.
Wedding in Albion, story of, 78.
Yates, town of, 401.
Yates Center, 404. Academv, 404.
INDEX OF NAMES.
NAMES OF PERSONS AXD NUMBERS OF THE PAGES ON WHICH
THEY OCCUR.
Achilles, Caroline, P., 1").
Allis, Tliomas W., 150.
Allison, Jabez, 313.
Anderson Familj', 234.
Angel, Xatban, 103.
Allis, Maj. William, 305.
Allen, Artemas, 372.
Anderson, Robert, 7N.
Andrews, Averj' \. 359.
Alwell, Levi, 236.
Busli, Paul, '2(1
Bailey, Lansing, 79.
Bacon, ^foses, 240.
Balcora, Abner, 301, 405.
Barrett, Amos, 334, 353.
Barrett, Xalium, 347.
Barrett, Sidney S., 354.
Baker, Mrs. Laura 345.
Benton, Oliver 140.
Beech, Dr. J. II., 346.
Bessac, Benjairiu L., 117.
Bidelman, Samufl, 34.
Booth, Oliver, 00, 351.
Bowen, Dr. Elisha, 355, 410.
Brown, James, 54.
Brown, Jereiuiah, 335.
Bryant, Kenl)en, 303, 305.
Burrows, Roswell S., 76.
Bunipus, Philetus, 183.
Bullard Family, 331.
Bumpus, Jesse, 76, 178.
Budd, Jaseph, 308.
Burroughs, David, 304.
Bullard, Alfred, 416.
Babbitt, William J., 54, 58, 361.
Barker, Joseph. 153.
Bates, Samuel, 384.
Banies, Ezra D., 316.
Barrett, Lucius 334.
Barrett, Luther, 347.
Bates, Lyman, 330.
Benton, Mrs. Silas, 75, 170.
Beech, Dr. Jesse, 346.
Bennett, Isaac, 314.
Billings Family, 331.
Bidelman, Abram, 388.
Booth, Oliver, 3nd., 255.
Bradner, Wm., 76, 115, 183.
Brown, John G., 187.
Brown, Daniel, 264.
Bradley, Nathaniel, 146.
Burrows, Lorenzo, 157.
Burgess, Xoah, 211.
Butler, Orange, 333.
Bushncll, Harley N., 390.
Burlingham, Charles D., 330.
Burroughs, Silas M. 394.
Clark, Jonathan, 134.
Clark, Robert, 378.
Cantine, Abram, 174.
Cole, Darius W., 59
Cook, Lemuel, 308.
Cobb, William 343.
Coon, Alexander, 397.
Capeu, Theophilus, 76.
Cady, Isaac, 309.
Cole, A. Hyde, 76, 115.
Cochrane, AVilliam, 343.
Coon, Milo, 373.
Coan Sylvanus, 308.
402
INDEX.
Curtis, Henry R., 120, 70.
Chubb, Arba, 232.
Curti.^, XcAvman, 395.
Chamberlain, Fitch, 100.
Church, Ozias S. 114.
Churcli, Samuel, 341.
Chamberlain, Royal, 407.
Daniels, Grosvenor, 58, 343.
Davis, Levi, 323.
Day, Austin, 297.
Demara, David, 388.
Dutcher, Elder Simeon, 200.
Drake, Henry, 259.
Daniels, James, 342.
Davis, Perry, 225.
Darrow, XiehoMs E., 200.
Douglass, Israel, 317.
Dunham, Matthew, 18S.
EUicott, Andrew A., 59. 370, 390.
Evans, David E., 70, 378.
Ellicott, Joseph, 23, 253, 370.
Evarts, Martin, 208.
Farwell, Eldridge, 200, 207.
Fellows, Joseph, 20.
Freeman, Chester. 263.
Foster, Aden, 170.
Fuller, Lyman, 197.
Farnham, John, 236.
Fairfield, Walter, 218.
Freeman, Gideon, 262.
Frisbie, Hiram, 296.
Fuller, Edmund, 70.
Gates, Daniel, 193, 212.
Green, Andrew H., 103.
Gresiory Family, 380.
CJregory Matthew, 381.
Grinnell, John, 399.
Goold, Horace O., 415.
Goodrich, Ilarve}', 108.
Grant, L. A. G. B., 390.
Gates, Dr. Richard W., 191.
Greeuman, Preserved, 403.
Gregory, Amos, 380.
Gilbert, Baruch H., 418.
Gilbert, AVidow, 212, 47.
G rover. Dr. Tj. C, 860.
Gwynn, William R., 70, 71.
Hawley, Hon. Elijah 350, 53.
Haines, Jesse P., 01.
Hallock, Rufus, 133.
Hart, Elizur, 143.
Henderson, John, 184.
Hewes, Horatio N., 395.
Hill, Samuel, 223.
Hopkins, Caleb, 58.
Hoag, Peter, 363.
Hunter, Robert, 51.
Hulbert, Isaac H. S., 309.
Hawley, Merwin S., 53.
Hard, Hon. Gideon, 92.
Hart, .Joseph, 1G9.
Hamlin, Areovester, 304.
Healey, Dr. E. P., 362.
Hibbard, Zenas F. 124.
Hinds, Jacob, 296, 311.
Hooker, David, 340.
Hood, David, 364.
Hunt, Elijah, 194.
Houseman, George, 501.
Ingersoll, Nehemiah, 77, 159.
Ingersoll, Justus, 161.
Jackson, William, 349.
.Johnson, Rev. AYm., 75.
.Jackson, .James, 350.
Jones, David, 286.
Knowles, William, 355, 372.
Kuck, Rev. George, 191.
Lee, Hon. .John, 73.
Lewis, William, 208.
Lewis, Gideon, 229.
Lee Family, 172.
Lewis, Samuel C, 228.
LeYalley, Johii, 351.
Mattison, Abram 75, 78.
Marsh, Ray, 196.
3Iathcr, Elihu, 259.
Manlej', Adiu, 273.
Masten, Mrs. Nancy, 359.
Mason, Jesse, 132.
Mather, James, 256, 200, 214.
Mather, Rufus, 256.
jMansfield, Alanson..300.
IXDKX.
4C3
McCurly, Ciiptiihi E., 312.
Mix, Abiathar, T."!.
Mix, Ebonezer, 75; 3Ipmoir ot' 42 1.
Monell, Henry '.'A.
Moore, Eli, oKi.
Murdock, Seymour, o42, 315.
Mudgett, Stephen W. 405.
McCollister William, 77.
Mix, Mrs. Lydia, 1C8.
Mix, George C, 1C4, 165.
Moody, ^Villiam J., 70.
Morse, Jotham, o91.
Murdock, Seymour B., 335.
Morris, Kobcrt, 17.
Nichoson, Dr.Orsou, 70,78, 110. 183
Paine, Dr. L. C, 70.
Peck, Linus Jones, 100.
Perry, Joseph L., 329.
Preston, William X. 342.
Pettengill, Benjamin G., 204.
Pierce, Aretas. 292,
Porter, Allen, 142.
Potter, Dr. Stephen M., 183.
Phelp.s ct Gorham, IG.
Rawsou, Kev. Andrew, 20, 109.
Parsons, John, 70.
Peck, Horace, 201.
Peny, Josiah, 410.
Pratt, Daniel, 203.
Penniman, William, 131.
Porter, Augustus. 59.
Porter, Luther, 157.
Proctor, John, 220.
Eandall, Amos, 2S5.
Heed Family, 310.
Kice, Hubbard, 29;;.
Rogers, Ebenezer, 95.
Root, Reuben 407.
Rice, Enos, 150.
Roor, Amos, 32, 34, 113.
Robinson, Chauncey, 294.
Ruggles, William W., 264.
Salsiiurv, Samuel, 224.
Sawyer, ElisLa, 418.
Sturiv weather, A. M., 113.
Street, Lucius, 140.
Spencer, Amos, 417.
Swift, Philetus, 58.
Smith, Mrs. Sally, 298.
Stone, Enos 30.
Strong, John W., 305.
Sauford, Asa. 90.
Saxe, Peter, 404.
Spafford, Brad.street, 205.
Steele, liev. Mr. 08.
Shelly, Xathan, 230.
Smith, ]\Ioses, 141.
Shipmau, Job, 190.
Skinner, Jarvis M. 145.
Strong, Timothy C. 111.
Southworth, Darius, 394.
Tanner, Gen. William C.,318.
Tappan. Hon. Samuel, 410.
Tripp, Anthon}', 141.
Thurston, Stephen B. 133.
Tyler, John IL, memoir of, 414.
Tanner, Josias. 333.
Treadwell, Richard, 210.
Thurston, Caleb C, 88.
Tanner, William, 125.
Turner, Otis, 314, 341.
Van Brockliu, John, 379.
Ward, Dr. Levi, 19.
AVard, Hon. Alexis, 171.
AValsworth, James 186.
Weld, Andrew, 348.
Whitney, Xathan, 112.
Whaley, Dr. Christopher, 348, 379
Ward.LeviA. 19.
Walsworth, AVilliam, isc.
Weld, Thomas, 341.
White, Dr. William, 77, 314. 75.
Wood, Elijah W., 298.
Yates, town of, 401.
Zimmennan, Jacob A., 398.
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